In this day of age it’s easy for anyone of us to jump on the computer and find the best deals and book our own travel. Thanks to companies such as Hotwire, Priceline, and Orbitz, we really have little need to contact a travel agent to get ideas for our next vacation and purchase our airline tickets.

So why do travel agents still exist? Believe it or not there are still some old fashioned people out there that book all their travel through a travel agent. Are they really saving any money? Probably not- but they are saving the time and hassle of looking for the best deals and some travel agents do get better deals on certain packages. They have created relationships with their vendors to be able to do so.

Some travel agents specialize in certain areas. For example, my work uses a travel agency to book all of our business travel. With so many people traveling so much of the time, it just saves the agency so much money to contract out travel arranging. Other travel agents specialize in setting up complex group tours, such as cruise packages for a club or alumni group. Others just specialize and know so much about specific destinations that they are a great source of knowledge. It would be like going to your friend who has been on an African Safari and asking them for advice on places to stay and things to avoid.

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Hallelujah! That is the sound of iPhone owners around the world rejoicing at the launch of iPhone Apps (and of course the new 3G iPhone which I am truly jealous of). Looking through the list of the Apps on iTunes, I am literally salivating at the thought of being able to turn my phone into a light saber, use pandora, be able to chat, and of course use facebook and twitter easily and more efficiently.

However, some things that really excite me are some of the new Apps that are designed to make traveling a little easier. Having an iPhone while traveling is usually a life saver, especially when you have never traveled to that city before. You can find restaurants and attractions using your maps and you always have the internet available which definitely comes in handy. But, the new Apps are going to bring that to the next level- and I can’t wait to try it out this weekend!

Here are a few of the Apps that I, and other fellow travelers should be excited about:

Whrrl- a cool app that is based on a map so you can share your current location with your friends- which might be fun for frequent travelers. Another cool tool with this app- it recommends places to go based on places your friends have recommended- and it remembers places you want to try in the future

ACTCurrency- would be handy for those traveling abroad. It is a universal currency converter and calculates the currency conversion. I think it would be convenient because it’s quick and easy- you only have to put in one number and it calculates as you type

Babelingo- another cool tool for traveling to a new country. You are able to type in a phrase and have it come up in the foreign language- and guess what! You don’t even have to try and struggle through the language- you can just show them your phone! Ultimate translator at your fingertips-gotta love that

Local Picks by TripAdvisor- You know how you go on vacation and you always ask locals where they recommend to eat? Well not anymore- this apps takes locals recommendations and brings them to your phone. The only downside is- it’s brand new so it could take some time for the database to build up, so start helping travelers out recommend great restaurants in your hometown!

Urbanspoon- I love apps that integrate aspects that are unique only to the iPhone. Basically Urbanspoon is set up like a slot machine and uses GPS to find restaurants near you based on type of cuisine, price range, and neighborhood. It includes ratings and reviews from newspapers, bloggers and other sources. Here is the fun part, if you don’t like the option, you shake your iPhone and another option comes up! What a gamble

There are so many great and mind blowing Apps that I challenge you to explore them for yourself. I found a lot based on subway systems for various cities that help navigate, tip calculators, travel and airline trackers, Travelocity and hotels.com both have Apps,  and Apps that are specific to different languages. I think this will change the way we travel and definitely for the better! I am excited to report back and let you know how they work!

We decided to explore Anchorage and try to get a feel for the culture of this unique city. Our first stop was downtown Anchorage to a market festival that they hold every Saturday. It’s a great place to find Alaskan souvenirs. I would suggest an Alaskan ulu (oo-loo). The ulu is a knife and the design comes from the Inupiat, an Alaska native group of North Western Alaska. Just down the street from the festival is The Ulu Factory where you can watch them make ulus and pick up one for yourself that even comes with an instructional video! Plus the ulu factory offers free rides to and from the factory making stops in downtown Anchorage.

After a lunch of reindeer sausage (apparently you can’t go to Anchorage without eating reindeer sausage) we walked to the Anchorage Train Station, because I really wanted to buy my dad a model Alaskan Railroad train caboose. The next time we come back to Alaska, I am definitely going to take the train. It’s pretty expensive, so definitely not for the cheap traveler but I think it’s probably worth it for the ambiance. The trains follow scenic routes and the tops of the trains are windows. However, I did like the ability to stop wherever we wanted to take pictures, to go hiking, and also to be able to go off the beaten path and explore new things.

After the train station we headed over to the Tony Knowles coastal trail. It’s about nine miles long and wraps around the Anchorage coast. I would suggest renting a bike- it’s long and it would make it easier to see more. We made the mistake of walking, we got about two miles and decided to turn around. There are a few places to rent bikes pretty close to the trail.

Downtown Anchorage reminds me a little bit of San Francisco, a bunch of cute little stores and souvenir shops. It was fun to explore the more metro side of Anchorage. Afterwards we decided to go for a little drive, and this time headed north from Anchorage. We found some really neat camping grounds; saw a few more moose, and some nice looking suburban neighborhoods.

We ate dinner at a local themed restaurant and then sadly it was time to go to the airport. It was a quick trip, but definitely a once in a lifetime must. If you have ever thought about going to Alaska- you need to. There is just something about that place, I think about it a lot now that I am back. It’s enchanting. The beauty in Alaska is unlike anything else.

I can’t think of a better birthday present than spending a couple of days at the nation’s capitol. Not only was the weather beautiful and not deathly humid, but it was the beginning of May so it was entirely uncrowded and we were able to get a steal of a deal on a hotel room and rental car. We had spent some time in DC together before, so for this trip we decided to focus on doing things that neither of us had seen.

We took a red eye to DC and by the time we landed it was early morning and the air was crisp. There is something to be said about the essence of DC, there is just a strong sense of power, pride and excitement that is in the air. It’s addictive and empowering. Such an energizing place. Right away we called our Senator’s office to see if there was any way we could sneak in get a tour of the capitol last minute, luckily there had been a cancelation and we were able to snag a spot, so after lunch we headed to the district. Big mistake number 1: we drove. We were running late so really, we had no choice. Parking is a nightmare in the district and we did know that ahead of time but honestly we were hoping to get lucky. We ended up parking at Union Square, which in case you didn’t know costs a pretty penny. The capitol tour is interesting, and it’s free so I would definitely recommend it if you have never been. Our first day consisted of the capitol tour, a drive and walk through Georgetown, and visiting the LDS temple. We closed our first day by walking along the Potomac, taking pictures and exploring the Franklin Roosevelt monument which is very unique and interesting.

Taking the metro is really just a part of the experience in DC. The second day we took the metro to Dupont Circle and hopped on the bus in search of the National Cathedral. It’s a place we both had never been and had heard great things about. The bus ride to the cathedral is great, you get to drive past Embassy Row. All of the embassies are unique and are really cool to see. I just have to pause to say that DC has one of the most amazing public transportation systems I have ever taken part of. It is just so user friendly and fool proof. Anyways, we got off the bus and walked a block to the National Cathedral and come to find out they are hosting a flower festival/ birthday party for the Cathedral. So first we grabbed some free birthday cake and browsed the booths wishing we had a way to take some of the flowers home for our backyard. After cake we walked in and were just blown away from the interior. One of the most gorgeous buildings in this country. It’s interesting to see all the unique features. You can take a free walking tour or even a gargoyle tour, which supposedly there is a Darth Vador gargoyle.

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