Today’s feature happens to be the Litter Kwitter 3-Step Cat Toilet Training System. With this unique product and 8 weeks time, your feline friend will be using your home toilet instead of a litter box to do its business. Seriously? I thought this was just a joke that was over played in Meet the Parents. Apparently I am wrong and this is the real deal. If this is something you are interested in purchasing you can click here to do so.

If any of you guys have more info or success stories involving this product please share!

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.

Travel agents can be quite useful in other ways for example, arranging passports and visas, recommending vaccines and medicine for foreign travel, and help with currency conversion. Some people may opt for a travel agent if they are dealing with a stressful situation such as the loss of a loved one, and would rather not spend time booking the trip and instead focus their attention on planning the funeral. Most celebrities use travel agents to book their trips because they can take care of all the details including making sure transportation is there to pick them up curbside, getting extra security at their hotel, and shutting down an entire restaurant so they can eat a private meal.

Travel agents may seem like an old and outdated job, but there really is still a need for them in our society. Would you use one to book a quick weekend getaway to Vegas? Probably not- as there is quite a few resources out there for that location. Would you use one to book a complex backpacking trip through Southeast Asia? There’s a definite possibility.

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!

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 didn’t really know what to expect when we landed in Anchorage, AK at 12:03 am on Saturday morning.  I guess I half expected to be greeted by a moose or an Eskimo. It took me about two minutes to get over my disappointment when I stepped outside of the airport and could already see the beautiful mountains. To my surprise it wasn’t even dark outside. You could still see light on the horizon and a local informed us that this was the darkest it gets in the summertime and that the sun will rise about 4 am and set about 11 pm.

After a short night’s sleep (we were awaken by the sun-rise) we were both just itching to get outside and enjoy Alaska’s landscape. Honestly we came to Anchorage on a whim because we both had never been and always wanted to go. After doing some quick research via visitors guides we had picked up at the rental car place- we decided to take a 2.5 hour drive to Seward Alaska.  Seward is one of Alaska’s oldest and most scenic communities. Known as the ‘Gateway to Kenai Fjords National Park’ Seward is a picturesque town located 126 miles south of Anchorage. – Honestly the drive itself is worth it. For the first part you drive along the coast and then you drive through the mountains- there are ample spots to pull off enjoy the views, take a quick hike, look for Alaskan wildlife and take plenty of gorgeous pictures.

The 2.5 hour drive turned into about a four hour drive because we could just not stop exploring everything the highway had to offer. We finally made it to Seward and grabbed a quick bite to eat from one of the local bakeries, took a walk along the pier and then headed to the Alaska Sea Life Center. I was dying to see a puffin and they had plentiful. It’s a little pricey about $20 dollars a person, but it puts you at ease to know that the money goes to research and rescue efforts of these marine animals. It’s a neat place and we definitely felt we got our money’s worth. They have fish, sea lions, seals, and of course puffins. If you have kids they will love it. On the drive back we made a quick stop to exit glacier, which the lookout is just about ten miles north of Seward. It was fun to see and on the way back down we saw a moose cross the street right in front of us!  It took us just about as much time to get back to Anchorage as it did to get there. Places to look for Beluga whales, Dall Sheep, Black Bears and enjoy the views of the ocean. And this was just the first day!

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.

After the National Cathedral we decided to walk a little and enjoy the weather before we caught the bus. We grabbed some Five Guys (a must for every east coast trip) and then headed back to the district to check out some of the Smithsonians. We went to the Air and Space Museum, Hirshorn and Congressional Library. We would have gone to many more but unfortunately they all  were closing at that point. So we walked over and saw many of the monuments and walked over to the white house. After hanging out at the park across the street of the white house we jumped on the metro over at Federal Triangle and went to Old Town Alexandria and strolled the beautiful boutique streets, which was a great way to close our trip.

Washington DC is an amazing place. As we were able to explore more of the city I came to realize there are so many hidden treasures in that area. As corny as that sounds it’s true! Take the metro and get off at any of the stops and guaranteed you are able to explore and find something unique and different. Perhaps next trip out I will take myself up on my own challenge.