Don’t Mix and Match
All tires are not created equal. Mixing tires of different brands, tread depths and performance categories can cause a serious loss in vehicle stability.

Consider Summer Tires
Unlike all-season tires, summer tires are designed specifically for warm and wet weather. For a list of summer tires that deliver driving excellence in both dry and wet weather, visit TireRack.com.

Pressure
Tires don’t carry the weight of your vehicle, the air pressure inside them does. Underinflated tires offer less traction, reduce fuel mileage, wear out prematurely and can suffer unnoticeable damage that compromises their performance and safety. One out of four vehicles on the road is running on underinflated tires. Check tire pressure often, don’t just “set it and forget it.” For a list of high-quality tire gauges, visit the accessories page on TireRack.com.

Avoid Potholes
Driving through just one “large” pothole can weaken a tire, reducing its long-term durability and ride quality. Potholes can also knock a vehicle out of alignment, reducing handling and tire life. Drive around large puddles – they can be hiding deep, rain-filled potholes.

Drive Through a Blowout
Instead of slamming on the brakes if a tire blows out, maintain pressure on the accelerator for an instant to preserve your car’s momentum and offset the pulling. Don’t hit the brakes. Once the car is stable, slowly pull to the side of the road.

Locago
A map/local search app with directions and GPS support. Browse business listings and traffic information, Wikipedia articles, geotagged images, weather forecasts, or touristic webcams on a map on your phone. And you can create new layers with your content, just like making map mashups on the web but for mobile phones.

WHERE
Use this app to discover great nearby places, get personalized recommendations on where to go next, save and share your favorite places, and find exclusive deals from local businesses!

Weather Underground
Use this to get weather information for worldwide locations, including current conditions, hourly forecasts, radar and satellite maps.

GPSed
A location-based service for trip tracking from mobile. In real time tracks are traced on Google maps and stored in an online archive. With a simple geotagging feature it is possible to pin photos to a map precisely at a place they were taken.

TMileage
Keep track of your gas mileage, expenses, oil checks with your mobile phone. The gas mileage log includes a comprehensive summary, mileage statistics and graphical history. This app can also send the mileage and trip logs to your computer by email.

1. Fill up your tank on Wednesday or Thursday before 10 am. Gas prices rise on Thursdays in anticipation of weekend travel. 10 am is when most station owners make their price change for the day. Unless it is an emergency, do not buy gas Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

2. Don’t let your car idle, either when you warm it up or when you are at a standstill. If you’re going to be standing for more than a minute, running your engine wastes more gas than restarting the engine.

3. Buy gas when it’s cooler during the day (like the early morning or at night) to reduce gas evaporation.

4. Remove unnecessary items in your car. Every 250 extra pounds eats up an extra mile per gallon of gas.

5. Avoid the convenient gas station on the side of the highway as you drive home from work which can be up to $.15 more per gallon.

6. Save money with self-service and look for gas stations where paying cash costs the same as using a credit or debit card.

7. Double check the attendant and ensure, if you are paying by cash, that “cash” is noted on the pump. You could lose $.05 a gallon if he mistakenly presses “credit.”

8. Keep your windows closed when driving on the highway. Open windows can reduce your gas mileage by as much as 10%. In stop-and-go traffic, open the windows and turn off the air conditioning to save more money.

9. Rent fuel-efficient cars when you travel and research reasonably priced places to buy gas before you leave.

10. Confirm with your mechanic what octane gasoline your car’s engine really needs. Most car engines do not require high octane though the manual will say its “recommended.”

11. Download a Gas App for your phone. If you have a Smartphone, there are plenty of free apps that help you find the cheapest gas near your destination. GasBuddy makes it easy with its free app, and Mapquest has an online finder for gas prices.

12. Buy Discount Gas Gift Cards – Did you know you don’t have to pay full price for a gift card? Sites like GiftCardGranny.com offer a diverse selection of discount gas gift cards from various card vendors.

13. Be loyal to one gas company and get rewarded with its cash-back credit card reward program.

Bousfield says the experience is “a huge amount of camaraderie, lots of laughs, but most of all, no one knows what will happen.” His passion for the safari started at an early age, having learned from his legendary father, Jack Bousfield. The older Bousfield was every bit the original African pioneer, growing up on safari, having worked with some of the best hunters and trackers, and even surviving an astounding six airplane crashes.

The Bushmen Initiation Safari is available for $1,430 per person per night for a minimum of eight nights, extended trip options not included. This safari is available for groups of six to eight guests at a minimum of eight nights. Guests have the option of extending their stay to include Jack’s Camp and the enigmatic Tsodilo Hills, a place of deep spiritual and religious importance for the local people.

Visit UnchartedAfrica.com for more information.

Avoid prolonged periods of sitting and standing
Walk up and down the plane/train every 1-2 hours, when possible, for 5-10 minutes.

Get exercise
Make sure to do some ankle and lower leg exercises, such as ankle rotations.

Wear graduated compression stockings
Wear stockings, preferably knee highs with open toe, 15-25mm/hg or 20-30mm/hg.

Stay hydrated
Always double your water intake when traveling.

Avoid alcohol
Alcohol is very dehydrating so avoid drinking alcohol a few days before taking a long trip.

Hidden Costs
You may think you’re getting a bargain online, but that’s not actually the case. A good agent will tell you about the “hidden” costs such as resort fees, fitness center charges, and other miscellaneous charges that add up beyond the “low price guarantee” you see with the online discount brokers.

Alternate Routes
Thousands of travelers were stranded during the volcanic ash eruption this last Spring, and those who booked their flights online did not have an 800 number to call to plan an alternate itinerary. A good agent knows the various options for connections to neighboring cities/airports and can quickly book an alternate route to get you home immediately!

Better Deals
Since agents deal with large volumes, suppliers make sure the agent’s customers get the best value and experience for their money. This means more opportunities for upgrades, better amenities, food and beverage credits, and more. Agents can potentially set you up with hotels that pick up bag fees and may even suggest carriers that count two ski equipment bags as one — saving you upwards of $60 one way.

End Front Desk Disputes
Your agent can handle disputes regarding your accommodations, even if it means moving you to another space, so you can relax and focus on your stay.

Where to Find Good Agents
Murphy recommends TravelTribe.com, ASTA and Tripology.com.

Ask Questions
Feel free to ask the agent if they are certified or specialize in the property or destination, and whether they have personally been to the location and for a list of referrals.

Cost of a Travel Agent
In general, agents do not charge for their services because they are being paid commissions by their suppliers. These commission fees are accounted for in the price, and because the industry follows a “parity pricing” model, everyone essentially pays the same price whether they book through an agent or on their own.

Waze
Waze is a social mobile application that enables drivers to build and use real-time road intelligence. The service includes constantly-updated road maps, alerts on traffic and accidents, and data providing users with the fastest route to get to wherever they need to go. Map and traffic updates are automatically collected and generated as users drive with Waze activated, and drivers can also actively report and update other users with what’s happening on the road.

Weatherbug
The simplicity of Apple’s Weather app, but with a few extras for your phone. It’s the largest network of professional weather stations in the U.S. and is the only source for truly live, local weather (as taken from their site).

Car Care & Roadside Emergencies
Whether you have a flat tire or your car won’t start up, this app is a must-have to get the help you need.

BePut
Users can share their whereabouts with people they want to find them. Use the application to locate your exact position and with a touch of a button, send an email or text message to the desired recipient with this location. The recipient gets a special FindMe Key which is secure.

Shazam
This app is the most fun! When you can’t figure out what song is playing on the radio, Shazam is there with the answer. Hold your iPhone to the music and within seconds Shazam will tell you the artist and track name. You can even download the song through iTunes on your iPhone.

Curacao Marriott Beach Resort & Emerald Casino; Curacao, Netherlands Antilles
The Curacao Marriott offers remarkable dining options such as the restaurant Portofino, which specializes in international cuisine and a variety of theme nights. Gaming enthusiasts may wish to try their luck at the Caribbean beach hotel’s Emerald Casino. The resort has an old-Amsterdam charm with sun-drenched warmth, inviting to the gambler and their friends.

St. James Club; St. James, St Johns, Antigua
Situated at the tip of the Mamora Bay peninsula, the all-inclusive resort presents guests with a majestic view of the peninsula. The St. James Club Casino offers 56 slot machines, five blackjack tables, roulette and stud poker.

Atlantis Resort; Paradise Island, Bahamas
The casino has 980 slot machines and 78 gaming tables including baccarat, roulette, craps, blackjack and Caribbean stud poker, and a high limit table area called the Baccarat Lounge. Unlike most casinos, the Atlantis gambling floor has skylights and windows, with panoramic views of the resort. Don’t forget your camera to take pictures of the colorful glass sculptures inside the casino.

Casino de Deauville; Deauville, France
The casino is ideally located close to the city center, near the sea, and opposite of the beaches of La Mancha. The gambling fun is undeniable and the six Hold Em Poker tables are located inside the new Poker Room with a view of the sea.

El San Juan Hotel and Casino; San Juan, Puerto Rico
El San Juan has a 13,000 square-foot casino, boasting of a classic European Style and elegant décor. This gambling destination offers a “Players Club” to redeem points for dining and lodging comps in the beachfront of the hotel.

Island of Capri Casino Resort, Biloxi, Mississippi
Located on Beach Blvd, it has 1,340 Gaming Machines, such as Nickel Slots, Progressive Slots and Dollar Video Poker. The great gaming also includes 40 table games that include Blackjack, Poker, Roulette and Texas Hold Em. It is a relaxing place to get away and play.

Hotel Cocal and Casino; Playa Jaco, Costa Rica
Located in the bustling town of Jaco, this casino offers the luxury of having the beach at your feet with cards and chips at your hands. Players can indulge in complimentary beverages and continuous music as they win their matches.

Durban’s Sun Coast Casino, South Africa
The Sun Coast Casino is one of South Africa’s prime tourist destinations and sits along the prime beachfront property of the city’s Golden Mile. First opened in 2002, this Durban casino is a gamblers paradise, boasting of 1,250 slot machines and 50 gaming tables, as well as an exclusive Salon Prive for high rollers with higher limit slots and tables.

St. Kitts Marriott Resort & The Royal Beach Casino, Frigate Bay, Saint Kitts and Nevis
For leisure and repose, this resort features a 35,000 square foot Royal Beach Casino. This fine casino captures the many moods of one of the most relaxing and romantic Caribbean Islands.

Tropicana Casino and Resort, Atlantic City, N.J.
Located on the beach and boardwalk of Atlantic City, the casino has three floors games, tables, and slot machines. After you are done playing, you can soak your feet into the sand, that is, if you ever decide to depart from the fabulous poker tables or skip the Rumba Lounge.

And now here are Sure Fit’s top 10 pet friendly destinations:

New York City
Between winding trails, off-leash hours and fenced-in dog parks, NYC’s Central Park is the perfect pet hang-out. Plus, pet daycare can be found in nearly every Big Apple neighborhood.

Chicago
Dogs are welcome on canine cruises at Chicago’s Navy Pier, and the Windy City is home to a number of pet resorts and patio restaurants that welcome furry friends.

Boston
Pooches are welcome to tour Boston Harbor by boat, and dogs are welcome to take the subway.

Houston
Local pet lovers praise Barnaby’s Cafe, where pets aren’t just welcome, they’re given their own cardboard bowl to dine from while their owners grab a bite.

San Francisco
The city by the bay offers plenty of pet-friendly dining, off-leash beaches, and outdoor areas. Take your dog for a stroll across the Golden Gate Bridge or bring him along on a cable-car ride!

Austin
Besides outdoor cafes and off-leash parks, Austin residents tout the Zilker Botanical Gardens and Congress Street Bats as great places for local dogs (and dog-owners).

Washington D.C. (and its suburb Alexandria, VA)
Both areas feature plenty of pet-friendly restaurants and parks.

Portland
The Lucky Labrador restaurant chain is famously pet-friendly. Pets are also invited to visit the Rose Gardens and Saturday outdoor market.

Charleston
Bring your pet along on a walking tour of historic Charleston, whether it’s a daytime stroll through Magnolia Plantation or a nighttime ghost tour of the city’s haunted haunts.

Ann Arbor
Pets are welcome to frolic in many of the city’s outdoor spaces, including the Nichols Arboretum, a large botanical garden at the University of Michigan

The Auto Friends Collection is available in Car Seat, Cargo Mat, Floor Mat, and Car Hammock styles in a variety of colors. All covers have a waterproof lining and no-slip grips to protect from accidents.

“My family will soon be flying from Texas to Vancouver to take in among other events an Olympic hockey game, and we’ll be staying within walking distance of the venue,” says Karpinski. “When people ask me when I started making all these plans, they always expect me to say something like ‘November 2008.’ So when I tell them I purchased the hockey tickets this past November—yes, November of ’09—and just finalized my travel arrangements in January, they’re stunned.”

Here are Karpinski’s tips for booking your Olympic vacation without spending a fortune:

How to get there
You have to plot your plan for getting from point A (your home) to point B (Vancouver). If you live in the Pacific Northwest, like Seattle, then you might be able to drive across the border for a short stay or even just for the day.

Everyone else will have to travel by airplane. Check with popular online travel agencies as well as the websites of individual airlines. Play around with different departure and arrival points. You never know when a good deal might pop up, or how long it will last, so be ready to book quickly.

Whenever taking a last-minute vacation, it’s a good idea to purchase a travel insurance policy that covers changed flight dates and/or cancellations. This way, if things fall through, you won’t be out nearly as much money.

Where to stay
Accommodations will be tough to find this close to the opening ceremonies. Hotel rooms can be thousands of dollars per night so it’s time to get creative.

“I even looked into rooms on cruise ships that will be anchored in English Bay during the Winter Games. Ultimately, I rejected that option because I’d have to deal with the inconvenience of waiting in the freezing Canadian cold for a ferry each time I needed to go to my room… or cabin, as it were, which was sure to be small and cramped.”

Again, no matter where you end up staying, be sure to purchase some sort of travel insurance policy.

Consider booking an actual home away from home
Book a vacation rental home . In most instances, these cabins, chalets, and cottages are people’s second homes or in the case of an event as crowd-drawing as the Olympics, primary homes. And they’re often a much better value than a hotel room.

You can find great deals on vacation home rental websites like VRBO.com and HomeAway.com. You’ll pay much less than a hotel room, and you’ll return each evening to a place with a kitchen and living area.

If you looked at vacation rental sites and came up empty, keep checking! Even at this stage of the game, homeowners are adding properties that are available for travelers to rent. Also if the owners haven’t attracted Olympic renters, they may lower the prices. In addition to saving money, the homeowner can answer your questions about the area and recommend tips for activities and transportation once you get there.

Tips on buying tickets the sporting events
Visit the official Vancouver Olympics website. If you’re Canadian, you can directly purchase tickets there. For Americans, there is a fan-to-fan marketplace where tickets are constantly being added and auctioned off (Tickets.Vancouver2010.com/Buy/TicketSales). “This is a sanctioned ticket seller, so you can rest assured that all postings are legitimate,” says Karpinski.

You can also visit CoSport.com, which is the official ticket seller for the U.S. and other countries. The website also has one more ticket release planned before the Opening Ceremonies.

Consider attending only Week 1. Unless your heart is set on seeing a gold medal round of your sport of choice, think about attending an event during the first week. Since almost all of the gold medal events are scheduled during the second week of the Games, you have a much better chance of finding affordable tickets when things are just getting started.

Try the “walk up” option. Once you’re in Vancouver, consider walking up to the ticket booth a few minutes before an event is about to start and inquiring as to whether there are any open seats.

Can’t get four (or three or two) seats together? That’s okay! The Olympics are as much about international fellowship as athletic competition. So make it a goal to mix and mingle with your fellow spectators as much as possible! If the tickets you’re able to buy are scattered all over the stadium, don’t bemoan the fact that you can’t sit with your traveling companions. Instead, embrace the chance to meet the diverse people around you.

It’s not all about the games. In addition to the Games themselves, the 2010 Winter Olympics will include official ceremonies and celebrations that feature live performances, recreational activities, and Canadian and international arts and culture. “My family will be attending a Victory Ceremony, which is essentially one big party with live bands,” says Karpinski.

Make sure you know where you’re going and how you’re going to get there. There’s an official Olympic transportation system, and most venues have multiple points of entry, so you have to know in advance how you’re going to get around.

Unless you’re going to be zipping in and out of the city for a day trip, it would be a shame not to sample some of the other non-Olympic things Vancouver has to offer. The city’s website OlympicHostCity.Vancouver.CA includes an excellent list of free events to help you get started. Keep in mind that some free events may still require tickets.

Christine Karpinski is the author of “How to Rent Vacation Properties by Owner” and “Profit from Your Vacation Home Dream.” Her websites include OwnerCommunity.com and HomeAway.com.