Day: January 3, 2024

Surprise! These Travel Companies Keep Your Trip A Secret (Until The Last Minute)

Ever had a hard time deciding where to go on vacation? Now, you don’t need to worry. A new breed of travel companies is revolutionizing vacation planning with secret trips. The concept: They do all the planning and booking for you, and add an element of excitement by keeping the destination a secret until the last minute.

According to a recent Booking.com survey of 27,000 travelers across 33 countries, this is a huge trend for 2024. Over half of the respondents expressed enthusiasm for surprise trips where every detail—including the destination—remains unknown until arrival. Booking.com called this new group of modern travelers the “surrender seekers.”

Lilian Rafson was ahead of the curve. In 2016 when she was 23, she launched Pack Up + Go, which specializes in surprise vacations in the U.S. and has sent surrender seekers to more than 300 destinations around the country. Travelers don’t know where they’re going until they arrive at the airport. “I thought it would do really well to encourage Americans to travel and was even thinking about the economic benefits and how much money could go to small businesses and restaurants and shops through tourism,” Rafson told me in an interview. “A lot of American cities are being robbed of that because we’re so quick to travel overseas.”

Katie Truesdell was also ahead of the curve with her company, Magical Mystery Tours, which was based on a family tradition. One year when she was a kid, her dad planned a surprise Christmas getaway for the family. Weeks in advance, mysterious red envelopes began arriving in the mail with clues about packing, activities and more. The family set off that morning for an unknown locale and arrived that night in Nashville. The family loved

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Family devastated after Raynham mom dies in childbirth

RAYNHAM — Shane Manozzi met his partner Laura Hill for the first time at an afterparty at a Phish concert in New York City in the summer of 2017.

He was from Westwood, Massachusetts, and she was from Exton, Pennsylvania, but they couldn’t stay away from each other. Up until a few weeks ago, they were inseparable.

“Since that point, this is the longest I’ve been away from her,” Shane said.

On Dec. 5, Laura, 40, died suddenly while giving birth to their third child, Liana. Liana survived and is healthy. Their two other children are Luciano, 4 and Nico, 3.

Laura Hill takes a selfie with her 3-year old son, Nico. Laura died Dec. 5, 2023, in Raynham while giving birth to her third child, Lianna.

Laura Hill takes a selfie with her 3-year old son, Nico. Laura died Dec. 5, 2023, in Raynham while giving birth to her third child, Lianna.

In shock, searching for answers

Shane said the cause of Laura’s death is not yet known and won’t be determined by the coroner ‘s office for some time. She was having a home birth at their house in Raynham when the tragedy happened.

Shane is still in shock, he said.

He said Laura was extremely proactive with her health, engaging in CrossFit and family walks regularly, as well as being focused on eating organically.

He is grief-stricken at the loss, he said.

“I was looking forward to growing old with her,” he said. “I can’t overstate how great a mother she was.”

“She was beautiful inside and out.”

Players to watch 12 Greater Taunton girls basketball players to watch this winter

Laura Hill and her partner Shane Manozzi were inseparable, he said. Laura died Dec. 5, 2023, in Raynham while giving birth to their third child, Lianna.

Laura Hill and her partner Shane Manozzi were inseparable, he said. Laura died Dec. 5, 2023, in Raynham while giving birth to their third child, Lianna.

Picking up the pieces

Shane has been a stay-at-home father the past three years while Laura was the main breadwinner, most recently working as an

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Small explosions reported on Roosevelt Island after NYC earthquake

An unusual earthquake shook the New York City borough of Queens early Tuesday in more ways than one, with residents startled by a series of small explosions that may have been caused by the quake.

The 1.7-magnitude quake registered near the Astoria neighborhood at about 5:45 a.m., according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Around the same time, people in Manhattan and Queens reported hearing what sounded like several explosions coming from Roosevelt Island, a 2-mile-long island between the two boroughs.

Earthquake may have caused Roosevelt Island explosions

The cause of the explosions was under speculation earlier Tuesday morning, but officials later said the earthquake may have been to blame.

Allan Drury, a spokesperson for Consolidated Edison, told the Associated Press that officials at the utility suspect that the quake caused the explosions, since they happened around the same time.

Drury said there were no power outages.

There were no reports of injury, damage or disruptions to transportation or other services, the city’s emergency management agency said. The New York City Department of Buildings said no structural issues were found on Roosevelt Island.

Another earthquake hits Maryland

Hours before the New York City quake, a 2.3-magnitude earthquake just west of Rockville, Maryland, was felt for miles in the Washington, D.C., suburbs.

That quake hit at about 12:51 a.m., according to USGS. Officials said they got reports from people who felt the trembling in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, D.C., and Pennsylvania.

“People felt it and heard it,” said Pete Piringer, spokesperson for the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service, in a video posted to social media.

Piringer said firefighters felt the earthquake and reported it to last between 10 and 15 seconds. The epicenter was near a country club. There were no reports of injury or damage, he said.

Are East

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