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CNN Live At Daybreak

Surfing Into Saturday: Locating the Country's Best Camping Spots Online

Aired July 06, 2001 - 08:22   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: It is Friday. Grab your pens. We are "Surfing Into Saturday" with Allison Tom, who's going to show us how to get some great camping sites on the Web.

ALLISON TOM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right.

We've got a lot of different sites to show you. The first one I'm going to take you to is National Park Service Web site.

And where you go here is nps.gov. And we'll see that you can click on here. They offer a lot of different background as to the history of parks and how you can just appreciate them and take care of them.

But they also allow you to visit the parks state by state. So what I'll do here is -- Carol, pick any state that you'd like to go to.

LIN: All right, home state of California.

TOM: California;

And why don't we just pick down -- let's say, the Channel Islands would be a great spot.

LIN: Oh yes, it's lovely.

TOM: I've actually been there before -- a beautiful place to go.

So what they'll give here is a brief description of what the Channel Islands are like. You can see the picture here to already tempt your interest in camping over in that region. And they'll give you all the travel basics and the information that you might need as to what and where to go when you are going there.

LIN: Oh, terrific.

TOM: If you decide you like that place, you can go ahead and make your reservations online.

LIN: Oh, right on the Web -- that's great, because, you know, it gets really crowded over the summertime. And a lot of times people drive up and it's already booked. TOM: And you especially want to do this because you can make your travel plans up to six months in advance.

What you do online is that you just select, you know, whether you have one tent, no equipment, you just fill out all the details here online. Within about an hour of the time that you sent in your e- mail, you'll be able to find out whether or not you've got that site reserved.

LIN: Terrific.

TOM: So it's really fast and easy. And it also gives you the times to check in, check out -- a lot of good stuff you might need to know.

LIN: A lot of information.

TOM: Now, if you're also looking for some activities once you're there, one site I'd suggest is GORP.com. They offer a lot of good recreational outdoor activities. And they'll put some of the -- you know, the places to go. And they also have a little camping outside what-to-do lists.

They basically give you all the highlights here as to where to go, what to do. And we'll pick some of the activities. So, for instance, once you have your destination, they'll show you some of the best beaches, maybe some of the best places to go hiking. We'll pick Angel Island, for instance, just to give you an example.

And they'll show you where and what to do once you're at that location, which is really handy. They basically give you all the family itinerary, all the details to go for.

LIN: Right. So that's good. If you don't have kids, you can pick a more romantic spot.

TOM: Absolutely.

LIN: And if you have kids...

TOM: You can do stargazing under the sky, if you would like to, as well. And if you want to find out what kinds of things to have other than just toasting marshmallows or hot dogs, you can go to this one, which is Camper's Cookbook. And they have a lot of good information of tips you can do for a quick breakfast, good delights in the morning.

You can also have more of the camping cuisine, where you can select here all different kinds of meals that

(CROSSTALK)

TOM: ... you probably wouldn't think of bringing on your camping trip.

(CROSSTALK) LIN: ... that at home.

(LAUGHTER)

TOM: Anyway, it would be just something easy to bring. So it gives you some good tips and ideas.

Lastly, I'll show you here, that if you are running out the door -- and I do this many times as well -- and you can't remember all the things you need to bring, you might want to go to a handy checklist.

LIN: Checklist.

TOM: ... that's available online.

LIN: Oh, a big list under personal hygiene.

TOM: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

TOM: Especially when you're out camping.

LIN: Yes, absolutely.

TOM: But the most important thing, of course, is, you don't want to walk out the door and forget the flashlight. So this might be a good spot to go just to give you some quick reference before you do run out.

And, again, if you refer back to this, you can make your own changes as you need to. But it's a good thing to start with.

LIN: Good tips and a great way to "Surf Into Saturday."

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