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AAA MOTORIST
JANUARY 2014
Maximize your membership with AAA Mobile Solutions Essential apps for e-readers, IOS and Android devices
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reviews and browse photo galleries. Share with your friends through Twitter and Facebook. Where available, AAA members will be able to contact a certified dealer to purchase their selected car at significant negotiated savings.
AA members have a choice of killer apps and mobile solutions that can help make your getaways a breeze, from getting directions, booking a hotel, or finding the best things to see and do while you are there. In the market a new car? There an app for that too, and they all just happen to be free.
AAA Find Me
AAA members have another reason to feel safer on the road. If you need roadside assistance and call from your AT&T or Sprint GPS-enabled mobile phone, AAA will rescue you — even if you aren’t sure where you are. There are no additional fees and the only requirement is that participants are current AAA members and an AT&T or Sprint subscriber.
AAA Mobile
AAA Mobile combines maps, directions, and roadside service features with member discount information in one easy-to-use app! Compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad and Android devices, key features include: • TripTik® — Trip planning with interactive maps and directions; • Exclusive member discounts at over 114,000 locations; • Roadside Assistance for AAA members. Request roadside assistance electronically directly from the app with the ability to find you by your GPS location on your phone; • Mobile battery replacement quotes and AAA Approved Repair locations; • Research, find and book AAA Diamond Rated hotels with reviews, inspector notes and information on AAA member offers. (where available)
AAA eTourBook Guides
Now available for e-readers and
AAA.com in Your Palm
GOING MOBILE — Expanding our digital footprint enables AAA to deliver a great member experience. smartphones with e-reader apps, top North American destinations are updated daily with the newest available information. The eTourBook guides include: • Detailed destination information; • Suggested three-day itineraries; • AAA travel editors’ picks for attractions, events and nightlife; • AAA Approved and Diamond Rated hotels and restaurants.
AAA Auto Buying Tools
Want to make shopping for a new car simple and stress-free? The AAA Auto Buying Tools app helps you build the car you want, including make and model. Compatible with iPhone and iPod Touch prospective buyers can customize details of their ideal car, including color, trim levels, options, estimated dealer cost and crash safety ratings. Get TrueCar price reports, read AAA
The mobile version of AAA.com is beautifully responsive and optimized to look and work great on your mobile device. Browse through AAA content, online tools and services from anywhere. Do it all from your mobile device at AAA.com.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
For more information or to download the AAA Mobile and AAA Auto Buying Tools Apps, visit the AAA Mobile Solutions page at AAA.com/Mobile.
The Winter Olympics come to Russia’s Summer Capital Real snow guaranteed for Soviets’ subtropical oasis
T
he XXII Winter Olympics will be the biggest ever; with over 2500 athletes competing in 98 separate events. From February 7th to 23rd the eyes of the world will turn to Sochi, on Russia’s Black Sea coast near the border with Georgia. Russia’s largest resort sprawls for miles along the shores of the Black Sea and into the Caucasus Mountains. Best known in the West as the hometown of tennis star Maria Sharapova, the nation has poured an estimated $50 billion into making the Sochi games a success. What many Russians find puzzling is that Sochi is hosting the Winter Olympics and March 7-16 Winter Paralympics at all. Russia’s “Summer Capital,” Sochi is better known for its beaches, spas, swaying palms, and subtropical climate. Just about every place in Russia has a real winter except Sochi. To compensate for Sochi’s nearly total lack of snow, organizers are hosting the games at two main venues. The Sochi Olympic Park, located along the sea, is the site of the ice events and the Olympic Village. The mountain events will take place at the Krasnaya Polyana ski area about 30 miles away. Aside from the Olympics the “Caucasian Riviera” offers a variety of attractions for outdoor lovers and history buffs. Sochi first became fash-
FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE — Snow coats the palm trees in front of Sochi’s Summer Theatre. ionable under the iron rule of Joseph Stalin, who had his favorite dacha built here. Today, Stalin’s Summer Residence is a museum with many personal belongings and Stalin’s uncharacteristically benign waxwork. According to legend Stalin’s ghost is occasionally seen wandering the halls at night. Stalin was also responsible for erect-
ing many of the city’s imposing neoclassical “palaces for the proletariat,” in an architectural style known as Stalinist Gothic. Among them are the Sochi Central Train Terminal, Sochi Seaport, the Summer Theatre, Sochi Art Museum, and numerous resort hotels. Mount Akhun is famous for its panoramic views of the city, while the
Dendrarium, the city’s famed botanical garden, offers a peaceful oasis under the shadow of the Caucasus Mountains. Russia’s largest subtropical garden collects some 2,000 exotic flora and fauna from all over the world. The Caucasian Biosphere Reserve is a UNESCO World Heritage site in the breathtakingly beautiful Western Caucasus, and home to the newly reintroduced European buffalo. The Rosa Khutor Alpine Center — home of the Olympic ski and sliding events — is a popular ski resort and personal favorite of Prime Minister Putin. And just in case the weather doesn’t cooperate organizers have stockpiled 450,000 cubic meters of snow up at higher altitudes. As President Vladimir Putin so succinctly put it, “real snow is guaranteed.” While the 2014 Winter Olympics marks Sochi’s entrance onto the world stage, don’t expect a quick exit once the athletes go home. The city will also play host to this year’s inaugural Russian Formula 1 Grand Prix and will be a host city for the 2018 World Cup.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Please see this issue’s Departures Guide or visit AAA.com/TravelPlanner for great vacation values from AAA Travel.