Last month, we unmasked the secretive Seattle online travel startup Off & Away. At the time, very little was known about the company, and its Web site cryptically listed only a catchy Dr. Seuss rhyme. Well, the company -- backed by Madrona Venture Group -- still isn't saying exactly what it's up to.

However, more details are starting to emerge via co-founder Doug Aley, an entrepreneur-in-residence at Madrona who plans to formally announce the company May 24 at a party in New York City. For one, Aley confirmed that Off & Away has closed its series A financing round to the tune of $1.25 million.

It also has revamped its Web site. (The Dr. Seuss rhyme is gone). The new site shows a list of the company's advisory board, which includes Steve Jarvis, vice president of customer innovation at Alaska Airlines; Alex Bard, CEO of San Francisco-based Assistly; and Brad Gerstner, CEO Altimeter Capital and a board member at Orbitz.

The site also offers a few clues on the product direction. It tells visitors that they should "expect to have fun shopping for travel" and "expect to discover amazing rooms at the best and most unique hotels and inns."

Hmm. Interesting stuff.

The company also has kicked off a promotional sweepstakes on the Web site for a fancy travel getaway to Las Vegas. (Does anyone find it odd that they've launched a promotion without telling the world what they actually do?)

Anyway, Seattle has always been a bit of a hotbed for online travel companies. Expedia is based in Bellevue, and Microsoft gobbled up Seattle startup Farecast in 2008 (also backed by Madrona) to form the bedrock of its Bing Travel offering.

There's also another very interesting stealth startup emerging in the online travel space. As we reported in March, Rich Barton and some of his old cronies from the Expedia days are kicking off a new travel startup tentatively called NewTravelco.