The top ten treks for 2014 (part two of two)
In part one, I trumpeted the PCH and Pismo Beach, Rome, Texas, Silicon Valley and Disneyland. Today I'll go a little more off the travelocitybeaten track.
If you're sick of Vegas glitz and New York ego, LA traffic and Parisian prices head to locales where attitude is only something one adjusts and not an aspirational state. Head to ...
For kids-at-heart: Carlsbad Caverns, New Mex. is a wonderland of bats, caves, weird rock formations, underground pools and tunnels that is a real life Disneyland. If you have a fear of being buried alive, it may not be for you, but it'll definitely prove educational while also providing a fine work out. Self-guided or ranger-guided tours are available. To book a tour, click here for more info. The caverns are just south of Carlsbad, New Mex. in the Guadalupe Mountain Range.
For "Breaking Bad" fans: As long as you're in New Mex., why not visit some of the sites made famous in the best episodic series to wind down in 2013. When Mr. White got his comeuppance, most of us were not only on the edge of our seats but spitting out our teeth. The series shook one's emotions to the very bone as the character arc of White recreated the boilerplate for the modern anti-hero. Some spots to check out in Albuquerque, where BrBa was shot, include what was used as the White house at 3828 Piermont Dr. NE. (In the show, the producers changed the address to 308 Negra Arroyo Lane.) There's a great wiki started for the show; i.e. with character details such as that of Spooge's girlfriend, crushed to death by the ATM machine. Click here for the real life address used as Spooge's house.
For Francophiles: Montreal - pronounced "Mo-real" in French - has much to offer it, but Québec City (pronounced Ke-beck) is even grander. It's not very expensive to take an Air Canada flight up north, and if you're lucky, you might get to see Toronto Mayor Rob Ford (who knows where he goes on weekends, right?) QC is arguably the most French of Canada's urban tourist destinations, so brush up on your Rosetta Stone. Visit Expedia for some of the top-rated hotels in the area, but you might check out Hotel de Vieux Quebec. Affordable and highly recommended.
For Loners: When my cat poked through his box as we sped east on I-80, I freaked out. I had to get off at the first exit ramp, wherever that was. Lucky for me that happened to have been Cheyenne, Wyo. Now, I was only there one night and one early morning, but it was long enough to appreciate the absolute expansiveness of this state. I saw a sign that synthesized my thoughts: this is the 10th largest, but the least populous and the second least densely populated in the country. OK, maybe that wasn't the exact sign (I just got some help from Wikipedia), but it was the least populated even back in June, 2001. Why is the question. Red rock formations jut from spiritual mountain ranges as tumbleweeds evoke images of those westerns you saw with your grand-dad. Come for a carriage ride in the spring or go sledding in winter. Click here for more ideas.
For shoppers with kids: Rediscover your inner capitalist and come out to the Mall of America. Set in the coldest climate in the continental US (OK, it's not that warm in Conn. right now either), you'll really appreciate a mall in ways they can only imagine in sunny L.A. This mall has a giant Lego store, the American Girl bistro (where toddlers eat free on Toddler Tuesdays, Minnesota Sea Life Aquarium, the Barbie Dreamhouse Experience (that allows visitors to become "living dolls!") and oh yes, a ton of shopping. What really excites me is the idea of the Universe of Light combo light-and-smoke-effects show. In Bloomington, Minn. only 15 minutes from downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Happy travels ...
Quebec City, Rue St Louis Upper Town, winter 2010, by Chensiyuan, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons Images.
If you're sick of Vegas glitz and New York ego, LA traffic and Parisian prices head to locales where attitude is only something one adjusts and not an aspirational state. Head to ...
For kids-at-heart: Carlsbad Caverns, New Mex. is a wonderland of bats, caves, weird rock formations, underground pools and tunnels that is a real life Disneyland. If you have a fear of being buried alive, it may not be for you, but it'll definitely prove educational while also providing a fine work out. Self-guided or ranger-guided tours are available. To book a tour, click here for more info. The caverns are just south of Carlsbad, New Mex. in the Guadalupe Mountain Range.
For "Breaking Bad" fans: As long as you're in New Mex., why not visit some of the sites made famous in the best episodic series to wind down in 2013. When Mr. White got his comeuppance, most of us were not only on the edge of our seats but spitting out our teeth. The series shook one's emotions to the very bone as the character arc of White recreated the boilerplate for the modern anti-hero. Some spots to check out in Albuquerque, where BrBa was shot, include what was used as the White house at 3828 Piermont Dr. NE. (In the show, the producers changed the address to 308 Negra Arroyo Lane.) There's a great wiki started for the show; i.e. with character details such as that of Spooge's girlfriend, crushed to death by the ATM machine. Click here for the real life address used as Spooge's house.
For Francophiles: Montreal - pronounced "Mo-real" in French - has much to offer it, but Québec City (pronounced Ke-beck) is even grander. It's not very expensive to take an Air Canada flight up north, and if you're lucky, you might get to see Toronto Mayor Rob Ford (who knows where he goes on weekends, right?) QC is arguably the most French of Canada's urban tourist destinations, so brush up on your Rosetta Stone. Visit Expedia for some of the top-rated hotels in the area, but you might check out Hotel de Vieux Quebec. Affordable and highly recommended.
For Loners: When my cat poked through his box as we sped east on I-80, I freaked out. I had to get off at the first exit ramp, wherever that was. Lucky for me that happened to have been Cheyenne, Wyo. Now, I was only there one night and one early morning, but it was long enough to appreciate the absolute expansiveness of this state. I saw a sign that synthesized my thoughts: this is the 10th largest, but the least populous and the second least densely populated in the country. OK, maybe that wasn't the exact sign (I just got some help from Wikipedia), but it was the least populated even back in June, 2001. Why is the question. Red rock formations jut from spiritual mountain ranges as tumbleweeds evoke images of those westerns you saw with your grand-dad. Come for a carriage ride in the spring or go sledding in winter. Click here for more ideas.
For shoppers with kids: Rediscover your inner capitalist and come out to the Mall of America. Set in the coldest climate in the continental US (OK, it's not that warm in Conn. right now either), you'll really appreciate a mall in ways they can only imagine in sunny L.A. This mall has a giant Lego store, the American Girl bistro (where toddlers eat free on Toddler Tuesdays, Minnesota Sea Life Aquarium, the Barbie Dreamhouse Experience (that allows visitors to become "living dolls!") and oh yes, a ton of shopping. What really excites me is the idea of the Universe of Light combo light-and-smoke-effects show. In Bloomington, Minn. only 15 minutes from downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Happy travels ...
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