Traveler's
USA
Notebook
Your guide to travel news, discoveries, delights and pleasures
Welcome travelers! Welcome professional travel journalists! Welcome Mensa members! Welcome TATLER readers! Welcome human rights activists! Welcome vegetarians! Welcome hipsters, hustlers, high-rollers, hyphenated scenesters, and the whole EU! Wilkommen, bienvenue, baby! We invite you to eavesdrop on tips and tales that professional travel writers like to swap with each other. But shhh . . . don't tell a soul.
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Gilroy Garlic Festival The aromas, the sights, the tastes. Did we mention the aromas? [more]
A fresh look at some welcoming destinations. PLUS
The Thimble Islands
Bright lights! New York City! Curtain Up! The reviews are in. Spotlight on Gypsy, South Pacific, Sunday in the Park With George, Straight Up With a Twist, The 39 Steps and New Jerusalem.
The solar system on $10,000 a day. The astrology of travel.
There's travel fever . . .and then there's travel fever
Good taste in good taste and it's vegetarian.
Editor:
Traveler's USA Notebook |
The News
Cool hotels; hot restaurants; deals, sights, sites & more
BlOCK PARTY
carlsbad,
Calif
On 20 March, Legoland celebrated its 10th
birthday. The occasion did not go unnoticed.
For one thing, there was a 10-foot-tall, 5½-foot-wide, birthday cake. It
was a "wow, look at this!" cake, rather than a "May I have another
slice, please" cake. This is largely due to the fact the cake is made up
of 100,000 Lego bricks. Decorating the cake are replicas of some of the
park’s must-see attractions. (These include a pirate ship that "sails,"
a dinosaur with turning head, and illuminated candles.) The cake will be
on display throughout the summer. And on Saturdays, instead of candles,
there will be birthday fireworks. The park is using this birthday
occasion to debut its new “4-D” movie Bob the Builder and the Roller
Coaster. (Think of it as
toddler fave Bob the Builder meets Legoland.) What is 4-D, you ask? We
are told it is “3-D computer generated animation with special
effects such as wind and mist.”
And, oh yes, coming up will be the new Land Of Adventures attraction Dune Raiders. Watch this space for more information. And for more info about Legoland, click here.
WHEEL LIFE
San Francisco is letting the world know that it is a great place to go biking. Several spaces are particularly bike-friendly— Golden Gate Park (off limits to cars on Sundays on John F. Kennedy Dr.) the 1.5 ,mile long Golden Gate Bridge, Marin Headlands offers great glimpses of the city, bay and Pacific Ocean, Marina District (with its scenery art deco buildings and the Presidio), Ocean Beach (Great Highway) and its three bicycle lanes, and more. For detailed advice, visit the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition Web site resources page.
Saddle up
MONTEREY
This is a big year for the Monterey Bay Aquarium. For one
thing, it’s
the MBA’s 25th anniversary. The door first swung open on 20 October,
1984. (Take that, George Orwell.)A
new multimedia exhibit, “The Secret Lives Of Seahorses,” opened on 6
April. The aquarium tells us that a seahorse has “a head like a horse, a
snout like an aardvark, a belly pouch like a kangaroo, a prehensile tail
like a monkey and the ability to change colors like a chameleon.” How
seahorses live, where they hang out anad
the threats they face will be the stuff of this
special exhibit. Don’t be surprised to see a few Pixar talent scouts
lurking about. On October,
of course, there will be some special events.
And throughout the year, visitors will experience the popular permanent
installations, such as Ocean’s Edge with
its large sharks and schooling fishes; the world’s largest jellyfish
collection; the giant Pacific octopus; the two-story sea otter exhibit;
and the Splash Zone family
gallery with penguins, sea dragons and other fascinating aquatic
animals. Visit www.montereybayaquarium.org for
an exciting preview of aquarium exhibits and programs.
U.S.
Road warriors, wayfarers and other
assorted wanderers, searching for that
healthy edge, will find some help at Hilton Garden Inn (HGI). The chain
offers its "Big Day Breakfast."
HGI enlisted Top Chef star/athlete (that's how they
describe him)
Chris Jacobsen to
come up with a healthy breakfast, high in protein and energy.
The centerpiece, “Hearty Hash,” is really a reimagined eggs benedict
minus the hollandaise sauce.
Grilled whole grain bread replaces the English muffin.
Instead of Canadian bacon, carnivores get brisket hash and
vegetarians get tofu (we hope they will change that to MorningStar Farms
bacon or patty).
And there
are greens (usually Kale).
Poached egg goes on top. Also on this menu are “CJ’s Signature Waffle”
– HGI’s“Many
Grain” Waffle with blueberry thyme compote — and
Great Granola & Flax
(granola and flaxseed parfait with plain yogurt, fresh strawberries and
honey).
You may think you're getting breakfast — and you are — but actually, you are really getting a goodly supply of iron, fiber, omega-3 essential fatty acids, vitamins, antioxidants and other nutrients. The idea is to give you plenty of energy and stamina to carry you through your big day. Prices obviously vary around the country. (The range is $7.99-14.99.) Other dishes will follow.
New York
As Don Draper would say
-- why be like the rest when you
can stand out from the rest?
Which brings us to the
news that
Beverly Hills
Rent-A-Car has opened its first East Coast branch and is located smack
dab in New York City.
The
car rental agency believes that some people like a bit of and swagger as
a tool about town.
Their
customers don't just arrive on the scene.
They like to feel they make the scene.
Hence Beverly Hills Rent-A-Car Manhattan includes in its stock
such automotive wonders as a purple Rolls-Royce, a ‘59 Cadillac
convertible, an Aston Martin Vanquish Lexus RX 400 hybrid, Toyota Prius
and a yellow Lamborghini.
The West Coast-based firm already has branches in Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Phoenix. For more information, click here
.
Gettysburg, What was life like for civilians during the Battle of Gettysburg?
Since 1996,
the answer has been provided by the Shriver House Museum, a restored
building whose Civil War era occupants were stuck in the middle of the
great conflict.
The museum has just released a
book — The Shrivers’ Story – Eyewitnesses
to the Battle of Gettysburg by Nancie W.
and Del Gudmestad. Ms. Gudmestad has been the museum director since its
opening.
The book chronicles the lives of the Shriver family and their house — particularly during the Battle of Gettysburg. It us a unique preparation for anyone who might be visiting the battle site, as well a memento for those who already have made the pilgrimage. For more information, click here.
