travel

Atlanta Asian Film Festival

2011-11-20T00:55:00.001-05:00

Reminder to check this out next year: http://www.atlaff.org/

Yosemite Videos

2011-04-10T08:33:00.003-05:00

Cool Yosemite videos. Definitely makes me want to visit the national park again, especially during the winter

Atlanta : Things to do

2010-07-31T08:49:00.001-05:00

Go for it
Georgia Aquarium : A must visit for anyone. The giant tank is worth admission alone. If you're into that and willing to shell out the money, you can also swim/scuba in the tank.

Blind Willie's - A blues bar. I went on a Saturday night by myself and still enjoyed the place. The band has got soul and the people inside just want to dance and enjoy the music. My type of place.

Half-hearted Approval
Art galleries west side (NYtimes): Hit up Saltworks, Kiang and Get This mentioned in the article, which are all small art galleries. Certainly interesting if you like keeping up with the new, local and non-mainstream. But I just don't have the interest or time for it; I just want to see the heavies. If you're like me, worthwhile if you're in the area (perhaps to try out some of the restaurants mentioned in the area).

Coca-Cola Museum : A marketing bombardment. You get to see all of the Coca-Cola merchandise and advertisements (including some admittedly entertaining tv commercials) over the years, see a small manufacturing setup and of course, taste a number of soda types in their collection from across the world. Probably fun for kids; it was fun when I went with a group of young-hearted 20-30 somethings, but mostly because it was good atmosphere to joke around.

Don't Go
CNN Tour : Waste of time, not worth the admission. Not all that informative and you only get to see the TV studios from far away behind glass.

Atlanta: Places to swim outside

2010-06-18T23:26:00.003-05:00

I like swimming in open lakes and ponds so much more than swimming pools. I'll add more places below once I try them out.

Lake Acworth

I decided to check out Cauble Park, a swimming beach on Lake Acworth and was rather disappointed that swimming was restricted to the roped off sections. Granted there was no life-guards to enforce this, but I did not know whether boats and speed-boats were allowed and would rather not risk swimming out into the open water to be knocked unconscious by an unknowing boater.

It being a hot summer day, the water near the beach was like a warm bath. As you got out the ropes, there were much cooler water towards your feet, but my biggest issue was that it got pretty full. This is perhaps more fun to come, goof around with your friends and have a picnic than it was to come here to enjoy a peaceful swim away from it all.

Last note, the water was not so clear. Nothing disgusting, but not the most pleasant.

Costs $10 to park.

Cauble Park
2293 Beach St.
Acworth, GA 30101

Marin French Cheese : San Francisco

2009-07-30T10:57:00.002-05:00

Just found an old brochure from this place. I stumbled upon Marin Cheese, driving from Napa/Sonoma wine country to the Point Reyes National Seashore, north of San Francisco.

Apparently you can take a tour of the place, so if you're a cheese afficionado and are looking for something to do, give it a lookie.

City Secrets Guidebooks

2009-04-03T03:58:00.002-05:00

This is the first I've heard of this series. City Secrets is a travel book series written by artists, curators and others, who share their favorite spots of their respective cities.

[via kottke]

Travel & Leisure's 50 Best Romantic Getaways

2009-04-03T03:38:00.002-05:00

Travel & Leisure's 50 Best Romantic Getaways

The prices listed are a bit high, especially in this economic environment, but it's nice to know about these places and I'm sure there are better deals to be if you look around.

How to combat jet lag

2009-03-31T12:00:00.002-05:00

Meish: How to beat jetlag

Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico

2009-01-17T01:24:00.006-05:00

I'm guessing Cabo San Lucas probably has the most available information out there on the internet, so I won't comment on much.

Giggling Marlin - GigglinMarlin.com Purportedly known for its debauchery, but when I stopped by, it was mainly older middle-aged white folk and even family (Even their photos online show the same). Needless to say, I got out of there quite quickly. (I jokingly asked the bouncers in Spanish where all of the pretty girls were, since they certainly weren't in the Gigglin Marlin. They laughingly pointed me to the strip-clubs across the street.)

Hemingways - Interesting bar. There's a back room where you can do a tequilla tasting and buy some cigars. I ended up happily chatting with the girl in the tequilla tasting room, but my night was dampered by some asshole American tourists. Will write-up about that in a bit.

Playa de la Amor - The beach that everyone says you have to see here. You can grab a water taxi to drop you off there, which is what I ended up doing. The place is somewhat rather unusual rock structures, which if you and another were the only people to be there probably would be quite a romantic beach to be at. But since it is one of the more popular destinations and you have water taxis bussing in and out and boats passing back and forth, its appeal is kind of lost.

Restaurants
El Huarachazo
Los Michoacanos
Cookies from Aramburo Supermarket

Todos Santos, Baja California Sur, Mexico

2009-01-15T22:12:00.005-05:00

A small town, with dusty streets, roaming stray dogs and the Hotel California. Has a bunch of art galleries and decent food. I picked up most of my souvenirs here.

Hotel
Hotel Guluarte - ~30 USD - Certainly a decent hotel for the price in the middle of Todos Santos. My room came with a nice little balcony and cable tv. The hotel had a swimming pool and a laundry room, which I'm not sure whether guests could use or not. The staff didn't really speak English.

Hotel Califonia - Of course there's the Hotel California, but I really had no interest whatsoever checking it out.

Restaurants
Carnitas Barajas
Tacos Chilaka

Other Resources:
TodosSantos.com
TodosSantosGuide.com

Pescadero
About a 10-15 minute drive away from Todos Santos. When driving from Todos Santos, look out for the 3 speed bumps on Highway 19 and the gas station. That's Pescadero.

Pescadero Surf Camp: Pescaderosurf.com (Casita: $30US/night, board rental: $20US/day, Instruction: $50) - I didn't end up staying or surfing with them. But I believe they're at km 75 on Highway 19. If you're heading north on Highway 19, there's a big rock on the right with their name and direction arrow carved on it.
Rancho de las olas casitas: BajaCasitas.com ($65-$75US/night)
Los Palmas Tropicales: TropicalCasitas

Playa Los Cerritos
I went surfing at Playa Los Cerritos. Los Cerritos Beach is 2-3 km south of the Pescadero gas station. Look for a small Los Cerritos Beach Club sign on the right and turn onto the unpaved road. There were a couple of places you could rent surfing equipment, as well as a number of English-speaking instructors on the beach. I ended up renting a wetsuit and surfboard from Costa Azul Surf Shop for 30 USD for the entire day.

La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico

2009-01-15T21:22:00.007-05:00

Capital city of the state, with a decent selection of restaurants, things to do. Malecon is the strip of restaurants/stores along the beach. Streets signs are only seen for major streets and stray dogs roam around.

Hotels
Ended up staying a few nights in La Paz at different hotels for various reasons

Fiesta Inn (www.fiestainn.com) ~80 USD/night - Nice hotel, but a cab driver mentioned that this was the farthest away hotel from the airport and the Malecon (about 30 minutes from La Paz airport). Potable water from the sink, bright modern decor and a fairly large buffet breakfast.

Hotel Bugambilias (http://www.haciendabugambilias.com.mx/) ~50 USD/night

Probably 6 or 7 streets away from the beach. A little difficult to find. When driving west down Obregon, look for Rinrin pizza on the right and take a right one street after that (not the one with Rinrin on the corner). Look for it on the right, behind a wall. Cute painted walls and rocking chairs upstairs. Shower pressure and warmth leaves a little to be desired. Also, some of the desk ladies speak very limited English. However, they were able to reserve a car for me with a company called Bialsa renta de Carros for ~50 USD/day (unlimited km insurance), which I don't think I would have been able to do myself.
Aquiles Serdán #520 Norte (Serdán with Vicente Guerrero) La Paz, Baja California Sur
Email: info@haciendabugambilias.com.mx, Tel: +52 (612) 122-3088

Hotel Araiza Palmita ~100 USD/night. A bit far out from the action of La Paz, but not quite as far as Fiesta Inn. Awkwardly had a tv remote, which did not change the cable box channels. Lovely area for meals with a nice spread of food, desserts (although meals were not included). They have tennis courts, swimming pool and two random cages with birds. Also, there's a dance club/bar in front of the hotel; however, this was closed for remodeling when I was there. I don't know the exact address, but if you're heading west on Obregon, look for the playground on the left and it should be on the right soon afterwards.

Food
Bismark-cito - A seafood oriented place. You could get a seafood platter, consisting of lobster, fish, shrimp and scallops for about 20 USD depending on how many people ordered it. Or you could go for their fish, shrimp, lobster tacos, which were quite delish. On Obregon, between Hidalgo and Constitucion.

La Fuente - I wish I had gotten a chance to go here more than once. You can get a small ice cream cone for 2 USD or choose from one of their many fruit popsicles. On Obregon and Muelle (a little before the bus station).

Stuff to do
Las Varitas - Rock club, that didn't really get started until 11:30'ish. The night I went - had local mariachi (?) bands. Fun to see the energy of the bands and the occassionally dancing audience-members.

Car Rental
Bialsa Renta de Carros As mentioned above, Hotel Bugambilias arranged this car rental for me for $50/day (unlimited km insurance).
Abasolo s/n e/ 5 de Febrero y Navarro
Col. El Manglito C.P. 23060
Tel: (612) 12 5 69 90
Email: bialsa@hotmail.com, bialsarentadecarros@hotmail.com

Grocery
Mercados Aramburo - I always ended up forgetting how to get here, but there is a cow sculpture sticking out from the sign. I went here to pick up some water, as well as random Mexican snacks, cajeta and Valentina sauce.
Madero Num. 495 Esq Hidalgo, Col. Centro C.P. 23000, La Paz

Baja California Sur, Mexico

2008-10-27T00:28:00.004-05:00

Jan 15, 2009 Edit. Back from Baja California Sur.

View Larger Map

I ended up buying The Lonely Plant: Baja California & Los Cabos guide book, which together with my lousy Spanish was sufficient for me to get around.

A few tidbits:

* While you could take a bus to get between the major cities of Cabos San Lucas, San José del Cabo, Todos Santos and La Paz, I found it was fairly convenient to rent a car and drive around. The highways were one-lane and paved well.

* Since highways are only one-lane, there's a passing system, which I'd recommend to read about in the guidebooks before driving. In general, I found the drivers there to be quite impressive and not as aggressive/angry as what I've encountered in the US.

* Guidebooks and others recommend to take a whole slew of car repair equipment, particularly a spare tire and a jack because 1) even within larger towns, some of the smaller roads are unpaved 2) many of the roads to beachs are unpaved and 3) there are random speed bumps.

* It helps for bargaining and staying at the non-touristy hotels/restaurants if you speak some Spanish. English is not as prevalent as I thought it would be. I had a stop-over in Mexico City Airport - that was really surprising for how little English they spoke there.

Individual comments for some cities in following posts...

New York NY

2008-10-13T11:07:00.002-05:00

NYTimes Frugal New York

NYTimes 36 hours in NYC

Travelling taking advantage of exchange rates

2008-10-07T17:14:00.002-05:00

Hey those europeans came in droves taking advantage of the great Euro-US exchange rates, shopping for fancy clothes and what not. So why not do the same? With Iceland in dire financial troubles and if you can afford it, it may be a great time to travel.

Swimming Lakes/Rivers around San Francisco

2008-07-20T19:53:00.007-05:00

I admit being spoiled, having lived 12 minutes from Walden Pond, an absolutely lovely place to go swimming.

Having come to San Fran, I'm not sure why it's so difficult to find a lake/pond/river to go swimming. Yes, there's the bay and ocean that you could swim in, but those tend to be cold and require a wetsuit. For the casual swimmer, that's just not worth it. There's nothing like putting on your swimming trunks, grabbing a towel and going swimming outside within minutes.

So where do you go swimming outdoors in the SF area?

>edit<See this dude's list for all of the places in the Bay area. It was exactly what I was looking for.

A few comments and places that sounded interesting:

Coyote Point Recreation Area - Pretty nice little beach on the bay. The water is a little bit muddy-colored, but on a warm sunny day in August, the water was warm enough to swim comfortably with just swim trunks. There were a bunch of a wind-surfers further out beyond the swimming area, but there weren't that many swimmers (beyond a handful of kids). One nice thing about this is you have a decent view of airplanes coming to land in the San Fran airport. (One note is that you'll need to pay $5 per car to get in here).

Parkside Aquatic Park, San Mateo (map)- Mmm, this seemed more like a kiddy place to swim. Plus there were all these ducks and accompanying poop around. Not exactly so condusive to swim, although perfectly fine for picnicking.

Lake Anza - Tilden Park, Berkeley - only because I have friends in the area

Russian River - tubing (yeah!), http://www.rradventures.info/

References:

Rhorii

Yelp San fran Rivers or lakes

Oakland swimming-lakes-in-marin

Yahoo Answers

SFGate article- Thanks for telling me that there's 10 swimmable lakes, but not naming them. Frickn punk.

http://www.swimmingholes.org/ - More useful for the east coast.

Surfing in California

2008-07-16T14:42:00.003-05:00

Surfingcal.com gives the low-down on where the most popular surfing spots are in California and which beaches would be good to learn at.

Clear Card

2008-07-14T00:02:00.002-05:00

Clearcard is a card, developed by a private company, which after doing a background check, fingerprint and iris scan, allows you to whiz through airport security.

Anil Dash, a fairly well-known blogger, has a positive review of the Clear Card

It certainly sounds interesting if you're a frequent or business traveller.

www.flyclear.com

Uniqlo : New York

2008-07-01T23:26:00.002-05:00

I'd seen the uniqlock widget below on websites before and had been a bit puzzled on what it was:

According to wikipedia, Uniqlo is a "Japanese casual wear designer, manufacturer and retailer." They apparently have a store in Soho New York.

The Uniqlok widget above has a bunch of dancers dancing in sync to the music, which is synced to each second. Different times of the day show different actions (for example, around midnight, it was showing the women snoozing away).

I'll have to check out the store the next time I visit NYC.

Kayaking : Oakland

2008-06-24T21:46:00.003-05:00

Having kayaked on the not so mighty Charles River in Boston (Charles River Canoe & Kayak - I 100%recommend this to visitors if it's a nice day in Boston), I was looking around for something similar in the Bay area.

There's a number of kayak rental places that rent kayaks for use on the Bay or in the ocean, but these require you to take lessons (I suspect to train you for waves and for flipping over). I was mainly looking for a leisurely rental that wouldn't require taking a class to do so.

You can do so at California Canoe & Kayak‎, south of Oakland, where you can rent single and double kayaks and go out on the calmer estuary.

Single kayaks are $15/hr and doubles are $25/hr

California Canoe & Kayak‎
409 Water St Oakland, CA 94607 (map)
(510) 893-7833
calkayak.com‎

Ferry Building Marketplace

2008-06-19T00:28:00.003-05:00

Southwest Airline's Spirit Magazine praised the Ferry Building Farmer's Market as the best farmer's market in the United States.

In addition to what I assume to be a large selection of fresh produce and other foods, it looks like they also hold cooking demonstrations and talks.

<**Update**> I went here on a Saturday to catch the farmer's market and it's pretty cool if you're looking for a family event (or you're a foodie). The greatest thing about it is that a lot of stands have free samples and the fruit is bloody phenomenal. The actual building was a bit smaller than I expected and had less food stands than oh Philadelphia's wonderful Reading Terminal Market, which made it a bustling place.

One Ferry Building
San Francisco, California 94111
(415) 693-0996
info@ferrybuildingmarketplace.com
www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com

Berkeley Pacific Film Archive

2008-06-19T00:25:00.003-05:00

From Visit Berkeley's Website:

With more than fifteen exhibitions and 400 film screenings each year, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive is one of the Bay Area's most dynamic centers for the visual arts. Find out what's on today at our website. Gallery & Museum Store Hours: Wed-Sun 11am-5pm; Thur 11am-7pm General admission is $8; admission for seniors, disabled persons. For group tours please phone in advance. Admission is free the first Thursday of each month

PACIFIC FILM ARCHIVE, 2575 Bancroft Way @ Bowditch, (510) 642-0808
Screenings at PFA Theatre Tue-Sun. Group Tours available. General admission is $9.50; admission for seniors disabled persons and youth (17 & under) $8.50. Additional features are $4 for all patrons. Wheelchair accessible.

BERKELEY ART MUSEUM & PACIFIC FILM ARCHIVE
2626 Bancroft Way
Berkeley, CA 94720
(510) 642-5188

Takara Sake

2008-06-18T23:16:00.004-05:00

Woohoooo alcohol!

Also from the Visit Berkeley website:

The Berkeley brewery was established in 1982. The sake tasting room offers a complete selection of sake and plum wine products. The Museum includes a display illustrating the sake-making process and features a rare collection of old tools and artifacts. Open daily 12-6pm.

<**Update**> Went to the tasting. While there's no tour, the tasting was free, the hostess was fairly informative (though at times hard to hear) and you get to try a good number of sakes.

Takara Sake USA,
708 Addison Street Berkeley, CA 94710 (Map)
(510) 540-8250
www.takarasake.com

Scharffen Berger Chocolate Factory

2008-06-18T23:13:00.003-05:00

Choco choco choco!

From the Visit Berkeley website:
Our Berkeley factory produces chocolate of the highest quality from the finest cacao beans available, using vintage European equipment. Stop for refreshments at Cafe Cacao. Retail Store open daily, 10am-6pm. Free public tours daily. Our tours are very popular, and we strongly encourage you to call, or make a reservation in advance on our website.

914 Heinz Avenue Berkeley, CA 94710 (Map)
(510) 981-4066
www.scharffenberger.com

California/Route 1, Big Sur Coast Highway

2008-06-13T15:17:00.002-05:00

About.com gives the low-down about driving California Route 1 or the Big Sur Coast Highway, a coastal highway with dramatic cliff views and hair-pin turns.

Los Angeles Film Festival : June 19 - June 29

2008-06-13T14:39:00.001-05:00

There's a possibility I might be heading south to LA and checking out a flick at the LA Film festival. Woohoo!

San Francisco International Film Festival - Apr 24 - May 8, 2008

2008-06-13T14:35:00.003-05:00

I arrived too late to catch this year's San Francisco International Film Festival, but this entry is more for posterity of having a bunch of cool things to do if you're ever visiting the Bay area.

Golden Gate Fields : San Francisco

2008-06-08T23:29:00.002-05:00

Golden Gates Fields is now the only horse-track in Northern California. Here is its Wikipedia entry

I've never been to a horse-race, but thought this might be interesting.

San Jose Flea Market

2008-06-08T13:27:00.004-05:00

The San Jose Flea Market is frickn big, with 8 miles of alleys and corridors (I'm assuming that's if you walked all of the aisles).

Unlike the New York flea markets where individual sellers were selling off their older wares and where antique/vintage shopes were largely linked to the flea markets, the san jose flea market has more of an outdoor mall/market feel to it. Each stand tends to focus on one particular set of items and in general, they're new. For example, there were stands selling furniture (somewhat like an outdoor showroom), some selling car parts and even cars, some selling video games, some focusing on socks and underwear, others on just t-shirts and yet others on sports-clothing (specifically soccer). There's also an impressive produce alleyway with loads of great looking fruits, vegetables and spices for cheap.

I should note that the prices seemed pretty good to ridiculous. Some of the T-shirts stands were selling their shirts for as low as 6 for $10. The prices at the produce stands in particular, with my frame of reference being the East coast prices, were jaw-dropping: $1/lb for cherries, $1 for one cantalope, $6 for a crate of strawberries. And unlike the stuff you generally find in the cities of the east coast, this produce looked terrific.

The market has a large Mexican contingent, both in sellers and shoppers, but it's sheer size attracts a relatively diverse crowd that you don't entirely feel like you're in a different country. At the same time, you do get the benefits of that Mexican influence and there are plenty of food stands, snack and produce stands that make for an interesting eating experience if you want to try different foods out.

There's a huge parking lot, which you can park at for $6 and there are ATM machines available. Also, if you're looking to buy a lot of things, you can rent carts for $5.

All in all, I think if you're looking for something interesting to do for a few hours and are in the San Jose area, check it out. (I should note it might be wise to bring some sun-screen as well.)

San Jose Flea Market
1590 Berryessa Rd., San Jose, Ca 95133 (map)
408-453-1110
800-Big-Flea (800-244-3532)
Wed-Sun, Dawn to dusk, all year long

3-month travel options

2008-06-07T19:57:00.001-05:00

Finding transportation options for 3-months for a summer internship is a pain in the butt. Car rentals can get pretty expensive pretty quickly. I wish I had seen this post to Metafilter Ask, as it explores some of the transportation options for a short-term stint.

http://ask.metafilter.com/57933/ShortTerm-LongTerm-Auto-RentalLeaseOther

Philadelphia makes NYtimes 31 (US) places to go

2008-05-31T13:17:00.004-05:00

Philadelphia comes in at #4 in the NYTimes 31 (US) places to go for the summer. Oh the baby tigers, so very cute.

Philadelphia Boathouse Row

2008-05-24T00:21:00.004-05:00

Wikipedia's Boathouse Row entry

Phili links

2008-05-13T23:23:00.001-05:00

Philly Fun Guide
Philly.com

English Village : Philadelphia

2008-03-23T18:03:00.000-05:00

I just stumbled upon a countryside European influenced apartment alleyway in the middle of Philadelphia. It's called English Village and apparently was built back in 1928 (Reference) It's at 22nd St and St. James Place (map) and is a nice peaceful respite from big city skyscrapers. I wonder if they rent apartments or whether it's all home-buyers. (More pictures on flickr)

Also really nice was the connected single car street, S. Van Pelt St, which had nice apartments with garages and blossoming trees alongside the road. (one picture on flickr)

On a related note, there's also apparently a place in Northern Liberties called Liberties Walk that has been influenced by more modern European city architecture. (Picture and more info from this article, A few more pictures on Flickr)

Extended Stay America Philadelphia - Airport

2007-06-13T23:24:00.000-05:00

Extended Stay America Philadelphia - Airport
9000 Tinicum Blvd
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania19153
(215) 492-6766

This is more for record: I was able to book a night at the Extended Stay America Philadelphia for $54.00 per night through hotwire on a Saturday night. It's a 2-star, which was fair for a 2-star.

Paris Emergency Contact Info

2007-05-21T00:27:00.000-05:00

Just recording some emergency contact info for traveling in Paris to save time in the future:

U.S. Embassy
American Citizen Services
4, avenue Gabriel
75382 Paris Cedex 08
Tel: 01 43 12 22 22
Web: http://www.amb-usa.fr/consul/acs/home.htm
Metro: Concorde

EU Emergency: 112 (mobile phone)
Ambulance: 15
Police: 17

Gran Versalles Hotel

2007-05-17T20:14:00.000-05:00

Gran Versalles Hotel
Calle Covarrubias, 4 y 6
28010 Madrid
Tel: 91 4447 5700
Email: hgv@hotelgranversalles.es
Web: http://www.hotelgranversalles.es/
Metro: Alonso Martinez

A 3-star hotel in Madrid, which was classy. Almost right across the street from the Alonso Martinez metro stop and walkable to a bunch of restaurants near the Bilbao metro stop. The room itself was nice and quiet and had accommodations like a safe and a mini-fridge. There was no iron, but there was a pants-flattener that I couldn't quite figure out how to work well. The bathroom had a hair-blower and a bidet, which were nice touches.

Unfortunately, the continental breakfasts were quite disappointing. Despite there being a large selection of foods available, almost every single item was noticeably off somehow.

TimHotel Nation

2007-05-17T20:04:00.000-05:00

5-7 rue d'Avron
75020 Paris
Phone: 01 43 56 29 29
Email:
Web: http://www.timhotel.com/hotels/us/nation.html
Metro: Avron, Nation

TimHotel Nation was a 2-star hotel with fairly small rooms. I can't say much about the price as it was included in a vacation package.

It was on a quiet street and was in close vicinity to the Avron and Nation Metro stops. The major plus point for this plus was the homey continental breakfasts, which were simple, but quite enjoyable.

SF Public Transportation

2006-11-26T10:59:00.000-05:00

Links for public transportation in the San Fran area:

Public Transportation planner

Caltrain stations
Caltrain stations map

BART Map
BART station finder

San Jose Airport Ground transportation map

Park Hotel

2006-11-22T00:48:00.000-05:00

Park Hotel
325 Sutter St
San Francisco, CA 94108

Pretty much a conveniently located (very close to Montgomery St BART Station) hostel, evident in the price and the quality/cleanliness.

Sequoia Inn

2006-11-22T00:45:00.000-05:00

Sequoia Inn
526 El Comino Real
Redwood City, CA 94063

A 2-star hotel, very good for the price. Walkable to the nearest Caltrain station, Redwood City, (map) and busable to Stanford.

Panama travel

2006-11-21T23:52:00.000-05:00

Read an article on the airplane for trips to Panama and it sounded interesting. Here are some of the suggested links.

Ancon Expeditions
Panama Divers
Posadae Cologica
Pinceton Tec - (Equipment if you go cave exploring)

US Open

2006-08-28T10:31:00.000-05:00

US Open, something I want to check out sometime.

Fenway Park Tours

2006-08-25T14:32:00.000-05:00

I'm just back-filling in stuff around Boston and New England that I've wanted to do.

#1 on the list is to do a Fenway Park tour.

<edit> Finally got a chance to do this and it was pretty cool. The day we went, it was drizzling, so we didn't get to go out on the field (which I believe you get to do otherwise). But it was still pretty neat hearing the trivia and getting to sit in all parts of the park.

Boston Ocean Kayaking

2006-07-07T16:48:00.000-05:00

I've kayaked on the Charles, but ocean kayaking sounds fun too.

Charles River Canoe & Kayak Ocean Tours

New England beaches

2006-05-23T08:57:00.000-05:00

Boston.com's New England beach picks. I haven't really been to that many they pick, but I don't see any picks for best swimming beaches.

The only decent swimming beach I've been to (as in the water is decently warm) is
Craigville Beach.

This Cape Code page lists other swimmable beaches as well:
More info on Cape cod beaches

Hotel Carter

2006-02-27T19:19:00.000-05:00

Hotel Carter
250 West 43rd Street
New York City, New York 10036

Hotel Carter is a 1-star hotel. The only real pro it has going for it is its location - literally 20 feet away from Times Square and a block away from the Port Authority.

But besides that, not much going on. For $40 or less dollars more, you could stay at the 3-star hotels, Broadway Plaza or Park Central Hotel, so this one doesn't come recommended.

Broadway Plaza Hotel

2006-02-27T19:03:00.000-05:00

Broadway Plaza Hotel
1155 Broadway (at 27th Street)
New York, NY 10001

Stayed at the Broadway Plaza Hotel recently and it was another decent and reasonably priced 3-star hotel.

The pros

Good-sized room - Compared to Park Central, I would say that the Park Central rooms are probably more geared towards a business traveler, but the rooms here were decent.

Good shower pressure

Included continental breakfast (granted this was just bagels, donuts, muffins and danish, but still)

Inside of the hotel itself was very clean (The marble tiled hallways reminded me of China for some reason)

Availability of rooms - I booked my rooms 2 days before I arrived

Cons

Neighborhood - To some extent. I arrived during the night and while I still felt safe, no stores were open at that time and no one else was on the street. Somewhat different experience than walking to the Broadway Plaza Hotel.

eG Forums -> New York System Hot Weiners

2006-02-15T18:25:00.000-05:00

Man, the last time I hit up Rhode Island, either no one could tell me where I could find wieners or the wiener joints were closed.

For next time...

Park Central Hotel

2006-02-12T09:32:00.000-05:00

I stayed at the Park Central Hotel this past Friday. I must say that it was a decent 3-star hotel with a relatively low rate. The room was decent sized as well.

Loco for Latin - The Boston Globe

2006-02-01T17:56:00.000-05:00

Salsa dancing in boston.

Comparison USA-Germany

2006-01-15T00:53:00.000-05:00

A fairly in-depth subjective comparison of living in Germany versus the US.

House-sitting as a travel option

2005-12-23T23:52:00.000-05:00

Read an article in AARP Magazine where you find someone who needs a house-sitter in a place you want to visit and you get rather cheap housing.

Various websites:
Caretaker Gazette - Subscription $29.95/1 yr

HouseCarers - $32/yr

Housesit World - $40/yr

SabbaticalHomes - no membership

Addison - Exhibitions

2005-10-07T11:57:00.000-05:00

Read in Boston.com, there is a Chuck Close exhibit in the Addison museum in Andover. I'll have to check it out.

subway cinema | new york asian film festival 2005

2005-06-04T22:48:00.000-05:00

Ahh Subway cinema. I went last year and hopefully I'll get to go again this year.

Maple Museum - Factory Tour

2005-05-20T11:27:00.000-05:00

Tour the Museum and Factory for making maple syrup and candie.

Cape Cod Potato Chips

2005-05-20T11:23:00.000-05:00

Tour the Cape Cod Potato Chip factory.

Ben & Jerry's Factory Tour

2005-05-20T11:21:00.000-05:00

A tour of Ben and Jerry's Ice cream factory.

Fodor's Travel Wire | Best Day To Buy Cheap Tix

2005-05-11T11:00:00.000-05:00

Best day to buy airplane tix is: Wednesday. See link for explanation.

GM Test Drive

2005-05-03T16:52:00.000-05:00

GM and Onstar are sponsoring a whole bunch of (free?) test drive things. Wanna drive a hummer? a Saab? You can do so here. It's coming in May 19-22 at Foxboro.

Bank of America | Museums On Us

2005-05-01T19:54:00.000-05:00

Free museums if you have a Bank of America ATM or credit card. Pretty nice selections of museums and zoos too!

Events for The Inauguration of Susan Hockfield, 16th MIT President

2005-04-27T14:08:00.000-05:00

A bunch of events for the inauguration of Susan Hockfield, MIT's 16th president. The White Noise | White Light exhibit looks to be pretty cool.

Boston.com / A&E / Food / Restaurants / At some local nightspots, nerds rule

2005-04-19T12:54:00.000-05:00

The above link describes nerd nights at bars in Boston. It also mentions trivia nights which are different (Stump Trivia)

Travel to Charleston

2005-04-15T08:46:00.000-05:00

Going to Charleston for a wedding. Just listing prices I've found here:

BOS to Myrtle Beach, SC (MYR) - Distance: 83 mi : from $198 (United)

BOS to Savannah, GA (SAV) - Distance†: 85 mi : from $216

BDL to Savannah, GA (SAV) - Distance†: 85 mi : from $260

PVD to Myrtle Beach, SC (MYR) - Distance†: 83 mi : from $264

BDL to Myrtle Beach, SC (MYR) - Distance†: 83 mi : from $265

BO to Charleston, SC (CHS) - Charleston (CHS) from$273

Red Sox in High Def!

2005-04-08T08:35:00.000-05:00

If you can't make it out to Fenway Park, you can now go to movie theaters to watch. Apparently they're broadcasting the red sox in high def in certain Showcase Cinemas: Randolph, Revere, West Springfield, Worcester and Providence Place.

Tips on how to get cheap flights

2005-04-06T20:01:00.000-05:00

Lists websites on where to find cheap flights and gives other tips.

Duck Tours

2005-04-04T15:49:00.000-05:00

I have yet to go on this, but it has come recommended from a couple other fellow massholes, who described it as informative and fun.

Boston Festivals!

2005-04-04T14:00:00.000-05:00

There's a list of festivals in Boston proper available
here.

I'm just going to list some that I would be interested in going to or have gone to.

Harborfest (Chowderfest) - Get a chance to taste clam chowders from restaurants all around the area. I went to this with my family on a ridiculously hot day (it's outside). It was still worth it. [Chowderfest-July 3, 2005 Sunday 11am-6pm, Boston Gov Center]
ScooperBowl - All you can eat ice cream festival benefitting the Jimmy Fund. 'Nuff said [June 7-9, 2005 11:30 a.m.-6:00 p.m., City Hall Plaza]
Cranberry Harvest Festival - Not sure if this is still around or not, but Plymouth is known for its cranberries. (Ocean Spray is based there!).
Topsfield Fair - Guess I'd like to check this small-town fair out sometime.
Seafood Show - Not sure if this is only geared towards seafood restaurants/suppliers, but surely they must have free food samples?
Boston wine festival - This might be prohibitively expensive, but this might be interesting.
Nantucket festivals (including the annual daffodil festival and wine festival).

New England Festivals

The Emerald Necklace Conservancy

2005-04-04T13:27:00.000-05:00

I never knew this before, but there is a series of parks that accompany the Charles river, called The Emerald Necklace. It includes Franklin Park, Arnold Arboretum, the Riverway and more. I've been to the Arnold Arboretum which is quite a pleasant getaway of flowers, trees and nature (quite nice for biking, walking, picnics, etc).

I'd imagine that most of the other parks to be quite nice as well.

Harpoon Brewery - Brewery

2005-04-04T13:18:00.001-05:00

Harpoon is another local brewery that offers tours and tastings of their products.

Boston Chocolate Tour

2005-04-04T13:18:00.000-05:00

I'm not the biggest chocolate fan, so $60 for this tour sounds outrageous to me. But if you are a (hardcore?) chocolate fan, Boston Chocolate tour includes eating chocolate at the Top of the Hub as well as in the Omni Parker House Hotel (where apparently the Boston Creme Pie was invented.

5W!Ts!

2005-04-04T13:00:00.000-05:00

I can't tell whether this would be really lame or not. It's apparently an interactive investigative show. It's supposedly marketed to college students/young professionals, but the website is kinda kiddish. This is a definite maybe.

Nashoba Valley Winery, Orchard and J's Restaurant.

2005-04-03T21:31:00.000-05:00

Not quite as exciting as wine tasting in Napa Valley, but something to do here.

Wonderland Greyhound Park

2005-04-02T19:22:00.000-05:00

Next Stop Wonderland. A dog racing park at the Wonderland T-Stop (Blue-line) looks to be cheap and a unique experience.

Castle Island Tour

2005-04-02T19:16:00.000-05:00

So scary at night, Fort Independence might be more fun on a day tour.

The Boston Globe - Globe Tours

2005-04-02T19:15:00.000-05:00

The Boston Globe - Globe Tours

Sam Adams Brewery Tour

2005-04-02T19:12:00.001-05:00

Boston Red Sox : Fenway Park Tours

2005-04-02T19:12:00.000-05:00

Have yet to go on this tour, but it sounds inexpensive, unique and fun.

World66 - Eating Out travel guide

2005-01-21T00:01:00.000-05:00

Every time we visited new york, we would go to this Congee place. Their congee is amazingly good.

Big Wong
67 Mott St.
(212) 964-0540

Yummy!

Budget Hotels - Cheap Guide NYC

2005-01-18T00:29:00.000-05:00

Sub $150 Hotels in expensive New york.

The Morning News - The Non-Expert: When in Manhattan...

2005-01-17T09:34:00.000-05:00

A non-expert's what to see, where to eat in NYC.
The Morning News - The Non-Expert: When in Manhattan...

Mass DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park

2004-12-16T13:12:00.000-05:00

SS heard about theDeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park, so we took a trip out to Lincoln, MA. We didn't go to the museum, but both of us immensely enjoyed the sculpture park. Some scultptures made it seem like you were in a completely different environment. Others were delightful. While others were technical marvels. There were no artists' explanations on the sculptures, which actually made it more fun. We discussed how both of us reacted to the piece and what we thought were the artists intentions.

The sculpture park is free. The museum is pretty cheap ($9) and perhaps we'll return to check that out some day. The museum and park are located in Lincoln, MA, which is pretty darn close to Boston, making the DeCordova quite a fun and worthwhile half-day trip.

MASS MoCA

2004-12-16T12:59:00.000-05:00

Despite being all the way out in North West Mass (North Adams = 3 hr drive from Boston) and having one rather ugly website, the Mass Museum of Contemporary Arts (MoCA) is supposed to be home to the some of the latest and greatest art pieces.

One of these days, I'll make the drive out there. I believe there's supposed to be some pretty scenic areas around that area, so it might make for a nice laid back weekend trip.

Mass MoCA
87 Marshall St.
North Adams, MA 01247

Mass: Bash Bish Falls

2004-12-16T12:21:00.000-05:00

Massachusetts Highest Waterfall is a bit underwhelming if you're going to the area just to see it. The hike down to the waterfull takes all of 15 minutes. However, there are probably hiking and camping areas around that part of Massachusetts, so I supposed if it was a pitstop, it might be nice.

Bash Bish Falls

Rhode Island: Things to do

2004-12-16T12:06:00.000-05:00

- Block Island
- Providence Fire Water thingy - Oct 30
- Newport mansions
- Cliff walk
- Rhode Island foods
- Providence restaurant
- Surfing

Traveler's Visiting Guide to Newport, Rhode Island: "Rhode Island"

Things to do in Newport
Official RI things to do

Boston Canoe'ing & Kayaking on the Charles

2004-12-16T11:54:00.000-05:00

SS & I had a 4-hr marathon kayaking session some time ago. While I wouldn't recommend being on the river for that long unless you're quite in shape (which we weren't at the time), it was definitely quite fun and peaceful.

We rented from the Boston location of Charles River Canoe & Kayak

Block Island

2004-12-15T12:45:00.000-05:00

Voted as one of top ten NE romantic getaways on Boston.com, this was indeed very nice when SS and I visited. If there's a next time, we'll try to make it out there when it's a bit warmer.

http://www.boston.com/travel/newengland/specials/Block_Island/

NYC Museums

2004-12-15T12:12:00.000-05:00

About.com Museum deals

NYC Hotel Discounts

2004-12-15T12:11:00.000-05:00

About.com Hotel Discount list

NYC Restaurants

2004-12-15T11:52:00.000-05:00