The Perpetual Tourist

I landed in Boston yesterday for the 2008 Fall North American Bridge Championships. There are few other reasons I would agree to visit New England in the late Fall. It’s effing freezing here! And seeing as how it’s still not totally cold at home yet, this cold weather might well be more uncomfortable for me than, say, dead-of-winter in Boston, when I’ve had a few months to get used to the cold weather at home. Ah well. For the next six days, I’m resigned to freezing my nose off each day, all for some good card games.

Seriously, Boston is a rad place. I’ve been here a couple of times before, and I’ve always enjoyed it. In the summer, the weather is perfectly agreeable and the city is quite beautiful. It’s hard for me to appreciate Beantown’s beauty with my head wrapped in scarves and bowed against the wind. The sidewalks here are just OK.

As the land of the Pilgrims, Boston does have some touristy stuff going on for Thanksgiving, though most everything I’ve seen advertised is for special Thanksgiving meals and mall sales. These are not things worth suffering through the cold and wind, if you ask me. I heard from a questionably reliable source the last time I was here that Boston is actually windier than Chicago, the “Windy City.” I’m not sure if it’s true, but it’d definitely believable. The forecast may call for highs in the 30s, but the wind chill keeps the outside air at a brisk negative forty or so.

Copley Square, where I will be playing cards all week. No flowers in November, though.

Have I made my point yet? It is cold here. Unless you have a damn good reason to be here in the non-summer months, like competitive duplicate bridge or getting a degree from Harvard, I recommend staying away until the weather perks up again. Besides, if you don’t do Boston in the summer, then you’re going to miss out on what I think is the number one reason to come here anyway: Red Sox games at Fenway Park.

Boston loves its Sox

The New England Patriots may be Boston’s best pro team, and the Celtics have a recent title, if I’m remembering correctly, but the Red Sox are the real heart of Boston sports, and the true Boston experience has to include a game at Fenway — which you can only see in the summer.  If you want to see the Celtics, Bruins, or Patriots play, try going to one of their away games in Arizona or Texas.

Nothing against Boston.  The people here are cool, the accents are nifty, and there’s a lot to see and do here, really.  I’m just sayin’, do it all when it’s warm.  Then the city’s windiness will feel great.  And don’t you want a home-cooked meal for Thanksgiving anyway?

Last Saturday was a cold, wet, foggy, gloomy day. What better day than to get into a bathing suit and go have some fun in the water, right?

I was visiting a friend in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and the nasty weather had trumped our plans for a day of hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains. But all was not lost! Just outside Harrisonburg, in lovely McGaheysville, VA, is Massanutten Resort on Massanutten Mountain.

In 2005, Massanutten opened a fantastic new attraction — an indoor water park. There’s an outdoor section, too, open in the summer, but the extensive indoor park is vast enough for a full day’s enjoyment, perfect for totally crappy days like Saturday.

The Massanutten WaterPark is open to all visitors, with discounts available for Massanutten property owners and guests who have purchased an activity card from the resort. The park hours vary, but you can find a full schedule here. Even though we visited on a Saturday afternoon, we found the park pleasantly uncrowded. What few lines existed moved swiftly, and we were glad not to be constantly trampled by swarms of children, which is a risk you take when you spend a day at a place like this. The nice thing about this park is that there is no one ride that steals the show. Every part of the park has its own appeal, and the lines were nicely divided between all attractions, with one exception, which I’ll get to shortly.

When you enter the park from the locker rooms, you’re at the mouth of the Blue Ridge Rapids — aka the lazy river. This is a good place to start, but keep in mind that at a couple of points in the river, large buckets of water are known to dump onto unexpecting drifters. You’ve been warned.

Massanutten Meltdown

Once you exit the lazy river, it’s time to get started on the slides. In the center of the building you’ll see a 3-story jungle gym of sorts called Massanutten Meltdown. This tower takes you to several of the park’s smaller slides, with lots of water gadgets spaced throughout. You can grab a hose and spray your friends, or turn a wheel or pull a cord to dump water on people walking below you. Expect to be splashed thoroughly as you pass through here. The slides coming off of this center tower range from toddler-sized straight sliding boards to tall, twisting chutes. These are a good place for apprehensive kids to get started. They’re not enclosed tubes, and they’re not quite as fast as some of the other slides in the park, so it’s not an intimidating experience. Once you’ve tried a couple of these, you’re ready for the big stuff.

A trio of riders exits the Peak Splash slide

At the far end of the building from the entrance are the five largest slides in the park. Three of them are tube slides, where you can ride solo or on a tube for two or three people. The other two are body slides, which might be the fastest slides in the park. The tube slides are my favorite, though. I love that you can ride down with a friend, especially in the orange slide (I think that one’s called Melting Mogul), which is full of surprises… I won’t give anything away…

Surfing on the FlowRider

The last ride in the indoor part of the park is the FlowRider, the WaterPark’s simulated surfing and boogieboarding wave. This is the only part of the park where you’ll have to wait in line for a while, because only one person is allowed to ride at a time, and rides can last a few minutes each. Waiting in line isn’t so bad, though, because it’s fun to watch the people in front of you take on the wave and try tricks. If you can’t get enough of the FlowRider, you can take lessons to get better and learn new tricks, and come back for one of the park’s special jam sessions. Get more information on special FlowRider events here. One little tip for the FlowRider — make sure your swimsuit is secure. That’s some strong water.

When you need a break from the rides, you can relax in one of two large hot tubs, or take your kids to the Frog Pond kiddie area where they can splash around without getting in the path of the big kids.

When you’re done with the water, you’re just getting started at the park. You don’t want to skip Diamond Jim’s Arcade, which has all the classic games you’d find in most amusement parks, plus duckpin bowling, Dance Dance Revolution, and of course, tickets redeemable for prizes. Kids can kill hours of time here while parents chill out next door at the Hideaway Lounge, which is just one of several dining establishments inside the park. Click here for a full list.

The Massanutten WaterPark is definitely a great place to take your kids, but who says parks are just for children? This place is fun for all ages, all seasons of the year. For information about the rest of Massanutten Resort, visit www.massresort.com.

It’s an American tradition to go to the beach in the summertime. Families load up the old minivan and join the thousands of other families fighting over the same patch of sand and rays of sunlight year after year, because it’s summer. That’s just what you do.

Maybe you skipped this summer, though, because the economy is so bad you couldn’t afford it. Have you ever considered that a week in fall or winter might be the best time ever to go to the beach?

I’m writing now from a condo in Virginia Beach, where my husband and I are staying all week. We come here every November for an annual bridge tournament, and I’d have to argue that it’s better than a summer beach vacation.

Swimming in the ocean and sunbathing are out, so if that’s the only reason you come to the beach, you can keep coming in the summer with everyone else. But just about everything other than the weather is more pleasant the rest of the year. For one thing, the crowds are gone. It’s like having the whole city to yourself. It’s easy to find parking, and you never have a wait at a restaurant. In fact, restaurants are so happy just to have customers, your service is better than ever. Some places are closed in the off-season, or keep shorter hours, but without crowds to fight with, you’ll have plenty of choices among the things that are still available.

Everything is on sale in stores. Now’s the time to buy your summer swimsuit — they’re all 50-75% off in the shops, and all the beach souvenirs are deeply discounted, too.

Also deeply discounted are the hotel rooms and condos. A week at the beach in the summer will probably cost a few thousand bucks for a small family in an oceanfront condo, but look at the same room rates for October through April. Not only are the rooms much less expensive than in the peak season, but you’re very likely to score some great freebies from hotels as they fight for what little business is available this time of year. When you call for reservations, just ask if there are any special promotions going on — you may get free meals, spa treatments, room upgrades, and more if you just ask.

The rad indoor pool at the Ocean Beach Club

For families with kids who equate beach trips with swimming, look for a hotel with a swimming pool. Lots of the places here at Virginia Beach have indoor and outdoor heated pools that are great for swimming even when it’s freezing outside. No, it’s not the same as the ocean, but most kids are pretty content as long as they can splash around somewhere. In fact, the pool here at the Ocean Beach Club has waterfalls and all sorts of gadgets built in that might even be more fun than the Atlantic’s waves. It’s less salt in the eyes, anyway.

Late fall is such an easy time to vacation at the beach. Instead of fighting for the hotel I want and the dates I want, I have hotels fighting over my business for exactly the times I want to be here. Without the crowds, it’s much less hassle and much less money out of my pocket. While I’m here, I’ll stock up on all my summer beach wear (because yeah, I’ll probably come back and swim in the ocean with my nieces in six or seven months) at clearance prices, and I’ll enjoy walks on the beach with my beloved without getting hit in the head by errant frisbees. I can’t swim in the icy water, but the ocean still makes a lovely backdrop for this vacation.

Don’t discount the coast if you’re looking for a relaxing getaway. You can’t beat the prices here right now and you can’t imagine what a treat it is to be in such a touristy place without any other tourists to get in your way.

Now that almost all major airlines are charging for checked luggage, passengers are trying harder to fit all their travel gear into their two allotted carry-on bags. Supposedly, there are size and dimension limits for these bags, but I have never seen anyone actually enforce these. About half the passengers on any given flight will have carry-ons the size of a baby elephant, the overhead bins will fill up about two thirds of the way through boarding, and then there will be a long holdup while flight attendants scramble to make more space.

On one of my flights earlier this year, so many passengers had oversized carry-ons that I missed my connecting flight due to the delay of all the last-minute baggage checking at the gate. Yet none of these rule breakers were charged for their luggage, and I was left to fend for myself to find a new flight. With this experience in my memory, I harbor a deep loathing for anyone who thinks they are above the rules. And it also annoys the bejesus out of me that airlines don’t enforce their own rules, and that these spacehogs keep getting away with this crap.

That’s why I’m cautiously optimistic about new carry-on size requirements that many airlines have adopted. It remains to be seen if the airlines will actually enforce their new rules, but I think it’s a good idea, in theory. Continental Airlines is the latest in a string of carriers to reduce the maximum carry-on size from 51 linear inches (width + height + length in inches) to just 45 linear inches. The new rules will apply to all travelers regardless of when the tickets were purchased.

30 x 14 x 13 = Don't even TRY it!

No airlines are charging for carry-ons just yet, but the new guidelines are designed to push more bags over the limit and force travelers to check bags that they may have thought they could carry on. Then checked luggage fees would apply. Continental announced that new luggage sizing boxes will be available at most check-in counters so that travelers can make sure their bags will fit — but by the time you’re at the check-in desk, it’s a bit late to switch your luggage if you find yours is too big.

Some of my fellow travel bloggers are cheesed off at the new regulations, which stink of yet another money grab. I don’t really see it that way, though. Even though fuel prices are dropping and airlines are generating good revenue from luggage fees already in place, most airlines are still really struggling. I can understand their need to drum up more cash, and while I admit it’s annoying for me as a frequent flier, it’s much less annoying than not having a flight available, which is what happens when struggling airlines are forced to cut costs.

Maybe it is a money grab, but this shouldn’t be a problem for savvy travelers, who would know the rules before showing up at the check-in desk for a flight. Some critics argue that six linear inches of space won’t be enough to make a difference in space problems or fuel costs, but I disagree. If airlines actually enforce their new rules, those six inches per bag will add up dramatically, especially considering the number of people who have been flipping off the rules for so long with their monster carry-on bags.

I’m flying cross-country again tomorrow, so I’ll be able to report back shortly as to whether or not United Airlines is enforcing the 45″ rule. Check back soon and I’ll let you know.

For a comprehensive list of luggage size requirements by airline, check here.

Edited 10/25:  I landed in Portland this afternoon and I can definitely say that nothing’s changed.  People are still bringing giant bags on board and gate agents and flight attendants are still letting them.  My flight was full, so I suspect that if they were going to enforce the rules, this would have been the time, but so far it’s business as usual in the air.

Multnomah Falls, like Mount Hood, is just a short drive from Portland, Oregon. You could visit both in the same day if you really wanted to, but I don’t recommend it. In fact, we visited Mount Hood and Multnomah Falls on back to back days, and I don’t recommend that, either. That’s a lot of walking uphill.

The falls are actually visible from the parking lot at the bottom, so of course, you don’t have to do any walking if you don’t want to — but when there’s a hiking trail to the top of the falls, why not take it?

My friends and I visited Multnomah Falls late on a Saturday morning. In my mind, waterfalls are secluded, peaceful places you have to walk through the woods to find. Not Multnomah Falls. On a nice weekend day, this place was Tourist Central. Why wouldn’t it be? The falls are easily accessible (hiking to the top is optional, of course) and right in the middle of the larger tourist attraction that is the Columbia River Gorge.

Near the parking lot, there’s a gift shop, restaurant, and a bridge over Multnomah Creek, where everyone stops to take pictures of the 620-foot waterfall. I felt like I couldn’t possibly walk across the bridge without interrupting or ruining someone’s photograph — it was that crowded. So the hike up to the top was a welcome way to escape the masses, or so I thought.

It’s a one-mile hike to the lookout point at the top of the falls. That’s not a long walk, but it’s a lot of hill climbing. In fact, it felt like one of the more difficult miles I’ve ever walked, but that’s probably mostly because we’d hiked at Mount Hood the day before. Judging by the number of senior citizens we met on the trail, it’s probably not too bad for someone in reasonable shape and not already sore all over. Unfortunately, the crowds didn’t get much smaller on the way to the top.

View of the Columbia River Gorge from the Multnomah Falls trail

The view of the gorge from points on the trail and from the top is absolutely breathtaking, but I’d warn against this hike if you are afraid of heights. Most of the edges don’t have guard rails of any kind blocking the very steep drop over the side, and there were several points on the walk that made me pretty nervous (but okay, I am a wimp). If you take kids, I really recommend one of those humiliating leashes to keep them away from the sides.

Multnomah Falls in Winter

If you’re not going to do the hike, Multnomah Falls can be a quick stop on a driving tour of the Columbia River Gorge. If you do decide to walk to the top, plan for a couple of hours at the falls. If you can go on a weekday, all the better — you’ll avoid the massive crowds. If you go in the winter, you might find the falls frozen over. I’ve never seen them like this, but judging from postcard pictures, it’s a spectacular sight.

On my latest visit to Portland, Mount Hood was my favorite day trip, but Multnomah Falls was a worthy destination as well. I definitely recommend visits to both, just use more sense than I did and space out your trips a little better if you can. It took a long time for my legs to recover from that weekend.

Photo by Teri Niedrich

When I first heard about The Trailing of the Sheep Festival, I had two immediate thoughts:  “That is so weird!” and “That is so cool!”  Weird can be good, of course.  And a festival celebrating sheep might not be so weird to me if I’d grown up in a place like Idaho, where sheep are an integral part of the regional history and economy.

At their height in the early 20th century, the sheep population of Idaho reached 2.65 million, far exceeding the human population.  At that time, Ketchum, Idaho, was the world’s second-largest sheep market, behind only Sydney, Australia.  Each spring, sheep migrate north to high mountain pastures, traveling in bands of up to 1,500 sheep.  Then in the fall, the animals retrace their routes and come back southward to the lower elevations.  The first Trailing of the Sheep Festival in 1997 was held in celebration of this return migration, and the festival is now in its 12th year.  This year’s festival dates are October 10-12.

Not just a celebration of sheep, the festival honors the history of the west and its settlers, which were primarily Basque, Scottish, and Peruvian in this area.  You’ll get a taste of these rich cultures with song, dance, crafts, and foods when you visit Sun Valley.

Dancers perform at the Trailing of the Sheep Festival Photo by Teri Niedrich

Highlights of this year’s festival will include workshops and demonstrations on crafts and cooking, musical and theatrical presentations, a parade, a folklife fair, and dog trials, which are new to the event this year.  The dog trials are sanctioned by the U.S. Border Collie Handlers Association, and winners will receive prize money and points toward qualifying for next year’s national trials.

A Sheep Dog shows his stuff Photo by Teri Niedrich

Many events are free to the public, but some are ticketed.  For ticket price information, check the festival’s schedule of events.  Out of town visitors can find lodging information here.  The weather this time of year is typically warm in the daytime and cool in the evenings, which could be perfect camping weather for your group.  Expect to find vibrant fall colors in the trees around you as the leaves will be turning from green to gold, red, and orange in October.

This is not just an event for local Idaho sheep ranchers — visitors come from all over the world to enjoy this three-day celebration.  MSN Travel named The Trailing of the Sheep Festival one of 2007’s Top Ten Fall Festivals.  For a fun and educational getaway for the whole family, The Trailing of the Sheep Festival in Ketchum & Hailey, Idaho is a great place to be this October.

Most people use their vacation time in the summer. They go to the beach, overseas, to amusement parks, on cruises — I go to music festivals. There’s a festival coming up in a few weeks that I’m really excited about.

Hosted by the Steep Canyon Rangers, one of the finest young acts in bluegrass, the Mountain Song Festival at Brevard Music Center in North Carolina is worth traveling for. The one-day event is Saturday, September 13, 2008 in Brevard, North Carolina. The seating area at the stage is covered to protect up to 1800 listeners from the elements, so you’re sure to have a blast rain or shine.

One thing that sets this show aside from others is that it is a benefit concert. I spoke with Steep Canyon’s Woody Platt about the event.

Woody Platt -- photo courtesy www.mountainsongfestival.com

Three years ago, Platt’s mother was the board president of the Transylvania County Boys and Girls Club. She suggested that Woody try to put together a benefit concert for the organization, and the Mountain Song Fest was born. According to Platt, the festival has enjoyed tremendous success since its beginning and has so far raised over $63,000 for the Boys and Girls Club. “Steep Canyon Rangers are the host band and kick the show off every year — we constantly promote the event while we are out on the road. There is a real sense of ownership and pride felt by the Rangers when it comes to Mountain Song,” he says. “Brevard is a great community and the Boys and Girls Club plays a wonderful role — we are proud to help them reach their goals.”

In addition to two sets from the Rangers, this year’s lineup includes performances from bluegrass standouts Cherryholmes, Tim O’Brien, and Sam Bush. The site opens and noon, music starts at 2pm, and Sam Bush closes the fest in the 8:30-10pm time slot. In addition to the great music, visitors will enjoy displays from local craftsmen, non-profit organizations, a kids’ play area, and of course, great food. Woody recommends the BBQ.

What a gorgeous venue! Photo courtesy www.mountainsongfestival.com

You can’t stay overnight onsite, but there are lots of B&B’s in the area, or you can camp at the lovely Pisgah National Forest. For other accommodation information for this area, start here.

Tickets for the Mountain Song Fest are $35 in advance or $40 at the gate. You’ll be supporting a great cause, and it’s the best one-day lineup I’ve seen in the entire summer festival season. Come say hi if you’re there! I’ll be the one crying when it’s over.

National Aquarium in Baltimore, MD

I have to admit that I don’t love Baltimore, Maryland.  It’s only a few hours away from my hometown, and I’ve visited many times, but it will never be my favorite place to go.  It’s difficult to get around, really expensive, and generally intimidating.  But there are redeeming qualities — reasons to go in spite of all this.  Number one is the National Aquarium.

When you visit the aquarium, you’ll want to leave the whole day open, because it will take hours to see everything, including special shows and various exhibits.  The exhibits at the aquarium are home to more than 16,500 animals.  I used to go on school field trips here as a kid, and I still love the place as an adult — it’s ideal for an educational family excursion.

The aquarium isn’t all fish, all the time.  There are reptile, bird, amphibian, and mammal exhibits to check out, along with the thousands of fish you’ll see.

Australian Frilled Lizard

One of the featured exhibits right now is Animal Planet Australia:  Wild Extremes.  Many Australian species evolved on the island continent isolated from other similar species, and represent the closest living connection to prehistoric animals on Earth.

Another exhibit your family will love is Frogs! A Chorus Of Colors.  You’ll get up close with all different shapes, sizes, and colors of frog, and experience their music in the making.  Check out frog mp3s here.

Some exhibits are hands-on, allowing you to touch animals that you’d never get close to in the wild.  Kids especially love this experience.

As with all good museums, the National Aquarium has a large theater called the 4D Immersion Theater.  Currently showing is Planet Earth: Shallow Seas™ 4-D Experience, a film that explores life in coastal waters and coral reefs.  The film is 3D, while smells and other sensory special effects combine for the fourth “D.”

My favorite part of the aquarium experience, both as a child and now as an adult, is always the dolphin show.  You have to purchase a separate ticket for this, but it’s a must see.  Dolphins are fascinating animals, and I always leave the show wishing I’d worked harder toward a dolphin-training career path.

Dolphins Perform at the National Aquarium

As I mentioned before, Baltimore is pricey — tickets to the aquarium start at $21.95 for adults, but a day here is well worth the price of admission.

Our quest for the best place on Earth to spend the night started in the Netherlands, and now takes us to the Chilean rain forest. Nestled in the Huilo Huilo Reserve in Southern Chile, we find the Magic Mountain Hotel, a fairytale style building with 13 private rooms and an additional 11 cabins elsewhere on the grounds.

www.ayrhoteles.cl

This unique building even has its own waterfall cascading down one side. Each of the rooms looks out into the beautiful natural setting, with condors and eagles flying by and pumas and other native animals wandering the forest floor below.

A snowboarder enjoys the Choshuenco volcano

More than a two hour drive from the nearest airport (Pichol airport in Valdivia, Chile), the Magic Mountain Hotel seems a bit out of the way, perhaps in the middle of nowhere. But there’s plenty to do, even without a big city close by. There is an aerial walkway through the reserve as high as 90m up at some points. You can take in the scenery from the treetops, above cliffs and over valleys. Hunting and fishing are popular summer pastimes (remember that this is the Southern hemisphere, so summer is January-March), and expert skiers enjoy the challenging slopes of the nearby Choshuenco volcano. This is not a ski resort with lifts and trails, but the hotel provides transportation and snow cats for skiers. Other activities offered by the hotel include whitewater rafting and horseback riding.

www.allsouthernchile.com

After a long day of busy sightseeing, there’s no better place to relax than in the tree trunk hot tubs on the hotel deck with a glass of fine Chilean wine — and Magic Mountain has the finest!

Room rates at the Magic Mountain range from approximately $150-$250USD, and the hotel accepts Visa and Mastercard payments. For reservations or further information, call +56 63 1972681.

Also check out the newly constructed Baobab Hotel, located in the same area as Magic Mountain.

Baobab Hotel

This whole area is an architecture-lover’s dreamland, and a haven for any naturalist.

Stonehenge is probably one of the coolest things on Earth. It’s simply a formation of big rocks, so that in itself is nothing spectacular, but the fact that it’s been there for several thousand years is just mind boggling. Which is why it’s also one of the most annoying things on Earth. The unanswered questions — the how, the why — are enough to drive a curious person insane.

Stonehenge as seen from the heelstone

Even with modern technology, such a building project would be no easy task. Those stones weigh many tons apiece — just thinking about how they got there is enough to make me strongly consider belief in aliens.

Located in Wiltshire, England, construction began on Stonehenge an estimated 5,000 years ago. Archaeological evidence suggests that Stonehenge was used as a burial ground in its earliest days, before the stones were placed.

Historians estimate that Stonehenge was created in phases, and was used for a period of up to 6,500 years — but what is was used for is one of the world’s greatest mysteries. Most leading theories suggest that the site was of religious importance, either as a worship site or altar for human sacrifice. Others suggest that Stonehenge was built for astronomical purposes. Some of the more colorful theories, based on the assumption that moving stones that size would have been impossible for humans at that time, assume that Stonehenge is a supernatural creation, or that it was built by extraterrestrials.

Archaeologists have discovered holes where stones once stood but are now fallen or gone. Restoration efforts began in 1901, and several stones have since been re-erected or repositioned in accordance with how we know they once were. Digs are ongoing to find more clues to the erection and use of Stonehenge. Volunteers are welcome at the site to help with conservation efforts as well as management and education.

1877 photograph of Stonehenge, prior to any restoration work

If you’d like to see Stonehenge, but a trip to England isn’t in the cards for you, there are replicas (of varying accuracy) all over the world.

In the US, you can visit a full-sized, astronomically-aligned replica of Stonehenge, as it would have originally been built, in Maryhill, Washington. Dedicated in 1918, this monument was built as a memorial to soldiers who lost their lives in the First World War. Another American replica, this one half-scale, can be found at Missouri University of Science & Technology in Rolla, MO.

Maryhill, WA Stonehenge Replica