Destination: North America
BP to Spend Millions on Louisiana Tourism Promotion
by Jim Benning | 11.02.10 | 5:12 PM ET
The funds, totaling $78 million, will also help promote the Louisiana seafood industry.
According to Business Week:
BP has paid out $87 million to Gulf Coast states for tourism promotion, and has so far committed to an additional $30 million to Louisiana. The company has also promised $68 million to Louisiana and Florida for seafood testing and product marketing.
I wonder whether any of that money will help fund travel-writer junkets to the region. As we noted in September, some BP money already has, prompting a debate about the ethics of a such a trip.
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by Catha Larkin | 11.02.10 | 11:10 AM ET
Sea of Cortez (iStockPhoto) With her marriage on the rocks, Catha Larkin headed to Baja's Sea of Cortez seeking "a bit of the blue"
Paris vs. New York: The Blog
by Eva Holland | 11.02.10 | 10:59 AM ET
Paris vs. New York, a tally of two cities is a fun graphic blog that pairs up aspects of the two iconic spots—Quasimodo vs. King Kong, for instance, or the macaroon vs. the cupcake. I guess this is one city-to-city comparison that never gets old. (Via Kottke)
Happy Birthday, Alaska Highway
by Eva Holland | 10.29.10 | 4:34 PM ET
Photo by Eva Holland The road, built in the midst of World War II thanks to fears of a Japanese invasion, turns 68 today. It’s come a long way since its opening to military traffic—when, according to Wired writer Tony Long, it was “a glorified footpath with stretches of unpaved road, murderous switchbacks and no guard rails or shoulders”—but I still think it makes for one of the great North American drives. Here’s to many more road trips yet to come.
The ‘Bill Clinton Ate Here’ Effect
by Michael Yessis | 10.26.10 | 12:01 PM ET
Wherever former President Clinton eats, crowds follow. Writes David Segal: “[F]ew phrases are more bankable to restaurants around the world than this: ‘Bill Clinton ate here.’” Here’s why:
It’s widely (and correctly) assumed that he has good connections everywhere he visits, so he’s unlikely to wind up at a dud. More than most celebrities, he seems like a person who appreciates good food, and before he had heart surgery, he was known for his wide-ranging appetite.
And when Mr. Clinton visits a restaurant, everybody in the room knows it. Douglas Band, an aide who frequently travels with Mr. Clinton, says that his boss introduces himself to every diner, as well as every waiter and every kitchen staff member. He will always pose for photographs and sign guest books. Someone from his staff will send a thank-you note a few days later.
Anyone who trails in Mr. Clinton’s dining path will eat well, but should know that his taste in restaurants, when he actually selects them, runs to the bright, lively and unfussy. The white table cloth, 10-course prix fixe experience is not his style.
I’ve happily followed in Clinton’s dining path, here in D.C. and elsewhere. I regret waiting until my final day in Little Rock, a Sunday, to track down one of his favorite spots. Alas, it was closed.
93 Years of the New York Subway, in Photos
by Eva Holland | 10.25.10 | 11:46 AM ET
The New York Times compliled a gorgeous slideshow that spans from 1917 to the present. (Via Kottke)
Spiritual Tourism Struggling in Sedona
by Eva Holland | 10.22.10 | 12:39 PM ET
The New York Times’ Mark Lacey reports from Sedona—“Arizona’s New Age mecca,” as World Hum contributor Laurie Gough calls it—where visitors numbers are way down. Here’s Lacey:
Nobody is sure exactly what is keeping people away from Sedona’s four vortexes, swirling energy sources emanating from the earth, but the effects are clear: far fewer crystals are being bought, spiritual tours taken and treatments ordered, from aura cleansings to chakra balancings.
That an earthly power—the economy—is a culprit is not in doubt. But some do not discount the effects of an awful incident from a year ago that put Sedona’s New Age community in a bad light and that, to some degree, still lingers, despite efforts by metaphysical people to cast it away.
The rest of the story delves into the impact of that incident last year, when three tourists died in a sweat lodge ceremony. It’s a chilling read.
Missou-rah or Missou-ree? Trillin Weighs In.
by Eva Holland | 10.18.10 | 3:53 PM ET
NPR’s Weekend Edition tapped writer (and Missourian) Calvin Trillin to tackle the longstanding pronunciation debate. According to Trillin, the confusion results from a geographical divide:
I think Missou-rah(ph) is particularly prevalent—I’ve read this, I didn’t know this of my own accord—in the northwest part of the state and a majority in Kansas City. And Missou-ree(ph) I’ve always thought of as a St. Louis and therefore eastern pronunciation.
There you go, travelers. Problem solved. (Via The Book Bench)
Pacific Coast Highway: ‘Easily the Best in America’
by Eva Holland | 10.18.10 | 12:39 PM ET
Over at The American Scene, Conor Friedersdorf waxes nostalgic about PCH:
Few things satisfy me as much as driving on certain stretches of Pacific Coast Highway, a road that is easily the best in America, and that I can’t imagine being equaled elsewhere. There is a mile or two in south Laguna Beach that I associate with summer days at age sixteen, driving with Feel Flow or Scarlet Begonias blaring on the stereo, sand on my feet, surf wax beneath my fingernails, and windows down to achieve that singular sensation of evaporated saltwater on skin dried by a warm 55 MPH breeze. Call it beach feel, which usually also involves a slight sunburn, muscles tired from fighting currents all day, and the kind of hunger that makes an In’N'Out burger even better than usual.
The Milk Run to Mexico City
by Eva Holland | 10.15.10 | 1:51 PM ET
In The Smart Set, John Washington has a lovely dispatch from a bus ride between Nogales and the capital. Here’s Washington’s introduction to the vehicle where he’d spend almost two days:
The bus was set to leave Nogales at six in the evening. A few minutes past six a tall, skinny European delivery type van pulled into the wide, empty, dirt and gravel parking lot. A few of the migrants and I looked at each other, mumbling some concern that this would be the vehicle to take us all the way to DF, which is some 1,700 miles away, and, for a few of the migrants, all the way to Quintana Roo, another 600 miles. A rumor quickly circulated among those of us waiting that we would ride in this van to a full-sized bus, which was waiting for us downtown. In a few minutes, however, after some of the luggage was strapped to the roof, we were beckoned to present our thin paper tickets and enter. There were 17 of us, including two drivers. The bus had 15 seats, including a half-seat in the front, which straddled the radio and dashboard. One of the drivers unrolled a carpet scrap and one of the younger men volunteered to take the space on the floor, which, he was quick to recognize, would probably end up as the most comfortable and spacious seat in the van. I squeezed into the second to last row, in a window seat, and put my bag on my lap. It would sit there for the next 40 hours, though I didn’t know that at the time.
Mexico Sees Big Bump in International Travelers
by Michael Yessis | 10.12.10 | 11:40 AM ET
Turns out the drug-related violence along the border isn’t stopping travelers from visiting Mexico, particularly its beaches. The number of foreign visitors to Mexico has risen almost 20 percent over last year. From the Los Angeles Times:
The number of visitors to Cancun, the easternmost coastal city, jumped nearly 31% in August compared with a year earlier; tourism to Los Cabos, on the southern tip of Baja California, increased 30%, according to Mexico tourism officials.
Southern California travel agents say U.S. tourists don’t seem too concerned about drug violence because they know to stay far from the border. “As long as you stay in the resort areas, you’ll have no problem,” [Carol] McConnell, [founder of Around the Globe Travel,] said.
Several other reasons are suggested for the boost, including affordability and Mexico’s latest marketing campaign.
Travel Movie Watch Update: ‘127 Hours’
by Eva Holland | 10.11.10 | 1:54 PM ET
Just under a year ago we noted that “Slumdog Millionaire” director Danny Boyle would soon be starting work on “127 Hours,” the true story of Aron Ralston‘s canyoneering accident and escape. The trailer is here, and—among other things—it makes me want to book a flight to Utah as soon as possible. The movie’s due out November 5.
(Via Gawker)
Thoughts From the Amerika Section of a German Grocery Store
by Terry Ward | 10.11.10 | 11:01 AM ET
By Terry Ward Amid the Cheese Zip and the Marshmallow Fluff, Terry Ward remembers what it means to be American
The Sounds of Zion
by Michael Yessis | 10.11.10 | 9:16 AM ET
Interesting plans afoot at Zion National Park to protect the park’s natural soundscape. The “Soundscape Management Plan,” according to the Salt Lake Tribune, is the first of its kind.
Frank Turina, of Fort Collins, Colo., a planner with the natural sounds program for the National Park Service and project manager for the Zion document, said an area’s soundscape is as valuable as air quality and watershed although, unlike those resources, it is intangible.
“Sound has an inherent value to the park that we want to preserve and protect for the future,” Turina said in a telephone interview.
He said the new plan uses the science of acoustics to specify conditions under which park managers would need to act to protect and preserve the soundscape of Zion. That science gives the plan objectivity and credibility.
“It is a very interesting and new application of old science to protect natural areas in the park,” he said. “This (project) is on the cutting edge.”
What was the World’s Tallest Building in 1884?
by Eva Holland | 10.08.10 | 3:09 PM ET
The Washington Monument. Kottke has a lovely graphic contrasting the monument with its 1880s competition. We’ve come a long way from the Mall to the Burj, huh?