Destination: United States
The Puzzle of ‘Cool Cities’ and Migration
by Eva Holland | 12.01.09 | 3:16 PM ET
New Geography’s Aaron M. Renn explores a paradox of the 2000s: Why do America’s “cool cities”—“the ones that are supposedly doing the best, the ones with the hottest downtowns, the biggest buzz, leading-edge new companies, smart shops, swank restaurants and hip hotels - the ones that are supposed to be magnets for talent”—experience a higher rate of domestic outmigration than the cities with less cache? In other words, why are people moving to Dallas instead of San Francisco? It’s a slightly dense, interesting read. (Via The Morning News)
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Yahoo! BuzzWilliam Least Heat-Moon: ‘Speed Corrupts Travel far More Than Bad Chinese Food’
by Michael Yessis | 11.24.09 | 2:46 PM ET
CNN talks to the author of the classic travel book “Blue Highways” as part of its American Road Trips package. The Blue Highways experience, he says, is still out there:
There are still miles and miles of two-lane roads to take a traveler into recesses of America, where delights and amazements await.
The problem with an interstate is not the interstate itself but the speed at which one can move on an interstate.
(via Jaunted)
How to Survive a Holiday Visit to New York City
by Mike Barish | 11.23.09 | 11:08 AM ET
You and one million of your closest, most inebriated friends will be visiting the city. New Yorker Mike Barish offers tips.
What Would Los Angeles Look Like Without Traffic?
by Michael Yessis | 11.19.09 | 12:32 PM ET
This series of eerie, terrific photos is an ongoing project from Tom Baker. (via Coudal)
Senators, Draw Your States!
by Michael Yessis | 11.17.09 | 2:44 PM ET
Love the way National Geographic is celebrating Geography Awareness Week. It invited all U.S. Senators to “draw a map of their home state from memory and to label at least three important places.” The first batch of maps are in, including one from Minnesota’s Al Franken.
Drawing his home state from memory was simple. Remember, this is the guy who can do all 50 from memory in under two minutes.
Video You Must See: Mountain Light in California
by Eva Holland | 11.17.09 | 1:11 PM ET
(Via The Daily Dish)
On the ‘Easy Rider’ Trail, 40 Years Later
by Eva Holland | 11.17.09 | 9:36 AM ET
Keith Phipps followed Wyatt and Billy’s path from Southern California to the Gulf Coast, and the first part of his resulting multiday series for Slate ran yesterday. It looks to be a good one. Here’s a sample:
More an elegy for a generation that never got where it wanted to go than a celebration of that generation’s superiority, it pits hopefulness against resignation and sets the battle on a lovingly photographed stretch of the United States. Easy Rider hit theaters with a memorable tag line: “A man who went looking for America. And couldn’t find it anywhere.” Star, producer, and co-writer Peter Fonda hated that line, and rightly so. It’s really the story of two men—Wyatt and Billy, played by Fonda and co-writer and director Dennis Hopper—who went looking for America and found it everywhere. They just didn’t find a place for themselves.
We paid tribute to the movie on its 40th anniversary this past summer.
Tim Cahill: At Home in Montana
by Eva Holland | 11.13.09 | 1:41 PM ET
The Wall Street Journal visits the veteran travel writer at a cabin in southwest Montana where he does most of his writing. Says Cahill: “It’s often hilarious to me that I’m writing about Tonga or some tropical place and there’s a blizzard outside and the cows are on their backs with their hooves in the air.”
For more about Tim Cahill’s writing process, check out his remarks on creating literate adventure stories. (Via @Gadling)
Coming Soon: The Robert Johnson Birthplace Museum?
by Eva Holland | 11.13.09 | 11:23 AM ET
Blues travelers, get ready to mark another must-see on your maps of Mississippi. The most mysterious of the famous Delta bluesmen could be getting a pilgrimage spot of his very own, as Copiah County looks to restore his birthplace and childhood home and open it to visitors. The home was identified a few years back, but there was no money for the restoration—now, with a movie about Johnson in the works, local officials see a fundraising opportunity. Here’s hoping they can get it done.
Iowa’s New Tourism Campaign: ‘Arrest a Traveler’
by Eva Holland | 11.12.09 | 9:47 AM ET
Promotional campaigns just keep getting weirder. The latest: A small town in Iowa that had its sheriffs “arrest” a pair of motorists with out-of-state plates and offer them a free night’s stay. Predictably, accusations of abuse of police power have been flying—though not from the “arrested” couple, who noted that the town is “darling.” Mission accomplished? (Via @BudTravel)
Travel Movie Watch: ‘127 Hours’
by Eva Holland | 11.09.09 | 4:33 PM ET
It looks like “Slumdog Millionaire” director Danny Boyle may not be headed back to Mumbai right away, after all. Variety is reporting that Boyle’s next project is an adaptation of “127 Hours,” the true story of a mountaineer who was pinned under a boulder in Utah for five days and eventually amputated his own arm to make his escape. The rumor mill has Ryan Gosling playing the lead, but nothing’s been confirmed yet. Stay tuned. (Via Gawker)
Video You Must See: From Denver to Singapore in Five Minutes
by Eva Holland | 11.06.09 | 1:44 PM ET
(Via Kottke)
Photos: 10 All-American Must Sees for All Americans
by Sophia Dembling | 11.06.09 | 11:07 AM ET
Photo by Sophia Dembling Flyover America's Sophia Dembling shares the sights that will make you swoon
Travel Song of the Day: ‘Lodi’ by Creedence Clearwater Revival
by Michael Yessis | 11.05.09 | 4:32 PM ET
Photo You Must See: Yankee in Times Square
by World Hum | 11.05.09 | 9:51 AM ET
REUTERS/Lucas Jackson A New York Yankees fan in Times Square reacts to video of a play during game six of the World Series.