Destination: United States
High-Speed MagLev Train from Disneyland to Las Vegas Gets $45 Million
by Michael Yessis | 06.09.08 | 3:23 PM ET
The money, which was earmarked in the transportation bill President Bush signed Friday, “will pay for environmental studies for the first leg of the project,” reports the AP. Gizmodo wonders if it’s just greenwashing, since $45 million is but a fraction of what it might cost to build a legitimate high-speed MagLev rail line. I think it’s a fine step forward, and likely not the last. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid hails from Nevada, and he’s on the record supporting the project. That’s a powerful ally.
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Yahoo! BuzzGidget, Miki Dora and the Creation of the Surfing ‘Lifestyle’
by Eva Holland | 06.06.08 | 11:51 AM ET
Photo by rappensuncle via Flickr (Creative Commons)
n the latest issue of The Believer, Peter Lunenfeld chronicles surfing’s meteoric rise from SoCal subculture to global brand. “The thing to remember is that, since 1957, surfing as something you buy has overshadowed surfing as something you do,” he writes. “I would hazard that no other activity has ever generated as many products among people who neither know how to do it, nor follow those who do.” The essay touches on topics ranging from Gidget to Freud to Malibu Barbie, and uncovers the unlikely role of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in propelling the sport to pop culture dominance.
‘Dichos’: The Southwest’s Newer, Cooler Fortune Cookie?
by Joanna Kakissis | 06.06.08 | 10:41 AM ET
New Snag for L.A.-San Francisco Bullet Train
by Jim Benning | 06.05.08 | 10:55 AM ET
No! Just months before Californians are scheduled to vote on a $10 billion bond measure for a bullet train, the Los Angeles Times reports that “an old-guard railroad is declining to share its right of way space” with the fast trains, citing safety and operational concerns. Somebody please resolve this problem now. Otherwise we’re all doomed to more scenes like the one pictured, aptly titled “Stuck on the 5.” Still not convinced? Check out the cool promo videos here.
Back to the Garden: Woodstock Museum Opens Today
by Eva Holland | 06.02.08 | 4:14 PM ET
From time to time in high school, I used to throw my dad’s old vinyl copy of the Woodstock album (complete with crowd chants and warnings about the brown acid) on the record player, crank the volume, sit back and try to pretend that I, too, was at Max Yasgur’s farm (pictured) on a wet August weekend in 1969. Seems I’m not the only one keen to re-create the event. The Museum at Bethel Woods opens today on the site of the original concert in upstate New York, and it sounds groovy.
Universal Studios Hollywood to Open Today, Despite Fire
by Jim Benning | 06.02.08 | 12:42 PM ET
The popular theme park will open on time, officials said, despite a fire yesterday that destroyed part of the King Kong attraction and various back-lot film sets.
Foreclosure Tourism: Coming to a Suburb Near You?
by Eva Holland | 06.02.08 | 11:21 AM ET
It’s not too often that you see a guided bus tour winding its way through the suburbs. But, as Wendy A. Hoke writes, it could be an increasingly common sight. Hoke took a ride on one of those suburban tour buses in Cleveland recently, and filed a compelling story about the trip for the Christian Science Monitor:
Move Over, Frodo: ‘Sex and the City’ Tourism Takes Off
by Eva Holland | 05.30.08 | 11:49 AM ET
If you’ve opened a newspaper travel section lately, chances are good you’ve spotted an article about “Sex and the City” tours on offer in New York City. Of course, they’ve been around for a few years now, but with today’s release of the long-awaited Sex and the City movie, the fan craze has never been at a more fevered pitch—and the tours have never gotten more ink. Curious to learn more about how you, too, can follow in the high-heeled footsteps of Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte? The Independent has the details on the deluxe $24,000 themed mini-break offered by one travel company.
Paddling Among Giants
by Jim Benning | 05.27.08 | 3:28 PM ET
The planet is heating up. The news can be overwhelming. But on a kayaking trip off Maui, Jim Benning found some big antidotes to pessimism.
Dr. Beach Unveils Top 10 Beaches of 2008
by Michael Yessis | 05.23.08 | 11:57 AM ET
His ranking of U.S. beaches—annual pre-summer fodder for U.S. media—is out, and Caladesi Island State Park in Dunedin, Florida takes the top spot. Dr. Beach, aka Florida International University professor Stephen P. Leatherman, rates the beaches by 50 criteria. The rest of the Top 10 are:
RVs: Recession Victims?
by Eva Holland | 05.23.08 | 10:47 AM ET
With the dollar playing scrappy underdog to the euro, the airline industry in disarray and some Americans staying close to home for their vacations this year, you might think that your local recreational vehicle dealer would be in better shape than many of his colleagues in the travel business. After all, as Slate’s Daniel Gross writes, “RVs are cheaper than a vacation home, help travelers save on hotels, and appeal to those who prefer leisure and economy over speed and glitz.”
Overanalyzing America’s Top 25 Tourist Sites
by Eva Holland | 05.21.08 | 10:51 AM ET
Forbes Traveler has put together a slide show of America’s 25 most visited tourist attractions, and—to this Canadian’s eye, at least—the list contained a few surprises. Or I guess I should say, the surprise was what didn’t make the cut: some of the most iconic “American” sites.
Commercial Air Service Has Disappeared From More Than 30 U.S. Cities
by Michael Yessis | 05.21.08 | 10:47 AM ET
Bad news for travelers looking to fly out of small and midsized cities. More than 400 airports have also seen the number of flights shrink, according to the New York Times. With rising fuel prices, we likely haven’t seen the end of the cuts.
San Diego’s Newest Tourist Attraction?
by Eva Holland | 05.20.08 | 4:01 PM ET
A recent cost-saving merger has resulted in the creation of an all-new tourist attraction in Southern California: the San Diego Maximum Security Zoological & Convict Reserve. According to its directer, the new facility constitutes “one of the largest collections of migratory birds, hoofed mammals, and hardened inmates in all of North America.” The Onion has all the details.
Photo by peasap via Flickr (Creative Commons)
American Beer: Beyond Bud Light
by Eva Holland | 05.19.08 | 10:45 AM ET
I’m not sure I agree with the Toronto Star’s theory that the rise of quality craft beer in the United States is a new trend. It seems to me that anyone who’s been paying attention has known there’s more to the American brewing scene than the Silver Bullet and the King of Beers for quite some time. Still, I enjoyed Josh Rubin’s take on the state of the beer nation and, among things, its “hop-heads.” Whlle we’re on the subject, if you’re headed to Denver, Portland or San Francisco this summer, Fodor’s suggests beer-related tours, festivals, brewpubs and day trips in those “hoppy cities.”
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* Rural Pubs in Ireland Becoming ‘So Yesterday’
Photo by spcummings via Flickr (Creative Commons)