Slate’s 10 Oddest Travel Guides Ever Published

August 13, 2008 · Filed Under Travel news · Comment 

Do you like to read odd travel books? If so, you will want to check out Slate’s listing of the 10 Oddest Travel Guides Ever Published.

The books are:

  1. The Truth About Hunting in Today’s Africa, and How To Go on Safari for $690.00, by George Leonard Herter (1963)
  2. A Guide Through the District of the Lakes in the North of England, by William Wordsworth (5th edition, 1835)
  3. Das Generalgouvernement, by Karl Baedeker (1943)
  4. Fodor’s Indian America, by Jamake Highwater (1975)
  5. Bollocks to Alton Towers by Robin Halstead, et al. (2006)
  6. Travel Guide of Negro Hotels and Guest Houses, by Afro-American Newspapers (1942)
  7. Lonely Planet Guide to Micronations, by John Ryan et al. (2006)
  8. The Night Climbers of Cambridge, by “Whipplesnaith” (1937)
  9. A Tramp Trip: How To See Europe on Fifty Cents a Day, by Lee Meriwether (1886)
  10. Overland to India and Australia, by the BIT Travel & Help Service (1970)

Free L.L.Bean Summer Concert Series in Discovery Park, Freeport, Maine

June 30, 2008 · Filed Under Travel news, United States · Comment 

Enjoy some free music thanks to L.L. Bean this summer during the L.L.Bean Summer Concert Series.

What is it?

Free Concerts every week at 7:30 p.m. in Discovery Park, Freeport, Maine

Bring your lawn chairs to L.L.Bean’s 10th annual Summer Concert Series in Freeport. Enjoy the incredible talents of local and national performers. From blues to folk and country to pop, there’s music for every taste — and it’s free!

Friday, July 4
Toby Lightman
Contemporary Pop

Saturday, July 5
Daryl Hall
Pop

Saturday, July 12
Kathy Mattea
Acoustic Country

Saturday, July 19
Portland Symphony Orchestra
Classical

Saturday, July 26
Buddy Holly’s Original Crickets
50’s Rock and Roll

Saturday, August 2
Brandi Carlile with guest Jason Spooner
Contemporary Folk

Saturday, August 9
Richie Havens
Folk

Saturday, August 16
The Jerry Douglas Band
Contemporary Bluegrass

Saturday, August 23
John Hiatt and the Ageless Beauties
Contemporary Folk

Saturday, August 30
Lonestar
Pop Country

Sunday, August 31
Keb’ Mo’
Pop Blues

More info here 

Free Food in the Cleveland Ohio area on select dates

June 18, 2008 · Filed Under Travel news · Comment 

If you are going to be in the Cleveland, Ohio area soon, you will want to take note of the dates and locations below to make sure you can take advantage of some free food thatns to Marc’s.

Join Marty Allen and Paul Rado at select Marc’s locations this summer for free Hebrew national Hot Dogs, Nabisco Snacks & Lipton Iced Teas!

Saturday, June 14th
Marc’s Mentor on the Lake
11:00 am - 1:00 pm
5929 Andrews Road • Mentor on the Lake

Saturday, July 26th
Marc’s Strongsville
11:00 am - 1:00 pm
16224 Pearl Road • Strongsville

Saturday, June 28th
Marc’s Sheffield
11:00 am - 1:00 pm
170 Sheffield Center • Sheffield Lake

Saturday, August 16th
Marc’s Westlake
11:00 am - 1:00 pm
30050 Detroit Road • Westlake

Saturday, July 12th
Marc’s Garfield
11:00 am - 1:00 pm
12650 Rockside Road • Garfield Heights

Saturday, August 23rd
Marc’s Parmatown
11:00 am - 1:00 pm
7511 West Ridgewood • Parma

West End Live Returns to Leicester Square

June 13, 2008 · Filed Under London, Travel news · Comment 

west end liveWest End Live returns to Leicester Square this year where you can see some of London’s best West End performances for free at Leicester Square’s largest outdoor theater festival.

At West End Live you get to see some of London’s best West End productions all on one stage as well as experience the sounds of some medieval instruments and see a sneak preview of some exhibits from Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum. It is scheduled for June 21 and June 22 this year. Hours are from 11:00 AM - 6:00 PM on Saturday and from 12:00 PM - 6:00 PM on Sunday.

This year you can catch the best scenes from top shows including:

  • Avenue Q
  • Buddy
  • Chicago
  • Dirty Dancing
  • Grease
  • The Sound of Music
  • Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat
  • Mamma Mia!
  • Stomp
  • The Lord of the Rings

For more info, go to www.westendlive.co.uk

American Airlines to charge $15 for 1st checked bag

May 22, 2008 · Filed Under Travel news · 1 Comment 

As if airlines were not already raising costs and adding fees fast enough, there is a new one to note.

Beginning on June 15, 2008 American Airlines will charge passengers $15 for the FIRST checked bag. Yes, you read that correctly. If you are checking any luggage with American Airlines it is gonna cost you starting June 15th.

What will they charge us for next? Seatbelts? Restroom privileges?

CSI: The Experience - a traveling exhibit

May 12, 2008 · Filed Under Travel news, United States · 1 Comment 

CSI: The Experience
Are you a fan of the hit CBS TV show CSI? If so, you will not want to miss CSI: The Experience, which is a traveling exhibit based on the popular CBS television show.

The exhibit actually opened up February 1, 2008 at The Houston Museum of Natural Science in Houston, Texas. It ended its run there on April 30, 2008.

The next stop for the exhibit is COSI in Columbus, Ohio. The exhibit opens up at the Columbus science museum on May 24, 2008. And you have until September 1, 2008 to catch it there.

From Columbus the exhibit heads to St. Paul, Minnesota. You can see CSI: The Experience at the Science Museum of Minnesota starting October 15, 2008. It will be there through January 4, 2009.

Future locations of the exhibit include Los Angeles, California; Portland, Oregon; Fort Worth, Texas and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dates have not yet been set for these locations, so be sure to keep an eye on the schedule for the exhibit.

For more info:
CSI: The Experience official site
COSI - Columbus, Ohio
Science Museum of Minnesota - St. Paul, Minnesota
California Science Center - Los Angeles, California
Oregon Museum of Science and Industry - Portland, Oregon
Fort Worth Museum of Science and History - Ft. Worth, Texas
The Franklin Institute - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

39th Annual Appalachian Festival in Cincinnati, Ohio

May 5, 2008 · Filed Under Travel news, United States · Comment 

Appalachian Festival The 39th Annual Appalachian Festival in Cincinnati, Ohio takes place at the Coney Island Park this Mother’s Day weekend, May 9 - 11, 2008.

The Annual Appalachian Festival is what you get when you combine today’s hottest bluegrass act with the nation’s largest outdoor Mother’s Day shopping experience…mix in some down-home cookin’… and add an authentically recreated mountain village. The festival takes place in the historic Coney Island, which is transformed into a mountain-life village celebrating the area’s rich Appalachian heritage.

You can expect to enjoy three full days of old timey music, handmade crafts, storytelling, food and fun. The theme for the 39th Appalachian Festival is “Wood—Reclaiming Our Roots.” The Festival presents an educational and cultural multi-media salute to the important heritage wood (the number one renewable natural resource) and forests have played – and still do today — in the lives of the Appalachian region. In addition, so popular last year, and back bigger and better than ever this year, is a coal mining exhibit featuring tools and implements of the mining trade, an award-winning photography and multi-media exhibit curated by Cincinnatian Shanon Rice, plus a simulated coal mine entrance that adventurous visitors may crawl through to see what it is like to go to work every day by entering an opening only 32” high. Both natural resource exhibits feature award-winning photography, artwork, video documentaries and guest speakers from the Appalachian forestry and coal mining industries. Foresters and coal miners will be on hand to answer questions and share their knowledge with Festival visitors.

One of Bluegrass music’s hottest groups is making its first-ever appearance at the Appalachian Festival. That group is Cherryholmes, so be sure to check out their performance at the festival Saturday night at 7 p.m. Other talented artists on tap for festival visitors include Laura Boosinger & Josh Goforth; Ann & Phil Case; The Glenn Ritchie Band;
Wayne Henderson & Jim Lloyd with Herb Keys; Ginny Hawker & Tracy Schwarz with Debbi Kauffmann; Wild Carrot & The Roots Band; Rabbit Hash String Band; Calamity Rain; Warren & Judy Waldron; Comet Bluegrass Allstars; Ma Crow; David Brose; Kentucky Sassafras; The Corndrinkers; OK Ramblers; Dan Gellert; Bear Foot, and Cincinnati’s own Katie Laur.

Special stages for dance and storytelling can also be found at the Appalachian Festival. And don’t miss one of the world’s finest outdoor Mother’s Day shopping experiences with more than 100 crafters from 12 states featuring the finest in mountain handicrafts.

Festival hours are:
Friday, May 9: 9 a.m.- 9 p.m.
Saturday, May 10: 10 a.m.- 9 p.m.
Sunday, May 11: 10 a.m.- 6 p.m.

General admission is $8, senior citizens (55+) $4, children 4-11 $2, children under 3 FREE. Parking is $5. Special discount admission coupons (buy one adult admission, get half-off a second admission) are available at Kroger stores. For the first time ever, tickets can be purchased in advance on the Appalachian Festival Website www.appalachianfestival.org.

A special $20 three-day pass is available (on-line only) for the first time.

Proceeds from the three-day festival go toward grants to area organizations and individual artists involved in promoting Appalachian culture.

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