Cougar Mtn. Zoo Reindeer Festival

The Cougar Mountain Zoo in Issaquah, WA (15 miles East of Seattle) is worth visiting year round.  The zoo is located, literally, on Cougar Mountain with a beautiful view of the Cascade Mountains and Lake Sammamish.  The primary focus of the Cougar Mountain Zoo is education and endangered species.  It’s an outing and it’s a cause.

But we’re talking reindeer. Read More »

A view of snow covered dunes at Whitefish Dunes State Park

 If you long for the winter wonders pictured on holiday cards, head to Door County, Wisconsin where snow and fun abound.   I enjoyed an invigorating press trip to  Door County’s  snow-coveredshores, where I witnessed the peninsula’s jaw-dropping  beauty. Start your frosty frolics with a visit to Whitefish Dunes State Park.  An 865 acre nature preserve, Whitefish Dunes State Park boasts the highest sand dunes in Wisconsin and is the original home of eight Native American villages dating from 100 BC to the late 1800s.  The best way to view the park’s  scenic highlights is a snow shoeing hike through  the miles of pristine trails.  Three local shops rent snow shoes according the weight, so don’t be shy about announcing your pounds!  Snow shoeing guarantees a vigorous workout so be prepared to strip off some clothing layers.

What can be said about U2 that is not common knowledge? The 22 Grammy awards – the most ever won by a band, enroute to the 12 albums and 145 million records sold, or the watershed Live Aid concert which put U2 and Bono on the map and on the way to becoming a major force for philanthropy through music. 

U2

Today, U2 is not just a rock band. It is an institution of musical wizardry, with magic powers way beyond those of your ordinary garden-variety rocker.

A U2 concert is a seminal event. How Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullen Jr. and Adam Clayton reach out and grab individual hearts and minds in the sea of fans at their concerts is a story all by itself. 

The perfect example is the currently on-going 360° tour by U2, supporting their latest studio album No Line on the Horizon. The 2009 leg of the tour has wrapped up, but the next year’s schedule is already laid out for well into fall 2010. 

So much advance planning becomes necessary because of the enormous amount of logistics, equipment and technical know-how that goes into setting up every single concert. It took them 2 years to come up with the production design. The U2 360° tour support staff for each concert travels along with the band in 180 trucks.

The end result of this vast enterprise is that the band – which is truly center-stage with fans surrounding them from all sides – is able to reach out to every single one of their fans during each show. A giant spider-like 170 ft tall steel structure looks down on the stage, and tucks out of sight all the usual tech gear and scaffolding that spoils the visuals.

U2 360° Tour

There are moving bridges which allow the band to move in-between two inner and outer rings of fans and reach out to everyone, with a 360-degree vertically expandable LED video screen and 12 manned cameras to capture all the movement without losing audio and video, and display the show from every angle to every corner of the stadium.

Naturally, with such an expansive setup, the performance and the songs need to be just as good. Read More »

What are the top New Year's Eve travel destinations in the USA?

New Year’s Eve is just around the corner and the entire world will be celebrating with fireworks and oversized clocks counting down the last few minutes of 2009. Where will you find the best New Year’s Eve parties and most unique celebrations in the United States? Check out these top New Year’s Eve travel destinations in America.

Top 5 New Year’s Eve Travel Destinations in America

Fireworks at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom

5.  Orlando, Florida

Orlando is a great place for families to celebrate New Year’s Eve together.  The amusement parks will be packed, but Disney World, Sea World and Universal Studios are each sure to give you your money’s worth in terms of fireworks displays and celebratory parades.  Do, however, consider spending the night in a very nearby hotel if you want to avoid spending the first several hours of 2010 sitting in traffic.

Floats in the Rose Bowl Parade

4.  Los Angeles, California

What makes Los Angeles stand out as one of the top New Year’s Eve travel destinations is not the celebrity residents, but rather the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade that coincides with college football’s Rose Bowl.  The parade comes complete with floats made of roses, marching bands and a celebrity Grand Marshal that leads the way.  After the parade, you’ll find an over the top party at hundreds of world class nightclubs all over Los Angeles, and of course, a spectacular fireworks display at midnight.

New Year's Eve On Bourbon Street

3.  New Orleans, Louisiana

You’ll find the New Orleans locals heading to Frenchmen Street for New Year’s Eve, but Bourbon Street is sure to be overflowing with partying tourists.   No matter where you get started, you’ll want to be at Jackson Square by midnight to see the ball drop.  This year, the Sugar Bowl teams (Florida Gators and Cincinnati Bearcats), alumni and students will also be in New Orleans for New Year’s Eve, which is sure to add to New Orleans’s infamous party atmosphere.  Expect dancing in the streets, impromptu brass bands parading through, eccentric costumes, and tailgate style madness.

Las Vegas, Nevada

2.  Las Vegas, Nevada

It’s no surprise that Las Vegas is a top New Year’s Eve Travel Destinations.  Sin City is notorious for knowing how to throw a good party, and New Year’s is no exception.  The strip is pedestrianized for one giant outdoor party, complete with fireworks, sound and light shows.  Of course every casino, nightclub and hotel in Las Vegas will be offering specials and over the top parties of their own.  And who knows – maybe you’ll ring in the New Year with a jackpot win!

Times Square - a New Year's Eve tradition

1.  New York City, New York

Of course, the most famous New Year’s Eve event in the world is the celebration in New York City’s Times Square.  Dick Clark’s big ball drop is watched by a million people in the flesh, and a billion more on television.  Yes, that means you’ll have to fight an unbelievable crowd, but star-studded musical performances, pyrotechnics and the sheer notoriety of the event put New Year’s Even in Times Square on many “must do once in your life” lists.

Photo credit: Bob Jagendorf, d4rr3ll, erinbrace, Gary J Wood, eyeliam, Paul Mannix on Flickr

This is my neighbors house with the soft glow of electric sex gleaming in the window. My neighbor, apparently, won a Major Award, and frankly I covet it.

Said something about mind power.

I dread the day they take it down. I imagine I’ll hear the sound of “Taps” being played, gently.

Yes, these are all quotes, some paraphrased, from A Christmas Story. If you don’t know what I’m talking about click the link – and then buy the movie. That’s right, don’t rent it, own it.

So how are the lights in your neighborhood?

Photo by Whit Honea

For more family-friendly travel photos visit DeliciousBaby’s Photo Fridays.

Hello, and welcome to the Internet. Now go out there and see the world:

The best Christmas lights in NYC?

The Disney Blog gives us 20,000 reasons to visit the Disney Museum.

The best beaches for sea glass – not to be confused with litter. (UpTake Beaches)

The Chicago Tribune rates U.S. airline nutrition.

MarketingVox shares travel apps for iPhone and Droid. Read More »

Europe, being very touchy over leadership issues in the EU, has rotating presidencies for just about everything. Turns out they also have rotating ‘Capitals of Culture.’ And Istanbul is one of the 2010 European Capital of Culture (ECOC) cities. So what does that mean and why should you care?

Bosphorus Bridge linking Asia and Europe

A city that gets itself designated as the ECOC gets to showcase its cultural life and cultural development for the entire year with events, shows and programs, which transform the city into an exciting destination for visitors.

Istanbul already has a lot of culture, to say the least. It has been the capital of three empires, starting with the Romans in 330 AD. 

For added significance, Istanbul literally connects Asia and Europe, with bridges over the Bosphorus Strait linking the two continents.

With the pileup of thousands of years of heritage, a dash of European modernity mixed in with Asian muslim customs and Ottoman cuisine, what you have in Istanbul is what Europe will look like 50 to 100 years from now.

These two faces of Istanbul are plainly visible in the contrast between attractions like the traditional structure of the Blue Mosque and the Art Nouveau buildings in nearby Nisantasi.

As for the immediate future, the 2010 ECOC program has plenty of highlights and events lined up all through 2010 to make your visit memorable. More details here – www.en.istanbul2010.org/

Photo courtesy Istanbul 2010 ECOC.

Winter Wonderfest at Navy Pier

The weather outside might be frightful but Navy Pier supplies indoor winter fun with the Winter Wonderfest at Navy Pier.  A Chicago holiday tradition for 10 years, the festival runs daily through January 3rd and supplies a snow-covered, action-filled day for the whole family.  A diverse range of activities include a rope obstacle course, inflatable games and create-a-cookie.  Amusement rides guarantee excitement with favorites like the 50-foot indoor Ferris wheel, the Winter Wind Glider and the Reindeer Express Train.