There are twenty-five days until Black Friday, my friends! Time to get your gameplan together!
Black Friday, that traditional chaotic Christmas shopping day that qualifies as a quasi-holiday all on its own, is the Friday after Thanksgiving in the U.S. every year. This year, plan your Arizona shopping to visit these fine establishments:
November 2nd marks the last and 67th Day of Smiles for Kyle and Stacey, two lucky travelers who’ve experienced just about everything Orlando, Florida has to offer – all on someone else’s dime.
Last spring, the Orlando Convention & Visitor’s Bureau announced their 67 Days of Smiles contest and promised two lucky winners the chance to visit Orlando for 67 days. The idea was that it would take a tourist 67 days to experience everything that the Orlando area has to offer. Kyle and Stacey were chosen for the job and have been recording their trip on the 67 Days of Smiles blog since August 28, 2009.
As a Central Florida resident, it’s been fun to watch all of the local places and activities that have been featured over the last two months. Of course the pair hit the area’s most popular attractions, including Disney World, Sea World and Universal Studios. But they’ve also introduced me to things to do in Orlando that I had never heard of, like the Orlando Shakespeare Theater. I am an avid fan of live theater and had no idea this place even existed!
The 67 Days of Smiles web site has recorded over 67,000 hits and their twitter account has almost 1,000 followers. The traveling duo has been featured by several media outlets, including the New York Times. It appears that the promotion has been a success for the Orlando CVB, and the web site is now a great resource for Orlando residents and vacationers!
There’s something about November 7 that’s bringing celebrities out to make appearances in Los Angeles. In the space of half an hour I read about two that I share with you now:
Pink's hot dog stand
Bill Cosby and Jason Alexander are among the notables who will be dishing up famous franks at Pink’s Hot Dogs at the corner of La Brea and Melrose. The dog stand is celebrating its 70th year in Los Angeles by selling its wares for 70 cents, during 7 days, 7 hours, and 7 minutes – with proceeds to go to the charity of each daily celeb’s choice. Pink’s is a landmark food stand in a town that has a lot of landmark food stands, and if you’re in Hollywood during this promotion it’s a sure chance to get a star sighting. For me the only thing legendary about Pink’s is the line outside every time I drive by. I have yet to sample the dogs, being an impatient Angeleno who hates to pay for parking. But if you stop on by, let me know how the hot dogs taste. I’ll bet they’re much more tasty at 70 cents a pop.
Also next Sunday (on that day only; sadly, this one doesn’t last all week) the cast of “Glee” will appear at the Barnes & Noble location at The Grove, adjacent to The Farmer’s Market at Third and Fairfax. The show is releasing an album of cast recordings from the show on November 3. The event begins at 4:00 PM, but I would advise getting there early. If the trending topic on Twitter during any airing of this show is any indicator, I’d say this one’s gonna be mobbed.
Glee cast members at a mall appearance in Boston
[photos from pinkshollywood.com and myspace.com/musicfromglee]
Me and my husband at Lewis Falls - Yellowstone National Park, August 2009.
My husband and I visited Yellowstone National Park earlier this year. We tend to over-prepare for any vacation we partake of, and the road trip that took us on a round-trip total of 3,026 miles was a fine example of obsessive preparedness.
Seriously, if you haven’t picked your pumpkin yet you’re about as big a slacker as the guy that waits until October 30th to write about a pumpkin patch. Let’s not judge.
Besides, calling Remlinger Farms a pumpkin patch is like calling Neil Diamond a singer. He’s an entertainer, people. Remlinger Farms is pretty entertaining, too.
The farm is located in Carnation, WA and is a self-contained family destination, minus the lodging. Luckily, Seattle is about 30 minutes away and they have a couple of motels along the freeway. Read More »
Muslims go to Mecca. Catholics go to the Vatican. Hard Rock fans go to an AC/DC concert. AC/DC has held its fans in a religious trance since 1973, when Angus and Malcom Young founded the band in Sydney. Since then, AC/DC has sold over 200 million albums worldwide.
And now, 36 years later, the Rock ‘n’ Roll train is still rolling, with last year’s release of AC/DC’s latest studio album – Black Ice. AC/DC is currently on a marathon 18 month Black Ice world tour, which started in late 2008, and continues well into 2010.
Angus Young
Adventure travel in the Himalayas or a safari in South Africa is tame stuff, compared to the roar in the stadium as Phil Rudd gets going on the drums and the absolute frenzy that breaks out when Brian Johnson and Angus Young hit their stride. It’s an awesome experience, and if you’re not doing any concert travel, then you’ll never know what you missed.
If you want to be touched by the magic, check out the venues and dates listed below, and get yourself some AC/DC concert tickets.
AC/DC concert dates & Phil Rudd
From Dec 2-6 they’ll be holding 3 concerts in Buenos Aires, and then they hit Asia-Pacific in early 2010, with concerts scheduled for Wellington and Auckland in New Zealand; back to their roots in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth in Australia; and then on to Saitama and Osaka in Japan in March.
Tomorrow may be Halloween, but if your town is anything like mine the festivities will be in full swing tonight as well. There are neighborhood parties and pumpkins to carve and apples to bob. And there are costumed children everywhere.
What does that mean to you? It means that whichever way your travels may take you this weekend you need to play it smart. Cabs, buses, subways – these are good ideas. In fact, the best costume in the room just might be the designated driver.
How, you ask, are the UpTake Vacation writers spending their fall? Well, thanks for asking. We’re doing a lot of this:
Lehner Pumpkin Farm in Radnor, Ohio
Linus: Each year, the Great Pumpkin rises out of the pumpkin patch that he thinks is the most sincere. He’s gotta pick this one. He’s got to. I don’t see how a pumpkin patch can be more sincere than this one. You can look around and there’s not a sign of hypocrisy. Nothing but sincerity as far as the eye can see.
November 2nd marks the last and 
