My husband and kids can hardly contain their excitement – the NCAA tournament is right around the corner! And while we don’t have tickets to any of this year’s games, we are eagerly anticipating filling out brackets and watching as much college basketball as possible. The tournament is going to be all over the place, and I thought I would do a little blog roundup of things to do in some of the host cities…..

The Women’s NCAA Regionals take place in New Orleans, LA, Spokane, WA, Greensboro, NC and Oklahoma City, OK. The NOLA Jazzfest will be hosted in New Orleans this year too – great to see that the city hosting such a diversity of events.

For those of you considering taking the Coast Starlight train along the West Coast up to Spokane, the LA Times Travel has provided an update on service on this line – sounds like it has been a little sketchy of late.

Not knowing much about Greensboro, North Carolina, I was pleased to see that the “Greenest” hotel in America has opened there! Thanks to Sustainable Travel for the tip.

And if basketball is not your thing and you are looking for something else to do in Oklahoma City, Things You Should Do suggests checking out the National Cowboy Museum!

The Mens NCAA Regionals will take place in Charlotte, NC, Phoenix, AZ, Detroit, MI, and Houston, TX. Always looking for culinary adventures when I travel, I was pleased to see that Charlotte is the home of the Best Steamed Bagel Sandwich in the U.S. Can you believe? Neither could I.

In addition to hosting NCAA basketball, Phoenix is also right in the thick of things for another popular sport, baseball. The Family Travel Blog points out the Cactus League Spring Training program, with all games no more than an hour away from Phoenix. Wow, you could just camp out for the month of March in Arizona!

Intelligent Travel highlights an interesting part of Detroit, Heidelberg Street, which is doing its part to put a damper on urban blight. Definitely something unique to check out!

Since the only time I have ever been to Houston was for a conference, I am going to send you right over to the Visit Houston Texas site, for loads of ideas of how to spend your time in this state of greatness. Personally, I would go shopping for a ten gallon hat and a pair of purple boots….

The Women’s Final Four will be played in Tampa Bay, while the men will be a couple states over in San Antonio. Now, I have been to San Antonio, and I must say, the San Antonio River Walk is a great place to spend a couple hours – good restaurants and bars, lots of people to watch, great atmosphere.

In Tampa, you can of course spend time at Busch Gardens Africa, but LA Times Travel points out that if you live in California, you would be better off staying home. Fortunately, Things You Should Do highlights a fun annual festival in Tampa, Guavaween. Not until October (think Halloween), this very popular event (think 80,000 folks!) is sure to be a great way to celebrate!

Are you planning to chase the NCAA basketball tournament this year? Who is your favorite team? Let us know!

pixelstats trackingpixel