Vacations Blog

Once a year several spots around the Southland are transformed into scenes from a Canadian hockey film, if you squint really hard and just let someone slam you into the glass.  Otherwise, you’ll simply find yourself skating along on temporary ice skating rinks while the sun beats down on you and palm trees sway in the background.  Also?  Most likely nobody else can ice skate, either, so you don’t have to worry about making a fool out of yourself.  Everyone else is doing it.

The only way I'll ever ice skate.

Most famously and traditionally, Pershing Square in downtown Los Angeles plays winter this year until January 18.  The location is home to the Winter Holiday Festival on December 12 and 13.

No need to leave the Valley (San Fernando) if that’s where you’re staying.  This is the first year that Woodland Hills Ice operates at the Westfield Topanga Mall until February 2010.  Special events, birthday parties, and open until midnight on Christmas Day.

Over yonder on the West Side, there’ll be no swimming in the pool at the W Hotel for a while.  That’s because they ingeniously turned it into a skating rink!  The outdoor restaurant/bar will serve up wintry goodies, too.  Frozen until January 24.  In Santa Monica, meet your friends at 5th and Arizona for some ice skating by the ocean until January 31.

If you’re in more southern areas of Southern Cal, there are opportunities to trip the ice fantastic down there, too.  Seaside Ice Rink Redondo Beach boasts a large parking lot and proximity to the fabulous Portofino Hotel.

Photo:  Pershing Square website

Local Wild Life at the Fair

While amusement parks and beaches provide great entertainment for your kids, entertainment is only one of the reasons to travel with children.  Travel is also a great way to introduce your kids to other parts of the world and how other people live.  My mother used to call it exposure.

As fun as Disney World may be, you don’t get a great sense of how different people live from an encounter with Mickey Mouse.

The next time you plan a family vacation, search for a local fair for a great opportunity to teach your children about local culture.

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County Line Orchard

Grab some fall family fun with a day of apple picking at County Line Orchard in Hobart, Indiana. Apple picking is a Midwest fall tradition, with orchards offering sweet delights in Michigan, Wisconsin and Indiana. For Chicago families like mine, County Line Orchard in charming Hobart, Indiana, supplies the closest orchard, at about a 40 minute drive from the city. What I love most about County Line is that it’s located in a small farming community that draws families from both Indiana and Illinois. Pick up trucks, corn fields and livestock surround the area for a quick country escape for city slickers.

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Christopher Columbus at the First Landing in Ohio

Columbus Day will be upon us before you know it.  Traditionally observed the second Monday of October, the holiday celebrates the discovery of Ohio in particular Columbus, Ohio by the navigationally challenged explorer Vasco De Gama.  That’s not really true.  De Gama was instrumental in the development of the x-ray machine.  Columbus, Ohio was discovered by Christopher Columbus, hence the name. Read More »

Feeling the Labor Day let down yet? That sinking feeling after a major holiday gnawing at your gut reminding you that you’ve still got plenty of party left in you but no party left to attend? Enter Middle America and the cure for what ails you, The Marion Popcorn Festival.

The Marion Popcorn Festival Marion, OH

Traditionally held each year on the weekend following Labor Day, the Popcorn Festival, in it’s 29th year, celebrates all things corn–specifically popped corn. Little wonder since this area of central Ohio is home to ConAgra Snack foods, the largest single plant producer of microwave popcorn in the world.   Act II… Redenbacher… Ring any bells? Read More »

Jerome Arizona, pic by Open Sky Media

Jerome, Arizona, also known as “America’s Most Vertical City” and “Largest Ghost Town in America”, was founded in 1876. The town sits at an elevation of 5,200 feet, at the top of Cleopatra Peak. It rests above the largest copper mine in Arizona, which at its peak produced over three million pounds of copper per month. The mine closed in 1953, and most of the population (15,000 at its highest) left the area. However, about a hundred inhabitants remained, determined to see a renaissance of their beloved town’s popularity. Interest in this “ghost town” gradually grew – in 1967 Jerome was designated a National Historic District by the federal government. Today and it now supports a thriving artist and tourist destination, and is home to about 450 permanent residents.
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When I was little, growing up in the back BACK woods of Maine (think Stephen King, here), I couldn’t be kept away from anything having to do with water. Ponds, lake, streams, even standing water in the fields after a rainstorm. It seems all I wanted to do was get the cuffs of my jeans wet and muddy.

Fast forward some thirty-mumble years, and I still have that inclination. Dwelling in the desert presents a problem, though, unless I want to wade in a community pool or a “man-made lake” (anathema!).

This is where my very favorite scenic drive in Arizona comes in. It’s Scenic Route 89A through Oak Creek Canyon – twenty-eight miles of tree-lined and mountainous winding road that follows along Oak Creek.

On one end, you have Sedona:

On the other end, you have Flagstaff:

All along the middle, you have this:

And this:

And this:

Aaaaaaand this:

There are great little places all along the route to stop and take pictures, or to obtain refreshment. Private resorts and bed and breakfasts abound. Swimming (and sliding!) at Slide Rock is popular for families with children. Hiking along the West Fork Trail and Palatki Indian Ruins is appropriate for all skill levels.

Finally, the road climbs out of the canyon, and a the top of the final crest (over 6,000 feet!) there is a rest stop maintained by the National Forest Service. It features necessary conveniences, an Information booth, a lookout area from which the entirety of Oak Creek Canyon is laid before you, and Native Americans set up along the pathways selling their crafts.

It was a beautiful and refreshing way to spend an afternoon. We rely upon this scenic drive at least two or three times a year, to get us out of the sweltering heat of the Phoenix metropolitan area. It was hard for us to come back home when all we wanted to do was plant ourselves next to Oak Creek and never leave. We did come back home (work calls, after all), but it’s comforting to know that we can go back any time we need to.

To experience the drive from the Phoenix area, take I-17 north, then take exit 298 to access Highway 179 east to Sedona. Highway 179 connects to Highway 89A in the heart of town.

To access the drive from Flagstaff, take I-17 to the junction of I-40, then take exit 337 to Highway 89A. You will then follow the route south to Sedona, instead of north like we did. It’s just as pretty going in the other direction, trust me!

Lilo and the King

Everything my kids know about Elvis, Lilo taught them.  And they can sum it up in a 6 word phrase, “Thank you.  Thank you very much.”   Zoë  can do a little lip curl and finger point, but that’s pretty much the end of the hunt.  They don’t know his songs or his movies.  They don’t about Priscilla.  Lisa Marie and Micheal Jackson.  Graceland and Paul Simon.   Sun Studios.

I don’t necessarily feel the need to rectify any of this vast lack of knowledge.  Really, I’m OK with it.  Well, except for the Paul Simon part.  That’s kind of sad and I feel badly about it.

Anyway, I suppose I should give them a bit of background on the poor boy from Mississippi  who would one day become King in culinary circles.  So on our recent trip to Louisiana, I decided to stop in Tupelo, Mississippi where it all began.

The Elvis Presley Birthplace Museum and Chapel

OK, I just lied.  Actually, I needed gas and as I have mentioned before there are no service stations on the Natchez Trace.  When the tank gets low, you pull off.  I suppose the boyhood home, scratch that, birthplace of Elvis Presley in Tupelo was just a bit of lagniappe.  (It’s a Louisiana term–means a little something extra.)

According to This Marker, Elvis is Dead!

Talk about humble beginnings!  He was born in a two room house that his father borrowed $180 to build in 1934.  That’s TWO rooms.  A bedroom and a kitchen.  Keep that in mind when considering the tour.  It doesn’t take long!  Oh, and to boot—he only lived there three years.  The house was repossessed because the family could not afford to repay the loan.

The Two Room House Where Elvis was Born

The First Room of the Two Room House Where Elvis Presley Was Born

The Second Room of the Two Room House Where Elvis Presley Was Born

Also on the birthplace grounds is a chapel which was built by donations from fans,  a museum with a couple of audiovisual presentations focusing on Elvis’ early life and a few costumes and the church where the Presley family attended services.  Oh, and of course, a gift shop.  Gotta schlep the goods.  For the life of me though, I couldn’t find a single Paul Simon album.  They must have been sold out.

The Boy Who Would Become King.

So if you’re a fan of The King, The Elvis Presley Birthplace is a definite a must see if you happen to be anywhere near Tupelo, MS.  It’s located at 306 Elvis Presley Drive.  Hours are 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Monday Through Saturday (1:00 pm to 5:00 pm on Sundays).  Admission is modest, $12 for adults to visit the home, museum and church and just $6 for children 8 years and above.  That’s the see-all-three discounted rate.  The fees are divided between the three individual exhibits–The Home ($4 adults, $2 children), The Church ($6 adults, $3 children) and The Museum ($8 adults, $4 children).

If Elvis is not your cup of tea…

well, there are plenty of gas stations in Tupelo as well.