Vacations Blog

If fame could kill, Lady GaGa would be stone cold by now. It was little more than a year ago in Aug 2008 that she put out her first album – The Fame.

Lady GaGa - Bad Romance

In one year, Lady GaGa has hogged 20 awards and 61 nominations, including a Grammy. She has sold over 20 million digital singles and 4 million albums. 

And now, in Nov 2009, The Fame has morphed into The Fame Monster – Lady GaGa’s second album. The new album includes 8 songs, including Bad Romance, which focus on the dark side of fame, as experienced by Lady GaGa in the past year.

This next chapter in the meteoric rise of the Haus of GaGa kicks off with The Monster Ball tour on Nov 27 in Montreal, exactly 4 days after the release of the new album.

Montreal is quickly followed by 21 more pit stops spread all over North America, with the final two performances on Jan 20 & 21 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

And what’s on the menu for electro-pop fans who land up at one of these concerts? Read More »

It should come as no surprise that women are much, much smarter than men. But with that being said, my attempts at making my girlfriend drive me all over the greater Los Angeles area to find locations from my favorite films backfired yesterday.

It was mean.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

As I mentioned earlier, I have begun this ‘entitled’ project all over the area, finding the places that I feel like I deserve to see while I’m here. We’ve covered Swingers and True Romance, and I plan on finding a few more.

But when I found out that not far from where I lived was a school that was the local for a handful of my favorite films, I had to go.

When you first get to Marshall High School, you can immediately tell why it was constantly popping up in the cinema, what with its massive entryway and tree-lined yards. But a quick walk around the premises and you’ll start to remember the scenes that were shot here: Read More »

It got to the point there where every woman under the age of 28 in America hated Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn – not because they’re horrible people, just the opposite, actually, but from the years of 1996-1999, there wasn’t a bar in America that didn’t reek of pick-up lines from that film.

It was a movie for those of us who weren’t good at approaching women, who maybe did leave one too many messages on the answering machine the same night we ‘got digits, baby’. It showed the gritty side of being lonely and gave us all hope that if we couldn’t be Trent, then maybe we’d have a friend like him. No one wanted Pink Dot to deliver to Tulsa, Oklahoma more than I did – although hitting on any member of the opposite sex in that town, even if in jest, might have resulted in a quick and justifiable death.

And no other film draws more pilgrims than this one: ‘Swingers’. Read More »

When in Hawaii do as the Hawaiians do. In this case that means charge a bunch of tourists a hefty sum and then dump them in the ocean.  It was worth it.

This photo is from a snorkeling expedition off the coast of Maui.  That’s a sea turtle.

“Dude? Dude? Focus dude… Dude?”

See?

“Saw the whole thing, dude. First you were all like “whoa”, and we were like “whoa”, and you were like “whoa…”"

And that’s how it happened.  No Snorks were harmed in the writing of this post.

“RIGHTEOUS. RIGHTEOUS.”

Photo by Whit Honea

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

Quotes courtesy of Crush

It’s time for another rousing edition of Travel Around the Internet! Brace yourself.

Here are just a few of the items that have shuffled across our inbox lately:

Disney Cruise specials and kids sail free!

Marriott wants to Twitter, email and Facebook you to Hawai’i! By all means, let them!

Read More »

Call him 'Lance' and you're in trouble.

Listen, I’m not going to lie to you, okay? I’m in Hawaii on a tour where we’re being treated like rock stars. Meaning, I am anything but slumming as far as hotels go. When I get a spare few hours, I will find some funky cool little places to stay in for less than usual, I promise. And let’s be honest, any quick search of cheap hotels in Honolulu will pull up more info than even I could steal and attempt at passing off as my own.

But, having been traveling for over 11 straight years now, I can offer some little tips on how to have a lot of the same experiences as the happy family on the brochure, without having to pay as much.

Take today, for example, I had a few extra hours before a welcoming party.

I could have easily picked up the guide book and read that the Iolani Palace was just down the street from me.

I could have found out through, well, a number of resources online, that it was an easy walk from my hotel.

I could have walked around outside, sat under the giant banyan trees and taken this monument in.

I could have gone inside, paid the $20, and read the information given by one of the older volunteers at the door.

I could have found out that it had electricity 4 years before The White House, or, perhaps, that this was the official residence of the monarch until the King was overthrown in 1893.

In fact, I could have easily cut-and-pasted all sorts of wonderful information about this downtown jewel right here and, thanks to this handy thesaurus that pops up with a click, might have even convinced you it was my own.

Or, I could have taken up a friend-of-a-friend’s offer to show me around.

Which I did.

See, Hawaiian’s are some of the most accommodating people in the world, they’re also some of the most laid-back; these are things you probably know. But in this day and age of social networking, everyone is one degree away from anyone else in the world.

And people like living here, they like talking about living here – so take them up on it.

I guarantee that with one ‘friend invite’, or one ‘tweet‘, you can find someone anywhere who has an hour.

That’s what I did, and now anytime I come back to Honolulu, I’ll have a new friend-guide, known to most as ‘Lancey-Poo’.

And that’s something everyone should have.

Aric Q. is traveling to Hawaii and he’s trying to do it on the cheap.  We will be following his adventures here on UpTake and we will be wishing him well, but we will NOT be wiring him money.

A lot of folks have a love affair with Vermont.  It’s got scenic mountains and natural resources, quaint towns and farms, charming shops, and scores of romantic inns and bed and breakfasts.

Me?  I never fell for Vermont.  I see a lot of nothing to do and nowhere to go.  I also see a state that looks an awful lot like it never left 1962.  That, I suppose, it what attracts most other people.  There is one great thing I’ve found in Vermont though.  Actually three great things.  Factory tours.

I know what you’re thinking—factory tours are even more boring than Vermont.  And when the whole family comes along there’s sure to be at least one or two of you kicking at the floor just begging to get out.  But it’s different here and that’s because—and I know this is cliché—there’s something for everyone when it comes to Vermont factory tours.

Within just a few miles of each other, Vermont vacationers can tour Ben & Jerry’s ice cream factory, the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory, and the Magic Hat Brewing Company.

The Vermont Teddy Bear Factory

The Vermont Teddy Bear Factory in Shelburne is definitely the favorite of young kids.  And if your kid loves stuffed animals don’t expect to get out without buying a teddy bear—even if there are two or three dozen at home already.  Vermont Teddy Bear is famous for dressing and accessorizing its bears for any occasion and for its Bear-Grams—bears sent as gifts through the mail in boxes complete with air holes. The thirty-minute factory tour shows visitors where and how these bears are “born” including cutting, sewing, assembling, stuffing, dressing, and even pointing out the “Made in Vermont” twinkle in each bear’s eye. You’ll even see where bears can come back to the “hospital” to be repaired at no cost if they ever get hurt or damaged.  Before or after the tour, hungry families can stop at the Hungry Bear Café. The factory is open year-round seven days each week except for New Year’s Day, Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Admission is only $2.00 for adults and teenagers and free for kids 12 and under.  Seasonal hours are available at the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory website.

The Magic Hat Artifactory

The Magic Hat Brewing Company’s factory—or the “Artifactory” as they call it—is not a place for the kids. Located in South Burlington, the artifactory has as dark and funky a look and feeling as Magic Hat’s brews with their odd names, labels and hocus-pocus phrases under the caps.  (Magic Hat is well known in New England and may have reached the mid-Atlantic and Midwest, but I don’t think they’ve gone nationwide.) Seriously, the lobby and shop look like they were decorated by carnies of the Something Wicked This Way Comes variety.  Some folks find the guided or self-guided tours and all the beer-talk boring, but the tours are free so there’s no damage. Another thing that’s free is samples—that’s right, there’s free sampling of at least eight or more different brews.  If you do have kids with you, you can still stop in and visit the gift shop packed with Magic Hat merchandise like hats, shirts, glasses, mugs, bottle openers, and even weirder things like “beer soap.”  The Magic Hat Artifactory is open seven days a week—Mondays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m.

Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Factory

The factory that’s probably going to please just about everyone in the family is Ben & Jerry’s in Waterbury. For anyone who doesn’t know, Ben & Jerry’s makes ice cream.  At the factory, visitors get a short “moovie” (their word, not mine) in the Cow Over the Moon Theatre about how friends Ben and Jerry started in the ice cream business, how they operate their business, and how they’re advocates and examples of giving back to the community.  The tour continues on an enclosed mezzanine above the ice cream-making plant and ends up in the “FlavoRoom” where you get to taste a couple of samples—maybe even of some flavors that haven’t been released to stores yet.  There’s also, of course, the obligatory gift shop and a “Scoop Shop” for more of that famous ice cream.  Outside are cows, a playground for the kids (don’t worry, the playground isn’t in the same spot as the cows), and Ben & Jerry’s Flavor Graveyard where “dearly de-pinted” flavors no longer in production—like Peanut Butter & Jelly and Ethan Almond—go to rest.  The Ben & Jerry’s Factory is open year-round seven days a week except for New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Tours are $3.00 for adults and teens, $2.00 for seniors, and free for kids 12 and under. Information on seasonal hours and other deals is available by clicking on Tour Info at the factory website.

Whether you’re a fan of scenic mountains or not, young or old, with kids or without, you’re likely to enjoy at least one of these tours.  And if you’re really into factory tours—or teddy bears, beer and ice cream—you might just love them all.

At first glance, the area between The White House and The Washington Memorial known as the National Mall appears immense. In reality it’s a short hike of approximately one mile and it is packed full of things to do and see along the way. The trick is to find them before you’re too tired to care.

Once you’ve walked by all the monuments and peered through the barricades to see the White House, you might find yourself tempted to take a picture with a life-size cut-out of the president and purchase lunch and souvenirs. Once this is done you’ll be broke and the young kids may not be impressed. Don’t be discouraged, I can help add a few free stops along the way that will help keep the little ones interested.

National Postal Museum

While not directly on the mall this museum is just a short Metro ride away. It’s worth the trip. Who doesn’t love the mail? The Moving the Mail exhibit at the National Postal Museum covers the pony express, stagecoaches, railroads, and planes. This is a great place to explore with children. They can climb inside a stagecoach or hop aboard a re-created railway mail train. There is also a collection of postcards and letters on display in the Art of Cards and Letters gallery. They are often touching and sometimes very funny. Try to corral the kids long enough to read a few of these. It’s worth the time.

Freer Gallery

If you’re looking for one stop visual amazement, The Peacock Room at the Freer Gallery is the place to go. Created by artist James McNeill Whistler (famous for his mother painting) for a wealthy London shipowner, it is a testament to artistic vision taken to extreme. And it is stunning in an extreme kind of way. Send the kids on a mission to find all the peacocks while you sit and rest contemplate the mind of an artist.

Sculpture Garden at The National Gallery of Art

The Sculpture Garden at the National Gallery of Art is a requested stop every time we visit Washington D.C. There is something about the size and unusual shapes of the sculptures that fascinate the little ones in ways Mona Lisa never could. This combined with beautiful plantings and a comfortable bench or two makes it a great place to unwind after one too many security check points.

The National Museum of Natural History

The Natural History Museum is packed full of exhibits. Everything from animals to insects can be found here. There are also some impressive rocks and fossils. Even if you don’t have the time or energy to see everything at the Natural History Museum, a quick stop to see Henry is a must. Another must see is the above head whale and the fish fossils in The Sant Ocean Hall. It opened in September 2008 and is a very well done interpretive exhibit. It covers ocean life from tiny plankton to giant whales and will give even the smallest visitors an appreciation of the ocean’s ecosystem and the role the oceans plays in our lives.

This is my short list of top stops in Washington, D.C. There are many more kid-friendly attractions that are either free or low cost. I’m always looking for a new place to take the girls. If you have any suggestions let me know.

Photo Credits: A whole sack of thank you notes to Cliff1066 for the mailbag photo. A full stream of gratitude to NCinDC for the Sculpture Garden Fountain Photo.