Reading Queue: Best Barbecue in Texas; Climbing Denali; Endangered Jamestown; Oklahoma Rodeo
Here is a round-up of the most recent USA travel articles that caught my eye.
- The Top 50 Barbecue Joints in Texas [Texas Monthly]
- 36 Hours in Texas Hill Country [New York Times]
- Should I Climb Denali? [Outside Magazine]
- With Rising Seas, America's Birthplace Could Disappear [NPR]
- Oklahoma Secret: Boley Rodeo [Reid on Travel]
Related: Texas Travel Guide | Alaska: Quick Stats and Links | Top Music Cities in the USA | Top Destinations in the West | USA Food and Dining Bucket List
Airstream 2 Go Puts the Great American Road Trip Within Reach
The classic road trip, complete with an iconic silver Airstream trailer, is no longer stuck in the land of daydreams now that Airstream 2 Go, the first Airstream rental company, has launched. Travelers in Los Angeles and Las Vegas who wish to explore California and the Southwest can book current model Airstreams, which are paired with GMC Yukon Denali SUVs and equipped with amenities like bathrooms (and showers!), kitchenettes, and flat screen TVs. For road trip amateurs, the company has even devised itineraries -- California Adventure and Southwest Sojourn. Keep in mind, however, that this road trip fantasy doesn't come cheap: weekly rental rates start at around $5,300.
For more information, visit the Airstream 2 Go website.
Related Articles:
- For Rent: Airstreams [New York Times]
- Swell on Wheels [Wall Street Journal]
- Best Road Trip Travel Apps
Happy Birthday, Las Vegas!
Happy birthday, Vegas, you sexy beast.
On May 15, 1905, you were established as a town along the Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad. Today, you are more than just a stop between two western cities. You are a "jewel in the desert," "Sin City," and one of the top destinations for travelers in the United States. What makes you one of the most beloved places for a vacation? Perhaps we should ask About's Guide to Las Vegas Travel...
Introducing...the New Tallest Building in the United States
On Friday, construction crews in New York City lifted the spire to the top of One World Trade Center, making it the new tallest building in the United States. (Willis Tower in Chicago is now the second tallest in the U.S.) Standing at 1,776 feet - a symbolic height, recalling the year the U.S. was founded - One World Trade Center is, in fact, the largest building in the Western Hemisphere, and, quite possibly, the 3rd tallest in the world, depending on whether the spire is included in measurements.
The Atlantic Wire has more details and photographs of the building, which will officially open in 2014. The above amazing snap comes from Anne Thompson of NBC News.
Related Links:
Reading Queue: Weed, California; "The Office" Tourism; Grantland at the Iditarod; Driving the American Horse Trail
Here is a round-up of the most recent USA travel articles that caught my eye.
- Please Don't Smoke or Steal the Signs in Weed, California [Gadling]
- Washington Best State for Cyclists [Outside Magazine]
- How "The Office" Revived Scranton's Tourism Industry [Skift]
- L.A. Alternate Realities [New York Review of Books]
- Out in the Great Alone (on the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race) [Grantland, h/t World Hum]
- Driving the American Horse Trail [AOL Travel]
Related Links: Travel from Los Angeles to San Francisco | Alaska: Quick Stats and Links | Top 10 Art Museums in the USA
Bucket List Travel: The Kentucky Bourbon Trail
With the Kentucky Derby -- one of the USA's must-see sporting events -- coming up this Saturday, I thought it was the perfect time to highlight one of the items on my USA food and dining bucket list: the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.
Kentucky produces 95 percent of the world's bourbon whiskey, a fact that led the U.S. Congress to declare bourbon, in 1964, "America's Native Spirit". In 1999, the Kentucky Distillers' Association decided to form the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, a route that bourbon enthusiasts could follow to learn more about the ingredients, distillation process, and packaging of bourbon whiskey. At the epicenter of the trail is Bardstown, site of several distilleries and host to the annual Kentucky Bourbon Festival, a week-long celebration of Kentucky history mixed with country music, cocktails, bootlegging tales, and barrel-making demonstrations. The Kentucky Bourbon Festival is held every September.
This weekend at the Derby, approximately 7,800 liters of bourbon will be consumed, much of it blended with simple syrup, mint, and crushed ice to make a mint julep, the official drink of the event. By comparison, Kentucky's inventory of bourbon in 2012 was 4.9 million barrels (about 200 liters per barrel), so there's plenty of bourbon for travelers to sample any time of the year.
For more information, visit the Kentucky Bourbon Trail website or read about Louisville's Urban Bourbon Trail. For timely articles on eating and drinking in Louisville, on and beyond the Bourbon Trail, see Louisville Eater.
Related Articles:
How to Hail a Taxi in NYC; Chili Peppers in New Mexico; Least Stressful States; Hiking the Tetons
Travelers Choose Their Favorite Guided Tours in the U.S.
Social travel site Gogobot recently announced the winners of the top 25 guided tours in the world, as rated by its well-traveled members. Of those 25 tours, 14 were located in U.S. destinations and included activities ranging from culinary walks to whale watching to factory and brewery tours. The top city for a guided tour? Seattle (and environs) was on top with three entries. Hawaii also had three tours on the list.
Read more about the Top Guided Tours in the USA as chosen by Gogobot users. Feel free to suggest your own favorite tours in the comments below.
Photo of the Seattle Underground Tour, the top vote-getter on Gogobot's list, by ljguitar
The Contemporary Art Museum Near DC That You've Never Heard Of
There are works by Ellsworth Kelly, Richard Serra, Jeff Koons, Jackson Pollock, Jasper Johns, Willem de Kooning, and other contemporary artists at Glenstone, a small, privately-owned gallery that I learned about in the New York Times this weekend. Located in Potomac, Maryland, about 15 miles northwest of Washington, DC, Glenstone is currently open only three days per week by appointment only. But Mitchell and Emily Rales, the owners and curators of the priceless art on display, have announced that they will build an additional building. Set to be completed in 2016, the second building will be five times as big as the current one -- "the rough equivalent of the East Building of the National Gallery of Art," one of the most popular art museums in the United States.
Pop on over to the NYT slide show of works at Glenstone or visit the Glenstone website to see what type of art is currently on display there.
Thousands of Reasons to Love Boston
It's human nature to want to talk about a tragedy after the fact, even if you have no first-hand knowledge of the event that transpired. I am still stunned by the bombings that took place at the Boston Marathon yesterday, and am, like many people, still combing through the hundreds of articles, tweets, and photos that have been posted in the aftermath.
This morning, Boston Magazine published 6,000 More Reasons to Love Boston, a blog post that linked to some of the best articles about the Boston Marathon bombing from The Boston Globe, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, and others. The post title was a nod to the extremely popular Buzzfeed post 29 Reasons to Love Boston, a look at the venues and people that Bostonians hold dear. But the piece also made the case that Boston and its residents welcome visitors.
"Never again can they say...that Boston isn't welcoming to strangers," notes Eric Randall in the introduction. Then he goes on to mention that nearly 6,000 locals offered their homes as places to stay for runners and family members who had no place to stay. "We might have a typically New England kind of sangfroid. You might avoid wearing a Yankee hat at Fenway. But when it counts, people here care for the strangers in their midst."
Speaking of caring for others, my colleague writing about New England Travel posted a very useful article on legitimate ways to assist Boston and bombing victims. In addition to donating blood and supporting charities, she notes that visiting Boston is one way that people can help the city recover. Right now may not be the time, as hotels and the airport are tightening security and the "T," Boston's subway, is reporting delays and closures. But visitors will mean a lot to Boston as the months go by.
If you decide to make plans to visit Boston, consider these must-see Boston attractions. Further, this Boston Globe piece on Runners' Favorite Things to Do in Boston, published days before the marathon, is also an apt introduction to Boston as seen through the eyes of out-of-towners who have come to love the city as their own.
Related Articles: