Attractions

Fall Reflections at Walden Pond

Boston is known for its Revolutionary history. And the town of Concord just a short ride out of the city was host to one the war’s most famous battles. But some revolutionary thinkers took up residence there long after the fight for Independence was won. Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Louisa May Alcott were famous authors from Concord. But their friend and neighbor, Henry David Thoreau, gave us books as well as a slice of nature to be preserved for future visitors to experience just because he decided to spend a couple of years living in simplicity on Walden Pond.

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Denver Botanic Gardens

The Denver Botanic Gardens is one of the largest and most-visited in the US, and it’s easy to see why. With over 30 different sections ranging from the Japanese Tea Garden and the Birds and Bees Walk to the South African Plaza and the Herb Garden, each section has a unique feel. You’ll see plants you’ve never seen before plus several endangered species. In addition to the acres of beautiful outdoor gardens filled with colorful flowers, fragrant herbs, and flowering plants like cactus, you can also visit the green roof, check out dinosaur replicas in the Jurassic garden, and marvel at butterflies and delicate tropical plants in the indoor conservatory. A bistro serves snacks, there are plenty of nooks and crannies to enjoy some privacy amongst the flowers, and the on-site library contains one of the largest collections of plant-related resources in the country. You can also arrange for guided tours, take classes or listen to gardening lectures.

With so much going on, those with a passion for flowering plants could easily spend a whole day at the Denver Botanic Gardens. If you don’t have much of a green thumb, it’s still worthwhile to visit the garden for an hour or so and check out the many unusual and beautiful plants growing here.  The Botanic Gardens are open from at least 9am to 5pm, with slightly extended hours in summer. Admission is $11.50, going up to $12.50 during peak summer months. The gardens are wheelchair accessible, can be reached by public bus from downtown Denver, and offer free wi-fi.

Photo credit: exgaysurvivordan via Flickr

There is no shortage of ways to get “high” in Chicago. We’ve got two of the tallest buildings in the US, both offering sweeping views of the city from their observation decks, and the Navy Pier ferris wheel towers over Lake Michigan and its beaches, hoisting riders several stories up. Now there’s one more way to get some air in Chicago. Navy Pier just opened a new balloon attraction called the AeroBalloon, which will lift passengers 350 feet above the city.

AeroBalloon

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From the rim, I looked down into 1,000-foot deep Tallulah Gorge. At the bottom was the Tallulah River, clearly raging even from this height. For thousands of years it has eroded the hard, quartzite rock into a two-mile long chasm, dropping nearly 600 feet and forming L’Eau d’Or, Tempesta, Hurricane, Oceana, and Bridal Veil Falls before joining the Chattooga River. I had arrived too late in the afternoon to get a permit to hike to the bottom of the gorge, but there were numerous other trails from which to choose, and I decided to tackle the rim trail first.

View of L'Eau d'Or Falls (French for "water of gold"), top of Tempesta Falls, and Hawthorne Cascade and Pool from the north rim of Tallulah Gorge

I began at the far end of the north rim, where an enormous, rusting steel tower rested on its side next to the canyon lip. In 1970, tightrope walker Karl Wallenda of the famous “Flying Wallendas” strung cables between this tower and its twin on the south rim and then walked across the gorge, performing two Read More »

The idea of a quarry in the Florida Keys struck me as bizarre. I simply couldn’t wrap my head around the idea of digging into the ground in a place where the land was just inches above sea level.

But after visiting Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park in the Florida Keys, it made sense. The site is three old quarries where limestone was mined between the early 1900’s and the early 1960’s. The limestone found here is actually a fossilized coral reef that formed during the last interglacial episode, 100,000 to 125,000 years ago, when sea levels were approximately 25 feet higher than present and most of the Florida Keys were underwater. When the waters receded, the reef was exposed. Over eons, acid rain fell on the exposed coral, dissolving the uppermost layer into a sediment that flowed into the porous surface, cementing the material into a moderately hard limestone matrix that is still about 30% fossilized coral.

Quarry cutting equipment rusts away on the quarry rim

Except for real estate mogul Henry Flagler, the coral might still be in the ground, undisturbed. But when Flagler decided to build the Florida East Coast Railway from Miami to Key West, he needed a source of fill Read More »

Lego New York at Miniland, Legoland California -Bridget Smith

If you are traveling with kids, chances are a visit to a theme park is in your future.  Attractions like Six Flags, Sea World, or Legoland are a convenient source of family fun.  They provide a great opportunity for families to spend time together.   Still, amusement parks also have a down side.  Admission, food, and parking can turn a fun adventure into a pricey vacation.  Here are some tips to help keep your amusement park adventure affordable. Read More »

While Disney is primarily geared toward kids, they can be very clever. They went through the trouble to build an entire park with something called World Showcase; chock-full of scaled down versions of countries such as France, United Kingdom, Morocco, Japan, and Italy – just to name a few.

Some friends of mine and I spent the day there recently and just for you we put together this handy guide to enjoying EPCOT sans children.

It’s worth the trouble to discuss exactly where you’d all like to dine for lunch or dinner (or both!) before you head out to the parks. Here’s why:

• Decide on where you’ll be dining then call (407) WDW-DINE to make your reservation(s). Don’t be discouraged if the restaurant you want to dine in isn’t available at the prime time you wanted. Think outside the box. Why not have a late lunch or an early dinner and have a snack in-between to tide you over? Many Disney restaurants serve large portions of food, and if you select a prix-fixe menu, you will be getting three courses, which is rather filling. When we went, we dined at Teppan Edo in Japan (where they prepare the food in front of you) and our reservation was at 3pm. We made the reservation that morning (which totally breaks my rules!) and when we arrived we were seated right away, and stuffed ourselves silly. If I recall we shared a snack later on, but it was all we needed.
  

  Germany also has some pretty yummy wines. You should check them out!

• Bring your ID with you. If you decide to have an alcoholic beverage, you WILL be carded.
• Be adventurous. Always wanted to try Moroccan cuisine? The Tangierine Café is perfect for a quick, satisfying meal either before or after your Disney dining experience.
• Eat on the Go. One of Disney’s top sellers food-wise are the Turkey Legs you can buy in the American Pavilion and the United Kingdom Pavilion. They must grow their turkeys BIG at Disney, because they are HUGE. Perfect for a quick, satisfying bite between meals.
• Save room for dessert. Whether you crave a Funnel Cake from the good old US of A, or you’re dreaming about all the French pastries at Boulangerie Patisserie; make room. Both are worth a stop.

So much to do! So little time! What are you waiting for? See you at EPCOT!

Photo Credit: Shari Keating

The neighborhood of Greenwich Village in Manhattan is known for many things, like restaurants, shops, clubs, wonderful people watching, amazing art scene, and NYU.  The last thing one thinks about when thinking of The Village is kid-friendly.  I still wouldn’t go as far as stating that it is, though I do think that it should be a stop in your travels while in NYC, even with the kids, because even with the changes in the area over the years, it still remains a cool part of NYC, one that your kids might enjoy walking through.

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by Barbara Ann Weibel at Hole In The Donut Travels

Chicago, Chicago, that toddlin’ town….so goes the famous song. Growing up in this thriving Midwest city I never really appreciated the truth of those lyrics. I worked downtown in the “Loop,” and although I spent many lunch hours strolling Michigan Avenue and the lakefront, it never dawned on me that Chicago was a truly spectacular metropolis. It took moving away, growing older, and returning to visit downtown’s magnificent Millennium Park for this fact to dawn on me.

Jay Pritzger Pavilion, home to year-round music programs, is the the most sophisticated outdoor concert venue of its kind in the country. Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/sdho/559492613.

Millennium Park didn’t exist during the years I lived in Chicago. Grant Park had been built along the shores of Lake Michigan in the mid-1800’s in response to lobbying by citizens who feared commercial development along the lakefront, but the land between Grant Park and the rest of downtown was occupied by a wide swath of Illinois Central railroad tracks that remained a blight on an otherwise attractive landscape. It wasn’t until 1997, when Mayor Richard M. Daley directed his staff to develop plans for a new music venue to be built over the tracks, that the idea for Millennium Park was conceived.

Summer lavender in full bloom at Lurie Gardens in Milennium Park. Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/fireflythegreat/2855461521.

The results are nothing short of spectacular. Today, the 24.5 acres that comprise the park include a winter ice skating rink, Lurie Gardens, the interactive Crown Fountain, and the hugely popular Cloud Gate sculpture, which Chicagoans have nicknamed “The Bean” for its resemblance to a giant coffee bean. Jay Pritzker Pavilion, the most sophisticated outdoor concert venue of its kind in the United States, is the centerpiece of the park. Free concerts and events that are as diverse as the city itself are held at the pavilion: fitness classes, classical music, jazz, world music, theater, reading circles, ethnic festivals, and dance are just some of the events scheduled throughout the year.

Cloud Gate sculpture reflects Chicago skyline in its seamless stainless steel surface. Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/anneh632/3163674119/in/set-72157606211421780.

Bringing the project full circle, the BP Bridge was constructed between Millennium Park and Grant Park to the east, providing incomparable views of the Chicago skyline and Lake Michigan from its 925-foot-long elevated walkway of brushed stainless steel panels. New York may be “the greatest city in the world” and LA may be “home of the movie stars” but with its ethnic diversity, cool neighborhoods, visually stunning architecture, and friendly people, I’ll take Chicago any day.