Attractions

Every year since 1997, a farm in Shakopee, Minnesota, has been inviting people to get lost in its corn field.  Sever’s Corn Maze, billed as “America’s Largest Corn Maze,” has been cutting patterns in its field for folks to find their way into and out of.

This year’s maze has a pirate theme, and if you want a little extra challenge, you can follow the maze map to various stations; once you’ve visited them all, scavenger-hunt style, you can enter a prize drawing. Read More »

Large oak tree in center of garden

by Gudrun Enger, of Kitchen Gadget Girl

The Elizabeth F. Gamble Garden is an historic urban estate with formal, woodland and working gardens around a 1902 Colonial Revival house. Located in Palo Alto, the Gamble Gardens is a lovely place to visit anytime of year!

Bunny sculpture

Open every day during daylight hours, Gamble Gardens offers serious and casual gardeners much inspiration. I love to start in the large open working garden, under the giant oak tree. I wind my around, through the dogwoods and along the side of the main house. In the rose garden, I love to look at all the varieties. And there is even a wisteria garden!

Garden pathways

If Tea Parties are your thing, Gamble Garden offers several throughout the year, and special holiday teas in December that fill up quickly. For Mother’s Day, they offer the option of brunch in the garden – that would make any mother feel special. Check their special events calendar for more upcoming programs.

Blooming flower

Plan Your Visit:

Hours:
Gardens: Open every day during daylight hours
Office: Open weekdays 9AM to noon
Disabled access: Yes

Admission: Free

Address and Contact Information:
1431 Waverley Street
Palo Alto, CA 94301
Tel: (650) 329-1356
Fax: (650) 329-1688

Silverado Mansion

Who needs a spa treatment? Who would like to take 3 good friends along with them? You? Well, then let me tell you about Uptake’s new blog contest!

Uptake, along with Silverado Resort in Napa Valley, invite you to tell us why you deserve a spa getaway. Blog about it on your own blog, link to www.uptake.com, and comment on the original post to be entered to win.

Don’t wait too long, entries are due by Midnight (PST) on May 15, 2009.

For more details, including official rules and prize list, please visit the Uptake Lodging blog and read more about the Spa Girl Getaway Blog Contest.

by Gudrun Enger, of Kitchen Gadget Girl

When we arrived in Boulder last month for our visit, I asked our guide (who also doubles as my little brother) where to find coffee on Pearl Street. Little did I realize what a loaded question this was! My brother launched into a laundry list of cafes on Pearl Street, all with unique characteristics and attributes. Here are some details for your next visit:

Brewing Market – on a side street of Pearl, the best tea selection for non-coffee drinkers

The Cup – great place for a business meeting, and the best cookies around!

The Cup

The Laughing Goat – very social, plenty of tables, and live music many nights (you will need the caffeine to keep up your energy!)

The Laughing Goat

Trident – Remembered my brother’s order after his first visit. Great customer service!

Trident

Bookends – connected to the Bookstore on Pearl Street, you can find a new book and enjoy coffee at the same time.

Bookends

by Tamara Rice of The Rice Paper

If you could use a day at the spa, but can’t afford the kind with fancy white robes, then the Glen Ivy Hot Springs Spa in Southern California might be for you. While there are now other locations (Brea and Valencia), the original in Corona is still the best bang for your buck.

Glen Ivy Hot Springs Spa

In the off season, you’ll pay $35 for admission on weekdays and $48 on weekends and holidays. For that flat fee, spa guests can enjoy the swimming pool, an assortment of jacuzzis, mineral hot springs, a lounge pool (where you can float in cool shallow water for hours), “Club Mud” (amazing mud bath that will make your skin feel great), saunas and even steam rooms.

Tropical Paradise Inside Glen Ivy Hot Springs

There is so much to do, one hardly needs to pay for more pampering, but if you really need a massage or a facial, you can pay extra for those.

Because only guests over 16 are allowed, Glen Ivy is quiet and peaceful. Men and women of all shapes and sizes can feel comfortable just relaxing in the sun or shade. (In other words: This is not the sort of spa where you need to worry about how you look in a swimsuit.)

While it’s a bit crowded in the summer months, and slightly more expensive, the Fall and Spring always a little slower. Pick the right day, and you can still have sun, even in November–this is Southern California after all.

What’s more, the food is incredible. Their Cafe Sole offers amazing entres that will leave you feeling healthy, even if you do order the BBQ chicken pizza. Just be prepared to pay around $15 per person for any meal you eat at the spa.

Don’t let the location fool you. Corona isn’t known for being pretty, but at Glen Ivy Hot Springs–much like Disneyland–you can’t see the outside world.

Photos courtesy of AmandaB3 and MarjK (Flickr.com)

by Barbara Ann Weibel at Hole In The Donut

In 1991, a group of cycling buddies envisioned a network of off-road trails in and around Atlanta. Each of them had biked off-road trails in other cities and understood how they connected neighborhoods and encouraged healthier lifestyles. Determined to develop this same type of amenity for the Atlanta area, they convinced the Georgia Department of Transportation to purchase miles of abandoned railroad right-of-way for a potential commuter rail corridor and allow interim use as a trail. It was named the Silver Comet Trail in honor of the Silver Comet train, which had carried passengers along this route from 1947 to 1969.

One of the old railroad trestles that the trail crosses. Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/throbb02760/216513717.

The trail begins in Smyrna, Georgia, runs west through Paulding and Polk counties, connects with Alabama’s Chief Ladiga Trail at the Georgia-Alabama border, and continues to Anniston, Alabama. The final portion of the Silver Comet Trail trail was completed on August 29, 2008, and counting its continuation with the Chief Ladiga Trail to the west, is now the longest paved trail in the US, at 101 miles.

In other areas, the trail goes through old railroad tunnels. Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/frankphotos/141667940.

Traversing six trestles and bridges, the trail offers spectacular views and direct access to the 105-acre Heritage Park from which visitors can follow a 1.7-mile walking trail to the remains of a woolen mill. Another point of interest along the trail is the Concord Covered Bridge, the only remaining covered bridge in the Atlanta area. It still carries cars over Nickajack Creek, but one lane at a time.

Concord Covered Bridge, the only remaining covered bridge in the Atlanta area, is easily accessible from the trail. Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/helixblue/447795549.

The Silver Comet Trail, recognized in 2003 by the National Park Service as a National Recreation Trail, is used by walkers, runners, cyclists and skaters. Restrooms, car parking, and even horse trailer parking are provided at numerous points along the route, ensuring that the trail is easily accessible for all. There is no fee for its use and the trail has become so popular that plans are underway to to link it with other trails that will provide direct access between Atlanta and Birmingham.

The greater Atlanta area is a hotbed of attractions and activities for the visitor, and everything from camping to exclsive spas are available for accommodations.

by Barbara Ann Weibel at Hole In The Donut

Charter operators are located right in the center of town. Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/arturodonate/2877280176.

If you happen to be visiting Puerto Rico during a moonless night, you absolutely MUST find your way to the small town of La Parguera to see its bioluminescent bay. From the docks in the center of town, choose one of the countless excursions services.

When darkness falls (preferably between the hours of 7 and 8 p.m.), hop aboard and motor through the inky blackness. As you approach the bay, watch the rooster tail of water generated by the boat motor begin to sparkle. Now trail your hand in the water; millions of tiny organisms light it up and blue-green glowing lights stream from your submerged fingertips.

Further inside the sheltered cove, the water sparkles like a billion fireflies, darting here and there. Step off the boat for a swim and watch your entire body light up in a neon blue-green outline, flashing and sparkling with every movement.

The phosphorescence generated by these microscopic organisms is believed to be part of their natural defense system. Many scientists believe they light up so their predators can see more desirable prey – and thus leave them alone.

Bioluminescense outlines a swimmer. Photo by http://www.whattodoinpr.com.

The phenomenon occurs in other warm seas around the world, but only in Puerto Rico does it happen each and every night, although the phenomenon is best seen when the moon is new.

La Parguera is located on the southwestern corner of Puerto Rico, about a four hour drive from San Juan. There are numerous accommodations in La Parguera, and the seafood at the local restaurants is some of the best on the island. Addiionally, this area of Puerto Rico is rich in history, landmarks, and wonderful beaches.

by Barbara Ann Weibel at Hole In The Donut

Entrance to Wam Mineral Springs, located on 100 acres of old Florida native landscape

While most tourists head for Florida’s gorgeous beaches, others come to soak in the healing waters of Warm Mineral Springs, which many believe to be the fabled Fountain of Youth sought by Ponce de Leon.

During the ice age, Warm Mineral Springs was an underground cave with a lake at the bottom. As glaciers receded and the ice caps melted, the water level rose. Eventually the ground over the cave collapsed, exposing the lake. Over the years, divers exploring this sinkhole have discovered 11,000-year-old remains of prehistoric hunters, saber tooth tigers, a giant sloth, and camels, proving that the cave was once above water. Today the spring is an hourglass shaped geological feature that is 230 feet deep. More than nine million gallons of warm water flow into the springs each day from a 3000-foot deep aquifer, keeping the water a constant 87 degrees year round.

An aerial view of the perfectly round spring, which is a "sinkhole" or "cenote" in geologic terms. Photo courtesy of Warm Mineral Springs.

Proponents of Balneotherapy – the treatment of disease by bathing – believe that the minerals in spring waters can be absorbed through the skin. More than 65,000 people travel from all over the world every year to immerse themselves in these waters, purported to cure or alleviate ailments that include arthritis, skin conditions, fibromyalgia, stress, pain, and muscular problems. Even those who come to the springs with no ailments claim to emerge from the water feeling better and with glowing skin.

Drink from the fresh spring, lounge in a chair, have a bite in the on-site cafe, or spend the day floating in the buoyant waters of the spring, as the current gently pulls you around in a clockwise direction.

The legal classification of a mineral spring varies in different parts of the world but it is generally accepted that it must contain greater than 100 PPM (parts per million) of naturally dissolved solids. Warm Mineral Springs water contains a total of 17,349 ppm of minerals, including magnesium, silica, sulfate, chloride, sodium, carbon dioxide, potassium, and bicarbonate, among others, making it the highest in the U.S. and the third highest in the world. Warm Mineral Springs also has a steady pH of 7.3. Soaking in or drinking the water is believed to help alkalize bathers’ blood chemistry.

A full array of spa services are also available on site, including massage, acupuncture, facials, reflexology, Reiki healings, detoxifying body wraps, ion cleansing, ear candling, paraffin dips, and body waxing. Although the facilities are a bit dilapidated, the springs are definitely worth a visit. The cost is $20 per day for adults and $8 per day for children under 12 ($18 with AAA discount or $14 for students). A10-day pass is also available for $150. Warm Mineral Springs is open every day, weather permitting, from 9 am to 5 pm. North Port is located midway between Sarasota and Fort Myers on the Gulf Coast of Florida.

Photos not otherwise credited courtesy of Barbara Weibel

by Barbara Ann Weibel at Hole In The Donut

Basket weaving is one of the pioneer crafts demonstrated at the Southwest Florida Heritage Festival

For one day each year, the Crowley Museum and Nature Center comes alive with pioneer craft and trade demonstrations, storytellers, and re-enactors during its annual Southwest Florida Heritage Festival.

Volunteers and employees dressed as settlers, Seminole indians, conquistadors, and working cowboys demonstrate blacksmithing, sugar cane grinding, syrup making, basket weaving, quilting, wood carving, cracker oven fire and hot stove cooking, and smokehouse operation and visitors are encouraged to try their hand at the skills and tools.

A half-mile long boardwalk crosses the swamps and marshes at Crowley Museum

Kids especially enjoy the hay rides, covered wagon rides, gourd painting, and toy making activities, while the whole family taps their toes to live country, folk, and banjo music. Even the food offerings for the day reflect pioneer times, featuring fare such as barbecue pork, roasted corn, and sweet potatoes.

While the Heritage Festival is an excellent time to visit, the park’s self-guiding trails provide a great way way to learn about southwest Florida habitats any time of the year.Paths wind through dry pine flatwoods, shady oak hammocks, and lowland marshes and swamps along the Myakka River.

The observation tower at the end of the half-mile boardwalk enjoys views of marshes that border the Myakka River

The Pine Level Trail follows an authentic portion of the wagon trail used by early settlers to travel from the original County seat of Pine Level to the coastal settlement of Braidentown (today’s Bradenton). A half-mile boardwalk allows visitors to see the flora and fauna of the park’s swamps and marshes without harming this fragile ecosystem, and a two-story observation tower at the end of the boardwalk is a popular spot for birders, who regularly spot bald eagles, red shouldered hawks, ospreys and other birds of prey.

Wide, level walking trails are enjoyable for the entire family

The Pioneer Museum exhibits provide a snapshot of settler life

In addition to walking trails, Crowley offers a museum of pioneer history; an authentic restored pioneer cabin; a working blacksmith shop and sugar cane mill; and the restored 1889 Tatum-Rawls House, one of the oldest examples of pioneer Florida architecture still standing in Sarasota County.

This year’s Southwest Florida Heritage Festival is scheduled for Saturday Jan. 10, 2009 from 9:30 a.m. Admission is $7 per adult, $3 per child (5-12 years of age), and free for children under five. Crowley Museum and Nature Center is located 11 miles east of Sarasota, Florida, adjacent to Myakka River State Park.

Photos courtesy of Crowley Museum and Nature Center

by Barbara Ann Weibel of Hole In The Donut

Visitors to Dunedin, a small town of 37,000 residents located along Florida’s Gulf Coast, inevitably come away with a strong sense of history. Although the town began life as ‘Jonesboro’ in 1870, by 1882 residents agreed to adopt the name Dunedin, which better reflected the town’s strong Scottish heritage. Early in its history Dunedin became one of Florida’s chief seaport and trading centers, as it was home to the largest fleet of sailing vessels in Florida. Today the nearly four miles of picturesque waterfront remains a focal point for the community, although its docks and moorings are now home to sailboats and all manner of pleasure craft rather than working vessels.

The entrance to Dunedin's two-block Main Street

Through the years, Dunedin has been the site of numerous other firsts:

• The amphibious tractors that played a decisive role in the Pacific theatre during World War II were assembled in Dunedin
• Frozen orange juice concentrate originated here
• The “Pram” sailboat racer was fist built in Dunedin
• The town was the first home of the PGA (Professional Golfers Association)
• The first radio signals from Pinellas County were sent from Dunedin
• The oldest continuous garden club on Florida’s west coast is the Dunedin Garden Club.
• The famous television ratings firm,  A.C. Nielsen Company, has located its master computer in Dunedin since 1972

Dunedin's Main Street plays host to numerous special events sponsored by the Downtown Merchants Association throughout the year

Even the graceful entrance to Main Street, the painstakingly preserved buildings in the two-block long central business district, and the architecture on residential side streets recall the past. The Dunedin Historical Society has designed a walking tour of the town’s historic sites, including the Douglas home and Andrews Memorial Chapel, both of which have been placed on the National Register of Historic Sites through the efforts of the Society. An admirable collection of artifacts is also on display inside the Historic Society, which is housed in the old Atlantic Coast Line Train Depot on Main Street.

The Dunedin Historic Society is located in the old Atlantic Coast Line Depot on Main Street

To further enhance its appeal, Dunedin offers a wide array of events throughout the year, including a full complement of holiday activities between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The town’s Senior Awareness Fair is held in January, and the Downtown Merchants sponsor Mardi Gras in February. When April rolls around it’s time for the annual Highland Games, conducted in the proper Scottish tradition, as well as Friday night films that are screened in Pioneer Park at dusk. May brings the Hog Hustle, and the Dunedin Sprint Triathlon is held each June. In September, boats gather for the Dunedin Cup and Kiwanis Regatta, while in October visitors from all over the state converge for Dunedin’s annual Oktoberfest. In November it’s a week-long Italian American Reconciliation event, and in November the Downtown Merchants get back into the swing of things with the ‘Dunedin Wines the Blues’ event. Band concerts, choral concerts, and art shows are scheduled throughout the year, and concerts and fireworks are always scheduled for the 4th of July.

As if all that would not be enough to satisfy the most demanding of tourists, Dunedin is also home to two stunning beaches that are located just a mile outside of town, Honeymoon Beach State Park and Caladesi Island, the latter of which has been named the nation’s most beautiful beach and may well offer the finest shell collecting in the country. With all this, plus bike trails, birding paths, great restaurants, and comfortable B&B’s, it’s no wonder the town bills itself as “Delightful Dunedin.”

Photos courtesy of Barbara Ann Weibel