An American legend is to get its own museum. Just in time for the 105th anniversary of the famous motorcycle's birth, the Harley-Davidson Museum is set to open on July 12, 2008, with tickets going on sale May 20, 2008.
Located in Milwaukee, USA, exhibits include a bike from each of Harley's 105 years of production, together with Harley bicycles, snowmobiles and even golf carts. Raiding the company's vast archives, the museum has been able to fashion exhibits featuring customised motorcycles, clothing, photos, posters, promotional materials and magazines. Read a full review from Rick Barrett.
An eye popping and mind blowing exhibition of antiquities, 'Roman Art from the Louvre', opens on Thursday, February 21, 2008 at the Seattle Art Museum and runs through May 11, 2008.
The exhibition is a sample of the collection held at the French Louvre, said to be the largest collection of Roman art in the world outside of Italy. 'Roman Art from the Louvre' features nearly 200 objects and takes up the entire fourth floor in the south wing of the Seattle Art Museum.
From January 17 through 26, 2008, the Australia Week Committee presents another exciting program of events in Los Angeles and New York to showcase the very best of Australian culture, fashion, food, wine, tourism and business."
Highlights include an exclusive luncheon in Los Angeles on Jan. 17 where the Hon. Matt Brown MP, Minister for Tourism for the State of New South Wales, and Layne Beachley, a native of Sydney, Australia and the most successful woman in professional surfing history, will present a viewing of "Sydney -- Life's a Beach," an inspiring visual journey into the lifestyle of this dynamic travel destination.
Layne, a Sydney resident, offers valuable insight into its unique urban beach culture. With more than 1200 miles of stunning beaches and legendary surf breaks surrounded by 600 national parks, Sydney is one of the world's most visually appealing destinations.
Layne Beachley was ESPN's Surfer of the Year in 2001, Australia's female athlete of the year in 2003 and is a US Surfers Hall of Fame inductee. Highly regarded amongst other surf professionals on the ASP World Tour, in 2006 Layne staged the richest event in women's surfing history, the Havaianas Beachley Classic in Sydney; and she was also a formidable competitor!
The Christmas holiday is celebrated all around the world and lights form a major part of most Christmas decorations. Here are two masterclass examples from opposite ends of the globe, of synchronised light and music displays.
First up is a display at Perth, Western Australia that was posted on YouTube by TonyaI.
And next is "Symphony In Lights" at Denver, Colorado, presented by Carson Williams and Parker 3D, which they also posted on YouTube.
Both are great examples of a new, computer controlled, art form.
Between now and December 31, 2007 Trusted Tours and Attractions, a division of Historic Tours of America, is running a promotion and giving away an iPod Nano to one subscriber of their online travel newsletter. All you have to do is to subscribe to the Trusted Tours and Attractions monthly newsletter from the company's homepage at http://www.trustedtours.com/newsletter.aspx. The travel newsletter offers interesting stories, travel tips, travel articles, and money saving deals on sightseeing tours and other attractions.
Historic Tours of America, owns and operates numerous sightseeing tours, museums and attractions in 6 different U.S. cities.
The annual "Christmas Around the World and Holidays of Light" at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry runs through January 6, 2007. It features more than 50 trees, each decorated by volunteers from Chicago's ethnic communities to reflect holiday traditions from around the globe, and has been dazzling families for 66 years.
This is not a political blog but occasionally a piece of news is brought to my attention that is beyond belief. It is news that directly impacts millions of tourists and news that the world deserves to hear. The information appears to be valid and I forward it without comment; make up your own mind.
I will however, begin by quoting the Buddhist Thought for the Day: "If you want to have friends, you must be friendly. If you want to make peace, you must be peaceful. - Peace Pilgrim...", which coincidentally, I happened to read just before I saw the article Merry Christmas Hawaii - And Bombs Away! by freelance writer, Cathy Garger.
According to a recent Associated Press article, "B-2 Stealth Bombers Hit US Targets" and the Cathy Garger article in OpEdNews, the United States government is using both Hawaii and Alaska to expand its war games and better train pilots by dropping bombs from stealth Air Force B-2 bombers on them around Christmas time.
No doubt the Alaskans aren't to happy about this and the Hawaiians have begun a protest movement because their land has been found to be previously contaminated with depleted Uranium from military exercises. A problem that would be compounded by bombing, since it would cause the toxic dust to become airborne. They point out that Hawaii is a special place, loved, enjoyed and visited by millions of people every year from all over the world. It truly seems beyond belief that tourists face being greeted with the US military's own unique brand of hospitality, which Cathy Garger describes as "the invisible gift of inhaled Uranium aerosol blowing in the warm tropical winds."
The first forecast of the American ski season from the Boulder-based Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC), which started up operations this week, indicates that a few inches of the white powder could pile up by Wednesday morning. It seems that colder temperatures, along with a dusting of snow this week, could significantly improve the outlook for Skiing during Thanksgiving in western Colorado. The best chance for snow being Tuesday night.
The Colorado Avalanche Information Center has upgraded its website with more archived reports on avalanche accidents and a Google Maps platform offering information on avalanche problems and travel recommendations.
My Urban Sherpa is a new website that encourages visitors to enjoy New York as a New Yorker. The site promotes neighborhoods without notable landmarks, suggests restaurants run by their proprietors, and encourages tourists to amble through the city making their own observations, adding reviews to the listings.
Visitors can search by seven categories: City, Cuisine, Self, Society, Sports, Travel, and Location; making this a handy resource for the independent traveller to the Big Apple.
40 Years ago San Francisco, USA, became synonymous with the 'Summer of Love'. Today this spirit of friendship lives on in the city and one group who reflect this is City Guides. Founded 30 years ago, City Guides is a non-profit organization with more than 200 trained volunteers who lead free, yes free, history and architectural walking tours in San Francisco. Their motivation is to preserve and perpetuate the history and folklore of San Francisco and to celebrate its rich history of cultural diversity. They are all volunteers who love their city, and enjoy sharing it, so if you're going to San Francisco, be sure to contact the City Guides.
Tours are offered all year, rain or shine. In May and October, they organise additional walks and this October feature some of San Francisco's lesser known neighborhoods. Naturally, there are special Ghost Walks arranged for October 30 and 31, when visitors can enjoy other spirits which are said to pervade the city.
My short post last week about the Hawaii Superferry Protest has generated loads of interest and reflects the furor that has exploded in the media about the issue. Like most onlookers, when the idea of the Superferry was first announced, I thought that it seemed like something that would be of great benefit to the people of Hawaii and would certainly make life easier for tourists. Great assurances were made about possible environmental concerns and I was surprised to receive a strongly worded comment pointing out in no uncertain terms, that there was a lot more to the Hawaii Superferry Protest than meets the eye.
Another reader, Zaphod, provided a link to SinkDaSuperferry.googlepages.com for tons of links to superferry info and video, which I duly followed up and it seems that there is a lot more to this issue. It seems that the law requires ventures such as the Hawaii Superferry to be subject to an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) but despite protest, this requirement was waived in the case of the Superferry.
However, it turns out that there is even more to the story. Let me begin by drawing attention to an article by Joanne Ralston in Hawaii Reporter. Joanne asks why protesters have, "singled out just one company for an Environmental Assessment (EA) and Environmental Impact Study (EIS)." Suggesting that, "there is nothing fair or reasonable about this. Either everyone has to go through a costly and time consuming EIS, or no one does." She concludes that the Superferry Protesters are "Hypocrites All" and implies that there must be a hidden agenda to the protest.
Guess what, there is a hidden agenda, but surprise, surprise, the hidden agenda may not be coming from the protestors. A web site devoted to the superferry impact provides a valuable insight into the many and varied environmental issues but then comes up with this little gem. "The Superferry design is the same as vessels being used by WestPac Express who transport military personnel and equipment in Japan."
Can you hear the alarm bells ringing? superferryimpact.com advise that John F. Lehman, former Secretary of the Navy under President Reagan chairs the Hawaii Superferry Board of Directors; his private equity firm, J.F. Lehman & Co., has invested $71 million in the Hawaii Superferry and five of the other 11 members of the Hawaii Superferry Board have ties to J.F. Lehman & Co.
The site goes on to quote an interview with John F. Lehman in the Pacific Business News (April 8, 2005), the nub of which is that there will be regular usage of the Hawaii Superferry by platoons of Stryker vehicles because armored personnel carriers can travel as a unit and drive on to the ferry. The unit members will be able to go into the passenger area that is set up so that it will be a conference or briefing area, making it much cheaper and more efficient for the military to train soldiers.
Maybe, just maybe, this is the reason that the protesters have "singled out just one company for an Environmental Assessment (EA) and Environmental Impact Study (EIS)."
Voice of America's Rebecca Ward reports that "Horse enthusiasts the world over know all about the wild mustangs that roam with the buffalo across the North American West." But she points out that a lesser-known herd of wild ponies exist in the Eastern United States and has produced an article and video report, describing her experience at their annual roundup, in the tiny fishing village of Chincoteague.
Almost 35,000 people turn out to watch the spectacle of approximately 150 wild ponies herded together as they swim across the bay.
It started in New Zealand, spread to Europe, and now the USA gets to enjoy Zorbing. The first Zorb location in North America is Zorb Smoky Mountains.
The site is just 10 miles from the Great Smokey Mountains National Park, home of the Cherokee and itself a great vacation area. It is also just 30 miles from Knoxville, home of the giant Alcoa aluminium plant. I believe that aluminium sheet came off the production line at a mile a minute, which is a lot of Cola cans. The Alcoa website estimates it produces enough aluminium sheet each minute to produce 75,000 cans and if you have a job getting your head round the numbers, try thinking about it after you've zorbed down the side of a mountain.
Postscript: The Museum of Appalachia, described as a living history museum of pioneer, frontier, and early artifacts of mountain life in the Southern Appalachiansis, is not far away and well worth a visit if your touring the area.
Close to Las Vegas, The Grand Canyon Skywalk is a glass bridge suspended 4,000 ft (1, 219 m above the canyon; the horseshoe shaped bridge extends 65 ft (20 m) out from the edge. It has been commissioned by the Native American Hualapai Indian Tribe and opens to the public on March 28, 2007.
In such an environmentally sensitive area, the construction of the Grand Canyon Skywalk is not without controversy. The Grand Canyon dwarfs the actual Skywalk but there are fears regarding the impact of further development at the site. ABC recently broadcast a news clip about the project and here is a nice video clip from Staseman at YouTube.
It seems that California and New York remain the destination of choice for U.S. tourists seeking food and wine related travel themes. Culinary activities participated in while traveling include cooking classes, dining out for a unique and memorable experience, visiting farmers markets, gourmet food shopping and attending food festivals. Wine activities included participating in winery tours, driving a wine trail, tasting locally made wines and attending wine festivals. Within the past three years, 17% of American leisure travelers (27 million travelers), engaged in culinary or wine-related activities while traveling; based on a new report from the Travel Industry Association (TIA), in partnership with Gourmet and the International Culinary Tourism Association.
The top 3 destinations for food-related travel were California (14%), Florida (10%) and New York (7%). While Florida barely makes a showing in the poll for wine-related travel, the top 2 destinations are again California out in front with 31% followed by New York with 10%. However, I bet Florida would fair better in a comparison of wine consumption!
Ninety-five years ago, the people of Japan gifted the city of Washington, DC with over 3,000 flowering cherry trees that were then planted around the Tidal Basin.
The National Cherry Blossom Festival was created to honor the spectacular arrival of springtime to the U.S. capital and this years festival is scheduled for March 31 to April 15, 2007.
The festival parade will be held on April 14 and the colorful Smithsonian Kite Festival at the Washington Monument grounds, is on March 31. Each year there is also an art poster competition, so get to work on next year's poster.
If your taking a vacation or short break in the USA, make the most of your vacation with the very popular Go Card visitor passes which offer great savings. A single pass gets you unlimited general admission to top attractions for one low price and they are available at the following destinations:
Powder Passport is a special pass for snow junkies and allows you to Ski 18 Mountains with 1 Pass for 1 Low Price! Ski in Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine and New York. Use any day of the 2006-2007 Season!!
Understandably, these are proving popular with the locals.
