Category Archives: Travel Articles

Southwest To Continue Partnership With SeaWorld

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Southwest

A few months back I watched the sad and powerful film Blackfish on CNN.

The film focuses mainly on Tilikum, a killer whale that has killed a few people while in captivity at SeaWorld. It also shows the awful, cramped conditions killers whales are forced to live in. Find out more about Blackfish here.

Based on the film, I would probably not go to SeaWorld in the future.

Continue reading Southwest To Continue Partnership With SeaWorld →

Fodor’s: 10 Best National Parks To Visit This Winter

Travel Articles,

a close-up of a logoDuring our travels we haven’t had the opportunity to visit a great deal of National Parks in the United States. I can actually count the number on one hand and have a finger or two left over.

Here are the parks we’ve visited:

On Lucas’ second trip we got to visit Badlands National Park in South Dakota which was pretty amazing. The only problem was not having more time to explore. During our last trip of 2012 to Louisville & Nashville, we visited Mammoth Cave National Park which is the world’s longest cave system. I visited Grand Canyon West with my brother a few years back and got to experience the Skywalk. However the Skywalk is outside the Grand Canyon NP. Our most recent visit to a national park was this past Thanksgiving. During our trip to Florida we got to finally visit the Everglades.

Continue reading Fodor’s: 10 Best National Parks To Visit This Winter →

T+L: Coolest Close-Up Animal Encounters

Travel Articles,

Screen Shot 2013-12-29 at 12.12.11 AMBack in April I posted about My Top 5 Animal Encounters. We’ve also had many other awesome animal experiences over the years, these were just our top 5. If you’ve read the post then you’ve probably come to the conclusion that we love animals/ animal encounters. These kind of experiences can end up being the highlight of a trip!

When I came across the article Coolest Up-Close Animal Encounters on Travel + Leisure, I was looking forward to seeing what encounters and experiences they came up with.

Continue reading T+L: Coolest Close-Up Animal Encounters →

Checking Out Southwest’s "Specialty Planes" Fleet

Travel Articles,
a blue and red airplane with black text
It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Southwest Airlines. I like how they are a bit different than other airlines- no pre-assigned seats, no baggage fees, snacks served on most flights and a very friendly staff. They also offer first time flyer certificates to kids at times which is a nice little perk.
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While reading online last month I came across a link for some Southwest planes which have very interesting paint jobs.
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The link was for a page called Specialty Planes.

Smarter Travel: Museums You Need To See This Year

Travel Articles,
a large old cannon on display
Mary Rose Museum (photo from article)

I’m always interested in hearing about new and interesting museums. I don’t visit a ton of museums but I do make an effort to check some out when traveling.

Smarter Travel put together an interesting slideshow of ten new museums debuting this year. The museums are located around the world but concentrated in only a couple of areas. Five are located in the United States, four are spread out around Europe with the last one being in Brazil.

Here is this list: Continue reading Smarter Travel: Museums You Need To See This Year →

New York Travel Festival- April 20- 21, 2013

NYC, Travel Articles,
a logo with a circle and a arrow

I’ve attended the New York Times Travel Show a few times in the past. I usually go mainly to check out some of the seminars they feature but rarely find any useful information from the travel exhibitors at the show.

Check out my posts from the 2013 NY Travel Show here: Industry Day and Day 2.

I came across the New York Travel Festival around a month back and was debating whether or not to go. The festival’s goal is “to reinvent the consumer travel show seeking more interaction and a better sense of NYC and beyond”.

After reading a little more into the event, it sounded like it might be worth attending. The festival will feature various speakers, panels and other experiences. The show is a bit pricier than the Times show, but it also sounds like it will be a more worthwhile experience.

Continue reading New York Travel Festival- April 20- 21, 2013 →

NY Daily News: Bizarre Restaurants Around the World

Food, Travel Articles, ,
a man eating at a table

The New York Daily News had a slideshow a few months back of bizarre restaurants around the world. I found the slide show to be (for the most part) very interesting. It features 11 restaurants, some unique and worthy of a visit, others really weird and ridiculous.

Here is the list:

  1. Dinner in the sky, Brussels– dine in the sky as a crane suspends the gigantic table 50 meters in the sky
  2. Aurum Restaurant, Singapore– hospital themed restaurant where you can dine while sitting in a wheelchair. I saw this restaurant on No Reservations a while back. I think Aurum may have closed.
  3. Hibaritei Cafe, Tokyo– male servers dress up in funky maid costumes
  4. Toilet-themed restaurant, Hangzhou– food is served in miniature toilet bowls
  5. Buns and Guns Restaurant, Beirut– customers sit behind a wall of sandbags and chefs dress in military uniforms
  6. Cafe Neko, Vienna– five cats roam freely around the restaurant
  7. Cabbages and Condoms Restaurant, Bangkok.- waiters wear large condoms on their head and aims to educate the public about safe sex. I remember reading about this place in our guide book and walking by it while in Bangkok. I did not see any condom head waiters!
  8. Hear Attack Grill, Arizona– try out the triple bypass cheeseburger here
  9. Hospital-themed restaurant, Taiwan– waitresses dressed as nurses serve drinks through am IV bag drip
  10. Clothing Optional Dinner, NYC– nudists hold clothing optional dinners around New York
  11. Special Enjoyment Restaurant, China– My favorite on the list. This restaurant is shaped like an A380

Here are a couple of more pictures from the slideshow:

a waiter serving drinks at a restaurant
Cabbages & Condoms Restaurant
a woman cleaning a table
Special Enjoyment Restaurant

Check out the complete slideshow HERE

***Photos from this post were taken from the Daily News slideshow***

 

Interview: Gary Arndt of Everything Everywhere

Travel Articles, ,
a man with white powder on his face
Gary Arndt has been traveling around the world for the past 5 years taking amazing photos along the way. He shares his stories, photos and experiences on his award winning travel blog Everything Everywhere.
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I’ve been following Gary’s blog for a few years and was really psyched when he agreed to answer some questions for an interview.
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Here it is:
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1- Can you tell us a little about yourself? Where are you from, hobbies & interests (asides from travel!)
I am originally from Wisconsin but spent almost 20 years prior to traveling in Minneapolis. Besides traveling I’m also an award winning photographer as well as being a part owner (1 share of stock) and rabid fan of the Green Bay Packer.

Fodors: World’s Smallest Hotel To Open in Copenhagen

Hotels, Travel Articles, ,
a building with a sign on the front
I came across this article recently in an e-mail from Fodor’s and thought it was pretty interesting.
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The world’s smallest hotel will be opening soon in Copenhagen, Denmark. The hotel will have only one room. It will have about 130 square feet of space and have a bed, shower, sink and toilet. The nightly rate will be about $250US per night, including breakfast at a cafe down the street.

Continue reading Fodors: World’s Smallest Hotel To Open in Copenhagen →

The Little Merman in Denmark

Travel Articles, ,
a statue of a man sitting on a rock
Hans (photo from USA Today article)
On both of my trips to Denmark I made sure to visit the famous Little Mermaid statue. The statue is based on the fairy tale written by Hans Christian Andersen. It’s located in Langelinie Park in Copenhagen. It’s a very popular tourist attraction always drawing a crowd.
I’d definitely consider it the symbol of the city or possibly even the country.
a statue of a mermaid on a rock with The Little Mermaid in the background
The Little Mermaid- 1st visit

I recently heard about a new statue in Denmark while reading USA Today online- Hans.

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Hans is the male counterpart to the Little Mermaid (maybe a boyfriend or brother) and located an hour away in Elsinore. Elsinore is famous for Kronborg Castle, the setting for Hamlet. Kim and I visited Kronborg in 2011 and really enjoyed it. The statue sounds pretty cool and the eyes will blink once an hour with the help of a hydraulic system according to the USA Today article.
It adds another interesting, quick attraction to check out if you decide to visit the area!
a statue of a man sitting on a rock
Hans photo found in Google search
Here are a couple more of my Little Mermaid photos:
a statue of a woman sitting on a rock with The Little Mermaid in the background
The Little Mermaind- 2nd visit
a man jumping in the air with a statue of a mermaid
I figured a jump might warm me up!
Check out the full USA Today article HERE