Jaunted - Tag: Sports Travel

New York : The Details on Tomorrow's Ticker Tape Parade for the NY Giants' Super Bowl Victory

kjb — 2012-02-06T08:07:52-05:00

In between all the commercials and snacking there was a pretty good football game last night, and when the final whistle was blown it was the New York Giants on top. They’re the Super Bowl champs—for the second time in four years—and now New York is ready to welcome their team home for a little bit of a party and parade. Mayor Bloomberg is putting the final touches on this and that, but we do know that the celebration is taking place on Tuesday.

Late last night New York City officials released the plans for the ticker tape parade, so if you’re going to call out sick tomorrow, start planting some subtle cues this afternoon at the office. All the fun will take place in Lower Manhattan, as the parade is scheduled to do its thing beginning at Battery Place and Washington Street around 11am. After that Eli Manning, Victor Cruz, and Jason Pierre-Paul will continue north up through the Canyon of Heroes towards Worth Street as they greet throngs of well wishers.

If You Still Need Super Bowl Tickets, There's Always Costco

kjb — 2012-02-01T10:34:03-05:00

You may have heard that this year’s Super Bowl is taking place on Sunday in Indianapolis, and if you’re thinking about attending in person it might just be possible. Costco—what don’t they sell—is coming through with some last minute tickets, so if you’ve got a whole lot of spare change it might be time to cash it in.

The Giants, Patriots, and you will all be in Indy this weekend, but that’s assuming you have around $3,000 extra to spend on this year’s big game. Costco had some bigger and fancier packages available last week, but since you procrastinated there’s only one option left. The $3,000 price tag will get you one Upper-level End Zone Ticket to Super Bowl XLVI, and they’ll even throw in admission to a pre-game party. The only bummer is that for once they're not selling them in bulk, so you might need to make some friends with the people next to you before kickoff.

Indianapolis: How To Get Tickets To Indy's Biggest Super Bowl Parties

cmb — 2012-01-31T13:24:31-05:00

This week Indianapolis is being transformed into the party capitol of the world as everyone from sports fans to supermodels begin arriving for the Super Bowl. To accommodate all of these party people, bars and clubs are popping up in vacant spaces around the city.

The Cuda Lounge, located at 141 S. Meridian St in Super Bowl Village, is one of Indy's biggest pop-up lounges with events planned throughout the week.

Airfare to Super Bowl XLVI is Already Soaring Out of Control

kjb — 2012-01-23T10:27:30-05:00

After a busy Sunday we now know that there’s going to be a Super Bowl rematch between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants. Fans from the Northeast—and the rest of the country—are already submitting vacation request paperwork as they roll into the office. We took a quick look at the flight situation, and here are some ideas on how to get to Indianapolis for this year’s big game on February 5.

You’ve only got two weeks to finalize your travel plans, but figuring things out sooner rather than later is the best plan. If you’re looking to fly from Boston for the weekend, expect to pay around $1100 for a nonstop option on Delta that gets you in on Friday and sends you home—hopefully with a championship t-shirt—on Monday. Staying a little longer and making a connection can save some serious coin, as leaving on Thursday and coming home on Tuesday will set you back around $500 instead. Flights from other parts of New England like Hartford and Providence are just as pricey—with must-do connections—so the smaller airports won’t save you any cash.

Kai Surfs Costa Rica: Budgets, Boards and Pura Vida

kai macmahon — 2012-01-13T18:08:38-05:00

Kai MacMahon had lost himself to the urban life in NYC, taking up running but putting down the surfboard. That is, until recently when he bit the bullet and flew himself to Costa Rica to drive, sleep and surf wherever he damn well pleased. All this week, Kai will share his experiences on the beaches and the breaks, and how he made it happen.

Yesterday: Becoming a (surf) bum in Mal Pais

As you've probably guessed, Costa Rica is one of the most surf-friendly destinations on the planet. Surfers are welcomed here with open arms, and locals will go above and beyond to help you out. It is perfectly normal to see a massive board bag strapped to the roof of a taxi, to store your boards in your hotel room, and to set up a makeshift clothes line outside your door.

And just as friendly as it is, it's also easy. US Dollars are accepted just about everywhere and most people speak at least a little English, though no matter how bad your Spanish, an attempt to speak it will always go down well. ATMs are fairly easy to find, and most will have English as an option. The bigger bank ATMs even dispense dollars as well as the local currency, Colones, and any of the main hotels or stores will take credit cards.

Nonetheless, be careful of the foreign transaction fee charges that your US bank will tack on; look into a foreign transaction-free credit card if you travel abroad often. For myself, I tried to pay for most things in cash, only using plastic for purchases of $100 and up.

Kai Surfs Costa Rica: Making It to Mal Pais

kai macmahon — 2012-01-12T16:33:41-05:00

Yesterday: Playa Negra and the rush of hitting the waves.

Mal Pais is a sleepy little surf down at the bottom of the Nicoya Peninsula. It’s about five hours' drive from Tamarindo (taking the sensible road), or many more hours drive than that taking the silly, but very picturesque coastal road. I say silly because the above is what sometimes passes for a road in Costa Rica.

Note that the photo was taken during the dry season. In wet season (May to November), or any time it’s been raining, roads like this become impassable to all but the sturdiest SUVs. You'll find that towns in Costa Rica usually have an old man who magically knows the conditions of every river within 20 miles of his location, but as I was not in possession of one of these wrinkly oracles in my passenger seat and didn’t feel like getting my SUV stuck in a river, I elected to take the boring, safer route.

Once I arrived in Mal Pais, the first thing I noticed was, well, not a whole lot really. Not much happens here, and that’s exactly what’s so great about the place. There are a couple of bars (that’s a couple more than when I was first there ten years ago), plus other mild activities like yoga, zip-line tours and so on, but the truth is you come to Mal Pais for one reason: to surf.

Tamarindo: Kai Surfs Costa Rica: Playa Negra and the Rush of a Single Wave

kai macmahon — 2012-01-11T16:51:19-05:00

Yesterday: Hitting the road to Tamarindo.

Standing on beautiful Tamarindo beach, with my board under my arm and looking out to sea, it occurred to me in a moment of mild panic that I was very out of practice. Was I making a terrible mistake? The ocean, for all its infinite beauty, is still a scary, powerful and potentially lethal thing.

You see, you can generally tell how good a surfer somebody is by watching them as they enter the water. Folks who know what they're doing look like they own it; they glide out on their boards and effortlessly get themselves beyond the break (to the calmer part of the water where you see surfers congregate). Surfers who maybe aren't so great will walk their boards out until the water comes up to their chests, then flail around every time a wave comes in, and they generally project an aura of terror.