va Travel Guide
Tags: 2009-Halloween-Theme-Park-Map / 2009 Halloween Theme Park Scare Guide / Halloween Travel / Scary Travel / Theme Parks / → All Tags
2009 Halloween Theme Park Scare Guide: Busch Gardens Williamsburg Howl-O-Scream
For those in our nation’s capital looking to celebrate Halloween without Obama and Palin masks, there’s always the option of taking a ride down I-95 to Williamsburg, Virginia. Busch Gardens Williamsburg has been doing the scary theme park for over ten years now, and this year’s Howl-O-Scream looks to do more damage than even their roller coasters.
Like some of the parks we’ve featured before, Busch Gardens transforms the park into a scary land featuring costumed characters lurking behind every corner. There’s six different haunted houses to terrify and torture, especially when a few of them are more maze than haunted house. Good luck if you’re trying to get out. If you’d rather have a chance to escape, you can always run through one of the park’s nine scare zones.
If you need to take a breather there’s plenty of scary shows to entertain you. Sit back and relax, or try to, and take in the scene. There’s one for your little pumpkin as well—starring Elmo—but we won’t tell anyone if you need to watch that one instead.
Tags: Celeb Travel / Road Trips / Chris Brown / Crimes / → All Tags
Chris Brown Becomes Roadside Attraction During His Community Service
Yesterday, we may have peeked in on Rihanna at the airport, leaving New York after a summer of roller coaster riding and performing at Madison Square Garden. Meanwhile, her ex and convicted domestic abuser Chris Brown has been enjoying a little vacation of his own; a road trip of sorts.
As his sentencing for beating up Rihanna many months ago, Brown must serve 180 days of community service. He just recently began his work near his home in Virginia, and they've assigned him to the roadside clean-up crew. Although he may not be in the same spot every day, since they can have him "washing government cars, picking up trash and cleaning up graffiti," so long as he's still a roadside attraction, he'll be a popular stop for Virginia road trippers.
Tags: Virginia Travel / Tourism Board Travel / Travel News / Tourism Marketing / → All Tags
'Virginia Is For Lovers' Celebrates 40th Anniversary With Free Trips
Although we’ve never understood what was so lovable about the state, apparently Virginia's motto is something to swoon over. The slogan Virginia is for Lovers is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, which easily makes it the country’s longest running state tourism tagline. It’s so successful that it has the chance to gain a spot on the Madison Avenue Advertising Walk of Fame.
Besides critical acclaim, the slogan also helps attract a lot of cash into the state. Somehow they can quantify the lovers line, as they report that tourism brings in $19 billion per year. It also supports over 200,000 jobs and gets state and local communities some nice stuff with over a billion dollars in tax revenue. We need to figure out how to get a slice of all this tourism cash action; how does "Jaunted is For Lovers" grab you?
Tags: Roller Coasters / Nascar / Theme Parks / Amusement Parks / → All Tags
Dale Earnhardt To Rise Again In Roller Coaster Form
Over the last few weeks, little tidbits of information have been trickling in regarding a new coaster set to hit the scene at Kings Dominion, outside of Richmond, Virginia. Finally the cat is out of the bag, and the park is looking to cozy up to the NASCAR crowd with their brand new Dale Earnhardt-themed coaster. Park officials are hoping to give visitors a taste of racecar speed as the new ride will hit 92 mph as it twists and turns along its steel track.
The Intimidator 305, as it will be known, is already being promoted as the tallest and fastest gravity-driven coaster on the country’s east coast (even though they're wrong, that title will stay with the 456-foot, 128-mph Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure in NJ). With a height of 305 feet and almost a mile of track, this is definitely going to be on the must-do list in 2010 for coaster crazies. We just need to get over the fact that the first drop sends riders barreling towards the earth at an 85-degree angle.
Tags: Hawaii Superferry / Ferry Travel / Environment / Recession / → All Tags
Hawaii Superferry Awaiting Its Next Assignment In Virginia
Our last update in the saga of the Hawaii Superferry wasn’t a positive one. The company had filed for bankruptcy, and the once mighty catamarans were in the process of heading out of Hawaii’s warm water paradise. As of this week, it looks like the ships are planning to call Norfolk, Virginia their home while they await their final fate.
The Alakai, one of two high speed ferries, arrived in Virginia this week. The other is on its way and should arrive before the end of the month. They were in Alabama for a little bit, but the US Maritime Administration feels that a home in Virginia is better for insurance reasons. They were also a little bit worried about hurricane season—good thinking.
At this point, it’s pretty much a guarantee that these vessels will never find their way back to the islands. However, they may have a busy schedule ahead of them. Rumors suggest that the Navy is looking into leasing both of them. For now, if you’re looking for a used high-speed ferry, and have some cash, you could get a hell of a deal on these two.
Related Stories: [Photo: hawaii]
· Ferries From Bankrupt Hawaii Company Land in Norfolk [Virginian-Pilot]
· Hawaii Superferry Is Grounded and Lonely [Jaunted]
· Ferry Travel coverage [Jaunted]
Tags: Fourth of July Travel / Historical Travel / Movie Travel / → All Tags
Daytime Fireworks, Cake, and 'National Treasure' For The Fourth
If you've waited this long to make plans for the Fourth of July, then you've probably already given in to another year of camping out down by the river for the city fireworks display, and this applies to most any city with a river. If, however, you are lucky enough to call Washington DC or Baltimore home, then there's still an option for a day-trip to make it feel as though you did something with your weekend: head to George Washington's old Mount Vernon home for the festivities and the "National Treasure" Tour.
As of this last February, Mount Vernon has expanded their hugely popular tour, based on "The National Treasure 2: Book Of Secrets" to offering it four times daily, with 25 people max per tour. It's an extra $5 on top of the $15 admission to the estate, but it's the only way to investigate areas like the mansion's basement and cornerstone. Apparently, fans of the movie "will recognize the space as the location where Nicolas Cage's character kidnaps the president."
Emerge from underneath Mount Vernon for the Fourth's "made-for-daytime" fireworks, a naturalization ceremony, Revolutionary War re-enactments and a birthday cake! The cake will be cut at 1pm, and we recommend bringing Ziploc baggies for some snacking on the ride back to the city.
Related Stories:
· National Treasure Tours Begin [Press Release]
· Mount Vernon [Official Site]
· Fourth Of July Travel Coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: afagen]
Tags: Airport-WiFi-Map / RIC / UFO Travel / → All Tags
Upload Your UFO Sightings at Richmond International Airport
Good news for anyone bent on razzing Flack4RIC on Twitter (uh, us?): Richmond International Airport has free WiFi. All the better to upload your photos of the mysterious, potentially paranormal light shows which even Matt Drudge has taken an interest in.
According to the U.S. Naval Observatory, the bright streaks of light reported around Richmond and Baltimore are probably pieces from a Russian space experiment gone bust. But the National Weather Service has no explanation for the Sunday-night show, which in some areas included a loud booming noise around 9:45PM.
Seen anything creepy on your trip? Tell us about it!
Related Stories:
· Official: Space Junk Likely Caused Unusual Sky [WBAL]
· Hotel Del Coronado Ghost "Speaks" [HC]
· Airport WiFi Map [Jaunted]
Tags: Recession Restaurants / Recession-Restaurants-Map / Restaurants / Sandwiches / → All Tags
Bebo Trattoria
Italian-born chef Roberto Donna is one of DC's biggest culinary stars, so when he closed high-end eatery Galileo for renovations, District power-lunchers were more than disappointed. But their pain was NoVa cheapskates' gain, as Donna used his time off to open a more casual take on Galileo: The new-ish Bebo Trattoria in Crystal City, Virginia.
Given the bustling family-style atmosphere and the sub-$10 prices, you’d be forgiven for thinking Bebo Trattoria is just another suburban Olive Garden clone. But look closer and you'll see the salads, sandwiches and homemade pastas here are all dotted with imported Italian delicacies like Belgian lettuce, pepper-cured prosciutto and guanciale (cured pork cheeks). The newest offering is the selection of pizzas, straight from the wood-burning oven and topped with a drizzle of olive oil and sea salt, along with gourmet toppings like Gorgonzola dolce cheese.
But the best deal is the one that grew out of Donna's popular take-out lunch counter service at Galileo. The locally famous pork shoulder panini, topped with provolone and broccoli rabe, are available at lunchtime for just $6.25.
Related Stories:
· Bebo Trattoria [Official Site]
· Something for the Poors at Vidalia [Jaunted]
· Recession Restaurants Map [Jaunted]
[Photo: kthread]
Tags: Theme Parks / Amusement Parks / Ferris Wheels / → All Tags
Kings Dominion Adding New Stuff For 2009
Apparently, Cedar Fair didn’t get the memo that theme parks are cutting back this off-season. The park operator recently announced some plans for Kings Dominion, just outside of Richmond, Virginia.
With an eye on, unfortunately, the family "staycation," the park is looking to add Americana, a 110-foot Ferris wheel that will likely give visitors stunning views of nearby Interstate 95. The wheel will feature 24 six-person gondolas, so your whole crew is welcome to hop aboard.
The other addition is El Dorado, another family-friendly ride that swings you around in a 1950s style automobile. Its pendulum motion will rock you back and forth up to 85 feet in the air for about two minutes.
We can’t confirm that we’ve purchased our 2009 season pass simply due to these two rides, but major points for expanding in the face of a global financial catastrophe!
Related Stories:
· Kings Dominion Announces Two New Rides for 2009 [Official Site]
· Theme Parks coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo of another park offering: FreaksAnon]
Tags: Possible Presidents Map / Possible-Presidents-Map / John McCain / Barack Obama / Joe Biden / Sarah Palin / → All Tags
Possible Presidents Map: Gonna Fly Now!
Republican Sen. John McCain hoped Virginia really would be his country as he and Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin appeared in Virginia Beach this morning. "The national media has written us off, but they forgot to let you decide," McCain told the crowd of 20,000 supporters chanting "Nobama" in a local convention center.
Country singer Hank Williams Jr. played for the crowd, but the real surprise was the McCain-Palin entrance music--the theme from "Rocky." Hey, remember when Hillary Clinton did that way back in the primaries? Good times!
McCain is currently speaking in Wilmington, North Carolina at a town meeting, while his running mate rallies the faithful in Richmond. Tomorrow, the Straight Talk Express is Pennsylvania-bound as McCain hosts a town hall meeting for women in Blue Bell, while Palin speaks at a rally in the Electric City of Scranton.
Tags: Theme Parks / Amusement Parks / Halloween / Best-Halloween-Theme-Parks / → All Tags
The Best Halloween Theme Parks: Howl-O-Scream
Busch Gardens Europe in Williamsburg, Virginia is the perfect distraction for those who have given up on the election and are looking for something even more terrifying than preparing Sarah Palin for Thursday's debate.
The Halloween fun got started a couple weeks ago and continues to run every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night through October. Oddly enough, that means that you won't be able to celebrate Howl-O-Scream on All Hallows Eve.
Tags: Fall Festivals / Fall Travel / Fall Culture Travel / Videos / → All Tags
Fall Culture Travel: Celebrating Your Scottish Side
There's a lot going on this fall in Virginia, mostly because these four will be battling each other there. But if you're looking for something with a little more culture, look no further than the Williamsburg Scottish Festival, complete with more kilts, clans and Celtic music than you can shake a caber at.
The fest starts October 3 and carries on through the weekend. Celtic bands including Albannach and Greenwich Meantime (clever!) will ensure that you get your fill of bagpipe. And of course there will be traditional athletic events that involve people throwing really heavy things as far as they can.
The festival also seeks to assist people in tracing their Scottish roots. Take a trip down "Clan Row" to try to find your link back to the mother country. Last year there were almost 50 groups from across the nation with their own unique lineage, so you're almost guaranteed to find a picture of Grandpa McManus.
Related Stories:
· Williamsburg Scottish Festival [Official Site]
· Fall Travel coverage [Jaunted]
