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Tags: Australia Travel / Spring Festivals / Spring Travel / Horse Racing / → All Tags
Down Under Gears Up For The Melbourne Cup
It might be fall in States, but spring has just sprung up Down Under and we're ready to get out and play at some of the continent's best seasonal festivals. The biggest event this season is definitely the Spring Racing Carnival in Melbourne. You might wonder that a bunch of horse races grabs the attention of so many Aussies and anyone visiting at the time, but the highlight of the carnival—the Melbourne Cup—is correctly dubbed "the race that stops a nation".
And you don't have to know the slightest thing about horses to get involved. Come next Tuesday afternoon, you won't be able to get service in any shop in Australia as everybody will have their eyes glued to the TV to watch the Melbourne Cup race. Over 100,000 people attend the race in person, and most of them get dressed up either in their best dress or a crazy costume; like at the Kentucky Derby, the most important thing is to have a great hat.
Tags: Baseball Travel / Minor Leagues / Sports Travel / Spring Travel / Baseball / Sports / → All Tags
Forget The Yankees And Mets, The Minor Leagues Have Their Own New Fields
Major League Baseball is great and all, especially with the Mets and Yankees getting new stadiums this year, but we’re in a recession (or something) and need to save some cash. That’s why visiting a few minor league games this year is a great recession-friendly idea, especially when there's new stadiums to get your fix of peanuts and Cracker Jacks.
The Bowling Green Hot Rods have been hanging out near the bottom of the standings, but that hasn’t stopped the fans from seeing what the new Bowling Green Ballpark has to offer. A crowd of almost 7,000 welcomed baseball back to Bowling Green, Kentucky for the first time in decades.
The stadium has an unusual design—part of it is concave since there’s a curvy road that runs behind right field. You’ll always be able to check the score on their 16 by 32 foot LED scoreboard. If your butt gets tired in the regular seats, there’s lawn seating for you to spread your blanket and relax, along with a couple play areas for the kiddies. The field and seats are all finished, but they’re still working on the team’s offices and a few other finishing touches—so watch for wet paint.
Tags: Sports Travel / Spring Travel / Baseball / Ballparks / Yankee Stadium / Yankees / → All Tags
A Tale of Two Stadiums: How to Enjoy the Game at Yankee and Citi Field Ballparks
Now that spring is finally here we can finally start planning our travel around baseball games and their new stadiums. No matter who wins or loses, it’s fun just to check out what some of the new stadiums have to offer. Ever since the Baltimore Orioles opened their retro stadium in the 1990s, take me out to the ballgame has been way more exciting.
Unfortunately, most MLB teams already have new stadiums, so the building craze is finally slowing down. However, New York City’s two teams finally finished building their new homes—and we can’t wait to check them out. They’ve spent loads of cash, and it looks like these two beauties will not disappoint.
Tags: Spring Festivals / Spring Travel / Atlanta / → All Tags
Forget Cherry Blossoms, Atlanta's Got Dogwoods In Their Festival
We all know that DC is famous for some blooming trees, but it’s not the only one getting in on the spring fun. Atlanta has its own festival devoted to the Dogwood, and this thing has been going strong for the last 73 years. After a scheduling snafu last year, this year’s festival is back in Piedmont Park where it belongs.
The party starts on April 17, runs through the weekend, and best of all, the whole festival is free. Artists from all over the country converge on the city to display their wares and works. The Fine Artist Market is where you can check out sculpture, pottery, and jewelry from up and coming artists—unfortunately bringing some of these things home with you is not free. Constant music on the main stage will keep you going strong.
Tags: Spring Travel / Spring Festivals / Cherry Blossom Festival / → All Tags
DC Wants Cherry Blossoms To Hurry Up and Bloom!
Each Spring, DC's famous pink cherry blossoms reel in more tourists than any other annual event in the Capitol, but they can also cause a major headache for Washington officials: Figuring out just when Spring is going to get here.
The two-week National Cherry Blossom Festival—full of parties, parades, fireworks, and street festivals—is scheduled way in advance, based on officials' best guesstimate of when the cherry trees will be in full bloom. But the cherries don't always comply.
This year's festival is slated for March 28 to April 12, but National Park Service horticulturalists announced this week that the trees are a little more shy than usual, and won't be in peak bloom until April 3. That's not to say you should cancel your late March trip—the cherries should be starting to show by then—but if you're angling for that picturesque postcard view of DC covered in a sea of pink flowers, better wait 'til the second week.
Related Stories:
· Cherry Trees Appear In No Blooming Hurry [Washington Post]
· Naitonal Cherry Blossom Festival [Official Site]
· Washington, DC travel coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: zachstern]
Tags: Spring Break / Mexico Travel / Spring Travel / Drunk Travel / → All Tags
Acapulco 'Safety' Agreement Keeps Bad Out, Beer In
Just last week we were worrying ourselves over how much fun was possible during this year’s spring break.
Things south of the border are a little dicey, but one Mexican vacation destination is taking a proactive approach to protecting partying students. Acapulco lawmakers have signed an agreement in hopes of increasing the safety of all involved in the area.
Tags: Spring Break / Spring Travel / Drunk Travel / Kayaking / → All Tags
So, How's Spring Break Shaping Up for 2009?
We might still be in the midst of winter, but spring break is just around the corner, and if you haven't started making travel arrangements yet, you'd best get cracking. Much like the wildebeest migration in Africa, the advent of spring triggers a race to the world's beaches by millions of horny college kids and those who drink like them, but a big question mark hangs over this year's party: Will the global economic meltdown put the kibosh on the youthful shenanigans?
Tags: Boats / Italy Travel / Tourist Attractions / Attractions / Events / Spring Travel / → All Tags
Get Your Row on in Venice
Venice is opening its normally protected waterways to the public this Sunday for the 34th annual Vogalonga rowing event. The "Long Row" began in the 70s as a peaceful protest--"the revenge of oars over engines"--and now thousands of boating clubs, rowers and tourists come to experience the colorful spring regatta.
If you're keen to participate, the rules are rather uncharacteristically pretty lax. You'll need a row boat of any weight and size, some oars and at least one rower. The deadline for entrants is this Thursday so we suggest you quickly round up a few friends, hire a dinghy and submit your €15 entry fee. (Considering gondaliers are charging tourists upwards of €80 for a 30 minute float down the Grand Canal, the enrollment cost for Vogalonga is cheap!)
According to Wikipedia, some have even tried swimming the 19 mile route, but can hardly recommend it without at least some inflatable swimmies. If you haven't got your sea legs, take a front, uh, row seat near the Cannaragio Canal. It's a less touristy area and a perfect spot to watch the thousands of boats enter Venice.
Post-click, check out a groovy Vogalonga video montage with moody elevator music.
Tags: Sports Travel / Gambling / Horse Racing / Spring Travel / → All Tags
Adventures of Link: Triple Crown Travel
Now that Big Brown won the Kentucky Derby, it's time to plan your future racing excursions. Next up on the calendar is the Preakness Stakes, run in Baltimore on May 17. The final leg of the three-race series is the Belmont Stakes, which takes over Elmont, New York on June 7.
It's totally possible to just head to the track and enjoy these events, though there isn't quite as much pomp and circumstance as there is at the Derby. Still, lots of people will be dressed to the nines and there's always tons of betting at horse races. (Yay, betting!) And for $25 at the Preakness and $10 at the Belmont, the races are some of the cheapest sports tickets around.
Related Stories:
· The Preakness [Official Site]
· Belmont Park and the Belmont Stakes [Official Site]
· Attending the Preakness [ESPN]
· Attending the Belmont Stakes [ESPN]
· Sports Travel coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo of the Belmont ticket booths: JGNY]
Tags: National Parks / Outdoor Travel / Spring Travel / Hiking / Nature / → All Tags
National Park Travel: Maine's Acadia Reopens
Hibernation time is over! Maine's Acadia National Park reopens its central Park Loop Road tomorrow for the official season. The road, built by philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, Jr. as a set of carriage trails criss-crossing the preserve, takes visitors throughout the park, which is located primarily on Mount Desert Island.
The only national park in New England is heavily traveled during the summer months but it's a great place to hike in spring, before the hordes arrive. Use of a camp site is just ten dollars a night.
Need some gear and driving up? Swing by the 24-hour L.L. Bean store in Freeport.
Related Stories:
· Acadia National Park [Official Site]
· National Parks coverage [Jaunted]
· Spring Travel coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: dbking]
Tags: Wine / Wine Travel / Festivals / Wine Festivals / Islands / Spring Travel / → All Tags
Nantucket Wine Festival Fun
If you're a wine aficionado but don't want to trek all the way to Napa this spring, you can keep it East Coast during the the 12th Annual Nantucket Wine Festival from May 14-18.
The fest is staged entirely in downtown Nantucket, making everything walkable and easy to find. And what's "everything" you ask? An amazing line-up including seminars from famous epicureans (Jody Adams, Anthony Susi and more) to an auction dinner at the White Elephant to a special "Great Wines in Grand Houses" program where guests enjoy intimate wine tastings in some of the island's classic--and classy--homes.
Tickets are going quickly for all events, but if you want to splurge, buy the "Grand Cru" for $550 per person and you'll have an all-access pass to the week's events. If you're looking for a quaint spot to stay, check out The Cottages, a collection of 33 little rental homes set on Nantucket's wharf, a short walk from downtown. Don't forget your whale critter tie!
Related Stories:
· Natucket Wine Festival [Official Site]
· Datebook [NYT]
· Nantucket Travel Guide [Jaunted]
[Photo: ThunderChild5]
Tags: Dance / Dancing / Ballet / Spring Travel / → All Tags
Ballet Travel: A Big Premiere
Ballet=boring, right? What if the dances were set to Big Boi tracks instead of snoozy classical music? You'll find it at the Atlanta Ballet, starting tonight.
The show's called "Big," and it's a seriously limited engagement. The dancing is all professional ballet, but Big Boi, the hip hop group Konkrete and others will provide the tunes live.
It's a little cheeky, sure, but there's nothing wrong with appealing to a younger audience. As choreographer Lauri Stallings says:
If Mozart was here, I think he'd really dig this.
Related Stories:
· Big [Official Site]
· Big Boi Gives Ballet an Edge in Atlanta [NPR]
· Dance coverage [Jaunted]
