Ten Destinations Under $1,000

by Erik Olsen on

I don’t know if we can call these “cash-strapped times”. I suppose it depends on your station in life and whether you are a CEO of a major corporation who just got a $250 million bonus even though your company’s stock is down. But for most of us, the idea of taking a trip and not having to take out a second mortgage is rather savory.

I have been doing some shopping around for plane tickets to Europe this summer and — whoa — it is hard to find ANYTHING for under $1,000. And that’s JUST FOR AIRFARE! So what are we middle-class folks to do? Well, you’ll have to get your own fact-checkers on board to look into the deals here, but its coming from good ol USA Today, so you can probably be sure the stuff is accurate.

Here in this article they offer a solid list of rather impressive adventures for under $1000. Per person that is. What kind of stuff do they suggest? A road trip to the next state? Nope. Better than that. There are trips here to Chile and the Torres del Paine (a favorite of mine), Utah (for biking), Belize (for diving) and Tuscany (for eating and shooting photos). Could you really imagine that you could get to for under a grand? Me neither. That’s why it’s important to note that many of these trips don’t include airfare. And more, many of them (like the excursion) are timed for winter, which right now seems way too far off, especially for those of us trying to make up our razadooks what to do this summer.

Red Corner: Biking Bulgaria

by Neil Woodburn on

Every city or country has a “can’t miss” attraction that you simply can’t miss. When I was traveling through Bulgaria a few years ago, the can’t miss attraction everyone told me to visit was the Rila Monastery.

While the monastery was indeed truly magnificent, Bulgaria’s Rila Mountains where the monastery is located are equally spectacular.

I unfortunately spent very little time in the mountains, merely driving through on the way to the monastery, but last August Gregory Dicum visited on a mountain biking adventure in which he rode right into the heart of this Balkan range. His Travel & Leisure article paints a very quixotic, old European view of ox carts, farmers, mountain dwellers, Sheep’s-milk yogurt, alpine blueberries, scenic lakes, mountain meadows, and beautiful vistas. It’s another off-the-beaten-path adventure that is flush with the wondrous rewards such journeys always seem to offer.

Cabela’s – Wheeling, West Virginia

by Adrienne Wilson on

For the longest R.E.I. was the only outfitter that came to mind when pondering where to go to stock up on outdoor goods, but that has since changed. After breezing through West Virginia for a bite to eat at Cracker Barrel and visit to Cabela’s, I now know of another equally exciting place to gear up on gear. As me and my partners were pulling up into the lot, one of them was schooling us on how world famous Cabela’s was and low and behold there were a few visitors to the area snapping photo after photo. I thought I should snap a few too.

If I had to compare the interior to anything it would be a jungle, a tangled jungle of clothing, fishing equipment, hunting gear and almost anything and everything imaginable for the outdoor enthusiast. Cabela’s is more than just a store. One good walk around the showroom will reveal several small animal displays located throughout the store, but better than anything else is the area called Whitetail country. I’m not a huge fan of hunting, but it was interesting seeing this large display of deer in a realistic re-creation of their natural habitat. The buck doesn’t stop at animal displays though – swing in May 27-28, 2006 for French fries with Cabela’s seasonings.

Cabela’s in Wheeling is located at One Cabela Drive, Triadelphia, WV 26059. For a full listing of stores nationwide click here.

Mtn. Biking Vid

by Erik Olsen on

It’s
been a while since I’ve been on a mountain bike, but I think fat tire fans will enjoy this quick video from Great Outdoors.com TV featuring some hard core, top
riders cruisinng around some beautiful terrain in places as varied as Hawaii, the Northwest and Utah. The film is shot
in 16mm so that it’s got that groovy cinemtaic look, and all of the scenes, stunts and landscapes are sweet, even if
the video is a bit choppy given the fact it’s online. Worth a peak.

Intergenerational Travel

by Adrienne Wilson on

MSN went digging when they found this piece which originally appeared in Travel Leisure’s April 2003 issue and I can’t think of a better travel related topic to revive than traveling with grandparents. While we may have mentioned family travel directed towards parents and their children we never touch on intergenerational travel. The article points out 35 percent of grandparents traveled with a grandchild in 2001, up from 29 percent the previous year. Not sure what the stats look like for the more recent years, but if you’ve got a granny and a grandpa why not surprise them with a specially created vacation without your parents this summer? There are several outfitters that cater to grandparents looking to travel with grandkids and trips include bike rides through Holland from Elderhostel.org, river rafting in Alaska provided by Grandtravel, and summer retreats at Great Camp Sagamore to name only a few.

If my grandparents were still around I’d most certainly take to the streets or explore the off-the-beaten-track just hear stories of the golden yesteryears. Think – a little bit adventure, history, and family packaged together for one grand ole’ time. Talk about an experience!