Chattanooga, Portsmouth among top art destinations in the U.S.

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Who thought that Tennessee and New Hampshire would be some of the top towns in the country for art lovers. AmericanStyle magazine just issued the results of its twelfth annual arts destinations poll. Some spots are predictable. Others, like Chattanooga, will just blow your mind.

This is the first year Chattanooga made the list, shooting all the way up to second in the mid-sized city category. If you’ve been there, some of the surprise wears off. I hit Chattanooga back in 1999, and it was turning into a pretty cool small city. The past decade, obviously, has treated the city well. More shocking is the top mid-sized city: Buffalo, NY.

At the top of the small city list, Santa Fe is an utterly predictable #1 – like New York in the big city category. Portsmouth, NH, toward the bottom of the small city list, is a sentimental favorite. I had my first real job in Portsmouth and drank away many a Friday and Saturday (and Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday) night on its sidewalks.

See the full lists after the jump.Big Cities (population of 500,000 or more)

  1. New York, NY
  2. Chicago, IL
  3. Washington, DC
  4. San Francisco, CA
  5. Albuquerque, NM
  6. Boston, MA
  7. Seattle, WA
  8. Atlanta, GA
  9. Philadelphia, PA
  10. Los Angeles, CA
  11. Portland, OR
  12. Baltimore, MD
  13. Denver, CO
  14. Phoenix, AZ
  15. Austin, TX
  16. Charlotte, NC
  17. Columbus, OH
  18. Nashville, TN
  19. San Diego, CA
  20. Tucson, AZ
  21. San Antonio, TX
  22. Las Vegas, NV
  23. Milwaukee, WI
  24. Dallas, TX
  25. Houston, TX

Mid-Sized Cities (population of 100,000 to 499,000)

  1. Buffalo, NY
  2. Chattanooga, TN
  3. Pittsburgh, PA
  4. Scottsdale, AZ
  5. New Orleans, LA
  6. Charleston, SC
  7. Savannah, GA
  8. Cleveland, OH
  9. Ann Arbor, MI
  10. Minneapolis, MN
  11. Alexandria, VA
  12. Miami, FL
  13. Tacoma, WA
  14. St. Louis, MO
  15. Athens, GA
  16. Kansas City, MO
  17. Colorado Springs, MO
  18. Providence, RI
  19. Salt Lake City, UT
  20. Honolulu, HI
  21. Rochester, NY
  22. St. Petersburg, FL
  23. Cincinnati, OH
  24. Raleigh, NC
  25. Tampa, FL

Small Cities (population of below 100,000)

  1. Santa Fe, NM
  2. Asheville, NC
  3. Sedona, AZ
  4. Taos, NM
  5. Saugatuck, MI
  6. Key West, FL
  7. Berkeley Springs, WV
  8. Boulder, CO
  9. Carmel, CA
  10. Corning, NY
  11. Sarasota, FL
  12. Beaufort, SC
  13. Chapel Hill, NC
  14. Burlington, VT
  15. Annapolis, MD
  16. Aspen, CO
  17. Laguna Beach, CA
  18. Northampton, MA
  19. Eureka Springs, AR
  20. Brattleboro, VT
  21. New Hope, PA
  22. Naples, FL
  23. Cumberland, MD
  24. Berea, KY
  25. Portsmouth, NH

Life imitates art at Mardi Gras

by Jeremy Kressmann on

We’ve been taking a look recently at some of the fun that went down this past week in New Orleans for Mardi Gras, and many of our fellow travel bloggers have been doing the same. National Geographic’s Janelle Nanos found herself in New Orleans for the festivities, and in the midst of all the good times stumbled upon some partiers who just might be her magazine’s biggest fans.

As Janelle tells it on her personal blog, she was enjoying the parade when she came upon Danielle King, a fellow reveler who had chosen to dress up as an “Irrational Geographic” photographer in honor of Mardi Gras. How does one accomplish such a costume? Danielle and friend had dressed themselves up in full expedition gear, complete with pith helmets, exploration vests and SLR cameras and were making their way through the crowd, snapping pictures of the local “menagerie” using National Geographic’s iconic yellow framed border as a photo prop.

Not only is Danielle’s idea quite clever, she also took some amazing portraits. They are at once warm and friendly, filled with the vibrant colors and fun energy you would expect from a Mardi Gras celebration. I think this guy is perhaps my favorite. Make sure to click on the gallery above to play the full slideshow of all the local “party animals” as framed by the famous National Geographic cover. And head over to Janelle’s blog and Intelligent Travel for the full story.

Val Kilmer, “King” of Mardi Gras?

by Jeremy Kressmann on

It’s Mardi Gras this week, and New Orleans has been living it up in honor of one the city’s most famous holidays. It’s not just Louisiana residents that are getting in on the action however. As Videogum reports, none other than Val “Iceman” Kilmer was on hand to help celebrate, decked out in a white skin-tight leotard and full Mardi Gras “king” regalia.

Mr. Kilmer apparently claimed the ceremonial honor of Bacchus in the city’s annual Bacchus Parade. C’mon guys, let’s not give Val a hard time. He was doing it for a good cause – Mr. Kilmer did stop by a local hospital to visit with sick children. An all-around good guy and quite a Mardi Gras king, don’t you think??

[Via Buzzfeed]

Click the images to learn about the most unusual museums in the world — from funeral customs, to penises, to velvet paintings, to stripping.

As Mardi Gras picks up, so do arrests in New Orleans

by Jeffrey White on

Here’s a fun fact: Nearly 400 people were arrested in New Orleans this past weekend, forced to chill out at central lockup after being charged with public drunkenness, lewd contact, resisting arrest, disturbing the peace and a variety of other misdemeanors that are probably par for the course during Mardi Gras time.

New Orleans Times-Picayune spent the weekend looking at mug shots. Sadly, the paper does not publish them. However it does report that 300 people were arrested just in the period from 12:01 a.m. Friday to 4 p.m. Saturday (so, like half the weekend).

A husband-wife team were thrown in the clink for having sex in public; various women were hauled in for prostituting themselves; a 48-year-old man was charged with “refusing to go to sleep or leave for home,” at 4 a.m. Saturday. One motorist was charged with “driving on curbs.” Lewd contact, of course, can refer to a lot of flashing for beads, but it usually refers to the act of relieving oneself on a city wall.

So, it’s a busy time at the city jail, and we’re still a day away from the festival’s climax.

Five Places To See Before Climate Change Ruins Them Forever

by Kraig Becker on

CNN.com has an interesting article naming the five places that everyone should see before they are forever altered by climate change, which is already having an indelible effect on our planet.

This list was compiled by Bob Henson, the author of The Rough Guide To Climate Change, who wants to give travelers a heads up on the best places to visit in the near future, as they are also the most likely to see the most drastic changes in the near future.

The list includes The Great Barrier Reef, whose coral reefs are now threatened by warming waters, causing them to die at an alarming rate. The GBR is a popular tourist destination and is considered one of the best places to SCUBA dive and snorkel in the world, which has hastened some of the damage. With so many people visiting, and the environment already fragile, the likelihood of causing harm is increased.

New Orleans, Louisiana also finds its way onto Bob’s list for obvious reasons. Hurricane Katrina made us all painfully aware that the city sits below sea level and is precariously protected by a series of walls and levies. As the planet warms up however, and the polar icecaps melt, the sea levels are going to rise, endangering New Orleans further. It’s possible that the city may not even exist at all in the future.

Of course, the ongoing debate is, should we rush off to visit these places, as well as the other three on the list, thereby increasing the chances of those places being altered forever. Or should we stay home, and limit our footprint? That is a question that all travelers will be wrestling with for years to come.