Top five cities for travel spending … and the bottom of the barrel, too

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Hey, Arlington, Virginia residents, why are you spending so much on travel? Do you really want to get out that badly? According to a report by Bundle.com, the folks who live in Arlington spent twice the national average on travel last year: a whopping $3,534 per household. Nationwide, the norm came in at $1,571 for 2009. Meanwhile, Detroit residents spent a meager $1,158 per household on travel last year due largely to the dismal economic conditions there.

The top five cities for travel spending last year (i.e., people who live there paid to go elsewhere) aren’t terribly surprising, in that they tend to be affluent and close to major airports.

1. Arlington, VA – $3,534
2. San Francisco, CA – $3,460
3. Washington, DC – $3,409
4. Scottsdale, AZ – $3,372
5. New York, NY – $3,274
And if there’s a top five list, there must be one for the bottom, right? Garland, Texas residents either love the place so much they don’t like to leave or simply have little appreciation for the outside world: they spent an average of $647 per household on travel last year.

5. Greensboro, NC – $820
4. Lexington, KY – $809
3. Memphis, TN – $683
2. Chula Vista, CA – $676
1. Garland, TX – $647

[photo by Beverly & Pack via Flickr]

Recession kills Chapel Hill Museum, threatens others

by Sean McLachlan on

The municipal museum in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, is the latest victim of the recession. It closed its doors on Sunday after 14 years in operation. The town council had only earmarked $20,000 for the museum in the 2011 budget, far short of the $49,000 it needed to stay open.

The Chapel Hill Museum explored the history and culture of this prosperous university town with displays on early settlers, desegregation, works from local artists, and a popular fire engine from 1914. More than 15,000 people visited the museum every year and it was a regular destination for school groups.

With budgets getting cut across the country, the Chapel Hill Museum may be the canary in the coal mine for cultural organizations. The Battleship New Jersey was recently saved from a budget cut, but a nearby children’s garden had to reduce its hours after getting less funding than it needed. Numerous parks and historic sites in New York also face closure.


Photo courtesy Siera Heavner via Wikimedia Commons.

Preferred Hotels Makes Your Golf Addiction Social

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Do you prefer to improve your golf game? Yeah, anyone who swings a club is always desperate to do it better. So, if your handicap is your swing but you still have a jones for all things golf, check out the new Preferred Golf website from Preferred Hotels Group. It includes a social media platform and interactive capabilities you can use to get real-time golfing news, share tips and travails and commiserate with other duffers.

Preferred Golf is the next step in Preferred’s member-based program that includes access to more than 100 top courses, including The K Club in Ireland, Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina and The Broadmoor in Colorado.

“Members of Preferred Golf have always received the best value at the world’s top golf courses,” said Casey Ueberroth, President of Preferred Golf. “Our new website now adds convenience and customization to the list of benefits. So whether members prefer the customized service of our Golf VIP Desk or instant electronic gratification of the new website, we have all angles covered.”

When you’re ready to pack up your bags and head out for a weekend (or week) on the links, use the website to meet new golfers, set up buddy trips and get some extra help from the Golf VIP Desk.

This is a new way for you to feed your golf addiction!

America’s Top 10 Beaches: Coopers Beach in Southampton, NY takes the top spot in 2010

by Leigh Caldwell on

Coopers Beach, Southampton’s stretch of white sand on New York’s Long Island, has been named 2010’s best beach in the America by Dr. Stephen Leatherman.

“New York has world-class beaches, but I don’t think a lot of people in the United States know about them,” said Stephen Leatherman, director of Florida International University’s Laboratory for Coastal Research.

Leatherman cited the fine sand, availability of parking and amenities, and Southampton’s long history as a beach community in his announcement.

Leatherman, aka “Dr. Beach,” announced his Top 10 picks for this year just in time for Memorial Day weekend, as has been his tradition since 1991. The coastal scientist says he uses more than 50 criteria — including water quality, temperature, sand quality, cleanliness, safety and environmental management.

Dr. Beach listed two Florida beaches this year — Siesta Key Beach and Cape Florida State Park — despite the oil spill still leaking in the Gulf of Mexico.

He told the Associated Press that Cape Florida State Park, near Key Biscayne, “doesn’t get the wave activity” that would encourage tar balls to wash ashore. As for Siesta Key, in Sarasota, Leatherman said he studied currents and does not believe the oil will reach the shores in Southwest Florida.

%Gallery-93850%Here are Dr. Beach’s Top 10 Beaches in America for 2010:

  • 1. Coopers Beach in Southampton, New York
  • 2. Siesta Key Beach in Sarasota, Florida
  • 3. Coronado Beach in San Diego, California
  • 4. Cape Hatteras on North Carolina’s Outer Banks
  • 5. Main Beach in East Hampton, New York
  • 6. Kahanamoku Beach in Waikiki, Oahu, Hawaii
  • 7. Coast Guard Beach in Cape Cod, Massachusetts
  • 8. Beachwalker Park in Kiawah Island, South Carolina
  • 9. Hamoa Beach in Maui, Hawaii
  • 10. Cape Florida State Park in Key Biscayne, Florida

%Poll-47218%

Five essential Memorial Day destinations

by Alex Robertson Textor on

Memorial Day marks the cultural beginning of summer, the start of the warm months. The picnics and the parties and the celebration of the impending summer have sort of become the point of Memorial Day for many, a kind of superimposition of recreation over the intention of the holiday.

We love beer and hot dogs as much as the next guy, but for those interested in the history and meaning (or, in destination 5 below, the traditional pageantry) of Memorial Day, here are five destinations for Monday that might prompt greater reflection on the holiday itself.

1. Charleston, South Carolina. Hampton Park in Charleston was once the site of the Washington Race Course, which served as prison camp for Union soldiers in the last year of the Civil War. Here, in 1865, former slaves provided a proper burial and commemoration of fallen Union soldiers, followed by sermons, prayer, and picnics, under the name of Decoration Day. Yale history professor David W. Blight has championed this event as the first ever Memorial Day celebration.

2. Boalsburg, Pennsylvania. About five miles from State College, Boalsburg is one of a number of other locations claiming to be the birthplace of Memorial Day. Tiny Boalsburg is also home to the Pennsylvania Military Museum.

3. Waterloo, New York. Waterloo, in the Finger Lakes region, hosts the National Memorial Day Museum. Waterloo was recognized by the federal government as the birthplace of Memorial Day in 1966, one hundred years after the city first celebrated the event.

4. Arlington, Virginia. Arlington National Cemetery is the arguably the best-known cemetery in the US. Administered by the Department of the Army, the cemetery hosts a National Memorial Day Observance open to the general public on a first-come first-seated basis. Admission is free.

5. Speedway, Indiana or Concord, North Carolina. While stock car racing can’t be tied to the history of Memorial Day, these two iconic races (the Indy 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Coca-Cola 600 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway) have coincided with the holiday for decades, and have in turn become Memorial Day tradition. The Indianapolis 500 was first held on Memorial Day in 1911, and the Coca Cola 600 dates back to 1960.