Weekend travel media top five: July 24-25, 2010

by Alex Robertson Textor on

This weekend’s best travel stories include a run through Hungary’s Tokaj wine district, a pilgrimage to horsey Chincoteague, Virginia, a family vacation in England’s Isles of Scilly, a guide to Europe’s top cycling cities, and a tribute to the many charms of Saskatchewan.

1. In the New York Times, Evan Rail does an oenophile tour of Hungary’s Tokaj wine trail (see photo), with great dining and lodging notes.

2. In the Los Angeles Times, Jay Jones visits Chincoteague, Virginia to watch the annual Chincoteague pony migration. Misty’s smiling, somewhere.

3. In the Independent, actress Jane Horrocks sings the praises of the improbably subtropical English Isles of Scilly.

4. In the Guardian, there’s a useful team-authored piece on biking in Europe’s best biking cities: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Copenhagen, London, and Paris.

5. In the Globe and Mail, D. Grant Black emphasizes Saskatchewan’s sexy side in an entertaining article about the province’s many lures.

(Image: Flickr/urbanlegend)

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]

Outdoor ‘treasure hunt’ puts $40k worth of gear up for grabs

by Kraig Becker on

Nationally syndicated columnist Stephen Regenold, best know by his pseudonym, The Gear Junkie, is hosting a scavenger hunt this July, and 300 lucky participants are going to get the chance to win some very cool outdoor gear in the process.

The first ever Gear Junkie Treasure Hunt is scheduled to take place on July 11th in Roanoke, Virginia, and will mix outdoor fun and adventure with the opportunity to go home with new gear from the likes of Sierra Designs, Deuter Packs, Brooks Range, and many more. But in order to earn that gear, participants will first have to compete in an open wilderness orienteering competition that will see them navigating their way through Explore Park, a wooded playground not far from Roanoke.

The rules of the competition are simple. At the start of the event, competitors will be given a map that will be marked with the location of flags that have been planted around the park. They’ll then have two hours to find as many of those flags as possible, earning one point for every flag they discover. At the end of the competition, they’ll be able to redeem those points for gear.

With more than $40,000 worth of swag up for grabs, the Treasure Hunt is sure to offer fun and fierce competition for all involved. Entry is limited to the first 300 who apply, and pay the $25 registration fee, so you may want to sign up as soon as possible to ensure your chance to compete. The registration page can be found by clicking here, and if you would like more information about the event, click here.

Controversy over Wal-mart on Civil War battlefield

by Sean McLachlan on

A proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter on the site of one of the Civil War’s bloodiest battles is being challenged by local preservationists.

The case has gone into a new phase as a local court ruled that opponents to the Wal-Mart have the right to bring the company to trial, reports Civil War News.

When the Orange County, Virginia, Board of Supervisors approved the construction of a 138,000 square-foot Wal-mart Supercenter at the edge of the Wilderness Battlefield, part of a National Battlefield Park, two preservation groups and six local residents sued. They say that the location is too close to the battlefield and will ruin its atmosphere.

The Battle of the Wilderness on May 5-7, 1864 was a brutal slugfest between the armies of Grant and Lee that left tens of thousands of Americans dead or wounded. Many historians see the battle as the start of a long war of attrition that bled the Confederacy to death.

The Board of Supervisors challenged the opponents’ right to sue, but a court said that they do, indeed, have a vested interest in the area and may bring Wal-Mart to court. This will delay Wal-Mart’s final purchase of the land and application for building permits.

This case is similar to one concerning the Gettysburg casino, pitting historians and preservation groups against the interests of big business.

Wilderness battlefield photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

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.