More Hershey

A cheaper option than other big-name theme parks, Hershey offers a wide array of rides for little ones, as well as chocolate-making expos and a how-to dark ride, complete with singing animatronics and free samples. Stop by on Opening Day and start off your sunshine season with thrills and chills. Younger children will love classic rides like bizzy bees, the frog hopper and helicopters, while older kids will enjoy the carousel, Canyon River Rapids and 11 roller coasters. New as of 2007, a sprawling water area is guaranteed relief on a hot afternoon. While many of the edgier slides have height requirements, an old-fashioned boardwalk-style water pool with squirt guns, fountains, smaller slides and a bucket drop is open to all.




Click here for more information...

Wide Open Spaces II

In lieu of my Memorial Day road trip through Pennsylvania, I was excited to see Expedia introduce a new section on road trips. Though the price of gas is ridiculously astronomical this year, I think the rising airline prices combined with the recent bad press is keeping people away from flying. At the same time, families and family trips are up, and suddenly anywhere in your backyard can be a destination.

I certainly agree with their Vegas choice, as I'm a huge fan of renting a convertible and driving around the desert, but Orlando? Really? I can count on one hand the times I've had a car in Orlando, and though it was a convenience, I didn't exactly take to the open road.

http://www.expediaroadtrips.com/index.php

Moose

Lately I've been craving an escape from the city. This is rarely possible, so I tend to live vicariously through the emails that flog my 9-5 inbox. Today's was especially charming.

National Parks and their lodges have been getting a lot of great attention, and Denali National Park in Alaska is no exception. May rates at the McKinley Chalet Resort seem to be around $189/nt- not bad for a hotel that Hotels.com and Trip Advisor both seem to favor.



These hotels offer no sort of airfare-inclusive packages, but luckily Alaska Airlines also has some sort of early summer sale, with rates beginning at $59 each way. To fly to Denali National Park, check flights going into Cantwell, Healy River, or the smaller Denali National Parks private airports.

M-U-D spells Y-U-M

The New York Times has an interesting article today about how some off-season attractions can become total destinations. I don't know if I'm buying Vermont's plans, but they are creative, to say the least...



By KATIE ZEZIMA
Published: May 6, 2008

LOWER WATERFORD, Vt. — In Vermont, mud season is the limbo between winter and spring, when the snow melts, the crocuses start peeking through and rubber boots and low gears are needed to navigate the mess that takes over many roads and fields.

For some, it is the perfect time to hop a flight to Florida or, for the more adventurous, go off-roading. But for the state’s hospitality industry, it is painfully quiet.

“People come for summer, they come for foliage, they come for winter skiing, and we tend to get overlooked in the spring,” said Sara Berthiaume of the Three Stallion Inn in Randolph, Vt.

For the last few years, the Three Stallion and 13 other inns have been trying to make muddy northern New England a destination, offering free car washes, complimentary mudslides (the drink) and spa mud wraps for travelers looking for an off-season getaway.

Good for the Seoul

Inspired by Pret a Voyager's shoutout to Icelandair's stopover program, I really wanted to let people know about Korean Airline's Seoul Stopover. If you are flying Korean Airline or its partner Asiana Airlines to any destinations, you can register for a transfer and hotel for a few hours in Seoul.

Their website lists a common itinerary as including hotel accommodation fees, round-trip limousine bus tickets, and discounted tickets to a host of other restaurants and tourist spots.

See www.seoulstopover.com for exact details of this trip.

Cakes for a cause

Each month, the punk savvy chefs at Chicago's Bleeding Heart bakery cook up a little plan to give back to the community. Every 30 days the sales from one special cupcake goes to the charity of the month, this month you can feast down on yummy goodness for the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation, which aids the families and memories of Chicago's finest who have fallen.

If that wasn't nice enough, take a gander at the above image. That little baby is vanilla bean filled with raspberry jam and topped with chocolate ganache frosting and donut glaze with chocolate sprinkles. If you're still hungry, check out Bleeding Heart Bakery's other creative cakes. It's definitely worth a Windy City excursion.

California Dreamin

I'm headed to the bright lights and sunny skies of the West Coast in a few weeks and been trying to update my wardrobe since purchasing tickets. Born and raised a New Yorker, my closet consists of black, black, black, sweatshirts, and black, but now I'm aching for some bright cuteness and a hint of color in my pale cheeks. Below are some items I'm crushin on and can't wait to pile into my (black and dark brown) suitecase!



Printed Tube Coverups at Old Navy



Oona Dress at Anthropologie



Clear Gasha Jelly Flats from Target


H&M Marimekko Collection bathing suit (Right hand side), courtesy of StyleFrizz


Terry Loop Romper from American Apparel

Hooray for Hollywood

I'm headed to Los Angeles in a few weeks and couldn't be happier. Disneyland is debuting a new ride/game attraction that promises to be hysterical and I will be one of the first people online to see it at Disneyland, and then Disney World when we head off in September.

But I wanted to pass some of the information along, out there in the cyber ether. Disney's Toy Story Mania (Toy Story Midway Mania in Anaheim) is nearing its completion and just about open for business!

Photo Essay

Today, I'm missing Vegas













But I'm thrilled that I'll be back in mere weeks.

You've got a friend in me

This summer, I'm headed to sunny SoCal and making a stop at the original House of Mouse. I'm a huge WDW fan, so I'm thrilled to see the original Land that Walt built and even more thrilled to try the brand-new Toy Story Midway Mania. You can imagine the chills I had learning the ride was already in tests and I could take a sneak peak now on YouTube. Enjoy.

Namaste

Washington DC is one of my favorite cities to visit. Not only is it a quick weekend getaway from NYC, but you can absorb yourself in art, history, nightlife, shopping, or eating. As you can tell, I really don't need a reason to slide down the East Coast, but for those who might, DC Yoga Week is just over the horizon.

As pulled from The Washingtonian, DC Yoga Week will run from Saturday, April 12 through Friday, April 18, and feature discounted classes and gear, tips, advice, and- weather permitting- yoga on the National Mall. Volunteers and instructors will be on site to advise any newbies, or pass tips onto seasoned regulars, and for locals, it's a great way to sample yoga studios in your hood, and decide which may be for you.

Above all, the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and it's that time of the year again to get out and do something to make your body happy!

Weekend Update

While the scattered showers and massive crowds kept me away from Brooklyn Flea this Sunday, I plan to go this weekend and shop enough to make up for it!

You may have noticed my New Orleans guide now up at design*sponge. I highly recommend you visit the city and pour some cash into it. There are too many fantastic stores, restaurants, and other shops still waiting to reopen. (Thanks again, Grace!)

Also, if you're looking for hip places to take your family, I feature some great restaurants, classes, and trips in the NY/Philly/Chicago metro areas over at Dancing Meatballs.

After many trips to Lowe's, Home Depot, and local hardware stores, I was able to create a kitchen worth of my collection of pots, pans, and gadgets. I will be including pics, as well as a how-to for anyone interested, later in the week.

Lastly, I had a chance to check out Color Chart at MoMA on Friday for free, thanks to Target's First Fridays program. Some really great pieces that I want to duplicate for my home. More on that later, as well.

Travel Good

A previous and fantastic intern left my 9-to-5, where she was making mere peanuts researching in an office, to take a job in Costa Rica and make a difference in the world. Since then, I've had a major crush on the country, and write it up whenever I can.

Of course, Costa Rica is one of those destinations that, because of underdevelopment and advancement, is a pure, natural place to see, but also a difficult place to wrangle. Sure, there are tons of beach getaways, but if you're looking for more of a rainforest or cultural trip, many tour companies are a little lacking. This also makes it an expensive trip.

Luckily, I was tipped off to a voluntourism company called Globe Aware which organizes trips to Costa Rica, Peru, Romania, Nepal, Vietnam, Jamaica, and more, with a catch- you do community service while there. The tasks are more experience than labor and range from providing language conversation to Peruvians studying English, to assembling wheelchairs in Cambodia. Lodging and meals are provided on most tours, which last an average of a week and cost around $1200 (10% discount for minors).

And if you'd love to take one of these trips, but just don't have the money, Travelocity is offering a $500 grant to deserving individuals who would like to spread some love across the globe. Their voluntourism page highlights tours saving Leatherback Turtles in Costa Rica (yay!), assisting medical operations in Tanzania, and even cleaning up US parks.

A tip: Many of these tours run year-round, but fill quickly, especially in the summer months.

On the Road

This weeks Lonely Planet Blog on MySpace is near and dear to my heart. While cross-country road trips, and out-of-country experiences are often praised, the band tour is often left out.

I got my first taste for traveling while sharing a ten-year old rusting van with five guys and a girl, driving up the East Coast on their bands tour. Different from traveling, but not too different from run-away road trips, cash is short, time is of the essence, and creativity is high. Changing drivers at midnight is necessary, and you grow a taste for lesser known fast food chains and roadside stands. Though I can't imagine hopping aboard that van again, I look back fondly at the open road and total freedom of rockstar road trips.

By Right or Might

As I sit in my cubical staring out at the dreary day, my co-worker is bundling up. Her car service just arrived and she's about to get on an 11-hr plane ride to Chile! I am extremely jealous because not only will she gave some sun in the wine region, but hiking in mountainous areas, and even a side cruise to Easter Island.

Coincidentally enough, Condor Travel has just announced new luxury excursions to cosmopolitan Santiago, and surrounding areas.

It's a tall claim to say that new art trumps the classics. After all, they are the Master's, and without then we'd be scribbling dots on paper and hanging it behind glass. However, in the world of MySpace's, Facebook's and Google-shall-inherit-the-Earth, it's ultimately true that an exhibit enabling the digital age to interfere with our perception of art would attract as much attention as its Web forefathers.

Enter: Dreams, an exhibit at the Hirshhorn at the Smithsonian that showed me new art really can be more than over funded hippies splattering paint on newspaper.
While I won't give the logistics away, Dreams captures you by making you a piece of the art several times- an effect I really loved working at MoMA and being part of the Richard Serra exhibit! Though a few of the works in this collection get a little too avante garde for the normal joe to enjoy, a good number of them are completely, 100% open to interpretation... always a sign of good work, when everyone and anyone is pulled in.



It is my total recommendation that you lay down the cash for the drive, shack up at the Hotel Helix, a short cab ride away in Dupont Chttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifircle, and an art hotel at its best, and catch the laser tunnels of clarity, disgusting speeches of digital puppetry, looping monologues that mimic the very action of sleep, and captivating new mediums of this exhibit before it disappears to reveal Part II.

Part II opens on June 19th, just short of Cherry Blossom season, but also worth a trip none the less, when our chilly East Coast weather has relaxed a bit.

For more information on Dreams, see:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/

http://www.gosmithsonian.com/

Photo Essay

Today, I'm missing prague





















Big time.

Pre-Cherry Blossom Festival

I feel silly to even mention this, but prior to this weekend, I was completely ignorant about wine in a can.

A few weeks ago my intern was telling a really funny story about being stuck on the train tracks in rural PA, and running out to buy a jug of wine, but I was stuck to the theory that this jug was pale green with a tiny handle and three little X's. Cartoon style.

Imagine my surprise when I was introduced to Sofia: sparkling mini wine cans developed by, who else, but Francis Ford himself. Perhaps named after the mini sparkling personality of his daughter, these cans are small but pack a punch, and best of all, you can hold them while wandering the room, making them prime party drinks.

Photo Essay

Today, I'm missing Disney World and the Florida sunshine









But I'm excited to see Disneyland in a few weeks!

Lifestyles of the Rich and Outrageous

MSN reported this morning that more and more hotels are going a step further to make their guests feel more comfortable. Among the standard perks of free bottled water and spa treatments, these hotels are now offering jet lag cures to weekday warriors. Among the items said to ease the pain of jet lag are blue-lamp lights designed to make sleep easier to fall into, video meditation programs set on room televisions, and snack menus chock full of sleepy time food.

While this is certainly an innovative concept, and will undoubtedly help the tons of people who pass in-and-out of cities for work trips, what's in it for the guests that are just visiting? A plethora of totally insane perks including pillows filled with everything from water to buckwheat, custom fragrances upon check in, mini bars stocked with board games, live goldfish, and erotic toys, and, my favorite, a $500 bath in Evian water, because apparently that gets the job done a million times better than the standard tap.

With the choices carrying on even further to standard concierge assistant, and technology butlers at your every gadget whim, the choice isn't which destination to jet off to next, but which hotel package to choose for that extra day spent in the room?