Tuesday Travel: Air, Land, Sea and Rail

So, where are you going next? we are often asked; the polite but somewhat pointed inquiry by those who think we are ‘never home’.

“And what is there?” is the question that follows the first.

We’ve learned that sometimes travel isn’t about the ‘there’; sometimes it is the experiences you have in getting ‘there’.  (Remember Gertrude Stein’s famous quote, “There’s no there, there”?)

TravelnWrite was recently invited to join in on one of the blogosphere’s many competitions--- one that by virtue of it’s theme caught our fancy because it isn’t about ‘there’ – it is about getting there via air, land, sea, and rail.

Air – a heavenly view

As much as The Scribe hates flying, The Scout has convinced me that once we are up in the air, I might as well enjoy the view.  Our recent trip to Las Vegas convinced me again that his advice was wise.

From where else would I get this view of Washington State’s Mount St. Helens, the volcano that erupted in 1980 blanketing a good portion of the state (including Yakima, where we lived at the time) in ash?

Or of the amazing contrasting geography of the Western United States – as evidenced here with irrigated crop circles dotting the dry, barren desert lands that surround Las Vegas?

Rail – The Train in Spain

We love European train travel and perhaps the train travel  Spain was among our favorites.



Osuna, Spain’s train station that had served passengers in this small agricultural city was such a contrast to the modern train that slid to a rest on the tracks in front of it; a train that would whisk us at high speeds to Malaga, on Spain’s Gold Coast.






Sea – Sailing the Wine Colored Seas

There is nothing like a sunset from the deck of a cruise ship. . .unless it is sunrise. Both times of day are simply magical.

Road – Where the Winds Blow Us

Our road trips both here and abroad are – for as much as possible – unstructured travel times. We set out in a direction – no schedule, no reservations, and a willingness to follow our whims – going ‘where the winds blow us’.

And sometimes the highways themselves become the most unexpected places. . .like this ‘highway’ in Greece’s Peloponnese!

So what is your favorite way to travel? Tell us in the comment section below or send an email!

This is our entry into the contest, Travel Your Way, being sponsored by RhinoCarHire. (click that link if you’d like to enter the contest yourself!) And to get the ball rolling I am tapping five other travel bloggers to participate in the competition:

Noel Morata – Travel Photo Discovery
Marcia Mayne – Inside Journeys
Cathy Sweeney – Traveling With Sweeney
Leigh McAdam – Hike, Bike, Travel
Dick Jordan – Tales Told From the Road

You'll also see this post on Time Travel Plans Wanderlust Wednedays.

WAWeekend: On the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

If you are a reader, you probably recognize the title of this post as part of the title of  Jamie Ford’s New York Times best-selling historical novel, Hotel On the Corner of Bitter and Sweet.

His story of love and friendship during a dark time in our country’s history is set in Seattle. It was during World War II, when President Roosevelt issued an Executive Order sending Japanese-American citizens (many born here) to internment camps for the duration of the war.




Like elsewhere in the country, it uprooted families in the Seattle/Puget Sound area. Many families  stashed their bags in the basement of the Panama Hotel, before leaving for the camps.  (Some of those belongings were never reclaimed. They can be seen through a section of glass flooring in the present-day Tea House.)

A few weeks ago while researching another article I am writing, I made my first I visit to The Panama Hotel, located in Seattle’s Chinatown/International District – the same hotel as featured in Ford’s book. 

So taken with its ambiance and history, was I, that I’ve since returned to its Tea and Coffee house with another  friend.

Panama Hotel Lobby

Both visits have prompted me to not only read the novel but to also learn a bit more about what was once  Seattle’s Nihonmachi, or Japantown, that grew up in this southeastern corner of Seattle.

Main Street, on which the hotel is located, was once the main spine and economic hub of Nihonmachi, an area which reportedly stretched for many blocks.

History is everywhere in the hotel and tea room pictured here

The walls of the hotel and its Tea/Coffee House are lined with photos of this once-bustling part of town along with hand-drawn maps reconstructing the former area. Names are added by those who still remember.

The vibrancy of that long ago Japantown was described by HistoricSeattle.org:

“This neighborhood became a diverse tapestry of homes, churches, grocery stores, theaters, language schools, hotels, restaurants, bathhouses, and other businesses interweaving with the edges of other Seattle communities nearby.

Seattle's Japanese American population reached its peak in the early 1930s with a population of roughly 8500, but it didn't last.”

Hing Hay Park - Chinatown/International District Seattle

While the pulse of the entire International District seems to be getting stronger in recent years, the renovation of the Panama Hotel -- designated a National Historic Landmark in 2006 -- is contributing to the life of the area. 

My friends and I were among a  steady stream of customers – hotel guests and those, like us, who had come for the refreshments – at the hotel. 

Teas galore are available as well as Italian roasted coffee drinks

We had hoped to see the hotel’s basement where there remains one of the few intact Japanese bathhouses, (Sento) on the West Coast.  We didn’t, though, as we’d missed the regularly scheduled tour, led by the hotel owner  . . .Next time!

If  I’ve encouraged you to visit, keep in mind they have a regular Happy Hour in the Tea/Coffee room. This August and September (2013) at 2 p.m. on Saturdays there’s Panama Hotel Jazz, featuring music inspired by the novel and Oscar Holden, ‘the patriarch of Seattle Jazz’.  Admission is free.


If You Go:

Panama Hotel, 605 1/2 Main St.  is European style with shared bathrooms; published rates are $90 single, $125 double. (TripAdvisor reviews swing wildly on this hotel, and make for entertaining reading). Phone: (206) 223-9242      Fax: (206) 624-4957  E-mail: reservations@panamahotelseattle.com, web: www.panamahotelseattle.com

Panama Tea and Coffee House, adjacent to the hotel lobby, at 607 Main St., Phone: (206) 515-4000
Call for tour dates, times, and prices.

The links above take you to the Amazon.com site to read more about the book.

An Arabian “Tail” ~ Arizona’s Moroccan Mirage

Mirages, caused by the intensity of the desert’s heat,  are those shimmering images of things that don’t really exist.

Los Cedros USA, (pronounced los said-rows) could be – for the unsuspecting anyway-- thought of as a mirage in the expansive Sonoran desert north of Scottsdale, Arizona between Cave Creek and Pinnacle Peak.

 

Up until June the word ‘Scottsdale’ conjured up images of  the Old West: blue jeans, checked shirts and tablecloths, boots, and cowboys and cowgirls and work horses, of course.

Those cowboys and cowgirls these days are most likely behind the wheel of a late-model over-sized pickup and as for those horses. . . let us tell you. . .

One heat-draped afternoon, during our Scottsdale stay we visited Los Cedros USA; a visit that felt as if we’d walked into one of Scheherazade’s stories from 1001 Arabian Nights.

As we stepped through the enormous intricately carved entry doorway we found ourselves in. . .well, a modern replica of some 2,500 year old  Moroccan citadel right there in Arizona USA.

We’d sought out this Moroccan ‘mirage’ after seeing a cover photo of it on Experience Scottsdale’s tourist publication.  The small print “about the cover” told us it was open to the public – free of charge, in fact. Yet, we were  the only visitors on the week day we visited.



The entryway led us to an enormous (15,000 square-foot ) courtyard.

There wasn’t a sound to be heard as we continued our explorations, but it didn’t take long to realize that’s because the Los Cedros ‘residents’ were resting . . . they took little note of their visitors.

Los Cedros USA is an elegant multi-purpose development,  first and foremost, a luxurious home for performance  horses. Those large open spaces when not being used by horses and their trainers, are cleaned up and used for  hosting human events that can range in size from 50 – 500 people. 

We were winding down our self-guided tour of the horses (petting is allowed) and their ultra-luxe accommodations which include a modern spa-like shower room and therapy pool, (pictured to the right) when we went in search of someone who could tell us about the place.

Dawn M. Green, the general manager, upon learning that I planned to write about Los Cedros USA, said, “Well, then you need to see the Throne Room!” and led us down a hall, to this: 

I couldn’t help but think as I wrote today’s post, just what Scheherazade could have done with this Arabian ‘tail’! 

That’s it for this week’s Travel Photo Thursday; check out Budget Travelers Sandbox for more photo journeys.  And thanks for your visit – we appreciate the time you spend with us and hope you’ll be regulars here!

If You Go:
Los Cedros USA, 8700 East Black Mountain Road, Scottsdale, www.loscedros.com

Travel Tuesday: What’s New in Vegas?

We’d not been to Las Vegas in more than a year and half and part of the reason was that from McCarran Airport to The Strip, it was becoming a comfortable -- but an almost too predictable -- travel experience.

Not so, this trip! What a difference a bit of time makes. . .

McCarran International Airport - Las Vegas, Nevada

We had a slightly disconcerting moment as we entered the concourse from the jet way; had it not been for the slot machines, we would have almost thought we’d arrived at the wrong place.  There was nothing familiar or predictable, about this airport!

The new wing in which we found ourselves opened a year ago in July 2012.  Its now wide, sleek hallway is interspersed with moving walkways, retail outlets andtempting eateries.

There are numerous easy access points to  the lower baggage claim area and ground transportation. (yea!).








And The Strip also had several surprises including:

Where once stood the Imperial Palace Casino and Resort (across from Caesar’s Forum Shops), we found The Quad. From reviews on TripAdvisor it sounds as though the revamping of the old hotel is still a work in progress. For those of you who saw the Australian group, Human Nature, performing on stage there, don't despair. You can now see them at The Venetian.

To the side of The Quad, Caesars Entertainment is reshaping the the Vegas Strip with The LINQ, a 200,000 square-foot open-air retail, dining and entertainment district, anchored by what they claim to be the world's tallest observation wheel, known as the High Roller (that’s its beginning in the photo below).

Construction begins on High Roller - Las Vegas

Developers say “the High Roller at 550 feet and measuring 520 feet in diameter, will eclipse both the London Eye and Singapore Flyer. Facing north and south (parallel to Las Vegas Boulevard), the wheel will feature 28 glass-enclosed cabins that will unveil broad views of the famed-resort city in the 30 minutes it takes to complete one full revolution. Each cabin will accommodate up to 40 people and will be available for individual or group experiences.”

We even encountered this new centerpiece on display outside the Encore Theater, at Wynn/Encore, where we were staying. Some of you might recognize the piece by Jeff Koons, as the one that was previously on display outside Christie’s (Auction House) Gallery at Rockefeller Center, New York City.
The piece was made in five versions over a time period spanning 1995 – 2004 and is the culmination of Koons’ “Celebration Series”. Tulips, says the creator, are a symbol of spring, hope and fertility.

As the story goes (in the in-house Wynn Magazine publication) the piece was auctioned last November 2012 and the highest bid was from a telephone bidder by the name of Steve Wynn (owner of the resort).

The small print on the sign in the first photo above says, “Price available upon request.”  We were told  that if it doesn’t sell, it will be moved to the rotunda of Cotai, Wynn’s new resort/casino opening in Macau, China.

If you are interested in buying the piece, I should tell you, that we were also told that Wynn wants a bit more for it than what he paid.

His purchase price was $33,682,500.  

By the way, if you do buy it, let him know that we sent you – it’s a gamble, but we might even get a free overnight stay (in Macau, we hope) as result!

That’s it for this Travel Tuesday – thanks for joining us today. Hope you'll be back Thursday and  that you'll recommend us to others as well!

WAWeekend: On the Spirits and Ale Trail

A couple years ago I visited the Yakima Valley researching a Washington Ale Trail travel article for the Seattle Times and followed a customized ‘ale trail map’ I’d developed for myself. 

That’s because the tourism folks in this cradle of Central Washington’s wide open spaces and agricultural lands didn’t have such a document. . .but, they promised, it was coming.



They did have ‘wine road’ maps because those producers of the grapes and the makers of the vino are pretty much the headliners of the area – and have been for the past few decades. That wasn’t of much use because I was on the trail of ale. . .

The hop – the basic ingredient of ales – has been grown in the Yakima Valley for decades. High school chums used to earn spending money by ‘stringing hops’; twirling those twisty little shoots around the strings that would lead the vine skyward as the summer continued. Hop kilns, those enormous bigger-than-barns wooden structures used to dry the hops at harvest time dotted the landscape.

Hop Vineyards in the Yakima Valley

Here’s  the kicker: 78% of the hops grown in the United States are grown in the Yakima Valley!

American Hop Museum - Toppenish, WA

International visitors make treks to the American Hop Museum in the small Lower Yakima Valley town of Toppenish but not a lot of folks on this side of the state or elsewhere, I suspect, even know of its existence. (It is well worth a visit if you’ve never been there!)

Hop cluster

Back to those tourism folks and that map they promised. . .just this week I got a news release with a link to:

 The Yakima Valley Spirits and Hops Trail website which has that promised map, a list of upcoming events, ‘sip spots’ and ‘guzzle and grub’.

Kudos to those folks because it’s an amazing piece of work and will serve any visitor well! Click the link above and check it out.

Here’s a couple of the events you’ll find listed there:

Annual Apple Valley Kiwanis Wine Country Trek Sat.– Sun., September 28 - 29

A scenic two-day, 120-mile bike ride, round-trip from Yakima to Prosser, through vineyards, hop fields and orchards. Start time from Yakima on Saturday is 8:00 a.m. returning Sunday at 6 p.m. Registration is $135 per cyclist with all proceeds going to Kiwanis community and youth service projects. This event coincides with the Hot Air Balloon Festival and the Harvest Festival in Prosser. Registration includes our famous gourmet dinner, the balloon glow, overnight camping (indoor and outdoor) in Prosser, Sunday morning breakfast, baggage transportation and break stops. For information, visit www.kiwaniswinecountrytrek.com

Finished product: ales

Attendees at the 11th Annual Fresh Hop Ale Festival can enjoy selections from numerous participating breweries in addition to brewing demonstrations, a cigar tent, food from local restaurants, live music and street dancing. The Festival begins at 5 p.m. and will continue until 10 p.m. Ticket prices are $30 if purchased in advance and $35 at the gate. All proceeds benefit Allied Arts of Yakima Valley which coordinates art programs, classes and events for the community. Pre-sale ($30) tickets are on sale at local businesses around the Yakima Valley during regular business hours through noon on Friday October 4. Plenty of tickets will also be available for $35 at the gate. Ticket price includes a commemorative beer glass and $6 scrip (used instead of cash for beer and wine, but note that food is cash only and that the event is 21+ only. ID is required for entry. For more information, visit www.freshhopalefestival.com

If  You Go:

There are daily flights from SeaTac (Seattle Tacoma International) to  Yakima. Driving time from Seattle is about three hours to the Lower Valley;  little more than two hours to Yakima.

That’s it for this weekend’s focus on Washington State.  As always thanks for the time you spend with us. Hope you’ll tell friends to come along on our journeys together.  They can sign up to receive the posts  by going to the home page, www.travelnwrite.com.

And a request to our Facebook followers:  if you have a post that you particularly like, please ‘share’ it on your page – that what keeps the page in circulation!
Happy and Safe Travels~

‘Wind-blown’ Crete: And for 25-euros a night. . .

Some are uncomfortable with our ‘go where the winds blow us’ approach to travel.  They say that a reservation in hand gives them security and structure – they want to know where they will spend the next night and the direction they are headed when they set out on that long stretch of empty road. 

We like to throw structure to the same winds that set our direction. We don’t want to know when we set out each morning what our destination will be, instead, wanting the option to stay at some enchanting place that we’ve happened upon along the way. That’s why our off-season travels work so well– availability is high, rates are low. 

One such day in Crete comes to mind. . .a day the winds blew us along a route that followed the island's southern coast. And at a point between the tiny villages of Mirthios and Mariou, both on a sweeping hillside above the larger coastal town of Plakias (pictured below) we found our destination.



We’d stopped at a taverna to check the menu ‘for later’ just in case we stayed in the area and while there, asked about nearby accommodations. The employee didn’t miss a beat, saying, “Stay at my mom’s place just down the road.”  Off we went, brochure in hand, headed to one of the most delightful stays of our month-long trip. . .



His mom’s place, Gallinas Apartments, sat like an iconic -- but lonesome, in this early spring season -- blue and white palace on a hillside, about five minutes from the villages, a few minutes  further from Plakias.



Our room was spotless – and enormous! And it cost 25-euros or about $32USD a night.

The kitchen, had microwave, fridge, coffee pot (coffee, filters and sugar provided) as well as hot water pot and tea bags. Coffee mug, tea cups, cutlery, cookware and table settings – everything we could possibly need. And our hostess left a plate of cookies, another of candy, fresh flowers and a bottle of raki on the table to welcome us.





But it was the wraparound deck and the view that stretched from it out over the olive groves to the sea that had us fantasizing about staying for a month or more:

But sadly we were at the end of our Greek travels so had but a night to spend at this fittingly, wind-swept hillside, location. We didn’t stay long enough to use that nicely appointed kitchen because . . .we ‘had’ to return to that restaurant we’d stopped at earlier.

It was the Taverna Panorama in Mirthios where we feasted on live music and good food (that’s a veggie meze plate to the left and apple slices drizzled with honey to the right). One of the best Greek tavernas we’ve visited – and one worth another visit one day.



Once again those winds had set our direction and blown us straight into another great experience.

That’s it for this week’s Travel Photo Thursday. Head on over to Nancie’s Budget Travelers Sandbox for more armchair travels today.

If You Go: