Next time you are in the San Francisco, CA area, try something new and take a street down an avenue that maybe you haven’t thought of walking before…

Set in the Mission District, Clarion Alley is a place where art jumps to life before your eyes. Cultural and expressive murals cover the walls of the street in color and conversation. An incredible site, these murals attract artists and visitors from all around the world. This area is also home to many festivals and events like the 24th Street Fair and the San Francisco Food Fair. A mixture of live music and new foods are what make this area a unique spot to spend the day or just pass through on your way to the next adventure. To get the full tour, start at the Mission Street end of Clarion Alley and continue onto Valencia Street for a few more blocks. You can even take a guided tour through http://www.precitaeyes.org and get all of the history and background on some of the most famous murals of the Mission District. Planning a trip to California for the summer or fall? Check out one of Best Weekend’s destinations like the Ventana Inn and Spa, Cavallo Point, or Nick’s Cove and Cottages.
Ellen Studer
BestWeekends.com

 

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While browsing National Geographic’s Travel section, I came across an article that had my tummy rumbling like Pooh Bear’s. The article is titled “Five American Desserts Worth The Trip.” It zooms in on some of the nations most delicious desserts and certainly made me want to visit these places just for a slice of cake! It just so happens that many of them are within close proximity to some of Best Weekends’ favorite destinations.

First on the list is Maryland’s national dessert, Smith Island Cake. This cake consists of super-thin butter layers of yellow cake held together with chocolate fudge icing. You can try this popular Maryland dessert and many restaurants up and down the coast and even at the Smith Island Baking Company.

Bestweekends.com destinations, MD: Antrim 1844, Inn at Perry Cabin

Next up is New Mexico’s Bizcochito. At the Golden Crown Panadería in Albuquerque, these tiny little pastries/cookies (bizcochito = small cake) are handed out at the door; just one taste will have customers flooding in for a whole box. Since being named the state dessert, bizcochitos can be found in bakeries and cafes all around the state.

Bestweekends.com destinations, NM: Inn of Five Graces,  Encantado Resort and Spa

Massachusetts known for the ever famous (take a guess), Boston cream pie. This delicious pie, which is actually a cake, consists of two layers of cake sandwiching thick custard and iced with chocolate icing. It is absolutely irresistible, which is why it was named the state dessert and can be found all around the state as well as around the country.

Bestweekends.com destinations, MA: Boston, Massachusetts

Last but certainly not least is the Florida Key Lime Pie. My personal favorite, the key lime pie is served in all sorts of ways ranging from whipped cream topped to smothered in meringue. Doing some key-hopping is the only way to taste them all!

Bestweekends.com destination FL: Key West
Ellen Studer

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When checking out new travel info on the places I love and the places I’ve yet to visit, I tend to look to other travel bloggers for the best information. When you read a blog of someone who has actually been to a destination, you get a better feel for what that place is really like. So, when I stumbled across the new website Uencounter.me, I was pleasantly surprised to find a new approach to bringing the networking world even closer together. This website offers a unique mix between personal experience documentation and idea sharing. When you first enter the site you are prompted to create a free account and are then directed to a page with a map similar to that of GoogleMaps where you can place “pins” on places that you have visited and/or wish to visit in the future. Then, when you place a pin, more pins appear on your map of users who have visited that destination. These pins have blog-like information about that destination from the perspective of the other user including (but not limited to) experience ratings, dates, and events. Travel websites can also pay to post links to their blogs that relate to that destination. You can then leave an “experience note” about your experience at the destination to share with other users looking for a bit of inside scoop. I suggest checking it out next time you are looking to write about your latest weekend trip to Nantucket or possibly looking to plan one!
Ellen Studer
BestWeekends.com

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Another great adventure when taking a trip into NYC is a scavenger hunt. On my last trip in, my group decided to try out the Watson Adventures Scavenger Hunt. It turned out to be a blast and was also a great way to check out little parts of the city that I hadn’t noticed before. The object of the hunt isn’t to find objects but rather to find answers to tricky and sometimes funny riddles that have you scrambling across Time Square. After being broken into teams, each group receives a list of riddles that lead you on a wild goose chase like none other. From the inside of the Toys R Us to the Rockefeller Plaza the answers to the clues are built into the huge city. The one tip I would give is make sure you are wearing your most comfortable sneakers or your feet will not be thanking you at the end of the day. The hunt also tests your knowledge of pop culture and some trivia as well as navigation and timing skill. Although there is no prize for finishing first, there is a time limit that if not met will result in point reductions. A team can pick up points by running into Watson Guides for trivial games and even by choosing the best team name! As long as you have a sunny day, the Watson Adventures hunt is a great idea for groups of all ages, even the kids! For other things to do when you visit the city check out the Best Weekends destination page for NYC and find the best places to dine, stay, and explore.
Ellen Studer
BestWeekends.com

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Earth Day this year had many of us thinking about our impact on the environment. In today’s day and age we leave a carbon footprint the size of Bigfoot’s and as much as we may want to reduce our pollution, it isn’t always that easy. So, this year the Best Weekend Advance team came up with a few ways to stay “green” in our travels for 2012.

1.      When taking a flight to your next destination, try to book a non-stop flight instead of connections. This way less fuel is used in the process and you feel a little better about how you decide to travel.

2.      Try choosing a destination where walking and biking is preferred means of getting around. Nantucket, Key West, and Martha’s Vineyard are all great getaway vacation destinations where almost everyone grabs for a helmet instead of their car keys!

3.      No matter where you are, be it at home, at your summerhouse, or away on vacation always conserve water and electricity! Just because you are at a fancy hotel does not mean you need to let the shower run for an hour!

4.      If you’re going to be staying at a destination where you don’t need a car every day, consider using a car service or car rental that offers electric cars (e.g. Zipcar, Hertz, or Enterprise).

5.      Try visiting a destination that is close to home, but far enough that it still feels like a vacation. The less distance you have to travel, the less emissions to get you there!
Ellen Studer
BestWeekends.com

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It seems like every time I find a need for one of the many apps on my smartphone, I have no Internet connection to run it from. 3G can only go so far, and a lot of times, it isn’t enough to get the job done. There’s nothing worse than having a partially loaded map in an unknown area because your connection miraculously disappears. So, I was recently surprised to read about Lonely Planet’s new feature to their smartphone guidebooks: they are now completely connection-free apps. You no longer need that unreliable connection to check out all of your “highlights” and “Regional Itinerary” because its all stored within the $9.99 app. With all the perks and content of the huge original guidebooks, the apps are specific to each destination. Included are city guides, language translators, audio walking tours, and audio phrasebooks that will help you “get to the heart of the city in no time,” says Lonely Planet.  The best part is that it doesn’t matter if you’re an iPhone, Android, or Nokia kind of guy; Lonely Planet has an app for you.
Ellen Studer
BestWeekends.com

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Baseball season is just about here and it has a lot of people thinking about “dirty water” dogs and hot pretzels. For the occasion, the Best Weekends’ Advance Team picked a few of their favorites when if comes to stadium food this year. First up at bat is Citi Field, home of The New York Mets. There is nothing better than a stadium hot dog but you haven’t had the best until you try a Shack-cago dog from Shake Shack. Not just any dog, it comes topped with relish, onion, cucumber, pickle, tomato, sport pepper, and celery salt. Next on our list is Citizens Bank Park, home to the Philadelphia Phillies. This stadium was named the number one vegetarian friendly stadium in North America and it isn’t hard to taste why. By far the best eat there is The Poppy found only at Planet Hoagie. This sandwich (wrap or hoagie style) is loaded with mozzarella cheese, roasted eggplant, roasted red peppers, and sundried tomatoes. Last up on our list takes the home run; Miller Park, home to the Milwaukee Brewers, not only has mouth-watering food but is also known for its incredible roof! The stadium has a weather-proof retractable roof that suits just about any game in any weather. Talk about convenience. As far as food goes, what more could you expect from this city than incredible sausage, but it isn’t just the sausage that makes this stadium unique. Stadium Sauce, only found at Miller Park, was something like an ingenious accident of the 1970’s when ketchup and mustard ran low. Smothered on almost any food here, the mix of barbecue sauce and sauerkraut juice has many coming back year after year. Best of luck to our favorite teams out their, and even better luck to our stadium-food-junkies this year.
EWllen Studer
BestWeekends.com

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In 1912, the city of Tokyo, Japan prepared a gift for the United States that has not been forgotten to this day. In fact, the gift inspires great celebration each year. Washington, DC was the recipient of 3,000 cherry blossom trees that were transported across the globe and planted around the city. Today, nearly 100 years later, Washington is in full preparation for the Centennial National Cherry Blossom Celebration. This celebration, held every year for five weeks between March 20 and April 27 is a collection of events that celebrates the beauty of the  cherry blossom trees as they bloom and cover the city in pink petals. The excitement will attract many from all over the country who will gather to remember and honor an international friendship. The five week celebration will be full of tradition, art, performers, and food and the city invites everyone to join in the festivities. Washington is a great destination at any time but is truly magical when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom. You'll need a place to stay, so here's some of our favorites: at the luxury end the Mandarin Oriental and the Four Seasons Georgetown are spectacular. More moderate is the Sofitel Lafayette Square and the Embassy Circle Guest House is truly a wonderful value.

Ellen Studer
Bestweekends.com




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With winter weather patterns pointing towards a warm and early spring, crowds and news stations gathered in the small town of Punxsatawney to watch the beloved Groundhog Phil decide this year’s fate. To many people’s despair, Punxatawney Phil spotted his shadow and hurried back into his hole; the folklore condemning us to 6 more weeks of winter. Nonetheless, plans are still being drawn up for this year’s spring on the beautiful island of Nantucket. Tourism in Nantucket peaks in July and August so if you want to stay away from the crowds, it’s best to visit before the masses flood in. Nantucket is simply gorgeous in the spring and contrary to Phil’s prediction, it is looking like warm weather is just around the corner. Every year since 1974 locals and visitors gather to celebrate the colorful bloom of the island’s favorite flowers, the yellow daffodils. In April, all of the brightly-colored buds open to paint the island’s road sides, yards, and shop windows as a warm welcome to spring. Nantucket takes pride in the fun and festivities that accompany this thawing of winter with a collection of events and parades called the Annual Daffodil Festival. Some of these events include: the Antique Car Parade, the Daffodil Tailgate Picnic, the Children’s Parade, the Daffy Hat Pageant, and the Dog Parade. The Antique Car Parade is a personal and festival-goer favorite, featuring over 100 antique cars decorated with the celebrated flowers. The winding drive around the island ends in a huge picnic with a variety of fantastic foods. Seeing the magical little island lit up with these flowers of tradition is a sight you won't want to miss this spring in Nantucket. Need a place to stay for the weekend? Try the Century House or the Sherburne Inn, bot within walking distance to town.

Ellen Studer
Bestweekends.com




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I was doing my share of online newspaper “travel section” browsing when I stumbled upon an article by Nancy Trejos of USA Today. The article is titled Hotels Enlist the Cupid Concierge for Valentine’s Day. After reading the article and doing some backup research I was pleasantly surprised by this new idea that is being implemented in a select few hotels across the country and into Canada. These innovative hotels are creating seasonally-fitting specialty concierge services geared toward perfecting romantic stays and inspiring love. Quite the Best Weekends type of service. The first hotel to be recognized for its “Cupid Concierge” is the Opus Hotel Vancouver in Canada. The free service is manned 24 hours a day and is there to help anyone looking for an unforgettable romantic getaway or those who are a bit more romantically-challenged. Cupid Concierge keeps a list of all sorts of romantic ways to say “I love you” but will also work to make any of your own ideas become reality. Other hotels, in the US, that now have similar services are the 70 Park Avenue Hotel in NY and the Marriott Long Wharf Hotel in Boston. The 70 Park Avenue Hotel has what they call their “Romance Sommelier” that is promoting “Leap of Faith” proposals this month on February 29; a “Leap of Faith” proposal is a reversal of roles in which the woman proposes to the man. The Marriott Long Wharf Hotel on the other hand has a “Proposal Artist” who is available to help with proposal sites and unique ideas. This Valentine’s Day, if the real cherub cannot be found to help inspire romance, try “Cupid Concierge” and you might just be pleasantly surprised.

Ellen Studer
Bestweekends.com

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