Helpful Links

• Official Oktoberfest Site
• John’s Oktoberfest Site
• MVV – Munich’s Transit System
• City of Salzburg Site

City of Munich

Let me get started by talking about Munich. The city of Munich is in the German state of Bavaria. It is in the southern part of the country at the start of the alps. When many Americans picture Germany with men wearing lederhosen, and little wood houses covered in flowers, its really a picture of Bavaria that they see. This could be because after World War II the allies divided up Germany into sections that they were each responsible for. The United States got control of the south of Germany. Many American GI’s brought back the souvenirs and memories from this part of the country.

Munich itself is a large city, but its a beer drinking city. The bustle of big city life seems a bit smoothed over by the many bier gardens and parks. To me it feels very safe and clean. There is a great mix of old architecture, as well as modern structures like the soccer stadium and Olympic park. There are plenty of museums and tourist sights, and an excellent public transportation system to take you around to see them all. My favorite sites, though, were the beer gardens. A book that I recommend is The Beer Drinkers Guide to Munich. This gives a rating, and history to each of the establishments it features. It even tells you how to get to each one and what train lines to take. I’ll have a link on the website where you can order it from Amazon.

Speaking of Amazon, I do put a few links to products sold by Amazon on my website at journeyjournalonline.com. If you click on the links from my site and purchase something I get a small percentage. This helps to cover the costs of putting this podcast on the Internet. Each of the products I put on there are things that I use or recommend, but you could buy anything you like after you click on my link and it would still help me out, so if you’ going to buy something from amazon anyway, I would appreciate it very much if you click on my links. It won’t cost you any more but it would help me out just a little.

Well, enough of that, lets talk about the Oktoberfest!

Oktoberfest Munich

The Oktoberfest in Munich is an annual festival that was originally the celebration of a royal wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig to princess Theresa in 1810, and the citizens of Munich have been partying in the same spot ever since. Nowadays the grounds of the Oktoberfest contains 12 large tents and many other smaller ones. There is a huge midway of wild rides and vendors to sell all kinds of traditional and not so traditional souvenirs. The tents themselves are huge structures that look more like permanent buildings. They are each decorated a bit differently, but you can expect long communal tables with benches as the seating. All tents will take reservations, but only for a full table, and this must be done very far in advance. If you are traveling alone or with a small group, I would suggest arriving pretty early in the day and finding a seat at one of the sections set aside for those without reservations. These are marked with signs in German, but if you ask, someone should be able to help you out. Pretty much you just find an open bench and ask if its free. After that you have some instant new friends. In almost every case I have seen you must be seated at a table to be served beer, and food in the tents, so don’t be shy, and if at first you get turned down because someone says their friends just stepped away, you can move on to the next spot or try begging a bit. This worked for me when I took my parents to the Fest and a little bit of pleading in my halting German did the trick.

You’ll want to order a beer first. If they have a selection you will probably get to choose between lite (helles) or dark (dunkel). The beer only comes in huge one liter mugs called a Masskrug or mass for short. The only exception is at the wine tent where you can order a wheat beer which comes in half liter sizes.

The food deserves as much credit here as a main attraction. Roast chicken, duck or schnitzel will fill you up, but they are all delicious too. I have never had chicken that is roasted in quite the same way, and if you are adventurous, and very hungry, try the pork knuckle (schweinhaxe). This is the lower leg joint of a pig, and it really kind of tastes like bacon in the form of a big roast.

You and you new friends will get to toast your good fortunes often, because each tent has live music. About every 20 minutes they will play the “Ein Prosit” song and everybody sings along and clinks mugs at the end before downing a big gulp of beer. Don’t worry if you don’t know the words, you soon will. The music during the day can range from traditional brass oom-pah bands to a hybrid rock/oom-pah. Then at night things get a little wilder and you will hear lots of American style covers, a lot of it in English!

If you have had your fill of action inside, there is still plenty to do outside while walking around the Wiesn. There are huge carnival rides for kids and thrill seekers. These are much bigger than a typical county fair ride in the US. At night they are fun to watch all lit up and playing loud techno music. There are food vendors and souvenir stalls everywhere you turn. But the whole area looks like its always been there. Before you leave be sure to grab a cappuccino and a pastry or doughnut to keepy ou awake on the train ride home.

I’ve been asked before how much it costs to “get into the Oktoberfest”. The one nice thing it it doesn’t cost a thing to just go there.

Speaking of the train ride, let’s talk about getting around and staying in Munich. The public transportation system is amazing with a cheap and easy to navigate subway. The trains are called either u-bahn or s-bahn trains. There are also buses and trams above ground. I haven’t had to walk very far to get to a station, and you can buy a day or multi day ticket that allows you to walk on and off almost anywhere.

To stay in Munich during Oktoberfest is unfortunately expensive. Hotels and pensions charge their highest rates, and you must book far in advance to be sure you have a room. I have never tried hosteling or couch surfing during this time, but there are so many people that I would imagine at even these options would be hard to come by at the last minute. You can get slightly cheaper rooms away from the city center and still get in by train.

Even without the Oktoberfest, Munich is a fun destination city full of beer gardens, parks, museums and fun neighborhoods to explore, and those beer gardens will give you a feel of Oktoberfest any other time of year.

Day Trips and Side Trips Outside Munich

Outside of Munich in the Bavarian countryside you can get a feel for rural life in Germany. A short drive or train ride will take you to Oberammergau. This famous town performs a passion play every ten year, that encompasses pretty much the entire village. If you happen to go for the play or are just visiting in one of these years, beware of the crowds and parking situation. Otherwise, it is a neat village with houses that have murals painted across many of the Walls. There are picturesque buildings with wooden balconies full of colorful flowers. It’s what you expect a German alpine village to look like. They also specialize in wood carving, and you can find shops packed full of carvings. Many specialize in religious figures, but there are many that carve human and animal figures from several inches tall, to life size or larger.

It’s best to make one of the villages your base of operation while you explore other attractions in the area like Neuschwannstein castle and Hohenschwanngau castle. These are conveniently right next to each other. If you can’t pronounce Neuschwanstein, I guarantee you have seen pictures of it, or another famous castle modeled after this one in Walt Disney world. It was built by King Ludwig II aka Mad King Louie in the mid 1800s. It was made to look like a fanciful interpretation of a medieval castle, and was inspired by the operas of Richard Wagner who was a friend and favorite artist of the King’s. Ludwig built several lavish castles in Bavaria, and had plans for more until his mysterious death. That is a story for another time, but I’ll just say that both of these castles guided tours are worth the price. During the summer I understand that the crowds can be pretty large, and the only way to see them is with a guided tour. Each ticket is timed and you must be in line at the right time to get in, so make sure you plan well and plan ahead. In the off season you can show up to the ticket counter and purchase tickets for the same day, but you may have to wait around and sip a beer until your appointed entry time. They are not publicly owned, but instead are still owned by the remains of the Bavarian royal family. Taking pictures inside is not allowed, so if you want some images of the inside, be sure to stop at the gift shop.

Linderhof is another recommended castle of King Ludwig’s. It was one of his fully completed castles, and has a large grounds to explore with statues and little mini temples. It even has a man made underground grotto, where the king would have performances of Wagnerian operas. I guess it’s good to be the king.

While you are driving around, be sure to stop in at some of the churches and cloisters open to the public. At Closter Ettal, not only can you wander around an active monastery, but you can get some darned good beer. Remember that monks are some of the best brewers. It is said that when they fast they can still drink beer, so they make a pretty hearty brew to sustain themselves.

A stop at the Wieskirche, or church in the meadow is a good place to sit and relax for a few minutes while your jaw drops from all of the rococo decoration inside. Churches like this were likely the only culture and entertainment for people centuries ago, so they were decorated to teach the bible stories and inspire the congregation to follow their teachings, while demonstrating the majesty of the Catholic Church.

A more somber day trip from Munich is to the Dachau concentration camp. It is a short drive or train ride away and displays a reminder of the horrible holocaust of World War II. This particular camp housed political dissidents and other people undesirable to the Third Reich, until close to the end of the war when Jews were sent here and the camp was packed over capacity. There is a self guided audio tour documenting the atrocity and history throughout the war until it was liberated by allied troops.

The grounds are pretty large, and to listen to the tour at each of the areas will take several hours. Outside is a history center where you can get more information and resources about the camp and the holocaust in general.

The Romantic Road

If you have the time for an extended trip you can keep traveling on the romantic road. This is a scenic route through back roads and villages. For overnight stops I would suggest Rothenburg and Nuremberg.

Rothenburg is a well preserved medieval walled city. It is accessible by car or train and there are plenty of small b&bs and inns to stay in that are full of charm. If you are staying overnight in Rothenburg take the night watchman’s tour. There is an English version and it doesn’t cost anything upfront, but they do pass the hat at the end allowing you to pay what you like. The tour is a little on the cheesy side, but kind of fun if you just go with it. You will get a bit of history and a nice walk around the city after dark.

Other attractions in Rothenburg are walking the wall, shopping, and visiting several of the small museums.

A trip north to Nuremberg gives you another walled old city within a larger modern city. This was the home of artist Albrecht Durer in the 16th century. In fact there are two museums dedicated to him here. There are also larger museums and lots of interesting streets to wander. They even have their own style of sausage that you will only find here called Nuremberger bratwurst. They are about the size of breakfast sausage links in the US, and served grilled.

On my visit several years ago I had a bit of a funny thing happen. I was playing tour guide for my parents and driving around to find one of the museums. After getting a little lost I pulled over to a side street to get a look at a proper paper map. As I was looking at the map I heard my father exclaim, ” oh my!” and my mom said, ” oh Lee you take us to the nicest places!” I looked up and discovered that I had parked in the middle of Nuremberg’s red light district. We were right between a strip bar and a row of brothels with ladies leaning out their windows. We had to laugh, but I got a bit flustered and took off right away. It was nothing dangerous, just not what we’re used to here in the US.

If you want to high tail it back to Munich you can use this opportunity to drive on the autobahn. Outside of the developed cities, there is no speed limit on the divided highway. Be careful, though as there are rules to how things are done. Choose your speed, and only use the passing lane to quickly pass slower traffic then get right back over in the right lane. No matter how fast you are going there is sure to be a native German zipping up behind you flashing their headlights to signal you to get out of the way. And by the way there is a posted speed limit when the road is wet, and the drunk driving laws are very strict at .05% blood alcohol limit, so don’t even think about that.

Salzburg, Austria

There are many places within easy train travel distance of Munich, but if you want to day trip or overnight in Austria, Salzburg is an excellent choice. It’s about 2 hours away by train, and the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The famous composer has two museum houses dedicated to him and a larger than life statue in the central square. When you exit the main train station head to the Tourist Information center to purchase a ticket that will get you on all the city buses for the day, or how ever long you are staying.

Shopping seems to be one of the main attractions here. There are many winding streets lined with chic shops, and restaurants. The movie “The Sound of Music” took place in Salzburg, so there are tours that cater to big fans of the movie, although from what I’ve heard they mainly cater to Americans. For me there were two main highlights not to miss on a day trip to Salzburg. One is the castle on the hill above the city. You can’t miss it since it can be seen from everywhere. There is a funicular that will take you up to the top for a walk around inside the walls looking down on the city. The museum inside was also interesting and worth the admission charge. The second main attraction is the Dom, or cathedral. Inside it is massive. A walk around to view the statues, artwork and baroque architecture are a must at any cathedral, but this one has an amazing pipe organ. There seem to be pipes all over the place, and if you are there in the right season, you can catch a recital on certain days of the week. If you have more time, Salzburg is great for just wandering and exploring. The narrow streets and colorful buildings just give you that old Europe feel and the bustle seems like it has been this way for centuries.

So there you have it. You can use Munich and the Oktoberfest as a launching point to go visit Germany. And don’t just limit yourself to Germany. Other great European cities are very accessible by train or plane. You might find that taking a hop in a commercial jet to someplace like Prague, Amsterdam or Rome is the same price as the train, and then you can fly home from there with an open jaw ticket. It’s a pretty common thing to do in Europe, so don’t let it hold you back from seeing more of the continent.

I just got hooked on the Oktoberfest as a fun time, and I hope I can meet up with you there some day.

Thank you so much for downloading the podcast. Please give a review or some feedback if you can, and also check out my resource links on journeyjournalonline.com. If you are going to book some travel and want to try hotels.com, they have a really cool program where you can get a free night after you book 10 nights through them. Also, clicking through my site would really help me out to pay those bandwidth bills. I’m glad to be back and I can’t wait to bring you more great destinations, so until next time, enjoy your journey.

I recommend the following books that helped me to plan my Oktoberfest trips:

The post Episode 8 – The Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany appeared first on Journey Journal Online.

So why don’t I start there.

My wife Becky and I have taken a lot of road trips. From our home base of Denver, CO for a few years we drove all around the American West, and the Southwest. We would take a week long vacation and pack up the car with camping gear, suitcases and coolers of food to go see some of the sites that are spread out around South Dakota, Wyoming, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. We also made the trip back and forth from Denver to Cleveland, OH a couple of times to visit family back home. If you own a car that gets decent mileage, taking a road trip can be a good opportunity for budget travel. Plus it can turn into one of those situations where the journey is as much fun as the destination. I still like taking a good road trip and exploring small towns across America. When I hear the term Main Street, I have a picture in my head that is some combination of a lot of places I’ve been with 3 story brick buildings lining a road with parking on either side and quirky little shops here and there. Of course there is always a corner bar, and sometimes an old movie theater remains. Cheap food can usually be found in diners and pizza shops that have either been around for decades, or maybe just moved into a downtown that is having a resurgence in business.

Planning with a map

When you plan a road trip you don’t need much more than a map. I think a road atlas works well for laying out the route you want to take and getting a general sense of distances you want to cover. You can use online map sites like Google Maps or Mapquest, too, but my well worn Rand McNally road atlas has been one of the best tools we ever invested in. I think mine is from the 1990’s and I probably need to get a new one. I would also like to say that GPS is one of the most amazing and useful tools invented for finding your way around, but don’t rely on it without looking at some kind of map first. When you plan with a map you can look along your route and realize things like, “hey if we just go a little out of our way we can stop in Nashville for a few hours”. If all you do is hop in the car and plug in your destination to the GPS you might miss some great opportunities. I also like to get an idea of just how many hours I want to drive each day and plan out some towns to stop in overnight.

Getting free maps along the way

Besides my outdated Rand McNally Road Atlas, I always stop at the first rest stop after crossing a state’s border. Most of the time they have a welcome center and will give out free state maps. These are the up-to-date paper maps for a state and usually have detailed sections for many of the major cities in the state. You can also use these welcome centers like you might use a tourist information office found in cities and towns across Europe. They will usually have a volunteer staff that can answer some questions, and they have brochures for all kinds of attractions. Now, Some of you may be saying, “No Duh, Lee we all know about rest stops”, but not everybody may know about getting the maps, since you sometimes have to ask for them. Also, I have actually seen a few International downloads of the podcast, so for you listeners around the world, I hope this helps in case you are unfamiliar with the freeway system in the US.

Packing food so you don’t blow your budget or your health eating fast food

One of the other things that I have always done on our road trips is to pack lunch and snacks. This doesn’t have to be complete junk food, but I find that eating a little something every hour or couple of hours helps to keep me more alert. We pack sandwiches and fruit for lunches, and we will either eat them while driving, or picnic somewhere along the way. This helps keep costs down, and is also healthier than eating nothing but fast food. That’s not to say we don’t get fast food, especially if we end up using a fast food restaurant just for a bathroom break. A handy thing to have if you think you want to do a few road trips is a cooler that plugs into your 12v cigarette lighter power in your car. These come in different sizes and will keep things cool, not ice cold. Its not as messy as dealing with bags of ice. Just remember to turn it off or unplug it when you leave your car. You don’t want to come out from a restaurant break and find your battery dead. With food on the road, I think the rule is “keep it simple”. Fruits, trail mixes and nuts, crackers or pretzels, and water bottles. Myself, I like to have a stock of diet soda too in case I need a caffeine jolt. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches seem to travel well too, but we have gotten as exotic as making and eating hummus wraps.

Travel with pets

One advantage to taking your own car is that you can take your pet along. If your dog or cat travels well in the car around town, they should be fine in the car for a big trip. We have taken our cat across the country a couple of times, and once he got used to the fact that he was going to have to sit in his cat carrier  for a while, he quieted down and seemed to enjoy the ride. If you stop at hotels, be sure to tell them you have a pet. Most will charge an extra fee or damage deposit if they accept pets, but have higher charges if they found you with a pet you didn’t tell them about ahead of time. One other thing to know is that state laws differ when it comes to leaving your pet in the car. Certainly on a hot day, leaving your cat or dog in a car with the windows closed could kill them. You should always make sure there is enough air circulation and provide them with water if you have to go into a restaurant or a store. If it is the middle of summer on a sunny day, just cracking the window an  inch isn’t enough either. Just be smart about it, and also I will put a link in the show notes for a site that describes what laws are in different states pertaining to this.

http://www.animallaw.info/articles/qvuspetsincars.htm

Camp, budget hotel, or B&B, or luxury

Road tripping gives you a lot of choices when it comes to lodging. Camping, budget hotels, Bed and Breakfasts, or luxury hotels can all be found on the road. If you are in a small town you might not get that luxury hotel, but if you are on the other end of the spectrum and want to camp, I have found that planning to stop at state parks, or national forest land can be nicer than the big name campgrounds like KOA or Jellystone, but they will do in a pinch.

One quick note, is that traveling by car with kids can obviously be much cheaper than buying airline tickets for the whole family. I don’t have kids, so you can take my advice with a grain of salt, but my suggestion would be to keep them occupied with portable DVD players and video games. Things have come a long way since the days I had to either read a book or play I spy in the backseat with my sister. Also remember to shorten the distances you travel each day and make some fun stops.

Car checked out, check all fluids, tires and emergency supplies

I am a planner and I’m all about being prepared for emergencies, so I always check things out on the car before a trip. If you don’t trust yourself or your car, take it to a mechanic you trust – I hope you have one – and just tell them your are going on a trip of however many hundred miles, and would they check it out. Probably fluids, brakes, tires, belts and hoses will be mainly what they are looking for. You can do mostly the same thing yourself. At a minimum, check the oil level, coolant level, and tire pressure. Put an emergency kit in the trunk that has jumper cables, tape, flares or orange cones so that if you have to pull off to the side to change a tire you can be seen. If you want more peace of mind, you can get roadside assistance insurance either on your auto policy, through some credit cards, or a club like AAA, which has a lot of other benefits like discounts at hotels and attractions.

The route and itinerary

So now that we’ve planned the route, booked some hotels along the way and checked out the car, lets get on with the trip. When my wife and I decided to go to Savannah, we had a seven day spring break in which to do it. We also had a few sites and people to visit along the way, but with more time, we could have taken a few more side trips. Our route was planned out as Cleveland to Bowling Green, KY and Mammoth Cave, then on to Chattanooga, TN, and finally arriving in Savannah for several nights. After that we stayed overnight in Charleston, SC and then headed back north toward Cleveland with a last night left up in the air. I think of these quick stops like sampling at a buffet. Most stops are too short to explore a place in depth, but I get to breeze through and find places I might want to return someday and spend more time. I also kept the driving to about 5 hours a day, because I didn’t want to spend all day every day of my vacation in the car.

Day one Cleveland to Mammoth cave in KY

Our first day was a pretty easy drive through Ohio, skipping Cincinnati, and ending in Bowling Green, KY. I have a cousin who lives there so we met at a nice Italian restaurant called the Brickyard Cafe.Look for the link in the show notes for their location and menu. http://www.brickyardcafe.net/

Bowling Green is a college town, home to Western Kentucky University. There is a large teaching hospital where my cousin works as an ER nurse. Another attraction close by is the Corvette museum and plant. A lot of car aficionados come here to see where their Corvette was born, and to get a look at some of the models through the years in the museum. Also, my wife made sure to remind me that there was a big flea market at the same exit as the corvette museum. She saw it from the freeway and had to stop. She is a collector of well, lets just say stuff. If you’re a fan of any of the shows that feature pawn shops and American antiques you’ll love these kinds of places, and really that’s what road trips are all about. You can stop and check out something that interests you, and not necessarily what an organized tour will steer you towards.

Mammoth cave

Also very close is Mammoth Cave National Park. http://www.nps.gov/maca/index.htm This is a place that we had been talking about coming to for years, and this trip was the perfect excuse. This is a huge cave system under Western Kentucky and I mean really huge. The main room looks like it was blasted out for tourists enjoyment, but it was slowly carved out by an underground river that is still flowing. There are a couple of different tours offered by the National Park rangers, and the one we went on was called the Historic Tour.  It led down to a low point in the cave where we could see the river running across the rock, and the ranger explained that the room we were in at that point is completely underwater seasonally when the river is running full. There are stairs to climb on some of the tours, and if you visit the website located in the show notes, they have listings of each of the tours with details about how long they are and exactly how many stairs ar on each one. If you want to get into spelunking or caving, they even have an intro to caving tour that will lead you a little off the beaten tourist paths in the cave.

Nashville

After leaving Mammoth cave, we headed south again and stopped in Nashville, TN, known as Music City. The plan was to stop someplace interesting for lunch, but things didn’t go exactly to plan. It was Sunday and we were a little early for lunch. In the middle of Printers Alley which is supposed to be one of the hot spots in the city everything was closed. When I say everything, I mean everything. I eventually spotted a Starbucks, but it was also closed. Tennessee is on the north side of what can be collectively called “the South” here in the United States. People here are very passionate about their religion and church on Sunday. If you are traveling on a Sunday you can expect that many businesses will be closed, and there just might not be that much to do. If we had more time I would have stopped overnight for some fun at the bars and honky tonks or maybe a performance at Ryman Auditorium, home of the Grand Ole Opry. I’ll probably even do a show just on Nashville eventually because I have stopped there with my family on another trip. It’s a great town for live music.

Chattanooga

Instead of staying in Nashville, we opted to go a little further south and east to stay overnight in Chattanooga, TN. for many people the only reason they may have heard of this place if from the old song Chattanooga Choo Choo. Historically, the city was a manufacturing center and they now have a great preserved downtown. There are a bunch of different museums and some natural attractions and parks just outside the city. We just used it as an overnight stop but we did try out the Terminal Brewhouse downtown, and had a very good dinner in a multi story converted industrial building with some amazing craft beer. https://www.facebook.com/terminalbrewhouse  They don’t advertise public tours, but I asked the server if there was anyone who would give me a tour of their brewing setup located on the ground floor below the restaurant, and one of the beer geeks there was happy to show me around. It just goes to show, all you have to do is ask and many times you can get a little extra fun in your experience. This stop was short, but mainly because it wasn’t the final destination but that is up next.

Savannah

Savannah is why we were headed down South. Originally neither Becky or I knew a whole lot about it, but we had some recommendations from friends and family. Savannah is on the eastern coast of the United states in the state of Georgia. It has history that includes being an important port in the 19th century and it was said that during the Civil War, the Union general Sherman who had burned Atlanta and everything else in his path on his march to the sea couldn’t destroy Savannah because it was so beautiful. It’s historic old town is laid out with streets lined with historic homes that open up to park-like squares every couple of blocks. You can navigate around the city by the square you are at with names like Chatham, Lafayette, Orleans and Madison. These squares are a perfect spot to sit in the shade of the huge live oaks and just take in the architecture around you. Even at night, it’s scenic and especially peaceful.

This also makes it a very walkable city. There are only a couple of boulevards that aren’t broken up by these squares, so its easy to cross the streets and just wander around and find some hidden shops and museums. For literary fans, Savannah was the setting for the novel Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, which was made into a motion picture in 1997. It tells a semi fictional tale of the local characters around Savannah in the 1980’s.

What I found to be the most interesting thing about Savannah, was that it has a mix of history, preserved architecture, and a weird individuality of a creative liberal culture in the heart of the American South. There is a River walk down by the Savannah river which used to be the main port for trade that originally fueled the wealth of Savannah. It is now a touristy line of bars restaurants and shops. You can find some pretty good seafood and southern cuisine here for lunch or dinner. An interesting fact is that it is legal to walk around with an open beer or alcoholic beverage. This is not typical of many places in the US, so I was surprised when a bartender asked me if I wanted a beer “to go” while we were on our way out the door.

Like many rehabilitated old town cities, Savannah has a fair collection of art galleries. All kinds of fine arts and crafts can be found both down by the river and scattered around the old town. If you see one while walking around just pop in. You don’t have to go with the intent of buying something, but its nice to look at.

There are also a lot of Bed and Breakfasts here. These are great for a weekend getaway or a week long visit to explore the area. Most are in historic buildings and you can get a little bit of history with your stay from a friendly owner. We stayed at the Savannah Bed and Breakfast Inn they have rooms spread out over several buildings very near Forsythe Park. We found that we could wander from here to visit the squares, the park and cemeteries, and with a bit of a longer hike, all the way to the river. This is great if you are going to visit some of the bars and have a few drinks, you don’t have to worry about drinking and driving. If you want to help pay for the costs to bring you this podcast and book a great B&B, and even the one I just told you about, you can go to www.journeyjournalonline.com/bandb . If you click the link there to go to one of the companies listed there it won’t cost you any extra money, but it tells them that you heard about them through the Journey Journal, and I’ll get a small commission to help me pay the bills so I can keep telling you about great places to visit. These are companies I have used myself, so I trust them to find a great deal for you too.

Overall, I would recommend Savannah as a destination for history buffs, or couples looking for a romantic getaway. You can get yourself lost on purpose and relax here. That was the best part… just relaxing.

Charleston

We somehow missed what was supposed to be a big attraction in Charleston which was the City market. It seems online like an interesting shopping trip, but instead we wandered around looking at the houses and gardens all around the old city. We also just hung out at the White Point Garden Park at the tip of the peninsula that contains the entire old town. We saw some very upscale shopping areas and ate at a very nice restaurant serving “low country” cuisine. One of the crafts that the area is known for are sweetgrass baskets. Handmade by locals and available in just about every size and shape imaginable, these baskets can be found for sale in galleries or directly from the maker on the side of the road. We bought one from a woman who had a shack at the edge of a supermarket parking lot, in the shade of an old tree. She sat and worked on one of her baskets while talking to us while we picked out one to buy and take home. They make a nice souvenir to take back and put in your living room, and I felt like I was helping out the local economy just a tiny bit.

My highlight of Charleston was Patriots Point, which is a museum consisting of a docked aircraft carrier, submarine and destroyer. These Naval ships are World War II era craft that served even later into the 20th century. The self guided tour of the ships was really informative, and you get to wander the inside corridors on your own while imagining what life must have been like being out at sea for months at a time with a big crew. If you like aviation, there are also static aircraft displayed both in the huge hangar deck and on the flight deck. The only disappointment for me was that the destroyer was out for refurbishment, and my grandfather served in the Pacific on a destroyer in WWII. As of 2013 it is back and on display for tours so that just gives me a reason to come back, and I definitely want to. The submarine is a diesel sub that is much smaller than the Nuclear cold war subs you might have seen in the movies. Unfortunately it is also in need of an overhaul and its future is uncertain. Neither the museum nor the state of South Carolina has the funds so they are soliciting donations today to save it from becoming a reef off of the Florida coast. You can go to http://www.savetheclamagore.com/ to donate or find out its fate if you are listening to this sometime in the future. You can also visit www.patriotspoint.org to see pictures of the USS Yorktown carrier, USS Laffey Destroyer, and the USS Clamagore submarine.

On the same day as Patriot’s Point we also visited Boone Hall Plantation. This is a working plantation still producing crops today, but also provides tours of the manor and grounds. The house is a reconstruction built in the Georgian style in the 1930’s but probably the most impressive aspect is the approach to the house. The long drive is lined on either side by massive live oak trees. Each row arches over the driveway to form a tunnel that frames the view of the house as you approach it. The tour of the house was interesting, but you only get to see the first floor, decorated as it might have been in the early 19th century. The house was featured in the 1985 TV miniseries “North and South” starring Patrick Swayze. this was part of the tourist draw for my wife who had watched the show when she was younger. Along the driveway is an area called slave street. These are cabins where the slaves of the plantation lived. The self guided tour lets you walk in and around the cabins, and has artifacts original to the plantation. There’s also an educational tour focusing on the historic Gullah culture. There are more historic buildings beside the house including the cotton gin house dating back to the mid 1800’s. The tour was topped off with an open air wagon ride through some of the plantation grounds highlighting the crops that used to be grown and the new cash crops that still sustain the plantation today such as strawberries, pumpkins, and other vegetables. If you are into Southern history, I’d recommend this stop for a nice afternoon.

Road stop in VA

Our route home from Charleston was a long one. We were both out of time to spend away from work and school, so we took the most direct route home. Unfortunately there wasn’t a good destination stop that we knew of anywhere close to the halfway mark so we ended up picking a budget hotel just off the freeway. It was fine for what we needed, which was a rest and a bed for the night.  There would be other options if you wanted to take a more scenic route. Asheville, NC would be a great option. I would allow an extra day if you want to go to Asheville, just to go to Biltmore Estate. Another option could have been to pop over to Roanoke, VA for a day. As it ended up, we found a nice park and took a walk, and ate at a local Mexican restaurant.

Home

The hidden gem on the way home is something we had passed several times on our way through West Virginia, but never stopped at before. It was the Tamarac Arts and Crafts showcase. Becky is a big craft person, so I relented to her pleading and stopped. It is a single large round building right off of the freeway exit that is a shopping stop for anyone who likes artisan handiwork. They have artist in residence in studios inside, and feature wood crafts, pottery quilts and clothing as well as other art and sculpture.

After that it was home to our cats and chickens. Some people don’t like driving, so I can understand a road trip might not be for everyone, but if you have a willing travel partner, especially one who can share in the driving and the navigation, road trips are a really affordable way to get up close with an area of the country that you might not see if you just jet from big city to big city. Our trip took us over 1800 miles and we both had a wonderful time and discovered that we want to return to Savannah for a longer stay, so when I get there I’ll be sure to let you all know so you can stick with me and keep listening.

I appreciate every one of you who are listening and if you like it or you know someone else who might like it, please share me with your social network. The blog is at www.journeyjournalonline.com, and I am on Facebook at facebook.com/journeyjournalonline.

I am also listed in the iTunes podcast directory, and if you use iTunes, please stop by and give me a rating. That would really help me to show up when people search for travel related podcasts and tell my stories to even more people. Thanks again, and I’ll talk to you soon. Until then, enjoy your journey.

The post Episode 7 – Road Tripping to Savannah appeared first on Journey Journal Online.

New York Sunrise by JefferyTurner, on Flickr

Journey Journal Online Episode Six – New York City

Welcome to show number 6 of the Journey Journal Online Travel Podcast. My name is Lee Wiegman and I’m here to tell you about traveling, vacations and to share my experiences. Hopefully, I can bring you something you didn’t know before and might give you that little push to go visit someplace new. Today I’ll be talking about New York City. I’ve been there several times each in a different capacity. I know that someone from the east coast or someone who’s lived there for a while might be more qualified to give you all the nitty gritty details, but my perspective is that of a visitor for a short time. I just wanted to be upfront with all of you because New York is so densely packed with things to see and do that you can probably go a dozen times and not even begin to scratch the surface. Well here goes…

First Adventure Trip to NYC

The first trip I ever took to New York was not a pleasure trip, but it was an adventure. I was in college and a friend’s family business needed some goods driven to NY on short notice. My friend was sent on the trip and I was paid $50 to ride along to keep my friend company and make sure the van didn’t get vandalized in the city. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do about that since I was a college kid who had never been to New York and I didn’t know if I was going to be fending off street gangs with spray paint or what. While we were there we were to pick up some Persian rugs for his Uncle’s business. Our vehicle was a large cube van and we drove straight there and straight back from Cleveland, OH. After the 10 hour drive to the East Coast we had a quick introduction to New York traffic. From the passenger seat, I remember going past the large metal globe structure in the Bronx from the world’s fair and seeing the jumbled Manhattan skyline from the freeway, all things I recognized from pictures, but had never seen in real life. We dropped off our cargo in Brooklyn at a flooded loading dock where I dutifully stayed in the truck. After that we navigated the maze of thruways to Manhattan. Here was the real driving challenge. I’m glad I was a passenger in the 24 foot box van as we triple parked it on the street in a section of the city that seemed to be dedicated just to selling Persian rugs. I don’t remember now exactly where we were I just knew I was supposed to stay in the truck in case… well I don’t know in case of what. After some time passed my friend came to get me and we both went inside. One of the things I’ll never forget was the Jamaican freight elevator operator who had his own side business selling colognes and perfumes out of the elevator. We went up a few floors to a dark room filled to the ceiling with rolled up Persian rugs. Several middle eastern looking guys in fancy shirts open at the chest were trying to work out what we were supposed to be taking. Eventually we got whatever it was we were supposed to get, because we left and drove straight back home. It think the whole trip from Cleveland to New York and back was done in one shot with no overnight stop. I didn’t get to be a tourist but it was definitely an introduction to the multiculturalism of the city.

Going to a Convention in New York City

My second trip to New York I got to wander and see a little more of the city. I went to a convention for the Audio Engineering Society while I was still a student. A group of us from my college program road tripped and stayed on both Long Island and Staten Island with the families of some of the students. This was my intro to all of the transportation options in the area including commuter trains like the Long Island Railroad, the Subway and the bus system. While the convention was on we stayed on Staten Island with a fellow student and took the ferry over to Manhattan every day. I’m sure locals are used to it, but I think it was a pretty scenic commute sailing past the Statue of Liberty each day. From the ferry terminal we took the subway up to midtown Manhattan. At first the map and routes were confusing and I couldn’t tell which way was up or down, but after a few trips it got to be old hand pretty quick. Growing up as a kid I had always heard about how the subway was dangerous and I had this image of criminals and gangs I suppose, but I think by the early 90’s it was OK and once you learn to read the map and recognize the subway entrances it’s not so bad. The convention was held at the Javitz center near the garment district. It’s a huge glass and steel complex of a convention center. On breaks from the conference we ate at delis and pizza places nearby for lunch. Unlike my city back home there seemed to be a little place around every corner. It was good that we had a local along with us, because he grew up knowing the layout of the streets so we were much less likely to wander up and down looking for something. One evening we went to Greenwich Village to go find the famous music club CBGB’s where famous punk acts got their start. We did find it but I don’t think there was anything going on that night so we ended up in a small blues bar somewhere in the Village. It was some of the coolest sounding blues in the most intimate small place I’ve ever been and I have still never been able to find that experience again even though I’ve looked for that bar on other trips. This was one of the first trips to a large city I had ever taken on my own as a young adult and it proved to me that I could go out and explore and come back to tell the tale.

New Year’s Eve in Time’s Square

New Year’s Eve in Times square is one of those trips that a lot of people have on their bucket list. When I decided to go in 1996 it sounded like a great idea at the time, but the trip was poorly planned and executed. Becky and I were newly married and we decided to visit a friend working at Seton Hall University in New Jersey. We figured we might as well go see the ball drop in Time’s Square just like we had seen it on TV our whole lives since we had an offer of a free place to stay. We started off the day of December 31st sightseeing. We took public transit in and were hitting the typical NY landmarks. We tried to go to the Statue of Liberty, but a government shutdown due to a budget crisis had closed all National Parks. This is something that could easily happen in 2013, so keep that in mind for your trip plans. Always have an alternate! Almost as a consolation we went to the World Trade Center to ride up to the observation deck of the towers and take in the city from above. I know now that I will keep that memory with me for the rest of my life since it is an experience that can never be repeated after the 9/11 tragedy. Afterward we zig-zagged through the city to visit St Patrick’s Cathedral which is a great free attraction. The Gothic architecture is impressive and in stark contrast to the modern buildings that now surround it. There are 7 masses a day during the week and 8 on Sunday, and there was a mass on when we visited. We just quietly watched from the back of the nave and walked along the side with our friend who lit a candle in one of the small side chapels. In the early evening a group of people with us were going to see Blue Man Group in Tubes which was this strange thing off-Broadway at the time. This was before they got really big, but we thought it seemed too weird so we ended up wandering Greenwich Village while our friends went to the show. Little did we know that weird little show would become a world-wide franchise. I don’t remember exactly what we ate while wandering around, but I’m sure some pizza was involved since it’s Becky’s favorite food, even though she complains that she doesn’t like New York style pizza. We met up again with our friend and decided it was time to start finding a spot to stand and watch the ball drop. The packed masses were already back to 53rd street, if I’m remembering right and we joined the crowd there on Seventh Ave which was not even the main strip on Broadway! Becky and her friend were both not feeling that well and we had been sightseeing around the city all day which can make you really tired. We had nothing to eat or drink for the next four hours while we stood around with a bunch of strangers. We were all packed in like sardines and could barely see the ball in Times Square. I do remember some nice people sharing some cinnamon schnapps with us, but those couple of sips were all we had. Then the ball dropped and we rushed off to try and get back to NJ. The ball dropping was, by the way a non event from as far away as we were. We could barely see the thing because it seemed tiny and I remember doing a countdown but that was it. We couldn’t hear music and we weren’t on the right street for confetti. It seemed like at that point everyone in the entire celebration tried to crowd onto the same train. Becky was terrified, but eventually we ended up navigating back across the river to New Jersey. We then had to find a bus back to Seton Hall and our beds for the night. We were waiting at the bus stop but the bus never came. Then all the people at the stop started vying for taxis. All the taxis passing by were either already in service or not stopping, and with a crowd of a couple dozen people it would take a lot of taxis. We finally found one around the corner from the bus stop. It seemed to be the worst taxi in New Jersey. It had holes in the floor and cracks in the windows, we asked the driver who’s first language was obviously not English to get us to Seton Hall University. He sped off and stopped in from of Seton Hall Law School, which was not in the same part of town. Our friend Amy argued a little bit, and gave him some cross streets and we ended up back at her residence hall, eventually. I think the whole experience soured New York for both Becky and I for a little while, but eventually we each took individual trips back there for work that made up for it. I may be making it sound pretty horrible here but in retrospect if you want to experience Time’s Square for New Year’s Eve I think a little planning would go a long way to making sure you had a fun time. Don’t make my mistake and try to see the whole city and party in Times Square both in the same day. Bring some water or a beverage you can sneak past the NYPD and don’t forget to eat! For me it is one of those things that I can say I have done, but I probably won’t go out of my way to do it again.

Visiting New York City on Business

One of my most productive sightseeing trips was when I went to New York for work. The company I work for sent us to New Jersey to practice recovering our computer systems in case we would ever have a disaster. When we weren’t doing our portion of the work we had free time to spend and several of us spent the day in the City. Once again, the buses and subway got us everywhere we wanted to go. We wandered around to different parts of the city doing the typical tourist things like going up to the observation deck of the Empire State Building. I also met up with a friend who lived somewhere nearby at the time. We had a good meal at a bar, walked it off with some aimless wandering and ended up at Paddy Reilly’s for a show by one of my favorite bands that are based in New York, The Prodigal’s. At Paddy’s they served nothing but Guinness on tap. They had seven taps and each tap had a letter to spell out the word Guinness but if that doesn’t suit you taste I think they serve other beer in bottles. There are some other fragments of memory that I have like a corner bookstore that had books of all kinds seemingly haphazardly arranged and stacked up to the ceiling. This was in stark contrast to the Virgin mega-store that had books, and music (all new, of course) in a multi-floor, well organized and well lit store. It was also almost comical how many Starbucks there were. Sometimes more than one on opposite corners of an intersection. From the memories of my trips it always seems like New York is randomness to me. I end up going there and just wandering and I always find something that turns into a story or that just makes the quintessential New York moment for me. Like any big city New York has museums and I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This was place blew me away in size, scale, and the number of exhibits. I was a little star struck from the outside facade and areas inside which I had seen from movies. Wandering through the Egyptian wing was most impressive. A huge glass atrium houses the reconstruction of a giant stone temple. Getting through just a few rooms of this museum tires you out and kind of sends you into a little bit of an overload. I haven’t been back there yet, but I really want to take a trip just for the museums, and this one in particular.

A Visit to New York with Friends and My Tips to the City

My last trip was a few years ago while visiting my college roommate who was living in upstate New York. His girlfriend (now his wife) grew up in the area and we were talking about our plans to go into the city for the day. We were trying to figure out the logistics of getting to a train station to take a train into the city to do a little sightseeing and see a Broadway show we had tickets for. She announced, “I’ll drive you into the city.” We didn’t want her to go to the trouble and we were thinking that driving into the city was something nuts akin to suicide by automobile. She assured us it was no big deal and that she actually enjoyed the challenge of driving in the city. When we got through the tunnel and into Manhattan this mild mannered woman turned into a caricature of a New York cabby, honking and swooping into the traffic with the best of them. She was even a whiz at finding street parking so we could find a spot to have dinner and a drink. I wouldn’t have thought it was possible to find street parking before that. It was yet another way to experience the city, but not something I’d recommend a first-timer do. If you’ve never been there and you don’t have someone who loves the aggressive NY driving… take the train. The show we saw was Monty Python’s Spam-a-lot and we got tickets kind of at the last minute. This means we didn’t have the best seats ever, but what the heck, it was exciting and funny to me and we were in the theater. There are so many theaters here that I could see myself going to a lot of different plays off Broadway if I lived here.
Besides going to Museums and Broadway shows here is my quick list of things to know about visiting New York City
Take trains and buses into the city if you can. The public transit system here is one of the best in the country. The major hubs of Penn Station and Grand Central Station will be your starting points in Manhattan, and if you follow the signage, its not that hard.
I’ve never been able to do it on my multiple trips, but take a ferry to the Statue of Liberty.
See the tourist sights, but don’t get burned out. If you have never been here before, go to the top of the Empire State building. The view of the buildings below you will really give you a sense of the size and density of the city.
Visit the different sections like Lower Manhattan, So Ho, Greenwich Village, Midtown. Walk within the areas, but don’t get fooled into thinking you can just walk everywhere and not take the subway. The distances can be deceiving.
Take a cab if you’ve got a few people to split the fare. Just don’t be afraid to ask the cab driver how much it will cost to get to your destination. He can tell you approximately, and that way you won’t be surprised.
Eat some food. You can get

• Asian food
• Street food if you’re brave
• Bagels in just about any place with a food counter
• Go to a New York deli in New York
• Fancy dining in restaurants owned by celebrity chefs
• Just about anything you want.

To get here and stay here you can fly into one of the three airports that serve the area. Laguardia, JFK, and Newark, NJ. Pack light and take train or a cab to your hotel or lodging. If you are driving plan to park or stay outside the city to save money or park at your hotel, but expect to pay at least $50 per day to park. Alternatively, you can find a lot through iconparkingsystems.com for maybe $15 to $18 per day. If you can find a local that you may know to help you out. Use that social media network you’ve built to find someone to give you advice and help if it’s your first trip to NY. Good hotel deals can be found on the weekends when business travelers are heading home. Please check out my affiliate link at www.journeyjournalonline.com/hotels. I can sometimes get some promotional deals through my affiliation and you would be helping me out because I get a small commission if you book through my link which will help me pay the hosting cost for my podcast.

My closing thoughts on New York are just to tell you to wander. On my trips I have wandered Central Park, Wandered the Village, or wandered by museums and attractions and I’ve always felt pretty safe. I think if you keep your eyes open for who is around you, and walk like you know where you’re going even if you don’t always know you can experience in a day or two the character of the city almost like a local. New Yorkers seem to be portrayed in TV and Movies as a bit rough and callous, and maybe intimidating to a meek mid-westerner, but I think that’s more played up for the movies. There are so many people here from so many different cultures, I think it would be hard to characterize them collectively. I have seen some funny scenes that make me think “typical New York”, like a guy crossing the street at a busy cross walk when a slightly beat up and dirty car pulled halfway into the crossing. The walker shouts something in a thick NY accent, bangs his fist on the fender and spits on the windshield. The driver with the window only half open shouts back waving his arms wildly from inside the car. Everyone crosses the street, and the car lurches away through the busy city traffic. No harm was done, just a communication made in its own way, with bravado.
Elsewhere around the city I’ve seen brownstone walk-ups one after the other on streets with small trees lining the sidewalk. It’s the closest thing I’ve ever seen to the images from Sesame Street when I was growing up. There is celebrity architecture here. Buildings like the flatiron building Rockefeller Center and the Chrysler building have been in the Movies and TV and are literally famous. Businesses and restaurants seem to be hidden and scattered around with streets of apartments and offices. Some of the most hidden are down at “garden level” These are where you kind of have to know they are there and walk down from the street level sidewalk to someplace with a low ceiling and questionable ambiance. Could be good, could be not so good but that is part of the adventure, isn’t it?
There are definitely times when I visit that I could see myself living there for a short time, but then after some reflection I don’t know if I could take the closeness of everything, the noise, and the constant slew of options. It does make for a fun place to visit.
That’s it for this episode, Thanks for listening to the podcast. I hope you learned one thing you didn’t know before or maybe just enjoyed my stories. As always, I welcome any feedback you can give me. If you want to help me out in some way all I ask is that you leave a review in iTunes. Also, you can always contact me at the blog, www.journeyjournalonline.com or through the facebook page facebook.com/journeyjournalonline. Also check out the new resources page on the blog with links to other places where you can book hotels, vacation homes and more. I hope you are looking forward to planning your own trips so until next time, Enjoy Your Journey.

The post Episode 6 – New York City appeared first on Journey Journal Online.

Relax on the beach.

Welcome to the Journey Journal Online travel podcast about traveling, vacations and trips that you can take. My name is Lee Wiegman and I want to help you get the most out of your vacation. This episode I’m going to talk about how to book a beach house vacation, but first I want to talk a little about my direction, at least for now. As I record this it is January 2013 and for the New Year I have plans to add lots of content to this podcast and the blog. I also have some definite travel plans, and a few things that are in the works. I didn’t travel a whole lot in 2012. There were no international trips, and I wasn’t sent anywhere outside of my own state for my day job. Frankly it had me a little depressed, and I think that is what got me in gear to actually start this podcast in October. If I wasn’t traveling as much at least I could talk about it and get myself psyched for some future plans. The whole process has definitely got me thinking more about traveling and not just by adding onto that list of destinations where I want to go and see someday. I’ve been following more travel blogs and podcasts, and it seems that there are a couple big types of content creators out there. First is the “Extended World Traveler”. These are folks who have decided to live a different lifestyle not tied to any particular location. They might be backpackers, students taking a gap year that just kept going, or people on a career break. It’s definitely fun to fantasize about making a big life change and seeing all kinds of places with that style of travel, but in reality, I don’t think it works for my situation right now. Not that I’m ruling it out in the future, but right now I love my home, my house, and my wife who doesn’t share that same kind of dream. The second type of travel podcast and blog I see is the “Disney-centric” site. No kidding here, there are podcasts just dedicated to all things Disney. Don’t get me wrong, I like Disney. Becky and I honeymooned there and we return about every five years just to get some of that Disney magic. I feel that its a big world out there and I don’t think I could handle the squeaky clean, sanitized Disney experience more than once every few years. The third and fourth types I see are the deal site and the road warrior sites. This is all for those people who are crazy for the cheapest you name it, flight deals, hotel deals, cruise packages. The road warriors deserve respect. Anyone who travels for their job week in and week out pays their dues and I think deserves all the travel upgrades and perks they can get. Ratings for the best first class restaurants, hotels and airline perks are what these seem to be about. That’s not what I’m about. I am about experiencing travel on self-led vacations, meaning, I book my own trips, usually through the Internet. I want to go on a vacation and return home. Usually a week, but I’m looking forward to a two week break someday – that might change my perspective. I want to go to an area and explore, but sometimes I just want to drive a good long road trip spending a night or two at each stop just to keep moving. The world is a big place, and I think anyone can do this so I sharing. Hopefully I can pass along something you didn’t know before, or even just give you a taste that might get you excited enough to visit a place you haven’t been before. So how about the Outer Banks of North Carolina?

Cape Lookout Lighthouse

On one of our beach house vacations, we took my in-laws along. They both said they were so glad we did this and pushed them to do it because they never would have known where to start in planning a trip like this and renting a house. they needed a little push and that is what we gave them. I don’t think it involves any special skill besides the patience to search the web, you just need to know where to start. Let me talk about the Outer Banks a little bit. The coast of North Carolina has a chain of barrier islands running down the length of its coast. These islands are mostly sandy dunes and range from pretty highly developed to uninhabited nature preserves.There’s Kitty Hawk and Nags Head in the North; Hatteras and Rodanthe in the middle and Emerald Isle and Topsail Island in the Southern Outer Banks also known as the Crystal Coast. So where to start? Your decision might be based on where you live, and how far you want to drive, but I think there is a different character between the more northern and southern regions. I spent several years in a row visiting the Crystal Coast, specifically Emerald Isle, and I found it to be populated by mostly single homes or duplexes. Scattered around are a few condo units, but very few. It’s a very family oriented place, and there aren’t a lot of bars or night clubs on the island. Up North in Kill Devil Hills things can get a bit more lively at the bars and events like Bike Week.
Once you decide your general area, start looking for realty companies that rent houses and condos in your target area. Seriously, I know you might not want to hear me say – “just do a Google search”, but in my experience the realty companies that handle the rentals tend to change and some of the houses will be handled by a different company from year to year. There are also worldwide vacation listing sites like HomeAway.com and Vacationhomerentals.com. Here you can find vacation homes to rent just about anywhere around the world. Check my affiliate link at www.journeyjournalonline.com/homerentals The other thing to consider is access. If you are from the eastern part of the United States and don’t mind a drive I think it makes sense to drive here, because renting a house for a week, we tend to bring a lot of stuff like beach chairs, umbrellas, kites, musical instruments. I know that sounds like overkill, but its how we like to do it. There are other options. Most all of the equipment you would want on a beach vacation is available for rental like beach chairs, and umbrellas, even bikes and boogie boards! This means that if you are from further away – like the middle of the US, you can fly into Raleigh and rent a car, and all of your stuff. That way you don’t have to store it all year long, either.
So when you are doing your web search you can also get leads from friends on houses they have rented. I could probably find a dozen people at work or among friends who have taken a vacation to the outer banks in the past several years. Online booking makes the process pretty easy by showing you the availability and price breakdowns. There are a lot of factors that go into the house that may or may not be important to you. First off would be the number of people you plan to have come along. You want to get enough beds for everyone, and in fact, keeping more people than allowed for on the contract could get you kicked out of your house without a refund. Next is pets. Whether or not pets are allowed will be explicitly specified. Usually houses that allow pets have an extra charge and a limit on the number of pets. I have found also that the houses that do allow pets may not be quite as nice as those that do not, but I’m sure there are exceptions to this. If extra amenities are important to you you can search for those as well. things like Air conditioning, Wifi Internet access are very common, but Pools, Hot Tubs, and even game rooms and pool tables are available in some houses. One thing important to me is having a house with a covered deck, which not all of the houses will have. This will let you continue to enjoy the beach breezes when you’ve had enough sun for the day.
Location in relation to the beach will have a big bearing on price, and also might be very important to you. Terms like oceanfront or ocean view,, 1st row or second row are important to me. Becky loves having an oceanfront house. This means, you walk out the back door, across the deck and you are on the beach. You don’t have to use a public access point, or walk down the street or even across the street to get on the sand. Price obviously goes up accordingly when you are right on the beach, but it really is amazing to just sit on the porch or even in the house and just stare out at nothing but sand and ocean. You might be able to get a bigger house with more amenities at a cheaper price one or two rows back, and you will still be able to get yourself out to soak up rays or fish in the surf. Plus if you have more people with a wide variety of interests, they may not all be beach loving sun worshipers. Because the islands are so narrow, there is also the option of the sound side. The sound is shallow body of water between the barrier island and the mainland. They are sometimes shaded with some trees and many times will have boat dock access. If you have a boat you could tow it down and dock it right at your house in some cases. The price for sounds side is also usually cheaper than than the beach side.
The last thing to talk about with relation to the houses is insurance and deposits. Vacation insurance can be a whole discussion in itself, and when the rental contract mentions insurance that is most likely what they are selling you. This is in case something happens to you or there is a major weather event like a hurricane that prevents you from your stay in the house. Since I typically try not to go during hurricane season, and we go with multiple couples or families, we don’t get the insurance thinking that if someone had to back out they either eat their portion of the rental or find someone else to take their place. This insurance does not cover if something breaks in the house. That is the damage deposit and it is not optional. You should make it a point to check your house very carefully on the first day and notify the rental company or property management company noted on your contract if you find anything wrong. this could include, windows, doors, appliances, furniture, leaks, or anything else. We have found little things wrong in all the houses we have rented, and it is better to be safe and tell them about it just so you don’t get charged. In the very least, they are usually out the next day to repair or replace anything, and they are happy to get the notification.
Before I move on to the rest of the logistics I wanted to stop and tell you what kinds of things you can expect to see and do here. Besides sitting on the beach soaking up the sun, walking and picking up shells, surf fishing, swimming, surfing, kite flying and skimboarding are all popular. There are nature preserves where wild ponies and birds of all kinds rule the island. Many of these can only be accessed by kayak, and kayaking in the surf and the sound are both fun. Seafood is plentiful in the fish markets or you can charter a boat to reel in the big one yourself. This can be pricey – even if split between a group, so fishing from piers may fit smaller budgets better. Aquariums, museums, and shopping are also a favorite pastime for taking a break from the beach. I always think its nice to “do nothing” but we always end up with a new experience and sometimes even nothing is something.
If you are renting a house, here are some things you might want to bring, and several you absolutely should bring.
Linens if your rental house does not provide them. this will be specified when searching or in the contract. This includes bed sheets and bathroom towels.
Toilet paper – this not provided and there may not be any if the previous renter did not leave any. If you are arriving after a long drive, you might want to have this packed so it can be the first thing you bring in the house. We learned this lesson the hard way!
Coffee filters – usually coffee makers are in the kitchen but you will need filters. Either bring them or buy them, but I bring them so I can have them the first morning in case I don’t go shopping the day I arrive. This is another thing we’ve learned the hard way!
Cards and games and also books you have been meaning to read.
Sunscreen – very important! Save your skin and apply it early and often.
Anything in the kitchen that you know you can’t live without and don’t want to risk not being there. All the normal pots pans, spatulas, dishes, and silverware will be there but not all specialty items may be there. If you are driving and have the room to spare, beach chairs and beach umbrellas or shade tents, but these are things that can usually be rented on the island or nearby.
The list of what not to bring includes food, unless you have a brand or specialty food you must have. There are supermarkets there and you can buy food a day at a time or enough for the whole week. If you have multiple families you might want to go in on this and split the bill. Or not – it depends on how you all get along with that kind of thing. Other paper products like napkins and paper towels can be bought after you get to the house and assess what previous renters have left–sometimes you have to buy dishwasher detergent or sponges to wash dishes with, but you usually get lucky and find that renters before you have left some.
There are hardware stores and drug stores so you can buy just about anything you might find that you need once you get there.
There are beach specialty stores on the Island – in fact, there are a lot of them. If you want something beach related, from bathing suits to boogie boards you can wait until you arrive and buy it there. Fishing tackle can also be purchased there because coastal fishing requires some special equipment that is different from inland freshwater fishing. A store near you may not carry this kind of tackle but the shops on the island certainly will.
If you have extra food that is non perishable you can donate it at the end of your trip. The town where we stay has specific charities that are set up to take the food at the end of your stay.

A condo can be affordable for a couple or small family, but the houses seem to be great for sharing. If you have some close friends or a large extended family, the larger houses are affordable if you split the cost with two or more groups of people. I would give you a price guideline, but there is such a wide range that I suggest you go check it out yourself. If split right, though, it can be about the same or even cheaper than a week long hotel stay and you’ve got a house on the beach!! My wife usually puts together our trip teaser – an email asking our friends and family if they would like to join us. I always think its kind of funny how she puts all these “rules” or stipulations around it but then I think its good to be clear with any group up front what you expect so that everyone has a fun vacation. Whether or not you want young children and pets should be clear. Think about the personalities and estimate if a diverse group of people can get along in the same house for a week. Renting both halves of a duplex house might be an option of you have two different groups like partiers on one side with the more laid-back – early to bed types on the other side. Getting commitments from people is great, but I would suggest getting money for the deposit before finalizing the booking. Nothing says commitment like money in your hands. Other things you can formally or informally discuss is whether to split the food bill, and my favorite rule of all
Nobody has to do any activity that they don’t want to do.

The last thing I’ll mention is that most of this could be applied to any beach vacation, not just the outer banks, or almost any vacation home rental for that matter whether a ski trip or a European villa. Go relax and enjoy yourself.

Thanks for listening to the podcast. I really want to focus on recording some great shows for you this year, and if you made it this far and you like it, could you do me a big favor? could you share it with a friend? Whatever your preferred method of sharing, email, Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus or homing pigeon, please share the podcast with your network to let people know I’m here and I want to share some stories.
You can contact me through the blog at www.journeyjournalonline.com on Facebook.com/journeyjournalonline or email lee@journeyjournalonline.com I want to hear from you what you liked or didn’t like. Until next episode, enjoy your journey!

The post Episode 5 – Outer Banks Beach House appeared first on Journey Journal Online.

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta
• Capulin Volcano
• Carlsbad Caverns
• White Sands National Monument
• http://santafe.org/Visiting_Santa_Fe/Museums/index.html
• Taos Pueblo

Welcome to the JJO Travel Podcast.
The podcast about Traveling, Trips, and Vacations to help you get the most out of your vacation time.

Hi, My name is Lee Wiegman and welcome to the podcast. I am late! Like many podcasters before me I am behind schedule with this episode, and the schedule I had hoped to keep.
When I decided to create the Journey Journal Online I envisioned releasing an episode every other week, but I do work a full time day job and I am a man of many interests and commitments, so I am just running a bit behind, but never fear, I have lots of material that I want to put into future shows and for this week I want to talk about one of my favorite places in the US, the state of New Mexico.

Actually, It was kind of a surprise to me that it was one of my favorite places, because I hadn’t really intended to go back so many times, but for a few years while my wife and I lived in Denver Colorado, we found that we kept taking vacations there and found that we really liked the spirit of the place and the warm sunshine.

So, Why should you considering visiting New Mexico? I bet if you are from the east coast of the US or from outside the US you haven’t considered it. It doesn’t have what some people might consider big “tourist attractions” in the sense of theme parks or major resorts that attract many tourists. I think the landscape, the Native American culture, the history and the food give an authentic feel to a place that is still a bit rugged and open. I now like to tell people that I used to think driving across Kansas there was nothing, until I drove through New Mexico. To see miles of Southwest desert with cactus and yucca and tumbleweeds – I’m talking REAL tumbleweeds  – will give you a feeling of solitude and appreciation for nature in a harsh environment.

New Mexico is more than just the desert, though. It is festivals and National Parks, historic towns, atomic bombs, Native Pueblos, green chile, and the mother road for all road trips, Route 66. When I lived in Denver it was relatively close as far as things go out West. Becky and I would take road trips in Fall or Winter – except for the one time we stupidly went in June driving a car without air conditioning. That was extremely hot and I wouldn’t recommend it. You could also road trip from Arizona, but if you are from further away, you will probably want to fly into Albuquerque. Oh by the way – you can also ski here!

Albuquerque is a city of roughly 500,000 with a greater metropolitan population of around 800,000. It is home to Kirtland Air Force Base, the University of New Mexico and nearby Sandia National Laboratory. There is an Old Town that is full of shops and restaurants that have great southwest arts and crafts as well as the New Mexican food that can be found only in this region. The cuisine is a mix of Mexican, Native American and Tex Mex. I would describe it as spicy and earthy. Many of the dishes center around green chiles that have a wonderful aroma all their own when they are fresh roasted in the outdoor markets.

The big draw in Albuquerque is the Albuquerque International Balloon fiesta http://www.balloonfiesta.com. Every year in October the worlds largest collection of lighter than air aircraft put on an amazing show all around the city. These are hot air and gas balloons of all shapes, sizes and colors. I guarantee it is like nothing you have ever seen before. Even if you think you have seen multiple balloons launch at a fair or festival, this show begins at dawn with a mass ascension of over 500 hot air balloons. Because the winds blow in different directions at different altitudes, you can see balloons taking off into the distance for about two hours straight, and then once they get high enough they catch the wind going the opposite direction and all fly overhead as tiny specks in the sky. It is rumored that the best pilots can land almost back in the same spot! They also have several night time events where the balloons stay tied to the ground and all light up the night with color. For variety there is a special shapes rodeo where for one day only balloons with out-of-the ordinary shapes fly over Albuquerque. this can be anything from Mr Peanut to a chile pepper to sharks and dragons.

If you want a ride there are companies that offer rides for sale or you can sign up to help chase. Chasing involves following along in a ground vehicle to where a balloon will land and helping to get the balloon deflated and packed up. It’s great fun to try and have a passenger as spotter for the balloon while you pick your way through back roads finding your way to where you “think” they are going to land.

The festival draws around 100,000 visitors, so you will need to plan ahead for accommodations, but there is a fair atmosphere with vendors and almost anything that looks like or is shaped like a hot air balloon is sold there. I have personally been to the festival once, and I hope to go again some day. We stayed with friends of a family member who graciously opened their home to us and gave our family bed, couch and floor space. I would count it as a festival you have to see at least once in your life.

New Mexico seems to have an abundance of National Parks and National Monuments. If you are going to spend some time here and visit the parks I would recommend an annual pass – or what used to be the Golden Eagle pass. It is good for access fees and entry fees into all national parks, monuments and some Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management sites.
First up on my list of parks is the Capulin Volcano. It is a little off the beaten path and there isn’t much else around it, but it is really neat because it is a perfect cone shaped volcano that you can drive up to the rim and even walk the mile circumference around. No worries, the volcano has long been extinct and the only changes now happen from water and wind erosion.

If you are into caves, and Becky and I are suckers for caves, then you need to see Carlsbad Caverns. Like most caves open to the public, the park service offers guided tours to get you into some of the most popular and impressive chambers of the cave. Limestone formations like the rock of Ages and the Witches finger are fantastical and impressive. The formations here seem to ooze and drip from all sides. The immense size of the big room will have you craning your neck to see all of the formations hanging down above you. The path down into the cave is a series of switchbacks and you will want some good shoes or boots for walking the paths in the cave. If you like caves, or even if you’ve never been in a cave this one is impressive. Also – if you are claustrophobic and think you might skip it for this reason I believe there are some short tours that just go into the big room, which you should feel fine in if you were comfortable, say inside a large cathedral. Check at the visitors center for detail about the tours.

Before going on to another park I wanted to mention a short but fun stop. Ever hear about a certain alleged crash in the New Mexico dessert with a government cover-up conspiracy theory? Do you believe alien beings crash landed right here in 1947? Well, whether or not “ you believe” Roswell, NM has taken on the role of hosting alien enthusiasts in a kitschy way that is good for a laugh and a lunch stop. There is a UFO museum and stores that sell tacky alien-related gifts. They even host a “Cosmic-Con” Sci-fi film festival in the summer time. I wouldn’t make this a big destination, but its worth a stop if you are driving through and are open to the alien fun.

Further south in the state is White Sands National Monument. This park makes you feel like you in some remote part of the world, and you can hardly believe that this is in the United States. The name of the park pretty much says it all. It’s the largest gypsum dune field in the world, and the park was created to preserve it. You can hike around on the dunes, and do what my wife and I did when we re-enacted a scene from Star Wars, where the Storm trooper pops into frame and says “Look sir, Droids”. I know – we are huge Star Wars geeks.

Surrounding the park is the nearby White sands Missile base, which by the way can cause the road to the park and the park to close if they are actively testing missiles. Also nearby but only open to the public twice a year is the Trinity site where the world’s first atomic explosion was tested in preparation for the bombs dropped on Japan during World War II. A lot of the research and testing of the Manhattan project happened out here in the desert at a time when tourism probably wasn’t on many people’s minds.

One of the radio astronomy dishes from the VLA

Swinging back up near Socorro, NM, because I’m into geeky science stuff, I have stopped at the VLA or Very Large Array of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. If you have seen the move “Contact” with Jodie Foster, then you have seen the VLA. It is pretty amazing in person. The huge radar dishes can be moved around on double railroad tracks to configure the array into a wide-angle or telephoto like view of the sky. There is a self guided walk around the main area of the array with a small visitors building and a view of the large maintenance building. It’s great for photographs and good fun for geeks of all ages.

Santa Fe was the reason I first visited New Mexico so I’ve saved it for last. I planned a trip here during our first Christmas break while living in Denver. Becky and I had a week where the company we both worked for closed between Christmas and New Year’s so it was the perfect time to road trip south out of Denver. Santa Fe’s history from the Native tribes through the Spanish colonization and then the American expansions are a great tale. The town itself keeps building ordinances that dictate buildings must keep the adobe look so even the McDonalds and Super-8 hotels look like and adobe pueblo. The old town square has some great old Spanish architecture and there is a museum called the palace of the governors that you can walk through to get a taste of the region’s history. There are actually quite a few museums in Santa Fe and I’ll put a link in the show notes for http://santafe.org/Visiting_Santa_Fe/Museums/index.html.  There is an outdoor market that sells Native American arts and crafts. In fact this whole area is great for finding art, and jewelry  of turquoise, silver and copper. If you’re looking for a painting, pottery, tapestries and rugs, and other Native and western themed items there should be something here in anybody’s budget to take home. The New-Mexican style food was great here and a remember a really tasty green chile and pork stew served with tortillas on the side that makes my mouth water just thinking about it. When we stayed we didn’t have a lot of money so we were in a budget Motel. I think it was the Super 8, but it was really just our launching point and a bed for the night. We camped some of the trip as well, and the National park campgrounds are affordable and really nice and quiet for tent camping.

Near Santa Fe is Bandelier National Monument. this park preserves the remains of an ancestral pueblo people’s settlement. These are some of the most interesting remains that I have been through because you get to walk through and up close to the foundations and see some of the petroglyphs in the canyon walls. There is a series of wooden ladders to take you up to a ceremonial kiva. this was a round structure with a ladder through the center of the roof, and in the recreated example here you can actually climb down in and get an idea of the size of this round structure that was thought to be used for important ceremonies. I have a great photograph I took from the inside, that is one of my favorite pictures I’ve ever taken. Look for it on the website. Apart from the kiva the settlement can be seen from above. The excavations of the foundations are arranged in a large ring. The fact that this land has been inhabited for 10,000 years is really something to contemplate. – Don’t you just love history?

A short trip up the road is the Taos Pueblo. the Pueblo is a living community and a UNESCO World Heritage site that has been inhabited for about a thousand years, and is still inhabited by Native American families. The artists in the community sell their art and crafts and visitors to the site pay an admission (plus a camera fee to take pictures). After seeing the ancient ruins of Bandelier, It is neat to go to Taos and see people living and working in an actual setting that people have been living in for a very long time.

For some history that is a little more modern you can visit Los Alamos. The Los Alamos National Laboratory is still operating here and the Bradbury Science Museum gives you a taste of what went on in this area to shape our world during the 20th century. The secret Manhattan Project in the early 1940’s developed the first nuclear bombs that were dropped on Japan to end World War II in the pacific. Here you can see exhibits about the beginnings of the nuclear age, and learn about the secrecy of the project. The first device called the Gadget was developed here and detonated in Socorro as I mentioned before at the Trinity site. Research continued on into the Cold War and the museum also leads into that time period. This is the stuff that shaped our modern politics and I love to get insight into this history that I never felt got covered in our school history textbooks.

New Mexico is huge, and the things I’ve described here were seen in multiple trips to the state. If you want to visit you will either need time or need to focus on one area. There is a lot of driving involved and you will definitely be on more of a do and see things trip instead of a sit and relax trip. Accommodations were affordable at the time compared with other cities, but you should look into some camping for a truly authentic desert experience. The desert sunrise is a beautiful thing.

I hope I have inspired you to take your own journey to New Mexico and catch a little of the spirit of the Southwest. I’d love to hear from any listener, and I know there are some out there. There are several ways you can connect with me. The show notes, and blog can be found at www.journeyjournalonline.com. There you can leave a comment to a blog post or episode or use the contact form to send me a message directly. You can also like the show on Facebook at http://facebook.com/journeyjournalonline. And lastly, my personal Twitter name is @PintBrewer. Please please please contact me and let me know what you think of the show. I’ll take criticism as well as compliments, but I’d like to hear from someone just to know you’re out there!

Once again, thanks for listening and until next time, Enjoy your journey!

The post Episode 004 – New Mexico Culture appeared first on Journey Journal Online.

I also invite a special guest to the podcast – Becky!

First off, how did I decide to take a walk in England?

I was searching for vacations on the web and came across the Contours Website. Contours is a company based in the UK that organizes walking tours in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.  www.contours.co.uk

To prepare for the trip was not too much different than a normal trip out of the USA. Our passports were ready but we needed a few extra pieces of gear.

We did some physical conditioning to get in shape, mostly just walking, but as you’ll hear, Becky wasn’t quite prepared for the mileage that we did on our particular route.

My impression of Contours trips based on my one experience is great. The way this works is that they plan the route on walking paths, book your accommodations along the way, and have your luggage transported for you every day. They also give you some very detailed printed route instructions, and a topographic map with the trail highlighted. I’ll put up scan of the highlighted map.

They put this all in a nice packet with emergency numbers, village maps, and all kinds of information you might need.

The accommodations are planned and booked for you in B&B’s or small Inns with your luggage waiting for you, so all you have to do is hike with whatever you want to carry along for the day.

This is the first trip when I really started writing in my travel journal. I’ll read the journal entries on the podcast.

Our route averaged 13 miles each day. You can choose different routes with less mileage or more rest days in between, but since we are Americans and had only a short amount of vacation time to spend, I thought we would be ambitious.

If you do one of these trips you need to be in shape and know that you are going to be walking right through fields with sheep and cows in the field with you. You’ll go right through farmer’s fields with crops planted and the trail will cut right through the middle.

A wikipedia article about Rights-of-way in England.

There are all kinds of ways to get in and out of the fields that outsmart the livestock. The two most popular are the stile and the kissing gate. A stile is just a step built into the fence that allows you to step up and swing your leg over the fence – to a step built on the other side. The kissing gate is a swinging gate where you have to step inside two posts and swing the gate to the opposite post before walking through. It’s simple enough for humans, but complicated enough to outsmart sheep and cows.

The village we stayed at that first night was Bourton-on-the-Water. The buildings are all made of the yellow Cotswold stone. The River Windrush meanders through the center of town, with man-made stone banks and low stone bridges. In fact it is called the Venice of the Cotswolds.

For some reason the Black Horse Inn and pub is something I remember. Maybe it’s because the pint tasted so good, or maybe because I took a picture of the outside. I remember walking in from the brightness outside to a room with low beamed ceilings. The beams were old black hewn beams with white plaster in between. The walls had all kinds of stuff hanging from them like baskets, horse brasses and even drying herbs and flowers. There wasn’t anybody in there except for the bartender. She talked to us and we had a pint and took a little break.

As for the woods that Becky though was creepy – she was right. It was like something out of a horror movie. It was a forest of big old looking trees with space between them but there wasn’t any noise. No birds or bugs. That was the creepy part, but it made it kind of cool.

The Old White Lion Inn where we stayed that night dated back to the 1400’s and has been used as an Inn for most of that time. It was neat to think that we were staying in a place that was used as an Inn for travelers in the 15th and 16^th Century. The floors were kind of crooked and uneven, the doorways were small, and unfortunately the shower was barely a trickle. We really needed that shower too.

When we ate dinner in the restaurant, we were telling the waitress about our walking tour and she said that a lot of Americans come over to do these tours and can’t hack it so they ride with their luggage to the next town. I asked her if she had ever walked the tours and she said, “ Oh God no, I couldn’t walk all that way”. So much for the wimpy Americans, eh?

All along the route there are churches in the villages. Because they are free to enter and usually quiet and empty, they make nice places to stop and rest while taking in some of the history and architecture.

The funniest part of our journey, and the story Becky and I both laugh about today is the bull in the field. She helps me tell the story in the podcast.

I think the physical toll was harder on Becky than it was on me. When she had the pain in her foot from the blister, she apparently had some visions of hitting me in the head with a big rock or a beating me with a stick. It was at this point that I made her walk in front of me. For some reason the song “The Scientist” was looping in my head about this time right at the part where he sings “Nobody said it was easy, No one ever said it would be this hard.”

In the morning we went to the Broadway tower. There was an English family who was apparently on a camping trip there to see the tower as tourists. I guess families everywhere are pretty much the same because the dad seemed tired and annoyed with his son and was telling him. “Life’s not all about staying in caravans and climbing tall towers, you know. I have to get back to work soon”

After we got back home Becky told everyone that she enjoyed seeing the countryside, but she wouldn’t ever take a walking trip like that again. That disappoints me a little, because I love to hike and I would do it again in a second, but I guess I’ll have to go on future hikes by myself or with other friends. At least now she says she can finally look back on the trip with good memories.

I now have a Facebook page started at facebook.com/JourneyJournalOnline. I’d love to hear from you, so please tell me what you liked, or what you want to hear more of in the podcast. Until next time, Enjoy your journey!

The post Episode 003 – A Walking Tour in the Cotswolds appeared first on Journey Journal Online.

• Colorado skiing
• Different areas of the state
• Lodging
• Other activities
• Eating
• Levels of skier
• Bring equipment or rent
• Total cost estimate
• Car rentals
• What to pack
• Shopping

The post Episode 002 – Colorado Ski Trip appeared first on Journey Journal Online.

• Introduction to your host Lee Wiegman
• Finger Lakes in the State of New York, USA. Surrounded by Syracuse, Rochester and Ithaca, and south of Lake Ontario
• Wine country, wineries and tasting
• Cheese tasting!
• Geology
• Transportation – you will want a car
• Restaurants I recommend: Restaurant at Bully Hill Winery,  Ginny Lee Cafe at Wagner Vinyard and Brewery, Halsey’s in Geneva
• web resources to search online include
  • www.flbba.org – Bed and Breakfast Association
  • www.fingerlakes.org
  • www.fingerlakes.com run by a tourism alliance group
  • www.fingerlakeswinecountry.com which I like for researching the Wine Trails and wineries.

[tb_google_map]

The post Episode 001 – Introduction – New York Finger Lakes – Visiting Wineries appeared first on Journey Journal Online.