Archive for the ‘USA’ Category

Pleasant Holidays is a California based business and is considered one of the largest American travel companies. As a subsidiary of the Southern California AAA, they are on the front lines of finding great travel deals. The company’s Twitter account is run by their director of strategy and business development, Roseanne, and she tweets frequently about amazing deals and travel packages all over the world. You will also find sale announcements, travel news and tips as well as great engagement with followers. Go follow @PleasantHoliday now!

twitter, travel, usa

No matter where you go, there will be good and bad. I like to focus on the good, though, and there’s no better way to do that than to find local non-profit organizations and get involved. Here are some that I’ve had the pleasure of discovering:

1. The Peanut Pet Shelter of Playa Del Carmen: This place is a haven for feral dogs. It is a no kill shelter and it treats medically, houses and feeds dogs that need a home. During my time spent there, I’ve seen some dogs in pretty horrible shape, obviously cast aside and forgotten, I’ve seen dogs thrive, I’ve seen them die. It’s not an easy thing to do, but Andy and Jen of the Peanut Pet Shelter keep at it, every day. There are some very, very lucky dogs there.

The Peanut Pet Shelter Hosts a wash day every Saturday. If you ever find yourself in Playa Del Carmen, you need to go to the dog wash. It’s the most fun you’ll ever expect to have with a bunch of happy-go-lucky puppies, a few beers and some crazy expats. They welcome everyone and if you happen to fall in love with a particular pup, Andy and Jen will help you with everything necessary to take the lucky doggy home. Plus, you might feel compelled to donate after you meet these wonderful people, and you’re in luck, because it is a registered, tax-deductible charity in the USA and Mexico.

More info on the Peanut Pet Shelter of Playa Del Carmen:

Web Site: peanutpetshelter.org
Blog: Peanut Pet Shelter Goes Pink
Donate: peanutpetshelter.org/donations.html
Buy some cool gear: PPS Store
Find a doggy to adopt: Petfinder
Become a fan on Facebook: Peanut Pet Shelter
Follow on Twitter: @PeanutShelter or @ladiesofpeanut

2. After the Wave Foundation of Thailand: This foundation was set up by the International School Bangkok, to continue the education of young survivors of the tsunami that devastated the region in 2004. It is a registered charity in Thailand and is run by a group of educators, volunteers, alumni and community leaders. it is located in Bang Sak, Thailand.

Children who are supported have lost parents, schooling and health in the tsunami.

Traveling in the areas of Thailand that were hit by the tsunami is emotionally draining. It’s sad for obvious reasons, horrifying because you hear stories about things no human should ever have to experience or witness, and elating because you hear the stories of survival and rebuilding and community. This is one the most beautiful places in the world and the people add to that. The world gave after the tsunami, but it seems to have been forgotten since, and the saddest thing, is that the Thai people are still feeling horrible affects of it’s aftermath.

More info on the After the Wave Foundation of Thailand:

- Web Site: After The Wave Foundation
- Fan Page on Facebook: After the Wave
- YouTube: AfterTheWave
- Donate: afterthewave.org/donate_now.html

3. Make It Right Nola: Another gone but not forgotten disaster in recent history is the flooding of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. I was able to visit 2 years after the event and see that little to nothing has actually been done to clean up huge areas of the city and rebuild. The scenery was still dotted with FEMA trailers and condemned homes with emergency spray paint markings on them, or holes in the roof where the owner climbed out. It was absolutely heart-wrenching and it’s no surprise the areas that have yet to be helped are the poorer areas, specifically the Lower 9th Ward.

Enter Make It Right Nola, an organization that aims to rebuild the Lower 9th Ward. Founded by Brad Pitt after he toured the devastated area, it’s goal is to build 150 affordable, green, storm resistant homes for Lower 9th Ward families.

More info on Make It Right Nola:

Web Site: Make It Right Nola
Donate: Support Make It Right Nola
Get Gear: MIR Merchandise
Facebook Fan Page: Make It Right
Twitter: @MakeItRight_9
YouTube: makeitrightnola9

travel, non-profit, organization

For some seriously fantastic travel-related content and links to travel deals, you need to follow @ResortsLodges on Twitter. Some of the best travel articles I’ve read recently have been from this Twitter stream, like:

- Cheap Eats: The 99 best splurges in the metro under $10
- California Travel: Top 10 Things to Do After the Winery
- 7 Great American Road Trips for a Long Weekend

Go follow @ResortsLodges!

resorts, lodges, twitter, travel

Big Sur by Jack Kerouac is, in my mind, a masterpiece. Most likely because I consider Jack Kerouac my favorite author ever and for a period of time, could not be found without a copy of Dharma Bums, tattered and rolled up in one of my pockets. I am biased. I love this man’s writing. The obvious travel book by Jack Kerouac is On The Road, and while it is his most recognizable book, and his most successful, Big Sur is considered by many literary critics to be Kerouac’s masterpiece. For those of you who are fon of a more stream-of-consciousness style of writing as I am, it is easy to see why. This isn’t a pretentious, carefully-crafted, chapter-by-chapter, sprung-from-a-rigid-outline type of novel where the plot reaches a climax and there’s some neat resolution at the end. This book is an experience. You are there, with Jack Kerouac, drinking, feeling his age, experiencing the sound of the Pacific waves hitting the Northern California coast. When you completely immerse yourself in this book, you live what he is living and it’s a profound experience. He writes like people talk. He writes like a human being, with flaws, and raw, unfiltered emotion. I know that my fellow travelers out there, get that profound feeling when the stumble onto something breathtaking somewhere far from home. It’s moving, it’s mystical, it’s spiritual, it is awe-inspiring. Kerouac captures this moment so many times and by the end you’re left with nothing but desire to be standing on the cliffs of that beautiful, rugged coastline:

…this poor haunted canyon which again gives me the willies as we walk under the bridge and come to those heartless breakers busting in on sand higher than earth and looking like the heartlessness of wisdom –Besides I suddenly notice as if for the first time the awful way the leaves of the canyon that have managed to be blown to the surf are all hesitantly advancing in gusts of wind then finally plunging into the surf, to be dispersed and belted and melted and taken off to sea –I turn around and notice how the wind is just harrying them off trees and into the sea, just hurrying them as it were to death –In my condition they look human trembling to that brink –Hastening, hastening —In that awful huge roar blast of autumn Sur wind.

I actually did go to Big Sure after reading this book, and realized very quickly why this place inspired such a beautifully written book.

So, go check out Big Sur by Jack Kerouac, then pack up the car and drive to this amazing place in Northern California.

More info:

- Big Sur Chamber of Commerce
- Wikipedia
- Visitor’s Guide
- Tourism Info

jack kerouac, big sur, california, travel

This post begins a new weekly column of book recommendations. The books I will be choosing are not necessarily travel books, but are books which leave you with a strong wanderlust for a particular place. The first in this series, is Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil  by John Berendt which, when I finished it, left every inch of my soul wanting to visit Savannah, Georgia.

The book is based on true events that happened in the 80s and includes a eye-widening parade of male prostitutes, drag queens, voodoo, cemeteries and magic. It’s extremely well-written and even if you’re reading it in the most alpine of locales, it leaves you glistening as though you’ve been walking in the humid afternoon heat of Savannah. The stunning descriptions of Savannah in this book, make you long to see the Spanish moss hanging from every tree. This book is a fantastic read for true crime lovers, for the Southern-curious and for any avid traveler.

Tours have popped up in the theme of this book, and one such tour is the “Walk through Midnight” walking tour. From the web site:

Shocking soirees. Scandalous affairs. Don’t let the Southern charm fool you. Even the rumors whispered beneath dripping Spanish moss are enough to make a man blush — and it’s all true! Just another day in this eccentric city…. The Savannah Walks is proud to present “A Walk through Midnight,” a saunter through the pages of John Berendt’s runaway bestseller, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. If you love gossip, you’ll love this tour!

More on Savannah, Georgia:

• Wikipedia
• Savannah Visitor Information
• Savannah.com

midnight in the garden of good and evil, john berendt, savannah, georgia, usa, walkng tour, travel, tour, south, book

From Seared Food Blog:

Here’s how we spend the perfect New Orleans day:

First, you wake up and shake off the hangover from your Bourbon Street experience the night before. Hopefully, it’s just a mild hangover, not a crippling Mardi Gras one, and can be cured by a visit to the local greasy spoon. It’s only fitting that the best place to eat away a hangover in New Orleans is on Bourbon Street as well, because one must always return to the scene of the crime. Clover Grill is just that place and once you step inside, you’ll realize why no other place will do. The old school diner look makes you feel like you just went back in time 50 years, and you can smell the patina on the grill that’s been building since 1939. And there are cooks behind the bar who, for my fellow Truebies, are almost certainly the inspiration for Lafayette’s character in True Blood. But the food, friends, the food is what it’s all about and breakfast time at Clover Grill is magical. Buttery grits and cheesy eggs and pork fat and chicken fried steak, omelettes, biscuits and gravy. It is a hangover slaughter house and by the time you’re done, you’ll forget you even ordered that 13th hurricane last night on Bourbon street. It’s also incredibly affordable and the service is fantastic. Check out their web site: The Clover Grill

Read the rest: A Day in New Orleans

new orleans, travel, louisiana, gumbo, po’ boys, emeril lagasse, nola