Category: Where in The World?

Where in the World: Alpine Meadows, North Lake Tahoe

Published on by Cheryl Lock2 Comments
Looking for a new ski spot? Why not try North Lake Tahoe?

It was exciting to see one of Chris’s clients listed on the Frommer’s homepage today—Alpine Meadows. According to the write-up, Alpine Meadows is known for its low-key atmosphere and one of the best backsides in the Sierra, with 25% of its runs designated as easy, 40% as more difficult, and the remainder as black or double-black. Click the above link to see some of the great deals they have going on right now.

Bis bald!

 

Where In The World?: Cabo San Lucas

Published on by Cheryl Lock2 Comments

Let’s talk about my upcoming vacation. The second Chris gets home from Australia I told him that we’re going to sit down and discuss Mexico.

See, Mexico means a lot to me. Mexico is a trip that seems like it’s been a long time in the making. Three years ago now I decided to take a little trip for Valentine’s Day since Chris was in Canada. That was my trip to Hawaii. Then the following year Chris and I headed to the Bahamas together on our Toilet of the Sea Cruise. So you can see how in my head I had decided that going on vacation for Valentines day had become my “thing.” I liked this “thing.” So I decided that last year Chris and I should take a trip to Mexico together for Valentine’s Day.

But then this happened instead.

But I got over it. It was the trip of a lifetime for Chris, and Mexico would always be there for us to visit another time.

And that time has finally come. While Valentine’s Day weekend isn’t the best weekend for us to travel, since it’s so close to the time Chris will be getting back from Australia, we’ve decided to push it back two months—but I’ll still consider it my Valentine’s Day travel, just for the sake of it all.

I can’t really remember how we landed on Cabo. I think it may have been the photos I saw a few weeks back of a bunch of celebrities who were vacationing there. Whatever it was, I now have my heart set on Cabo, and so in honor of the impending trip, let’s talk a little bit about it.

  • Cabo is a city at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, in the municipality of Los Cabos in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur
  • According to the 2005 census, the population was 56,8111 people
  • Cabo is known for its sandy beaches, world-class scuba diving locations, balnearios, and abundant marine life
  • It is thought that the first humans came to the southern end of the peninsula 1,400 years ago
  • Cabo San Lucas is less rainy than San Jose del Cabo, although hurricanes can bring heavy rain for long periods. Average rain in the year: 9.63 inches or 244.7 mm

Bis bald, friends! I’m thinking of warm, sandy, Mexican beaches on this cold, rainy, snowy Tuesday New York City night.

Where in The World?: Dallas-Forth Worth, TX

Published on by Cheryl Lock2 Comments

Hey Super Bowl fans—are you heading to the big game this year? If you are, check out this great post on Fodor’s for ideas on what to do when you’re in Dallas-Fort Worth (you know, when you aren’t screaming at the top of your lungs at the world’s most popular football game).

And check out this lovely photo that Chris sent me as he continues his travels down under with his family:

Meat by Australia

Now that’s just mean.

Bis bald, friends!

Where In The World: Salzburg, Austria

Published on by Cheryl LockLeave a comment
Salzburg in all her glory

In honor of my upcoming trip to Munich for Oktoberfest, I thought I’d find out a little more info about the place where we have (half) decided to take our day trip to—Salzburg, Austria. Here goes nothing:

  • The Republic of Austria is landlocked in central Europe, with borders including Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, Slovenia and Italy, Switzerland and Liechtenstein
  • The capital of Austria is Vienna
  • 2010 marks the 150th birthday of the famous Austrian musician, Gustav Mahler. To honor him, a special CD edition of his work has been compiled
  • Austria is a federal republic state with a parliamentary democracy, consisting of 9 independent federal regions
  • Austria has a strong economy with machinery, metallurgical products and textiles, but the most important industry is tourism
  • Salzburg itself has approximately 142,662 inhabitants and lies 436 m above sea level
  • Salzburg is divided by the river Salzach. On the left side of the Salzach you will find the “Old Town” of Salzburg, while the “New Town” lies on the right side of the river

Bis bald, friends!

Where In The World: Point Pleasant Beach

Published on by Cheryl Lock1 Comment
Beach time, here I come

Since boyfriend and I dragged our feet just a bit too long on our vacation plans, we had to give up our grand dreams of the Everglades and Key West for something a bit more local (and less expensive than a less-minute flight to Florida). Still, we’re excited nonetheless (as is sister, who will be joining in on the shenanigans as well). So in honor of our upcoming long weekend, here’s some info we should all know about Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey:

  • Point Pleasant Beach is only 45 miles south of NYC, and is home to 5,314 residents
  • The Leni Lanape Native Americans were the original inhabitants of the area
  • Tourism began in 1800, when Thomas Cook opened a farmhouse nearby
  • During the 1870s, Captain John Arnold had a roadway built to the ocean. He also built a bridge over the Manasquan River, stretching through to Brielle.

Where In The World: Washington, D.C.

Published on by Cheryl Lock1 Comment
A past White House visit

In honor of my travels this weekend to Washington, D.C., I thought I’d throw a few fun facts about the local your way.

  • DC averages 39 inches of rainfall a year—more than rain-soaked Seattle.
  • The first official White House christmas tree was decorated by Benjamin Harrison and family.
  • Gallaudet University began the tradition of the football huddle in the 1890s in order to conceal their signed plays from the opposing team.
  • The U.S. government is based in DC, but the city is run by a mayor and the city council. The mayor and the city council members are elected to four-year terms.
  • The District of Columbia was named after Christopher Columbus.
  • The White House was being built while George Washington was in office, so he never actually lived there.
  • The famous red phone that’s depicted in many movies isn’t actually in the Oval Office—it’s in the Pentagon.
  • The Library of Congress, the biggest library in the U.S., contains 535 miles of bookshelves. In the Reading Room alone there are 45,000 reference books.
  • Woodrow Wilson is the only president to live in Washington, DC after his terms in office.
  • There are no skyscrapers in DC. Many people believe that this is because of a law saying that the Capitol was to be the tallest building in the city. In fact, the fire department put limits on building heights in 1894 because their firefighting equipment couldn’t reach high enough to keep tall buildings safe. Congress later set limits on the heights of buildings in DC, 90 feet for homes and apartments and 110 feet for office buildings. In 1989, the Height of Buildings Act was passed, ensuring that the city skyline wouldn’t be dominated by skyscrapers.
  • There is one building taller than the Capitol, the Cairo apartment building, located at the corner of 16th and Q Streets, NW. It was built before the laws were passed limiting the height of buildings. It stands 165 feet tall.
  • DC was voted the most walkable city in the U.S. in a study by the Brookings Institution in 2007

Facts Courtesy Of

Where (and WHAT?!) in the World?

Published on by Cheryl Lock2 Comments
Sure, we can go cage diving in South Africa. That's totally do-able.

Today my boyfriend sent me this link in an email titled “Maybe Some Day.”

As background, we were in good ole’ Jersey this weekend for Easter, and my step mom mentioned  how Anderson Cooper had gone diving with the sharks.

I think that set him off (although, why specifically in South Africa, I’m not sure). So, I figured, why not find out a little bit more about this cage diving in South Africa in case, you know, some day we actually do it.

First things first, you do NOT have to be a certified diver to plunge into this deep-sea adventure. And the site even brags that “it’s not unusual to see 4 meter Great Whites as they feed on the area’s large seal population.” I guess some people would think that’s a cool thing.

Gansbaii is located about 160 km southeast of Cape Town, South Africa, and a $325 package through this Cage Diver operation comes included with all activities, a guide service with certified and registered tour guides, transfers, meals including breakfast, a light lunch, snacks and post dive drinks (seriously, I’d need more than one of those) and equipment (you know, wetsuit, weightbelt, mask, air….AIR! The norm)

My favorite part of this site is their safety section, which lets us know that no serious accidents have been recorded in 10 years of cage diving (I wonder what a non-serious accident is when you’re talking about sharks).

You actually don’t have to travel all the way to Africa to enjoy some shark-snuggling, though. This specific company also offers diving opportunities in California, the Bahamas and Isla Guadalupe.

Bis bald my friends—and happy shark diving to you!

Where In The World?

Published on by Cheryl Lock1 Comment

In honor of the conclusion of NCAA March Madness, let’s teach ourselves a little bit about Indianapolis, Indiana, the home of the final game.

  • Indianapolis is the capital of Indiana, a state which, true to its motto, “Cross Roads of America,” has more miles of Interstate Highway per square mile than any other state.
  • The city of Indianapolis has a population of 876,804, and is the 13th largest city in the United States.
  • Indianapolis is 3,863 square miles.
  • The total labor force in Indiana is 923,779 people, while 5.2% of Indianapolis’ people are unemployed.
  • The average single-family home in Indianapolis costs $136,800
  • 6,311 people in Indianapolis are employed by FedEx, and 14,000 are employed by the pharmaceutical manufacturing company Eli Lilly and Company.
  • Indianapolis is home to the two largest, single-day sporting events in the world and the largest drag racing event in the world (the Indianapolis 500, the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard and the NHRA U.S. Nationals, respectively).
  • The largest children’s museum in the world lives in Indianapolis.
  • The largest clock in North America—which measures 26.5 feet tall and contains 70 gallons of water—lives in the same children’s museum.
  • Indianapolis has one of the largest Kiwanis clubs in the world.
  • Steve McQueen, Eli Lilly, David Letterman, Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, Benjamin Harrison and Jane Pauley have all lived in Indianapolis.

Where in the World?

Published on by Cheryl Lock2 Comments
A Friday Mosque overlooks Harbor Bay in capital city Moroni

I felt like learning about a new place today. So I took a quick hop, skip and click over the National Geographic site to look up African countries. Some of them seem so familiar (even though, sadly, I’ve never been to Africa…yet).

There’s Botswana, Congo, Ethiopia, Egypt, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania…the list goes on and on.

I felt like learning about Comoros, because I’ve never heard of this place before. Keep reading to see what I found out …

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