Go Herd! Washington DC road trip thoughts

Rumor has it that the Thundering Herd may be headed to Washington DC for a football game in December. Here’s a hotel for consideration.

The Hotel Harrington is my choice for most folks traveling to Washington DC. Admittedly it is a well used older tourist hotel but you can beat the value and location. Located at 436 11th Street, N.W. it is in the heart of a restaurant and shopping district. It features 245 guest rooms, including 26 extra large family rooms. It is just ½ block from Pennsylvania Avenue, between the Capitol and the White House.

DC is a great walking city especially when you use the public transportation to get to the various neighborhoods. Be sure to check out the DC Metro and there is a stop near RFK stadium. But let’s start our stroll from the Harrington.

Walk four blocks west and tour the White House. Then go south across the green grass of the Ellipse to the Washington Monument; turn west and pass beneath stately trees to the Lincoln and Vietnam Memorials.

Another day, walk two blocks south to the Mall and see the American History Museum, the Natural History Museum, the Air & Space Museum, the National Gallery of Art - there is always more to see.

Tour Ford's Theater or the FBI headquarters one block east of the Harrington; five blocks further east brings you to the Pension Building, home of the Building Museum. Look inside to see the most spectacular interior space in Washington. The US Capitol and the Library of Congress are further east, half an hour's walk from the Harrington, or take the Metro, Washington's subway, two blocks north of the Hotel.

You may want to reserve some rooms today

Be kind to your travel agent and get out of town!

Friday's Fare Finds

Costa Cruises offers a 15-day transatlantic cruise departing on Dec 5th 2009 with cabins starting at $599.00 per person. That’s food, meals, entertainment and port calls for $38.00 a person per day! Visit Spain, Portugal, Antilles and the Dominican Republic and sail the Atlantic!

Be kind to your travel agent and get out of town!

Latin American cultural festival in Cincy this weekend

Cincinnati’s Museum Center at Union Terminal heats up this weekend with a
Latin American cultural festival. Art, music, and food fill the rotunda on Saturday and Sunday. There will also be a Latin American marketplace where you can shop for authentic goods.

This event is part of the Museum’s Passport to the World programming. These events give visitors an inside-look into the beauty and richness of cultures from around the globe. Each culture fest provides a glimpse into that culture’s arts and heritage through displays, cultural presentations, performances and merchandise, and provides a forum for interacting and learning with community members of different backgrounds. All culture fests are free and open to the public.

Got travel questions? Email thetravelprofessor@gmail.com.

Hot dog flavored potato chips?

One item I sampled at the Fabulous Food Show was Shearer’s Home Run Hot Dog flavored potato chip. According to the company “Shearer’s Rippled Home Run Hot Dog Potato Chips are loaded with the classic taste of a flavor of plump, juicy Sugardale® beef wiener smothered with mustard and relish.” Sorry guys but I struck out on this one. I’ll wait for next summer and a real stadium dog at the ole ball park.

I would love to see how potato chips are made but was disappointed that they did not offer a factory tour. But they do have what looks like an interesting company store so a visit to the Shearer’s Potato Chip Company Store is on my schedule for next summer.

Many companies offer factory tours and I’ve discovered that these to be fun, informative (and often free and/or inexpensive) educational activities. To locate these I go to the company home and search for “factory tour” or “visitors centers”

Be kind to your travel agent and get out of town!

Destination: The island of Hispaniola

Christopher Columbus landed on Hispaniola on December 5, 1492 and named it La Isla Española, "The Spanish Island," which was eventually Anglicized to Hispaniola. It is said that when he first laid eyes on its shores, he termed it "La Perle des Antilles" or "the Pearl of the Caribbean."

The island is the second largest island of the West Indies, with an area of 29,418 square miles (76,192 square km). To its west is Cuba, southwest is Jamaica, and Puerto Rico is to the east. The Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands lie to the northwest. Haiti occupies the western third of the island, the remaining eastern two-thirds of the island make up the Dominican Republic.

Be kind to your travel agent & get out of town!

Got travel questions? Email thetravelprofessor@gmail.com.

The Fabulous Food Show

Cleveland’s Fabulous Food Show was well...uh... just fabulous! As an ex Food Network celebrity chef would say my expectations were “bam” blown away! I was able to watch Sandra Lee and Tyler Florence wow the crowds with entertaining and engaging cooking presentations.

Any foodie would love this event! There were plenty of opps to view celeb chefs both national & local cook on the main stage/kitchen and the side kitchens.

Free samples of meats, cheeses, sauces and much more flowed throughout the main show room. I ate my ways through the many aisles that were stocked by vendors displaying their wares.

Plenty of locally grown produce and/or made fresh in Ohio products were available to taste and purchase. I could spend a couple of days touring the farms and shops that presented their goods.

True foodies need to keep early November 2010 free so they partake in the next Fabulous Food Show!

Be kind to your travel agent & get out of town!

Celebrating "the birth of the Blues" in Memphis

Today is the “Birthday of the Blues!” W.C. Handy, often called the "Father of the Blues," was born in Memphis TN on Nov 16th 1873.

In Memphis today Beale Street still rules as the house of blues! For music lovers this is a must visit!

Be kind to your travel agent and get out of town!

The PT Cruiser is packed and I’m off to the Fabulous Food Show in Cleveland OH.

This show returns to Cleveland’s I-X Center on November 13-15, 2009. The event features appearances by celebrity chefs, cooking demonstrations by local chefs, wine and food tastings, and lots more to interest Northeast Ohio food lovers.

Yummy!

Be kind to your travel agent and get out of town!

Happy "happy hour" day!

Today November 12th commemorates the 1st recorded happy hour way back in 1745! Of course it was held at a pub in Ireland!

Cheers! Enjoy a pint today at your favorite pub!