Welcome to our site. Here's a link to some of out Most Popular Posts

If you like what you see why not subscribe to our RSS feed. You can also help us by bookmarking this page with any of the buttons at the bottom of each article. Follow us on Twitter for travel deals and travel related news, questions and conversations. Thanks for visiting!

Baltimore is somewhat of a shopper’s paradise with a huge variety of shopping destinations that satisfy the most die hard buyer and the most frugal window shopper at the same time. For those looking for something familiar and national retailers then a trip to Inner Harbor will satisfy your craving. Looking for something a bit unusual, both Mount Vernon and Fells Point are loaded with specialty stores and fine boutiques that are brimming with unique items. Antique shoppers have probably already heard about Antique Row on Howard Street, it’s well noted and worth a visit for those quality items that they just don’t make anymore. Read the full story

Phoenix is the perfect winter getaway for those who are looking to escape a frigid winter. The best part of a sunny vacation, especially when you’re not at the ocean, is living the high life and getting a spa treatment. Luckily, Phoenix is chock full of spas and its easy to get a day of pampering and luxury while visiting this desert oasis. Read the full story

San Diego is known for its perfect climate, perfect scenery, and perfect beaches but it’s actually also a perfect place to take your family. San Diego is just jam packed with attractions for the entire family that are exciting, educational and relaxing. Read the full story

Vancouver is a relatively young city, going back to only 1886, but it’s not without its share of sites of historical interest. Here’s a peak at a few.

Canada Place
One of Vancouver’s most well known landmarks, the five-sailed complex on the city’s waterfront was Canada’s Pavilion at the 1986 World Expo and is currently the home of the World Trade Center and the Vancouver Trade and Convention Center. It also houses a five-story movie screen, the world’s first permanent IMAX theater. Just walking around the structure gives you panoramic views of the city. Musicians play daily on the center’s West Promenade. Canada Place Website Read the full story

San Francisco is full of culture and diversity of styles. It’s nightlife reflects those differences making it an ideal destination for either enjoying an evening full of familiarity or one in which you search out a new adventure. Hip-hop, clubs, electronic music, artsy lounges, elegant nightclubs and so much more can be found every night of the week in San Francisco. Read the full story

When planning your itinerary for a London trip the first two places you think of are the “Changing of the Guards” and “Buckingham Palace.” Both, of course, you must see. However, there is so much more to see, learn and enjoy about London. Did you know about the ravens that live at the Tower of London. It’s believed that the monarchy will fall if they ever leave. Now, a royal decree protects these birds. Or, do you know who “Big Ben” was named after? Read the full story

Hong Kong: It’s the place where East meets West. A major Asian financial center that was once part of the British Empire, Hong Kong has absorbed people and cultural influences from places as diverse as Vietnam and Vancouver. Most people know it as a major shopping mecca. But there’s more to do here than open your wallet. Here’s a look.

Victoria Peak

photo credit: yeowatzup

The highest mountain in Hong Kong offers stunning views of the city and harbor by day or night. Take the 110-year-old Peak Tram up the 1,800-foot-high mountain and head to the observation platform atop Peak Tower, with 360-degree panoramic views. Also in the tower: Madame Tussaud’s Hong Kong, Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Odditorium, and the Peak Explorer Motion Simulator. Conserve enough energy to walk the one-hour circular stroll around the Peak.

Po Lin Monastery

photo credit: Mendhak

Located on Lantau Island, the monastery of Po Lin, or Precious Lotus,, is Hong Kong’s largest temple and monastery. Here you’ll find the Tian Tan Big Buddha, the world’s tallest outdoor bronze seated Buddha at 111 feet high. The 250-ton statue, which took over 10 years to complete, sits atop 268 steps overlooking lush scenery. The Po Lin Monastery attracts Buddhists and devout monks from all over Asia. Have lunch at the vegetarian dining hall served by monks and walk along the enchanting Wisdom Path.
Aberdeen

photo credit: yeowatzup

Situated at the southwestern corner of Hong Kong Island, Aberdeen is probably the oldest settlement on the island. It’s famous for its floating restaurant and the boat people who live on junks in Aberdeen Harbour. These are fishermen and women who have dwelled on boats in local waters for thousands of years. However, the Hong Kong government has invited them to disband their boats and settle on land reclaimed by the harbor which is leading to big changes in Aberdeen, though you can still see vestiges of its past. Tour the settlement in a sampan and you’ll see huge boats that house extended families. There was a time when a boat person could be born, live, marry, and die onboard, hardly ever setting foot on shore.

Man Ho Temple

photo credit: Gaetan Lee

One of Hong Kong’s oldest temples, the Man Mo Temple is dedicated to two deities; Man, the God of Literature; and Ho, the God of War. The temple, built in the mid-19th century, is a frequent stop for locals who, in an effort to bring good fortune, purchase giant coils of incense that hang from the temple’s ceiling and blanket the interior.

Chi Lin Nunnery

photo credit: McPig

A Buddhist nunnery founded in the 1930s, Chi Lin was rebuilt in 1998 using hand-crafted timber and traditional Tang dynasty (618-907 AD) construction techniques in which no nails were used. The complex contains halls of religious relics and lotus ponds. Across the street is the Nan Lian Garden, which is also built in the style of the Tang dynasty.

Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware

photo credit: KnOizKi

The museum for all things tea is housed in the oldest colonial building in Hong Kong, an 1846 house built for the commander of the British forces. The collection includes about 600 pieces of tea ware ranging from earthenware to porcelain, primarily of Chinese origin, dating from the 7th century to the present day.

Hong Kong Museum of Art

photo credit: unforth

The museum houses some of the world’s finest examples of ancient Chinese art from the Han to the Qing dynasties. The museum features a wide collection of calligraphy as well as ceramics, bronzes, jade, cloisonné, lacquerware, bamboo carvings, textiles and paintings dating from the 16th century to the present. Works are arranged in five permanent galleries on three floors of exhibit space, plus two galleries devoted to changing exhibits.

Ocean Park

photo credit: KnOizKi
The world’s largest oceanarium is located on 170 acres of land on Hong Kong and consists of two sections: a lowland site and a headland site connected by a cable car.

The lowland is subdivided into several areas and attractions including the Dinosaur Discovery Trail, with 17 lifelike models of dinosaurs and Kids’ World, with rides, playgrounds, remote-control cars and boats, shows geared toward children, and shooting-games arcade.

Overlooking the South China Sea on the top of the headland is the Ocean Theater, the largest marine mammal theater in the world, with a capacity of 4,000 people and a giant pool large enough for dolphins and killer whales. Nearby Wave Cove is home to dolphins, sea lions, seals, penguins, and numerous sea birds. Atoll Reef, the largest aquarium in the world, houses about 30,000 sea creatures on three different levels of viewing galleries. The headland also features an amusement park with numerous rides, a high-tech theater containing 100 hydraulic seats that tilt forward, backward, left, and right and Ancient World, a trail with interactive displays that recreates seven scenic zones of the primeval equatorial rain forests.

Star Ferry

photo credit: acme

Traveling on Star Ferry across Victoria Harbor has been named by the National Geographic as one of the “fifty places of a lifetime.” It’s the ultimate Hong Kong experience. These vessels have been transporting passengers for over 100 years and are still one of the cheapest forms of transportion, costing $HK2.20 for the upper deck or HK$1.70 for the lower deck. The Star Ferry is a double-decker vessel recreation of the ferries of the 1920s that were the major passenger connection between Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula.

Temple Street Night Market

photo credit: tracyhunter

Here you’ll find stalls selling clothing, pens, watches, CDs, cassettes, electronic gadgets, hardware and luggage. Keep your eye out for inexpensive silk items like scarves or ties. But even if you don’t want to buy, it’s worth a trip for the atmosphere alone. Fortune-tellers cluster at the Yau Ma Tei end of the street, as do Chinese opera singers who put on impromptu performances. It is open from 4pm to midnight, but really comes alive after sunset.

Tsim Sha Tsui

photo credit: McPig

Tsim Sha Tsui has the greatest concentration of shops in a city known for fabulous shopping. Nathan Road, which runs the length of Kowloon, and the streets radiating off of it is home to shops selling everything from clothing to jewelry to electronics to Chinese crafts. There are also department stores, and shopping malls.

photo credit: jpvargas

Children’s Museum of Cleveland

Children’s Museum of Cleveland, dedicated to children up to eight years of age, the museum hosts numerous traveling exhibits as well as several permanent exhibits such as “Splish Splash,” which teaches children about water transportation, weather and the earth’s water systems. It features a two-story climbing structure, a kaleidoscope and the Weather Forecast Center where children learn how water affects the weather. They can also use the anchor desk to present their own forecast in front of a camera.

Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad

Cayahuga Valley Scenic Railroad, Ride the rails from Cleveland to Akron, and Canton while enjoying the views of Ohio’s only national park, the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

Many different trips are offered, from round-trip train rides under two hours to longer trips that include a ranger-led hike. Some excursions offer the chance to visit Hale Farm & Village, Stan Hywet, the National Inventors Hall of Fame, Akron Zoo, Quaker Square, or the Hartville Flea Market and Hartville Marketplace. Trains leave from Rockside Station (Independence), Peninsula Depot Visitor Center, and Akron Northside Station. Call (800) 468-4070 for more information.

Open from 10 am to 5 pm daily, admission is $7 for children aged 1-12 and $6 for anyone 13 and under.

Cleveland Botanical Garden

Cleveland Botanical Garden

Cleveland Botanical Garden, ten gardens and a conservatory are among the attractions here which include the Hershey Children’s Garden, a Japanese Garden featuring a dry rock stream, the Mary Ann Sears Swetland Rose Garden, Western Reserve Herb Society Garden, a Woodland Garden, Elizabeth and Nona Evans Restorative Garden, Campsey-Stauffer Gateway Garden, and the CK Patrick Perennial Garden.

The Eleanor Armstrong Smith Glasshouse features two displays: The Spiny Desert of Madagascar and the Lush Forest of Costa Rica. In the latter, you can see 50 different native butterflies, which are released into the ecosystem every day at 2 pm. In the former, you’ll see native plants plus a variety of creatures seen nowhere else on earth.

From April through October, the garden is open Monday - Saturday from 10am to 5:00 pm and on Sundays from Noon to 5 pm. On Wednesday the garden stays open until 9 pm. Admission is $7.50 for adults, $5.50 for seniors and members of groups of 15 or more, and $3 for children 3-12. During the winter months, the garden is closed on Mondays. Hershey Children’s Garden closes for the winter on November 1.
photo credit: stu_spivack

Cleveland Metroparks Zoo

Cleveland Metroparks Zoo

Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, one of the oldest in the United States, the zoo maintains a collection of domestic and exotic animals from around the world, including the largest collection of primate species in North America. The zoo is also a botanic garden.

Favorite exhibits include the African elephants, the “Wolf Wilderness” exhibit and the Rain Forest, a two-acre, two-story indoor tropical oasis with more than 6,000 plants and over 600 animals from the tropical regions of Asia, Africa, and the Americas.

The zoo is open every day except Christmas and New Year’s Day. Admission is $10 for adults and $6 for children under 12 from april through October. The rest of the year, admission is $7 for adults and $5 for children.
photo credit: Yvonne in Willowick Ohio

Cleveland Museum of Natural History

Fossil From Cleveland Museum of Natural History

Cleveland Museum of Natural History, You’ll find a variety of exhibits here covering everything from dinosaurs to moon rocks to Foucault’s pendulum. A favorite permanent exhibit is “Lucy,” the partial skeleton of 3.2 million-year-old Australopithecus afarensis discovered in 1974 by a group of scientists that included the museum’s then curator, Donald Johanson. The remains of this species of human ancestor have provided valuable clues as to when and why humans began to walk upright and evolve larger brains. Visitors can see a cast of the original skeletal materials and reconstruction of what Lucy’s full skeleton might have looked.The museum also houses a planetarium and a wildlife center.

Admission is $9 for adults; $7 for seniors, college students with ID, seniors and kids aged 7 to 18; and $6 for kids 3-6.
photo credit: fractalmind

Cleveland Police Museum

Cleveland Police Museum, the museum’s permanent exhibits look at all aspects of policing. Inside the museum you will find a countless number of fascinating firsts that the Cleveland Police have developed; like the very first police call box, or the first closed circuit camera which was used in banks to photograph unsuspecting criminals. Thousands of old photos and intriguing stories of the officers that were a part of the solutions are found here as well.

Visitors can learn about the history of policing as well as famous crimes that have taken place in Ohio. Some displays, like the Death Masks of victims of the notorious “torso murderer,” may be too graphic for very young visitors.

The museum is open from 10 am to 4 pm, Monday-Friday.

Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum

Crawford Auto Aviation Museum

Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum showcases nearly 200 antique, vintage, and classic automobiles, motorcycles, bicycles, automobile culture and aircraft. The Crawford collection is one of the top ten in the nation, according to Car Collector magazine. The Crawford also holds a dozen historically significant airplanes.

Call ahead to arrange to take a guided tour of the Macedonia Preservation Facility which stores vehicles not currently on display in the museum and oversized vehicles in the collection that are too large to be displayed in the Crawford.

The Crawford s open Monday through Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm and Sunday, noon to 5 pm. Admission is $8.50 for adults, $7.50 for seniors, and $5.00 for students. The admission fee includes entry to the History Museum and Library and Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum. The fee to park in the museum lot is $8.
photo credit: Craig Hatfield

Dittrick Museum of Medical History

Dittrick Museum of Medical History, focuses on the development of medicine in the greater Cleveland area. Exhibits include: Diagnostic Instruments, Doctor’s Office 1870s, Doctor’s Office 1930’s, Early Medical Practice and Education, Hospital Medicine, 1865-1920, Laboratory Medicine 1865-1920, Microscopes, Pharmacy 1880’s, Medicine 1895-1950, Surgery and Obstetrics Instruments.

The museum is open from 10 am to 5 pm, Monday-Friday. Admission is free.

Great Lakes Science Center

Great Lakes Science Center

Great Lakes Science Center, this museum has more than 400 hands on exhibits including an eight-foot-high indoor tornado; the Bridge of Fire, a static generator generates 200,000 volts of electric current and causes your hair to stand on end; an information technology gallery that allows visitors to manipulate digital images and ride a virtual hang glider; and an entire floor devoted to the environment of the Great Lakes.

The center is open from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm daily. There are a variety of admission packages. photo credit: heather0714

NASA Glenn Research Center Visitor Center

NASA Glenn Research Center Visitor Center

NASA Glenn Research Center Visitor Center, the center features six galleries with interactive displays and exhibits. Visitors can participate in a countdown to a shuttle launch, pilot their own supersonic jet or conduct mocrogravity experiments. A tribute to Ohio native John Glenn features hoto exhibits, spacecraft models and two spacesuit replicas.

The visitor center is open every day, except New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Call (216) 433-2000 for more information. photo credit: stu_spivack

Cleveland Indians Progressive Field Tour

Cleveland Indians Progressive Field Tour

Progressive (formerly Jacobs) Field Tour, even if you’re not a fan of the Cleveland Indians, the tour is worth the trip. Tours leave from the Cleveland Indians Team shop and tour the following areas: The Bullpen, the Press Box, a Party Suite, the Club Lounge, the Indians Dugout, Heritage Park and the indoor batting cages. The tours are wheelchair accessible.

Tours are available Monday-Friday at !:30 pm, Saturdays at 10:30 am, 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 pm from April 14 - June 6 and in September. From June 7-30, July and August, tours are available
Monday through Saturday every hour from 10:30 am until 1:30 pm. Admission is $7.50 for adults and $5.50 for seniors and kids 14 and under.
photo credit: Sonnett

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, made up of thousands of artifacts, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum’s permanent collection features a number of exhibits, including:

• 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll
• Music of Ohio
• On the Charts
• Jimi Hendrix
• Rock and Roll’s Early Years
• R-E-S-P-E-C-T
• Hall of Fame
• Architects of Rock
• The Roots of Rock and Roll
• Rockin’ All Over the World
• The Evolution of Audio Technology

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is open 363 days a year, every day from 10 am to 5:30 pm. On Wednesdays, you can tour the Museum until 9 p.m. Closed Thanksgiving and Christmas.
photo credit: zoonabar

Rockefeller Greenhouse

Rockefeller Greenhouse,  initially used solely for growing the plants used to landscape City parks and gardens, the greenhouse has evolved into a Botanical garden with specialty plant collections, seasonal floral displays and theme gardens, including:

• The Japanese Garden: Developed in the 1960s, this garden recreates a Japanese courtyard with bamboo hut and pond. Of special interest is the Dawn Redwood tree, which was grown from one of six seeds brought from Japan.
• The Betty Ott Talking Garden: Plants here are chosen for their appeal to all the senses. A raised bed invites visitors to touch and smell the plants, and signs give information in Braille type. This is one of only a few such gardens in the country.
• The Mall: A traditional formal garden with clipped hedges and corner statues representing the four seasons.
• The Latin American Garden: A showcase for cacti, succulents, flowering plants and tropical fruits found in Central and South America.
• The Peace Garden features an old-fashioned gazebo as well as rose, herb, and perennial gardens.

The greenhouse is open daily from 10 am to 4 pm. Parking and admission are free.

Steamship William G. Mather Museum

Steamship William G. Mather Museum, the William G. Mather is a retired Great Lakes bulk freighter built in Detroit by the Great Lakes Engineering Works, River Rouge, Michigan in 1925. The flagship for the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company, the Mather remained an active part of the fleet until 1980. Visitors can explore the ship’s living quarters, the pilothouse, galley, and four-story engine room.

USS Cod Submarine

USS Cod Submarine

USS Cod Submarine, a World War II submarine docked on Lake Erie, the USS Cod is designated Cod a National Historic Landmark and dedicated to the submariners who lost their lives during the 100 year history of the United States Navy Submarine Force.

Considered one of the finest restored submarines on display, the Cod is the only U.S. submarine that has not had stairways and doors cut into her pressure hull for public access. Instead, visitors use the same vertical ladders and hatches that were used by her crew. All of the vessel’s seven war patrols were designated as “successful” and the submarine received seven battle stars and was credited with having sunk a total of 26,985 tons of Japanese shipping.

The submarine is open for visitors daily from May through September from 10 am to 5 pm. Admission is $6 for adults, $5 for senions and $3 for students and military with ID.

photo credit: Nick Bair

main photo credit: photo credit: Charles Burkett

Las Vegas: It’s a city of celebrity chefs and and All-U-Can-Eat buffets and everything in between. Here’s a look at 20 of the best, ranging from the best sandwich shop in town to the priciest among the priciest gourmet fare. Read the full story

New York City has something for every appetite. And as a top vacation destination for families, naturally it must offer a variety of family-friendly dining options. If you’re headed to New York city with your family soon and don’t want to visit the same old chain restaurants you have at home, or sacrifice good taste for keeping the kids happy, here are some restaurants to put on your list.

Read the full story