USA Travel Guide

It’s a children’s museum that a parent can love, it’s a nationally accredited zoo, it’s a top downtown Dayton, Ohio attraction, and it has a name you can set your watch by: the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery brings a whole lot of “yes” to the Midwest. Let’s check it out together.

The history of the Boonshoft tendrils all the way back to the 1800’s, when the Dayton Museum of Natural History first began. Actually, the Natural History Museum was the history of the Boonshoft for nearly 100 years, when the idea for a dedicated children’s museum finally crept its way onto the scene

Noting their similar goals, the Dayton Museum of Natural History and this new children’s museum combined from day one to create the Dayton Museum of Discovery. The museum was later named for majority benefactor Oscar Boonshoft.

With no other zoo, aquarium, planetarium or science center in town, the Boonshoft Museum of Discover sets out to do it all and succeeds admirably. Bring along the kids or simply visit yourself for a day of fun and learning at any age.

So what do we like:

• Wild Ohio Zoo – this AZA-accredited “zoo within a museum” is modest in scope, but always a worthwhile visit. While I’m partial to the creepies and crawlies, the two river otters are the most popular exhibit.
• Tidal Pool – if aquatic animals are your bag, the Tidal Pool offers a chance to meet sea stars, sea cucumbers, anemones and more.
• Science on a Sphere – this hi-tech exhibit consists of a large animated globe that is used to display fascinating shows about our planet and solar system. Kind of an IMAX in reverse. See it in action (not from the Boonshoft).
• Mead Tree House – it must be the boy in me, but tree houses are awesome. This artificial tree house is a children-geared exhibit, so if you’ve got the little ones in tow, don’t skip it.

The museum regularly hosts temporary and traveling exhibits. View the current schedule.

The Boonshoft Museum of Discovery in Dayton, Ohio is open daily but for a few holidays, and better yet, it’s way affordable. Only $8.50 for adults and $7.50 for children (2-12). As you can probably guess, the Boonshoft is a popular field trip destination, so I recommend calling ahead and trying to dodge the school groups. Learn more.

Hotels in Dayton, Ohio:
Stay less than 2 miles away at the Ramada Plaza Dayton Hotel. The hotel features a free area shuttle the travels to the museum as well as a kid-friendly Atrium Fun Center for swimming, games and play. A good choice for families in a business-minded city. Learn more about the Ramada Plaza Dayton Hotel.

Have fun!

Not even back on the grind a month and already some school districts have recess in their eyes. Here in Texas we don’t have that. You’ve got your winter break, your spring break and that’s it! This whole “February Recess” that some states do is downright scandalous.

Massachusetts has a February Recess coming up, and families looking for a little mini-vaykay (or staykay) are looking toward the epicenter of family entertainment: Boston, Massachusetts. Here are some Boston staycation ideas and packages for February Recess in 2010.

New England Aquarium
One of the best and certainly most attended aquariums in the nation, Bostonians and other area residents are lucky to have the New England Aquarium on their doorstep. On the world stage, the aquarium is known for its incredible contributions to conservation and the overall vision of modern aquaria, but as guests what you’ll really love is the more than 20,000 fascinating sea creatures that call the NEA home. Don’t miss our favorite, the “temporary since 2004″ Amazing Jellies exhibit. Why? Because jellyfish are awesome!

Info: 1 Central Wharf, Boston, MA, 02110, open daily, Web site
Hotel: Holiday Inn Boston at Beacon Hill
Package: Staycation Aquarium Package

• Overnight accommodations
• 2 adult and 2 child passes to the New England Aquarium
• Kids under 12 eat free with dining adult

Learn more about this New England Aquarium package.

Boston Museum of Science
Another world-renowned institution in this historic city. Like the New England Aquarium, the Boston Museum of Science has a global reputation for the quality of its exhibits and a history tracing back to the beginning of modern science museums. More importantly, they always have something new to see. The current exhibit, running through the end of February Recess in fact, is “Harry Potter: The Exhibition“. Advanced reservations recommended.

Info: 1 Science Park, Boston, MA, 02114, open daily, Web site
Hotel: Holiday Inn Boston at Beacon Hill
Package: Boston Museum Value Package

• Overnight accommodations
• 4 general admission tickets to Boston Museum of Science
• Kids under 12 eat free with dining adult

Learn more about the Boston Museum of Science package.

You can learn more about the hotel itself using the links above, or you can check out a first hand account by MomGenerations blogger Audrey McClelland. She actually made a video about her stay at the Holiday Inn Boston at Beacon Hill. Check it out.

Enjoy your Boston staycation!

With highs in the 20’s and nearby Dollywood closed for the season, you might think Pigeon Forge, Tennessee is no place to be. On the contrary, there’s still plenty going on in this cozy resort destination at the foot of the Great Smoky Mountains. One of our favorite area attractions is inside and open year-round. Join us at Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies.

Driving through Gatlinburg, you certainly can’t miss the humongous structure, A-framed roofs stretching to the sky and dwarfing everything around them. Inside is no less impressive, with thoroughly modern facilities and tanks housing more than 10,000 sea dwellers from over 350 species (and possibly many more, depending on the special exhibit).

Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies is nothing pretentious, and they don’t trade quality for razzle-dazzle. Despite what you might be thinking with the brand name attached, this is actually a low-key but very high quality aquarium.

Your time is split up into a number of themed exhibits (no surprise there). In the rainforest exhibit, probably the first you’ll see, discover some of Mother Nature’s most vivid creatures like poison dart frogs, cardinal tetras and the fierce red-bellied piranha. The next exhibit, Deep Ocean, houses some of my favorites: giant octopi, West Coast sea nettles (a large jellyfish), and the unbelievable weedy sea dragon with its strange seaweed-like protrusions.

If you’re ready for a ride, head to the most popular exhibit: Shark Lagoon. A slowly strolling glide-path carries you past a 2 million-gallon tank packed with every manner of sea life, but none more stunning than the sand tiger sharks, which drift menacingly amongst the sprawl. You can hop on the moving path as much as like – I think they just put it there because otherwise the kids would never leave.

Speaking of kids, if you’re visiting with little ones, don’t pass up a visit to the Discovery Center. The center is given over to hands-on games, exhibits and educational modules, not to mention a live horseshoe crab touch tank. Just remember, to look at the underside of a horseshoe crab is to look at madness itself.

More hands-on fun can be had at the Stingray Bay. A shallow lagoon allows guests to pet the safer specimens, while a large tank holds the most impressive rays, including the best-named fish of all, the Bowmouth Guitarfish. And finally, in one unusual attraction, you can step behind the scenes to see not the animals, but the nuts and bolts of the facilities themselves. Explore the massive banks of computers and imposing filtration tanks that keep the whole aquarium running. A cool choice for you folks who just have to know how stuff works.

Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies is open year-round. Regular adult tickets cost $19.99, or you can purchase a combo ticket online that also includes admission to a selected number of partnered attractions – Ripley’s Believe it or Not, Ripley’s Haunted Adventure, Ripley’s Moving Theatre, etc. Learn more.

Although the aquarium is located in Gatlinburg, we almost always stay in nearby Pigeon Forge for a central location to just about everything. For hotels in Pigeon Forge, TN, we often stay on the Parkway at Vacation Lodge. It fits the aquarium’s theme of simple, dependable quality over needless flash.

Have a fun time at Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies!

From the Caribbean heat of Miami Beach to the exuberant family fun of Orlando, the state of Florida is one of the nation’s most diverse vacation destinations. Even more importantly, it’s also one of the most diverse ecological destinations, with regions comparable even to South American rainforests.

Among these, the sadly narrowing dollop of natural wetlands we call the Everglades stand leagues beyond the rest, robust to this day with remarkable creatures, one-of-a-kind fauna and yet-to-be-discovered life. The Everglades are best known as a far South Florida attraction, but in fact their northern peak stretches over 150 miles north of Florida’s southern tip to a place called the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge. That’s where we’re headed today.

The Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge: big in name, big in size, big in relevance. The 143,874-acre refuge sprawls over Florida plain, Cypress swamp and a sweeping cross-section of natural Florida marshland. The area is so large and so abundant, in fact, that only a small portion of it need be made available to the public. The remainder is closed off for preservation and research.

What people do with what little we’ve been given is dive into a world of endless ecological wealth. Here are just a few popular attractions that draw visitors week after week to the refuge:

• Sightseeing trails
• Observation tower
• Bird watching / wildlife watching
• Photography
• Canoeing / kayaking
• Sport fishing
• Waterfowl hunting
• Bicycling
• Ecological tours

Of course, this being a nationally protected reserve, all of these attractions and activities are strictly regulated, with rules dictating the place and time for each. Waterfowl hunting in particular is closely watched and regulated, so follow the rules to avoid getting a ticket.

If you’re happy just to see the animals and don’t feel a need to murder them, you’re in real luck. The Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge is home to hundreds of distinct bird species, including beautiful herons, egrets, wood storks and wading birds. If gamier sights are your bag, hit one of the canoe trails for an up close and personal sight of the American alligator, still alive in abundance throughout the marsh.

The Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge is open daily, sunrise to sunset, however areas may be closed without notification due to season, weather or various park reasons. The refuge is technically free to visit, although there is a $5 per vehicle entrance fee (no vehicle, no fee). Vehicle movement around the refuge is strictly limited; you’ll be better off parking it and traveling on foot to whatever you need. Learn more.

We fully support getting back to nature and discovering the beauty, the majesty and the importance of our natural ecosystems. But hey, idyllic island beaches are natural too, right?

That’s why we can in good conscience recommend a day at Loxahatchee and then a night at beautiful Singer Island, just 30 miles away. The upscale resort island located on Florida east coast offers many resorts, but we’re fans of the Hilton Singer Island Oceanfront Resort. They welcome you with all the resort amenities you desire, and often at a surprisingly reasonable price.

Have fun at the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge!

With Halloween now behind them, most amusement parks are finally closing for the season. Maybe they’ll open back up for Christmas – maybe – but what about this weekend? What are you going to do with the kids now?

In times like these, we at USA Travel Guide look to our favorite year-round attractions: zoos. When theme parks and water parks throw in the towel, the zoos keep their doors open for families needing that fun-filled Saturday afternoon. Let’s look at another favorite together.

The San Francisco Zoo isn’t the largest we’ve featured, but it’s got cozy appeal, beautiful grounds and a few special features that keep the kids begging to return. Of course, the animals are the star of this show, and the habitats are designed well to show them off. Popular animal exhibits feature red kangaroos, African lions, the ever-sleepy Koalas, lemurs, gorillas, the relatively humongous tiger salamanders, giant millipedes, great one-horned rhinos and the always-impressive grizzly bears. Be at the grizzly paddock at feeding time, around 11:00 a.m., for a fearsome show.

My favorite part of the San Francisco Zoo is actually the zoo within the zoo: the Insect Zoo. What began as a temporary exhibit has become one of the zoo’s most popular stops. This indoor habitat packs creepies and crawlies enough to make your every last neck hair stand on end. Centipedes, tarantulas, Madagascar hissing cockroaches, velvet ants, walkingsticks, harvester ants and bees are just a small sample of what you might see.

So there’s plenty to see, but there’s also lots to do. The historic 1921 Dentzel Carousel is a kid-favorite, as is the Little Puffer miniature steam train. Enjoy a scenic ride around the zoo aboard an authentic, if small, steam train. You can also purchase a storybook key for $3 which unlocks fun stories and facts about the animals at select paddocks. Having to pay for it feels, well, unsporting to me, but at least it’s a one-time charge. You can always use the same key on return visits.

The San Francisco Zoo is open daily, roughly 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., barring inclement weather. Adult admission is $15. Feeding and special exhibits hours and availability are subject to change. Learn more.

The zoo is located near our favorite district in San Francisco, Fisherman’s Wharf. This is also a great place to stay, because you can walk or catch the famous cable cars to so many locations. For San Francisco hotels in Fisherman’s Wharf, we like: 

• Holiday Inn San Francisco Fisherman’s Wharf
• Holiday Inn Express Fisherman’s Wharf

Have a great time at the San Francisco Zoo!

Fun Fact
The San Francisco Zoo is the birthplace of Stephen Jr., an American bald eagle named for Comedy Central personality Stephen Colbert. Stephen Jr. has since been released to the wild.

The Vanishing Texas River Cruise by Canyon of the Eagles is a Texas Hill Country institution. Residents of the area, even those who’ve never been, have likely heard of it, and heard good things, too. We’ve mentioned it in passing in a previous post, but I think it’s high time we head back for a closer look.

Canyon of the Eagles is a rustic lodge and nature park set on 940 acres of untamed Texas Hill Country. There are attractions aplenty, from exploring the wilderness to fishing Lake Buchanan, but no doubt the star of any Texas Hill Country vacation is a Vanishing Texas River Cruise.

A year-round treat that truly changes with the seasons, the Vanishing Texas River Cruise takes guests on a 2 to 4-hour cruise over Lake Buchanan and up the calm Colorado River for incredible nature and wildlife sightings. And if you time it right, you can see a whole lot more, too.

Your options depend on the season:

• Scenic Wilderness Cruise – March to October – this classic cruise covers 22 miles of scenic goodness; waterfalls, cliffs, birds and more.
• Fall Foliage Cruise – September – November – It’s not just for the Northeast any more. See the leaves in turn on this remarkable cruise, offered just two and a half month of the year.
• Sunset Dinner Cruise – May – October – Live music and a delicious meal help “flavor” this evening cruise up the Colorado.
• Winery Tour & Cruise – Year-round – An epicurean favorite, this cruise includes a tour and tasting at the Fall Creek Vineyards.

That’s just a sample. There are also bald eagle cruises, fishing charters and special cruises for droughts/low water conditions. You can even rent the boat and host events. Even weddings!

The Vanishing Texas River Cruise Company stresses time and again that their cruises sell out. So, they recommend you make your reservations early. Just after you make your reservations at Canyon of the Eagles would be best. Learn more about this attraction.

In fact, you might even be able to make those reservations at the same time. As the official hotel of Vanishing Texas River Cruises, the Canyon of the Eagles Lodge often features specials including cruises and discounts. View their current Texas Hill County vacation packages.

Have fun!

I can’t decide what caused us more trouble, putting the Columbus Zoo ahead of San Diego in our Top 10 Zoos in America feature, or putting the Lion Country Safari all the way up at #3.

Whichever way, we meant it then, and we still love the place today. I think it’s finally time we take a closer look at our own #3 zoo in America, the Lion Country Safari African Adventure.

The first drive-through safari park in the country, Lion Country Safari is something you feel like you know. From The Simpsons to Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, the image of groups and families trekking the golden plains of Africa, or a facsimile thereof, in search of the unadorned wild is a part of American pop culture.

The trend never took off in a major way, but the best is still in business, and we’re happy to have it.

Lion Country Safari has expanded to include a “walk-through safari” (i.e. a zoo), but the original attraction is still the highlight. The massive preserve is divided into seven sections cultivated and fashioned after various distinct regions in Africa, South American and India.

The king of the jungle, and this park, is the mighty African Lion. The pride is kept in its own paddock, called the Gorongosa Reserve, for fairly obvious reasons: lions would happily eat most of the rest of the park. A trip to Gorongosa is a consistent fan favorite and something you shouldn’t miss.

Not far off you’ll trek the famous Serengeti Plains, home of ostriches, wildebeests and majestic African Elephants, the largest of all land animals. Be sure to continue your journey into the Hwange National Park, where some of the most famous creatures of African are free to roam about. White Rhinoceroses, Zebras, Chimpanzees, Giraffes – you’ll see them all.

That’s just a sample. You can bet there’s plenty more to discover, so don’t forget your camera!

Price of admission also includes access to Safari World, a walk-through park featuring several species of bird, monkey, goat, snake and many more. Safari World also diversifies the experience with feeding exhibits, carnival rides, a river cruise attraction and concessions. It’s no substitute, but included with the regular admission, Safari World is worth a walk.

Lion Country Safari is open year-round. Regular admission is $24, and there’s a lot of value packed into those dollars. We recommend viewing the FAQ for tips visiting the park, or head straight to the main page here.

For hotels near West Palm Beach and Lion Country Safari, we like the Hilton Singer Island Oceanfront Resort. Located on Singer Island, a beach resort destination, the Hilton is one of the most family-friendly options in the area. They’ve even got a package featuring tickets.

Have fun.

It’s not time for our list of the top 10 aquariums in America just yet, but that doesn’t mean we can’t start picking our favorites. The New York Aquarium at historic Coney Island is a decided contender. Awesome attractions, spirited staff, charming surroundings and a volume of history to boot – how can we not give this zoological landmark some love?

First opened in Battery Park all the way back in 1896, the New York Aquarium is the country’s oldest continually-operating aquarium. At the time, the aquarium was located in an adapted form the Park’s Castle Clinton, and the gorgeous site (see image) became New York’s most popular attraction.

Controversially, the 1941 construction of the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel forced the aquarium’s relocation to nearby Coney Island, where it sits today. While the new digs may never capture the magnificence of that original site (come on, it was in a freakin’ castle), what’s done is done, and any New Yorker or visitor will tell you that the New York Aquarium still has lots to love.

Today the aquarium is home to more than 8,000 animals across about 350 species. The full breadth of the ocean has come for a swim: sea lions, horseshoe crabs, stingrays, penguins, walruses, sea turtles, sharks, jellyfish, a giant octopus and gobs of fish are on display. Even after seeing them all, you’ll want to go back again.

Our favorite, your favorite, everyone’s favorite is the tranquil, hypnotic and ever-so-slightly creepy Alien Stingers, the jellyfish exhibit. One of the few permanent exhibits in the world dedicated to the entrancing creatures, the exhibit houses the quintessential specimen, moon jellies, as well as the vibrant and considerably more rare flower hat jelly. Red striped sea nettles complete the roster. Honestly, I could stay in this exhibit all day.

But you certainly don’t have to. Another must-visit exhibit is the massive floor-to-ceiling shark tank. Sting rays and sea turtles are just the bit players in this 90,000-gallon tank populated with reef sharks, sand sharks and the menacing, yet docile, nurse sharks. No doubt the best time to view the shark tank is at the daily feeding time, usually held in the morning around 10:30 a.m.

Additional exhibits include live guided tours of the entire aquarium (with excellent narration, really), the sea cliffs featuring seals, otters walruses and penguins, a sea lion show and a 4-D short film (extra admission depending on your ticket).

The aquarium is accredited by the American Zoological Association (AZA) and is a member of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).  Support the aquarium and support a great cause.

The New York Aquarium is open all year long. General adult admission is $13.00, or you can get a slight savings on the 4-D movie by purchasing the Total Experience ticket upfront at $17. After 3:00 p.m. on Fridays, the aquarium switches to a pay-as-you-wish system with a suggested donation of the standard $13. Learn more.

Flying in? For JFK Airport hotels we’ve had success in the past with the Holiday Inn JFK Airport Hotel. Free Internet, airport shuttle and parking are always good perks near the Big Apple.

Have fun!

USA Travel Guide has been all around this great land of ours, but it’s sad to say our humble blog has never once stopped in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, Minnesota. Well, loyal readers, our careless neglect ends today.

Welcome to the Como Park Zoo & Conservatory in St. Paul, Minnesota, an AZA-accredited animal park rife with charm, personality and, of course, top-notch exhibits. It’s an older place: the Zoological Building (a bit of a local landmark) was commissioned in 1936. We like it that way. Even with the bulk of the newer exhibits built since the 1980’s, the Como Zoo has a nostalgic feel, a historic ambiance that helps to zoo add up to more than the sum of its parts.

Not that there’s anything wrong with the parts. Devoid of unnecessary flash, the animals are definitely the stars of this show. Favorites include black-footed penguins, polar bears, sea lions, Siberian tigers, snow leopards, reindeer, western lowland gorillas, spider monkeys, leafcutter ants and gray wolves. The animals are joined by the zoo’s famous artwork, a series of commissioned sculptures to be found throughout the grounds.

The zoo is smallish, you can see it all in just a couple hours depending on your pacing, but not to worry, the zoo isn’t half of what Como Park has to offer. After all, this is Como Park Zoo and Conservatory. The adjacent conservatory features eight incredible gardens, including the peaceful, reflective Como Ordway Memorial Japanese Garden, the popular fern room, and my favorite, the stately Sunken Garden. It can be a fairly brief stroll through the gardens, so no reason not to see them all.

Both the Como Park Zoo and the Conservatory are free to enter all through the year, though a visitor donation of $2 per adult, $1 per child is recommended (and if you skip it, your mother will know). Parking is also free, and it’s conveniently located at the park right next to the entrance. No hassle at all. Learn more about the Como Park Zoo & Conservatory.

It’s a bit beside the point, something we’ll probably come back to in a future post, but also located at Como Park is a free-to-enter 18-ride amusement park called Como Town. Rides are available for tickets, or you can purchase an unlimited ride pass. Learn more about Como Town.

For hotels in St. Paul, MN, we’ve had great luck with the Crowne Plaza St. Paul – Riverfront Hotel. It’s just a few miles from Como Park for starters, and we’re always a fan of Crowne Plaza’s rooms.

Have fun!

A buddy of mine earned a free trip to L.A. through his work about a month back, and you can bet he and his wife did it all: Hollywood, Universal Studios, Disneyland – all the biggies. We went to dinner when they got back, and they wouldn’t shut up! This was awesome, and that was more awesome, but this was the most mega-awesomest of all!

“I know,” I said, “I’m a travel writer.”

Oh, but you didn’t see this!

Well, when you’re right, you’re right! Los Angeles really is one of the top summer vacation destinations, and it’s no challenge accounting why. Incredible history, one-of-a-kind sights, iconic landmarks, world-class amusements parks, museums, restaurants and hotels and, of course, the beach. That’s a lot for one destination to offer.

Let’s take a closer look at some fun summer vacation spots in Los Angeles: 

• Universal Studios Hollywood – The original rendition of our #7 Amusement Park in America, Universal Studios Hollywood dazzles young and old alike with the magic of the movies. While the park now has many theme rides (I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: The Simpsons Ride^TM is killer!), our favorite attraction is still the back lot tram tour.
• Hollywood – Footin’ it down the Hollywood Walk of Fame is like a pop culture rite of passage. Plus, there’s tons to do during your tour. Head by Grauman’s Chinese Theatre to see the concrete hands, take a studio tour and don’t forget the famous Hollywood Wax Museum. Speaking of which…
• Hollywood Wax Museum – Located in the heart of Hollywood (if you’re walking the stars, you can’t miss it), the original Hollywood Wax Museum houses nearly 200 startlingly lifelike wax figurines of the biggest faces in show business. Kids love it!

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