USA Travel Guide

Last year we ran a poll of favorite Spring Break destinations – mountains, golf resorts, big cities, that kind of thing – and the overwhelming winner was beaches. Like turkey on Thanksgiving, I guess there are times when the oldies really are the goldies.

Then again, there are some places you can keep a tradition alive and still do something new. Tell your friends you’re going to North Carolina for Spring Break, and what’s more, you’re still going to the beach, and you might attract a few raised eyebrows. Not to worry, though, you know you made the right decision.

Spring Break Beaches near Wilmington, North Carolina
The call it Cape Fear, but there’s nothing scary about miles of soft sandy beach, old soul attitude and authentic, of-the-land atmosphere. Put more simply, the beaches of North Carolina feel real in way that a lot of resort destinations don’t. Let’s look at our favorites:

• Carolina Beach – Often frenetic during the late Spring Break season, Carolina Beach brings a cosmopolitan energy to Cape Fear that you won’t find anywhere else. Surfers and scuba divers love Carolina Beach, as does anyone who looks for as much personality as things to do.
• Kure Beach – nearby Kure Beach couldn’t be more different from its neighbor. Come to Kure Beach for a calmer, quieter atmosphere ideal for afternoons of relaxation. The main attraction, the Kure Beach Fishing Pier, is a popular choice for anglers any time.
• Wrightsville Beach – And then there’s Wrightsville, our favorite. The quality of the beach itself (the sand and the surf) is unmatched in the area, and the whole coast has a village atmosphere that manages to charm without being stuffy. Sailing is a popular activity near Wrightsville Beach.

You can learn more about beaches in North Carolina and order a free brochure and area guide at http://www.gocapefearcoast.com/

All three of these beaches are within 18 miles of one of our favorite East coast cities, Wilmington, North Carolina. For exciting days of the beach and fulfilling nights back in town, we recommend a stay in Wilmington.

Have a blast on Spring Break 2010 among the beaches of North Carolina.

I’ve never been a professed fan of 90’s alt-rock outfit the Gin Blossoms. At most I know one of their songs. But if I was a Gin Blossoms fan, I’d be one of the luckiest Gin Blossoms fans in the world. Since 2002, I’ve had the opportunity to see them live and for free four times! And yet, I never have…

I take you on this strange digression only because the opening stage act at this year’s Mississippi Coast Coliseum Crawfish Festival is the one and only Gin Blossoms. Join me, won’t you, and skip out on yet another chance to see this no doubt incredible band.

(I also missed the chance once to see Blue Öyster Cult for free; now that one stings a little).

The 18^th Annual Mississippi Coast Coliseum Crawfish Festival in Biloxi, Mississippi is just the kind of festival I can get behind: there’s an array of festival fun, but ultimately it all comes down to the food. Call’em crayfish, call’em crawdads, call’em mudbugs – whatever you call’em, they’re good eats, and at the MS Coast Crawfish Festival, they’re boiling, roasting and frying up over 20,000 lbs. of’em Cajun-style.

If you want your pick of the best bugs, pony up ten bucks for a tasting ticket and sample from all the teams competing in the Saturday Crawfish Cook-off. For the cost of your ticket, you can even cast a vote in the People’s Choice award. Whether you pay premium or not, there will be plenty of food on-hand, so bring that appetite of yours no matter what.

If you can pull yourself away from the concessions long enough, you might just have a little fun with your feast. The Mississippi Coast Coliseum Crawfish Festival boasts a humongous midway packed with carnival rides and prove-your-manliness games. The rides are actually pretty affordable, but you can skip the hassle of constantly fishing for your wallet by picking up a Pay-One-Price Armband offering unlimited rides (except on Saturdays )

If you prefer musical mudbug mastication, drop by the show stage to see a merry mix of used-to-be-famous and never-was-famous stars. On the first Friday you have the ubiquitous Gin Blossoms, and on following nights you can see the original beat boxer, Doug E. Fresh, as well as The Wailers, Midnight Star and a band featuring most of Santana (but not actually Santana).

All-in-all, it’s one Biloxi Bash that you festivals fans don’t want to miss.

The 18^th Annual Mississippi Coast Coliseum Crawfish Festival will be held at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, Mississippi on April 15-18 and April 22-25, 2010. Get more information here.

Have fun at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum Crawfish Festival in Biloxi, Mississippi!

I support the “observance” of St. Patrick’s Day in Washington D.C., I really do. I think liquid medicine is just about the only remaining course of action up on Capitol Hill. (Besides, under current healthcare, it’s the only medicine most everyone can afford). I want all the Senators, Representatives and of course Mr. Obama to drop all the pedantic nonsense, get crazy drunk and proceed to hash things out bro-style.

It’s gonna look awful. C-SPAN meets Jersey Shore. But when all is said and done, we might just have our country back.

You can celebrate the season, too, at the 2010 St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Washington D.C. (and if you’re heading in, we’ve got the perfect hotel, so check that out below).

D.C. is a city known for fabulous parades. With so many incredible buildings to set the scene, how could it not be? But without a doubt, the St. Patrick’s Day Parade is one of the annual favorites. A spectacle in every sense, the parade culminates popular music, fantastic floats, military reverence, color guard, dance, drums, celebrity guests and a keg-full of Irish swagger.

When I saw that the founder of Chase Bank had been made Grand Marshal, I almost puked out my own intestines, but then I read closely to find that it was actually the founder of Chevy Chase Bank, a D.C. local institution (now owned by Capitol One). That made me feel a little bit better.

Back on message: the 2010 St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Washington D.C. will be held Sunday, March 14, and run along Constitution Avenue from 7^th to 17^th Streets. You can watch from anywhere along the parade route, of course, or you can purchase grandstand tickets for a comfy seated view of the action. Sitting down is nice, but for $10 a person, I’d rather just stand. The parade is only two and a half hours long anyway.

Learn more about the Washington D.C. St. Patrick’s Day Parade here.

Have fun at the 2010 St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Washington D.C.

If yesterday’s pick, Santa Monica Beach, was a little too predictable for your Spring Break beach vacation, maybe you should be thinking East Coast instead. If you can believe it, not all of the East’s top beaches line the coast of Florida. Head towards the southern tip of Virginia and you’ll find the charming bayside community of Hampton Roads, home to quaint Buckroe Beach and massive Virginia Beach.

Buckroe Beach
Though not as famous as nearby Virginia Beach, Buckroe Beach is terrific family destination to compliment any Spring Break in Virginia. The beach is modestly sized (about three-quarter mile), but is in top condition following a recent renovation by the city of Hampton.

In fact, there’s a lot new about Buckroe, which is currently in the middle of a major revitalization project. Top activities include swimming of course, and also picnicking, paddle-boating and fishing off the new pier. You won’t get several days of fun out of Buckroe, but it’s well worth an afternoon. Learn more.

Virginia Beach
The real star of any Virginia Spring Break, Virginia Beach boasts a world-record holding 28 mile-long beach, and with that much room to stretch out, you can bet that it brings every kind of Spring Break crowd. Another cool thing about the area is the city of Virginia Beach itself, which features near-endless entertainment. You can check out the Virginia Aquarium, Virginia Beach Amusement Park, Virginia Zoo, Mount Trashmore, several museums and state parks, the historic boardwalk and, naturally, lots and lots of shopping. Pound for pound, mile for mile, Virginia Beach offers more to love than just about any other beach in the country.

Families, college kids and rumpshakers need certainly apply! Learn more.

Have fun for Spring Break 2010!

Feels like Spring Break snuck up fast this year, but that’s not gonna stop the USA Travel Guide team from rolling out a few top picks for 2010. College students, vacationing families (and anyone else), welcome to Spring Break 2010.

First to the docket: Santa Monica Beach in splendorous Santa Monica, California. It’s the quintessential American beach in a lot of ways. There’s boardwalk entertainment nearby, there’s always a chance to spy a celeb, and most importantly, it’s the very same beach where they filmed “Baywatch”. This beach changed our expectation of beaches forever.

Too much? Alright, let’s just look at all there is to do:

• Santa Monica Beach – the main attraction. Santa Monica Beach is a sizzling scene come Spring Break, with miles of tanned bodies writhing to the same beat. The busier it gets, the crazier the party, so why not add yourself to the mix.
• Nightlife – a lot of people keep the party going late into the night, but you shouldn’t let your close proximity to the L.A. club scene go to waste. Head back to your room, throw on your best, and hit the town.
• Montana Avenue – Spring Break in Santa Monica means sensational shopping. Montana Avenue is the beach scene’s Beverly Hills, sure, but the real star of this stretch is the “dressed down” celebs.
• Santa Monica Pier – the “World Famous” Santa Monica Pier is a must-do for dining and cool afternoon entertainment. Visit Pacific Park, an admission-free amusement park (you pay by the rid featuring a heart-pounding over-the-water rollercoaster.

And don’t forget, Spring Break in Santa Monica can quickly become Spring Break in Los Angeles, Redondo Beach or Malibu. If you’re willing to drive, even San Diego or Enseñada, Mexico are within reach. Make Spring Break 2010 in California one to remember.

Have fun and stay safe for Spring Break 2010!

Welcome back to USA Travel Guide. Two opening thoughts:

1. Can you believe that hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, of all people, was the first to break the news?
2. I love John Cena. The man can wrestle, he can act, he can crack a joke … he’s the muscle-head version of a triple-threat.

It’s time for “Destruction in the Desert” as WrestleMania XXVI comes to the University of Phoenix Stadium in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona. Although the action is still more than a month out – the rumble kicks off on March 28, 2010 – the bill is already jam-packed with titanic matches and lots more fun to go with.

Some of the biggest names in the game will be there, shirts thoroughly removed, to settle some scores:

• Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho vs. Edge
• The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels
• WWE Champion Batista vs. John Cena
• 8-Person Ladder Match Starring Christian

For the trouble of your trip, you’ll certainly get more than one day of bone-breaking action. There’s a full week of WrestleMania XXVI activities leading up to the big night. They’re brining back the charity art showcase, WrestleMania Art, as well as WrestleMania Axxess, a massive fan event with your opportunity to meet the wrestlers, the WWE Divas and even a few legends. See the schedule.

Live music always plays a big part of WrestleMania, but if they’ve released the schedule, I can’t find it. Anyway, last year it was Kidd Rock and one of the Pussycat Dolls, so expect something like that, and if you really want to know, stay glued to the official Web site. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster.

The University of Phoenix Stadium is located slightly out of the way in Glendale, Arizona, but we’re going to stay cozy in Phoenix at one of our favorite. A couple recommendations for you:

• Crowne Plaza Phoenix – this stylish North Phoenix hotel offers discount rates for guests attend events at University of Phoenix Stadium. Since the offer ends April, this is great timing.
• Hotel Highland at Biltmore – a little boutique flavor awaits you at this charming Phoenix, AZ hotel in the Biltmore district. Amazingly, the only thing that isn’t “upscale” about this joint is the price.

Have fun this March 28, 2010 at WrestleMania XXVI in Phoenix!

Let’s face it: we are a sports worshiping country. We watch’em every Sunday, we dress up in special attire, and we celebrate in some of the most famous churches in the world: Wrigley Field, Soldier Field, Fenway Park … … … TD Garden? Okay, so the Garden might not be the most famous arena we could feature today, but that’s the power of Celts fans.

Besides, the TD Garden proves that when it comes to stadiums, age isn’t everything. Since it opened in 1995, the Garden has been a major stage for professional and college sports, and not just because it’s home to two titanic teams. While both the NBA’s Boston Celtics and NHL’s Boston Bruins bring illustrious histories to the Garden, the stadium is fast building a legacy of interest all its own.

In 2004, the Democratic National Convention at the then-named FleetCenter introduced the nation to a handsome, charismatic, big-eared nobody that just four years later became President Barack Obama. As a concert stage, the Garden has seen some of the world’s biggest acts – The Who, Genesis, Bruce Springsteen, Celine Dion, Madonna and even the bad boys from Boston themselves, Aerosmith.

The Garden is still known best for sports, though. Along with the Bruins and Celts, the arena is the yearly home of the Beanpot, a college hockey square-off between the major Boston area schools – Harvard, Northeastern, Boston College and Boston University. In its time, Boston has also hosted the Women’s Final Four and several NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball regionals. Add WBA boxing and WWE exhibitions, Smackdown and Raw, and the TD Garden event schedule is always packed.

So it’s busy, and those events are top notch, but that’s not why we love the TD Garden. We chose it today, because it managed to replace its predecessor, the Boston Garden, gracefully. It pushed ahead into the world of modern stadia, but retained some of that old-school flavor. For Celts fans especially, the Garden feels like home with the incorporation of the unusual parquet floor that the Celtics have played on since 1946. It’s not the exact same floor, but original pieces from the Garden floor we’re “stitched” into the geometric patterns that give the new court its one-of-a-kind look. It’s the little things like this that give TD Garden its soul, under any name.

Want to go see it? This is the time to do it! Both the Celtics and Bruins are looking at a busy schedule over the next month, so if you don’t have tickets already, it’s time to start looking. Recommendations include:

Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens, March 2
Boston Bruins vs. New York Rangers, March 21

Boston Celtics
Boston Celtics vs. New York Knicks, March 17
Boston Celtics vs. Cleveland Cavaliers, April 4

Learn more about the TD Garden and purchase tickets here.

If you’re traveling in to the game, our choice of Boston hotels near TD Garden is the Holiday Inn Boston at Beacon Hill. At less than half a mile from the arena, you can literally walk to your seat (and save big time on parking by doing so). On top of that, the hotel is quick from the airport and offers free high-speed Internet.

Have fun at the TD Garden, one of America’s Stadiums.

If you’ve never been to a fringe festival, well, then you’re either in for the time of your life or a wicked bad case of attendee’s remorse. You will either be blown away or thoroughly stupefied. Actually, you’ll probably be a little of both.

The Fresno Rogue Performing Arts Festivals in Fresno, California takes this Europe-inspired tradition, slaps on a new name, and delivers it to all lovers of off-the-mainstream entertainment. What’s a fringe festival? Simply, it’s a non-professional, typically non-juried art and theatre festival dedicated to alternative entertainment. Fringe festivals skim the outskirts looking for one-of-a-kind acts. The outliers, if you will.

The Fresno Rogue Festival (because “Fresno Fringe Festival” was too alliterative for those fussy Fresno folk) truly operates on every level: they’ve got main stages, auxiliary café venues, art galleries, and even Bring-Your-Own-Venue venues. For these brave do-it-yourselfers, the festival doesn’t even provide the space. BYO Venue acts must arrange their own space, act as box office, set prices, and manage everything themselves. That’s pretty rogue.

What can you expect to see at the festival? Plenty of stuff you won’t see anywhere else! Off-off-off-Broadway type theatre, avante garde dance, experimental film, multi-discipline performance art, puppetry, storytelling and just about anything else the participants can dream up. There’s no jury, no glad-handing – the Rogue is the very essence of “just be yourself”.

If at this point you’re thinking, “Hey, I don’t want to get ripped off watching 30 minutes of leotarded albinos doing interpretive dance to Iron & Wine’s The Creek Drank the Cradle!”, then maybe the Fresno Rogue Festival isn’t for you. Festival organizers stand behind the quality of their performers, and the growing attendance since 2002 backs them up, but fringe festivals are as much a state of mind as a set of shows. Get yourself in the Rogue spirit, and you will absolutely have a good time.

The 2010 Fresno Rogue Performing Arts Festival will take place from March 4 – 13, 2010. The festival is free to attend, and you pay per show (the performers keep 80-100%, depending on venue). For more information, check the Web site.

Need a hotel in Fresno? The Holiday Inn Fresno Hotel Downtown offers a convenient location to several common performance venues, free weekend parking, free Internet, and approachable rates. Have fun!

Not feelin’ all lovey-dovey this Valentine’s Day? Does the idea of spending a candlelight dinner gazing into some schlub’s ugly mug make you want to gag? Had enough of this Hallmark holiday?

Celebrate your independence with an anti-Valentine’s Day getaway to beautiful Hampton, Virginia. No roses, no schmoozy atmosphere – just you, your best girlfriends and a weekend of fun.

Crowne Plaza Hampton Marina Hotel
The only waterfront hotel in Hampton, Virginia welcomes you non-traditionalist females with its “Single Ladies Package”. Round up your three best friends for a Virginia vacation that puts romance on the way back burner:

• Junior suite
• Chocolate-covered strawberries
• 4 glasses of champagne
• Breakfast buffet for up to 4 persons
• Complimentary high-speed Internet
• 10% off any restaurant or room service
• Rental of Beyonce on Tour DVD and Sex in the City DVD series

Learn more about this Virginia vacation package.

Got any special anti-Valentine’s Day plans? Let us know about them in the comments below.

And for more Valentine’s Day coverage, whether for or against, check out our Valentine’s Day Getaways and Packages portal.

After two weeks of hearts, roses and other frou-frou crap, I’ve got a hunger for big slabs of slow-cooked meat and voluntarily broken bones. The only place I know to get all that action at once is the 2010 Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo and World’s Championship Bar-B-Que Contest.

Actually, these two major Houston events don’t occur simultaneously, but they do run back to back and all the reason you need to head to Space City this February or March. Question is: which do you choose?

The World’s Championship Bar-B-Que Contest kicks off a month of entertainment with a 3-day run of slow-smoked competition. Pitmasters come from all over the country to slice, pull and plate some of the best smoked sausage, brisket and baby back ribs you’ll have in your life. Don’t be alarmed if the pits seem a little loony – there’s an award for that, too! This Houston Bar-B-Que contest runs at the Reliant Center February 25-7, 2010.

It’s all a smoky, meaty warm-up, however. Starting March 2 all the way through March 21, 2010, the Reliant Center is given over to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, one of the biggest Houston events of the year. All the traditional rodeo sports – bronc and bull riding, barrel racing, roping – earn the brave riders over a million dollars in prize money. For the fans, the prize is dangerous competition and a relentless concert schedule of country music superstars. Throughout the three weeks you can see Alan Jackson, Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts, Brad Paisley (personal fav) and Keith Urban.

So, that’s the World’s Championship Bar-B-Que Contest from February 25-27, 2010. Learn more.

Or the 2010 Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo from March 2 – 21, 2010. Learn more.

Choose one, choose both, and don’t overspend doing it by staying at one of our favorites hotels in downtown Houston, the Crowne Plaza Houston Downtown. The hotel is offering cheap rates during both events through a duo of packages. Both the “BBQ Cook-Off Weekend Package” and the “Houston Rodeo Package” will get you a nice room (and they are!), breakfast buffet for two, free valet parking and transportation to the LightRail Station. Learn about these Houston Bar-B-Que and Rodeo packages here.

Have fun!