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All American Baseball Road Trip

If you're looking for a family road trip to entertain your family's baseball fantasies, I am sure sitting in the stands at Yankee Stadium, gazing at the Green Monster, and partaking in America’s Favorite pastime, will do the trick.

Going to see the Boston Red Sox’s was our first destination on our Baseball Road Trip.  Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts has been around since the early 1900’s and has hosted eight decades of baseball legends. The seating at Fenway park may have been as old as the Titanic, but it brought us a lot closer to players than at most fields. Tickets sell fast so we planned our family trip during a week where it would not be sold out.

Rare sights to be found at Fenway include a working, hand-operated score board, and the legendary left field green monster.  Fenway Park remains in its original condition, and I hope they never rebuild it. It is one of the last places you can go to experience baseball like it was during the times of Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb.  In fact, the building opened in 1912 and is now America's oldest baseball park.  Although the structure has survived several fires over the years, it still stands strong.   

What better stadium to visit next other than the Boston Red Sox’s rival?  Yep, the Yankee Stadium in New York City! If you want to see this piece a baseball history like “The House Ruth Built” you'd better hurry, because the ”home of the champions” is set to be demolished in 2009, when the new Yankee Stadium opens. To get the most out of our visit to Yankee Stadium, we took a one-hour tour to walk on the field, sit in the dugout, view the press box, clubhouse, and wander the historic Monument Park. One of the best parts of the tour was walking into the clubhouse where the players since Babe Ruth have suited up for the games.

When doing your Family trip planning don’t forget to include a tour of America’s Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Cooperstown is off the beaten track, but we enjoyed the nice countryside drive. When we arrived at Cooperstown, we took a nice relaxing trolley to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Inside the Hall of Fame, my kids initially gravitated to the most popular players of today, until they started taking a closer look in the locker room, where they saw worn gloves and bats from long ago.  This made them stop and think about the players from the past.

My family is crazy about baseball, but our love for baseball grew even fonder on this family trip. Tickets sell fast at all these stadiums, but don’t worry, each of the stadiums hold year round tours, so you’ll always get to explore the stadiums even if you miss an actual game. Family trips to baseball games have always been one of the best ways for our family to spend time together.

Here are a few trips to check out.  One is a weekend getaway, the other a week-long buddy trip, both with the emphasis on baseball.  Play ball!

Texas Road Trip to Big Bend National State Park

Texas is one of the few states with hundreds and hundreds of miles of untouched roads.  For an adventurous family road trip, Texas is a great destination, so off we went, looking to get away, relax, enjoy nature, and forget about the daily distractions of life.

I called a Texas Park Ranger to be our family trip planner, hoping she could point out the best Texas RV Park.  She suggested Big Bend National State Park.  The park offers nature lovers diverse wildlife to potentially encounter, hiking trails, mountain biking, RV camp sites, cave exploring, rafting, canoing, and kayaking. 

This Texas road trip was the perfect way to rejuvenate, re-energize and relax.  Big Bend’s picturesque scenery of mountains, valleys, and canyons made us feel like we were taking a vacation right out of an old western movie. 

On the way to Big Bend National Park, we planned time to wander through the many small towns.  We ate at mom & pop diners along the route, and took in some classic Americana Texas style.  When we got about 60 miles from Big Bend, we stopped at Ft. Stockton to fill our ice chests full of groceries and water.  One of the Park Rangers from Big Bend forewarned me to pick up supplies before entering the park, and her advice paid off.  When planning a road trip to any National Park, it's always a good idea to call the park directly to help you prepare for & bring the right camping supplies. 

We elected to stay at different RV camp sites every night to get the different experiences the park had to offer.  The first day we camped at the Chisos Mountains and took a short hike on a nature trail.  Watch out for the cactus!

Every night, while my husband and I set up the RV,  the kids went exploring and gathered sticks to begin our campfire.  Of course, we always ended up roasting marshmallows.  Campfires are truly a family-bonding experience!  But the warmth of the fire is also essential because it gets chilly here at night. 

While staying at the Chisos Mountains, we had to place our food in metal boxes so the black bears would not visit us at night, and thankfully they did not. 

*Great Idea* Before going to bed, we placed some spackling mud we brought along to fill a few holes in the ground.  We wanted to see what type of animal visitors came over while we were sleeping. We ended up with the best home-made souvenirs and it aroused the curiosity of the kids to find more wildlife, and to take notice of their environment throughout the trip.

The second day we ventured over to Cottonwood Campsite located in a shady grove along the river, and set up a tent for the night. The grass provided a much better cushion than the hard mountain ground for roughing it in a tent. 

On our last day we wanted to explore more of the park and figured that hiking wasn’t going to get it done fast enough, so we hopped in the RV and let the roads be our guide.  We ended the day snuggling up near the campfire watching the beautiful sunset over the horizon.  The dark sky was so clear and beautiful.  I wanted to my kids to remember the radiance of the west Texas skies forever.

Tranquil family trips like this are hard to come by without heading to a remote destination like Big Bend. Memories like these are what family road trips are all about.

Pirate Road Trip in Florida - “Florida road trip from Treasure Island to Cocoa Beach”

We grabbed our eye patches and bandanas and headed to the beautiful waters of Treasure Island to start our Florida Pirate road trip!  We chose a hotel on the beach so we could wake up to the soft sounds of crashing waves, and beautiful view of the Gulf Coast.

Our first morning began with breakfast on the beach and a treasure hunt.  My husband custom-made a washed up treasure map in a bottle and a small treasure he buried with gold doubloon’s and costume jewelry.  Our kids had a blast looking for the buried treasure. 

Then we headed over to Historic John’s Pass to start the adventure off by sailing on a pirate ship filled with a crew of pirates and a captain.  The pirate crew did a wonderful job entertaining the kids with an on-board treasure hunt, water gun battles, pirate stories, and they rocked the ship with the boom from the cannon.

The ship cruises Treasure Island waters and Boca Ciega Bay, which provides a wonderful opportunity to see dolphins.  When the music starts, be prepared to let loose with your kids doing the limbo, and dancing the Macarena.  The Pirate ship cruise is located off of John’s Pass Boardwalk which offers waterfront dinning, and shopping galore.  After enjoying a pirate cruise and waterfront dining, head over to Hubbard’s Marina and look for a red and white light house to encounter chilling ghost stories about how the pirates haunt John’s Pass. 

After the fun filled day of pirate encounters at John’s pass and Treasure Island, the kids should be passed out in the car snoring to tunes of “Yo Ho Ho a pirate’s life if for me.”

Now, start taking this family road trip inland to Tampa Bay to join the legendary pirate Jose Gasper, in spirit of course, for a good night's rest.  Wake up and visit a beautiful replica of an exquisite pirate ship at Tarpon weigh station.  Continue to Raymond James Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Football Team, and meet their mascot, Captain Fear.

The main attraction inside the stadium, besides the football team,  is the Buccaneers Cove, which hosts a 103-foot authentic replica of an early 1800’s pirate ship, complete with a crew to raise the sails, skull & crossed swords, a mouth that breathes smoke and eight cannons that release confetti, mini-footballs, and Buc’s merchandise into the stands.  Even if you are not a football fan, this stadium is sure to entertain everyone in the family.  Plus, this stadium is the future site Super Bowl XLIII in 2009. 

Time for Day 3, which if you have involved your kids in the initial road trip planning, they know exactly what is on the itinerary for that day.  Disney Orlando created a pirate attraction inspired by the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie and this one at Magic Kingdom takes you on an encounter with Barbossa and Captain Jack Sparrow.  While waiting in line for the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, we were surprised by a guest appearance of Jack Sparrow himself stumbling through the line and then climbing over a gate to stand up on a bench and started speaking to the crowd.  I have no clue what he was saying as I was still in shock over the fact I was that close to the one and only Captain Jack Sparrow, the best pirate ever to set sea.  Magic Kingdom in Orlando Florida has so much to offer pirate lovers on a Florida road trip.

After spending a full day at Disney, continue to the east coast of Florida and enjoy a nice relaxing day at Cocoa Beach.  Then check out Cape Canaveral to view our modern day space pirates at Kennedy Space Center.

I am usually the family trip planner, but this time everybody gave their input on what they wanted to see and do.  Therefore, the trip flowed peacefully and kept everyone’s interest the whole time. This Florida road trip is perfect for families with young children.  Ship Ahoy!

I Love Touring Italy - The Trentino Subregion

I Love Touring Italy - The Trentino Subregion

Copyright © 2007 Levi Reiss

If you are looking for a European tourist destination, consider the Trentino-Alto Adige region of northern Italy on the border of both Switzerland and Austria. Among its tourist attractions are the Dolomite Mountains, that the famous architect Le Corbusier called “The most beautiful work of architecture even seen,” glacier lakes, and Alpine forests. In fact the region is composed of two parts, Trentino in the south and Alto Adige in the north. This article presents Trentino; a companion article presents Alto Adige.

We’ll start our tour of Trentino at Rovereto near the border with Lombardy. We proceed northeast to the local capital, Trento, and head west first past the village of Comano with its thermal waters then past the typical Trentino village of Tione. Here we turn northeast to finish our tour at the ski resort Madonna di Campiglio. There is a lot more skiing in the area, but it’s over the border into Lombardy not very far from Switzerland.

The medieval city of Rovereto, population about 35 thousand, has had its share of warfare. In 1796 Napoleon won a bloody battle against Austria. And in World War I Italian and Austrian troops fought a bloody, inconclusive battle. Every night fall the thousands who died there are honored by La Campana dei Caduti (The Bell of the Fallen) that tolls 100 times in remembrance of the fallen of all wars as a warning for future peace. This bell, cast in 1924, is the largest bell in the world that rings full peal.

The Museo Storico Italiano della Guerra (Italian Historical War Museum) was founded after World War I to commemorate the war and to prevent future wars. It is located in a medieval castle that exemplifies Fifteenth Century Venetian military architecture with its tunnels, moats, and towers. It is perhaps the world’s largest anti-war museum. An annex displays World War I artillery in an air-raid shelter from that time. For a change of pace, visit MART, the Museo D’Arte Moderna e Contemporaneo (Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art). The focus is on a local artist, Fortunato Depero, but the collection includes works from Picasso, Leger, Klee, Kandinsky, Lichtenstein, Modigliani, and Warhol among others.

Trento, population about one hundred thousand if you add in the suburbs, is Trentino’s major city. Its main historical claim to fame was the Council of Trent stretching from 1545 to 1563 that marked the beginning of the Counter-Reformation. The fight to join Trento-Alto Adige to Italy was a major reason for Italian participation in World War I.

The Duomo (Cathedral of San Virgilio) is a Twelfth-Thirteenth Century Romanesque-Gothic structure built over a Sixth Century Church dedicated to the city’s patron saint, San Virgilio. Whenever the Council of Trent came to a decision, it was read at the Cappela del Crocifisso (Chapel of the Crucifix) located within the cathedral.

The Sixteenth Century Renaissance Santa Maria Maggiore Church hosted many sessions of the Council of Trent. The courtyard of the building at 18 via Rosmini contains the mosaic floor of a Roman villa of the Second Century A.D.

The Castello del Buonconsiglio (Castle of Good Counsel) started in the Thirteenth Century next to the city walls. Over the centuries it grew. This castle includes the Museo Provinciale d’Arte (Provincial Art Museum). Make sure to see the frescoes including the famous Fifteenth Century Cycle of the Months, portraying contemporary life in Medieval Trentino in the Torre Aquila (Eagle Tower) and the more recent (late Sixteenth Century) frescoes depicting hunting scenes in the Torre del Falco (Falcon Tower).

Other sights to see include several historic churches, underground remains of Roman streets and villas, the modernistic train station, the Museo Storico in Trento (Trento Historical Museum) scheduled to reopen soon if not already, and the Museo dell’Aeronautica Gianni Caproni (Gianni Caproni Aeronautical Museum) located at the airport. Check out the Mountain Film Festival.

Not far from Trento, especially if you have a car and are willing to drive on Alpine roads competing against Alpine drivers, are two great sites; the medieval spa town of Levico Terme and the Alpine Botanical Garden with over a thousand species of plants originating in the Alps and other mountain ranges across the globe. Madonna di Campiglio advertises itself as Italy’s number one ski resort. The clientele is mostly Italian and the slopes tend to be intermediate, but there are slopes for beginners and experts as well. The resort boasts 57 lifts and 150 kilometers (90 miles) of ski runs with a capacity of over thirty thousand skiers per hour. There are 40 kilometers (25 miles) of cross-country ski trails. You can go to the city center and back without ever removing your skis. For a change of pace, visit the nearby Adamello-Brenta Natural Park encompassing 450 kilometers (300 miles) of mountain paths, but you will have to remove your skis to do so. This resort recently hosted the Snowboard World Championships. Head a bit north to Campo Carlo Magno, a mountain pass that Charlemagne is said to have traversed on the way to his coronation in Rome way back in the year 800.

Since you have come this far you sho

Legendary Route 66 Road Trip

Route 66 is undeniably one of the most celebrated highways in America. From some of the most picturesque views in the United States to its distinct diagonal angle that runs between Chicago and Los Angeles, Route 66 has all the elements that continues to captivate USA Road Trip lovers. Take the journey through Route 66 and discover why the road trip spells out legendary proportions!

How it all began:

Route 66 is a highway constructed in the mid-1920's to answer the demands of the fast evolving United States economy at that time. Route 66 differs from other roads of that era, such as the Lincoln and the Dixie, because it did not follow the conventional linear path. Instead, it sprawled diagonally to connect the rural communities in Illinois, Missouri and Kansas to the towns of Chicago. These towns have a lot to offer for any great road trip.  Check out the town of Galena, which is in the north-western tip of Illinois. There are several museums and historical homes there for a truly “walk down history lane” experience.

Route 66 was meant to serve the needs of farmers so that they could transport their grains and other products to different places in an accessible way.  This was very difficult to accomplish before the creation of Route 66.  Aside from farmers, the other sector that most benefited from the highway was the trucking industry.  Offering considerably milder weather compared to the harsher climate found along the northern roads, Route 66 proved to be a better option for many truck drivers.

The evolution:

During the years before and after WWII, Route 66 thrived with the establishments built along the highway.  There were inns and motels, gas stations and just about every kind of café you can think of. Tourists flocked to the road just for the thrill of being there, and to experience what was then considered the "Main Street of America."

During the Great Depression, Route 66 bore witness to thousands of people migrating from the Industrial East to the more promising suburban towns in Southern California (San Diego, Hollywood, Los Angeles, etc.)  The road became a symbol for hope.  On your Route 66 road trip, follow the tracks of those old migrations and catch glimpses of this unique American story.   

You can opt for a full length Route 66 adventure or break it out into bites, like visiting the Albuquerque section.  Plan your trip around Attractions, Hotels, and Restaurants that include Route 66 in their offerings.   A Route 66 road trip never runs out of things to interest people who take the time to explore it.  Just the names are intriguing: Restaurants like Artichoke Cafe and Left at Albuquerque, or hotels like the Route 66 Inn, and attractions like the Route 66 Drive-In Theatre, National Route 66 Museum, and the International Route 66 Mother Road Festival.

Your next great adventure is just an interstate highway away!

 

Incredible Pacific Coast Road Trip

When you need to get away, rejuvenate, and recharge, head out on the open road!  A most scenic drive I recommend is a Pacific Coast road trip.  You'll soon discover that a Pacific Coast road trip boasts stunning views of open and mostly undisturbed countryside, and if time is short, can be done in segments. The best time for a Pacific Coast Road Trip is when the weather is warm, to enjoy the different beaches and the great outdoors. 

Start your road trip at Olympic National Park, which is located at the northwest border of the United States. From there you will be able to catch glimpses of the ocean all the way to the southern border between the USA and Mexico. This road trip offers a diverse landscape with 1,500 mile stretch of beautiful scenery; from a number of amazing parks to well-preserved rain forests, and even barren landscapes that can almost be considered deserts.  You name it, the Pacific Coast is nearly certain to have it. If you have your kids with you on a family trip, they might be able to catch glimpses of wildlife like such as gray whales, mountain lions, and condors.

 

After passing numerous fishing and logging villages, in Washington, head south and you will get to the mouth of Columbia River. The road will then lead you to the rustic and, for the most part, tranquil Oregon Coastline. Your Pacific Coast road trip route can include stopovers in many great locations. You will be greeted with a few communities with varying levels “countryside feel” to them, and you can choose from the recreational activities available for road warriors like you.  However, if you’re more inclined to venture off-the-beaten-track, then you should not miss what is known as the Avenue of the Giants. This is a series of redwood forests that line Northern California.

Finally, don't forget to check out southern California. Feast your eyes on the lush greenery of palm trees – and see surfers and beach bodies almost everywhere you turn. The town of Encinitas, for example, has great shops and restaurants. Don’t miss the Cardiff by the Sea just outside the town. It has a number of fine but expensive restaurants where you can enjoy your meal with a great backdrop of the sea. For surf fanatics, Solana Beach, which has a road famously known as Old Highway 101, and offers many surf shops. La Jolla, meanwhile, is a good place to stop if you’re more of a scuba diver. The Children’s Pool is highly recommended to see seals along the shores and ground squirrels at the cliff side.

 

Plan a Pacific Coast road trip that has a bit of history in it too. You will have your pick from Spanish colonial mansions, or the English and Russian fur-trading outposts.

Lastly, remember that your Pacific Coast road trip has some amazing cities along the way, that are all worthy if you have the time.  Seattle,  LA, and San Diego all have great restaurants, nightlife, museums and more.  You can also choose to take a more laid-back pace and stay in cozy bed & breakfasts, lodges or unique smaller hotels found all along the coastline.