Travel Tips & Adventures

During the holidays, Prescott decorates more than most communities. Their Courthouse, the Yavapai County Courthouse, acts as the center of a giant light display. (more…)

Prescott has charm.  It is absolutely undeniable.  When you first see Prescott (pronounced Pres – CUT), you have the feeling that you’d really like to live there.  Warm and friendly with quirky shops and a town square around the courthouse, Prescott is a great place to visit. (more…)

So, you’ve arrived in Scottsdale and you’ve got your plastic ready.

Let’s go shopping! (more…)

Tempe, the hometown for Arizona State University, is a vibrant city with business, social and quality of life issues well-handled.  With a population of 175,000-plus residents, Tempe has a business center, new malls, revitalized housing stock and is just a fun place to be.  It’s also near to Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, so there is easy access in and out.

Housing in downtown Tempe

Festival of the Arts

During the weekend of December 4-6, Tempe hosted the Festival of the Arts, an arts and crafts gathering that last year attracted 250,000.  In 2009, over 400 artisans with some stunning work were displaying and selling their works.  Pottery, glass, wood, photography, woven items, painting, sculpture and even food showed the individuality and quality of the handmade efforts.

With no two works identical, visitors had the opportunity to see and buy something for their use for as little as $5 or as much as thousands.

Colorful Pottery from Ken Foster Ceramics - and useful, too

www.kenfosterceramics.com

(559-760-4549)

(As of early December 2009, his Web site was not populated yet.)

Doug Mader's metal art - Courtyard Art and Design

(No Web site available – 503-537-0720)

I tend to like usable art, so I was on the lookout for a small pottery casserole to replace one that had broken. I couldn’t find what I was seeking.  Instead, I saw a gorgeous pottery French butterkeeper made by Liscom Hill Pottery Works that I purchased.  (I did not take a photo – the display was crowded and I was intent on my purchase.) 

www.liscomhillpottery.com

Bands also performed throughout the Festival.  On the jazz stage, we heard the Chandler-Gilbert Community College Band perform big band numbers.  They had an interesting medley with “Auld Lang Syne” intermingled with Christmas carols, plus a rendition of “On the Street Where You Live” from My Fair Lady.

To host the Festival, Tempe blocked off about fifteen blocks of the downtown area.  Since these events occur regularly in Tempe, check out the light rail which travels right through the campus to save you time looking for a parking spot or $10 for event parking. The light rail is relatively new to the Phoenix area, but it is clean, on schedule and reasonable in cost.

http://www.valleymetro.org/metro_light_rail

Other Tempe notables

It may be in the desert, but Tempe has an amazing amount of water.  Tempe Town Lake, a manmade body of water, is a centerpiece for many community events.  In the area adjacent to the lake, events from ethnic fairs to fireworks are held regularly.

If you’re coming to the Phoenix area for a visit, we recommend that you check out what might be happening in Tempe.  There are hotels in Tempe if you care to stay; the aloft hotel is new, a “hip” hotel, and there are other hotels that can put you right in the middle of things or give you some quiet at the end of the day, if you prefer.

aloft hotel in Tempe

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/alofthotels/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=3102

The Buttes

(Tucked into a hillside and next to a spring training baseball facility.) 

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/phxtm-the-buttes-a-marriott-resort/

ASU and Tempe

You can’t miss ASU’s presence in Tempe; it is unmistakable.  

Come back tomorrow for info on Arizona State University and other amenities in the area.

Portland’s Saturday Market is misnamed – it is also open on Sunday. Unlike most craft fairs that come and go, the Portland Saturday Market is open from the end of February through December 24.

Portland Saturday Market - or part of it

And, this is one of those places that is a must-see if you’re coming to Portland. The array of hand-crafted items to see and purchase is dizzying. Creativity abounds! (more…)

If you are interested in Totem Poles (and who isn’t?), you have two distinct possibilities to see them firsthand in Vancouver. B.C.  One option is “free” near the entrance of Stanley Park (see our September 28 blog).  The constant rumbling of tour buses stopping in the parking area is an interesting juxtaposition of ancient cultural and modern forms of pollution … 

I’m sure the original First Nations population of British Columbia would have been appalled, or at least confused by the throngs of tourists snapping photos and taking videos of the assembled collection of Totem Poles in the park.   

The other option for seeing Totem Poles and other collections of First Nations art is not free, but without the tour buses. 

Approximately 20 minutes from downtown Vancouver, and an interesting drive through the suburban area of south Vancouver, is a quieter and reserved observation of the creations of the First Nations peoples.

(First Nations – - – refers to the over 600 aboriginal bands of peoples of Canada.)

A large collection of over 35,000 artifacts are housed at the Museum of Anthropology (MOA) located on the campus of the University of British Columbia.  Today’s building is far more complex than its humble beginnings in 1949 in the basement of the University Library. 

The current museum was designed and built in 1976, holding collections of not only First Nations artifacts, but that of the South Pacific, Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. 

Most well-known for its Northwest Coast collections, the MOA exhibits large sculptures in the Great Hall. 

These large wooden sculptures of red cedar are representative of several First Nations communities such as the Haida, Kwakwaka’wakw, and Oweekeno.  

Even a thousand years ago, guys were telling fish stories…

"Really guys! The fish was THAT big!"

(more…)

Every piece of travel material on Vancouver mentions Granville Island as a great place to go.  We agree.  Even on a rainy day, we found Granville Island with its Public Market a great opportunity to eat, see and experience.

The Public Market has several large buildings where the same vendors have been for years.  The variety of products sold range from gorgeous produce to cheese to flowers to pastries to  tea to – well, you name it!

Gorgeous produce arrayed at Granville Island's Public Market

There are also food stands where you can purchase burgers and other food, ready made, even from buffalo. Almost every ethnic food variety is represented.  Bagels, pizza, teriyaki, fish (fresh and cooked) and almost too many choices! (more…)

We were staying in the downtown area on Robson Street – the center of commerce…

Downtown

In our downtown hotel location on Robson Street, there are shops (like Guess, Banana Republic, Tommy Hilfiger) with upscale names and glamorous window displays. The prices were glamorous, too, except for a modest Chinese Restaurant, Hon’s Wun-Tun House, which whipped out our food very quickly for takeout. The menu was enormous and we had a hard time choosing, but the prices were generally under the $10 (Canadian) price range for each entrée.

In contrast, we spent considerably more – $40-plus with tip – at O’Doul’s (Listel Hotel) for a corned beef hash and Eggs Benedict breakfast.

Sculpture on Robson Street

A sculpture, appearing to be a whimsical orange twisted wire, was in front of O’Doul’s. We saw other interesting art around Vancouver. (more…)

Think of Scottsdale on the ocean, less heat and no malls — You’ve got Cannon Beach on Oregon’s Pacific Coast.

An upscale beach community, Cannon Beach was the second resort town on Oregon’s coast. (Seaside was the first.) Art galleries, boutique shops, unique toy stores, candy makers and specialty restaurants abound.

Shops on Hemlock Street

(more…)

By Guest Author Peggy Bradshaw

The Native Heritage Center, located outside of Anchorage, Alaska, introduces you to native traditions and customs of both the past and the present. We stopped there on our way from Whittier to Anchorage. (more…)