SW U.S./Hawaii Travel
- The Best Time to Visit Arizona
- What time is it in Arizona?
- Grand Canyon Skywalk One Year Old
- Walt Disney World's Best Ride
- Using Internet for Travel Research
- Madeira Walking Festival Holidays
- Andy Goldsworthy Aspen Exhibition
- Sierra Club Wilderness Calendar
- New York Cheap Hotels and Shopping
- Ski Resorts Open In Southwest USA
The Best Time to Visit Arizona
Posted by
Donna Dailey
Donna Dailey
Flowering cacti, blossoming palo verde trees and nesting birds make springtime the best time to visit southern Arizona. And it's not too hot to enjoy it on a desert walk.
When is the best time to visit Arizona? Thousands of snowbirds flock here every winter, but they head back north in March, just when things start getting really good. Those who stick around know that springtime is the best time in southern Arizona.
In late March/early April, buds start appearing on the ocotillo and palo verde trees along the arroyo. House finches, cactus wrens and mourning doves disappear under our rafters with twigs in their beaks.
Now it's all come to lovely fruition. It's amazing to see the desert, so dry and brown for much of the year, bursting forth with color. Plants which are formidably untouchable due to their sharp spines suddenly bloom with bright, delicate flowers.
My favorite are the Santa Rita prickly pear cactuses. Their large pads turn deep purple in winter, a lovely background for their bright yellow spring flowers. Our barrel cactus is topped with a concentric ring of yellow buds and our teddy bear chollas have pink and yellow blossoms at the ends of their spindly arms.
The aloe vera plants are losing their pinkish winter coat as tall stems with pale orange flowers sprout from their center. The bright yellow leaves of the palo verde trees are stunning against the deep blue sky. Birds cling to the deep orange blossoms at the ends of the ocotillo. This week we even saw flowers on the massive arms of the saguaros.
Gambols quail are digging up our garden, looking for nesting sites. House finches serenade us with the sweetest songs, or scold us if we walk too near their nests. We spend hours in hidden wonder watching baby cactus wrens and mourning doves learning to fly.
Wildflowers are blooming all over the desert and mountains. Springtime is the best time to visit Arizona.
*
In late March/early April, buds start appearing on the ocotillo and palo verde trees along the arroyo. House finches, cactus wrens and mourning doves disappear under our rafters with twigs in their beaks.
Now it's all come to lovely fruition. It's amazing to see the desert, so dry and brown for much of the year, bursting forth with color. Plants which are formidably untouchable due to their sharp spines suddenly bloom with bright, delicate flowers.
My favorite are the Santa Rita prickly pear cactuses. Their large pads turn deep purple in winter, a lovely background for their bright yellow spring flowers. Our barrel cactus is topped with a concentric ring of yellow buds and our teddy bear chollas have pink and yellow blossoms at the ends of their spindly arms.
The aloe vera plants are losing their pinkish winter coat as tall stems with pale orange flowers sprout from their center. The bright yellow leaves of the palo verde trees are stunning against the deep blue sky. Birds cling to the deep orange blossoms at the ends of the ocotillo. This week we even saw flowers on the massive arms of the saguaros.
Gambols quail are digging up our garden, looking for nesting sites. House finches serenade us with the sweetest songs, or scold us if we walk too near their nests. We spend hours in hidden wonder watching baby cactus wrens and mourning doves learning to fly.
Wildflowers are blooming all over the desert and mountains. Springtime is the best time to visit Arizona.
*
Posted by
Donna Dailey
Donna Dailey
Apart from the Navajo Nation, Arizona does not observe Daylight Saving Time. So what's the local time in Arizona? Why don't they spring forward and fall back in AZ?
For the last month I've been asked the same question over and over again. What time is it in Arizona?
It's the same every year. Because we don't "spring forward" like the rest of the US and the UK, nobody can remember when to phone me. And I confess I have trouble keeping track of the changes myself, especially now that the US has extended the start and end of its Daylight Saving Time. So for several weeks of the year, we're out of sync with the rest of the world.
With the exception of the Navajo Nation, which lies in the northeast part of the state and extends into New Mexico and Utah, Arizona does not observe Daylight Saving Time. Neither does Hawaii.
Why not? I wondered. Who wouldn't want an extra hour of daylight? It seemed a good idea to Benjamin Franklin, who first proposed the idea back in 1784 on the grounds that it would save on candles. It's even more environmentally sound today, when using less electricity and saving oil is even more paramount.
Arizona did, in fact, observe Daylight Saving Time during World War I and World War II, when conserving energy for the war effort was a national mandate. But when the current federal law implementing it was passed in 1973, Arizona citizens lobbied for an exemption.
The reason was simple. Summertime in Arizona is just too hot, and people wait till after dark to enjoy any evening activities. On the worst days temperatures can still read over 100 degrees well after the sun goes down.
Anyone who works outdoors - farmers, for example - knows that the coolest temperatures are in the early morning, so that's when extra daylight is most welcome. And that's why Arizona doesn't have Daylight Saving Time.
It's the same every year. Because we don't "spring forward" like the rest of the US and the UK, nobody can remember when to phone me. And I confess I have trouble keeping track of the changes myself, especially now that the US has extended the start and end of its Daylight Saving Time. So for several weeks of the year, we're out of sync with the rest of the world.
With the exception of the Navajo Nation, which lies in the northeast part of the state and extends into New Mexico and Utah, Arizona does not observe Daylight Saving Time. Neither does Hawaii.
Why not? I wondered. Who wouldn't want an extra hour of daylight? It seemed a good idea to Benjamin Franklin, who first proposed the idea back in 1784 on the grounds that it would save on candles. It's even more environmentally sound today, when using less electricity and saving oil is even more paramount.
Arizona did, in fact, observe Daylight Saving Time during World War I and World War II, when conserving energy for the war effort was a national mandate. But when the current federal law implementing it was passed in 1973, Arizona citizens lobbied for an exemption.
The reason was simple. Summertime in Arizona is just too hot, and people wait till after dark to enjoy any evening activities. On the worst days temperatures can still read over 100 degrees well after the sun goes down.
Anyone who works outdoors - farmers, for example - knows that the coolest temperatures are in the early morning, so that's when extra daylight is most welcome. And that's why Arizona doesn't have Daylight Saving Time.
Grand Canyon Skywalk One Year Old
Posted by
Donna Dailey
Donna Dailey
In just one year the Skywalk at Grand Canyon West has brought many benefits to the Hualapai Nation in this remote corner of Arizona, paving the way to a better future.
It hardly seems a year has passed since the Grand Canyon Skywalk opened to the public. On March 28, 2007, visitors took their first steps onto the great glass bridge that extends out over the cliff edge, 4000 feet above the Grand Canyon floor.
A lucky couple from Baltimore, Maryland were the first members of the public to walk on the Skywalk. They had been in Las Vegas on a business trip and couldn't pass up the opportunity to visit Grand Canyon West for the opening day. After his walk Benson Rice told reporters, "It was definitely worth the trip."
The number of Skywalk visitors has grown steadily since opening day. Rising from around 500 per day to more than 2000 daily visitors, numbers have quadrupled in only a year's time.
The Skywalk at Grand Canyon West is located on land belonging to the Hualapai Nation. Life is rugged in this beautiful but remote corner of northwest Arizona, and the success of the Skywalk has brought job opportunities and hope for a better future for members of the tribe.
"The Hualapai Nation has been plagued by poverty and unemployment for decades," said Wilfred Whatoname, a tribe member who handles Guest Relations at Grand Canyon West.
When I interviewed him recently at World Travel Market, he cited several benefits the Skywalk is bringing to the tribe, including jobs and a new program at the University of Hospitality in Las Vegas which will be based around Grand Canyon West.
Read my interview with Wilfred Whatoname.
Read more about the Grand Canyon Skywalk and how to visit.
To read my review of Lonely Planet's new guidebook to the Grand Canyon National Park, click here.
A lucky couple from Baltimore, Maryland were the first members of the public to walk on the Skywalk. They had been in Las Vegas on a business trip and couldn't pass up the opportunity to visit Grand Canyon West for the opening day. After his walk Benson Rice told reporters, "It was definitely worth the trip."
The number of Skywalk visitors has grown steadily since opening day. Rising from around 500 per day to more than 2000 daily visitors, numbers have quadrupled in only a year's time.
The Skywalk at Grand Canyon West is located on land belonging to the Hualapai Nation. Life is rugged in this beautiful but remote corner of northwest Arizona, and the success of the Skywalk has brought job opportunities and hope for a better future for members of the tribe.
"The Hualapai Nation has been plagued by poverty and unemployment for decades," said Wilfred Whatoname, a tribe member who handles Guest Relations at Grand Canyon West.
When I interviewed him recently at World Travel Market, he cited several benefits the Skywalk is bringing to the tribe, including jobs and a new program at the University of Hospitality in Las Vegas which will be based around Grand Canyon West.
Read my interview with Wilfred Whatoname.
Read more about the Grand Canyon Skywalk and how to visit.
To read my review of Lonely Planet's new guidebook to the Grand Canyon National Park, click here.
Posted by
Donna Dailey
Donna Dailey
Take a hang-gliding trip over California landscapes from Upper Yosemite Falls to Death Valley in Soarin', Epcot's high-flying attraction at Walt Disney World in Orlando.
I've spent the past month in central Florida researching a new Insight Guide, Step By Step Orlando. With so many fantastic theme parks in Orlando, it's hard to choose a favorite, but for my money Epcot's Soarin' is Walt Disney World's best ride.
Soarin' has long been a popular attraction at Disney's California Adventure park, and now it's a big hit at Epcot, too. It simulates a hang-glider ride over California, and the experience is amazingly real.
No special effects are necessary for this ride. All that's needed is a giant domed IMAX screen and the awesome beauty of California's landscape.
As the ride begins, the seats rise 45 feet into the air. With my feet dangling and a cool breeze blowing in my face, I had the terrifying sensation of being miles above ground with only a seatbelt holding me in.
That moment of vertigo soon turned to thrills as we began soarin' - up the Yosemite Valley above a river and over the top of Upper Yosemite Falls, across the tips of giant redwoods and above lush Napa Valley vineyards. Whenever it seemed we would crash into a mountain, we'd clear the peak and I'd find myself above the desert dunes of Death Valley, or gliding amidst a sky full of hot air balloons.
The sensation of flight was so realistic that I actually lifted my feet as we swooped low over the ocean. For the grand finale, we soared into the bursting fireworks display over the Magic Kingdom.
If you want to go Soarin', head straight for the ride when the park opens and get a Fastpass to avoid a long wait in line. The Fastpass slots are often gone by midday, but even if you have to queue, this is one ride worth waiting for.
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See my husband's Top Orlando Attractions.
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Soarin' has long been a popular attraction at Disney's California Adventure park, and now it's a big hit at Epcot, too. It simulates a hang-glider ride over California, and the experience is amazingly real.
No special effects are necessary for this ride. All that's needed is a giant domed IMAX screen and the awesome beauty of California's landscape.
As the ride begins, the seats rise 45 feet into the air. With my feet dangling and a cool breeze blowing in my face, I had the terrifying sensation of being miles above ground with only a seatbelt holding me in.
That moment of vertigo soon turned to thrills as we began soarin' - up the Yosemite Valley above a river and over the top of Upper Yosemite Falls, across the tips of giant redwoods and above lush Napa Valley vineyards. Whenever it seemed we would crash into a mountain, we'd clear the peak and I'd find myself above the desert dunes of Death Valley, or gliding amidst a sky full of hot air balloons.
The sensation of flight was so realistic that I actually lifted my feet as we swooped low over the ocean. For the grand finale, we soared into the bursting fireworks display over the Magic Kingdom.
If you want to go Soarin', head straight for the ride when the park opens and get a Fastpass to avoid a long wait in line. The Fastpass slots are often gone by midday, but even if you have to queue, this is one ride worth waiting for.
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See my husband's Top Orlando Attractions.
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Using Internet for Travel Research
Posted by
Donna Dailey
Donna Dailey
Trying to find out flight information, baggage allowances, hotel availability and book car hire without using the internet is a virtual impossibility these days.
How did we ever book our vacations or find travel information without using the internet? We just arrived from England to our home in Arizona, where we're not yet online. In a few days we're traveling again, on a research trip for a guidebook to Orlando and Central Florida. The final details aren't quite in place, and we're starting to wonder how on earth we ever made any travel arrangements when we only had the telephone.
We booked the cheap flight from Tucson to Orlando from England with Southwest Airlines – through their website, of course. But what time's check-in? What's the baggage allowance? It's those bits of essential travel information you realise you don't have at your fingertips, and which you could look up in a few seconds online... if only you were online. How do people with no PC at home ever get anywhere?
We didn't have our accommodation confirmed for the first few days, so needed to have a back-up ready. Sure, we've got the AAA Florida TourBook listing hundreds of hotels and motels near Orlando International Airport, but how do you find the best deal without going online and checking with Expedia or the Days Inn or Ramada websites? What do you do – ring a dozen hotels, get put on hold, make notes of every conversation, then ring back your first choice only to find there's no room at the Days Inn?
Luckily we got our car rental organised but it's the same thing. Is there a better way of comparing deals and then booking the best one instantly than on the internet? We've been spending a lot of time going back and forward to the library, or using our neighbor's wireless signal when we can pick it up. With his permission, of course!
We booked the cheap flight from Tucson to Orlando from England with Southwest Airlines – through their website, of course. But what time's check-in? What's the baggage allowance? It's those bits of essential travel information you realise you don't have at your fingertips, and which you could look up in a few seconds online... if only you were online. How do people with no PC at home ever get anywhere?
We didn't have our accommodation confirmed for the first few days, so needed to have a back-up ready. Sure, we've got the AAA Florida TourBook listing hundreds of hotels and motels near Orlando International Airport, but how do you find the best deal without going online and checking with Expedia or the Days Inn or Ramada websites? What do you do – ring a dozen hotels, get put on hold, make notes of every conversation, then ring back your first choice only to find there's no room at the Days Inn?
Luckily we got our car rental organised but it's the same thing. Is there a better way of comparing deals and then booking the best one instantly than on the internet? We've been spending a lot of time going back and forward to the library, or using our neighbor's wireless signal when we can pick it up. With his permission, of course!
Madeira Walking Festival Holidays
Posted by
Donna Dailey
Donna Dailey
Madeira is one of the best walking holiday destinations in the world & the first Madeira Walking Festival is such a success that January 2009 dates are already booked.
I'm back from Madeira, the Portuguese island in the Atlantic Ocean. I was enjoying the first Madeira Walking Festival, wondering why one of the best destinations for walking holidays in the world hasn't had a Walking Festival before. The answer is simple – no-one thought of it.
I had no idea what to expect myself, never having been to Madeira or to a Walking Festival. This one takes place over five days in January, and visitors have a choice of four walks each day, ranging from a few kilometres to about 14 kilometres. You can choose your walk according to your interests or your walking ability, and booking through the Festival is cheaper than organising them for yourself. You're also guaranteed a professional guide, to tell you about the history and the flora and fauna.
What I hadn't expected to be included in the price was a Welcome Reception and a Farewell Dinner. We were whisked from the airport straight to the reception, and got to meet some of our fellow walkers and also enjoy some really tasty nibbles. The Farewell Dinner was held in the São Tiago Fort in the Old Town of Funchal, and I was amazed by the quality of the food and the folk dancing and music that was also provided. What a bonus!
As for the walks, they were superb. There were mountain walks, coastal walks, and the unique Madeira levadas. These water channels run through the mountains, with narrow paths alongside for the workers to maintain them. I was both exhilarated and scared at times, but it's an experience I'll never forget.
The 2009 Madeira Walking Festival is being held from January 13-17. For further details when they are known, and to book, visit the Madeira Walking Festival website.
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I had no idea what to expect myself, never having been to Madeira or to a Walking Festival. This one takes place over five days in January, and visitors have a choice of four walks each day, ranging from a few kilometres to about 14 kilometres. You can choose your walk according to your interests or your walking ability, and booking through the Festival is cheaper than organising them for yourself. You're also guaranteed a professional guide, to tell you about the history and the flora and fauna.
What I hadn't expected to be included in the price was a Welcome Reception and a Farewell Dinner. We were whisked from the airport straight to the reception, and got to meet some of our fellow walkers and also enjoy some really tasty nibbles. The Farewell Dinner was held in the São Tiago Fort in the Old Town of Funchal, and I was amazed by the quality of the food and the folk dancing and music that was also provided. What a bonus!
As for the walks, they were superb. There were mountain walks, coastal walks, and the unique Madeira levadas. These water channels run through the mountains, with narrow paths alongside for the workers to maintain them. I was both exhilarated and scared at times, but it's an experience I'll never forget.
The 2009 Madeira Walking Festival is being held from January 13-17. For further details when they are known, and to book, visit the Madeira Walking Festival website.
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Andy Goldsworthy Aspen Exhibition
Posted by
Donna Dailey
Donna Dailey
British sculptor Andy Goldsworthy is famous worldwide for his monumental works set in natural landscapes to complement the environment. His work is now showing in Aspen.
The work of internationally renowned sculptor Andy Goldsworthy is on display at the Resnick Gallery, part of the Aspen Institute's Doerr Hosier Center, through March 28, 2008.
Goldsworthy's serpentine artwork Stone River winds out from the Doerr Hosier Center, which opened on the Aspen Meadows Resort campus last June. Made of carefully cut blocks of red sandstone from various countries, the sinuous sculpture connects the building with its natural surroundings and symbolically flows out to the world beyond.
The exhibition, entitled Two Creeks: Andy Goldsworthy – Ephemeral Works in the Roaring Fork Valley, displays some of the more fleeting artworks Goldsworthy made while constructing Stone River. They were created with natural materials (leaves, stones, twigs, etc) found on site and in Hunter and Woody creeks nearby.
I'm a big fan of Goldsworthy's work, which is inspired by natural forms and materials. But it took me awhile to warm up (literally!) to his artistic vision.
My husband introduced me to Goldsworthy's art in the early days of our courtship by dragging me across the muddy fields of Cumbria in search of his Sheepfolds. Even the local farmers weren't sure where they were. Soaked by freezing rain and faces stinging from a sudden freak hailstorm, we finally found them.
"We came up here for this?" I sputtered. "It's just a rock in a field!"
Actually, the rock was an ancient drove stone and Goldsworthy's reconstruction of the dry-stone walls preserved a disappearing part of Britain's heritage.
Since then I've come to admire Goldsworthy's works of art in nature. I pass his sandstone egg cairn at Penpont village every year when I visit friends in Scotland. And he has created striking environmental backdrops for artifacts in the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.
Don't miss the chance to see this remarkable artist in Aspen.
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Goldsworthy's serpentine artwork Stone River winds out from the Doerr Hosier Center, which opened on the Aspen Meadows Resort campus last June. Made of carefully cut blocks of red sandstone from various countries, the sinuous sculpture connects the building with its natural surroundings and symbolically flows out to the world beyond.
The exhibition, entitled Two Creeks: Andy Goldsworthy – Ephemeral Works in the Roaring Fork Valley, displays some of the more fleeting artworks Goldsworthy made while constructing Stone River. They were created with natural materials (leaves, stones, twigs, etc) found on site and in Hunter and Woody creeks nearby.
I'm a big fan of Goldsworthy's work, which is inspired by natural forms and materials. But it took me awhile to warm up (literally!) to his artistic vision.
My husband introduced me to Goldsworthy's art in the early days of our courtship by dragging me across the muddy fields of Cumbria in search of his Sheepfolds. Even the local farmers weren't sure where they were. Soaked by freezing rain and faces stinging from a sudden freak hailstorm, we finally found them.
"We came up here for this?" I sputtered. "It's just a rock in a field!"
Actually, the rock was an ancient drove stone and Goldsworthy's reconstruction of the dry-stone walls preserved a disappearing part of Britain's heritage.
Since then I've come to admire Goldsworthy's works of art in nature. I pass his sandstone egg cairn at Penpont village every year when I visit friends in Scotland. And he has created striking environmental backdrops for artifacts in the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.
Don't miss the chance to see this remarkable artist in Aspen.
*
Sierra Club Wilderness Calendar
Posted by
Donna Dailey
Donna Dailey
From Arizona's Monument Valley to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and Oahu's Waimea Bay, stunning Southwest USA photos feature in the 2008 Sierra Club Wilderness Calendar.
Among my favorite Christmas presents this year is the 2008 Sierra Club Wilderness Calendar, full of stunning photographs of natural landscapes across the USA. I'm not one of those people who can patiently wait for each new picture to be revealed at the start of every month. I can't resist a quick flick through, and I'm thrilled to find that half the year features places in the Southwest USA and Hawaii.
January starts off in my home state of Arizona with a winter scene of quaking aspen in the snow-covered Coconino National Forest that looks more like Colorado. February returns to type with an impressive textured shot of beetle tracks in sand dunes of Monument Valley.
It vies with March for my favorite photo: a gorgeous orange and yellow blanket of California poppies and goldfields in the Tehachapi Mountains that heralds spring. By contrast, April's giant wave breaking at Waimea Bay, Oahu, is sheer drama.
June presents an eerie landscape of hoodoos and eroded volcanic ash in a little-known spot in New Mexico, the Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument. In December it's back to Hawaii to finish off the year with a bang – an erupting spatter cone and lava at the Kilauea Volcano at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
The calendar was a gift from my dear friend Maryann in Vermont. While we haven't visited these exact locations together, we've trekked through many more like them since our university days in Colorado.
I'll see in New Year's Day by hanging the Sierra Club Wilderness Calendar on my office wall, where it will no doubt inspire many Southwest stories in 2008 – that is, when it's not distracting me with memories of many happy days spent in the great outdoors. Thanks Maryann!
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January starts off in my home state of Arizona with a winter scene of quaking aspen in the snow-covered Coconino National Forest that looks more like Colorado. February returns to type with an impressive textured shot of beetle tracks in sand dunes of Monument Valley.
It vies with March for my favorite photo: a gorgeous orange and yellow blanket of California poppies and goldfields in the Tehachapi Mountains that heralds spring. By contrast, April's giant wave breaking at Waimea Bay, Oahu, is sheer drama.
June presents an eerie landscape of hoodoos and eroded volcanic ash in a little-known spot in New Mexico, the Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument. In December it's back to Hawaii to finish off the year with a bang – an erupting spatter cone and lava at the Kilauea Volcano at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
The calendar was a gift from my dear friend Maryann in Vermont. While we haven't visited these exact locations together, we've trekked through many more like them since our university days in Colorado.
I'll see in New Year's Day by hanging the Sierra Club Wilderness Calendar on my office wall, where it will no doubt inspire many Southwest stories in 2008 – that is, when it's not distracting me with memories of many happy days spent in the great outdoors. Thanks Maryann!
*
New York Cheap Hotels and Shopping
Posted by
Donna Dailey
Donna Dailey
New York may be an expensive city, but you can still find good-value hotels, great restaurants and designer fashions at knock-down prices – all in central Manhattan.
I've just returned from New York, undoubtedly one of my favorite cities but also one of the most expensive. Contrary to popular myth, travel writers are on tight budgets. So I'm happy to report that I found cheap hotels, bargain shopping for designer fashions, and great affordable restaurants, all in central Manhattan.
In fact, the trip presented me with the classic travel writer's dilemma: are you duty-bound to share your best discoveries with your readers? Or do you keep some of them to yourself, in the hopes you'll find them uncrowded and available next time you visit?
In travel writing there's no such thing as a "best-kept secret". So duty wins, and I'll tell you (grudgingly) that I found the perfect budget accommodation at Hotel 17, set in an old brownstone on 17th Street between 2nd and 3rd avenues.
You can't beat the location: three blocks from Union Square and several subway lines, five blocks from Gramercy Park, and a stroll from the East Village. There's an Italian restaurant (Mumbles), a pizza joint (Mariella's) and the cozy 24-hour Gramercy Cafe on the nearest corner.
If you're willing to share a bathroom – they're kept spotlessly clean – rooms cost as little as $99-$120. Rooms with private baths start at $150. For central New York, that's a bargain.
The old-fashioned floral wallpaper and ancient radiators are part of its character. And like the notorious Hotel Chelsea, it has its share of resident characters. Madonna lived here briefly in her pre-fame days, and Matt LeBlanc - Joey from Friends - was a resident when he got his big commercial break.
Great fashion bargains are a few blocks away. I brought home a suitcase full of designer labels from Loehmann's and Filene's Basement, at a fraction of the usual price. It's going to be a very merry Christmas!
In fact, the trip presented me with the classic travel writer's dilemma: are you duty-bound to share your best discoveries with your readers? Or do you keep some of them to yourself, in the hopes you'll find them uncrowded and available next time you visit?
In travel writing there's no such thing as a "best-kept secret". So duty wins, and I'll tell you (grudgingly) that I found the perfect budget accommodation at Hotel 17, set in an old brownstone on 17th Street between 2nd and 3rd avenues.
You can't beat the location: three blocks from Union Square and several subway lines, five blocks from Gramercy Park, and a stroll from the East Village. There's an Italian restaurant (Mumbles), a pizza joint (Mariella's) and the cozy 24-hour Gramercy Cafe on the nearest corner.
If you're willing to share a bathroom – they're kept spotlessly clean – rooms cost as little as $99-$120. Rooms with private baths start at $150. For central New York, that's a bargain.
The old-fashioned floral wallpaper and ancient radiators are part of its character. And like the notorious Hotel Chelsea, it has its share of resident characters. Madonna lived here briefly in her pre-fame days, and Matt LeBlanc - Joey from Friends - was a resident when he got his big commercial break.
Great fashion bargains are a few blocks away. I brought home a suitcase full of designer labels from Loehmann's and Filene's Basement, at a fraction of the usual price. It's going to be a very merry Christmas!
Ski Resorts Open In Southwest USA
Posted by
Donna Dailey
Donna Dailey
Thanksgiving weekend marks the start of the 2007-08 ski season. Ski areas opened in Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and California and several ski resorts also got fresh snow.
There are two kinds of people who sit down to Thanksgiving dinner: those who are hoping that winter storms hold off just a little bit longer, and those who can't wait to get through their turkey and cranberries and head off to the ski slopes. So the early winter snowfalls across the USA this past week were met with mixed feelings.
Nowhere is this more true than the Southwest. But there's much more riding on a good base of early snow than happy skiers decked out in their latest downhill gear. The economy of hundreds of mountain towns, resorts and surrounding communities, and the livelihood of thousands of people who work in the ski industry, depend on it. No doubt they felt truly thankful that the 2007-08 winter ski season is off to a great start.
Hearing the enthusiastic reports of early winter snowfall takes me back to one of my first jobs at Crested Butte Mountain Resort in Colorado. When I was hired in late November, the slopes were bare and everyone from shop owners to mountain crew wore long faces as they hauled out the snow-making machines.
But the day I moved to town, shortly before Christmas, it began to snow and didn't stop for two weeks. For the rest of the winter, one false step off the narrow shoveled path outside my door plunged me hip-deep in snow. So although it will be awhile yet until I hit the slopes this year, I can feel the excitement in ski resorts across the Southwest USA as the new season kicks off.
For daily updates on openings, snow and weather conditions at ski areas across the Southwest, check out the Snow Reports for individual states:
Colorado
Utah
New Mexico
California
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Nowhere is this more true than the Southwest. But there's much more riding on a good base of early snow than happy skiers decked out in their latest downhill gear. The economy of hundreds of mountain towns, resorts and surrounding communities, and the livelihood of thousands of people who work in the ski industry, depend on it. No doubt they felt truly thankful that the 2007-08 winter ski season is off to a great start.
Hearing the enthusiastic reports of early winter snowfall takes me back to one of my first jobs at Crested Butte Mountain Resort in Colorado. When I was hired in late November, the slopes were bare and everyone from shop owners to mountain crew wore long faces as they hauled out the snow-making machines.
But the day I moved to town, shortly before Christmas, it began to snow and didn't stop for two weeks. For the rest of the winter, one false step off the narrow shoveled path outside my door plunged me hip-deep in snow. So although it will be awhile yet until I hit the slopes this year, I can feel the excitement in ski resorts across the Southwest USA as the new season kicks off.
For daily updates on openings, snow and weather conditions at ski areas across the Southwest, check out the Snow Reports for individual states:
Colorado
Utah
New Mexico
California
*