Travel
Travel
The Margins of Metropolis
Discovering the delights and cultural character of Los Angeles’ coastal neighbors
December 9th, 2010
There are few places on Earth I have been where the city streets themselves are entertainment enough. Paris. New York. There the citizens perform their city for you as they move through it. You might find it in New Orleans, if you catch a pomaded dandy with a boutonniere in the lapel of his white linen suit, an ivory-topped walking stick, handmade shoes and a diamond sparkling in a front tooth. Not Barcelona or London or San Francisco. Read more »
Travel
Shopping Scottsdale
From indie stores to high-end chains, this collection is worth a trip
November 25th, 2010
Scottsdale’s winter visitors have many agendas—golfing, hiking, clubbing, just to name a few. Sooner or later, almost everyone succumbs to shopping’s siren call. Like Las Vegas, this desert city is famously loaded with high-end retail opportunities (check those out at vast Scottsdale Fashion Square or newly opened Scottsdale Quarter). Read more »
Travel
Think Ski!
Time to book your reservations: Here are seven regional resorts that have upped the ante for the new season
November 11th, 2010
Hard to believe, with triple-digit temperatures still a fresh memory, but the ski season is just around the corner. Most hills open around Thanksgiving weekend and have already received some serious snow. In preparation, many resorts spent the summer getting face-lifts and adding amenities such as snowmaking machines, spiffy chairlifts and trick parks. Here’s a sampling of what’s new out West: Read more »
Travel
Dreaming of a Tropical Christmas?
Then make your reservations for Oahu, where paradise gets festive for the holidays
October 28th, 2010
After a summer of staycations, it’s time for something special this holiday season—especially for those of us stuck here on the ninth island. It’s time to go back to Oahu. During my time living in Honolulu, before I relocated to Las Vegas, I found Christmas and New Year’s Eve easily the best time of year to take in all the island has to offer: from big surf on the North Shore to an island-wide New Year’s fireworks celebration you have to see (and hear) to believe. Read more »
Travel
Home for a Holiday
Vacation rentals offer affordable alternative to hotels
October 7th, 2010
The last time I went to Zion National Park, the biggest decision I had to make was which bed I would sleep in each night in my vacation rental home. That’s because Coyote Ridge (yes, the place even has a name) sleeps 14. It has a 10-person hot tub, gas grill, fireplace, a kitchen that far exceeded any I’ve owned, two satellite TVs and a DVD player. And it opens up to an acre of outdoor space, just seven miles east of Zion (see for yourself at coyoteridgezion.com). Read more »
Travel
To Hell You Ride
Beyond a wealth of skiing, this Colorado town offers a taste of the true West
September 30th, 2010
Las Vegas has been called the last great frontier town in America, but given the changes of the past 20 years, it hardly seems that way anymore. Enter Telluride, a Wild West enclave at the tip of what might be the longest dead-end road in America. And if it isn’t, it certainly feels that way. Read more »
Travel
Adventure in Ventura
Historical sites, farm bounty and coastal attractions awaken the senses
September 16th, 2010
Ventura County offers one of the more diverse weekend getaways in California, thanks to a restored downtown Ventura, excellent dining and accommodations in the town of Ojai, and the opportunity to experience unspoiled nature at Channel Islands National Park. Since it lies directly between flashy L.A. County and glamorous Santa Barbara, it’s easy to overlook. That’s a mistake. Ventura bills itself as “the real California,” and it has the Old World ambience to prove it. Read more »
Travel
What’s Great About Salt Lake
From light-rail to a pretty cool square, the city has some heavenly urban offerings
September 2nd, 2010
The urban bona fides of Salt Lake City may seem hard to find, hidden under the gorgeous Wasatch Range, which hugs the eastern rim of the city. But what makes Salt Lake such a nice diversion from Las Vegas is that, slowly but surely, the city’s central districts are being successfully stitched together into a walkable, livable urban environment. Read more »
Travel
Bumbershooting to Seattle
Labor Day weekend in the ‘Rainy City’ features a blast of a festival and one last burst of summer
August 19th, 2010
If you imagine Seattle as a dank, gray place where residents trudge through flannel and sweat coffee, I’m not about to take the grunge out of your sails. I won’t bother telling you about its perfect summer days, with swimming-pool-colored skies and cool, sweet breezes curling in from Puget Sound. However, I will say that the Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival, an annual three-day event that brings together a mind-blowing array of artistic and musical talent, is coming up this Labor Day weekend, and you should take that opportunity to visit. Bumbershoot generally falls on the last of Seattle’s improbably epic summer weekends. Ten minutes after your plane takes off, the leaves will turn and the clouds will roll in. Read more »
Travel
Brash Vision, Quaint Charm
Cuisine one of many reasons for a Las Vegan to visit Macau
August 12th, 2010
One of my friends called my trip to Macau a busman’s holiday. He couldn’t have been more wrong. Macau, joined at the hip to China’s mainland, is largely thought of as the Asian Las Vegas, but it is also really a fascinating place with a long history and deep culture. Portuguese traders first settled in Macau in the 16th century and administered the region until it reverted back to China in 1999. However, the Macanese retain autonomy, separate passports and freedom of movement not enjoyed by mainland Chinese. Read more »
