The National Park Service is looking to stimulate summer vacations at national parks.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced Tuesday that entrance fees at 147 national parks and monuments -- including the Grand Canyon and Yosemite -- will be waived on three weekends this summer. The weekends are June 20-21, July 18-19 and August 15-16.
"During these tough economic times, our national parks provide opportunities for affordable vacations for families," Salazar said at a news conference at Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio. "I encourage everyone to visit one of our nation's crown jewels this summer and especially to take advantage of the three free-admission weekends."
Most Americans live less than a day's drive from a national park, Salazar said. Last year, national parks attracted more than 275 million visits, generating an estimated $10.6 billion for local economies and supporting more than 213,000 jobs, he said.
For the Park Service, the free weekends will mean a loss of an estimated half-million dollars a day from entrance fees that range from $3 to $25. A total of 147 parks and monuments charge entrance fees; the nation's other 244 parks are already free.
Kendra Barkoff, a spokeswoman for Salazar, said the lost revenue should be more than offset by an increase in park tourism. Many tour operators, hotels, restaurants, gift shops and other vendors near national parks will offer other discounts and special promotions on the free weekend dates, she said.
The waiver applies only to entrance fees and does not affect charges for camping, reservations, tours or concessions, Barkoff said.
Recently in Travel Category
You land at LAX after a relaxing vacation only to find out your luggage didn't make it home with you. Just like the drier didn't eat your sock, the plane didn't eat your stuff, so where did it go?
One possible option is www.isthisyourluggage.com. When an airline or airport finds lost luggage but not its owner, it auctions off the bags and sends the profits to charity. The creator of isthisyourluggage.com buys that lost luggage at auction, photographs it and posts the images on the site so people can find their lost belongings. If while browsing the site you come across a suitcase or bag that looks like yours, you must send an e-mail to the luggage collector to negotiate the return of your items.
Last week, Chicago learned that its iconic Sears Tower -- the tallest building in the United States, is losing its name. Blair Kamin, at ChicagoTribune.com, said "The Sears name isn't just a tack-on. It stands for something.... The building's architecture reflects that past: It is strong, solid, democratic."
London-based insurer the Willis Group moved into the tower, and the investment firm that owns the skyscraper threw in a name change at no extra charge. It shall now be known as Willis Tower. Plus, Sears left the tower as its headquarters back in 1992.
The name change shows how skyscrapers stoke the imaginations and passions of both detractors and admirers. If you fall into the admirers camp, SkyscraperPage.com is for you. The site features an extensive database of building statistics and very well-drawn diagrams.
Locally, El Segundo has five buildings represented in the database. Several more near LAX are categorized within Los Angeles, which boasts 559 high-rises.
Register for the page and you can join in discussions on architecture and urbanism on the active forums.
The Grand Canyon, Mount Everest and Loch Ness will vie with more than 200 other spectacular places in the next phase of the global competition for the New 7 Wonders of Nature, organizers said.
The 261 nominees from 222 countries include some of the most famous mountain peaks, lakes, and other attractions, such as the Great Barrier Reef and Niagara Falls.
More than a billion voters are expected to join in Internet voting that will nominate 77
semifinalists for the top natural wonders, which will share in the glory already enjoyed by the seven man-made wonders chosen 18 months ago.
Votes can be cast through July 7. Registration on the Web site aims to prevent people from voting twice.
"We are calling on people all over the world to actively show their appreciation for our ... natural world by joining together to celebrate the most extraordinary sites on our planet," said Tia Viering, spokeswoman of the New 7 Wonders campaign.
The Swiss-based nonprofit foundation collected 441 nominations over the Internet since it opened the selection process in 2007.
The foundation then chose the top vote-getter from each country, making a list of 222 sites. The overall list rose to 261 with the inclusion of sites shared by two or more countries -- such as Niagara Falls and Lake Superior between Canada and the United States and the Matterhorn, between Switzerland and Italy.
A panel of experts, chaired by Federico Mayor, former chief of UNESCO, the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, will reduce the list to 21 finalists in July.
The seven winners will then be chosen in another round of public voting lasting until 2011, this time by Internet, telephone and text messages.
Choosing world wonders has been a continuing fascination over the centuries. UNESCO keeps updating its list of World Heritage Sites, which now totals 878 places.
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He was 16 when he left Marina del Rey on June 14 on a quest to become the youngest person to circumnavigate the world solo by yacht. He's 17 now and despite numerous adventures that have included a broken tiller and a broken boom, a pirate scare, storms and a communication loss that had his parents on the verge of calling for a search party, Zac Sunderland is on track to complete his mission before he turns 18.
He's been on a stopover for repairs and rest in Durban, South Africa, and his latest blog entry tells us he planned to leave Saturday morning for the next leg of his journey, a relatively short but hazardous 250 miles around the Cape of Good Hope. "I have made some good friends in Durban which makes it hard to leave," Zac says.
In addition to his blog, Zac's Web site offers photos of his adventures, FAQs about his journey and his yacht, Intrepid, and YouTube videos of his life at sea.
Noah Galuten spent the past three months eating his way around the world -- all within a day's drive of his Santa Monica apartment.
The Associated Press reports:
The 25-year-old playwright was broke and unemployed when he decided to eat cuisine from a different country every day and write about it on his "Man Bites World" Web site.
Galuten figured he could stomach 60 traditional dishes from a different country on consecutive days until he ran out of options and was sated. But the project took him further than he ever imagined, stamping his culinary passport with food from 102 cultures by his final bite of Slovakian poppy seed cake more than three months later.That he could cross so many borders so close to home is both a testament to Los Angeles' cultural melting pot and the help he got from strangers who invited him into their homes to share traditional meals. "If there's anywhere you should be more inclusive, it's eating," he said.
The final feast -- plum brandy, roasted chestnuts, sheep milk feta with paprika and caraway, homemade gnocchi, and a traditional Christmas soup -- was home-cooked by Peter Simon, a Slovakian immigrant who offered his homeland's best.
The end tasted bitter and sweet: The adventure was over, but he was relieved because it was exhausting -- and expensive.
The international noshing left Galuten with $4,000 in credit card debt, which he hopes to erase by writing a book about his experiences. His girlfriend, Jackie Honikman, 25, a Web designer who covered his rent and other costs, gained about 15 pounds.
When the experiment came to a close this month after he failed to find Somalian food, he returned to his own roots, where he was comforted by a childhood treat -- turkey Bolognese cooked by his mom.
Heading to D.C. for Obama's inauguration?
Good luck.
A four-night stay at a fancy hotel is going for as much as $40,000, and even those spaces are filling up fast.
If you're planning to go -- or think you might want to try to go -- here are some tips and resources for finding a room, a ride and a ticket.
Hotels
Most downtown hotels are already filled, but there are still some rooms available in outlying areas of the city and the suburbs. Many hotels are requiring three- and four-night minimums. Travelers can check Web sites such as Expedia and Orbitz for deals as well as www.washington.org. "You really want to get at it right now," advises William Hanbury with Destination DC, the city's tourism bureau. Groups requiring 10 or more rooms can call Destination DC at 800-422-8644.
Other lodging options
Hanbury says people are coming up with innovative approaches such as sleeping in church basements, school cafeterias or on friends' couches. Some D.C. residents have posted ads on Web sites such as Craigslist offering to rent out their homes.
Transportation
Many streets downtown and around the National Mall will be closed on Inauguration Day, so plan to use public transportation whenever possible. Your best options include Metrorail and Metrobus and the DC Circulator bus. You can avoid waiting in line in Metro stations by pre-purchasing all-day Metro passes online. Be aware that security is heightened. For example, your bags might be checked on Metro and Amtrak trains.
Tickets
Tickets to the inauguration ceremony are free -- but sure to be scarce -- and will be distributed through members of Congress in January. Contact your senator or representative to request a ticket. Here are the Web sites of House members who represent the South Bay:
Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach)
Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles)
Jane Harman (D-El Segundo)
Laura Richardson (D-Carson)
Congressional offices will get the tickets about a week before the Jan. 20 swearing-in ceremony; in-person pickup is required. Be wary of any Web site or broker claiming to sell tickets; Congress is the only way to go.
The old saying that misery loves company definitely applies to flightsfromhell.com. Some of these accounts will not only top your own horror stories, but will make you exclaim: "Thank heavens I wasn't on that flight!"
Such as: The passenger punched and left bleeding by a sleep-boxing seat mate. The cabin neighbor who wasn't wearing a diaper, but should have been. The loyal friends and family members who trundle over icy roads from Midwest town to town to pick up a loved one as destinations are changed, seemingly at will.
In addition to true stories submitted by long-suffering passengers and organized into a dozen or so categories (baggage, seniors, babies and kids, reclining seats, medical & illness and several more) the site also provides Flying Hell News, Flying Features, a gift store and a bookstore. Book titles range from travel stories, flight attendant recollections, to tips for flying more comfortably.
If nothing else, the T-shirts and other clothing items offered (including options for children and even maternity garb) could identify wearers as savvy travellers and put a little respect in the hearts of recalcitrant airline officials.
Autumn leaves of red and gold aren't the first thing that come to mind in local sightseeing. But leaf peeping need not involve leaving on a jet plane. Several Web sites suggest venues only a short distance from coastal population centers.
BeachCalifornia.com, http://www.beachcalifornia.com/california/fall-foliage-california.html, offers links to a number of getaway destinations, among them nearby Idyllwild, Lee Vining in Mono County, not far from perennial SoCal favorite, Mammoth Outside Southern California, but still close enough for a jaunt, are Placer County, outside Sacramento and South Lake Tahoe. National parks such as Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon offer many attractions in addition to foliage.
A Web site for California State Parks http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=23487 urges fall visits, with an advance check on condidtions as the season advances. Among its Southern California picks are Mount San Jacinto State Park in Riverside County, Palomar Mountain and Cuyamaca Rancho state parks in San Diego County and Silverwood State Recreation Area in San Bernardino County.
1) Cabrillo Marine Aquarium: Marine exhibits, touch tanks and special events.
Hours: Tuesdays through Fridays noon to 5 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Mondays, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Admission is a suggested a donation of $5 for adults, and $1 for children and seniors.
3720 Stephen M.White Drive, San Pedro. 310-548-7562.
2) South Coast Botanic Garden: 87 acres of land with a collection of plants from all over the world, classes, tours, walks and special shows.
Hours: Garden open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
Admission is $7 for adults, $5 for seniors and students, $2.50 for children 5-12, and free for those under 5.
26300 Crenshaw Blvd., Palos Verdes Peninsula. 310-544-6815.
3) Madrona Marsh Preserve and Nature Center: Learn about the animal and plant species that benefit from the marsh at the Nature Center, then explore the marsh itself and see them in their natural habitat. Call for special nature walks and other events.
3201 Plaza del Amo, Torrance. 310-782-3989.
4) Point Vicente Interpretive Center: The 10,000-square-foot center features exhibits about the natural and cultural history of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, with an emphasis on the Pacific gray whale.
Hours: Daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Park grounds close at dusk.
No admission fee, but donations are appreciated.
31501 Palos Verdes Drive West, Rancho Palos Verdes. 310-377-5370.
5) Roundhouse Lab, Aquarium: Native and non-native marine life, including sharks, moray eels, lobsters and octopi, on display in tanks; educational programs for kindergarten through 12th-grade classes; outreach programs and birthday parties.
Hours: 3 p.m. to dusk Mondays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to dusk Saturdays and Sundays.
Free admission but donations are welcome.
End of Manhattan Beach Pier. 310-379-8117.
6) Western Museum of Flight: Focuses on the history of the aerospace industry in Southern California, with planes from all eras on display.
Hours: 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays through Sundays.
General admission is $5, students $3.
3315 Airport Drive, Red Baron Hangar No. 3, Torrance. 310-326-9544.
7) Charles H. Wilson Park: Free Little Train Rides on the first Sunday of the month (except in July). The park also has a treehouse. The train rides are closest to the park's eastern Washington St. entrance.
Hours: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
2200 Crenshaw Blvd., Torrance.
8) Sea Aire Golf Course: Sea-Aire is a very short nine-hole, 27 par, pitch and putt golf course nestled in the Seaside Ranchos neighborhood of SouthTorrance. It's a low-stress, relatively low-cost place to learn the game. Club and ball rental available.
Hours: Mondays 3 p.m. until dusk, Tuesdays through Sundays 9 a.m. until dusk.
22780 Lupine Drive, Torrance. 310-543-4653.
9) Banning Residence Museum: Built in 1864, the restored, 23-room Greek revival mansion is the former home of Phineas Banning, who founded Wilmington in 1858. Call for information on guided tours and special events.
General admission is $5, $1 for children under 12.
401 E. M St., Wilmington. 310-548-7777.
10) L.A. Maritime Museum: Exhibits include vessels, models, paintings and memorabilia of maritime life. Hands-on exhibits include knot board and amateur radio room.
Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, noon to 5 p.m. Sundays, closed Mondays
General admission $3 general, seniors and youths ages 7-18 $1, children 6 and under free.
Berth 84, foot of Sixth St., San Pedro. 310-548-7618.
