Posted by Jackie Hewett on Sun 22nd April 2007 at 10:26 PM, Filed in Eco Friendly
Fancy doing something very different, educational, worthwhile and even ‘putting something back’ into the planet on your holidays?
I came across the terrific ‘Earthwatch Institute’ a number of years ago and am glad to see they still seem to be going strong after start up some 30 years ago. They are an international environmental charity who organise diverse research projects that bring together scientists, partners and volunteers in efforts to conserve the diversity of life on Earth.
They offer opportunities to study at close hand all manner of animals, plant life, archaeology, architecture and anthropology. As a volunteer you have to pay your way, but for most of the expeditions you don’t have to have any special skills, just a willingness to ‘muck in’. It is fair to say that on most expeditions you will have some pretty unique and fulfilling experiences.
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Where but in the USA would you find the World Barbecue Cooking Contest! The country that does everything in a big way certainly knows how to eat.
This annual event takes place in Memphis, and is part of the Memphis in May festival. This year’s grand cook off takes place 17th May to 19th May, and is always the crowning glory of the festival (it’s dubbed the world championship though it’s not the only one). It takes place on the banks of the Mississippi river in the Tom Lee Park, it’s not only corporate sponsored professionals who take part in this smoky combat of ‘culinary delights’, ordinary folk take part with their back garden barbecues.
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Posted by Jackie Hewett on Thu 19th April 2007 at 09:55 PM, Filed in USA Florida
One of the best things we did in Florida during our trip October 2006 was to book lunch with an astronaut at Nasa’s Kennedy Space Centre.
We had no idea how ‘intimate’ it would be (in terms of numbers of attendees), what to expect regarding the format or who we were going to see. We’d booked through a rep in our hotel, but if you book through their web site it lists the astronauts scheduled for about a month ahead (but it is subject to change). The lunch wasn’t expensive – something like an extra $20 per head (on top of the Max access tour we had decided to do anyway) and we figured we’d be buying lunch anyway so why not give it a go?
The ‘Brady Bunch’ with Al Worden in the middle
We were given strict instructions about not going on the bus tour in the morning as we wouldn’t be back in time for the lunch which was to start at 12.15 sharp. There were about 70 people waiting in the lobby on the day we went. We filed into a large function room with the obligatory round tables and a video showing. We were free to choose our own seats so we took a table near the ‘front’ and helped ourselves from the buffet. The food was not gourmet, but fine, with a reasonable choice of hot and cold dishes and soft drinks. But of course we hadn’t come for that.
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We visited the canyon one October which seemed like a good time of the year to go. Very pleasant climate (one of the driest months there too) and crisp clear skies, so good photo opportunities. Also, there were none of the congestion issues getting into the park that I have read about in the summer.
The night before visiting the canyon we found a motel in Williams. Bit of a one-horse town, but the lack of light pollution in the area meant that I did get to see the Milky Way clearly and 2 shooting stars that night on a short drive out of town!
In the morning on our quest to find breakfast we stumbled across the Williams Depot (http://www.grandcanyonrailway.com) – who have some fabulously restored old trains that will take you on a return trip from Williams to the Canyon’s south rim. The return trip just for the train seemed a little expensive but packages are available for accommodation, meal(s) and return trip. I believe you will have a limited number of hours at the canyon and only stop at the one area of the canyon. They put on a bit of a ‘shoot-em-up’ cowboy show before the train departs in the morning that we hung around for. I wouldn’t go out of my way to see it but it’s probably OK for kids.
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Are your children (or even you) a Star Wars enthusiast?
If so a visit to the small village of Matamata in Tunisia just might be the holiday for you! The hotel ‘Sidi Driss’ has been nicknamed the Star Wars hotel because George Lucas used it as a set for Lars homestead on the dessert planet of ‘Tatooine’ (in the original Star Wars movie when Luke Skywalker gazed at the two suns, and used again for the more recent ‘Attack of the Clones’). In fact Tataouine does exist – it’s a town a few miles south of the filming location.
The Sidi Driss hotel is a traditional Berber house, built centuries ago with interior underground courtyards, or pits. The hotel has 5 pits and the one used in the film now houses a small bar and rooms used for serving breakfast. The guest rooms are situated in caves off other pits. Being in caves means that the rooms have no windows, but the temperature stays comfortable night and day. The interiors are basic (matching the price), painted white and have electricity and toilets and showers are shared. If you prefer a little more luxury you could stay nearby and make a day-trip to the hotel (coaches do turn up regularly) but you won’t experience the same solitude and photo opportunities without other people in the middle of them!.
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