BOOK YOUR VACATION
Maintaining a sense of humor is the No.1 imperative for surviving a travel-related career, and travel writing is no exception. “Not So Funny When It Happened: The Best of Travel Humor and Misadventure” ($14.95, Travelers Tales) is a collection of stories from top-notch travel writers – and a few from other genres – that gives examples of just why it’s so important to keep laughing through the ridiculous things that can go wrong on the road and the silly situations travelers find themselves in because of misunderstandings or misinformation. Consider, for example, Elliott Hester’s attempts to keep from being thrown up on during his days as a flight attendant, and Bill Bryson’s continuing confusion over the menus in fancy restaurants, which insist on calling a steak anything but beef. Anne Lamott learns to love her aging body at a Oaxacan beach with teenage girls who have “the most incredibly small butts,” and David Sedaris recalls trying to explain how Jesus and a rabbit got mixed up together on Easter to a French class in Paris. “Not So Funny” is edited by author Tim Cahill, co-author of the IMAX film “Everest” as well as the book “Jaguars Ripped My Flesh.”
REAL DEALS
The week’s best travel bargains, by land, sea and air.
Book a European holiday market cruise with Uniworld (800-733-7820, uniworld.com) and receive $99 round-trip airfare from Washington. Several itineraries, ranging from seven to 12 nights, are available. Two seven-nighters start at $1,998 per person double, including the $99 airfare (air taxes and port charges are an extra $319).
Air New Zealand has an $883 round-trip sale fare (plus $77 taxes) from Los Angeles to Auckland, with a free stopover in Fiji. Depart Nov. 1-30 and complete travel by Dec. 12; some dates are sold out. Purchase by Oct. 31 at airnewzealand.com.
– The Washington Post
YOU MUST BE DREAMING
The babymoon isn’t new, but this destination maternity spa is – Barefoot & Pregnant at Casa Madrona Hotel & Spa is located in Sausalito, Calif., and specializes in prenatal massages, belly “facials” and bellycasts – a permanent plaster casting – as well as services for expecting fathers, such as new-father workshops. Therapists are specially trained to understand the needs of pregnant women and their partners, including the emotional end of things, and they offer such getaways as Expecting the Best, a three-day, two-night retreat ($1,140) that includes breakfast for two each morning, special spa services for Mom and Dad, dinner for two, a gift basket and airport transportation. And Baby Makes Three ($2,600) is a five-day, four-night escape that includes the previous plus an additional dinner for two and more spa services and a private birthing session (Dad can also get tee times on the golf course). The 63-room Casa Madrona is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is the oldest mansion in Sausalito. It offers private balconies overlooking the bay and a full-service restaurant. Call 415-388-1777 or visit barefootandpregnant.com.
GEARING UP
The deer and elk are out and about and so are we, heading up to the mountains to leaf-peep and play, which means the potential for all of us to run into one another is high. According to CDOT, wildlife is most on the move now through the end of November, during which there are more animal-vehicle collisions than at any other time of the year. Ways you can avoid hitting an animal include scanning the road for signs of movement, watching for shining eyes reflecting your headlights, looking for other animals when you spot a single one and keeping in mind that dawn and dusk are the most common times for animals to be active. You also can consider reflectors for your car, or something like the Sav-a-Life deer alert, which involves two space-age-looking units that you mount on your front bumper. They allow air to blow through holes in their centers, which produces a high-frequency whistle that can be heard only by animals such as deer and is supposed to stop them in their tracks, keeping them from jumping out in front of the vehicle. When we tried it out, a deer actually stood still and watched as we passed by. It took some effort, however, to get the units to stay stuck to the bumper, and the thumb-sized torpedos look kind of dorky. | $23.50, sav-a-life.com
travelistic.com
Newly launched, travelistic is the YouTube of travel video sites, a place where budding videographers can upload their productions (after registering, free and easy) and the curious traveler can watch video after video from around the world. Already the site is loaded with views of people, places and things, from the volcanoes of Costa Rica to the corn beer of Peru to the fanciest villas of France, with videos ranked by popularity and producers ranked by most traveled and most viewed. The films are further broken down into searchable categories, such as mountains, beaches, architecture, ruins, festivals – you name it – or can be searched by producer or commentator. The quality, of course, varies from slick professional to “Blair Witch” road trip, although most of it seems to be on the higher end, and their duration ranges from a little over one minute to about eight. Not surprisingly, the Get Out! girls, gals who tear up the globe clad in bikinis, are rated pretty highly, as is the Thirsty Traveler, who seeks the best drinks wherever he goes.
TRAVEL BY NUMBERS | Top Affordable Getaways
The editors at Sunset magazine compiled their picks for great getaways at affordable prices in their September issue.
1. Kalaloch Lodge, Olympic National Park, Wash. 44 cabins from $169, visitkalaloch.com or 866-525-2562.
2. Blackwood Beach Cottages, Ocean Park, Wash. 10 units from $115, blackwoodbeachcottages
.com or 888-376-6356.
3. State park yurts, Oregon coast. Yurts start at $27, oregon stateparks.org or 800-452-5687.
4. Sylvia Beach Hotel, Newport, Ore. 20 rooms from $68, sylvia beachhotel.com or 888-795-8422.
5. Costanoa, Half Moon Bay, Calif. 131 units from $115, costanoa
.com or 650-879-1100.
6. Asilomar, Pacific Grove, Calif. 312 rooms from $130, visitasilo mar.com or 866-654-2878.
7. Treebones Resort, Big Sur, Calif. 16 yurts from $135, treebones resort.com or 877-424-4787.
8. Inn on the Beach, Ventura, Calif. From $109, innonthebeach ventura.com or 805-652-2000.
9. The Bed and Breakfast Inn, La Jolla, Calif. 15 rooms from $179, innlajolla.com or 800-582-2466.
10. Villa Amor, Sayulita, Mexico. 35 cottages from $75, villaamor
.com or 619-822-2731.
GEO QUIZ | Where are these places?
1. A 700-year-old citadel and other historic monuments are at risk from looting and frequent earthquakes in the largest city on the Harirud River in Afghanistan. Name this city.
2. Looters looking for artifacts have damaged sites in the ancient Babylonian city of Larsa, located near Nasiriyah along a major river. Name the river.
3. A deteriorating archaeological site that includes one of the largest collections of mud-brick buildings lies in an oasis of a desert that covers much of Turkmenistan. Name the desert.
4. Rapid population growth threatens the medieval citadel and other monuments in Syria’s second-largest city, located near the Turkish border. Name this city.
5. Air pollution has taken its toll on the inscriptions carved in the Temple of Augustus in Turkey’s second-largest city. Name this city.
6. Construction of a dam threatens ancient sites in the Fars province, located partly in a mountain range that extends roughly from northern Iran to the Strait of Hormuz. Name the mountain range.
7. Urban development is endangering statues, funerary masks and other artifacts from a 9,000-year-old site in a city in Jordan that was once known as Philadelphia. Give the present-day name of this city.
8. Steps are being taken to preserve Israel’s White City, an area of 1930s cubic architecture in the city that is the hub of Israel’s largest metropolitan area. Name this city.
9. The minarets of Ghazni, at risk from the elements and political instability, lie within view of a major mountain system that stretches 500 miles in eastern Afghanistan. Name the mountain system.
10. Looting and vandalism have damaged the ancient palace of Nineveh, located near northern Iraq’s largest city. Name this city.
ANSWERS: 1. Herat 2. Euphrates River 3. Garagum (Also acceptable: Kara Kum) 4. Aleppo (Also acceptable: Halab) 5. Ankara 6. Zagros Mountains 7. Amman 8. Tel Aviv-Yafo (Also acceptable: Tel Aviv) 9. Hindu Kush 10. Mosul
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY
