Showing posts with label USA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label USA. Show all posts

Monday, April 11, 2011

50: a little closer to home

Being a poor young adult, sometimes it gets hard thinking about all these dream vacations and things to do while simultaneously having less than 40 bucks in my bank account but I relish in the what ifs and maybe somedays and my daydreams are enough for me. But for my 50th dream vacay I decided to post something attainable in the near future that I've actually wanted to do for the last couple years now. 

VISIT LEAVENWORTH.




Especially in the Christmas time. It looks absolutely stunning. I honestly can't believe I've never been living so close. This Christmas I definitely will spend the weekend up there. It's even beautiful in the summer though with their gardens, shops, parks and wine tasting. Or even in the fall during Oktoberfest -- in Leavenworth, it's claimed to be the biggest outside Germany!

Saturday, March 12, 2011

DREAM ADVENTURE #46

I was looking back at my old blog entires and how in-depth they were and how I just had more time on my hands but in a way it was so relaxing to spend a couple hours researching something but on the downfall of that, it makes me want it that much more when I see how I could attain it. Something like this festival though cannot be explained in words unless you actually witness it...


Attend Burning Man



What a crazy, life-changing experience that would be...

Friday, March 11, 2011

New Year's in Times Square

DREAM ADVENTURE #45

I have never been to New York but I think I'd love my first time to be on New Year's and to welcome in the new year in Times Square.



It'd be absolutely magical to share a new year's kiss there.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Mardi Gras in New Orleans

DREAM ADVENTURE 44: Party in New Orleans for Mardi Gras!!



It was really hard to choose just one picture for this; Mardi Gras down there is so flamboyant and festive!
I'm sure I'd want to stay for a few days to see everything there is to see and try their amazing restaurants down there. Link of interest: 10 Things to Taste in New Orleans

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Coachella

DREAM ADVENTURE #42: Coachella



The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (commonly known as Coachella or Coachella Festival) is a three-day (formerly a one or two-day) annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio, California, in the Inland Empire's Coachella Valley. The event features many genres of music including alternative rock, hip hop, and electronic music as well as large sculptural art. The event has several stages/tents set-up throughout the grounds, each playing live music continuously.


My friend went last year and is planning on going again this year and I'm really tempted if I can muster up the money to drive down there, for a ticket, camping and everything else.

UPDATE: my friend and i were plannin on going and were waiting for our tax returns but Coachella sold out in record time of 5 days. :( The lineup I wasn't too impressed with but there were a handful of people I would have LOVED to see. Maybe next year :)

Sunday, November 28, 2010

41

CIRQUE DE SOLEIL

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

39: EDC

With it snowing here, all I can think of is the fun summer time...

Some year when I have the time and money I want to go to the ELECTRIC DAISY CARNIVAL -- the biggest electronic festival outside Europe!

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

30

Kingda Ka



Fastest roller coaster in the USA at 128 mph.
Located at Six Flags Adventures in Jackson, NJ.
Tallest steel roller coaster at 456 feet tall.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Lots to do in Florida

DREAM ADVENTURE 27: Visit Florida


There's a lot I want to do in Florida. South Beach would be an awesome town to explore with the big nightlife scene. And the beach. Perhaps swimming with the dolphins?



Then, of course, there is Disney World, Universal Studios, Sea World and all the other Disney affiliated parks: http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/parks

Five day tickets to Disney World are about $70 a day for a 5 day pass to any park with the Park Hopper and Water Park offers included coming to about $250 for the 5 days.



"Where humans are caged and the monkeys run wild!  

Visitors today are immediately welcome by the Java monkey troop, now numbering in the 80’s. The Java monkeys forage through the Jungle eating natural foods. This experience with the monkeys continues to be a highlight of Monkey Jungle. The Java monkey is a skilled diver in the wild, collecting crabs and other shellfish along the riverbanks and mangrove swamps. Scheduled feedings at MONKEY JUNGLE show off these water skills as animals dive into a pool to receive fruit from the guides.

As part of the park’s continuing effort to promote the understanding of primates, MONKEY JUNGLE has given a new look introducing audiences to the lifestyle of the orangutan. Always unpredictable, the audience often witnesses impromptu acts by these lovable apes.

A total of 30 species of primates are represented at MONKEY JUNGLE including gibbons, guenons and spider monkeys. The Golden Lion Tamarin is native to the Brazilian jungle. Threatened with extinction, MONKEY JUNGLE proudly participates in an international effort to save the tiny creature."



Visit the Miami Zoo, with over 2,000 animals and more than 1,200 plants.

 



After all that city entertainment, I'd definitely want to visit the Everglades. The Everglades are subtropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large watershed. The system begins near Orlando with the Kissimmee River, which discharges into the vast but shallow Lake Okeechobee. Water leaving the lake in the wet season forms a slow-moving river 60 miles (97 km) wide and over 100 miles (160 km) long, flowing southward across a limestone shelf to Florida Bay at the southern end of the state. Writer Marjory Stoneman Douglas popularized the term "River of Grass" to describe the sawgrass marshes, part of a complex system of interdependent ecosystems that include cypress swamps, the estuarine mangrove forests of the Ten Thousand Islands, tropical hardwood hammocks, pine rockland, and the marine environment of Florida Bay.

 

How could one go to Florida without checking them out. Maybe not Bear Grylls style but kayaking would be AMAZING, hiking and of course I'd have to go visit the alligator farm!

If I've piqued your interest, check out the National Park Service website for the Everglades.



 From October to May in Key West and Miami, you can learn to kiteboard.Check it out for yourself at TheKiteHouse.com. I think if I added any pictures of kiteboarding in Florida it'd make all the other things look way less awesome in comparision.



Last but certainly not any less epic, CAVE DIVING! 

"Few people ever witness the strange sights of these underwater chambers—fossils, sunlight beaming in from holes in the cave ceilings, and even ancient mastodon tusks—because the only way to see it all is by donning a mask and flippers. Cave diving is rife with potential dangers. The good news is beyond good training, all it really necessitates is a little nerve.

Test the waters at Ginnie Springs Cavern, a beginner cave that Jacques Cousteau once described as “visibility forever.” It requires only an open-water diver certification. From an aquamarine, cypress-lined pool, descend and enter a chamber called the Ballroom, 130 feet (40 meters) long and 55 feet (17 meters) deep. There you can see water’s artwork in the limestone formations and feel the force of 30-plus million gallons of water per day pouring out of the inner cave entrance.

To graduate to the 6.5 miles (10 kilometers) of passageways in the Devil’s cave system, take a cavern or cave certification course at Ginnie Springs. Claustrophobes be forewarned: The tiniest swim-throughs require divers to take off their tanks to squeeze through. But the reward of these contortions is witnessing a vast watery underworld, some of which still remains unmapped." - National Geographic

photo by Nat Geo photographer Wes C. Skiles




 I can't think of Florida without thinking of Will Smith's song Miami... I'd definitely have to rock that while getting ready to go out.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Maui Eco-Retreat/Learn to kiteboard

DREAM ADVENTURE 25: Visit Maui, Hawaii and stay at Kahua O'Malio





Kahua O'Malio's retreat philsophy: The Ecstasy Of Retreat

Most of the furniture and buildings are made out of bamboo. Their energy is generated entirely from solar panels. For backup sources they ues only bio diesel made from corn, hemp or sunflower oil. Their water is pumped up from 460 foot wells connected to an underground aquifer. They do not use any agricultural chemicals in maintaining our beautiful grounds. All organic yard and kitchen wastes are disposed in a compost bin where it slowly breaks down into very rich, fertile compost. The recycle. The keep bees and chickens for eggs there. It's right next to the ocean and only 15 minutes from town. Rates under $200 a night.

I've never been to Hawaii but when I do and travel to Maui, this is the place I want to stay.










DREAM ADVENTURE 25 1/2: Learn to kiteboard on Kanaha Beach on Maui.


*Nat Geo

ActionSportsMaui.com -- they offer other sport lessons too besides kite boarding like surfing, windsurfing and others.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

WSOP Hold'Em Tournament

DREAM ADVENTURE 24: Compete in the WSOP Texas Hold'Em Tournmant held in Vegas.

If I ever have an extra 10k around, this is what I'd spend it in.

4.2% of the total entry pool will be withheld for entry fees, and 1.8% of the total entry pool will be withheld for tournament staff.

Last year's winner brought home over 8 million bucks.

Structure of the game: http://www.wsop.com/tournaments/structure.asp?grid=607&tid=7283

The Main Event of the WSOP has been the $10,000 buy-in no-limit Texas Hold 'Em (TXHE) tournament since 1972. (In 1971, the buy-in was $5,000.) Winners of the event not only get the largest prize of the tournament and a gold bracelet, but additionally their picture is placed in the Gallery of Champions at Binion's. The winner of the Main Event has traditionally been given the unofficial title of World Champion.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

greatest raft adventure in the USA!

DREAM ADVENTURE NUMBER 17: Raft the Grand Canyon


Endless in scenic wonder, rich in Native American history and loaded with fun and adventure, Western River Expeditions' Grand Canyon rafting tours are a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Exploring the Grand Canyon by river is an experience unlike any other. Discover hidden waterfalls and paradisiacal side canyons - areas of Grand Canyon National Park that are accessible only by river. Listen to the sound of the mighty Colorado River as you lie down under a blanket of innumerable stars each night after your Grand Canyon rafting experience. Watch the morning sun cast its warm glow through towering canyon walls. Discover the rush of excitement from legendary Colorado River whitewater. Escape completely on a worry-free vacation with no schedules and no stress - where time stands still. -Western River Expeditions


Plus a photo gallery from Western River Expeditions that only adds to the already burning desire to raft the Grand Canyon.



A couple sample iteneraries from OARS.com:

Lees Ferry to Diamond Creek

Lees Ferry to Whitmore Wash

Side Canyon Hikes
Each day varies, but on an average you'll spend 3-5 hours per day on the boats, with the rest of the time hiking and exploring side canyons, eating, or just relaxing in camp. The easiest hikes are no more difficult than negotiating a few yards of beach sand or stepping over a few rocks. Others may go for several miles over a rough trail, climb steeply up a hot hillside, require the use of both hands over awkward boulders and demand caution as you totter on a narrow trail above a steep cliff. Our guides are happy to help novices with hand and footholds and reassurance. Many times their helpfulness enables the timid and inexperienced to get to special places that many other groups pass by. All hikes are optional. The side hikes take you into the true heart of the canyon that can only be reached by hiking from the river and shouldn’t be missed. -OARS.com

I've read the spring and fall are the best time to partake on this rafting adventure.

-Video from OARS.com

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Mammoth Cave National Park

I like caves. They're cool to me. Ever since I was a young kid I'd love to watch the bats at dusk. When I lived in Missouri, my dear friend and I visited them and it was so romantic and I got my first cave kiss.

DREAM ADVENTURE NUMBER TWELVE: visit the Mammoth-Flint Ridge Cave System



Mammoth Cave National Park is a U.S. National Park in central Kentucky, encompassing portions of Mammoth Cave, the longest cave system known in the world. The official name of the system is the Mammoth-Flint Ridge Cave System for the ridge under which the cave has formed. The park was established as a national park on July 1 1941. It became a World Heritage Site on October 27 1981, and an international Biosphere Reserve on September 26, 1990. The park's 52,835 acres (21,382 ha) are located primarily in Edmonson County, Kentucky, with small areas extending eastward into Hart County and Barren County. It is centered around the Green River, with a tributary, the Nolin River, feeding into the Green just inside the park. With a confirmed 365 miles of passageways it is by far the world's longest known cave system, being well over twice as long as the second longest cave system..." 
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammoth_Cave_National_Park



RESOURCES:

http://www.nps.gov/maca/index.htm


http://www.usatourist.com/english/places/kentucky/mammoth.html

caves are just so eerily beautiful