Fashionistas you have arrived 3-25-03 - 10-3-03

[bilmore]

1. Rent a cabin in (or right outside of) Rocky Mountain National Park, or towards the top at Vail. Rent trailbikes or fourwheelers.

2. Pick a Great Circle Route and just take off and drive.

3. An RV on Padre Island, with forays into Mexico.

4. A condo in the Keys, with a boat and scuba gear.

5. Bareboat a 30' motor-sailer in Florida, taking it across to the islands.

[Jack Manfred]

I've not been able to have take a long vacation in a while, and the last one was out of the country, but here are some suggestions...

I second all of the national park ideas. National and state parks will be more expensive and crowded this year because more people are taking vacations closer to home and states have increased park fees because of budget crises.

For the summer...Alaska. Some cruise lines apparently are after younger crowds, so they combine the cruise with outdoor activities: hikes, ocean kayaking, etc. They liked it a lot.

Yosemite is very crowded in the summer. That's a better place for winter camping (if you're an experienced camper).

Catalina was nice the last time I went there (years and years ago).

Lake Tahoe is beautiful in the summer (really all year long). You can combine outdoor activities with a couple days in a casino if you have to negotiate an indoor v. outdoor vacation. I remember rafting the Truckee river as a kid.

As a public service announcement to those East Coasters on the board, San Francisco is not a great summer vacation destination. Mark Twain's quote is true, although it is fun to watch the freezing tourists buy overpriced sweatshirts at Fisherman's Wharf. If you don't tolerate heat well, Napa can be a problem in the summer.

I have a big issue with climate on vacations. Because I hate humidity, I'd think the Pacific Northwest would be the place to go this summer.

[greatwhitenorthchick]

Vacation spots - I'm afraid I don't know too many in the US and Mexico outside of the obvious, so I'm only going to mention places that I like to go to in Canada:

1. Banff - I recall that you do not know how to pronounce this word, but anyway... Very scenic - beautiful place.

2. Montreal - lots of fun and many laid back people. A good place to drink a lot. Old Montreal is quite pretty. If you make any attempt to speak French you will be loved. Quebec City is also very nice. Stay at the Chateau Frontenac. Old Quebec is very charming.

3. Vancouver and area. Good rock-climbing

4. Newfoundland. Crazy fucked up unemployed people who like to drink a lot of something called screech. Very bizarre place and lots of fun. Not a place many people vacation there, but it is interesting.

5. Nova Scotia. Very beautiful and fun if you are into hiking, canoeing kayaking etc.

[spookyfish]

Originally posted by tmdiva
Oregon Coast: rent a beach house. Read/play board games/go antique or art shopping/visit the aquarium when it's raining; walk/run/kite/frisbee on the beach when it's not. Incredibly relaxing. Good any time of year (once had 64 degrees, sunny and calm on Presidents' Day weekend).

Lake Powell: rent a houseboat. Better with a group. Also rent ski boat and jet skis. Find a secluded finger canyon to park in, and live in your bathing suit. Besides water activities, there's hiking and Indian ruins--watch out for rattlesnakes. In July and August it can be incredibly hot; I think it's better in June and September, though one October trip was fantastic. Not great with very small children--very nervous-making.

tm

Lake Powell is great. If you go to AZ, I would also recommend seeing Sedona when you are there. The town is almost completely an artists colony, and it is surrounded by beautiful scenery, especially the rock formations (I can't think of what the hell they are called, but they're the type that are always falling on the Coyote - - someone who knows help me out here, please). You can rent a Jeep and go out into the desert. There is also an excellent Mexican restaurant on the main drag.

Speaking of Maine. Go see it. Very beautiful, very wild and unspoiled for the most part. Bar Harbor is a great little town and if you like Lobster dinners, you can't get a fresher catch than here and the cost is very reasonable. The downside is that temperatures in the 70's are considered hot days, and certain parts of the state have a very aggressive variety of black flies that can and will bite.

spookyfish

[greatwhitenorthchick]

Originally posted by Jack Manfred

For the summer...Alaska. Some cruise lines apparently are after younger crowds, so they combine the cruise with outdoor activities: hikes, ocean kayaking, etc. They liked it a lot.

I recently spoke to someone who went on the Alaska cruise. She said they did all kinds of outdoor activities - not your typical cruise. Also apparently the seal watching is fantastic.

[bilmore]

Originally posted by spookyfish
If you go to AZ, I would also recommend seeing Sedona when you are there.

But, not in summer. (Last time I was there, it was 120 degrees. "Oh, but it's a DRY heat", they said . . . )

Originally posted by ThurgreedMarshall

POLL:

NAME AND DESCRIBE YOUR TOP 5 VACATIONS AND VACATION SPOTS (not requiring overseas flight)

Try

Severn Lodge

[sebastian_dangerfield]

Originally posted by evenodds
I think there is some great music coming out now, but the distribution of music is so diffuse, it is much harder to have a lot of people hearing the same great stuff.

This is what immediately comes to mind:

D'Angelo, Voodoo
Mos Def, Black on Both Sides
Jill Scott, Who is Jill Scott
Joshua Redman, Moodswing (with Christian McBride, Brad Mehldau, and Brian Blade)
Brad Mehldau, Art of the Trio Vol. 1
Blackalicious, Blazing Arrow
The Roots, Things Fall Apart
Handsome Boy Modeling School
Angie Stone, Mahogany Soul
Charlie Hunter, Songs from the Analog Playground

Most of the new music I buy comes from friends' recommendations or new projects by artists I have heard on someone else's project.

Even(thanks, guys!)Odds

I'll add to that list:

Queens of the Stone Age
Flaming Lips
Strokes
White Stripes
Kyuss
Government Mule
Derek Trucks
Widespread
Masters of Reality
Beck
Dr. Dre
Beasties
Snoop
Jane's Addiction
Sublime (sadly, their catalog is pretty much exhausted)

Hell, even Moby's got some catchy shit out these days

And don't forget, the Allmans, Sabbath, AC/DC, Zeppelin, Clapton, Little Feat, Dead, Bowie and all the rest of the old timers are still releasing new records or previously unreleased concert stuff. Some of its shit, but some of its really good.

[spookyfish]

Originally posted by ThurgreedMarshall

(not requiring overseas flight)

Thurgreed(much obliged)Marshall

Won't fly to the continent now that they're getting rid of the Concorde, eh? (You elitist, you).

spookyfish

[Jack Manfred]

Originally posted by paigowprincess
Kids today with the hair and the clothes and the music...

Originally posted by Pretty Little Flower
There is a ton of great and innovative music being put out right now (including innovative hip hop, but you aren't going to hear it unless you look for it),... If you think that the only music being put out today is Third Eye Blind and Matchbox Whatever, it is time to turn off the MTV and go to a record store.

There isn't a lack of quality music today; there's a lack of quality radio stations today. Niche marketing, deregulation, and record company paranoia have ground the bones of radio for their bread. I've bought quite a bit of good music in the past year, but if I didn't live in LA, listen to KCRW, or go to clubs here, I wouldn't have bought anything except Coldplay and Beck last year.

The nemesis of corporate radio is well-documented, but the real problem is that they're also moving into the tour and club business. Soon most areas won't be able to hear anything live that they haven't already heard 10 times a day on the radio.

Makes me want to get a mohawk and hang out on Gilman Street...almost.

[bilmore]

Originally posted by Jack Manfred
heir isn't a lack of quality music today; there's a lack of quality radio stations today.

This is truly a huge problem. People are constantly telling me what music I should listen to, but, aside from buying it, it's not around to experience. I can hear fifty Stones songs all over the airwaves, but absolutely nothing that I would consider new and interesting. And, yes, I have played with the radio dial.

PFL, is there such a station in your area?

[AngryMulletMan]

One of my best vacations ever was when I spent a couple of weeks post bar driving through Oregon, especially along the South Umpqua River. If you're into fly-fishing, whitewater rafting, mountain biking, hiking or just getting away from it all it's almost perfect. I would, however, skip the drive around Crater Lake. I was cowering in the back of a van with a blanket over my head. Terrified of heights. I would also skip Grant's Pass. Terrible town with rednecks serving "Chinese" food. I got the feeling there were skinheads everywhere. I was very creeped out.

On another note, I was listening to NPR a while back (maybe several years) on a Saturday afternoon and they were doing a feature on the worst music ever recorded. The commentator played the Ray Conniff Singers doing "Hey Jude". I laughed all the way across the Golden Gate Bridge so hard I had to pull over and wipe the tears away. Man was that twisted. Rumor has it that they also covered the Theme from Shaft and Watching Scotty Grow (by Bobby Goldsboro!).

My personal all time bad song is Saturday Night by the Bay City Rollers.

[spookyfish]

Originally posted by Jack Manfred

Their isn't a lack of quality music today; there's a lack of quality radio stations today.
The nemesis of corporate radio is well-documented, but the real problem is that they're also moving into the tour and club business. Soon most areas won't be able to hear anything live that they haven't already heard 10 times a day on the radio.

Bingo. That is why I have found myself almost completely abandoning commercial radio and listening to public or college stations. They are far less cookie cutter and eclectic. I've heard things I wouldn't ordinarily hear and not over and over again and, best of all -- no commercials, so the DJ's play whatever the fuck they want.

The downside is usually shitty signal strength and the quality of the programming can be wildly uneven, but at least it keeps me from completely abandoning the format and at least a little bit up to date.

Funny, but it sounds a lot like FM radio today is having the same problems as AM radio did in the early '70s which led to my initial rant about the quality of music that was popular. By the way I heard a new Joe Jackson cut today that was really good. You won't hear that on commercial radio, I'm afraid. Maybe satellite radio is the next FM? Any thoughts from anyone who has taken the leap?

spookyfish

[leagleaze]

Originally posted by paigowprincess
But what gay man ends up in a shotgun wedding?

Gay men who hang in taxis I think.

[spookyfish]

Originally posted by AngryMulletMan
On another note, I was listening to NPR a while back (maybe several years) on a Saturday afternoon and they were doing a feature on the worst music ever recorded. The commentator played the Ray Conniff Singers doing "Hey Jude". I laughed all the way across the Golden Gate Bridge so hard I had to pull over and wipe the tears away. Man was that twisted. Rumor has it that they also covered the Theme from Shaft and Watching Scotty Grow (by Bobby Goldsboro!).

If you like twisted shit, my brother suggested "Lounge Against the Machine" -- some lounge singer dude doing a bunch of current material from various sources. I heard bits and pieces on Howard Stern's show a while back, but I didn't know what the fuck it was then, but my brother bought the disk and tells me it provides endless hours of entertainment.

spooky(Hey, Jude! La da dat da! -- sing it with me!)fish