Museum showing travelers' drawings
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (AP) — A museum is showing artwork collected by a Delta flight attendant who started handing out crayons to passengers after the Sept. 11 attacks.
The Palm Springs Air Museum is showing "Plane Art — Connecting People" through Jan. 25.
Several dozen pictures are hanging at the museum, and many others are available for visitors to leaf through in folders.
The pictures were collected by Delta flight attendant Jewel Van Valin. She got the idea a few months after 9/11, when the airline began substituting paper for linens as tray table covers.
She said one passenger who noticed the change "threw his head back and rolled his eyes, and I could tell he was thinking, 'What's next?' That look clinched it for me."
Van Valin had a box of crayons in her flight bag and started putting a crayon on each tray.
"The passengers started laughing and drawing," she recalled. "It was a way to reconnect after 9/11."
She later contacted Crayola, and the company now supplies her with Rainbow Twistables, which are crayons that have four colors in one tube.
Van Valin says that passengers are wary initially when she asks them if they're "ready to have some fun, but then the crayons come out and they start laughing."
Some passengers tell her that they don't know how to draw, "but I tell them that it's not about drawing, it's about having fun."
Van Valin hangs the pictures up on airplane paneling during flights so passengers can see each other's work. She saves all the pictures and estimates she has about 3,500 drawings.
"Jewel started this following 9/11 to calm passengers nerves as they flew Delta," said Palm Springs Air Museum director Sharon Maguire. Maguire added that Van Valin's idea proved that "one resourceful, caring person can connect people, start conversations and build relationships." For more information about visiting the museum, go to www.palmspringsairmuseum.org.
Updated Zagat guide for Vancouver is out
NEW YORK (AP) — Just in time for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, Zagat has released an updated guide to Vancouver, with recommendations for restaurants and attractions in the city as well as for the ski resort town of Whistler and for beautiful Vancouver Island, which is reachable from Vancouver by ferry and air.
Most popular attractions in Vancouver, according to the 2,721 surveyors who participated in ratings for the guide, are Stanley Park; Vancouver Aquarium; Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia; the Capilano Suspension Bridge through a forest of tall trees; and Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden.
Most popular nightlife spots, according to the Zagat surveyors, are the Opus Bar, the Commodore Ballroom, Bacchus Lounge, Celebrities and the Shark Club. The Commodore is a downtown institution that's been drawing crowds since 1929.
Top food ratings went to La Belle Auberge; Vij's; Cioppino's; Le Crocodile; ToJo's; Bishop's; West; and Shiro Japanese.
Best bang for the buck honors went to Nat's NY Pizzeria, Pajo's, Go Fish!, Vera's Burger, Tomahawk Barbecue, Cafe Medina, Saravanaa Bhavan, Nuba Restaurant, Vij's Rangoli and Gyoza King.
In Victoria and Vancouver Island, top ratings for food went to Panache, Sobo, Hastings House, Sooke Harbour and Camille's. At Whistler, top food ratings were earned by Bear Foot Bistro, Rim Rock, Arazi, La Rua and Elements.The new pocket-sized Zagat guide is $6.95. You can also access Zagat ratings online via subscription, and through mobile applications including Zagat To Go for iPhones and nru for Androids.
Zagat.mobi is the company's mobile site.
Lonely Planet offers 'Best in Travel 2010'
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — If you're looking for inspiration for a trip in the new year, Lonely Planet's "Best in Travel 2010" offers trends, destinations and experiences around the world.
The travel guidebook's top 10 countries for 2010 are El Salvador, Germany, Greece, Malaysia, Morocco, Nepal, New Zealand, Portugal, Suriname and the U.S. Top 10 cities for next year, according to Lonely Planet, are Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; Charleston, S.C.; Cork, Ireland; Cuenca, Ecuador; Istanbul, Turkey; Kyoto, Japan; Lecce, Italy; Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina; Singapore and Vancouver, Canada.
Best value destinations for next year are Iceland, Thailand, London, South Africa, Malaysia, Mexico, India, Bulgaria, Kenya and Las Vegas.
And the best things to do next year include watching the total eclipse of the sun on June 11 from Easter Island; joining the wacky epic adventure known as the Peking to Paris Motor Challenge, in which vintage cars drive from China to France; attending the FIFA World Cup soccer championship games in South Africa; experiencing the Burning Man Festival in Nevada in August; making a pilgrimage along the Camino de Santiago in Spain; attending the Commonwealth games in Delhi, India; dropping $200,000 or so on a Virgin Galactic space flight (test flights are to begin in 2010, with full-fledged launches scheduled for 2011); attending the Olympics in Vancouver; visiting the Pushkar Camel Fair in the Thar Desert of Rajasthan, India; and seeing the World Expo in Shanghai and more.
Dodge City casino opens in town that inspired "Gunsmoke"
DODGE CITY, Kan. (AP) — A casino has opened in Dodge City, reviving memories of the once-raucous cowtown that inspired television's "Gunsmoke."
Revenues from the new Boot Hill Casino and Resort will go to the state.
The casino complex opened with 20,000 square feet of gambling space, 584 slot machines and 12 tables for blackjack, poker, craps and roulette, along with a bar, a restaurant and a snack bar. The second phase, to be completed by 2012, includes a 124-room hotel.
Dodge City seemed a natural site for a casino to some local officials and legislators, given its history as a wicked western town in the 1870s and 1880s and a place where famed lawman Wyatt Earp also was a dealer for a card game called faro. The city once had 18 or 19 saloons — including the famous Long Branch — and most had gambling, said Jeff Thorpe, the president of a local group that lobbied for the casino law.
The wild times led to a backlash, as Dodge City residents sought a more sedate community, and the gambling disappeared. Eventually, the cowtown of the past lived on only in "Gunsmoke," which originally aired from the 1950s to the 1970s.
Boot Hill is the first complex built under a 2007 state law authorizing one casino in each of four areas to generate revenue for the state. A private developer built the casino and will manage it, but the state lottery owns the rights to the gambling and the gambling equipment, down to the cards and dice. Kansas is the only state with such an arrangement, according to the American Gaming Association.
Sleeping Giant Ski Area is reopening
POWELL, Wyo. (AP) — Sleeping Giant Ski Area in northern Wyoming is opening to skiers for the first time since 2004.
The ski area's operators originally had hoped to open as early as Thanksgiving weekend, but their plans were foiled by insufficient snow.
Sleeping Giant Ski Area calls itself one of America's oldest ski areas, having originally opened in the late 1930s. It's located about 50 miles west of Cody, Wyo., and just 3 miles from the East Entrance of Yellowstone National Park, and includes 900 vertical feet for downhill, a terrain park, cross-country trails, a ski and snowboard school, and a day lodge with snack bar.
The ski area is open daily between Dec. 26 and Jan. 4.
Details at www.skisg.com.
Michigan promotes culinary tourism
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan is launching an effort to promote culinary tourism and encourage local offerings on restaurant menus.
Michigan Department of Agriculture Director Don Koivisto said he hopes the program will help increase sales and profitability for Michigan's specialty crop producers, and promote Michigan as a destination for culinary travel experiences.
"With agriculture and tourism as the state's second and third largest industries, it makes sense to promote Michigan as a rewarding travel destination for educational, healthy and tasty food experiences," Koivisto said in a statement.
MDA will help develop a Michigan Culinary Tourism Alliance in partnership with the Michigan Restaurant Association and Travel Michigan. Cherries, wine and apple cider are some of the products the state is already known for.
Vogel collection goes to Milwaukee
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Fifty works that are part of an enormous art collection touring the nation are currently at the Milwaukee Art Museum.
The works were acquired by a New York couple, Dorothy and Herbert Vogel, who managed to buy art on salaries from ordinary jobs.
They used her salary as a reference librarian at the Brooklyn Public Library to cover daily expenses, and spent his salary from the U.S. Postal Service on contemporary art.
They've collected more than 4,000 pieces over 45 years and recently worked with the National Gallery of Art to loan 50 works to one public art institution in each state.
The collection is known primarily for its minimal and conceptual art and has drawings, paintings, sculpture, prints, photographs, and illustrated books.
"Fifty Works for Fifty States: The Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection" is at the Milwaukee museum through Feb 28.
Florida Keys resort reopens after fire
ISLAMORADA, Fla. (AP) — A popular luxury Florida Keys resort has reopened almost a year after its primary building was ravaged by a New Year's Eve fire.
Guests began checking into the 27-acre Cheeca Lodge Resort & Spa Dec. 15 as workers completed finishing touches on a new main lodge constructed in just six months.
The new structure features 62 concrete, oceanfront modular suites trucked to the Keys from Okeechobee.
The 840-square-foot rooms were delivered with fully equipped bathrooms, electrical wiring and communications cables.
The modules are energy efficient, partially fabricated from recycled materials and built to withstand a Category 5 hurricane.
Cheeca's transformation also includes an indoor-outdoor lobby lounge, meeting room with ocean-view, floor-to-ceiling windows, two new restaurants and a club floor with sun deck.Details at www.cheeca.com.
Georgia planetarium proving popular
CARTERSVILLE, Ga. (AP) — The planetarium at the Tellus Northwest Georgia Science Museum is seeing three times the normal attendance for an attraction that size.
The digital planetarium passed 100,000 visitors in mid-December after less than a year of operation.
Visitors to the 120-seat planetarium runs four different shows multiple times throughout the day on topics from the history of space travel to an animated children's show.
The new museum in northwest Georgia has drawn nearly 200,000 visitors since it opened in January. It features mineral and fossil galleries, hands-on exhibits where visitors can dig for shark teeth and a gallery dedicated to aviation.
It was previously called the Weinman Museum.
Details at www.tellusmuseum.org.
Ski areas celebrate W.Va. snowfall
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia's ski areas are celebrating the snow.
West Virginia Ski Areas Association President Terry Pfeiffer says the storm that dumped well over a foot of snow on much of the state — and even more in places — was just what the industry needed.
The organization says all the state's downhill ski areas now have abundant natural snow to start the important holiday season. So, too, do cross-country ski areas in Tucker and Pocahontas counties.
In West Virginia, ski season typically extends into April and the ski association estimates that season pumps $250 million into the state economy.
Sunday River in Newry, Maine, celebrates 50th anniversary
NEWRY, Maine (AP) — The Sunday River Ski Resort in Newry has just marked its 50th anniversary.
What was then called Sunday River Skiway first opened on Dec. 19, 1959, with six trails, a single T-bar and a small base lodge. It now has 132 trails on eight peaks served by six lifts.
Bethel residents first got the idea to set up a resort after a T-Bar was installed in the western Maine town in 1947. It was later transferred to Barker Mountain in Newry where the new Sunday River was developed.
Atlanta to Aruba service added
ORANJESTAD, Aruba (AP) — AirTran Airways has added new weekly service between Atlanta and the Dutch Caribbean island of Aruba.
The discount carrier says the weekly nonstop route began Dec. 19 between Atlanta and the tourism-dependent island off Venezuela's coast.
Florida-based AirTran also announced that it plans to introduce weekly nonstop flights between Orlando and Aruba on Jan. 9.
Planet Hollywood timeshares open
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The first timeshare owners have begun moving into a new tower attached to Planet Hollywood on the Las Vegas Strip.
PH Towers by Westgate has 1,200 units including vacation homes and regular hotel rooms, according to the Las Vegas Sun.
Westgate Resorts Chief Operating Officer Mark Waltrip says 500 units will be open by Dec. 25, while the others will be open by Jan. 1.
Westgate owns the tower, while Planet Hollywood operates it.
The Planet Hollywood casino-hotel is in talks with Harrah's Entertainment Inc. for Harrah's to take it over.There is no deal yet, but Harrah's has filed an application with Nevada gambling regulators for a license to run the property.