Deluxe Travel Experiences at Bargain Prices

This story, written by moi, was initially published by Kiplinger's Content Studio.

When it comes to planning for the year ahead, travel to well-known, iconic destinations often tops the agenda. Sometimes, however, lesser-known places can deliver more affordable and more authentic (the current travel marketing buzzword) experiences. In fact, according to LearnVest, 73 percent of Americans say they’d prefer a longer vacation in an inexpensive location than a shorter vacation in an expensive place.

If your travel budget is limited, consider sidestepping some of the more popular destinations. By embracing a few “second” cities, you’ll stretch your travel budget without sacrificing enjoyment.

Arts and Culture

Broadway bound? Instead of the Great White Way, consider the Great White North. Toronto claims North America’s second-largest theater scene. Most of the top Broadway shows make their way here, and ticket prices are often lower for touring performances in other cities than in New York. Americans also automatically get a 25 percent discount, thanks to the favorable exchange rate in this Canadian city. That means hotel rooms, restaurants, and transportation will cost less, too.

Like New York, Toronto hosts world-class cultural offerings. The Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, for example, is home to the National Ballet of Canada and the Canadian Opera Company. The Toronto International Film Festival draws stars and movie buffs from around the world. Other attractions include The Royal Ontario Museum, The Art Gallery of Ontario, and the Aga Khan Museum.

Toronto’s distinct neighborhoods are just as interesting as New York’s for shopping, dining, and exploring. For a Brooklyn vibe, head to The Junction. For those in search of Boho Chic as experienced in Greenwich Village, opt for West Queen West. And if Fifth or Madison Avenues are your style, visit Bloor-Yorkville instead.

Wine and Waves

Dreaming of California wine country? Head to San Luis Obispo County.

Downtown  San Luis Obispo
www.expedia.com

Located along Highway 101 between Los Angeles and San Francisco, SLO (as SLOcals call it) is home to more than 200 wineries. While sampling wine often costs $20 and up in pricier viticulture areas, in SLO the average charge for a tasting flight is less than $10. And about two dozen wineries offer free tastings, a perk unheard of in other top California wine regions.

In addition to a welcoming wine culture, SLO has a range of beach towns offering reasonably-priced, independent hotels from two to four stars (the average daily rate is for less than Napa). San Luis Obispo itself, a town of about 40,000, hosts a weekly farmer’s market, and many small boutiques and restaurants serve up the California dream for less.

Mother Nature and Mountains

Denver may be known as the Mile-High City, but at 2,730 feet, the title of Half-Mile-High City belongs to Boise, Idaho.

Besides being an easier altitude adjustment, Boise shares a similar Mountain West vibe and serves as a gateway to many outdoor adventure experiences and ski resorts. A major difference: while hotel prices have risen along with Denver’s urban development, four-star accommodations are still available at moderate rates in Boise.

Within the “City of Trees” lies the 25-mile Boise River Greenbelt – a tree-lined scenic pathway with access to wildlife habitats and popular parks. The state-of-the-art Boise Whitewater Park caters to rafters and kayakers of all levels. And Bogus Basin, 45 minutes from downtown, is Boise’s local skiing playground. Within a three-hour drive is Sun Valley, the Aspen of Idaho, which provides the same level of first-rate skiing, shopping, and dining options as its Colorado cousin.

History and Walkability

Craving an American history experience on a budget? Try Providence, Rhode Island.

Given its 17th-century roots, the city is rich in history. Revolutionary-era churches and museums overlook the city's historic waterfront. Benefit Street is a “museum mile” of original Colonial homes. There’s no Freedom Trail, but there are many self-guided walking tours.

Providence boasts hotel prices that are far lower than Boston’s. And the city can be explored on foot, so there’s no need for a rental car. Contributing to the city’s much-lauded food scene is Johnson & Wales, an internationally-recognized culinary academy.

Dropping the Ball...and the Pickle...and the Potato...On New Year's Eve

When it comes to New Year’s Eve celebrations, very few places are dropping the ball these days. Instead, they are dropping wenches, wrenches, pickles, potatoes and bologna—and that’s no bologna.

The New Year’s Eve bologna drop in Lebanon, PA is a bunch of bologna

Pennsylvania may reign supreme when it comes to dropping things on New Year’s Eve. There are more than a dozen drops around the Keystone State, ranging from a button in Carlisle to a sled in Duncannon to the aforementioned wrench in Mechanicsburg (naturally).But certainly, Lebanon’s Bologna Drop takes the cake as a must-see New Year’s Eve event. You never sau-sage a thing as a 250-pound lunch meat plunging 16 feet to the excitement of adoring peeps.

Speaking of PEEPS, the marshmallow concoction is usually associated with Easter. But in Bethlehem, PA, where the treats are made, the drop of a 4.5-foot tall, 85-pound illuminated PEEP chick makes New Year’s Eve egg-stra special.

What’s the dill with pickle drops? While it’s a “no-briner” that Dillsburg, PA drops a six-foot Mr. Pickle, why is a place called Mt. Olive celebrating with a cucumber? It turns out the North Carolina burg is home to the largest independent pickle company in the country. But an unanswered pickle is why Mt. Olive opts to drop its three-foot cuke down a flagpole at midnight Greenwich Mean Time (7pm EST).

We wish you a happy bleu year! | Photo courtesy of Plymouth Arts Center

Dairy gets its due on New Year’s Eve in Wisconsin. In Plymouth, the former home of the National Cheese Exchange, a giant cheese wedge gets lowered from a 100-foot crane. But come early. The cheese roars at 10pm. Sounds gouda to us.

Boy oh Boise

Famous Potatoes, indeed. On New Year’s Eve, Boise, Idaho’s most notable spud is a luminous 16-foot tuber known as the Glowtato. Here’s the dirt: Thousands of spectators take to the streets to watch the s’mashing potato plummet in front of the State Capitol at midnight.

Female impersonator Gary Marion, known as Sushi, hangs in a giant replica of a woman’s high heel shoe in Key West, Fla. | Photo courtesy of (Rob O’Neal/Florida Keys News Bureau/HO)

In Key West, Sushi gets dropped on December 31…but she’s actually a drag queen and not a piece of raw fish. Sushi sits in a giant red stiletto that goes down at midnight. But plenty of actual sea creatures are celebrated along the Eastern seaboard on New Year’s Eve. Key West also drops a conch (and a wench, but that’s off-topic). Easton, Maryland lowers a crab. And in Eastport, Maine, the country’s easternmost city, they drop a sardine. An hour before the sardine goes down, a maple leaf falls in Eastport, sweetly celebrating the city’s neighbor just across the border. Why 11pm EST? Because it’s midnight in Canada. O.

This story originally appeared here.

Trailing of The Sheep: The Most Wild and Woolly Festival in the West

Ever since I caught wind of its existence, I had been fixated on attending the Trailing of the Sheep Festival. This wild and woolly annual event takes place every October in Sun Valley-adjacent Ketchum and Hailey, Idaho. It celebrates a 150+ year tradition of moving sheep from their summer pastures in the mountains to winter grazing areas. But it’s also a cultural event, filled with craft and cooking demonstrations, multi-cultural entertainment and sheep poetry. The latter roped me in—after all, who could resist a sheep bleating Keats and spinning yarns?

Image Courtesy Trailing of the Sheep

As my obsession grew, I knit together a fantasy about becoming Queen of the Sheep Parade, which takes place the last day of the festival. Nearly 2,000 sheep form a wall of wool as they saunter down Main Street Ketchum on their march toward their winter home. They are joined along the way by musicians and dancers of every stripe. My dream was to show off my good breeding by donning a tiara and walking amongst my little lambs as adoring flocks cheered from the sidelines.

And so, my little lamb chops, with this in mind, off I flew to the Gem State. How to become Queen of the Sheep…I ruminated over this ruminant dilemma and decided the best way to win the title was to start lobbying town elders and festival organizers. But upon arriving and grazing the landscape, I realized shepherding them might be tricky.There were many places around town and at the festival to look. I could hoof it to lamb cooking demonstrations or check out Sheep Tales  and Readings from the Land at the local library. I herd it through the ovine that the big kahunas might flock to the Championship Sheep Dog Trials held over several days or perhaps they might be buying knit hats, gloves and muttons, or learning grooming techniques at the Sheep Folk Life Fair.

Finally, I settled on tracking them down at the Sheepherders Ball Saturday night. After all, a ball seemed fitting for a potential queen. I snagged a ticket. Shofar, so good. Then, as I hunted for a Prince Charming sporting mutton chops, I was told that, as the end of the parade route comes into sight, the sheep sometimes start stampeding to quicken the journey to their winter digs.

Suddenly, I envisioned myself in my own private Pamplona (this being the home of Hemingway, after all), overtaken by a mad mob of sheep goring me with their puffballs of wool. The dodge of ram would leave me with tiara askew and my garb transformed into the world’s largest livery of lint.

Alas, at midnight, my sheep dreams (and nightmares) were punctured after being told the shear truth—the Sunday Sheep Parade had no queen. Shorn of my dream, this piece of news got my goat. Baa humbug, said I. This year, I'm getting out of my rut and shuffling off to the Custer State Park Buffalo Round-Up in South Dakota instead. Watch out my little bubalus. There's nowhere to hide as I search for my crown.

Image Courtesy of South Dakota Tourism

The 20th Annual Trailing of the Sheep Festival takes place October 5-9.

Original version here.

The Top 9 Countdown Continues: Happy Sheep Year!

Given that this is The Year of the Sheep, it is somewhat fitting that my pun-filled homage to Idaho's Trailing of the Sheep Festival gets retold today. In fact, the Hemingwayesque tale is among the most popular yarns ever spun on this blog. In fact, as we count down the Top 9 Daily Suitcase posts to date, Idaho entries rank at numbers 6 and 5. Read up and you'll understand why the state should be famous for more than potatoes alone. 

6.  A Farewell to Yarns:  An ode to one of the country's top festivals.

5. Nine Things You Didn't Know About Idaho: Idaho doesn't get a whole lotta love from the rest of the country. Certainly, when most people think of the state, if they think of it at all, images of potato fields and a blue football field come to mind. But Idaho has so much more to offer, including shimmering lakes, spectacular mountains, and quirky museums. I write about the state frequently, but this particular post piqued the most interest.

Payette Lake in McCall

Sun Valley

9 Free Summer Activities in Sun Valley and Ketchum

While getting to Idaho may be a pricey proposition for those of us who live east of the Mississippi River, once one gets to the idyllic area surrounding Sun Valley, there's a lot of fun to be had for free. Let's examine nine free things you can do that aren't just a walk in the park.

In Sun Valley...

1. Watch the pros practice at the Sun Valley Ice Rink 

During the summer, Sun Valley hosts an ice show every Saturday night, featuring a regular cast and guest stars like Gracie Gold, Evan Lysacek, and Johnny Weir. The shows can  pricey. But if you come to the ice rink at 12:30 on the day of the show, you'll see the Olympians and the cast alike practice their moves...and you don't have to pay a cent. Watching practice can be almost as fun as taking in a show, as you can see how the pros put their spin on practice sessions.

2. Skating on Film
Get a taste of old school Sun Valley by watching the 1941 classic Sun Valley Serenade. There's a free 4:30 daily showing of the Sonja Henie ice skating movie at the Sun Valley Opera House. The charming 320-seat theater was built in 1937, and it's a classic itself.

3. Something's Fishy
You can take free fly casting clinics in Sun Valley from 5:30 to 6:30 PM Tuesdays through Saturdays. Instructors from Silver Creek Outfitters teach newbies all about the art of fly fishing.

4. Music in Paradise

For 30 years, the Sun Valley Summer Symphony has presented a free concert series during the season. The symphony, which draws musicians from all over the country, is the largest privately-funded, free admission symphony in the country. Concerts are held at the magnificent Sun Valley Pavilion, which offers ample seating and amazing acoustics.Symphony season is held between late July and mid-August, and features everything from chamber music to jazz to the classics. 

In and Around Ketchum...

5. Art for All

Meanwhile, in Ketchum, summer brings a host of cultural activities. In addition to a monthly Friday Night Gallery Walk, the city hosts the Sun Valley Center Arts and Crafts Festival in early August. There's music, too. Ketch'em Alive is a free concert series held on Tuesday night; Town Square Tunes features local musicians every Thursday evening; and Jazz in the Park takes place Sundays from 6 to 8 PM.  All three only take place between June and August, so 'ketchum' while you can.

6. Warm up in Hot Springs
There's a great deal of geothermal activity in this part of the world. As a result, hot springs in the area are plentiful. Closest to Ketchum are Warfield and Frenchman's Bend Hot Springs. While gratis, you are not free to skinny dip (at least officially). 

Rarin' to Go for a Walk

7. Walk a Dog
Doggone crazy? In that case, the Animal Shelter of the Wood River Valley needs your help...even if you are just visiting. Take a paws to join 'Hikin' Buddies on Wednesdays from 9:30 AM to 1 PM. Walks start at the Adams Gulch Trailhead, just a mile and a half from downtown. Meanwhile, Paws Around Town is another opportunity to meet canines in need of a home. It takes place from 1 to 2:30 PM Saturdays at Ketchum Town Square

8. Do Downward Dog
Free Yoga on the Mountain runs throughout the summer, either at Sun Valley Village or at the base of River Run.

Everywhere....

9. Take a Hike
Up a mountain, beside a babbling brook, along the paved Rails-to-Trails path--the options for casual walking or extreme trekking are nearly endless.So go work up a sweat.

Chive Talkin'

Mark your calendars.

August 19 is National Potato Day.

The Power of Potatoes

Given my love of the state of Idaho, I am always keeping my eye out, so to speak, for potato-related stories. So, I yam pleased to share this story with you, which details how tubers are contributing to airline safety.

To briefly summarize, Boeing says it has been testing ways to "make it possible for passengers to enjoy more reliable connectivity using networked personal electronic devices in the air." (Boeing's press release writers must learn to pen prose in understandable English.)

At any rate, the new procedures Boeing has developed come, in part, via the humble potato. Just like Mr. Potato Head here, spuds mimic the human body in the manner they respond to electronic signals. So, the company's crack team of scientists bought 10 tons of potatoes, stuffed them into airline seats (no leg room required), and, in essence, microwaved them. When the potatoes didn't bubble and squeak after being pelted with electronic signals, all was deemed a success. Seems half-baked, but somehow this testing, according to a Boeing spokesman, allowed engineers to make sure that cabin-based signals are safe for the cockpit's communication and navigation systems. At the same time, the results are expected to ensure passengers using wireless devices on planes get (s)mashing reception.

As for the brave potatoes that chipped in for the experiment--they were donated to a food bank.

A Farewell to Yarns: A Sheep's Tale in the Land of Hemingway

When I attended The Trailing of the Sheep Festival in Idaho last year, I admit that I was a woolly virgin. But after spending three days with my friends of the Ovis Aries stock, I became a sheep feta-shist. As this year's festival looms, I reminisce about attending what has become my favorite American festival. Please enjoy, my little lamb chops.

Ever since I caught wind of its existence, I have been fixated on attending The Trailing of the Sheep Festival, which takes place in Hailey and Ketchum, Idaho every October. Perhaps it was the sheep poetry sessions that roped me in....after all, who could resist a sheep bleating Keats.

At any rate, as my obsession grew, I knit together a fantasy about becoming Queen of the Sheep. My dream was to show off my good breeding by donning a tiara and walking amongst my little lambs as we strode in unison down the streets of Ketchum. In order to blend in (somewhat) with the flock, I would enrobe myself in a virgin wool fleece frock.

And so, in order to get out of a rut and make my dream come true, I booked a trip to the Sun Valley area for the autumn of 2011. Hailing from Washington, DC, I decided the best way to win the title was to start lobbying Hailey town elders and the festival organizers. But as I grazed the landscape, I realized there might be a few hitches in my plan. First, I discovered that "The Trailing of the Sheep" took place during Yom Kippur weekend. Now, if this festival were to be renamed "Jews and Ewes" or "Hey, Ewe Jew", I would be a lock for the title. But alas, it was not, and I started to fear that the parade would be taking place on the Holy Day itself. Even though I planned to maintain my fast, I wondered if it would be kosher in God's eyes to be parading amongst sheep while atoning. On one hand, Moses was a shepherd. Still, he led his most important flock around Passover and not the High Holidays.

Courtesy: TravelAge West

As I ruminated over this ruminant dilemma, I discovered that the parade was delayed until the day after Yom Kippur. Thus, I was back on the non-fast track to becoming sheep royalty. But soon enough, I was brought to the realization that my lovely dream could become a wolf in sheep's clothing. While having a moveable feast at the home of the lovely owners of a Ketchum art gallery, the husband started raining a bit on my parade. (Said husband, parenthetically, hence the parentheses, resembled a hip version of Mr. Keaton, the dad on "Family Ties"). Mr. Bleatin' advised me that, at times, the parading sheep have been known to run amok. One sheep wanders off in a different direction and the entire flock ends up pulling a big ewe-turn. Or, Mr. Baa Humbug noted, as the hills at the end of the parade route come into sight, the sheep sometimes start stampeding to quicken the journey to their winter digs.

At any rate, instead of ending the parade in a path of glory, I suddenly envisioned myself in my own private Pamplona, overtaken by a mad mob of sheep goring me with their puffballs of wool and leaving me with tiara askew and my garb transformed into the world's largest livery of lint.

Of course, the citizens of Ketchum might not take kindly to this intruder amongst their ranks, no matter how stunning said intruder was. In fact, the stunt might even get their collective goat. Therefore, after rising up, dusting myself off, and repositioning my tiara, I realized I might have to go on the lamb (sic) or risk being pelted. However, I knew it was likely that I would be quickly found, as after the sheep were long gone, I would be the only one in the valley for whom the smell lolled.

Thank ewe very much.

The 2012 rendition of the festival takes place October 11-14. Details are available at www.trailingofthesheep.org. 

What You Don't Know About Idaho

After spending two months in Idaho this year, I have unearthed many interesting facts about a state best known for its potatoes. To wit...

Despite its beauty, Idaho is the only state that has not staked claim to the Miss America title.

Sun Valley is considered the first winter destination resort in the United States. It was built in the 1930s by railroad magnate W. Averill Harriman.

Sun Valley was the home of the world's first chairlifts. The lifts were installed on Dollar and Proctor Mountains in 1936.

The Hokey Pokey was invented in Sun Valley during the 1940s.

Elsewhere in Idaho...

Idaho is the only state with two time zones divided north and south. The state divides between Mountain and Pacific Time just north of Riggins.

Television was invented in Rigby, Idaho in the 1920s by local science prodigy and farm boy Philo Farnsworth.

Bruneau Dunes State Park is home to North America's tallest sand dune, at 470 feet.

Calling All Spuds...


Potatoes are not the top agricultural product in Idaho. Milk is.

Potatoes are the #1 crop, but are third in the agricultural product list after dairy and cattle.

And while we are on the topic, Idaho is the country’s #1 potato producer, serving up 29% of the U.S. total.