From the category archives:

United States

Land Yachts vs. Pup Tents

by Keith on October 28, 2010 · 3 comments

Granite countertops, plasma TVs and plush leather seats were just a couple of the amenities we caught glimpses of through open doors and windows on the massive RVs parked in the campgrounds where Amy and I pitched our tent. And while we were out west with cool, relatively bug-free nights, I did not miss all those creature comforts. The freedom and flexibility of a tent was great. And you can’t pull an RV up to a site with this view.

However, once we crossed back over the Great Mississippi and pulled up to the KOA outside Lexington, I have to admit the heat and humidity, not to mention the noise of crowded campground, had me curious as to what these massive land yachts cost.

As luck would have it, the campground was just down the road from the Tom Stinnett RV Freedom Center, home to the region’s largest indoor RV showroom. After our amazing experience with KEA Campers in Australia, I was curious to find out more about the RV lifestyle here in the States. The sign at the front door seemed promising.

We asked the salesman to direct us to the most expensive model they had. My approach was to see the top of the line, and then work my way back to reality. The top of the line was a 2007 Mountain Aire (the extra “e” on Air added at least $20,000 to the price). This 45-foot (13.7 meter) behemoth lists for a mere $446,301.

But look at that interior: marble floors, hardwood cabinets, leather sofa. It is quite nice and very comfortable. When I asked the salesman about gas mileage he laughed and said “low.”

This was the opposite of the highly functional and efficient KEA camper we fell in love with in Australia. But this is not exactly a fair comparison. The consumer that is considering the Mountain Aire is not the same consumer that would have been happy with our KEA. So we went in search of something fairly equivalent. Despite our best efforts, however, we were not able to find anything that was more modestly priced and still had the quality finishes and ingeniously efficient design we came to appreciate in the KEA.

The pull behind pop-ups seemed the closest option but they were a serious step below that of the KEA.

Overall, I think that our REI Quarter Dome T3 tent is a great value and while it does not have a plasma TV, if I want to watch TV, I think I will just stay home.

{ 3 comments }

Rocky Mountain National Park

by Amy on October 14, 2010 · 0 comments

Reds, golds and browns. Sounds like the beautiful fall foliage one expects this time of year up in New England. But this was Colorado, in August, and lodge pole pine trees surrounded us. Or what remained of lodge pole pines.

As we approached the western entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park, the patches of green on the hillsides got thinner and thinner. We pulled into a desolate KOA camp at dusk, filled with tree stumps and dead limbs piled high on the side of the tent sites. The one standing tree nearby was brown and dead.

Keith had camped not too far from here just a few years ago, and as you can see, his photos from that trip tell a very different story. So what happened here?

The pine beetle has ravaged approximately three million acres of forest in Colorado and southern Wyoming during this latest outbreak. Milder winters have contributed to the outbreak, allowing the beetles to flourish year-round. Left behind is an eerie landscape of dead and dying trees, especially in the western portions of the Park. So far the eastern side of the Park has faired better, but you can already see the beginnings of the beetle infestation as you head towards Estes Park.

Between the melting glaciers in Glacier National Park and the dying forests in Rocky Mountain National Park, we have witnessed first hand just how quickly our environment can change. While debate remains about whether these changes are natural or caused by humans, it is undeniable that these national treasures will look very different for generations to come.

{ 0 comments }

Pedestrians Eating

by Keith on October 4, 2010 · 0 comments

Food and walking. If I was going to sum up our year traveling with the two activities we did the most of, these would be at the top of the list. A good chunk of the walking was undertaken as a way to find the food. So when we arrived in Portland and saw on TripAdvisor that the #1 attraction, of the 316 listed, was an epicurean walking food tour, I was in with both feet, and of course my stomach.

Getting Started
The tour, which is run by Portland Walking Tours, started at 2pm in the mezzanine lobby of the Heathman Hotel. After Herb, our guide, gathered up the group, we headed downstairs to the first floor retail chocolate shop, Cacao, where we were each provided a sample of European-style drinking chocolate. The drink was vaguely reminiscent of the discontinued Starbucks Chantico. Along with the drink we were provided information by the store manager about the origins of chocolate and the different growing regions for chocolate around the world.

Oil and Vinegar Mixed Together
The second stop, while not quite as sweet, was equally tasty. And since I have more of a savory than a sweet palate, Benessere Olive Oils and Balsamic Vinegars offered a great chance to sample fruity and aromatic olive oils from all regions and balsamic vinegars made from a wide variety of fruit combinations.

The silver canisters allowed for easy tasting and if you like what you sampled all you had to do was fill an empty glass bottle, cork it and bring it the register.

Pretentious Coffee
After a quick stop at the Flying Elephant Deli to sample their tremendous tomato-orange bisque, we headed over to Public Domain to have a cup ‘o joe. This was not any old coffee though, this was a cup ‘o Esmeralda Special Mario Carnaval, the most expensive coffee in the world, selling for over $120/lb. The beans come from a coffee plant known as “Geisha” that originated in Ethiopia in the 1930′s, with some of the seeds making their way over to Panama in the 1960′s. But it wasn’t until Daniel Peterson took over La Hacienda in 1996 that the beans were segregated from the rest of the plants on the farm. My final verdict on the coffee was that it was okay, nowhere near worth the price tag, and while I appreciate people that take their food seriously, the pretension at Public Domain was way over the top for me. Check out how serious the barista is.

Good Beer World HQ
The tour then wound its way from a spice shop to a Greek food truck, and then to my most anticipated stop: the Tap Room. There we had 4oz samples of 3 delicious local beers. I was very much looking forward to the micro-brews in Portland, because in 2008, Portland had 30 microbreweries located within the city limits, more than any city in the world. That’s right, I was in the good beer capital of the WORLD! Doesn’t get much better than that.

Culinary Communism
Despite being rather full and having just enjoyed a couple of very tasty beers, we still had three more stops. The first was a sandwich shop in Chinatown for a traditional cubano of sliced pork, ham, swiss cheese, pickles and mustard. Perhaps communism is the cultural connection? No time to solve that riddle – we were off to the next stop at the Oyster Bar for a small but sweet Tillamook oyster on the half shell.

Sweet Ending
And finally the tour drew to a close with a sweet ending at VooDoo Donuts, home of the Bacon Maple Bar, which is a raised yeast doughnut with maple frosting and 2 slices of bacon on top! While we sadly did not get to try one, our dozen sampler did offer a good variety of the unique combinations that has made VooDoo famous.

In Summary
I highly recommend this tour if you are in Portland and have any interest in food. There is a reason they are #1 on TripAdvisor. The tour was jammed packed with 10 stops in all. Each one offered a great taste of the cuisine that makes Portland so special. And our guide was humorous, had a genuine passion for his hometown and regularly went out of his way to make sure all of the guests had a great experience.

{ 0 comments }

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →