The Travel Thread

[Freddielove]

Or perhaps this would be more appropriately titled "So, tell us about your town."

I decided to start this for selfish reasons, since I will be travelling fom LA to Seattle from the 17 - the 31, so if you are on the west coast and have time to grab a drink or something, that would be cool, but thought it would be great for everybody.

There are a lot of cool people here living in a lot of different places so I thought it would be useful for people to list their picks for cool stuff in their cities.

And by that I don't mean "Hey if you are in London, check out Big Ben." We can all pick up a Lonley Planet Guide. More like the out of the way places or things that make your neighborhood special that people may not think to visit, or things that you think everbody should check out if they are in your town.

[Bjam]

The coffeeshop in my town makes the most amazing white hot chocolate. It kinda tastes like melted marshmallows.

[jack]

if you plan on driving up highway 1 from the south, this is worth checking out. the drive itself doesn't suck either.

scroll down to the bottom of the page, where it talks about the $20 1am to 3am deal. lots of camping nearby too.

[Freddielove]

Edit - Dang you guys are fast.

And since I asked I will go first.

If for whatever reason you happen to be in Houston here is some stuff. I will update as I think of things.


Basically, in Houston there are two things we like to do: Eat and sit and watch stuff. Which is why we are the fattest city, in the fattest state, in the fattest country in the world. So this will mostly consist of places to eat, and watch stuff sitting down.

Houston has a great Theater district, for those inclined. You can check the listings in the papers, instead I will plug the country playhouse out on the west side of town where JD of Buffalo Speedway has been performing.
http://www.countryplayhouse.org/

Here are some music venues

The Meridian

Been the hot venue lately, a lot the bands on there way to SXSW stop here first and tickets are a lot cheaper. And you don't have to put up with annoying Austin hipsters telling you how much better their band is than whatever is playing.
http://www.meridianhouston.com/

Rudyard's

Good beer selection downsatairs and eclectic mix of local and regional bands upstairs, only a cover for upstairs, so if you like what you hear pay $5 - $20 ang walk up.
http://www.rudyards.com/

The Proletariat

Small venue featuring local and national acts.
http://www.theproletariathouston.com/

Cafe Brasil

Coffee house with wine / beer and good food. Usually has live music.
http://cityguide.aol.com/houston/bars/v ... ?vid=27171

A couple record stores

Cactus

Been here for years. Specializes in roots and local music, but has other stuff. Has cool in store performances, saw Camper Van Beethoven and talked to Sondre Lerche for a bit here.
http://www.gladmusicco.com/Cactus.htm

Soundwaves - Montrose location

The DJ's choice. Big selection of vinyl and white label stuff. Full of people who know there sh!t. And they don't even work there.
http://houston.citysearch.com/review/11495140

And we all love Mexican Food, here are a few.

Maria Selma

Nice patio and great corn totillas.
http://www.mariaselma.com/

Picos

A Houston institution almost. They make some good interior Mexican dishes that most places don't.
http://www.picos.net/

100% Taquito

Some great versions of Mexico City style taqueria food. And my friend, who contributed lyrics to my and Odnarb's "Por Favor" owns it, so go there.
http://houston.citysearch.com/profile/9 ... taurant-nc

[WeaselSlayer]

If you're ever in Tucson, eat at the Mosaic Cafe. Best Chiles Rellenos I've ever ate. Um, and also the Loft Cinema is a kickass movie theater. And the Desert Museum has koates. It's also a big stupid fucking waste of time, so don't go there. Broadway Cafe is open 24/7 and is a 50s diner with consistently ok food, but really good banana milkshakes. It's on Broadway. The real gem of Tucson, however, is PDQ which has so many god damn records it's incredible. I've purchased many a vinyl delight there, my favorite of which is my Tiny Tim record. Tres chic. But honestly, don't go to Tucson. Or if you do and school's out (meaning I'm back there) drop me a line and we'll go hang out. Or come hang out with me in NYC, whatever's cool. There's supposedly some stuff to do around here.

[Caravan Ray]

One hour north of Brisbane

Crikey! The Home of the Crocodile Hunter

What more do you need?

[Bjam]

Crikey! The Home of the Crocodile Hunter

!!

SFL 2007 Australia Zoo

[fodroy]

in muncie, in, we have I-69 which passes by. it will take you wherever you want to go, preferably somewhere more interesting.

[j$]

Sorry to say (well not that sorry), but of all the cities I have visited in the world, London is still the best. I wish it wasn't, but it is. Deal.

j$

[jack]

Santa Cruz has prettier women and better weather. Sorry Johnny.

We also have nice beaches, a wooden rollercoaster, The Mystery Spot, tolerance, the great morgani, umbrella man, the asian rose cafe, trader joes, real surfers, real swells, the mighty marimbas, UCSC, and laughing sal.

[fluffy]

Just to let you know, most of the Octothorpe crew (including myself) are in Seattle, so when you get here, you could give calls/emails around and we can make a hangout of it.

Also, don't let the name confuse you - Jim of Seattle is also here as well. (I still haven't actually met him.)

I don't know Seattle stuff so well, but here's some things to do in Las Cruces, NM:

- There's a bunch of really good Mexican restaurants. My favorite is Andele, which is on Old Mesilla Road, just on the edge of the plaza area.

- The university has a museum which I've heard is good though I never got around to going there (even though I lived there for eight years)

- White Sands is very white, and sandy.

- DG's deli (on University and Solano) is a great place for a sandwich, assuming they're still open. The Golden Bull was a great place for a hamburger, but they shut down shortly before I left. A distant second to Golden Bull would be Bob's Burgers (on Valley and Missouri). Their Ranchero Burger is fab. They are a chain and there are a few of them up in Albuquerque too.

Speaking of Albuquerque, there's some very nice scenery around there, particularly in the downtown area. The Rio Grande nature park is very nice, and there's also a decent zoo and a very nice botanical garden and a pretty good (though not amazing) aquarium. There's also a few other museums there like the Natural History Museum (dinosaurs! raar!), the Albuquerque Museum (usually has some great art exhibits), and Explora (great for the kiddies).

[WeaselSlayer]

That wooden rollercoaster is more like a snorercoaster. But yeah, SC is real nice.

[NeilThrun]

Things to see in Madison, WI.

UW Memorial Union. Free music every saturday. Thursday night Open Mic, which I have been known to frequent.
http://www.union.wisc.edu/events/http:/ ... momo.com/

[HeuristicsInc]

buffalo, ny

wings - it's well known that the anchor bar invented buffalo wings, but i also recommend elmo's near ub (my alma mater) for them, as well as cajun wings - they're less fried-ish.

cd stores - home of the hits near buff state has a good selection and good prices. there's a place on main st. which may be called world wide music and books that's got a good used section.

hmm, presumably more to come.
-bill

[HeuristicsInc]

baltimore, md and suburbia

wine - iron bridge wine company in ellicott city has an awesome wine selection by the glass, many more bottles, good food, and knowledgable staff.

music - bill's music in catonsville is a music (instrument) place. v cool. not related to me, just a happy customer.

cds - record & tape traders is a small local chain with good selection, good used stuff, and generally a fun budget bin.

there's a really good thai restaurant in pasadena but i totally can't remember the name of it and it's not on superpages.

more to come?
-bill

[HeuristicsInc]

williamsburg, va

lunch - i totally recommend two places - first the cheese shop near dog street/the historical area for sandwiches. they make their own bread and the food is awesome but it is all takeout. i recommend "combo" (turkey and ham) on wheat with cheddar and the special house sauce which makes every sandwich awesome. second - pierce's pitt hidden off the i-64 has awesome barbecue and hushpuppies. i took my boss here on a work trip and now he goes there every time he goes that way.

cds - the outlet mall has a cd store called music for a song (it's a chain) that has a rewarding budget bin.

bed and breakfast - the black badger inn is a good place, close to the college.

hmm, that's all i got right now, getting tired oddly enough.
-bill

[HeuristicsInc]

The coffeeshop in my town makes the most amazing white hot chocolate. It kinda tastes like melted marshmallows.

hmm, i'll be near philly before too long (wedding). what is this place?
-bill

[Bjam]

The coffeeshop in my town makes the most amazing white hot chocolate. It kinda tastes like melted marshmallows.

hmm, i'll be near philly before too long (wedding). what is this place?
-bill

http://gryphoncafe.com/index2.html It's a cute little coffee shop on Route 30. They have art from local artists, awesome drinks(cheaper than Starbucks ), and open mic every Monday. It's real nice. Except don't go upstairs on Friday/Saturday nights because there's all sorts of fondling and kissing and making out going on in the upstairs room. It's not a pleasant thing to walk into.

[jack]

williamsburg, va

pierce's pitt hidden off the i-64 has awesome barbecue and hushpuppies. i took my boss here on a work trip and now he goes there every time he goes that way.

hands down, the best barbeque i've ever eaten. it's in lightfoot actually, not williamsburg.

[WeaselSlayer]

I found a cool place near Union Square with really good tea, nice hippy staff, and key lime pie covered in hempnuts. I forget what it's called though so you'll have to come hang out with me to find it. Also, there's this comic shop called Forbidden Planets on like 13th and Broadway that's awesome. And also never carry a box of pizza on the subway, it's cumbersome.

[c.layne]

avoid cheyenne, wyoming like the plague

[fodroy]

i'm glad i'm not the only who hates where they live.