The Travel Thread

c.layne · Post by **c.layne** » Mon Sep 19, 2005 1:13 pm

nope, i definitely do. but i've only one week left here, and then i'm returning to the east coast where i belong. w00t

HeuristicsInc · Post by **HeuristicsInc** » Mon Sep 19, 2005 1:34 pm

jack wrote:
HeuristicsInc wrote: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.

ehh, close enough. plus who makes a travel guide to lightfoot, va?

-bill

Caravan Ray · Post by **Caravan Ray** » Mon Sep 19, 2005 1:54 pm

jack wrote: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.

I'd certainly never class sleepy old Brisbane as one of the great cities of the world - but I doubt that there would be many places in the world with better weather or prettier women. (No surf in Brizzy though - curse you Moreton Island).

Brisbane does still cling onto it's "big country town" charm though. It's a much friendlier place than Sydney or Melbourne. (For Sausage Boy's benefit - while Adelaide doesn't have Brisbane's weather - it certainly beats us on food and wine. Adelaide is probably one of the best eating towns in the world. The restaurants there are sensational)

Though I'd never want to live in Sydney again - far too crowded - anyone who has seen Sydney Harbour would have too agree that there a few cities as visually spectacular.

My favourite non-Australian city is Bangkok. Awesome place. Nosiy, hot, smelly, crowded - but for some reason I always love every minute I'm there

jimtyrrell · Post by **jimtyrrell** » Mon Sep 19, 2005 2:00 pm

Plymouth, New Hampshire is a little college town between the White Mountains and the Lakes Region. Here's what I like about it:

Rattlesnake Mountain. I have yet to see one rattlesnake on this thing, so no worries. It's a hike in nearby Holderness of about nine tenths of a mile, and empties out onto a spectacular view of the lakes. Quick, easy, and beautiful.

Funspot. A big old arcade in Laconia (about 20 minutes away) with bowling, mini golf, and go-karts. Plus the second story is the Classic Arcade Museum, a nearly complete archive of the best arcade games from back in the day. There's a few games they're missing that I'd love to play, like Peter Packrat and Major Havoc and a couple others, but what they do have makes it more than worth the trip.

The Weirs Beach Drive-In. Double features every night in the summer. They don't have those things you hang on your car window anymore though, you gotta tune in to a low-band FM station to get the sound.

Tom's Brothers Pizza. Right in downtown Plymouth. They make a buffalo chicken pizza with hot sauce instead of pizza sauce. Mmm.

Bjam · Post by **Bjam** » Mon Sep 19, 2005 4:05 pm

jimtyrrell wrote: Funspot. A big old arcade in Laconia (about 20 minutes away) with bowling, mini golf, and go-karts. Plus the second story is the Classic Arcade Museum, a nearly complete archive of the best arcade games from back in the day. There's a few games they're missing that I'd love to play, like Peter Packrat and Major Havoc and a couple others, but what they do have makes it more than worth the trip.

That really does sound fun.

c.layne · Post by **c.layne** » Mon Sep 19, 2005 6:12 pm

a pretty cool place just opened up in muncie. maybe dan knows a little about it?

the idiot king · Post by **the idiot king** » Mon Sep 19, 2005 7:09 pm

Bjam wrote:
jimtyrrell wrote: Funspot. A big old arcade in Laconia (about 20 minutes away) with bowling, mini golf, and go-karts. Plus the second story is the Classic Arcade Museum, a nearly complete archive of the best arcade games from back in the day. There's a few games they're missing that I'd love to play, like Peter Packrat and Major Havoc and a couple others, but what they do have makes it more than worth the trip.
That really does sound fun.

funspot is the shit.

roymond · Post by **roymond** » Mon Sep 19, 2005 8:42 pm

If you're in NYC, walk over the Brooklyn Bridge from City Hall to Fulton Landing. It's a great walk, has some of the most spectacular views of NYC, and of course the bridge itself is a work of art. That's why I got married there. There are also Peregrine falcons that live in one of the towers, and I see them swooping about, occassionally with fresh meat

Once you get to Brooklyn, have some of the finest pizza anywhere at Grimaldi's Pizza - Also doubles as a shrine for Frank Sinatra. Don't ask for a slice.

Or walk down to DUMBO and have a fabulously kid-friendly feast at Bubby's before over doing it some more at Jacque Torres chocolate. When you can't eat anymore, visit the Cove between the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges.

After that, walk up the hill to the Brooklyn Heights Promenade and I'll join you. I live two blocks away.

fodroy · Post by **fodroy** » Mon Sep 19, 2005 10:44 pm

c.layne wrote:a pretty cool place just opened up in muncie. maybe dan knows a little about it?

holy crap. that's crazy. i swear, muncie is the weirdest place in the world. i've never been to south-west muncie, as there's not much there. maybe i should check it out (not the club). i don't usually stray too far from campus. muncie's population consists of college students and crazy people.

Hoblit · Post by **Hoblit** » Mon Sep 19, 2005 11:27 pm

If you are in my neck of the woods ever, I've plenty to offer. Tampa RAWKS. I love this city. It's no Atlanta, but it's my home and there is plenty of to love in this town and I'd love to show you around. This offer is for any Hockey fan who wants to watch their team lose to our champions less than a mile from where I live. This shout out goes to anyone who wants a chance to see the bucs whoop up on anyone brave enough to visit. Perhaps you want to watch the Yankees lose to one of the worse teams in all of the MBL...we've got that too.

Beyond that we have the Bodies exhibit. (092005)

If none of this interests you, we still have one of the liveliest night lives in the south as they close off streets every Friday and Saturday night in our Historic District of Ybor City for the hell of it. (EE-BORE City, for those who wanted to know how it sounded to the ear)

Every spring the city shuts down and we let the Pirates take over and it's mayhem. One word: Gasperilla.

In october it happens all over again ... but this time they call it Guavaween.

Tampa likes to party, and so does Hoblit.

If you are ever in my neck of the woods, for the limited time that I'm still here... look me up.

Caravan Ray · Post by **Caravan Ray** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 2:37 am

roymond wrote:Peregrine falcons[/url] that live in one of the towers, and I see them swooping about, occassionally with fresh meat
.

There's a peregrine falcon named Frodo who's been raising a family on a Brisbane building since 1999.
He's had his own web-cam for the last year or so
http://thecouriermail.com.au/extras/fro ... efault.htm

Frodo and his lady friend Frieda just became the proud parents of 2 new chicks today! (No doubt they'll soon be given ridiculous names too)
http://www.thecouriermail.news.com.au/c ... 02,00.html

the idiot king · Post by **the idiot king** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 10:52 am

a little late around these parts, but here's my low down of the boston area. also, if you're gonna swing through town at all, let me know, i'd love to meet up for a drink or something. i'm a social enough guy and not really that much of a prick.

food:

they keep promising us a ruth's steak house sometime soon (october, they're saying now) by state street station in boston proper. if you've ever had this place, you understand the importance of eating at this place if it is an option.

jake's boss barbeque: i've never actually been here personally, but this is apparently worth the atrocious t trip into jamaica plain. it's located at 3492 washington street, and it is allegedly the best bbq in town. after hearing dozens of testimonials and seeing the phantom gourmet's rating, i'm willing to believe it.

soundbites: there's a reason there's a line out the door here. i'm a man who loves his breakfast food, and this is probably the best in the area. it's in somerville at 708 broadway.

the grecian diner: standard, cheap breakfast stuff. a block down harvard from the corner of commonwealth ave in allston. see also: steve's kitchen, a few doors down.

the hi-tide: it's a royal pain to get to, but it's the only place where you can get breakfast (including coffee and tip) for under $5. it's in winthrop, and i don't know much about their bus service and whatnot.

little stevie's: this place is on boylston street just past berklee. greasy, nasty pizza, but they give you a quarter of the damned thing for next to nothing, and they keep insane hours. definitely the place to go with the 2:00 am drunk munchies.

inbound pizza: this place is near the corner of harvard and commonwealth aves in allston. more of the same as little stevie's, except better food and slightly weaker hours (they close at 2 am).

ana's taqueria: there's a few around; there's one in porter square and one on harvard ave a few blocks into brookline away from comm ave. if you can find a better burrito, i would love to try it. qdoba (sic), another chain, is an adequate substitute.

drinks/nightlife:

great scott: this place has been the center of my universe lately. it's located just over the allston/boston line by the intersection of harvard and comm ave. they have a decent selection of beers, ok prices, and typically really good bands. some recent bands that have been by there include lightning bolt, the information, and the bon savants. and, of course, *cough*, the 8mm fuzz.
friday nights are especially great, they have a new wave/punk rock/indie rock dance party called the pill. they have one band play, and then djs spin blur, bloc party, the smiths, the cure, depeche, gang of four, etc. it's a great scene to meet people (like attractive indie boys/girls? this is the place to be), and it's a total blast.

the avenue: right across the street from great scott and they have a selection of dollar drafts. pregaming central. 'nuff said. on a side note, i saw mikey welsh from weezer there a few weeks back, and he denied that it was him (i've met him a few times, he's around town often, so i know who the hell he is). weird, weird, man.

the middle east: yadda yadda ya, the big club in town. located in central square (actually, mark sandman square, right next door) in cambridge. the upstairs room is for more local stuff, and they book surprisingly weak acts often. the downstairs does have some cool stuff going on; i went to an all-ages xiu xiu show there a couple weeks back that started at 2 pm. but generally, this place is overrated; their restaurant is often the best part of any given evening there.

t.t. the bear's place: slightly better than the middle east, in my humble opinion, is its lesser-regarded next door neighbor. they like to boast that nirvana played there, but they have had quite a few great acts on their stage. i saw mclusky there twice last year, and it was the perfect venue for that band. booking here can be almost as difficult as the middle east, however, so if your band is gonna tour, i'd try either great scott (very friendly to touring acts) or the lovely o'brien's (see below), depending on what your band's bag is.

o'brien's: located on the corner of harvard ave and cambridge street in allston. this is the place to go if you're into a.) metal and/or punk, b.) bands that fuck shit up, and c.) a dirty and disgusting venue. the same booking agent from the middle east books this place, but he's a bit more open and uses it as a test to see how well you draw. short of the rat (r.i.p.), this is probably the nastiest club in town. just gross.

the paradise: interesting design (wide rooms with balconies and mezzanines) and one of the best sound systems in town. the big room typically books solid bands, but the lounge is spotty.

i'd avoid the abbey lounge; while they have a great stage and decent sound system, they don't book many solid acts. their booking agent performs there several times a month, which goes to show where their head is in that regard. plus, their sound guy was terrible to my drummer; like we're talking rude, condescending comments that are not only unprofessional, but mean.

HeuristicsInc · Post by **HeuristicsInc** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 10:59 am

the idiot king wrote: jake's boss barbeque: i've never actually been here personally, but this is apparently worth the atrocious t trip into jamaica plain. it's located at 3492 washington street, and it is allegedly the best bbq in town. after hearing dozens of testimonials and seeing the phantom gourmet's rating, i'm willing to believe it.

hey, michelle's brother lives in jamaica plain. that might be worthwhile, then.
also in that town:

jp licks ice cream - fantastic store-made flavors and there's like 40 or 50 of them.

sam adams "craft" brewery - this is a place where they make experimental brews, rather than the mass-produced ones. they give you 4 glasses of tastes after the tour, where you can try some of the wierder things they make.

-bill

the idiot king · Post by **the idiot king** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 11:05 am

HeuristicsInc wrote: hey, michelle's brother lives in jamaica plain. that might be worthwhile, then.
also in that town:

jp licks ice cream - fantastic store-made flavors and there's like 40 or 50 of them.

sam adams "craft" brewery - this is a place where they make experimental brews, rather than the mass-produced ones. they give you 4 glasses of tastes after the tour, where you can try some of the wierder things they make.

-bill

i forgot the breakfast market, as well, so i edited my post.

HeuristicsInc · Post by **HeuristicsInc** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 11:20 am

also, it seems there are 7 locations for jp licks around boston, so they should be easy to find without going to jp itself.
-bill

jack · Post by **jack** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 8:40 pm

if you happen to be bored in San Francisco this weekend.

The Love Parade

or there's always.......

The Folsom Street Fair

the idiot king · Post by **the idiot king** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 11:26 pm

jack wrote:if you happen to be bored in San Francisco this weekend.

The Love Parade

or there's always.......

The Folsom Street Fair

the love parade sounds so fun...

Freddielove · Post by **Freddielove** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 10:30 pm

Yeah, the Love Parade was in town, the Folsom Street Fair, and the blues festival as well, but all of our time there was spoken for, we were in town for a wedding. Had a great time though.

We drove past those baths, they look really cool, so plenty of reasons to go back.

jack · Post by **jack** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 12:41 pm

The Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival

if you're anywhere near San Francisco this weekend.....

Bjam · Post by **Bjam** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 2:51 pm

Reviiiiiiiiiiive!

Hey kids. I'm gonna be in Boston from Wednesday April 4th through Saturday April 7th. I'm free during the day and night on Thursday and Friday. What should I do that's fun in Boston? (I'm doing college visits[ew] and am gonna be staying near Northeastern University).

(Also, although it's probably futile, I'll be in Hawaii from March 28th to April 3rd. I doubt there are any Hawaiian Songfighters though...

)

HeuristicsInc · Post by **HeuristicsInc** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 7:53 pm

Hey, I always liked this thread.

I wasn't big on NEern (I got accepted there for Masters but went to W&M instead) but let me know your thoughts. Umm, in Boston the Aquarium is quite cool for those that love fish. You should make a point to eat lobster while there although I can't recommend a specific place for that. If you like Italian food, there's this Little Italy sort of place and a great restaurant called Summa. Not too far from there we saw an improv comedy troupe, if you like that sort of thing I can get their name for you. That's what comes to mind right off. I doubt you'll be in Jamaica Plain, but I listed some places for that area earlier in this thread.

What island will you be on for the Hawai'i? I have been on the big island.
-bill

Freddielove · Post by **Freddielove** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 9:35 pm

Get a cannoli at Mike's.

Atasca is a good place too. http://www.atasca.com