Starling Travel

Hiding in the heart of the warehouse district of Portland is a museum of toys. Protected behind glass to keep them safe from little hands, lies the childhood of many. A true piece of history is in each toy telling us stories ranging from the late 1800’s to the 1930’s. Ward Jenkins visited the museum with his two children and was surprised at what he found.

• The Ward-O-Matic: Kidd’s Toy Museum

They simply don’t have the money or space to have the entire Kidd’s toy collection available to the public. But what is available to view is quite impressive.

A fascinating place. And better yet, it’s free!

Oh, and I have to say this: visiting the museum offered the opportunity for me to talk to Ava about racism. Hadn’t planned on it, but hey, no time like the present.

You can see all of his photos from the visit here:

• Kidd’s Toy Museum from Ward-O-Matic – a set on Flickr

Where:

Kidd Toy Museum
Google Map
1301 SE Grand Ave
Portland, OR 97214
(503) 233-7807

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Roadside attractions that are free to the public are rare indeed. When they come in the form of a giant blue whale, you’ve hit nirvana!

You can learn more about the Blue Whale here:

• City of Catoosa: Blue Whale

Emily Elliott took video of the Blue Whale and shared it on YouTube:

Here is what the Blue Whale looks like from above

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Next time you’re thinking of taking a road trip, try Route 66. The Blue Whale is just one of many niceties that you’ll find along this old road!

Via: Twitter / Ash Buckles: RT @problogger: Check out …

This is the second time we’ve stayed at the Radisson Town Lake. We love it because it overlooks the river and Congress Bridge. Congress Bridge is where the largest urban bat colony in North America live. In the summer, huge clouds of bats leave the bridge every evening at dusk.

This year, however, the bridge is quiet and abandoned.

It’s too cold this year to support the bats, so I suspect they are vacationing a little longer in Mexico. We came to Austin for the SXSW Interactive Festival, so the bats were a secondary attraction.

The hotel swag, however, was quite enjoyable.

The toilet paper origami left a little to be desired.

The towel origami, however, was beautiful.

I don’t care for Sleep Number beds. They are beds that are filled with air depending on what firmness you want. It took a lot of tweaking to get my side of the bed to feel like a “normal” bed. I guess my sleep number is 45, but I didn’t enjoy finding that out. The Radisson brags about their Sleep Number beds, but I don’t find them pleasant or appealing. It’s more like sleeping on a camping mattress.

You can see all the photos for the Radisson Town Lake here:

• Radisson Town Lake Hotel Swag – a set on Flickr

On the whole, our stay at the Radisson has been enjoyable. They charge ten bucks a day per computer to be online in your hotel room, which I find appalling. I guess I’m used to cheaper hotels that try to attract me with free wireless. I like that I can just walk to the convention center from this hotel. I LOVE the view of the bridge, even though this year it’s bat-free. I even love the TGI Friday’s in the hotel lobby. Sometimes I’m so tired that I just need a quiet meal that is familiar. Someday, Internet connectivity will be free at all hotels just like water and televisions. Until then, it’s hit and miss.

When Star Trek: The Experience closed at the Las Vegas Hilton last year, I grieved. Mike and I attended the last week they were open and took a ton of photos.

You can see the rest of them here:

• Star Trek: The Experience August 2008 – a set on Flickr

It looks like Star Trek: The Experience is coming back to Las Vegas.

• Has Neonopolis achieved liftoff? – Las Vegas Sun

Perhaps most impressive, the attraction called Star Trek: The Experience appears also to be coming to Neonopolis. Plans are to retrofit a large amount of space on the first floor to allow for rides, as well as a Trek-themed restaurant and museum.

• Confirmed: New contract to keep Star Trek The Experience alive in Vegas | SCI FI Wire

Journalist Mark Hansel, who writes for In Business Las Vegas, has seen the contracts signed by studio officials, Neonopolis owners and the city of Las Vegas. “I have seen the contract, and I know that the city redevelopment manager met with CBS officials in New York to seal the deal,” said Hansel, who has covered the downtown redevelopment for years for In Business and the Las Vegas Sun. “They are hoping that there will be some sort of premiere event at the time of the movie opening that will be out here. Obviously, the big premiere will be in Hollywood, but they hope to have something out here, too.”

I am so excited for the return of Star Trek: The Experience and I have been scrambling to find the closest hotel to Neonopolis. Suddenly, all those hotels that I wouldn’t think of staying at like The Four Queens, The Gold Spike, Binion’s and Lady Luck are looking like they might be my new favorite places to stay. These have always been the most reasonably priced hotels, but because they were downtown, we didn’t want to stay at them. Now that Star Trek: The Experience will be nearby, they are looking much more attractive.

Early this month, Nicole Lee visited Las Vegas and stayed at Palms Place Hotel. Here are some photos of her room.

The room had TWO televisions: one in front of the bed and one in front of the couch.

The living room area looks very spacious.

Oh, and there was a kitchen as well. It had a fridge, microwave and dishwasher.

The third television was in the bathroom. Remember folks, this is a HOTEL room!

I was hoping to get a glimpse of the Hotel Swag, but no such luck. Thanks for the photos, Nicole! Palms Place looks AWESOME!

While scanning my mom’s old photographs, I found a few snapshots from the debut of the It’s A Small World attraction that Disney showcased at the 1964 World’s Fair. You can see them here:

Seeing these photos reminded me that I have a photo of the It’s a Small World ride at Disneyland from 1984:

The ride changed a lot from 1964 on its way to Disneyland in 1984. Twenty years later, the story is still the same. It’s a small world, even between mother and daughter.

When I was scanning in my mother’s old photos, I found these from the 1964 New York World’s Fair:

You can see the rest of them here:

• 1964 New York World’s Fair on Flickr

The observation towers can still be seen today in Queens, New York. If you would like to take a miniature vacation back in time, you can watch these videos about the New York World’s Fair from the Prelinger Archive.

• To The Fair (Pt 1) (1965)
• To The Fair (Pt 2) (1965)
• Fridgidaire Presents Out of This World (1964)

Here are some home movies from the 1964 World’s Fair:

Here is a newsreel about the monorail:

It’s possible to still visit the site of the 1964 New York World’s Fair, but all of the Futurama is gone to be replaced by the real future.

Las Vegas has snow for the first time in years, and they got 6-8 INCHES! That’s probably the best Christmas present they could get this year.

Mike and I were caught in a snowstorm in Vegas once. It was that flurry of dandruff-like snow that we Utahans are very used to dealing with, so we drove right through it without a second thought. It melted before the end of the day.

To see my beloved Luxor Hotel covered with snow like this is so strange. It’s almost as if the black pyramid has been turned white.

More photos after the break: (Continue Reading…)

NakedJen moved to Salt Lake City less than a year ago and has been eagerly exploring the culinary delights that the city has to offer. Here is her review of Hatch Family Chocolates:

• nakedjen: It’s Better Here

I took a straw. I took a sip. It was so thick, so creamy, it got stuck washing over my tongue and coated my throat like a warm, chocolate flavored river. I couldn’t help but think of Augustus Gloop slurping from the river in Willy Wonka. I thought perhaps that’s why Calvin insisted on the straw?! So I don’t slurp like Augustus Gloop and end up drowning in my eagerness to drink it all.

If you would like to try Hatch Family Chocolates, here is their information:

Hatch Family Chocolates: Hand-Dipped Chocolates, Hot Chocolate
390 4th Ave
Salt Lake City, UT 84103
Google Map
Phone: (801) 532-4912

Hours: Mon-Sat 11am-10pm

Jere Keys moved to Cincinnati recently and can see the city with the fresh eyes of a tourist. He shared his photos with us here:

• Blind Prophecy » Exploring Camp Washington Picspam

After being left alone by his housemates, he decided to skip television for the night and take a walk:

I took a long walk down into the largely industrial neighborhood known as Camp Washington. Sure, there’s a lot of gritty, out-of-date reminders of a different time, abandoned buildings, even evidence of a homeless encampment, but I found it to be pretty (if you could ignore the smell of the giant aluminum casting factory).

Thanks for sharing your photos of your new home base, Jere!