Starling Travel

No matter where I go, I am always on the search for interesting local music. A couple of weeks ago, Mike and I went to the Mt. Hood area of Oregon. We stayed in Welches, Oregon. At the coffee shop, I found this CD by a local group called Way Beyond Boring.

The name of the band is a play on words because there is a town nearby called, Boring, Oregon. This group is Way Beyond Boring. They’re all the way to Welches, in fact. The CD was a fund-raiser for the local school district. I was surprised to see that they had nothing on the Internet about themselves, so I gladly added them to the Boring, Oregon Wikipedia Page.

Sadly, you can’t buy this CD online, despite its entertaining content. This group sounds like the bottle jug and mouth harp bands of the deep south. If you enjoyed the soundtrack for O Brother, Where Art Thou? then you’ll love these folks.

Wherever you travel, be on the lookout for small CDs sold at the local stores. They might not be the kind of music that you usually like, but they will give you a taste for the area far more than the local restaurants. These gems can become the soundtrack for your trip and every time you listen to them, they will remind you of your travels.

The another post in the “Tourist in My Own Town” series, Viddy Well added its Times Square video to the list.

Listen to the traffic and the voices of the tourists. Watch the signs blink their messages at you. Will you read thier words? Will they tell you anything? It seems like I only see Times Square once a year: New Year’s Eve. On the television, it’s so full of people for the New Year’s celebration. It was surprising to see it relatively vacant in this video.

Via: videoblogging : Message: Re: [videoblogging] Tourist in My Own Town

Continuing the “Tourist In My Own Town” theme, Mike Moon has posted an excellent video showcasing Lakeview Park in Oshawa, Canada.

I love the video of the swings, especially when the camera focuses on the point where the swings connect with the frame. They squeak and bend under the weight of the swinger. Enjoy the sound of the lake water hitting the sand. It’s a “kick in the butt.”

Via: videoblogging : Message: Tourist in My Own Town

Using Google Earth, photographs and film footage, Lean Back Videos presents you with Seattle.

I love how the video will show you the site on Google Earth and then show you the site in reality. Reality is better every time.

Next time you are feeling trapped at work or home, remember that your home town is an exotic travel destination to someone else. Look at your city with new eyes and see what you can see.

Via: videoblogging : Message: Re: Tourist in My Own Town

Every time you stay in a hotel, they give you a little bottle of shampoo, conditioner or lotion. There’s never enough shampoo in one of those bottles to wash my hair once, so the bottles are no good for reuse when traveling. Or are they?

There are lots of products that I want to take with me when I travel that I used to leave at home. My facial cleanser is one of them. I always used to tell myself that I can just wash my face with normal soap and then I would wonder why my face would break out EVERY time I went on vacation.

If my facial cleanser came in a travel or trial size, I would have gladly bought it, but I’ve never been able to find it, so here’s what I did so I can travel size MY way.

Firstly, I found my favorite shaped bottle out of the huge pile of saved bottles of free samples from hotels I’ve collected over the years. I liked this bottle because it was easy to squeeze the product out without damaging the bottle. Next, I used up the shampoo that was in there. It wasn’t enough to get my hair to a soapy lather, but at least I didn’t waste what was in there.

I cleaned the bottle thoroughly with hot water to remove all the shampoo. The best way to do this is to fill it halfway with hot water, cover the top and shake the bottle. Since you can’t fit a brush or cloth in the tiny thing, shaking it up with hot water is the best way to clean it out. After about ten “fill, shake and dumps,” the water quit bubbling and came out clean. I dried the bottle exterior thoroughly.

Then I went to Google Images to find an appropriate label for the bottle so that I would remember what I put in here. I typed, “Neutrogena Foaming Facial Cleanser” and instantly, I found several images of my favorite product. Right click on the best one and choose “Save Image As…” to save it.

After saving the image, I used Adobe Photoshop to print it up, but you could also use the Windows Picture and Fax Viewer. I cut out the photo and used clear packing tape to attach it to the bottle. Make sure you completely cover the photo with the packing tape and that it is sealed all the way around the picture. Otherwise, the photo will run if you get the bottle wet.

Here is what is now in my travel case. This bottle couldn’t hold enough shampoo for my hair for a week, but it easily holds enough facial cleanser for that long. Go find that pile of free shampoo and conditioner in your bathroom drawer and set up a travel case for yourself with your favorite products. Next time you travel you’ll have the shampoo, conditioner and facial cleanser of your choice instead of being at the mercy of whatever the motel was willing to give you.

I don’t have a passport. I admit it. I’m one of the Unwashed 77% that doesn’t have a current passport. Lonely Planet is urging all the people of the United States to “do something great for your country. Leave.”

• Lonely Planet | Passport

“We at Lonely Planet believe that international travel is one of the best ways to increase understanding, promote tolerance and help create one planet. Travel is a powerful source of personal enjoyment, enrichment and interest for both the traveler and the host. American citizens can play an important role as ambassadors of their country, serving as agents of understanding, tolerance and mutual respect as they travel out into the world and interact with people in other nations. Yet currently less than 23% of Americans have passports.”

I agree that traveling outside of your comfort zone is an experience that will make you grow both physically and intellectually. I guess it’s time that I go to the trouble and get my passport.

Via: Meriblog: Meri Williams’ Weblog » links for 2006-05-23

Lan Bui lives in Orange County, California. The four hour drive from the OC to Las Vegas, Nevada has been condensed into this short, one-minute film.

• Video of the Moment: Orange County to Las Vegas in 1 minute

I love the drive from California to Las Vegas. It’s a quick drive and there is Barstow to stop at along the way. If you are trapped at work, take the minute to download this video and enjoy it.

This a link to three beautiful videos of Devlon’s drive to Ski Hill at Apex Mountain in Canada.

• byte me: Drive to a Ski Hill – p III

Sometimes we have skiing as late as May in Utah, but it’s very rare and really rocky. If you still have a skiing jones, you can head up to Canada for some spring skiing. The area is beautiful. Just make sure you don’t get lost.

For More Information:

APEX Mountain Resort Advanced Ski And Snowboard Terrain

37Signals had an interesting conversation about city planning and how streets are set up:

• Fly on the Wall: Pleasant River – Signal vs. Noise (by 37signals)

Utah does have a unique method of naming their streets. I used to live on Bard Lane, which sounds poetic in a Shakespearean sort of way, but in reality, it was 1325 West. Not so poetic now, huh?

The numbering system stems from the Salt Lake City Temple. Like a piece of graph paper, the temple is (0,0) and all the numbers advance from there. North of the temple, the streets are named North Temple, 200 North, 300 North and so on. South of the temple, they are named South Temple, 200 South, 300 South and so on. East of the temple, they are named State Street, 200 East, 300 East, etc. West of the temple, they are named West Temple, 200 West, 300 West, etc.

So, when I lived at 8305 South Bard Lane (1325 West), I lived 8305 blocks south of the temple and 1325 blocks west of the temple. It’s a great system, even if you’re not LDS. After a few years of living here, you eventually forget that the founders of the town set up the temple as the center of the universe and just use the grid system to your advantage.

The grid system in Utah makes getting around the city a breeze. Next time you plan a visit to Salt Lake City (or any of the towns in Utah), take a moment to look at the map and understand the grid system. It will make your traveling much easier.

Treonauts is a website that shows you how to use your Treo phone to its fullest. While demonstrating the camera on the Treo, he inadvertently created a beautiful tour of Kensington, London.

• Treonauts | Capturing A Spring Moment

Remember, to you, your hometown is a boring place, but to everyone else in the world, it’s an interesting travel site. The more you talk about your hometown, the more people want to visit it, no matter how desolate it may seem to you.