Category: Travel


Arizona

Filed Under: Travel

Traveling to the southwest area of the United States offers a variety of sights, cuisines and resorts to experience in the heart of Arizona. The capital and largest city in the state is Phoenix, which is also the fifth largest city in America.

Start off with the Desert Botanical Garden, a sight to behold with plants that include endangered species as well as typical cactus and wildflowers. This avant-garden presents music and a patio café. The lineup and tour schedule can be found at http://www.dbg.org.

Skip over to Scottsdale to The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa to relax and rejuvenate. Working inside the lounge is Cuban painter Nelson Garcia-Miranda. This resident artist fled his homeland for political asylum and now sells his creations only steps from the restaurant deseo located inside The Westin. To really partake in the dining experience at the Latin fusion restaurant deseo is to sit at the chef’s counter and have your meal prepared at a front row seat. The millionaire tacos are a must try along with the duck empanada. Finish the meal with a chocolate cigar but no smoking please!

Almost every clothing and department store is represented in Arizona, land of the upscale strip mall. In between all of the shopping get some culture at the Musical Instrument Museum or take a balloon ride for bird’s eye view with Rainbow Ryders. After landing back on the ground, a champagne toast is traditional for the adventurer.

The town of Tempe is not a far trek for the House of Tricks. This establishment offers a nice courtyard option for lunch. Get the party started with a hot potatotini for $12 with potato vodka, gunslinger hot sauce and a bacon garnish to perk up a meal.

The hip and fun St. Francis restaurant is a family owned business in uptown Phoenix. The dinner, service and setup were top notch for the swanky crowd.

There are several watering holes for the GLBT traveler. The dance club BS plays all the latest tunes or if two-steppin’ is your style head to Charlie’s, the original cowboy bar. In February the gay rodeo arrived in town by horseback presenting drag performances and booths of merchandise.

After being bucked off a bull, Spa Avania as part of the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale, offered a massage for those sore muscles. This was a perfect getaway to reflect with meditation and mineral water therapy. Within the same complex is SWB, a southwestern bistro with a cozy fire to sit beside and munch on chips complete with tableside guacamole and healthy salads.

The Phoenician is a resort with a strong reputation where President Obama recently visited. Walk downstairs from the lobby to eat at Il Terrazzo where American-Italian food and strong wine pairings provided by their sommelier marry the experience. After dinner listen to live music in their bar or stroll around the 250 acre developed property on the border between Scottsdale and Phoenix. A huge golf course, multi swimming pools and hot stone massage at the Centre for Well-Being offer something for everyone. Also, don’t forget the impressive art collection, shops and trails to explore in this AAA Five Diamond boutique.

An oasis in the desert where there is no need to leave the area provides rest and relaxation to the weary traveler. Take a vacation from life and plan your next trip by clicking over to http://www.visitphoenix.com where more information and websites for the above locales can be found.

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The Flying Nunn

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Guatemala

Filed Under: Travel

These cold days of winter make a perfect time to take a vacation and visit Central America. Guatemala’s seasons are opposite to ours so February can be it’s busiest time of year. With reasonable rates on Spirit Airlines, a roundtrip ticket can cost less that $400 after tax. So what are you waiting for? Nunn on the Run headed down south past Mexico to visit a region no bigger than Tennessee but full of sight seeing opportunities.

After arriving at the airport, George Sansoucy and friends from George’s Travel Club greeted us at the gate. We immediately hit the ground running by visiting Guatemala City and dropping in on their National Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, located close to the city’s zoo. As we followed the path around the place we were able to travel through time and see replicas and statues from Mayan culture.

We continued our journey to Antigua, a nearby historic city and arrived at Casa Concepcion, a stylish boutique hotel transformed from a residential home by the manager Julio Aceituno Bell. LGBT travelers need not worry because Julio and George did just the right amount of hand holding and treated us like the family we all are.

We were set up with a walking tour to learn this ancient area. The City Hall Palace and the Jade Museum were all part of this instructional stroll, along with Paseo de los Museos at Casa Santo Domingo. The VIGUA, or Museum of Pre-Columbian Art and Modern Glass, was a standout amongst these sights. The exhibit currently shows ancient objects placed next to modern interpretations from the collection of Edgar Castillo Sinibaldi.

After all the walking, massages were offered from David Elron’s Holistic Health Services and gave much needed relief.

There were many options to add on to our adventure such a zipline tour over a valley or two and half hours from here Chichicastenango is located, which is one of the world’s most famous outdoor markets.

Later we were transferred to Lake Atitlan where our guide Lee of Los Elementos Adventures took us to a private dock and brought us by boat to Village Sumaya, where we stayed. The patio from the hotel opens directly onto the lake, with a pool, yoga room, and restaurant located conveniently in this retreat center in Santa Cruz Lagoon.

We woke to a three-village boat tour and visited San Marcos, San Juan, and Santiago. This is where we met weavers, painters and cliff divers. Lee can take travelers on a two person kayak tour just e-mail him at the website below.

We returned back to Antigua to experience amazing restaurants such as Hector’s and El Pescador’s Italiano. A big group of us went out on the town in city to dance at the Genetic Majestic Club while drinking Zacapa rum.

The next day, we climbed an active volcano named Pacaya and even spotted magma in a fissure. A horseback ride was offered by the locals to the weary traveler for the steep climb if needed.

We returned to Guatemala City to stay near the airport at Barcelo, a 395-room resort style hotel. Spanish is helpful, but not required, as this country speaks over 23 separate languages.

This warm weather excursion showed that for a reasonable price gringos may visit a foreign land full of volcanos, ruins    and adventure! Watch my video here.

Here is a top ten to break down things you must see or do while in Guatemala

10 Volcanoes, hike up Pacaya or Ipala

9 Museums, Arqueologia y Etnologia, Historia, and Arte Moderno are all national museums

8 Playas, relax at Tilapa, Blanca, and Quenhuecha

7 ChiChicastenango, one of the world’s most famous outdoor indigenous markets

6 Semuc Champey, natural monument with pools and monuments

5 Rio Dulce, one of Guatemala’s oldest parks

4 Lake Atitlan, Gozamos braved mudslides for a bumpy and dark boat ride to stay in a remote hotel lakeside in Santa Cruz

3 Tikal, Guatemala’s national park full of Mayan wonders

2 Antigua or “the old Guatemala” is in fact the former capital with volcanic views and colonial architecture.

1 Guatemala City, while dangerous in places, this bustling city is full of fine restaurants and museums making this capitol an area not to be missed and close the airport.

Websites to check out and provide assistance along the way are:

http://www.georges-travelclub.com

http://www.hotelcasaconcepcion.com

http://antiguacanopytours.com/guatemala

http://www.kayakguatemala.com

http://www.maya-archaeology.org

http://www.davidelron.com

http://www.gayguatemala.com

http://www.barcelo.com

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Shreveport, Louisiana

Filed Under: Travel

Shreveport—or “the other side of Louisiana,” as it’s nicknamed to separate it from New Orleans—shows there is much more to the state of Louisiana than Mardi Gras beads.

While much quieter than its Southern sister, Shreveport has a few surprises for travelers, including food, entertainment and dancing.

Mudbug Madness is a huge festival that occurs in the later part of May. The event includes musical acts, booths of souvenirs and local grub. I swear Miss Sissy Spacek served me funnel cake herself!

While the party drew me in, I checked out much more in the surrounding area.

South of the Mason-Dixon Line, people really know how to cook. For breakfast there are such places as The Glenwood Village Tea Room for biscuits and scones. Smother your biscuit with local honey from Hummer & Son’s bee farm. It’s never too early to eat pie at Strawn’s Eat Shop, which serves grits and pancakes as well. The amount of butter the restaurant used would make Paula Dean blush!

In between meals, run over to the Multicultural Center to see a variety of treasure from around the world or pop over to Artspace for more creative expression.

The kids can have fun while being educated at the Sci-port Science Center and older folks may stroll The Gardens of the American Rose Center to relax.

Llamas, among other furry creatures, may greet you at Gators & Friends animal parks.

Try the one and only Muffy Sandwich ( filled with deli meats, cheeses, tangy mustard and Papa Fertitta Olive Mix ) at Papa Fertitta’s for lunch. The mix has been kept in the family for generations.

Sip the afternoon away On Cloud Wine, where there are many wines to sample; continue your wine excursion with an incredible dinner at Wine Country Bistro.

If dinner and a movie are your style, the Robinson Film Center provides theme styled dinners to accompany the flick you pick. For example, the movie Fried Green Tomatoes will include a “Southern Comfort” feast such as brisket, berry cobbler and, of course, fried tomatoes as an appetizer. Many films were made in the area, where the town will even shut down a section of its highway to assist with production. The TV series True Blood, along with films W. and The Mist, were made in Shreveport.

For dessert, The Chocolate Crocodile has everything under the sun dipped in chocolate; it also sells caramel apples made fresh.

Casinos and downtown are within walking distance to stretch your legs after a big dinner. Try a margarita at Nicky’s Restaurant to make you say, “¡Olé!”

If you still crave exercise, dance until the next day at the local gay bar Central Station with a drag show and country line steppin’ on Saturday nights.

With all these yummy options don’t forget to try Cajun crawfish—better known as “mudbugs”—while you are in town to make your trip complete.

For addresses and more information, visit Shreveport-Bossier.org or call 1-888.45-VISIT.

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Nova Scotia

Filed Under: Travel

I had always wanted to visit Canada, and when Destination Halifax offered for me to experience a vacation for Nunn on the Run readers, I jumped at the chance.

Arriving later in the evening, I checked into my hotel and then went out for a bite to eat with a fellow reporter from L.A. The front desk suggested The Shoe Shop, a local haunt located downtown within walking distance. Trying the pale local ale by Alexander Keith, I soon worked up an appetite. I enjoyed one of the best burgers ever. Remember the kind your mom would make by hand and it would fall apart in the bread? That’s the one, yum!

We began our first day with a speed round of tourism. I have never seen so many men in skirts—I mean, kilts—in one place before. The Halifax Citadel prepares for battle and shoots off a cannon everyday at noon.

We took a dip in the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. With actual boats inside and remembrances from the Titanic, I learned about the great explosion of Nova Scotia. While there were several versions of what happened, history is in the eye of the beholder.

After lunch at the Cheapside Café within the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, we went on a guided tour. My first reaction upon espying an entire house museum of a local deceased folk artist, Maud Lewis, was not positive. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. This impoverished woman with birth defects painted joy and happiness, and it brought me back to my roots of being a southern boy. The other half of the museum contained hockey exhibits but my mind was simply mad about Maud.

Our third museum was a short stop to Pier 21, where we learned about immigration through a holographic film. You can take a cruise practically from outside the museum’s door, with Canadian Sailing Expeditions.

We ate a seven-course dinner at the Five Fishermen restaurant and the gay owner told us ghost stories. Let me put it this way: I stayed out of the ladies’ bathroom after that one.

The Delta Hotels where we stayed was magnificent and gay-supportive.

The next day, we sampled wines at the local vineyards. The owners have grown their business from hobbies, which shows they love their grapes. I experienced ice wine ( a kind of dessert wine made from grapes that have been frozen while still on the vine ) for the first time.

You can book a gay wedding by talking to Beatrice at the Domaine de Grand Pre restaurant. I loved the back patio as a place to host this.

In another celebration of LGBT life, Rockin’ the Gaybourhood—a fundraiser for Halifax Pride ‘08, which happens July 20-27—took place May 30 at the club known as Hell’s Kitchen.

On Saturday, we browsed through North America’s longest-running farmer’s market. In the afternoon, we drove over to a lighthouse and learned that their community has to inherit a house and not just purchase one. I guess money can’t buy you everything.

The traditions were strong in their community. The restaurants we ate at used local ingredients as much as they could, such as Chives Canadian Bistro’s delicious seafood.

We pub-hopped throughout the evening and finally danced the night away at Menz bar. With Halifax’s only bathhouse ( Seadogs Sauna and Spa ) across the street from the bar, ‘convenience’ was re-defined. This town really has something to offer everyone.

With direct flights to Canada’s doorstep, take a trip this summer and show your pride in Halifax!

For more information about Nova Scotia tourism, visit Destinationhalifax.com .

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