If you’re visiting California any time soon, here are some ideas for vacation activities beyond Legoland, wine tours and hiking the John Muir Trail.
Fishy fun: The famed Monterey Bay Aquarium opens its new Ocean’s Edge galleries on May 27, featuring a rocky shore exhibit with a walkthrough “wave crash tunnel,” an aviary in the coastal wetlands exhibit, new and larger octopus displays and many hands-on exhibits. Information at www.montereybayaquarium.org.
Karaoke ride: Now you can sing “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” while riding a San Francisco cable car, thanks to a Karaoke Cable Car available for charter – $1,035 for three hours. It’s equipped with a state-of-the-art sound system, a disco ball and blue neon lights. Details from www.cablecarcharters.com or 415-922-2425.
Sticky business: Take a free factory tour of Mrs. Grossman’s, a sticker company in Petaluma, 40 miles north of San Francisco. Nine printing presses print and cut thousands of stickers every hour. Visitors can do hands-on sticker art, then stroll through 26 years of sticker history at the sticker museum. Grossman employees can bring their dogs to work, so you might also get to meet a pooch or two. Tours by reservation only; call 800-429-4549 or go to www.mrsgrossmans.com.
Celebrations and festivals abound: The Seafest celebration in Ventura, June 25 and 26, celebrates the 25th anniversary of nearby Channel Islands National Park, which has dramatic volcanic cliffs. The California Strawberry Festival, May 14 and 15, is at Strawberry Meadows of College Park in Oxnard, while the Artichoke Festival takes place May 14 and 15 in Castroville. The 20th Monterey Bay Blues Festival takes place June 24 to 26 at the Monterey Fairgrounds; performers include Dr. John, Billy Preston and the Neville Brothers.
Star Wars
Some George Lucas fans will be lining up for the May 19 debut of “Star Wars: Episode III.”
Others will find the Force at Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., where “Star Wars” festivals are scheduled for four consecutive weekends from May 20 through June 12.
Kids can master light-saber skills at the Jedi Training Academy, while “Star Wars” experts can play a special edition of “Who Wants to Be A Millionaire?” featuring trivia from the films. Various celebrities from the movies will also be on hand to meet fans and sign autographs, and costumed characters will play villains and heroes from the films in meet-and-greets, parades and motorcades.
Details at www.starwars.com or www.disneyworld.com.
Wisconsin Dells
Hold on to your bathing cap. Four thrilling new water rides will knock your goggles off this summer at Wisconsin Dells.
The year-round resort town has more than 200 water slides among its 21 water parks, including the country’s largest indoor and outdoor water parks.
New this year are Black Anaconda, a quarter-mile-long water coaster over six hills, scheduled to be completed by Memorial Day; the Mount Olympus Water &Theme Park, opening May 28, which will have a five-story water slide complex called Triton as well as a new wooden roller coaster on dry land called Hades with an underground tunnel; and an extreme tube ride with a 53-foot-drop. That ride, called the Howlin’ Tornado, is part of the indoor waterpark at Great Wolf Lodge. A similar ride at the Wilderness Hotel &Golf Resort, called the Hurricane, opens mid-June.
To plan a visit to Wisconsin Dells, call 800-223-3557 or go to www.wisdells.com.
Star-gazing in Hawaii
See the celestial heavens from some of the darkest skies on Earth.
Join Sky &Telescope editor Paul Deans on July 2 for an eight-day tour of the Big Island, which will include visits to observatories and volcanoes.
The group will visit the summit of Mauna Kea, the tallest volcano on the island of Hawaii, to view the sunset and spend an evening star-gazing.
Those on the trip also will spend two nights in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, where volcano expert Stephen James O’Meara will join them for a tour of the summit and the Halemaumau Crater and a trip down the Chain of Craters Road to watch for new lava flows. The trip includes a day of snorkeling on Kealakekua Bay and a visit to Hilo’s University Park of Science and Technology.
Cost: $2,590 per person, double occupancy ($900 single surcharge), including hotels, most meals, ground transportation, guides, admissions and fees, and airport transfers. Air fare is not included.
Contact: TravelQuest International, Prescott, Ariz.; 800-830-1998, www.tq-international.com.
Out to the ball game
Visit the Baseball Hall of Fame and attend games at four different ballparks from Toronto to Boston during a six-day summer tour.
The tour begins Aug. 6 in Toronto with a behind-the-scenes look at the SkyDome. That will be followed by a game between the New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays.
After a night at Niagara Falls, the tour will visit PNC Park in Pittsburgh for a match between the Dodgers and the Pirates, Yankee Stadium in New York for a Yankees-Chicago White Sox game, and Fenway Park in Boston for a Red Sox-Texas Rangers game.
Tour participants will make a final pilgrimage to Cooperstown, N.Y., for an afternoon tour of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Cost: $1,195 per person, double occupancy ($400 single surcharge), including deluxe hotels, some meals, ground transportation, game tickets, admissions, tours, taxes and service charges. Air fare is not included.
Contact: Roadtrips, Winnipeg, Canada; 800-465-1765, www.roadtrips.com/baseball.
Travel classes, seminars
Rick Steves’ Europe Through the Back Door hosts free travel classes most Saturdays at 10 a.m. at the Edmonds Theater, 415 Main St., Edmonds.
May 7 – Italy.
May 14 – Noon Scandinavia.
May 21 – France.
Classes are free, reservations recommended. Call 425-771-8303 ext. 298 or visit www.ricksteves.com/seattle.
The Savvy Traveler offers free travel seminars at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. most Saturdays at 112 Fifth Ave. S., Edmonds.
May 7 – 10 a.m. How to pack a weeks wardrobe in a carry-on, $5.
May 14 – 10 a.m. Mexico, from Sierra to sea.
May 21 – 1 p.m. Brazil.
Classes are free, reservations recommended. Call 425-744-6076 or 877-225-1994.
Prices, dates or itineraries may change. These should be confirmed with cruise lines, travel agents or tour operators.
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