Tag: Tourism

A Quick Day in Lawrence, KS

It’s crazy to think that one week ago we were leaving Kansas after a whirlwind trip for Doug’s little brother’s graduation in the center of the state. Isn’t it crazy how quickly time goes by once you return from vacation? Anyway, the relative passage of time is neither here nor there. When we arrived at the Kansas City airport we picked up our rental car, met with a friend for lunch, and then high-tailed it to our favorite city in the Sunflower State: Lawrence. To be honest, I can’t believe I haven’t done a profile on Lawrence yet!

lawrence

One thing I’ve noticed in life is this: If you want to find the best donuts in town, find out where the senior citizen crowd goes. You certainly won’t find the most aesthetically pleasing joint, but you will find the best donuts. Start your day in Lawrence out at Munchers Bakery. The cream cheese donuts were highly recommended, but I loved my blueberry and apple fritters.

Munchers Donuts

Once your’e hopped up on sugar and caffeine, burn off some of that energy by heading over to Clinton Lake for some fresh air and pretty scenery, or take a stroll around KU–the University of Kansas.

Then, head over to the most popular part of town– Massachusets St (called Mass St). If you truly wanted to, it would be easy to spend the entire day on Mass, poking around each and every shop–varying from big chains like Gap, to antique stores, music stores, and more.

Arriving at Mass Street, you’re probably ready for lunch. Whatever you’re in the mood for, there is a great restaurant to fit the bill.

Notable shops include…

Love Garden Sounds, a music store with a wide variety of CDs and Vinyl, including some hard-to-finds. Since I’ve been visiting Lawrence the shop has been in three different locations, but the loyal customers take it all in stride. The shopfront they’re in now has a primo location so I don’t anticipate any shakeups for a while. Isn’t the deconstructed piano in their front window incredible?

Love Garden

Love Garden

Wild Man Vintage is a clothing store dealing in (you guessed it) vintage. It rules, but we’re biased because our buddy works here. But really, look at that amazing selection of vintage boots!

Wild Man Vintage

Wild Man Vintage

In the evening, catch a show at Liberty Hall, The Granada, The Bottleneck, or even Jackpot!  I’ve seen several shops at Liberty Hall and they have been some of the best ones I’ve ever been to. It’s easy to get really close to the stage!

After the show head back to your friend’s apartment–you are staying with a college buddy, right? And partake in a time-tested tradition–ordering a midnight pizza from Fat Freddy’s. Their delivery hours are insanely late: up to 3 and 4 AM!

Anyway… that’s what I’d do! ;)

Christmas on Coronado Island

Christmas in San Diego is altogether a different experience when compared to the “standard” American Christmas that you see on TV. No blizzards, no scraping ice off the windshield, and no temperatures below freezing at all, for that matter. It’s common to have 65 degree days in December, perfect for strolling outdoors in a light cardigan or simply a long-sleeved shirt. I have fully adjusted back to not grabbing a coat before heading out the door (so different from Kansas!)

We do have our own Christmas traditions here in San Diego, though. One of them is December Nights, a two-night long festival at Balboa Park which draws over 300,000 spectators and makes parking a nightmare. I have never been, so we tried to go this year–brought the camera and everything–then drove around nearby neighborhoods for about half an hour (trying to find parking) before giving up and moving on to plan B…

Christmas at Hotel Del Coronado

Plan B is another excellent San Diego Christmas sight to behold–the famous Hotel Del Coronado gets decked out with lights and manmade skating rink outside…

Lights and skating at Coronado

…and features a famously opulent Christmas tree in the main lobby. While we were there, a caroling group (in Victorian garb) added to the ambiance. The tree’s decorations are different every year, and this year the theme was (apparently) …pillows?

The Christmas tree at Hotel Del Coronado

Really though, I love seeing a tree packed-to-the-brim with decorations like this. My tree (which you will see Friday) isn’t nearly this full, but is special in its own way, I guess.

Fountain at Coronado

After taking a stroll around the hotel, it is nice to walk up and down Orange Avenue and check out the stores and restaurants, and to drive up and down the streets of this wealthy community and check out the Christmas lights on multi-million dollar homes. We stopped in at Bottega Italiana (1017 C Ave, 92118) and got some delicious gelato.

Gelato on Coronado Island

If you like theater, the Lamb’s Players Theatre offers up a different Festival of Christmas stage production every year. My parents have gone many years in a row and it has become quite a tradition. I can’t promise that it won’t be corny, but the actors and actresses are all really, really talented musicians and it is bound to be an enjoyable (and family friendly) evening.

My tips:

  • Park wherever you find a place–it isn’t a big area and everything is easily in walking distance.
  • There are lots of people trying to get a good picture of the tree. Don’t linger right up next to it! Admire from a few feet away so others can get their turn.
  • Look like you belong! Yes, tourists flock to this location but for heaven’s sakes don’t show up in board shorts or ratty clothes. This is a resort hotel– a classy establishment.
  • If you have the cash to drop, I hear that brunch at the Hotel Del is to die for!

Overall, this is a cheap wintertime date since it’s mostly driving around and sightseeing! Our only splurge was on the gelato, which wasn’t much of a splurge at all for that matter–each scoop cost less than a Starbucks drink. Seeing the lights and the ice skaters is a nice way to remind yourself that although you were wearing a tank top earlier in the day–it still is Christmastime, after all!

Guest Post: The Best of San Diego

Hi My Friend Staci readers! My name is Liz and I blog over at Bon Temps Beignet. Staci asked me to write a little post for y’all about one of my favorite things to do in San Diego. Well the first thing that popped into my head was “eat Mexican food!!” But I’m more than positive that y’all don’t want to read an entire post about burritos and carnitas fries (although I could go on and on about those carnitas) so I’m gonna take y’all along on a little trip out on the San Diego bay. So, jump in my virtual boat, throw on a life jacket, slap on some sun screen and enjoy the ride.

First we’ll launch in the South Bay area…

…pass under the Coronado bridge…

Then make our way over to one of my favorite places on the water. The USS Midway, which is a decommissioned Navy aircraft carrier, was turned into a museum in the summer of 2004.

You can drive your boat right up next to it and sit in the shade of the flight deck. My other favorite part about this spot is over on the right side of the picture below…

How awesome is this?

It’s a 25-foot statue of the famous “Kiss the War Goodbye” photo. Every time we’ve passed by the statue, we see people on shore reenacting the pose for a photo op. So romantic.

A little further up the bay is the Star of India, the world’s oldest active sailing ship. She was built in 1863, but the old girl still looks pretty good for her age! You might recognize her from this episode of  Dirty Jobs on the Discovery Channel.

Right next to the Star of India is a pirate-style ship that still makes trips around the bay and shoots (blank)cannons in their show.

Next stop is the Pacific Ocean! Right near the mouth of the bay you’ll find the bait barges. And where there’s bait, there’s seals. These cuties lounge around all day waiting for a free meal.

We’ve saved the best for last. Get your cameras ready because, if you timed your boat ride correctly, you’ll be reaching the ocean just as the sun is setting. Gorgeous.

Well, it’s time to head back in now. I hope y’all enjoyed this virtual tour of San Diego’s bay! And if you’re ever in the area, grab a burrito from Lolita’s before you head out onto the water! You’ll thank me later!