travel tips for those who like to travel while traveling.

http://information.travel.aol.com/news-and-tips?ncid=AOLCOMMtravdynlprim0429

i do stuff like this alot.  it's amazing what some hotels will give you for free.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28560062/

did not know vegas was hurting this bad.

consideritdan.com

if you like jam bands, and i just know everybody on here does, use this guy's "vip" service.  amazing what he offers for a premier show experience!!  doing it for phish, had friends use him for nye, and i see the 930 club is using him from dbt.  nice!!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28557658/

is england really a great place to go?  i have always wanted to see the sights, and was always under the impression that everybody there was grumpy.

ten "cool" town in the u.s. to travel to.

http://www.budgettravel.com/bt-dyn/content/article/2007/08/06/AR2007080600873.html

it's about time they shed the old "piss water."

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TRAVEL/getaways/01/09/st.louis.beer/index.html

i plan on perhaps making a trip here this summer.  has anybody ever been, or know someone who has?

http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/places/countries/country_belize.html

Thinking of driving down to Asheville with kids…

What are some cool things to do and not limited to hiking, breweries?

Should one stay in West Asheville? Or around Biltmore?

Starsky wrote:
Thinking of driving down to Asheville with kids…

What are some cool things to do and not limited to hiking, breweries?

Should one stay in West Asheville? Or around Biltmore?

Biltmore House is gross. Don't go. You're literally making the rich richer.

That said, there's lots of fun stuff to do in an around Asheviille. Like breweries and hiking (lol). And giving coins to the trust fund homeless people playing bluegrass on the sidewalk. And buying hippie shit. We also did the Asheville Pinball Museum, which was loads of fun. https://ashevillepinball.com/. It's been years, but I remember we liked Curate for tapas a lot.

We stayed at one of the nicest VRBO's we've ever stayed at in a place 15 mins outside of town called "Swannoa" Or something like that. Hot tub, pool table, foosball, lots of space, lots of yard area, private with no neighbors visible, washer and dryer, etc. Unfortunately we won't be returning because our dog stuck his nose through his crate (that my wife left too close to the woman's antique chair), and he literally ate the stuffing out of the chair, and we had to pay her a small fortune. I also got a terrible rash from the hot tub, but that was somewhat my fault fornot showering promptly upon exit. Anyway, we usually try to stay places where we can walk to the downtown, but it was awesome having a retreat way up on a big hill.

Maybe part time resident Julian can give you some more leisure ideas. What do you like to do for fun other than go to shows?

walkonby wrote:
i plan on perhaps making a trip here this summer.  has anybody ever been, or know someone who has?

http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/places/countries/country_belize.html

What was the place you were going to and did you go? The link doesn't work anymore.

Moogfest!

https://www.moogfest.com/

It is about time, somebody besides myself posted in, this thread.

Space wrote:

walkonby wrote:
i plan on perhaps making a trip here this summer.  has anybody ever been, or know someone who has?

http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/places/countries/country_belize.html

What was the place you were going to and did you go? The link doesn't work anymore.

Gurrrrl, that was posted so long ago.  But I went all smart and checked the link title.  Yes, that's it . . . I have always wanted to go to Belize.

Space wrote:
We stayed at one of the nicest VRBO's we've ever stayed at in a place 15 mins outside of town called "Swannoa" Or something like that

Swannanoa. Yeah, if you're doing the VRBO/AirBnB thing and don't have a compulsion to be in the city for "nightlife" or what have you, look at Swannanoa, Black Mountain or Weaverville. West Asheville is gentrifying rapidly but still the hipstery side of town (it'll be kid friendly, just for the record). Biltmore village hotels are all going to be family friendly.

Space wrote:
Maybe part time resident Julian can give you some more leisure ideas. What do you like to do for fun other than go to shows?

Yeah, I'll help but with a few obvious provisos: (1) 95% of the appeal of Asheville is outdoor hiking style activities, breweries/distilleries, and a foodie scene. If you don't like that, why are you going? (2) I do not have children so I probably am not plugged into as many child-activities as others and I don't know the level of functioning your one son on the spectrum is at so some of these may not be viable but here we go:

- whitewater rafting. This is not WV style class 5 rapids. Lots of people take pre-teens on this.
- Ziplining
- The Pinball museum Space mentioned – this is a blast
- The Moogseum – if there is one thing I would think Starsky must do in Asheville its see this.
- La Zoom – a comedy bus tour that drives around and shows people sights. I recall the humor being mostly child appropriate. There will be a man in a nun costume and if that offends you, don't go.
- Horseback riding: there's this one place where you do a trail ride to a mine Tiffany + Co used to mine for garnett and you can do that if you want. Again, this might be terrible for your kids, IDK.
- Biltmore – I'll defend going to this although yes, its wildly expensive and touristy.
- Ashville Botanical Gardens – free. On UNCA's campus.
- River Arts District – cool half mile or so of little art galleries/restaurants along the French Broad. Real lowkey, not bougie like Broadway downtown.
-Grove Park Inn – see if you can tour this? Might have to make a dinner/brunch reservation to do so
- Lake Lure – about 25 min out of town. Cool lake. Paddleboats. Dirty Dancing was filmed there.
Asheville Science Museum – I have never been here but its adjacent to the Pinball museum and for kids so check it out

Restaurants, and again, what my wife and I like may not overlap with what people with kids want to go to:
- Curate: Space is spot on here. Pricey tapas.
- Chestnut: everyone will tell you to go here but don't. It gets worse every year.
- Plant: maybe the best vegan restaurant I've ever been to
- Battery Park Book Exchange: a champagne bar/multi-floor bookstore that's really cool. Probably not kid friendly.
- White duck tacos: good cheap eats
- Hemingway's Cuba: the rum drinks here are insane
- Red Stagg Grill: inside the Grand Bohemian. Pricey but wow what an experience.
- The Admiral: out in W Asheville. Great relatively good priced eats.
- Cucina 24: got the chef's table here for my wife's bday one year and it was an incredible meal
- Limones: Really inventive mexican (not Tex Mex)

Weaverville is a 10 minute drive to downtown Asheville.

Cock wrote:
Weaverville is a 10 minute drive to downtown Asheville.

It also has a ton of AirBNBs because during the period where AirBNB was banned in Asheville, this is where people started setting up properties "just across" the city limits. If one doesn't want walkable nightlife (which I'd have to assume is a low priority for someone traveling with kids), Weaverville is a great place to stay.

Cock wrote:
Weaverville is a 10 minute drive to downtown Asheville.

Also you can get super cheap direct flights with Allegiant Air out of BWI to Asheville airport, although they fly in and out only 2 days a week.  Perfect for a long weekend.  Or fly into Greenville and drive a short 90 minutes to Asheville.

Cock wrote:

Cock wrote:
Weaverville is a 10 minute drive to downtown Asheville.

Also you can get super cheap direct flights with Allegiant Air out of BWI to Asheville airport, although they fly in and out only 2 days a week.  Perfect for a long weekend.  Or fly into Greenville and drive a short 90 minutes to Asheville.

damn, that is cheap
https://www.allegiantair.com/low-cost-flights-asheville
$36 one way.  You couldn't even cover gas and tolls for that

A second vote for White Duck tacos. I wanted to mention them, but was spacing on the name. Great place to go for lunch after you feel like you spent too much at Curate the night before. Definitely a kid friendly place. (My kid was 9 when we took the big Asheville vacation. Her tastes probably skewed toward the taco plave, but she loved the tapas at Curate too.)

Another vegetarian place we went to on previous trips (at one point in my ife I used to go visit relatives in Greenville, SC, who had moved there from Asheville.) was Laughing Seed. I remember loving it in the old days, but don't know how well they've held up over time.I guess well enough to still be existing.

Greenville (SC) is another cute downtown centered town less than an hour away with good eats and drinks and a nice park to walk around in. Though the people are far less crunchy and far more Trumpy.

And thanks Julian for the list of other things to do. It's making me want to go back (and we will at some point, though I know one VRBO we won't be staying at), even if my wife proclaims "I'm not giving my money to any state that doesn't have legalized cannabis."

Laughing Seed is still really good! Add Rosetta's to the veggie pile too!

Also there are several decent used record stores for Starsky to dig thru as well. Harvest is probably most his scene, then Voltage and Static Age (like 2 blocks from each other) and also Citizen Vinyl.

The art museum reopened after the remodel and while its not an incredible collection, its a cool building with a rooftop cafe.