Wanna Be A Travel Writer?

Budget Travel is having their June 2008 issue consist of all user-submitted content.

Go to their site to pitch your best idea, or you can submit your best photos. You might even make the cover!

And sorry, I already submitted the Karaoke Across America idea. You can't use that one...

Themed Travel

Found this site that offers vacation packages with a dancing theme.

Wouldn't it be cool to spend a week in Cuba and learn Salsa? Or belly dancing in Morocco? Or Flamenco in Granada?

Sadly, I didn't see any packages where I can spend the week doing the Soujia Boy.

But I love the idea of combining traveling with another of your favorite hobbies. From dancing to marathon running, if you can think of it, it's probably yours to get.

I have this crazy idea of doing a Karaoke road trip across the US. I'd spend two to three weeks, starting in LA and ending in New York, and hit a karaoke bar every night. Wouldn't that be insane? Who knows what might happen in say, Kansas? Or what if I end up in Alabama, looking for karaoke? What in the world would I sing?

Anyone willing to come with?

The Travel Blog Is Dead

Interesting article found here.

I should probably rethink this travel blog thing. I feel bad that I don't update it when I'm not traveling and I would still like to make it worth coming back to for the four people that read this thing.

Look for more links to other sites and interesting travel ideas...

Plans

I haven't traveled in forever. And I've been reading a lot of friends' blogs about their vacations, and yes, I'm mad jealous.

But every so often, I take time out and just plan my future trips. And it's great to just plan:

- March 2008 - Vegas. Ahhh, Vegas in March can only mean one thing. And really, there's nothing like sitting, or more likely standing, in the Sports Book at Caesar's while 12+ hours of basketball flash before your eyes. And you have action on every game. Truly, March Madness.

- April 2008 - San Antonio, Texas. Talk about acting on faith. That's right. I've booked a flight at the site of this season's Final Four. My first trip to Texas. I couldn't be more thrilled.

- May 2008 - Philippines/Thailand. The big one. Original plan is to spend at least a week and a half with family in the PI, and spend a week in Thailand hanging out with family and friends. Philippines is confirmed, Thailand is iffy. This could be very well be my first solo vacation. The thought terrifies yet excites me at the same time.

And I'd like to take some side trips in between. I'm thinking Bay Area, East Coast, all over...

And it's great to plan long-term as well. To dream:

- 2009 - Back To Europe. I really want to spend a good three weeks there, in Spain, Portugal and Italy. And yet, there's so much left to see!

- 2010 - South Africa. World Cup. It'll be insane. And if I'm going to Africa, this is my shot to do it.

- 2011 - Wow, who knows? I kind of want to go somewhere random. Not too random like Antarctica (now THERE'S a thought!) but I'm thinking some place that's just crazy. Like India. Or Detroit.

And the next thing I know, it's 2012 and I'm thinking about going to London for the Olympics. Meanwhile, there are places in the US I've never been. Places in CALIFORNIA I've never been. Heck, there are places on the Westside that I've never even touched, and I've lived here for eight years.

And while I've laid out plans, I have no idea what's going to happen over the next three to four years. But it's still a joy to just plan, and dream away.

L.A. Adventures: The County Fair

I had been looking forward to this day for weeks.

I like to read food blogs that display oddly interesting and slightly grotesque foods. More often than not, these foods are deep fried. Also, they're available at county fairs. And this past Sunday, several friends and I made the trek to Pomona(!) to the L.A. County Fair.

I used to go to the Del Mar Fair when I was growing up (it's called the San Diego County Fair nowadays, and that's just weird). But as a kid I was more concerned about the carnival games and the rides. Today, it was all about getting the grub.

And did I get the grub today.

This was the first sign to catch my eye coming into the fairgrounds.



Corn Dogs are pretty much required fare here (PUN). And these dogs are huge. HUGE. And for $7, they better be.

Quick note; From the time we entered the parking lot to the time this picture was taken, about 10 hours elapsed, give or take 2 or 3 or 8.5. My point is, if you plan on going anytime soon, give yourself plenty of time. Anyway, back to the food...
So you know that picture of the deep fried rattlesnake bites that I posted a while back? Well, we saw them at the fair but, they are not cheap. I saw a dish for $11, my friend Susan saw one for $14, and I'm sorry, unless these snakes are covered in bacon, I'm gonna pass.

However, I did not pass on this:



This is the Deep Fried Snickers Bar. According to my friend Peter, this was the craziest thing he had at the fair. The first bite is gooey.




And then you see the insides and...well, that pretty much sums it up. It tastes as it looks.

Next item up was Cheesecake On A Stick:



There really is no subtlety with fare foods. This really is a cheesecake on a stick. Cheesecake dipped in chocolate, topped with almonds, on a stick. It was awesome, but at this point I reached the moment where I "hit the wall".

And then we reached this booth:



Look at this menu. LOOK AT IT!! I spent a good 5 minutes staring at this. I was shocked. I couldn't decide what I wanted. Thankfully, I went with five other people, so...we tried most of the items here, such as:



Deep Fried Avocados. Not bad. There are some Deep Fried Tomatoes too, but..sorry, I'm still not eating them. Even if they are deep fried.




Deep Fried Coke. I tried a little, it too was not bad. Peter liked this. It's an interesting taste. By the way, I washed this down with Coke. Not weird at all.




Deep Fried Peanut Butter, Banana and Honey Sandwich. Word has it that Elvis Presley ate these every day. And now he's dead. I had about 3 bites of this and then I gave up.




Deep Fried Twinkie. OK, after eating so many fried goodness, everything started to taste the same. I really couldn't taste this. It did nothing for me. It couldn't have been that bad, right?

And this is ultimately where I said no more. We all wandered the various exhibits, spending a lot of time around the farm animals. Some of the pigs on display were enormous, and all I could think of was, "mmm, bacon."

Oh, and some of the foods I passed by on our way out were Deep Fried Cupcakes and Chocolate Dog On A Stick. Sometimes I wish that I was a cow. That way, I'd have four stomachs. That way, I could probably eat a little more than what I did today at the fair.

I recommend the fair to anyone with an adventurous appetite, or if you're looking for an alternative to the major theme parks in Southern California. But be warned, there are massive amounts of people, you'll end up paying out the ear for your meals, and several areas of the grounds smell like total ass.

But you'll never forget your time at the L.A. County Fair.

L.A. Adventures: Air Conditioned Supper Club

(When I'm not traveling, I like to explore my own backyard. I don't do enough of it. Los Angeles has so much to offer. So I thought I'd post some entries detailing some of the scenes that make up this city. Enjoy.)



Most go to clubs to have fun, hook up, or get drunk. I just want to find a comfortable place to sit and people-watch. I love people watching. However, there's a fine line between people watching and eerily staring.

The club scene in L.A. is fantastic for people-watching. However, you need to be in the right frame of mind. As in, you're not there to hook up. Now if you go to drink with your buddies and clown everyone on the dance floor, that that's what I consider a fun time. Which is what I had at The Air Conditioned Supper Club in Venice.

I saw quite a few guys dancing by themselves. I've seen this before at other clubs, and I've never understood why guys do this, but then again, I don't go to clubs often, so maybe this IS a common thing. Whatever. It's weird. I also saw a bunch of guys dancing together. Well, they weren't exactly together, but in a loose circle. I didn't find it weird it all.

Other characters of note were the dude trying really hard to impress his girl with his dancing, the asian woman with absolutely no rhythm, and some guy dressed like Waldo. We found him.

And all the while, I sat on my comfy sofa, knocking back Heineken after Heineken, cracking jokes with old and new friends, and getting up a total of three times to use the can. I regret nothing. While making fun of club-goers might seem a little harsh, I did envy them a little. At least they're putting themselves on the line. At least they're in the game, while I'm content watching from the cheap seats.

I could learn a thing or two from them.

Or I could just keep sitting on the comfy sofa...

Undiscovered

From: Gadling.

10 Undiscovered Locations.

I LOVE reading stuff like this. The list has places all over. Several from Europe, a couple in Asia, even one in the US.

Where the heck is Escatada??

Now I have MORE places to add to my list of places to explore. Sweet.