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Why we love Sequoia and Kings Canyon

Yosemite awes us with its imposing valley views, made famous by Ansel Adams so many decades ago: El Capitan on one side, Bridalveil falls on the other, Half Dome at the back. It’s a marvel to behold — if you can see through the wall of selfie-stick-toting tourists, that is. If you want to experience Yosemite in solitude, go mid-week in winter. Any other time, if you want to savor California’s superlative natural beauty without the crush of crowds, visit Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. Here’s why.

The oldest national park in California

Sequoia National Park is the oldest national park in California and second in the US only to Yellowstone. Sure, its establishment as a national treasure in 1890 only preceded Yosemite by six days, but it was right up there with the most country’s famous national parks. Sequoia’s neighbor, Kings Canyon National Park, was established five decades later and has been administered together with Sequoia since the 1940s.

Together, the two parks in the middle of California occupy over 1,350 squares miles, an area larger than Yosemite to the north. They’re separated from Yosemite only by the Sierra National Forest and National Monument — which means that they’re all part of the same undeveloped wilderness area, full of oaks, multiples pine species, firs, and giant sequoias, as well as animals in every size, from squirrels and bobcats to mule deer and black bears. Sequoia and Kings Canyon also have major elevation gains, a rise of nearly 13,000 feet from their lowest to their highest points — making for an incredible diversity of habitats throughout the park.

Kings Canyon and Sequoia have, well, sequoias.

Photo: Lucky-photographer/Shutterstock

Sequoia National Park probably beat out Yosemite by six days in earning national park status because it holds an amazing treasure: the largest tree on Earth. The monumental German Sherman tree is a sequoia redwood — also called a giant sequoia — with the largest mass of any individual living thing on the planet, reaching 275 feet off the ground with a base circumference of 102 feet. The trees’ lower branches are as large as many regular trees, but you can’t see those lower branches up close since the lowest one is 130 feet off the ground.

Understandably, the sloping path to the world’s largest tree is not blissfully people-free, but the hilly walk through the Giant Forest alongside the majestic sequoia redwoods is a humbling and serene experience. The massive trees are anywhere from hundreds to 2,000 years old, and you have to step back a good distance just to take one in.

The second largest tree in the world, the General Grant tree, is in Grant Grove in Kings Canyon. In fact, before Kings Canyon was named a national park, a smaller area that included Grant Grove was already a national park. The Grant Grove Trail is a short, half-mile trail close to the main visitors center, so, like Giant Forest in Sequoia, it’s the one place in Kings Canyon that has more visitors. Walk just a little further, though, and the trails are blissfully calm.

One trail that doesn’t have a lot of visitors, but should, is Big Stump Trail, a short drive from Grant Grove. It is, as the name suggests, an unhappy reminder of how foolishly humans have treated this natural wonder. After the 311-foot-tall Mark Twain tree was cut down in 1854 — so as to take a slab of it to the Museum of Natural History in New York — its age was estimated to have been 1,350 years old.

Glaciers created granite walls here, too.

Photo: Nikolas_jkd/Shutterstock

The glaciers that carved up Yosemite Valley, leaving its famed granite walls in their wake, reached down to Kings Canyon and Sequoia, as well. From Zumwalt Meadows in Kings Canyon, you can look up to the Grand Sentinel, a slab of rock that rises 3,000 feet above the valley floor, roughly the same distance as Yosemite’s El Capitan.

In Sequoia Canyon, Moro Rock is a silver-grey bulge that juts out from the mountainside. A hike to its peak, over a dizzying staircase carved into the rock by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1931, rewards with a stunning panorama over the valley with the snowy Sierras in the distance.

While Yosemite has breathtaking waterfalls, the glaciers that carved up this area left behind valleys and canyons with rivers, waterfalls, and cascades of their own. In spring, Kings Canyon’s aptly named Roaring River is also home to Roaring River Falls, which, while not deep, gushes a huge amount of water in a small space. Deeper into the valley are Mist Falls and Grizzly Falls. In Sequoia National Park, Topeka Falls are actually a series of cascades that stretch almost 1,200 feet from top to bottom.

Sequoia and Kings Canyon reach much higher than Yosemite.

Photo: Gary C. Tognoni/Shutterstock

While Yosemite may have the tallest waterfall in North America, Sequoia National Park has, as we already know, the biggest tree on the planet. It’s also home to the tallest peak in the lower 48 states: 14,505-foot-high Mt. Whitney. In fact, Sequoia and Kings Canyon are each home to a half-dozen mountains over 14,000 feet. Between them, the parks have 45 peaks that dwarf Yosemite’s tallest one, 13,150-foot Mount Ritter.

The soaring peaks of the Sierra Nevada make for incredible snow-capped views from multiple viewpoints throughout the parks. The high topography is also home to stunning alpine lakes. The Lakes Trail in Kings Canyon, which starts at the Wolverton parking area trailhead, goes in one direction to Heather Lake, Emerald Lake, and then Pear Lake. Depending on how far you go, it’s an eight-, 10-, or 13-mile loop.

Likewise, Sequoia National Park’s height and remote location make it an incredible place to contemplate the night sky. Sequoia even hosts an annual Dark Sky Festival in September, and throughout the year you can partake in free astronomy tours from the Wuksachi Lodge.

Varied habitats

Photo: Sebastien Burel/Shutterstock

With their hefty size and massive elevation gain, Sequoia and Kings Canyon are home to multiple different habitats. While its warm foothills are home to the grey fox, bobcats, and striped skunks, you’re most likely to spot pocket gophers, white-footed mice, and western whiptail lizards there. Occasionally, you’ll encounter black bears, so you should stow your food accordingly, leaving none even in your locked car.

Near their meadows, you have a better chance to spot black bears, which actually come in shades from golden brown to black. Depending on the time of year, you’ll almost certainly find mule deer. Higher up in the Sequoia’s subalpine area, pika (cousins of rabbits with shorter ears), marmots, and white-tailed jackrabbits abound. Descending from the High Sierra Trail to Big Arroyo, you might catch several bighorn sheep who were translocated there a few years ago.

Hundreds of trails

Photo: WTS Photo Images/Shutterstock

The parks have an astonishing 800 miles of trails between them, including portions of the famed 221-mile John Muir Trail. You’ll find everything from easy meadow walks to strenuous hikes up into the high alpine. From the must-see Giant Forest, you’re not far from Moro Rock, a must-see that gives you jaw-dropping valley views. In Sequoia, the Crescent Meadow Trail is a lovely walk in the spring when the meadow bursts with flowers. In the subalpine, there’s a nearly seven-mile loop from the 8000-foot-high Mosquito-Eagle Lake parking lot to 10,400-foot-high Eagle Lake.

In Kings Canyon, the 8-mile Mist Falls trail takes you from the trailhead at the end of Highway 180 up 1500 feet to the falls. The Cedar Grove Overlook takes you up five miles of switchbacks for great canyon views, while the Zumwalt Meadow Trail is an easy walk inside the stunning meadow, with views of the Grand Sentinel and probably a few deer.

They’ve got every type of place to stay.

Photo: Visit Sequoia and Kings Canyon/Facebook

Sequoia and Kings Canyon have dozens of campgrounds, including Sequoia’s petite Buckeye Flat in a picturesque oak grove. Also in Sequoia is Lodgepole, near the giant sequoias and the general store. Both of those parks are open from spring to late fall, but check for exact dates online. In King’s Canyon, Sunset Campground is a shady area with lots of sites close to Grant Grove Village. Add to that summertime ranger programs, and it’s a good family option. Reserve these campgrounds online.

First-come, first-served campgrounds include the remote Atwell Mill in Sequoia. It has running water only through mid-October, so check opening dates online. Cold Springs is Sequoia’s highest campground is at 7,500 feet, but you can still drive into most of the campsites. There are 110 sites at Kings Canyon’s Azalea campground, and a handful are open year-round.

If you’re not camping, the Grant Grove Cabins in Kings Canyon come in differing levels of rusticness and are within walking distance to the General Grant Tree. Also at Kings Canyon, the John Muir Lodge has all mod cons and a woodsy feel. In summer, the Cedar Grove Lodge is a low-key lodge next to the Kings River. While it’s not quite the Yosemite Majestic Hotel, Sequoia National Park also has fancy lodging of its own. The inviting Wuksachi Lodge is close to lots of hiking trails and cross-country ski routes.

One of our favorite places to stay is the Bearpaw High Sierra Camp, perched on a granite peak in Sequoia. It’s got just six tent cabins, so reserve well ahead. You reach it after hiking 12 miles up the High Sierra Trail. There, a staff cooks breakfasts and dinners, and you can take short, hot showers. Together with unparalleled alpine views, it’s your reward after a strenuous trek — and what a reward it is.


More like this: 15 US state parks that are just as epic as national parks

The post Why Sequoia and Kings Canyon are better than Yosemite appeared first on Matador Network.

Best Chinese New Year celebrations

Many of us rang in 2019 weeks ago, already made and broke our resolutions for the year. But according to the lunisolar calendar, it’s still 4716, or 2018 in Gregorian terms.

Chinese New Year, aka Lunar New Year or Spring Festival, traditionally entails a 15-day celebration starting with the new moon in late January or February and ending with the following full moon. It’s all about spending time with loved ones over auspicious meals, spring cleaning and decorating, holiday shopping, and little red envelopes filled with “lucky money.” Plus lots and lots of firecrackers on Chinese New Year’s Eve — and maybe even some pyrotechnics.

These traditions have made their way around the globe, meaning exciting festivities throughout the month of February from the west coast of Canada to Southeast Asia. Wherever you are on February 5 to welcome the Year of the Pig, put on something red for luck and party like it’s 4717.

1. San Francisco, United States

Photo: Southwest Airlines Chinese New Year Parade & Festival/Facebook

Chinese New Year celebrations in San Francisco began not long after the California Gold Rush frenzy, which attracted its fair share of Chinese immigrants, fizzled out. More than 150 years later, the festivities are a highlight of the city’s social calendar. The biggest annual event is the Southwest Airlines Chinese New Year Parade, scheduled for February 23 this year. It’s a riot of bright costumes and showy floats, dragons, drummers, stilt walkers, martial artists, and spellbound spectators that kicks off at Second and Market, wraps around Union Square, and ends in Chinatown. Keep an eye out for Gum Lung, a 288-foot-long dragon that requires a hefty crew to snake it through the streets of SF while firecrackers explode all around.

The parade’s not all the city does to celebrate, though. There’s also a flower market, community fair, and Miss Chinatown USA pageant followed by a coronation ball on February 22. The newly crowned winner will attend the parade the next day. Things don’t officially wrap up until March 3 with the Chinese New Year Walk/5K/10K Run, whose proceeds will go to the Chinatown YMCA Community Center. For a complete list of the events on offer, check out the calendar on the website. But however you celebrate, don’t leave the city before getting dim sum.

2. Sydney, Australia

Photo: Sydney Destination NW

Add the Sydney Harbour to any celebration, and it instantly improves. The city makes good use of its standout water feature during the annual Lunar New Year Festival, which, this year, is an 80-event extravaganza on February 1-10. One of the most exciting events is the dragon boat regatta, attended by thousands of racers and as many spectators. Come out to Darling Harbour on February 9 to watch boats ornamented with dragon heads and colorful scales tear through the water, powered by as many as 20 paddlers, while beating drums sound from land.

Or download this app and take a self-guided tour of the Lunar Lanterns display — a series of massive, modern lanterns depicting the 12 animals of the zodiac lining Circular Quay — from the pig lantern at the Sydney Opera House over to The Rocks. The epic festival also has events like pop-up dumpling feasts in Chinatown and Haymarket, night markets, LED lion and dragon dances, orchestra performances, and calligraphy demonstrations. To see all the events on offer, check out the website.

3. London, England

Photo: Visit London

London’s Chinatown is walking distance from attractions like Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and Hyde Park. By the time February 10 rolls around, however, you’ll want to stick around Chinatown for the Chinese New Year party. Buckle up for lion dances, acrobatics, interactive stage shows, firecrackers, and parade-trailing through Chinatown and the West End. The West End also happens to be the best place for families and anyone who wants to see a Shaolin kung fu performance. For more stage shows and general fun, try Trafalgar Square, but head back to Chinatown when you get hungry. Check out the website for a complete list of this year’s events.

4. Singapore

Photo: VisitSingapore/Facebook

Singapore milks Spring Festival for as many days of holiday cheer as it can. Lanterns went up in Chinatown as early as January 20 in anticipation of Chinese New Year, and they’ll stay up until March 6 — get a good look from New Bridge Road, Garden Bridge, or Eu Tong Sen Street. But like any NYE reveler will attest, celebrating the new year is more about the night before than the morning after, and Singapore puts on a killer Chinese New Year’s Eve. Those lucky enough to participate can follow confetti-filled processions through Chinatown, gaze at festive market stalls, and catch song and dance shows at Kreta Ayer Square.

Up to February 10, the River Hongbao event at NS Square promises constant entertainment, be it with an opera performance, fireworks over the marina, carnival games, or good food. To close out the festivities, the complementary Chingay Parade, one of the largest celebrations in Singapore, will pass through Chinatown on February 17. Take a closer look at the full events schedule here.

5. Vancouver, Canada

Photo: Lunar New Year Festival/Facebook

For nearly 50 years, Vancouver has hosted the Chinatown Spring Festival Parade to welcome the new year with gusto. The parade starts at Millennium Gate around 11:00 AM and lasts roughly two and a half hours, traversing almost a mile start to finish. Marching bands set the tempo while costumed dancers and martial artists entertain the crowds. Other ways to celebrate this month include visiting the Chinese New Year Flower and Gift Fair at the Aberdeen Centre, checking out a lantern display (or learning how to make one) at the Metropolis at Metrotown mall, or doing a Chinese-fusion dinner cruise on the harbor. For a list of all the events on offer, check out the website.

For something different, simulate a trip to China with the Flight of the Dragon ride at FlyOver Canada in Canada Place. The ride is adding a limited-time Chinese New Year-themed pre-show and dragon-guided flight experience over China’s greatest hits, including the Great Wall of China and Zhangjiajie peaks, before embarking on the usual trip across Canada. Riders are suspended in the air while panoramic footage plays, and special effects help sell the illusion of soaring. It’s more than worth 30 bucks and 25 minutes of your time.

6. Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Photo: Hakkasan Dubai/Facebook

The highlight of Chinese New Year in Dubai is the fireworks extravaganza on Chinese New Year’s Eve, a spectacle of red and gold fireworks raining down over Dubai Creek. Boardwalk is the best place to take in the show, one of several free ways to enjoy the holiday. There are also puppet shows, parades, mahjong games, workshops, and more at the Dubai Mall until February 10 and the Chinese Lantern Festival is on February 16. Or maybe seeing the Burj Khalifa dressed up in lights is enough to blow you away. On the off chance you’re in the mood to splurge, rack up a celebratory bill at the Chinese New Year-themed dinner event at Hakkasan, a splashy restaurant in Atlantis, The Palm specializing in Cantonese cuisine.

7. Hong Kong

Photo: YIUCHEUNG/Shutterstock

Whether or not to visit China during Spring Festival is a polarizing topic on travel forums. Much like Thanksgiving or Christmas, Chinese New Year is all about holing up with family, leaving famously busy cities unusually dead as people head home for the holidays and local shops close up. There’s still plenty of celebratory action in cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, but none of them goes bigger than Hong Kong.

Daytime is a flurry of street food feasts, trips to temples, and flower market jaunts with events like a well-wishing festival and temple fair thrown in. But the pièce de résistance is the International New Year Night Parade, this year on February 5 from 8:00 PM with pre-parade activities starting at 6:00 PM. Attendees will be treated to a procession of colorful, elaborate floats and performances ranging from acrobatics to magic to several types of dance on the streets of Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon. And if that isn’t enough, there will be a massive fireworks show over Victoria Harbour the next night.

To check out all the Chinese New Year events on offer this year in Hong Kong, visit the website.


More like this: 6 regional Chinese dishes that show off the country’s culinary diversity

The post The 7 most exciting Chinese New Year celebrations around the world appeared first on Matador Network.

Get paid to cruise

An all-expenses-paid cruise journey around the world is a pretty tempting proposition, but adding $136,000 makes it downright irresistible.

Royal Caribbean is looking to hire a “Shore Explorer” to cruise around the globe for up to four consecutive weeks between May and August 2019 on one of its ships and document their travels on social media. In addition to bringing the successful applicant on action-packed shore excursions in Alaska, Portugal, Norway, Dubai, Japan, and Royal Caribbean’s private Perfect Day at CocoCay island, the job also comes with a $136,000 salary.

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A post shared by Royal Caribbean UK (@royalcaribbeanuk) on Feb 4, 2019 at 12:29am PST

According to a spokesperson for Royal Caribbean, the company is “looking for an adrenaline junkie who is not only hungry for adventure, but also has a unique ability to capture a moment and tell a story in a simple social media post.”

The job is open to British and Irish citizens 21 and over. To apply, all you need to do is post an “extraordinary travel story, video, or image” on Instagram via Instagram Stories, IGTV, or an Instagram post, and tag @RoyalCaribbeanUK and #ShoreExplorer by March 1. The criteria is pretty vague, but that just means there’s a lot of room for creativity. The winner will be announced this April.

H/T: Insider

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The post Royal Caribbean will pay you $136,000 to cruise the world and post on social media appeared first on Matador Network.

The best places to travel in March

March, for many, is the best month of the year. It’s the month when the perpetual freeze of winter moves away, slowly making room for sunshine, flowers, and all that happy stuff you dream about when snow’s literally blocking your front door. It’s also the month that brings us spring break, spring training, and festivals with burning statues, throwing paint, and Aussies jumping in a river. And then there’s that holiday on the 17th where everybody is suddenly Irish and nobody goes back to work after lunch. If you’re looking to get out and make the most of what March has to offer, here are a dozen places you definitely need to check out.

Miami, Florida

Photo: Miami Music Week/Facebook

There is quite simply no better month of the year anywhere in America than March in Miami. The month kicks off with spring break, where even those too old to participate in breakfast Jäger shots can still appreciate the youthful crowd that swarms the city. Once that’s over, the city moves into hosting Miami Music Week, where you’ll have the chance to see some of the biggest DJs in the world playing in small clubs, exclusive lounges, and the occasional shoe store opening. The whole thing caps off with the original Ultra Music Festival from March 29 to 31, making its new home this year on the beachy Virginia Key.

Too old for spring break and three-day raves? Understandable. How about baseball, horse racing, and tennis? The Florida Derby — one of the biggest non-triple crown races of the year — hits Gulfstream Park on the 30th. The Miami Open welcomes every big name in men’s and women’s tennis to its new home at Hard Rock Stadium from March 18 to 31. And you’re just a short Brightline train ride away from baseball spring training in West Palm Beach, home to the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals.

Belize

Photo: Simon Dannhauer/Shutterstock

Anywhere on the Caribbean is a winner in March, but Belize — for now anyway — still maintains a good amount of its authenticity even during the height of tourist season. This little country just south of the Yucatán peninsula offers some of the best diving in the world, with the secluded beaches of Ambergris Caye giving you the chance to spend a morning under water and the afternoon appreciating it. And you’ll share it with almost nobody from your private villa at the Victoria House Resort.

Further inland you can enjoy the country’s untamed jungles, learning about the Mayan civilizations that once ruled the treacherous terrain. Stay at the Lodge at Chaa Creek and you’ll have a whole staff of naturalists at your disposal to educate you on the ecological history of the area — then walk you through the tropical butterfly farm and rainforest medicine trail where you’ll learn about how plants in the jungle can save lives.

Sun Valley, Idaho

Photo: CSNafzger/Shutterstock

By March, the ski-mad crowds have thinned out from Idaho’s premier ski resort, but assuming global warming hasn’t completely ruined the season, you’ll still have loads of snow on the mountain. That means ample opportunity for skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, and even cold weather fly fishing. It’s also prime time to spend a night at Idaho’s Dark Sky Reserve, where the best stargazing in the northwest seems especially bright on a cold, clear night.

March is also when the Sun Valley Film Festival comes to town, a severely scaled back version of Sundance with all the great films and celebrities but minus the hoards who come just to party. Only about 4,000 people attend the festival, but it still draws names like Clint Eastwood, Geena Davis, and Gwyneth Paltrow every year.

Dublin (but not the one you think!)

Photo: City of Dublin, Ohio – Government/Facebook

Is it a little cliché to throw on your best shamrock suit and head to the Emerald Isle for St. Patrick’s Day? Yes. Will you find more Americans clogging the streets, the Guinness Storehouse, and the pubs at Temple Bar than you will actual Irish people? Even bigger yes. But March 17 in Dublin is still a hell of an experience, and even though you’ll probably end up drinking pints at the storehouse while being drowned out by the Texas Tech marching band, it’s still a chance to visit one of the most historic and architecturally beautiful cities in Europe. Just try not to drink so much you don’t remember it.

Still, if you’re dead set on doing something that’s not played out, might we suggest Dublin… Ohio. No, seriously, the home of Wendy’s also throws a gigantic St. Patrick’s Day parade and has a Celtic Cocktail Trail you can follow to get into the Irish spirit. The new AC Hotel in Dublin has one of its trademark rooftop bars there at VASO, one of the cocktail trail’s stops and home to a cool igloo art installation. Though not the envy-inducing destination of its Irish original, this Dublin might be the most hipster place you could possibly go for St. Paddy’s.

Buellton, California

Photo: Buellton Wine & Chili Festival

All of California wine country is beautiful in March, as the cool mornings leave a layer of dew on the dormant vines, and the tasting rooms aren’t yet overflowing with touring stag parties. Napa is the obvious draw, with the epic Yountville Live festival in the middle of the month. But a little further south, Buellton puts on one of the most ingenious wine pairing festivals in the world: The Wine and Chili Festival.

This sixth annual event held on St. Patrick’s Day brings all the world-renowned wineries and craft breweries to the Flying Flags RV Resort, about as un-Napa a location as you could pick. In addition to the abundance of beverages, there’ll also be a local chili cook-off, where unlike other cook-offs you’ll actually get to sample the creations and pair them with local wines. The funky holiday festival will also have live music and for a scant $45 it’s one of the cheaper wine country attractions one can attend.

Antigua, Guatemala

Photo: Lucy Brown – loca4motion/Shutterstock

Lent doesn’t inherently seem like an obvious tourist attraction. That is until you’ve seen Lent in Guatemala. Whereas American Lent is pretty much marked by your friends turning down dessert for a month, in Guatemala it’s celebrated with lavish, colorful parades winding through its charming little villages. The best one to hit will be Antigua, where local artists create floral murals made of sawdust on the cobblestone streets, topped by grand processions marking the beginning of Lent.

Well aware of its reputation for Lent tourism, the village added a new luxurious boutique hotel this past year at the Las Cruces. This 11-suite property just steps from the parade has rooms adorned in 17th-century silver and gives you a relaxing retreat away from the excitement of the parade.

Doha, Qatar

Photo: Leonid Andronov/Shutterstock

While the rest of the world makes jokes about World Cup bribes, Doha is quietly building itself into the next big Middle Eastern super city. On the 28th, it opens one of the world’s biggest new attractions, the Qatar National Museum in downtown Doha. This cultural center built around the historic Palace of Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani spans 450,000 square feet and 1.7 miles of exhibit halls. It’ll tell the story of Qatari culture, history, and future, with a 220-seat auditorium, two restaurants, a food forum with traditional Qatari food, and a research center.

Though the museum will be open all year, March reaches the end of the season where the weather is pleasant, so you won’t get completely dehydrated while stuffing your face at the Qatar International Food Festival from the 15th to the 25th. Nor will you be forced to watch the entire Qatar MOTO Grand Prix from indoors when that race runs from March 8 to 10. The flight might be long, but this March is a chance for you to see this city before the whole world shows up in 2022.

Phoenix, Arizona

Photo: Cactus League/Facebook

The brutal, unforgiving Arizona heat hasn’t quite descended on the valley of the sun in March, leaving it a perfectly pleasant getaway in early spring. Hiking Camelback Mountain can be done without waking up at ungodly hours, and you can take your time looking at all the desert animals in the largest privately owned zoo in America at the Phoenix Zoo. Spring is also prime to grab some beers and go floating down the Salt River. It’s a relaxing float through red rocks during the week and an all-day party full of ASU’s finest students during the weekend.

March is also when Cactus League action hits the greater Phoenix area, offering an easier way to see multiple teams and ballparks than spread-out Florida. A dozen teams play within an hour of downtown Phoenix, meaning you could literally watch the Angels and Cubs play a game at noon in Mesa, then drive across town and see the Royals and Mariners in Peoria at night. You’ll see players close up in small stadiums in an atmosphere that reminds us of baseball in a simpler, bygone era. Even if you aren’t that into baseball, you can still post up at the pool at a luxury Scottsdale hotel like The Phoenician or The Scott Resort & Spa, drink in hand.

Valencia, Spain

Photo: Joaquin Corbalan P/Shutterstock

If you’re into pyrotechnics and explosions, has Valencia the festival for you. On the days leading up to the festival of St. Joseph, the city celebrates Las Fallas, an old Spanish word meaning “the torches.” It kicks off early in the month with daily firecracker explosions at 2:00 PM in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento, so don’t be alarmed if you hear rapid-fire explosions in the middle of your siesta. Things kick into high gear on the 15th when the city streets are closed to traffic and filled with giant nintos, massive paper mache puppets often designed to satirize politicians and celebrities.

Valencians — and the million or so people who come to town for Las Fallas — spend the next five days strolling around admiring the nintos, until the night of the 19th when they’re all set ablaze in the coolest festival-culmination this side of Burning Man. However one lucky ninto is spared each year, pardoned by popular vote then put on display in the Fallas Museum.

Nepal

Photo: Kristin F. Ruhs/Shutterstock

The Holi festival, or “festival of colors,” is one of the most important festivals in Hinduism, celebrating fertility, love, and the triumph of good over evil. Generally, it’s celebrated by filling the streets and throwing brightly colored powder and paint on total strangers, which makes for some of the best vacation photos you’ll ever take. Many people associate this festival with India, but for a far less crowded and more scenic Holi experience, you’re better off seeing it in Nepal.

The capital city of Kathmandu hosts the best Holi festival outside India, where you’re trading crowded streets and chaos for ancient temples and sweeping views of the Himalayas. If you’d like to get a good dose of both, however, Intrepid Travel runs a Delhi-to-Kathmandu tour beginning March 8 that takes you through India before ending in Kathmandu on the 20th and 21stt for the festival.

Vietnam

Photo: Tang Trung Kien/Shutterstock

Vietnam seems to be the Southeast Asian vacation destination du jour, supplanting Cambodia as the place all your worldly friends come back from and tell you that you “absolutely have to go.” But they’re not overselling it. The culture here finally seems open to welcoming Americans after that little disagreement we had 50 years ago. And you can learn the fascinating Vietnamese side of that conflict at the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City.

Beyond historical tourism, this beautiful country has its best weather in March, where the summer rains and humidity haven’t set in, but Tet is over, and the party is ready to crank back up. The beaches are especially inviting, and afternoons surfing at Da Nang or Nha Trang are especially refreshing when you’re not sweating to death between sessions.

Melbourne, Australia

Photo: f11photo/Shutterstock

The brutal summer heatwave Australia’s been dealing with this year will be subsiding as the southern hemisphere moves into fall, and the mild temperatures along the southeast coast will be ideal for enjoying the annual Moomba Festival. This free community festival is held over Australia’s Labour Day weekend, March 8-11, where Alexandra Gardens is transformed into a massive amusement park full of rides, midway games, and nightly fireworks. You’ll also be able to watch some of the best water-skiers in Australia compete at the annual Moomba Masters Championship. Or see zany Aussies compete to see who can throw themselves furthest into the Yarra River during Sunday’s Birdman Rally.

If that’s not entertainment enough for you, the annual Melbourne International Comedy Festival kicks off March 27th. It runs well into April and this year is headlined by Jo Firestone, Sam Jay, and a host of Aussie comics you probably wish you’d heard of sooner.


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Where to travel for Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day. If those two words just sent a chill down your spine, we feel you. We haven’t booked any plans on our end yet, either. But we do have a few ideas to help you earn hero status by sweeping your partner away for a last-minute getaway. Check out these five options for a quick weekend jaunt that won’t break the bank.

Aphrodisiac oysters and chocolate — Portland, Maine

Photo: John A. Anderson/Shutterstock

Maine is already on the radar of any seafood-loving and nature-appreciating couple in the northeast. But aside from the occasional ski trip, you’ve probably only visited in the summer, a common mistake that until now you could be forgiven for.

There are two primary reasons why you and your honey should get up to the Pine Tree State for Valentine’s Day: Oysters are an aphrodisiac, and Portland certainly doesn’t shut down when the snow falls. You may not be fishing off the coast or camping in Acadia National Park, but a mid-February weekend is the perfect time to drown yourself in craft beer and sensual seafood, minus the crowds and prices of the summertime rush. There’s also chocolate — and more beer — at Allagash Brewing’s Valentine’s Day Beer, Hearts, and Chocolate event. For just $25 each, you and your sweetie will pair five beers with five dishes inspired by chocolate, which just so happens to be another aphrodisiac.

If you’re already on the East Coast and road-tripping up to Maine, this romantic getaway will be a bargain. The city’s best Airbnbs are much cheaper this time of year. You can stay in a private home right in town for around $100 per night. If you and your better half feel like getting down on the dancefloor, Moe. is playing both Friday and Saturday nights at the State Theatre, the perfect chance to grind up against each other and burn off those celebratory lobster rolls.

Star-and-moon-gazing on the coast — Hermosa Beach/Los Angeles, California

Photo: Graeme Somerville/Shutterstock

If you’re itching for a mid-winter beach session, Valentine’s weekend is prime for heading to Los Angeles. Flights into LA are famously cheap from most major US cities, including from New York at just over $300 round-trip. The Portofino Hotel & Marina has a collection of epic “Love Month” lodging and dining specials right on the waterfront in Redondo Beach. On the big day itself, treat your partner to a four-course dinner for just $75 per person.

After dinner, use this comped ticket certificate to sip classy cocktails while taking in the action of dueling pianos at Sainte Rocke in Hermosa Beach, followed by a romantic walk under the moonlight along the sandy coast. Up in Hollywood, February is awards season, which means star-gazing is at its finest throughout La La Land right now. Even if you don’t see The Gos (ahem, Ryan Gosling) lounging at a nightclub off the strip, you can still hit Hollywood Boulevard and make your way down the Walk of Fame for the budget-friendly cost of $0.

The wine-soaked weekend getaway — Fredericksburg, Texas

Photo: nd3000/Shutterstock

Yeah, yeah, Texas isn’t Napa Valley. But in this case, that’s entirely the point. Fredericksburg, an hour and a half due west of Austin, is under the radar of all but the hardiest wine connoisseurs in the US, a handy trip hack firmly on display in the price of a Valentine’s weekend getaway.

From February 8 through February 19, the Texas Hill Country Wine Lovers Celebration welcomes guests with couples passes costing only $75, allowing you to enjoy tastings from up to four wineries per day from the more than 45 located in the region. Rooms at hotels and lodges in Fredricksburg are available for under $100 per night on Valentine’s weekend, and you can get fly into San Antonio starting as low as $127 from the West Coast and $238 from New York.

The hunny bunny ski trip — Salt Lake City, Utah

Photo: Mny-Jhee/Shutterstock

Ski trips are expensive. Once you compiled the cost of lift tickets, flights, lodging, and overpriced resort food, the sum can be enough to momentarily jolt your heart rate. At the ticket window, you’re often looking up to $200 per day just to get yourself on the mountain — and that’s if your partner stays barside in the lodge.

It doesn’t have to be this way. If you really need a mountain getaway this Valentine’s, the cure for this wallet buster is the Ski City Super Pass. Included are a lift ticket and ground transportation from Salt Lake City to one of four mountains nearby — Brighton, Snowbird, Alta, and Solitude — for no more than $100 per person per day. The pass also gets you discounted gear rental in case you aren’t equipped upon touch down in Salt Lake. The catch is that you have to book at least three days, but Valentine’s Day is on Thursday, so this is just an excuse to start your weekend early.

Lodging doesn’t have to break the bank, either, as staying in a big city means you’re escaping resort hotel rates. The ski-friendly Hotel RL (the hipsterized moniker for the hotel formerly known as the Red Lion) in downtown SLC currently has a $59 special on Hotels.com. Combine these offers, along with roundtrip flights into SLC for $228 to $500 depending on your starting point, and skiing Utah powder is actually affordable. You’ll save enough to enjoy that apres-ski session, and nothing brings a couple closer together than a mug of Peppermint Schnapps and hot chocolate after a cold day on the mountain.

Sailing the night away — San Juan, Puerto Rico

Photo: zstock/Shutterstock

Your partner will never forget the time you texted to say, “Honey, we’re going to Puerto Rico in two weeks.” Surprisingly, you can get down there and enjoy yourself for a reasonable amount of money. Round-trip flights from Miami start at $275. Once on-island, Sail Old San Juan will take you on a two-hour Valentine’s evening sunset sail around the capital city for $75 per person. Then, head to Santaella for a dinner of elevated Puerto Rican specialties and a bill that won’t break the bank. Just be sure to make reservations in advance.

The restaurant is a short walk from the Hotel Iberia, which at about $100 per night over Valentine’s weekend is the best deal in the heart of the city. On the way back to your room, stop in for a nightcap at Captain Rum, a favorite local watering hole. In the morning, walk through Old San Juan and check out the San Juan Gate, the old San Juan Cathedral, and take in the views from El Morro. Then, relax over a picnic lunch at Isla Verde Beach. If time is on your side, you could even rent a car and cruise about the island, reaching Domes Beach on the west coast before turning back.


More like this: The best places to travel this February

The post Affordable Valentine’s Day weekend trips you can still book in the US appeared first on Matador Network.

Why you need to see Granada, Spain

“If I were not afraid of being charged with excessive local patriotism I would try to describe Granada, since I have the opportunity. However, such is its fame that there is no sense in speaking at length about it.” — Ibn Juzayy (Ibn Battuta’s 14th-century ghostwriter)

Angkor Wat, Mt. Rushmore, and the Taj Mahal are places so famous that the cities that fall under their shadow are usually left out of the story or, at least, often go underlooked. They’re global must-sees, where steady streams of tour buses with sleepy checklist tourists pull up to their ticket offices, disgorge their content, and await their wards to return a few hours later with both their bellies and memory cards full.

Photo: Taiga/Shutterstock

In southern Spain, the Alhambra is another see-before-you-die kind of place, attracting those same ant streams of tour buses and their accompanying souvenir shops. And it casts a literal shadow across an arid Andalucian valley onto the city it was built to protect.

But unlike those other places, the city that lies under the watch of the “red fort,” as alhambra translates from Arabic, is a wonder on its own. Granada is a living, breathing lesson in looking beyond checklists and discovering the pulse of what drives the people who live there today.

That said, it’s a lesson that isn’t easy to learn. The reddish castle crowning the hill of Sabika is almost impossible to ignore. Perched atop a fold between valleys cut by the Darro and Genil rivers, it serves as a constant visual reminder that it’s going to be the first thing you’ll be asked about when you get back home. It appears when you least expect it and then, just as unexpectedly, disappears between the narrow streets, reminding you that you still haven’t booked your ticket to the palace online.

Photo: Vladislav Mavrin/Shutterstock

The thing is, this is a city that demands your attention. It’s a city with a voice that is completely its own in a country dripping with tourist superlatives. A city with its own vocabulary and accent that has somehow managed to retain most of its duende, or passion, and the greater part of its soul amidst the millions of tourists that check the stop at the top of the hill off their lists every year. A place that has been welcoming people from all over the world since long before the great 14th-century traveler, Ibn Battuta, ran across aesthetes from such far off lands as Samarkand, Tabriz, Khorasan, and India who had made their home here. To this day, it’s a community that continues to elegantly yet resolutely preserve its distinctness. It’s a town whose people are generous to a fault and know how to get on with things without wasting time looking back.

Little wonder this area has always drawn travelers to it. A patchwork of different white and green hues dresses the skirts of the soaring Sierra Nevada mountains, which rise up from the flood plain below and climb up to the highest peaks in all of Spain. In just under an hour away, you can be skiing in those same mountains. Those mountains also conveniently provide the Alhambra with a snow-capped picture frame for photos taken from across the valley in the Albaycin neighborhood. And if the slopes aren’t your thing, head an hour south and find yourself on the Costa Tropical among mangoes, avocado trees, and sugar cane, all made possible by the year-round warm breeze that blows up from Africa and across the Mediterranean Sea.

Photo: joan_bautista/Shutterstock

Granada is a city of secret and not-so-secret walled-in gardens, or carmenes as they are known here, that have been an integral part of life here since the days of the Islamic Nasarid dynasty and the Emirate of Granada. Today, re-creations of these calming oases of running water, lush green palms, and fruit trees provide much-needed shade during the punishing heat of the summer. From the Carmen de la Victoria observation deck, you can take a break from your in-depth explorations of the Albaycin neighborhood and once again be reminded of the daunting castle, or get another perspective from the other side from the Carmen de los Martires palace, or garden of the martyrs. As the melancholy name suggests, a complicated history persists in the place that was, in the late 15th century, the last toehold of the Muslim world in Western Europe.

Photo: trabantos/Shutterstock

This city is also one of twisting lanes, pre-dating the automobile, like those of the Alcaiceria that wrap themselves around the Granada Cathedral. Lanes that seemingly always snake their way uphill and which gently persuade the visitor to explore the city on foot, thereby making each discovery that much more rewarding. But keep your wits about you as you wander and beware of the suicidal scooters that can suddenly appear, noisily hurling themselves down the narrowest of places, risking their lives and everyone else’s in the process.

As a result of this gentle persuasion and the occasional need for a drink, it’s also a city that is best understood through its tapas bars. Spain may be famous for its tapas but once again, Granada insists on being itself, indelibly putting its own stamp on this most civilized Spanish custom. Here the emphasis is on conversation, with the drinks and food being secondary. It doesn’t matter if you’ve ordered a beer, wine, soft drink, juice or coffee, what is important is the here and now and what your friend has to tell you. After one or two drinks, a change of scenery to fuel the conversation is the thing to do and locals hop from bar to bar.

Photo: Anibal Trejo/Shutterstock

Whether you head to the more touristic zones like the Plaza Nueva; classic areas like El Realejo, the Calle de la Elvira, and the Calle Navas; or the more student-friendly locales of the Plaza de Toros, El Zaidin, or La Chana, just step into a bar and watch the magic unfold. Order your first round and the bartender will shout something like, “Two firsts!” And before you know it, a much-larger-than-normal tapa will be laid down in front of you. You might ask yourself, “Did I order that?” But this is the key concept to tapas in Granada: They come free with your drinks. Each round corresponds to a different dish, and each bar specializes in something different (snails anyone?) in an attempt to outdo the competition, and the competition can indeed be fierce.

It’s around these wonderful plates of conversation fuel that today’s Granada revolves, and it’s here where the true social soul of today’s city can be found. The palace on the hill might have originally brought you here, but there is something so enticing, so alluring about the unexpected and the unknown that the Alhambra can wait until you really get a better feel for the place. After all, you can always buy your tickets after you discover which delicious dish comes with the fourth round.


More like this: Valencia is the best city in Spain to escape Barcelona’s crowds

The post Why Granada is our favorite city in Spain appeared first on Matador Network.

CleanseBot to eliminate travel germs

For all the germaphobes out there, this might be a dream invention. No one likes checking into a hotel room and finding remnants of the guests who stayed there before you. The new CleanseBot is designed to give you peace of mind while traveling, especially if you’re staying in a rather sketchy accommodation.

According to the company, a third-party study from the Guang Zhou Institute of Microbiology found that CleanseBot kills 99.9 percent of E.coli. Small enough to fit in your pocket, the patent-pending robot is equipped with a UV-C light that prevents the spread of airborne viruses and can be used to sanitize and disinfect surfaces, making it perfect for hotel travel.

The robot has three settings. The first is an automated mode that cleans under bed sheets and can be set for 30 or 60 minutes. The second is a hand-held mode, cleaning smaller objects like alarm clocks, phones, and TV remotes (the most germ-ridden item in a hotel room). The third is “powerbank” mode, for charging the device — although the robot can run for four hours without requiring a charge.

The robot was launched on January 6 on IndieGogo, the popular crowdfunding platform. It’s still in its prototype phase but has already raised over $1.3 million on IndieGoGo. Early backers will be able to purchase the robot for a special price of $99 — heavily discounted from the original $259 — and first orders are expected to ship in April.

H/T: Travel & Leisure

More like this: 10 epic high-alpine hotels you need to stay in before you die

The post This travel-sized robot can rid your hotel room of germs appeared first on Matador Network.

Google Trends Super Bowl foods

Lists along the lines of “the favorite thing in every state” are fun. They’re fun to identify with and even more fun to argue about. That’s why so many publications (including the one you’re reading now) write them. There’s just one problem: It’s all too easy to get lists about the top/best/favorite thing in all 50 states wrong. Case in point is a Google Trends map about what everyone is eating for the Super Bowl.

The map purports to show the “uniquely searched Super Bowl recipes by state” in the past week. It lists 10 states where watch parties will serve a bunch of cakes or cupcakes and eight states where Buffalo chicken dip is most popular. It also lists that people in Missouri are most interested in broccoli cheese soup, Idahoans just want salad, and a plurality of people in Mississippi are serving granola bars at their Super Bowl party. Granola bars.

If you take the results at face value like some publications did, “some of the findings are pretty surprising.” Or, as one publication breathlessly put it: “Google Trends are always a fascinating glimpse into the regional delicacies and traditions, and their Super Bowl breakdown of the foods searched for most uniquely in each state is no different.”

Here Are the Most Popular Super Bowl Snacks in Every State, According to Google — Food News https://t.co/UT6pTx5jDB pic.twitter.com/8syI63qGld

— The Kitchn (@thekitchn) January 30, 2019

Only it’s not. Because the regional Super Bowl delicacy of Kentucky is not taco salad. What’s missing from these maps are the numbers. How many people were actually searching for paella in Maine? And how many of those people were doing so because they specifically had a Super Bowl paella craving? Google has made similar maps with zero context in the past, and they’ve had similar questionable entries. If Google searches really told us anything about ourselves, then we’d all know someone who is extremely interested in superb owls this time of year.

Don’t make the mistake of equating Google’s analytics with any deep insight into how the rest of the country has criminally ignored Mississippi’s love for granola. Perhaps the webcomic xkcd puts it best when it made a map that reads, “You can make these maps say whatever you want by adjusting the methodology. Half the time you’re just amplifying random noise because the underlying data doesn’t vary that much from one state to another. But whatever. Nobody checks this stuff. Just pick whatever normalization lets you make fun of Florida.”

The US is a diverse and beautiful country. There are actual regional food traditions and specialties you should care about, like apizza and clam chowder. But if you’d rather just dunk on some states for searching for weird foods in the same week as the Super Bowl, here’s Google’s full list:

Alabama: White chicken chili

Alaska: Nachos

Arizona: Cake

Arkansas: Fried chicken wings

California: Baked chicken breast

Colorado: Broccoli cheese soup

Connecticut: Buffalo chicken dip

Delaware: Chocolate peanut butter cake

Washington, DC: Bagel pigs in a blanket

Florida: Cake

Georgia: Buffalo chicken dip

Hawaii: Football cupcakes

Idaho: Salads

Illinois: Jalapeño poppers

Indiana: Fried rice

Iowa: Irish stew

Kansas: Buffalo chicken dip

Kentucky: Taco salad

Louisiana: Cupcakes

Maine: Paella

Maryland: Pizza

Massachusetts: Gluten-free pretzels

Michigan: Pizza

Minnesota: Tacos

Mississippi: Granola bars

Missouri: Broccoli cheese soup

Montana: Lentil soup

Nebraska: Pigs in a blanket

Nevada: Vegan cheesy bacon spinach dip

New Hampshire: Cakes and cupcakes

New Jersey: Buffalo chicken dip

New Mexico: Pea and peppercorn mash

New York: Spinach dip

North Carolina: Cobb salad

North Dakota: Baked nachos

Ohio: Buffalo chicken dip

Oklahoma: Chicken noodle soup

Oregon: Banana bread

Pennsylvania: Chicken wings

Rhode Island: 7-layer dip

South Carolina: Turkey chili

South Dakota: Cupcakes

Tennessee: Cake

Texas: Spinach dip

Utah: Bacon wrapped smokies

Vermont: Lasagna

Virginia: Buffalo chicken dip

Washington: Cakes

West Virginia: Buffalo chicken dip

Wisconsin: Buffalo chicken dip

Wyoming: Cakes


More like this: The best Super Bowl food wouldn’t exist without Buffalo, New York

The post Google found the most popular Super Bowl food in every state, and it’s definitely wrong appeared first on Matador Network.

Best hotels for whale watching

Whale watching is never a guarantee. Sometimes you step off the lido deck of a luxurious cruise ship and are greeted by a pod of frolicking orcas. Sometimes you take a janky boat through choppy waters freezing your ass off for an entire morning and don’t even get a lousy tail flip. Whales are fickle creatures. Of course, there are places with better odds of seeing these big boys than others, and certain hotels in those places have packages, amenities, and tours tailored towards whale watching. Or, in one case, a whale-watching bar. Here are 10 hotels that are prime places to watch for whales this spring.

1. Ka’anapali Beach Hotel

Lahaina, Hawaii

Photo: Ka’anapali Beach Hotel

Not only does this Maui beach hotel offer a full-on whale-watching trip off the coast of the island, taking that trip as part of a package can be cheaper than staying there normally. The four-night Whale Encounter package gets you a partial ocean view room, a whale-watching excursion in the Pacific Ocean for two, a snorkel tour in Pu’u Keka’a, breakfast, and commemorative towels for a pretty reasonable $1,154. Given your average commemorative towel can run upwards of $25 — and let’s not even talk about buffet breakfasts — this might be the best Hawaii hotel deal of the season.

2. Whale Watch Inn

Gualala, California

Photo: Whale Watch Inn by The Sea/Facebook

The fact that you’re scrambling on Google Maps to figure out where the heck Gualala is is precisely why this is one of the best hotels in the state for whale watching: Nobody knows about it. While this town on the Pacific Coast Highway about halfway between San Francisco and Mendocino is in prime whale-watching country, its remote location keeps the crowds away. And this adorable little B&B has nothing but oceanfront rooms where you can relax with a lovely beverage and see humpbacks flipping their tales without having to even put pants on.

3. Four Seasons Punta Mita

Nayarit, Mexico

Photo: Four Seasons Punta Mita

Mexico’s Riviera Nayarit is the funky, laid-back surfing alternative to tourist-mad Puerto Vallarta, boasting spectacular beaches with front row seats to whale migration. From the Four Seasons’ sprawling 400-acre property, you can take a kayak out into Banderas Bay and get up-close and personal with humpbacks, orcas, Bryde’s, and minke whales, where you’ll sometimes see babies learning to jump next to their mothers. If you want someone to take you closer, the resort also offers guided boat tours to spots they usually frequent.

4. West Street Hotel

Bar Harbor, Maine

Photo: Darryl Brooks/Shutterstock

For East Coast whale watching there’s no place better than Maine, and the quaint seaside town of Bar Harbor has become the most popular location in the state to do it. This downtown waterfront boutique hotel offers one of the best whale watching values in America, where you can stay over for a night, get breakfast for two people, and a day of whale watching for two aboard the Atlantic Cat for about $225.

5. Hotel Wailea

Wailea, Hawaii

Photo: Hotel Wailea

The folks at Relais & Châteaux don’t just throw their name on any old hotel with a mountain-top view of migrating whales. Only all-suite hotels like the Hotel Wailea, where 300 feet above the ocean guests can catch a view of three Hawaiian islands and the giant marine mammals that swim between them. If you’re lucky (or rich) enough to snag a suite with an ocean view, the hotel equips you with a pair of vintage binoculars so you won’t even need to leave your lanai to go whale watching.

6. Azor Hotel

Punta Delgada, Portugal

Photo: Azor Hotel

Plenty of hotels offer balcony views and whale-watching excursions, but do any of them offer a full-on whale-watching bar? For that kind of craziness, head to the Azores islands off Portugal, somewhere between Lisbon and the US. On the island of São Miguel, you’ll find the Azor Hotel where the rooftop bar and swimming pool offer the city’s best view into Taberna Bay and the baleen whales who migrate through from April to June. You’ll need to pack some binoculars, but the opportunity to drink a beer from a deck chair while whale watching is worth the extra equipment.

7. Portola Hotel & Spa

Monterey, California

Photo: Princess Monterey Whale Watching/Facebook

Monterey Bay has developed a pretty nice reputation for itself as a marine wildlife destination, both through its famous aquarium and through the wildlife that swims through the Monterey Bay Submarine Trench. Whale watching here has become a huge draw, and this luxe hotel and spa offers a package including a massive breakfast buffet and a whale-watching trip for two with Princess Monterey Whale Watching for around $375, depending on when you go. Monterey has whales all year, so you won’t be price gouged during whale season.

8. Chileno Bay Resort & Residences and Esperanza

Los Cabos, Mexico

Photo: Chileno Bay Resort & Residences

These sister hotels along the largest year-round swimmable beach in Cabo offer the best opportunity to get close-up pictures of migrating whales. Guests at either resort can book a two-hour whale-watching photo safari, where guides take you so close to whales you can feel the wake from their tails when they flip out of the water. Zoom lenses won’t be necessary as your experienced guides get you as close as safely possible to these majestic animals, and you’ll often see dolphins and sea lions while you’re out there, too.

9. Turtle Bay Resort

North Shore Oahu, Hawaii

Photo: Turtle Bay Resort

Though the hotel is named after a completely different animal, Turtle Bay sits in the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, a 1,218 square mile stretch of ocean devoted to creating a safe area for winter breeding, calving, and nursing. The hotel lets guests take part in the preservation and conservation efforts, allowing them to monitor and record humpback activity on three dates during the season: January 26, February 23, and March 30. During those times you’ll work with scientists and researchers to observe and record whale behavior while they’re on the surface.

10. Hacienda Beach Club & Residences

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Photo: Hacienda Beach Club & Residences

The Hacienda occupies about 1,600 feet along spacious Medano Beach, the nearest shoreline to the migration route of grey and humpback whales. The hotel offers a three-night stay including an early-morning whale-watching tour for two, breakfast at Cocina y Cantina, and a whale-inspired turndown gift. The Hacienda would not elaborate on what that gift was, but assuming it’s not just a beach towel folded to look like a whale, this package seems worth the $980.


More like this: The best places to see the whale migration on the West Coast this winter

The post 10 hotels that are perfect for whale watching this spring appeared first on Matador Network.

Origin of Buffalo chicken wings

Imagine a world without chicken wings. It’s hard. Yet every single Baby Boomer alive today was born into that world. Prior to 1964 (-ish, but more on that later), there was no such thing as the modern chicken wing. That’s a dark world, but we can thank a frigid industrial town in upstate New York for making it brighter.

Buffalo, New York, is known for a few things. The cold, for one, and being the home city of the only NFL team to make it to four consecutive Super Bowls — and the only team to lose four consecutive Super Bowls. It’s also the reason why the sentence Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo is grammatically correct. Most importantly, though, it’s known as the city that invented and lent its name to Buffalo chicken wings.

Photo: Sopotnicki/Shutterstock

It all started, so the story goes, with a woman named Teressa Bellissimo and Anchor Bar, the restaurant her and her husband, Frank, owned. The Bellissimo family name means “very beautiful” in Italian, just like a proper chicken wing is indeed, very beautiful. New Yorker writer Calvin Trillin tracked the Bellissimo Buffalo chicken wings history down in 1980, just 16 years after the food’s invention and three years after the city of Buffalo declared July 29 Chicken Wing Day.

The modern chicken wing, it turns out, was inspired by a fateful wrong delivery. A delivery of wings was accidentally sent to Anchor Bar instead of the backs and necks the restaurant ordered for its spaghetti sauce. The wings were too high quality to have the same fate as those other cuts of meat, or, as Frank put it, “They were looking at you, like saying, ‘I don’t belong in the sauce.’”

Teressa was tasked with figuring out what to do with them instead. Chicken wings at the time were one of the cheapest parts of the bird and either thrown away or used for stock. Undaunted, Teressa cut them in half, making a drumette section and a wingette, or flat, section. Then she fried them without any breading and smothered it all in a cayenne pepper based hot sauce.

The hors-d’oeuvres were served up with celery and blue cheese and the rest is history. Kind of. Teressa’s son Dom says his mother made them for some hungry Roman Catholics at 12:00 AM on a Saturday, and another story is that she made them for Dom and his friends one night. Regardless of the exact origin details, it was created, and it was good.

However, while reporting his story, Trillin came across a competing narrative right there in Buffalo. The idea of chicken wings smothered in hot sauce, according to this story, came from a black man named John Young. Young told Trillin that “black people have always eaten chicken wings,” and that his innovative twist was adding what he called mambo sauce in the early 1960s. When he left Buffalo in 1970, he said, chicken wings weren’t yet a hit.

“If the Anchor Bar was selling chicken wings, nobody in Buffalo knew it then,” Young told Trillin. “After I left here, everybody started [selling] chicken wings.”

The main difference between the Bellissimo and Young versions is that Young left his chicken wing intact. Bellissimo’s way of cutting it to make a chicken wing into two small pieces was the way that spread across America.

Photo: Joshua Resnick/Shutterstock

Chicken wings quickly took over the nation. Buffalo Wild Wings opened in 1982 in Columbus, Ohio. In 1983, Hooters opened in Clearwater, Florida, with wings front and center on the menu. McDonald’s debuted the Mighty Wing in 1990, and KFC released Hot Wings in 1991. An eating contest called the Wing Bowl started in 1993, and it became one of the top contests in the competitive eating circuit. (It ended in 2018 after the Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl.) Domino’s Pizza spent $32 million advertising its hot new menu item, chicken wings, in 1994.

Chicken wings were suddenly everywhere. Restaurants and bars found that chicken wings could sell for super low prices and, according to the National Chicken Council, “due to the spicy/salty nature of the sauce, they discovered that beer sales would go through the roof when customers ate wings.” Win-win, except that today, thanks to all the popularity and there only being two of them on every bird, chicken wings are the most expensive part of the chicken.

Chicken wings would be nothing, however, without hot sauce. As Andrew Rea, better known by his YouTube cooking channel handle Binging with Babish, put it at a recent event in New York City: “I love chicken wings because they’re just vessels for hot sauce.”

Anchor Bar’s original sauce recipe is a secret other than the fact that it includes cayenne pepper, salt, vinegar, garlic, and margarine. It has to be a secret, otherwise they wouldn’t be able to sell bottles of it. Every chicken wing peddler out there isn’t trekking to Buffalo to buy it though, because hot sauce preference is as subjective as is gets when it comes to food.

“Buffalo sauce is a big source of pride for us upstate New Yorkers,” Rea, who’s from Rochester, says. “Chicken wings cannot be made without Frank’s RedHot. I don’t know if you’ve made it with something else before, but it’s gross.”

The chefs at Dirt Candy and The Meatball Shop agree with Rea, but a proper New Orleans fan of Crystal Hot Sauce probably doesn’t, and the same can be said for any Texas Pete fan in North Carolina. Regional favorites vary, which is why there’s a good chance your hot sauce choice is dictated by where you’re from. Varying preferences is also why the biggest chicken wing sellers don’t settle for just one hot sauce. The chicken wing options at B Dubs, for example, lists “16 sauces, 5 seasonings, endless customization.”

Let’s not let our differences divide us. No matter which hot sauce you choose, take some time to say a quiet little thank you to the city of Buffalo for gracing us with the Buffalo chicken wing this Super Bowl Sunday. It’s one thing, at least, that won’t ever disappoint you.


More like this: A Buffalo company wants to give you a free trip there this winter. And you should totally go.

The post The best Super Bowl food wouldn’t exist without Buffalo, New York appeared first on Matador Network.