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Best US parks for winter stargazing

Most of us never see the stars. It was estimated a few years ago that about 80 percent of Americans live in areas so polluted by artificial light that the nighttime skies are invisible. That means that like so many things in nature, we must seek out the night sky and make stargazing a focal point of a vacation. The good news is that within a few hours’ drive of many major cities, you can find places where the stars still shine brightly. Here are 10 spots worth checking out this winter, and some tips from information-sharing platform Trover on where to get the best astronomical pictures.

1. Acadia National Park, Maine

Photo: Collins93/Shutterstock

Finding unpolluted skies in the densely populated Northeast isn’t easy, but in Acadia National Park, you’ll not only find twinkling stars overhead but also perfect vantage points to see them atop Cadillac Mountain. Winter can be cold in Maine, so the sooner you get out there the better, especially since the Milky Way is also in full view until about late-autumn. If you miss out this winter, you might look into making plans to visit next fall, when the park hosts its annual Acadia Dark Sky Festival in September. There you’ll find 60 telescopes and over 1,600 people on Cadillac Mountain getting a closeup view of the east coast’s best stars.

2. Joshua Tree National Park, California

Photo: Colin Putnam/Shutterstock

Between the endless sprawl of lights and the perpetual haze, Southern California can be a tough place to spot stars. That’s why aspiring astronomers make the two- to three-hour drive from Los Angeles to the junction of the Mojave and Lower Colorado deserts at Joshua Tree National Park. The International Dark Sky Park has gone to great lengths to reduce local light pollution, working with the neighboring communities of Twentynine Palms and Yucca Valley to regulate the amount of light allowed into the sky.

Inside the park, the best place to get star shots is the White Tank Campground, full of granite boulders that make for ideal elevated viewpoints. Along with the Cottonwood Campground it’s said to have the darkest skies in the park, perfect for stargazing without having to pack your winter coats.

3. Saguaro National Park, Arizona

Photo: Christian Foto Az/Shutterstock

For one night and one night only, on November 24, you can catch the ultra-rare conjunction of Venus and Jupiter, when the two planets will appear a scant 1.4 degrees away from each other in the night sky. One of the best places to see it will be at this park just outside Tucson, a top destinations for stargazing in the sprawling Arizona desert. Your pictures will look extra-artsy when you incorporate the park’s Saguaro cacti, an iconic cactus made famous in Looney Toons but found only in this region. For the best shots of the year, come back to the park On February 9, March 9, or April 8 for next year’s super moons, which will look especially imposing behind a curved cactus arm.

4. Mt. Rainier National Park, Washington

Photo: Kevin Cass/Shutterstock

Looking at stars is often best done in one of our national parks, where ranger-led stargazing programs can provide a far more complete experience. Case in point, Mt. Rainier National Park, about an hour south of Seattle, where programs at the park’s Paradise area help you learn more about what you’re looking at. These programs are especially helpful during astrological events like meteor showers, when hundreds of people flock here, telescopes in hand.

The daytime scenery at Paradise isn’t bad either, and if you want time to take in the waterfalls, glaciers, and green meadows, spend the night at the Paradise Inn and hit all of that in the morning. A word of warning, however: Winter can be tricky at Mt. Rainier, and sometimes the Longmire-Paradise gate will close at night if the weather’s not cooperating. So make sure to plan accordingly.

5. Cherry Springs State Park, Pennsylvania

Photo: Michael Yatsko/Shutterstock

Set in the middle of the 410-square-mile Susquehannock State Forest, this remote state park is the most centrally located stargazing area among the northeast’s major cities. Despite sitting only a few hours from New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh, the park’s skies are remarkably unpolluted, rating it gold tier status from the International Dark Sky Association.

Inside the park, you’ll find the best stargazing vantage points at the Astronomy Field, a clearing at the summit of a 2,300-foot mountain with 360-degree views of the night sky. Though Cherry Springs only has about 60-80 nights with ideal conditions, hit it at the right time, and it’s always worth the drive.

6. Death Valley National Park, California

Photo: Dixon Pictures/Shutterstock

For meteor shower observation — and the long-exposure works of art that come with them — the best place in America is Death Valley, where perpetually clear skies and tolerable temperatures allow for amazing meteoric images. This year has three major showers to plan for: the Taurids on November 5-6, the Leonids on November 17-18, and the grand Geminids on December 13-14, where you may see upwards of 120 meteors per hour.

The gold-tier park’s best place to catch the show is Furnace Creek, where park rangers hold regular programming for star gazers. Harmony Borax Works is a popular area for photos, with its abandoned mining equipment in the foreground. The salt flats at Badwater Basin offer some of the best unobstructed views in the park. And for Death Valley’s darkest stars, head to the Ubehebe Crater.

7. Arches National Park, Utah

Photo: Bill Kennedy/Shutterstock

Pretty much anywhere on the Colorado Plateau is going to offer some pretty spectacular stargazing, but Arches provides unique opportunities for capturing the sparkling sky peeking out behind curved masses of red rock. It’s one of the newest International Dark Sky Parks, gaining that distinction in July of this year, but that doesn’t make its conditions any less ideal than older, more established spots like Canyonlands and Natural Bridges.

As the name might imply, the Garden of Eden is among the best places in Arches to bring your astro-photo gear. You might also want to check out the Balanced Rock Picnic Area or the Windows Section, or check with the park to see where rangers are holding their regular astronomy programs.

8. Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve, Idaho

Photo: The Adaptive/Shutterstock

Deep in the Sawtooth Mountains you’ll find America’s first designated Dark Sky Preserve, a 1,400-square-mile swath of mostly untouched land in Central Idaho. Designated in 2017, the preserve sits in some of the most treacherous terrain in the state, and getting in and out of the area — even on the 23 designated trailheads — can be tricky. But once inside you’re rewarded with some of the lower-48’s greatest natural beauty, where stars shine above mountain lakes with no light or electricity for miles.

You may want to pack a satellite phone — there’s no cell service or WiFi anywhere close. And definitely bring a map and mark your trail. The star gazing here may be the best in America, but like so many great things, it’s not easily obtained.

9. Everglades National Park, Florida

Photo: Francisco Blanco/Shutterstock

A quick 45-minute ride from the bright lights of South Beach finds you in one of the darkest places on Earth, the vast and mysterious swamps of the Everglades. And though the area is known for its abundance of alligators, its best feature may well be its nighttime skies. On warm South Florida evenings you can gaze up through towering pines and Cypress at a bright ceiling of stars. And during winter, you won’t even have to fight mosquitoes!

Park rangers lead regular programs, but the best one to catch is the moonlight bike ride through Shark Valley. Though you won’t see any actual sharks, you will have a safe way of traversing the park with minimal light, riding the Shark Valley Tram road under a full moon. You might also want to check out Pine Glades Lake for the best over-water photo ops in the ‘glades.

10. Mauna Kea, Hawaii

Photo: MarcelClemens/Shutterstock

The landmass furthest from any other landmass in the world seems like an ideal place to see the stars, which is probably why the world’s largest astronomical observatory sits on the Big Island of Hawaii. The highest point in the state is the summit of Mauna Kea, where the elevation keeps the air free from much of the humidity that darkens the skies lower down. Combine that with a setting in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and stringent light regulations, and you’ve got a first-rate stargazing destination. If you’re not up for climbing the whole mountain, drive to the Onizuka Center for International Astronomy’s Visitor Station where you’ll find nightly stargazing programs at 6:00 PM.


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Nickelodeon Universe opening

I’m pretty sure a happy afterlife for ‘90s kids is basically getting to spend all of eternity in this Nickelodeon theme park. Opening on October 25 at the American Dream Mall in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Nickelodeon Universe will be the largest indoor theme park in North America, spanning 8.5 acres. Park guests will be able to enjoy 35 rides, roller coasters, and attractions all featuring classic Nickelodeon characters like Dora the Explorer, SpongeBob, and the Ninja Turtles.

Of course, there will also be a Slime Stage to live out your ultimate childhood fantasy of being on Slime Time Live.

A version of this park already exists at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota — which makes sense since the American Dream Mall is, essentially, the next Mall of America. In the works since 2003, and continually delayed, the $5 billion mall will be three million square feet, with 55 percent of space dedicated to entertainment and 45 percent for retail. The retail portion of the mall won’t open until March 2020, but at least the Nickelodeon park will be open this month to tide you over.

And if you’re still craving more entertainment at the site, an NHL-regulation-size ice rink will also open on October 25, with open skating, figure skating, and hockey tournaments.

Tickets for Nickelodeon Universe are available online, starting at $39.99 per person.


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South Dakota Buffalo Roundup guide

“This one’s gonna hurt!” the driver warned us as we braced ourselves for some particularly gnarly terrain while riding in the bed of a pick-up truck.

I white-knuckled the roll bar with one hand and my camera with the other as I assumed a squat position to avoid being ejected into the open fields of Custer State Park in South Dakota. It was the 54th annual Buffalo Roundup, and I was in the midst of it.

As it turns out, the buffalo aren’t actually buffalo — they’re bison. Bison have beards, buffalo do not. Once I overcame the shock of that fact, I dove headfirst into the Wild Wild West buzz surrounding this unique event.

What is it about seeing over a thousand bison rounded up that puts people in good spirits? Perhaps it’s the thrill, the portal into a bit of Western past, the dash of danger, or the unpredictability. I can’t pinpoint it exactly, but I was totally there, caught up in it, and in the best of spirits. I was to report from an open-air truck and had been told by the park rangers to come prepared for a hell of a ride.

Why are they rounding bison in 2019?

Photo: HTurner/Shutterstock

Although this large-scale corral has pragmatic purposes, serving as the yearly health check-up for a sizable herd of about 1,300 bison, the initial draw for visitors is that of getting a real-life glimpse into the old Wild West, which in South Dakota is very much still a thing. The event itself has grown considerably over the years, starting with just 200 spectators in the mid-1960s to approximately 20,000 Roundup enthusiasts this year.

From a health standpoint, the Roundup makes pregnancy checks for the females, branding of the calves, and vaccinations to help keep them disease-free, all possible. In addition, it serves as a long-term sustainability method to control the population and further the goal of saving the American bison. An exciting tradition? Yes. A necessary tradition? Also yes.

The pre-roundup suspends builds

Photo: Gabi Luka/Shutterstock

The actual morning of the roundup was an early one, as promised. The weather switch had flipped from summer to autumn seemingly overnight, dropping the temperature from warm to morning frost and changing the leaves from lasting summer green to a radiant yellow. Prior years had brought sunshine, cold, and even six inches of snow. The weatherman had declared a hefty rainstorm on the horizon that we could only hope would hold off until after the bison were gathered up this time around. The wickedly crisp air actually signified change — the bison knew what was coming.

South Dakota’s Black Hills, complete with undulating plains and craggy granite mountaintops, were on point as the setting for the Buffalo Roundup. Nature couldn’t have picked a better backdrop if she tried. When we arrived, it was still dark, and a line of cars waited to get into the park, stretching out from the grounds seemingly for days.

“You can get here at 6:15 AM, but people will be lined up at 3:30 AM,” a park ranger had told me the day prior.

He wasn’t wrong. The onlookers could choose between two viewing areas, the north and south, where a decent amount of waiting ensues. No matter which way a visitor chooses, there’s plenty of both time and scenic surroundings to build suspense for the arrival of the star players as they crest over the hill and into the valley. The onlookers also have buffalo hats from the arts festival and pancakes at the roundup breakfast to keep themselves warm.

Roundup o’clock and the excitement begins

Photo: Centrill Media/Shutterstock

I stood beneath a sky that teased rain and allowed myself to be amped up by the cowboys addressing the 60 volunteer riders and their badass horses.

“My advice is to check your cinches before you start,” said Bob Lantis, the still-participating 84-year-old roundup team leader, imparting his well-earned wisdom to the group of riders lined up. “Other than that, ride and slide.”

Pep talk over, they prayed. I dipped my head and felt the fizz of excitement amongst the riders. It was almost time. The group was comprised of Custer State Park staff, and regular, core riders like Molly Olivier, Lantis’s daughter and one of the first-ever cowgirls to participate in the roundup. They also had 20 volunteers, who each year are chosen through an application process. You actually can apply for next year’s ride via the roundup’s website, provided you have the necessary expert-level riding experience, your own horse, and, I can only assume, a fair amount of gusto.

While we loaded into safari-style trucks that served as back-up assistance for the cowboys and cowgirls, the bison roamed the muted grasslands of the prairie in anticipation. As the countdown for the anticipated 9:30 AM go-time drew closer, a stillness took over the air. The bison were sitting ducks — the cowboys and cowgirls trotted into place based on well-cultivated strategies amongst the three participating teams, aptly named Red, White, and Blue.

And then we were rolling, literally. The cowboys and cowgirls took the lead, gathering and leading the bison, which seemed surprisingly cooperative. Our trucks bounced along the fields, following in their path and adding to the thrill. Like any good film, it was a slow build.

The bison migrated from dotting the hillsides to galloping alongside our truck, their beards wet with grassland dew and spit. The horses navigated stream crossings and unexpected prairie terrain like experts. The whole scene had all the gritty elements of a classic western movie — without the shootout, of course. Bullwhips cracked, hooves pounded, and the cowboys and cowgirls yipped and yelled, creating the perfect soundtrack.

The riders all worked together, communicating via radio, hand signals, and old-fashioned hollerin’ to lead the bison toward the corrals near the patient crowd. As we funneled into the valley, nearing the gates, one cheeky bison broke free from the herd, causing quite the hoopla amongst spectators who were clearly unprepared for the rush of an unexpected plot twist. While the cowboys worked to round up the escapee, the rest of the bison galloped in a dense pack, pacing back and forth, panting and kicking dust in their wake.

“We can’t hold them too much longer!” one of the lead cowboys yelled.

Just then, the crowd erupted as the last member rejoined his group. The herd ran the final stretch to enthusiastic cheers from spectators who had momentarily forgotten about the frigid morning temperature. Over one thousand 1,200-1,400 pound wild bison had just been driven to the corrals by real cowboys and cowgirls — and all before noon.

The post-roundup action

Photo: Tony L. Callahan/Shutterstock

After the bison had been herded the five miles into the corrals, park staff selected about 200 of the animals to be sold, and about 10 of the males were put back into the park for reproduction purposes. The vaccinations and other checks are accomplished over the span of a few days, and then in early November, the bison auction occurs.

All that excitement makes you hungry, hence the presence of a collection of streaming lunch tents beside the action. The throngs of spectators migrated to the tent area where volunteers dished out a hot meal with bagged potato chips and cookies. Fingers were tightly crossed that lunch was not buffalo burgers. It wasn’t, and coffee and hot chocolate were a sweet bonus.

Sitting over his steaming lunch, Mark Hendrix, one of the cowboys and the natural resource program manager at Custer State Park, could barely hide his fondness for the event. “It’s a lot of fun. This is my eighth roundup I’ve done and it never gets boring. Every year is just as exciting as the last one.”

How to attend the roundup

Photo: Anh Luu/Shutterstock

If you’re all jazzed up about seeing a bit of the Old West for yourself, plan for the last Friday of every September. Next year’s will take place on September 25. The event itself is free, but if you’d like to indulge in the post-roundup lunch to bring the experience full-circle, it’s about $16. Breakfast is also available for on-site purchase starting at 6:15 AM; you’ll be thankful for a warm coffee or tea, not to mention the pancakes. The roundup usually takes around two hours, but due to the unpredictable nature of the bison, the exact timing is a roll of the dice.

Visitors can fly into Rapid City and make the 40-minute drive to Custer State Park to stay at the nearby Sylvan Lake Lodge, which has cozy cabins and lodge rooms, an on-site restaurant, and multiple hiking trails that leave right from the property. Camping for the event is also available inside the park.

An arts festival accompanies the event, for those looking to browse some local crafts and goods. Driving Iron Mountain Road and the Needles Highway, as well as visiting Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse Memorial, are all activities to make a well-rounded weekend out of it. Make sure to stuff your face with Lintz Bros special pizza of the month and a caramel bun from Baker’s Bakery — as all those South Dakotan activities are sure to work up a healthy appetite.


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Tourists to DR died of natural cause

Earlier this year, several American tourists in the Dominican Republic reportedly died after drinking tainted alcohol at several resorts. According to a toxicology report just released by the FBI, however, those tourists actually died of natural causes, meaning your next vacation to the DR doesn’t have to be a sober one.

“Methanol poisoning from tainted alcohol was ruled out by the FBI in these cases during the toxicology screening,” said a State Department official, “and it was not the finding in any other cases of U.S. citizen deaths investigated by Dominican authorities.”

In the wake of the incidents, which included the deaths of at least 10 tourists, tourism to the Dominican Republic saw a 74.3 percent decline, according to the flight booking analysts at ForwardKeys. Oliver Ponti, vice president of insights at ForwardKeys, said of the American tourists, “Their recent and tragic deaths appear to have had a dramatic impact on travel to the Dominican Republic. Our analysis of leisure travel shows a striking correlation.”

Since the US is the number one source market for Dominican tourism, that represents a major blow to the economy. With the surfacing of the toxicology report and assurances that poisoned alcohol was not the culprit, however, tourism looks poised to increase again.


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Dia de los Muertos sugar skulls

Día de los Muertos is celebrated from October 31 to November 2 every year. The holiday marks a period of celebration and remembrance. During those three days, one symbol is present nearly everywhere you look: sugar skulls.

“In Mexico, we represent death with sweetness and nostalgia,” says Victoria Villasana, an artist from Guadalajara, Mexico, who recently worked on a project incorporating sugar skull art for Tequila Cazadores. “The sugar skulls on the altar illustrate the passage from the earthly to the spiritual; they are considered an allusion to death so that we remember that it is always present. Therefore, life on earth must be fully lived.”

Sugar skulls (calaveras de azúcar) are made from a white sugar mixture that’s shaped with a skull mold. The skulls are decorated with colorful designs and adornments, and the name of a deceased loved one is often written on the forehead. Small skulls represent children who have passed away, while larger ones are for adults. The skull represents the person who passed away, while the colors celebrate their life, says Saul Montiel, who grew up in Atotonilco el Grande, Mexico, and is now the executive chef at Cantina Rooftop in New York City.

In contrast to many other cultures around the world, skulls aren’t representative of the sadder side of death.

“It is a misconception that sugar skulls are morbid,” says Christine Sloan Stoddard, the founder of Quail Bell Magazine and author of Hispanic and Latino Heritage in Virginia. “They are purposely bright and colorful to celebrate the lives of the departed. Día de los Muertos is an uplifting holiday, not a sullen one.”

Along with sugar, you’ll find skulls made from chocolate or amaranth, which is a grain native to Central and South America. The skulls can be found at celebrations around the world, but are mostly present in central Mexico and certain regions of the country like Michoacan, explains May Larios Garcia, a travel expert at Spanish And Go from Colima, Mexico.

“We learn about their significance when we are babies,” says Dr. Maria Calatayud, an associate professor of Spanish at the University of North Georgia. “I believe foreigners often see this practice almost as an adoration or idolization of death. The practices of the Day of the Dead have also been misunderstood to be a kind of witchcraft.”

Calatayud adds that the sugar paste, alfeñique, was originally brought to Mexico by the Spaniards. The recipe likely originates from the Arabic Muslim community, who ruled the Iberian Peninsula from around the year 700 until the late 1400s. The sugar skulls, like modern Día de los Muertos celebrations, are an amalgamation of traditions and cultures from around the world.

Photo: Tequila Cazadores

“Day of the Dead is a syncretic tradition, meaning that it is a celebration that is a mix of two cultures,” Garcia says. “In this case, it’s a mix of indigenous cultures of Mexico and Catholicism brought in from the Spanish.”

The pre-Hispanic Día de los Muertos used real bones to adorn altars of remembrance, Garcia says. Catholics attempting to convert indigenous people employed a tactic common among missionaries: combine a pre-Catholic cultural tradition with Catholic holidays. Hence the date, as November 1 is the Catholic All Saints Day.

The symbolism of skulls stayed the same even after Mexico became a majority-Catholic country. Today, they represent the dead in general, as well as specific loved ones. Skulls are also given to the living as a sign that they will be remembered even after they’re gone.

This syncretic tradition has a unifying meaning for people who celebrate Día de los Muertos today.

Photo: Tequila Cazadores

“Sugar skulls are a tradition that brings great memories from my childhood,” Victor Villasana says. “I think your curiosity to understand more about death might start when you’re a child. Death can be a stigma for many cultures, but I love that in Mexico there is a day where we can remember our loved ones in a very positive and lively way — honoring life and death at the same time.”

In keeping with long-standing tradition, sugar skulls will be present at the biggest Día de los Muertos celebrations in Mexico; San Antonio, Texas; and other regions with a large Mexican population. Sugar skulls will also appear at private Día de los Muertos celebrations.

“When I was a kid, I remember playing and eating those sugar skulls thinking they were for all the kids. It was just another way to eat candies,” Montiel says. As Montiel matured, however, sugar skulls took on a stronger meaning. “My father and all my grandparents have passed away, so El Día de los Muertos is a day I get to spend with them by making the altar and putting their favorite dishes to eat and drink [on the altar]. We also put pictures of them, and of course their own sugar skulls with their names: Maria de Jesus, Guadalupe, Adan, Agustin, and my father, Saul.”


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David Attenborough new BBC show

If you’ve been searching for a new travel show to reignite your love of adventure, you’ll only have to wait until next week. On October 27, a new David Attenborough series called Seven Worlds, One Planet will debut on BBC, and it aims to illuminate each of the seven continents through their diverse wildlife and landscapes.

Attenborough introduced the series earlier this summer at the Glastonbury Festival, saying, “The ocean covers two-thirds of this planet of ours, the land only covers one-third of the globe. There are seven great continents on which we human beings live. Each of them has its own marvelous creatures — birds and mammals, animals of all kinds.”

Along with the announcement, Attenborough premiered a trailer — featuring music by Hans Zimmer and Sia — that’s sure to get you fired up about the new series.

Attenborough has been working on this show with the BBC for the past four years, and views it as a successor to the popular Blue Planet series. Much like The Blue Planet, the show’s message will be to encourage and inspire people to look after our planet, and the natural world that has become our duty to preserve.


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The best beach towns in the US

Summer and beaches go together like bikinis and sunscreen, but lounging at the seaside isn’t just a warm-weather pastime, per se. Coastal towns that attract hordes of tourists during peak season seem to assume slower paces come Labor Day. Hotel prices plummet, the climate cools, waitlists at popular restaurants shrink, and the beaches are finally as peaceful as the travel brochures make them out to be. If you can handle less-than-tropical temperatures, a visit to one of these US beach towns in the off-season is likely to warrant bigger bargains and smaller crowds.

1. Newport, Rhode Island

Photo: Jim Schubert/Shutterstock

Lavish mansions and yacht races tend to attract an aristocratic crowd to this New England hamlet during the summer months, but when fall comes along, Newport visitors are treated to rare sales in Thames Street shops and discounted rooms at the luxe Chanler at Cliff Walk, Castle Hill Inn, and other high-end hotels. The shoulder season offers a host of events, too, such as Restaurant Week in early November and late March, tree lightings and parades in December, and the Newport Winter Festival in February.

2. Seaside, Florida

Photo: Kristi Blokhin/Shutterstock

In the thick of winter, folks who are desperate for warmth flock to subtropical Key West, where the peak travel season is — unlike other beach towns — January through April. A less busy alternative is the northwest region of Florida’s Gulf Coast, which offers cooler-but-still-mild temperatures and a fraction of the crowds in the south. Between Panama City and Pensacola is charming and artsy Seaside, the middle point of scenic Highway 30-A. Temperatures in the mid-60s will feel balmy in January, when the annual Songwriters Festival turns every restaurant, theater, and covered patio in the area into a bonafide concert venue.

3. Montauk, New York

Photo: travelview/Shutterstock

New Yorkers in the know stay away from the anarchy of Montauk during summer. The charming, red-striped lighthouse that marks the easternmost tip of Long Island’s East End might suggest that it’s a sleepy little place, but it’s all but quiet on a hot July day. The partying has become so abrasive that East Hampton recently developed a stricter set of laws for revelers. Starting in the fall, however, as much of the region closes up shop for winter, the roisterers flee and the town is, at last, as quaint as its facade makes it seem.

4. South Padre Island, Texas

Photo: Hundley Photography/Shutterstock

Speaking of party places: South Padre Island has a way of attracting just about every collegiate spring breaker in the state. While you wouldn’t guess it during university holidays, this island off the southern coast of Texas is actually a family friendly place (after classes resume, at least). In fact, it plays host to the perfectly innocent Sand Castle Days where master sand architects construct masterpieces on the beach each fall. From November through March, the island is also a home for migrating birds and monarch butterflies.

5. Oceanside, California

Photo: Jon Bilous/Shutterstock

You don’t have to worry about the weather turning sour in always-sunny Southern California. Wedged between San Diego and Los Angeles, just north of Carlsbad, Oceanside has a certain local charm year-round. You’re bound to be treated to balmy days even during January and the seafood simply never goes out of season. Starting in September, Oceanside’s legendary breweries become less congested and hotel rooms can be snagged for almost half of what they go for in August.

6. Door County, Wisconsin

Photo: Mark Baldwin/Shutterstock

Lake Michigan may not be the first thing that comes to mind when brainstorming your next beach vacation, but surfers especially will be pleasantly surprised by what the unassuming Wisconsin coastline has to offer. You can count on it being cold, so leave the bikini at home but bring a board because November is prime surfing time in the north. During winter, Door County’s cliffed coasts are adorned in icicles, lending to an enchanting wintery scene.

7. Nantucket, Massachusetts

Photo: Allan Wood Photography/Shutterstock

Only in a few fortunate neighborhoods around the US do beaches and leaf-peeping mix. New England’s famous autumnal hues are on full display on the island of Nantucket come mid-November, when every other traveler is busy contributing to traffic on the more popular routes in Maine and Vermont. Witnessing the fiery colors by beach cruiser is nonetheless the best way to avoid a car accident.

8. Cannon Beach, Oregon

Photo: Mike Peters/Shutterstock

Pacific Northwesterners call October through May “magic season” for the coast. It may not be the warmest time of the year, but it’s the stormy weather, they say, that makes it fun. It isn’t often that a vacationer runs toward intense wind and heavy downpours, but Oregon’s Cannon Beach Chamber of Commerce actually advertises this weather as its own trip itinerary. There’s even a festival, dubbed the Stormy Weather Arts Festival, which celebrates the fall squalls every November. The high tides make beachcombing especially rewarding and the birds that migrate to this area for winter are a spectacle worth seeing, too.

9. Sea Ranch, California

Photo: Trevor Fairbank/Shutterstock

Sea Ranch is there for the taking any time of year, but that magical time when the wine grapes are ripe — that only happens during fall. This coastal sliver of Sonoma County comes to life after the summer crowds depart. Like aspen leaves, the vines turn vibrant red and orange and temperatures at the beach are in the mid-70s, perfect for watching humpback whales migrate during November (as well as December, March, and April).

10. Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts

Photo: Dan Kosmayer/Shutterstock

This remote island off the coast of Cape Cod has long been sought after for its quaint harbor towns, picturesque lighthouses, and charming farmland. The only catch is that, in order to ferry your vehicle over (which most tourists believe is the best way to explore the remote parts of Martha’s Vineyard), you must pay a fortune and book it at least a year in advance. Not in the shoulder season, though, when there’s barely a vehicle on the road. The peaceful streets provide optimal opportunities for cycling along the quiet harbors and chilly shores. You’ll basically have the entire island all to yourself — just you and 17,000 islanders, as opposed to 200,000 tourists during peak travel times.


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Dr. Ruth sex advice for vacations

Dr. Ruth is worried about you.

In her new, fourth edition of Sex for Dummies, the world’s most renowned sex therapist, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, has devoted an entire chapter to the overwhelming loneliness of millennials. And she is out to show them all how to end it.

“We have to sound a warning,” she says. “I’m worried about the loneliness of young people, I’m worried they are not developing long term relationships. And I believe planning a short vacation can help cement their relationships.”

To further her cause, she’s partnered with discount travel mavens Hotwire.com to help promote the idea of a “quickie” — short vacations a couple, either new or established, can take to make their relationship better and stave off loneliness. We chatted with Dr. Ruth, and she explained why these types of trips are so important, and gave free advice on how to make the most of them.

Short vacations are essential to solidifying a relationship.

There’s nothing groundbreaking in saying getting away with your significant other brings you closer together. But young couples typically don’t have the time or money to jet off and explore Madagascar. Dr. Ruth says oftentimes when people can’t plan a big trip, they opt not to plan trips at all, and that does no one any good.

“I’m not saying short is better versus long,” she says. “Maybe in a couple years you can go to another country. But it’s not instead of world travel, if you can have a vacation in between in order to cement the relationship you are now in, that’s something you should do. It shows you are in it for a long-term, and not just a fling.”

To back her up, Hotwire commissioned some research that found half of Americans who took a two-to-three-day trip felt an improved sense of well-being afterwards. And a third felt a stronger bond with their partner.

The act of planning shows you care.

Though planning a quick getaway isn’t exactly an altruistic gesture, Dr. Ruth says simply taking the time to book a trip shows your partner you care about them and their happiness. The process of selecting a destination, a hotel, and maybe even some activities demonstrates you’re putting effort into a relationship, and that you don’t want things to get stale.

“It says to someone, ‘Look, I am so interested in you, I went [online], I found a mystery program that gives us a hotel at a very reasonable rate, so let’s go,” she says. “It shows you want to put time and effort into a relationship, I think it’s a win-win for everyone.”

Dr. Ruth even suggests surprising your partner with a quickie getaway to put an instant smile on their face. You’ll demonstrate you’re thinking of the other person’s pleasure, which bodes well for… other activities.

Short vacations allow you to pay more attention to each other.

We’d all love to say we’re going to go off the grid for two weeks with our partner, ignoring emails and the office to enjoy extended, coupled-up bliss. But who aside from two unemployed people with no extended family can stay off their phone and email for two weeks? Literally, no one.

That said, taking three days and cutting out of life is a much more realistic expectation. And with only a short time deprived of constant contact, couples have a better chance of putting their phones down and devoting themselves to each other.

“On a short vacation, people don’t have to tell their boss they’re going away for four weeks,” Dr. Ruth says. “That might not be possible in today’s world. But it’s nice to be able to say, ‘For three days, I’m going to be yours and I’m going to be listening to you, and I’m going to be reflecting on what you say.’ I think that has something to do with good sex.”

Having sex right away makes for a more relaxed vacation.

Photo: Song_about_summer/Shutterstock

There is something inherently sexy about a hotel room, about that moment when you first open the door and see the perfectly made bed and imagine destroying it with your significant other. Dr. Ruth says there’s no need to wait until after dinner to break in your temporary home.

“Have a quickie experience in that reasonable hotel room right away,” she advises. “Enjoy that, then go out to an expensive dinner with the money you saved on the hotel. After you’ve had that quickie, when you have dinner you won’t constantly be thinking, ‘Will I get sex, or will I not get sex?”

Because you are more relaxed at dinner, you’re likely to listen more. Which then makes for better sex once dinner is over.

Leave the phone away.

Nobody is going to argue that being on your phones during a couples’ vacation is good for a relationship. But because the trip is so short, Dr. Ruth stresses it’s especially important to pledge to disconnect, and stick to your promises.

“I know you have to have a phone, you can’t think about not having one,” she says. “But know when to use it, and when to put your attention into that other person. When you have dinner, when you are in the car, anytime you might be able to have a conversation, leave the phone away.”

Dr. Ruth lamented the loss of the art of conversation and said phones shut the other person out, effectively telling them you’re not interested in what they have to say and only in what’s on your screen.

“I don’t want to see more loneliness,” she says. “And more isolation, not knowing what to talk about.”

To spark conversation, think of what your partner might be interested in.

Of course, because many millennials have grown up with primarily on-screen communication, cultivating an extended conversation with their significant others can be a challenge. Especially for three days. Facing 72 hours of face-to-face contact with no digital assistance can be a downright terrifying prospect to some people. So Dr. Ruth offered up some pointers on how to have meaningful chats.

“Think about a topic that would be of interest to the other person, something they are passionate about or want to share,” she says. “Even if it’s about the turning leaves, or that it’s autumn and it’s beautiful. Anything that opens up and doesn’t shut the other person out.”

Have a longer encounter later in the night.

Even though you’ve already had that in-room quickie to break the ice, Dr. Ruth says it’s equally important to end the night with a long sexual encounter, where you take all the tension that’s built up listening to each other over your fancy dinner and let it out in an extended, adventurous romp. After all, Hotwire’s survey found 86 percent of millennials would be willing to try something a little more freaky with a partner on vacation, and you don’t need to go halfway around the world to do it.

“That moment of surprise where you find out where you’re going, then showing you are really interested in the other person’s satisfaction, that will translate to being a better lover,” she says. “And having better orgasms!”


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Brexit causes fruit picker shortages

Brexit is affecting many aspects of daily life in the UK, and some are more surprising than others. The apple-picking industry, for example, has suffered a major blow amid the Brexit uncertainty. As more EU nationals leave the UK due to concerns about stricter immigration checks following Brexit, the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has warned of a shortage of apple pickers, leaving many fruits and vegetables unpicked.

According to one survey conducted by the NFU, 1,147 tons of apples have already been wasted this year, and the amount of rotting fruit only seems likely to rise in the future.

Ali Capper, chair of the NFU’s horticulture and potato board, told The Independent, “I think it is morally reprehensible that we are allowing this level of food waste.”

Instead of working in the UK, many works are pursuing job opportunities in other EU countries like Germany, the Netherlands, and Denmark. Last month there was a labor shortage of 20 percent, and that number is projected to rise in October — the height of apple picking season.

According to Capper, Brexit is “making people feel like they are not welcome here. It has been about question marks in terms of future status: ‘Can I come back next year? Will I need a passport? Can I continue to come on my work card? Will I get stopped at the border?’”

To resolve the issue, the NFU is asking the government to place greater emphasis on the Seasonal Workers Pilot program, allowing 2,500 workers from outside the EU to travel for seasonal work in the UK. This would help address shortages.

Until then, don’t be surprised if your local orchard is littered with rotten apples.


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The post Brexit is ruining apple-picking season in the UK, and 1,147 tons have already been wasted appeared first on Matador Network.

‘Abominable’ film banned in Malaysia

Details matter, and nowhere is that more evident than when it comes to depicting historically accurate boundary lines on world maps. Several Asian countries have refused to screen the new animated film Abominable due to a scene that shows a controversial map of the South China Sea.

The film follows the adventures of Everest, a yeti trying to return home, and a Chinese girl named Yi who is helping him on his journey. One scene, depicting a map of the South China Sea, includes the controversial “nine-dash line” — a boundary line that is official Chinese government policy, marking China’s unilateral claim to ownership of the sea. The line is present on all maps sold inside China but is disputed by Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Taiwan, who believe it overlaps with their own territory.

Because of the scene, Vietnam pulled the movie from theaters 10 days after its release, with the Philippines doing the same shortly afterward. Now, Malaysia has banned screenings of the film after Universal Studios refused to comply with their request to delete the line.

A spokeswoman for the film’s distributor, United International Pictures, told Reuters, “Universal has decided not to make the censor cut required by the Malaysian censor board and as such will not be able to release the film in Malaysia.”

It might sound like a small dispute, but this latest incident shows just how serious the “nine-dash line” controversy really is in the region.


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