In need of a fun place to go

I love the idea of a "thirsty Thursday." Sounds like a winner.

Might even meet Borat.

 

Good points Hoops! I stand corrected. By the way, Golden Park has Thirsty Thursdays....beer for a buck. So Passy, come on over and check it out one Thursday before football cranks up. (Um, and bring the wife so I don't get my butt kicked!)

 

and, as passy alluded to, i met borat there when he was taping a segment. have my picture with him and everything -- i also have several drunken pictures with gnic the gnat

 

You could buy the entire stadium a beer in Columbus on Thirsty Thursday and get change back from a fifty.

 

You're not lying on that one Dixie....man, attendance over at that place sux. Of course, the product isn't that bad, but the owner has alienated the 25 fans who were regulars. They give away so many tickets it's not even funny.

You got any road trip suggestions, Dixie?

 

Check out this site: http://www.visitwaterfalls.com/

I stopped at a few waterfalls there about five years ago on my way to Charlotte and thoroughly enjoyed it. I only had the chance to visit roadside falls because Mrs. Heinkenman was six months pregnant at the time.

I took the camera and got a few great shots. I don't know what to tell you as far as food and lodging, but I'm sure they'll have some options. The Pisgah National Forest runs through that area as well.

But, if you decide on Chicago, I can be of help. In my college days, I was a travel assistant for the state's tourism bureau. I sat in a large room with dozens of other college kids and actually helped callers plan their trips in Illinois. About 95 percent of the time, people were traveling to Chicago.

As such, I know a bit about dining and entertainment in the city. But probably less than a Chicagoan could provide.

As for cheap beer, I wonder what the going rate is in New Orleans these days. I imagine those business owners in the French Quarter are hurting. Can anyone confirm this?

 

Chicago is a fabulous city to go to in the summer. Wrigleyville, the lakefront, all kinds of festivals and concerts, wonderful museums (the Art Institute even has evening hours on some days during the summer during which admission is free) and great shopping and restaurants.

But New Orleans would be a wonderful place to go to right now to help support the rebuilding effort. I was just there a few weeks ago. Based on my two trips to the French Quarter, the French Quarter escaped Katrina virtually unscathed. I was there on Friday and Saturday night and places seemed to be pretty crowded, so I don't know if the bars are huring that much. Some of the touristy parts of Uptown like St. Charles Avenue, seemed to be moderately okay. The streetcar is not running along St. Charles Avenue, so that makes it wierd. I played golf in Audobon Park and it seemed okay. City Park which is home to among other things the New Orleans Museum of Art is slowly reopening. But most of the city proper is not rebuilt.

That said, the destruction is something to see. You might think you've seen enough of it on television, but you don't really get an idea of how widespread and devestating the destruction is until you take a drive and see it in person. (The same holds true for the destruction along the Mississippi coast.)

Select suburbs seem to be functioning relatively normally. Others, not so much.

The thing you notice almost everywhere in the area is, due to staffing shortages, lots of restaurants and stores have shorter hours than they did before Katrina.

I didn't have to worry about a hotel when I was there, so I don't really know how well they're functioning and what the rates are like. I do know that summer is usually the off-season in New Orleans, but I don't know how all the FEMA people, rebuilders, staffing shortages etc. have affected hotel rates.

But it would be a really worthwhile vacation. You could see some of the destruction (or not and visit the relatively unharmed French Quarter.) Your money would help the rebuilding effort. And, if you're so inclined, there are numerous rebuilding efforts that need volunteers. My spouse and I while we were there went one day and just helped pick up trash in City Park because, due to staffing layoffs, they don't really have enough people to keep up with picking up the trash while trying to rebuild and staff all of the facilities there.

 

yeah, but the ambience is so inviting.

I think you should go to Chi-town. You could crash on our mutual friend's couch and then it would be even cheaper. It's a pretty cool town. Plus the Chicago Country Music Festival is Saturday and Sunday. You could see SheDaisy and Jo Dee Messina and her oversized bellybutton on Sunday.

And then you've got Taste of Chicago running all week through next Sunday. good food, free concerts (anthony hamilton, who's a smooth m-fer, on wednesday along with india arie).

I'm going to Gulf Shores after work tomorrow for three or four days. it's not chicago, but maybe if I'm lucky I'll see the velcro pygmies at live bait.

 

More props for Savannah. Or better yet, a Savannah-Hilton Head combo.