New Legoland Hotel in Carlsbad and Australian Outback Exhibition at San Diego Zoo
Visitors heading to the San Diego region this spring will find major changes at two of the area’s top family-friendly attractions. On April 5, 2013, Legoland California Resort will open the country’s first Legoland Hotel in Carlsbad. The new hotel, next door to the theme park, will feature 250 LEGO-themed guest rooms. Making its debut in May at the San Diego Zoo is the Australian Outback exhibit. Venture through a eucalyptus grove and discover Down Under species like wombats, wallabies, kookaburras, and cockatoos, ending at the largest koala colony outside of Australia. Also at the San Diego Zoo this spring, people can see the adorable new panda cub, Xiao Liwu ("Little Gift"). Born July 29, 2012, the cub is the sixth panda born at the zoo and is on display from 9 a.m. to noon daily.
One of my favorite excursions lately is to get an overview of a city on a guided bike tour. In a short amount of time, you can see a good chunk of the city, learn about the history of the locale, visit intriguing buildings and public art only a local would know, ask for a list of recommended restaurants, and yes, get a decent workout. In the past two months, I had great rides in 
The Trustees purchased the 36-acre 
When Mount Erciyes poured lava over central Turkey thousands of years ago, the volcanic ash formed a surreal, lunar-like landscape consisting of cone-shaped “fairy chimneys” and layers of soft volcanic rock called “tufa.” Early Christians found the pervious terrain ideal for escaping persecution by Romans and Arabs. When wet, the tufa could be easily carved like soap to make caves out of the pinnacles as well as underground cities descending hundreds of feet below the surface. Tunnels were carved into the soft volcanic rock that venture a mind-boggling 7 and 8 levels underground. They lead to rooms that were used to sleep, eat, pray, along with advanced ventilation systems and a well to retrieve water.
The favorable exchange rate for the American dollar continues to ensure that Canada is the place to be this winter. If you haven’t looked lately, $1 US will now fetch $1.31 in Canada, an 11-year low for the Canadian loonie. So if you’ve ever wanted to ski Whistler, Tremblant, or the Canadian Rockies, now would be the time. In this month’s 
In the summer of 2002, I had the pleasure of backpacking the stunning Long Range Traverse, on assignment for Backpacker magazine. Nestled within Newfoundland’s Gros Morne National Park, a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its unique combination of quartzite rock and wetland terrain, the Long Range Mountains could very well be the one of the last remnants of pristine wilderness within a three-hour flight of New York and Boston. There were no manicured trails with requisite wooden signs showing us which way to go and exact mileage to get there. The Long Range Traverse is a 35 kilometer semi-circular route where topo maps and a compass are a necessity to find your way among the web of caribou paths. Indeed, caribou and moose far outnumbered the four other backpackers we saw on the four-day traverse, averaging one hiker per day.