Archive for September, 2009

Family Adventures

Sunday, September 27th, 2009

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As any parent can tell you, when you’re traveling with kids, getting there is (and better be) at least half the fun. Fortunately, here in Northern California, we’ve elevated unusual and entertaining modes of transportation to an art form. On an average day, you can ride a cable car halfway to the stars, take a gondola to a high-altitude swimming pool, drive a talking car, and cruise a lake on an old-fashioned steam paddlewheeler. Here are some of my favorite ways to sight see when the getaway needs to be equal parts journey and destination. Read full article »

Bingo 2.0

Thursday, September 24th, 2009

Local Getaways - Gaming Getaways - BingoIf you’re like me, you probably remember playing bingo with your grandmothers using marker daubers on paper boards. Well, folks, the game of bingo has come a long way since those glory days.

Nowadays, many casinos have fancy netbook-size Traveler machines from a company called GameTech that actually play your boards for you and beep at you when you’re about to win. It cost us nothing extra to play with the machines, and they can do the job of daubing as many as 60 or 70 boards at once.

The technology keeps tabs on which balls are being called via wireless network—a central computer near the front of the bingo hall reads balls as they come out of the hopper and sends the signal to Traveler machines all over the room. Read full article »

Garden Getaways

Sunday, September 20th, 2009

Local Getaways - Great Getaways - Garden Getaways

I have a confession to make. If I didn’t have to visit Northern California’s botanical gardens and preserves to review them for my travel guides, I probably never would have learned how amazing the places are. Until I actually visited the spectacular Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park and the mind-blowing Cornerstone Festival of Gardens in Sonoma Valley, I never realized how… entertaining the world of botany can be. If you’re already a fan of gardens, you won’t need encouraging, but for all you too-cool-for-tulips types, trust me: A getaway to any of these five botanical gardens will turn your thumbs green in no time. Read full article »

Getting started at a card room

Wednesday, September 16th, 2009

Local Getaways - Gaming Getaways - Card RoomThe notion of playing live cash poker games against total strangers might intimidate you, but getting started involves the same steps for everyone, whether you’re a card-room novice or a card-room regular.

The steps? Checking in and buying chips.

Everyone’s visits must begin at a host station. There, players are required to check in with a host, who’s usually sitting behind a computer screen. If there’s an open seat at a game in progress, the host will slot you in and instruct you where to go. If there are no open seats, the host puts you on a waiting list. Read full article »