Who says that you can go to the beaches only during summer? At Galveston, with its semi-tropical climate, visitors enjoy year-round coastal bliss. Located 50 miles southeast of Houston, Galveston is an island in the Gulf of Mexico that offers visitors a unique blend of culture, history, beaches, as well as city ambiance.

On the north end of the island, the restored Victorian Strand district, resort hotels, and beachfront businesses provide a busy, commercial ambiance. If, however, you are seeking solitude and open beach access, then head south where you will find long stretches of private and rental residences.

There are several activity options that will keep you entertained in Galveston. You can shop to your heart’s content, or visit any of the several delightful locations. If architecture and art fascinates you, then structures such as the Bishop’s Palace, the Ashton Villa, the Galveston County Historical Museum, the Texas Seaport Museum and the Moody Mansion are places you might want to include in your agenda. If you are an ocean lover, then Elissa and the Ocean Star may interest you. And if you enjoy spending time in parks, then do visit the Moody Gardens and the Stewart Beach Park. If you want to simply soak in the sun and spend time on the beach, then you can swim, sunbathe, and relax all day.

Night Life: If you are a nightlife enthusiast and love music, then you might want to check out the Galveston Island Outdoor Musicals as well as the Strand Street Saloon. For theater lovers, the Grand 1894 Opera House and the Strand Street Theater offer many delights. To keep up your spirits during your nocturnal adventures, you can visit bars such as The Press Box and Slices.

History: In the year 1900, Galveston was nearly devastated by a hurricane. The resulting destruction of life and property led the city officials to raise the island and add a seawall. Galveston then became a safe place to visit. Though Galveston is no longer Texas’s busiest seaport after the hurricane, preservationists restored stately homes and built commercial districts with modern facilities. The Strand (formerly the site of stores, offices, and warehouses) now features on the National Register of Historic Places, and has one of the largest collections of historic buildings in the country.

Reaching Galveston: The nearest airports to reach Galveston are in Houston. Do check beforehand with the airline as to which of the two airports you will be using, as many airlines serve both.

So if you are looking for an exciting, relaxing and rejuvenating vacation, kick off your work shoes and head to Galveston.

Nancy Kinley recommends that you visit moodygardenshotel.com moodygardenshotel.com for more information on a quality moodygardenshotel.com Galveston hotel.

What do grizzly bears, earthquakes and Vancouver Island golf have in common? A “duck and cover strategy”, that’s what! New technology has allowed even novice golfers to hit the ball a long way. Trouble is, when you’re just a couple degrees off course and you hit the ball far, then you’re really off course, prompting more and more piercing bellows: “Fore!”

Vancouver Island, British Columbia, is golf Mecca. Imagine, on this beautiful 500 km (300-mile) long island in the Pacific Northwest, there’s a golf course for every level. No matter what your skill, you can find a course that will best suit you.

No bears on Bear Mountain… but lots of deer! The 19th hole is an optional bonus – it hangs off a cliff with a spectacular view of Greater Victoria. Bear Mountain, on the western edge of Victoria, is one of the most scenic courses you’ll find.

Golf carts, fully equipped with GPS systems, are included in the green fees. Get too close to the green, the cart shuts down and tells you on the screen to back off! Then on the 8th hole, a reminder pops up that you can order food to be ready at the end of the 9th hole! Impressive, eh! There are four sets of tees, with excellent equalization for novices and shorter hitters.

An elevated green with the backdrop of a waterfall is typical of Olympic View Golf Course, also on the western side of Victoria. The 12th hole is where nightmares are born: a precise tee shot to a narrow fairway beside a long water hazard, followed by a second precise shot to an elevated green! This is just one of many challenging holes here. A golf cart is recommended for the hills. Olympic View has the best equipped practice area on any course on Vancouver Island.

Well-groomed greens, sculpted fairways and panoramic ocean views make Cordova Bay, on the eastern shore of Victoria, one of the finest courses you’ll find on Vancouver Island. Four sets of tees allow you to choose the challenge that best suits your game.

Sometimes you find a hole where you’d like to have a serious discussion with the course architect, like at the Crown Isle Golf Course, where a fine tee shot put me 12 feet in front of the hole. I putted about 18 inches past it, then the unthinkable happened: my ball found a groove and rolled at a right angle to the line of my putt – off the green, within inches of the water hazard! My chip back onto the green was just short of the hole. Yes… it rolled right back to me! My fourth shot could not be short, so I blew it 10 feet past the hole. I putted tentatively towards the hole and the gap that ‘eats’ balls. Naturally, I putted light and in great disgust, got a six.

The Crown Isle Resort has some of the best facilities of any course on the Island. It’s typical of resort courses with housing developments nearby. The club house is spectacular.

If it’s your lifelong dream to live on a golf course, Vancouver Island has lots of courses with houses bordering them: Arbutus Ridge, Morning Star, Bear Mountain, Pheasant Glen, Crown Isle and others offer exemplary housing.

Imagine a course where each fairway is lined with tall Douglas Fir, virtually isolating it fromthe others. This is Storey Creek. Every hole is different and the course offers challenges with narrow fairways, water hazards and strategic sand traps. If playing along the edge of housing developments irritates you, then try Storey Creek, just south of Campbell River.

With a backdrop of Mount Arrowsmith, well-manicured greens and fairways, an executive-length golf course awaits you: Mount Arrowsmith Golf Course is one of the Island’s best-kept secrets.

An automated telephone booking system makes for easy-access. Drive 10 minutes north of Qualicum Beach and you’ll be playing one of the finest executive courses on the Island! It has one par 5 hole (the rest are par 3 and 4).

There are approximately 60 golf courses on Vancouver Island – each offering something for everyone. Read a synopsis at:
tourismmall.victoria.bc.ca/vancouver-island-golf.htm tourismmall.victoria.bc.ca/vancouver-island-golf.htm

Ron Kirstein is the owner of a Canadian Travel & Tourism Web
site (since 1995). Ron has traveled the length and breadth
of Vancouver Island BC Canada in search of
adventures; see tourismmall.victoria.bc.ca/travelmagazine tourismmall.victoria.bc.ca/travelmagazine

The newest Ripley’s Believe it or Not Odditorium (in Manhattan, 42nd Street between 7th & 8th Ave.) in their roster of museums opened to the public on Friday, June 22. I arrived in the evening – about 9pm – surprised to find that the attraction was not crowded. I suspect this is because either (1) the word has not yet gotten out, or (2) the crowds had not yet dispersed from the nearby Broadway theaters. The exterior is a kind of crazy theater marquee, which fits its 42nd Street location. I paid my admission and spent the next hour or so wandering through the halls.

Having been to so many different Ripley’s attractions, it is becoming difficult for me to differentiate between them, so instead I’ll point out the highlights:

The holographic “skit” near the beginning seems very crowd-pleasing. Behind a pane of glass, a tiny holographic man welcomes visitors to the museum by singing a “Welcome to Ripley’s World” ditty that I still have stuck in my head. Very cute but not terribly informative.

A collection of Ripley’s masks dance to generic tribal music beind their glass showcases. I’m sure the masks themselves are genuine, but they sure put on a nice show. Similarly, a room full of shrunken heads (also behind glass) is a bit chilling.

The room filled with prison and/or items of torture is particularly interesting. Torture masks and contraptions line the brick-walled room, including a “working” electric chair. Photo opportunities abound here.

A nautical-themed room has a small Titanic exhibition, and a glass floor allows visitors to walk on top of a collection of oceanic vessels.

The theater (a small room with a rear-projection television showing clips from the Ripley’s television show), is filled with baseball uniforms that have the team name “The Believe It or Nots.” The video clip is short, but there are seats so it was a pleasant place for me to rest for a moment.

Many of the classic exhibits are there, such as the 2-way mirror, the 2-headed animals, headless chickens, etc. I was disappointed that their staple “bigfoot” illusion was nowhere to be found, but that cool “spinning room” was there.

This Ripley’s didn’t have the kind of envrionments that other Ripleys have; it reminded me more of a legitimate museum than of a theme park attraction. Overall, it wasn’t as dark or dreary as other similar attractions (Madam Tussaud’s next door has a cheesy haunted house.) This is very fitting to Times Square and the upscale ticket prices (about $25), which suggest – and delivered – a more upscale Odditorium.

Dirk Vanderwilt is the author of several books in the Tourist Town Guides series. Tourist Town Guides give visitors independent, honest insight about America’s favorite tourist hotspots.

For more information, visit touristtown.com touristtown.com

The spring of the year is a favorite season for many people, and it is certainly easy to understand why this is so. The spring is when the earth comes back to life after a long cold winter, and it is in the spring when the first flowers begin to bloom and the green world begins to return after its winter slumber.

The power of spring and its regenerative effects are evidenced by the fact that every major religion includes a major holiday in the spring season. From Passover to Easter, it seems that every culture marks spring with a celebration of renewal and new life. It is easy to understand how in times past ancient cultures were overjoyed by the power of spring and the beauty of new life.

The spring is an important season for many hobbies, including of course gardening. For the gardener, the spring is one of the most pleasant times in the garden. The spring is the time when the bulbs that were carefully planted in the fall begin to grow and blossom, and the spring is when the first seedlings are carefully nestled in the garden. There is no doubt that the spring is one of the most beautiful, and most colorful, of all seasons for the gardener.

The spring is also a favorite time for home improvement projects that could not go forward while the weather was too cold. Whether it is a small project like installing new downspouts or a large project like building a new garage or storage shed, the spring is one of the best times to work at improving the value and livability of the home. In the spring, the weather is neither too hot nor too cold, and the homeowner has plenty of daylight in which to work. It is no wonder that the spring season is one of the busiest for home improvement stores and warehouses.

For the outdoor sports enthusiast, there is nothing like the coming of the spring season. For the fisherman, the coming of spring means the first day of trout season. For the avid hiker, spring means that those favorite trails are no longer impassable due to snow, and for the horseback rider spring means being able to take a ride without first bundling up. And of course spring means the opening of baseball season, a joy for spectators and players alike.

For more information on spring go to springgo.com springgo.com.