http://www.viewpoints.com/aboutme/mrkstvns Mon, 11 Aug 2008 03:20:35 GMT Reviews by mrkstvns http://www.viewpoints.com/Deer-Valley-Ski-Resort-review-4e632 Deer Valley is posh and polished, but there's the rub. Skiing is an outdoor sport, and an active, adventurous sport. — — Deer Valley grooms a lot of their trails, most of which are wide cruiser runs. They don't have the narrow chutes and technically challenging terrain of nearby resorts like Alta, and they're a bit smaller than nearby Park City resort, which also whomps Deer Valley's hind quarters in terms of apres ski quality and atmosphere of the ski village. — — Deer Valley prides itself on its high price tags. It's an elitist resort that overcharges for its slopeside chalets. — — In my opinion, Deer Valley is Nice, but other places nearby are better both for the true ski purist and for the real party hard crowd. The only niche that seems to prefer Deer Valley are the intermediate skill-level skiiers who really REALLY like to pay a lot to ski and stay where the unwashed masses are not welcome. —... Mon, 11 Aug 2008 03:20:35 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Deer-Valley-Ski-Resort-review-4e632 mrkstvns 3 http://www.viewpoints.com/Disneys-Celebration-review-bd198 Celebration is the Disney Corporation's vision of what the "perfect" master planned American town would look like. All the houses would be half million dollar McMansions (and yes, kids, that IS what the average house in Celebration sells for). Naturally, it's a town where diversity has no home since diverse communities don't have half-million dollar average home prices. — — Oh, sure, there's gardens and everything looks spiffy, just like all the other instant-built planned communities in the nation. At its heart though, its a soulless machine that looks like a dead ringer for the "perfect community" in that movie The Stepford Wives. — — The only reason anybody cares about Celebration is because it was designed by Disney Corporation instead of Pulte Corporation. It's a dull place not worth the gas to visit, even if it isn't that far from Disney World itself (most of whose low-paid employees only DREAM of being able to afford a half-million dollar house in a... Mon, 11 Aug 2008 03:02:44 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Disneys-Celebration-review-bd198 mrkstvns 1 http://www.viewpoints.com/Nashville-Indiana-review-c8926 I hate to be negative, but Nashville Indiana (motto: "Almost as fun as Terre Haute but Lots Smaller") is just not that great of a tourism destination. — — Like about a gazillion other average, small, middle American towns, Nashville has its charms. And while locals and their chambers of commerce pound the drum touting said charms, the fact still remains, there's just honestly not much depth and not that much breadth. — — You can find a cozy bed and breakfast or two there. They have a place where you can hear some live music (both country AND western), and you could go over to Salt Lick Fork Creek Lake to play some golf and enjoy the trees. — — I dunno 'bout you, but I can sure imagine a couple more exciting places in the world to spend my precious vacation time. Leastways that's MY take...no offense... Mon, 11 Aug 2008 02:40:20 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Nashville-Indiana-review-c8926 mrkstvns 2 http://www.viewpoints.com/Busch-Gardens-Europe-James-City-County-VA-review-16ff5 I've always loved Busch Gardens. Even more than nearby Kings Dominion, which beats Busch Gardens in terms of coasters, since KD has some great woodies and Busch Gardens doesn't., but the themes are better executed at Busch Gardens, the park is generally nicer, plus I like getting a free brewski over at the hospitality house (granted, it's a pitifully bland tasting Budweiser beer, but at least its cold *AND* free, which is a tough hand to beat!) — — —... Mon, 11 Aug 2008 02:24:15 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Busch-Gardens-Europe-James-City-County-VA-review-16ff5 mrkstvns 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/Fishermans-Wharf-review-82476 It's cheesy, no question, but Fisherman's Wharf is a San Francisco institution and it's a fun place to hang out, stroll around, check out the sights and smells, grab some eats, and just soak up the atmopshere. — — Avoid scam museums like the Ripley's Believe It Or Else place and avoid the obvious tourist pits and you'll do just fine. Most of the restaurants are overpriced and decidedly mediocre, but stray a block or two away, and you'll find good local places with decent prices and good local color. Ghirardelli Square is an overpriced, boring, dull tourist trap...check it out for yourself if you must, but don't expect great things. Do check out all the seals congregating on the docks --- VERY cool and very real! DO check out the magnificent collection of old coin op carnival attractions in the Musee Mecanique --- AWESOME!. DO check out the San Francisco Maritime Museum run by the National Park Service --- they have some well preserved historical vessels --- more genuine... Mon, 11 Aug 2008 02:20:20 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Fishermans-Wharf-review-82476 mrkstvns 3 http://www.viewpoints.com/Rock-and-Roll-Hall-of-Fame-Cleveland-OH-review-b5dd4 Hats off to the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame --- a great tribute to America's musical gift to modern world culture. Great rock gets its roots in the blues --- another great American musical institution. — — Rock is a musical style that kicks ass and takes names, and the guys who rock out stand up for individualism, free expression, and kick ass jams. I bow to the genius of Buddy Holly and I swear that Elvis is still the King. Jim Morrison rules and the Rolling Stones will always endure. — — Rock On, Dude! —... Mon, 11 Aug 2008 02:07:41 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Rock-and-Roll-Hall-of-Fame-Cleveland-OH-review-b5dd4 mrkstvns 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Las-Vegas-review-72384 I don't honestly feel much of a draw towards Vegas. — — I don't gamble for one thing, which leaves me with a scant 1% of the local "attractions" to attract me, and I don't go in for fakery or shams, which pretty much wipes out 100% of Vegas. — — What the attraction? I dunno. I can certainly think of an entire world of better ways to lose my money... — — Happy trails! — — —... Mon, 11 Aug 2008 01:59:13 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Las-Vegas-review-72384 mrkstvns 2 http://www.viewpoints.com/Mt-Rushmore-National-Memorial-review-89f55 Mount Rushmore is a neat place and a cool monument. — — As a park though, it's not large nor impressive, doesn't have a ton of amenities or anything like that, and it's out in the middle of the Dakota nowhere, so it's a pain in the ole rear end to get there considering that you're only going to gawk at the monument for 30 minutes max. — — Still pretty cool... —... Mon, 11 Aug 2008 01:52:43 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Mt-Rushmore-National-Memorial-review-89f55 mrkstvns 3 http://www.viewpoints.com/Puebla-review-59ea5 Mexico is blessed with spectacular food that reflects historical tradition and dynamic regional influences. Culinary masters regard it as one of the world's four Great Cuisines and there's no question that the nation's food is distinctive and most definitely not derivative of any other kind of cooking. Mexico's many gifts to the world's chefs include not just spicy chiles, but also chocolate, vanilla, maize, and tomatoes. — — Real Mexican food goes so far beyond the sterotypical taco that in some parts of Mexico, a visitor might not even recognize the names of dishes on a menu, even though they might be recipes that have been around for centuries. While I personally think that Oaxaca is the Mexican city with the greatest wealth of innovative world class kitchens, there are many who say Puebla is the apex of Mexican cuisine. — — There are certainly delicious reasons for visiting Puebla, and it would be a serious mistake to visit without sampling several kinds... Sun, 10 Aug 2008 20:31:36 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Puebla-review-59ea5 mrkstvns 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/Xel-Ha-review-87a85 I have mixed thoughts on Xel-Ha. Part of me resents pre-packaged "natural experience" places like Xel-Ha (or even Discovery Cove in Orlando, for that matter), but I understand that a lot of people just want to a kind of "Nature Lite" travel experience where everything is organized, planned, and set up to be experienced quickly, conveniently, and cleanly. — — That's basically what Xel-Ha is all about. — — The park is built around a Caribbean cove that's got limestone formations underwater and that attracts many kinds of colorful tropical fish species. Most people traveling to the Caribbean coast go diving or snorkling along the off-shore reefs, but those often take a little more effort, skill, and time to see than cruise ship passengers and tourists on all-inclusive timeshare packages will budget. Xel-Ha lets them get a little taste of the Caribbean sea life without the full Monty. — — Xel-Ha also has a "swim with the dolphins" program and... Sun, 10 Aug 2008 20:18:44 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Xel-Ha-review-87a85 mrkstvns 3 http://www.viewpoints.com/Puerto-Morelos--158584-review-6f5b5 Puerto Morelos is something of an oasis on the northern Caribbean coast of Mexico. Just 20 minutes south of Cancun's bustling hotel zone, you'd almost expect the town to have been absorbed by resort development, but that's not the case. There are dozens upon dozens of humongous mega resort complexes along the Riviera Maya coastline, but they've generally spared Puerto Morelos. The town still feels like a traditional coastal town, and the hotels are mostly smaller, locally owned and operated places where friendly service and low prices are the draw --- not 96-hole golf courses with all-inclusive buffet restaurants. — — Puerto Morelos is mellow and generally uncrowded. There are some excellent restaurants there, the beach is beautiful, the offshore reef has several shipwrecks that make for great scuba diving spots, and it's an easy place to unwind and kill a few brain cells with cheap, frosty cold cervezas as you kick back in a beachside hammock. The town hasn't lost its... Sun, 10 Aug 2008 20:07:06 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Puerto-Morelos--158584-review-6f5b5 mrkstvns 3 http://www.viewpoints.com/Veracruz-review-b0bf5 If you're ever looking for an awesome long weekend destination that's virtually unknown to American tourists, check out Veracruz. It's got great hotels and restaurants, colorful local culture, things to do for the urban sophisticate as well as the adventurous outdoor type, not to mention some pretty darn nice beaches. — — Veracruz is a fairly large city --- probably about the size of Baltimore or Cleveland, and like Baltimore, it's a bustling port city where the commerce of shipping is that greases the wheels of the local economy. Also like Baltimore, it's got local pride, local flavors with a big emphasis on fresh seafood, a vibrant music scene (after all, this is the city that gave Richie Valens "La Bamba"), and a lively downtown waterfront that's just made for casual evening strolling and laid back weekends. — — Adventure travelers could hardly ask for a better home base than Veracruz. Within the state of Veracruz (and within easy driving distance of the... Sat, 09 Aug 2008 17:24:02 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Veracruz-review-b0bf5 mrkstvns 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Paquime-review-21575 Mexico's archaeological sites are fascinating places and among the most exciting, unusual, and culturally significant destinations in the country. They're places where your imagination can go wild, wondering about the exotic arts, sciences, and religions of Mesoamerican cultures. The extent of Mesoamerica reaches about 2/3 of the way up through Mexico, to roughly 150 miles north of Mexico City. Above that invisible line is where the realm of the Aztecs, Toltecs, Mayan, Olmec, and other Mesoamerican nations stopped. — — Northern Mexico doesn't have a lot to offer the traveler in search of ancient wonders. The sole exception is Paquime. — — Paquime is an interesting place. It's an old pueblo-style site, probably built by the same Anasazi culture whose pueblos and cliff villages can be seen in parts of nearby New Mexico, or perhaps people closely related to the Anasazi. The building style of Paquime is similar as is the design of pottery and other artifacts... Sat, 09 Aug 2008 16:57:16 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Paquime-review-21575 mrkstvns 3 http://www.viewpoints.com/Cadillac-Escalade-ESV-2008-review-b5b23 Back when gas was cheap, I was too, so I drove a common-sense car. Namely a Scion xA. Now that gas costs out the yin-yang, I traded in the economical xA for a brand-spankin' new Cadillac CTS. It gets half the gas mileage of the xA --- if that --- but my oh my, does it ride and handle 50 times better! — — When I took the CTS in for its first scheduled maintenance last week, my friendly neighborhood Cadillac dealer gave me a loaner --- a 2008 Cadillac Escalade ESV --- a vehicle so freakin' needlessly huge that it intimidates Peterbilt drivers. — — The thing is a tank, and I mean that in the worst possible sense of the word. It gets horrifyingly irresponsible gas mileage with an EPA estimate of 12 in the city and 19 on the highway. Of course, what do you expect from a vehicle with a curb weight of 3 tons. — — The vehicle seats 4 very comfortably, plus a couple midgets in that tight third seat. But of course, like 99% of Cadillac's customers, I'm not... Thu, 07 Aug 2008 03:14:30 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Cadillac-Escalade-ESV-2008-review-b5b23 mrkstvns 2 http://www.viewpoints.com/Nuevo-Laredo-review-1d354 10 or 15 years ago people used to travel back and forth across the international bridges between Laredo Texas and Nuevo Laredo Tampaulipas with ease and carefree nonchalance. The Mexican customs agents wouldn't even take the time to get up out of their lawn chairs as you passed through the turnstile into Nuevo Laredo and the U.S. customs agents were generally friendly, efficient, and didn't hassle people too much. — — In those days, Guerrero Street in Nuevo Laredo was bustling with shoppers from Texas and day-trippers coming to the Mexican street markets, while downtown Laredo Texas bustled with Mexicans opening U.S. bank accounts so their pesos wouldn't get devalued by the next election. Markets, restaurants and nightclubs on both sides prospered. Even the minor league AAA-level Tecolotes played a split season, half their games in Laredo half in Nuevo Laredo. Life was good, people lived and let live. — — My, oh my, what a difference a decade makes! — ... Thu, 07 Aug 2008 01:52:16 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Nuevo-Laredo-review-1d354 mrkstvns 1 http://www.viewpoints.com/La-Quebrada-review-01571 Nobody should be allowed to visit Acapulco without first promising, guaranteeing, and swearing on a stack of Biblias Santas to see the cliff divers at La Quebrada. It oughta be a law! — — The cliff divers are simply spectacular. They dive into pounding surf in a narrow rock chasm, then climb up the cliffs to a height of 35 meters --- about the same height as a 10-story building. Then they pray at the small chapel on the side of the cliff (Good strategy!) before diving into the surf where the water levels are typically only 2 meters deep. — — Insane?? — — Absolutely!! But it's also one of the most genuine "real deal" local color things you can do in Acapulco and it would be a crime to miss it. — — Opinion varies as to where the best place is to stand and watch the divers. Most guidebooks tell you that the Perla restaurant is the place to be, though I personally don't care for their ordinary food at high prices (I know, I know,... Thu, 07 Aug 2008 01:26:07 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/La-Quebrada-review-01571 mrkstvns 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Copper-Canyon-review-4fb14 Nothing prepares you for the spectacular scale and beauty of the Copper Canyon itself and nothing beats a train adventure through Mexico's most spectacularly rugged landscape. It's a place of dramatic mountain peaks, deep valleys, and ancient peoples who still cling to time-honored tradition. — — Most people spend at least a few days exploring the Copper Canyon, though it's possible to do the entire 300-mile route in one single day. The Copper Canyon trains run between Los Mochis on the Sea of Cortez and Chihuahua, in the north central part of the country. Trains run in both directions and leave each station at 6am each morning, arriving in the evening around 9pm. Because the most spectacular drops, tunnels, and passes are on the Los Mochis end of the canyon system, if you can only do the train 1-way, do it starting in Los Mochis. — — Most people take a few days to do it though. They stop off in one or more of the small towns, sometimes to hike the... Thu, 07 Aug 2008 01:04:08 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Copper-Canyon-review-4fb14 mrkstvns 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Sayulita-review-a9b64 There's a lot of people who venture to Mexico for the fabulous beaches, though they don't go to any of the beaches you've probably heard of. They prefer finding their own little slices of Heaven. They look for small towns. Secluded beaches. Places with local charm and genuine Mexican warmth and hospitality. — — For many years, many of these kinds of gentle travelers found an idyllic beach oasis in Sayulita. — — Sayulita is a sun-drenched arc of golden sand just 45 minutes north of Puerto Vallarta. The location makes it easy to get there because there are so many direct flights to PVR from the United States. Unfortunately, now that word of Sayulita's charms has gotten out, that easy access also means more people coming to Sayulita to partake of the quiet, mellow mood. Naturally, the more the merrier, and the merrier, the less tranquil. Asi es la vida. — — Sayulita is cool, even if it has been partially discovered by now. It's still fairly small,... Wed, 06 Aug 2008 01:01:51 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Sayulita-review-a9b64 mrkstvns 3 http://www.viewpoints.com/Six-Flags-Mexico-review-e9046 If youv'e been to a Six Flags park in the U.S., then you know what to expect from Six Flags Mexico. The park is pretty much like the Six Flags parks here in Texas, but perhaps a bit larger, nicer, and newer. The rides are pretty much the same: they have big steel coasters like Batman and Superman, they have the same types of kids rides, and the same types of shows --- just with a latin flair. — — Good selection of kids rides and attractions. Rio Salvaje is their white water rafting ride --- it's pretty much the same as the Gullywasher at Six Flags Fiesta Texas, and Splash is the same big wave boat as FT's Power Surge. — — Hours are about the same too, and the prices are a bit lower (290 pesos is your basic single-day admission price, though season passes don't add a lot more to that price tag and discounts aren't usually hard to come by). If you have a season pass for a U.S. Six Flags park, bring the card --- it's good at Six Flags Mexico too! — ... Wed, 06 Aug 2008 00:40:48 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Six-Flags-Mexico-review-e9046 mrkstvns 3 http://www.viewpoints.com/Miami--158195-review-0ba55 I can't for the life of me think of one single all-around BETTER beach city in America than Miami. The place is so totally cool that it's red hot these days. — — Lots of reasons for Miami's popularity. Awesome beaches, the most dependably sunny weather in the United States, a very hip atmospher with a strong latin flavor, great music, great night clubs...what's not to like? — — I like places that have individuality and unique character, and Miami certainly has that. In fact, it's strong latin flavor coupled with its enviably beautiful beaches team up to make it one of my five best cities in America. Where else can you hear a great Cuban son while feasting on fresh ropa vieja and sipping icy cool fresh mojitos made the RIGHT way?!?!  Not to many places, my friends, and certainly not with warm Caribbean breezes wafting through the air. — — I think I could live my life in Miami's South Beach without ever needing to venture across the causeway... Wed, 06 Aug 2008 00:15:07 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Miami--158195-review-0ba55 mrkstvns 5