If you're on the East Coast in October and looking for a great weekend get-away, come to New Hope/Lambertville and see Bebe Neuwirth, Malcolm Gets,

Tyne Daly and James Earl Jones at the newly renovated Bucks County Playhouse. Combine it with a Groupon dinner listed below and you have the makings of a wonderful experience. http://www.bcptheater.org/

A BIG FYI to all visiting Bucks County. Just purchased a great Groupon deal for the Sandbar on Main Street in New Hope, Pa. $114 worth of food for a party of four for $45. There is also a Groupon for a party of two which will cost you $25 for $57 worth of food. The deal is on now, 9/4/12 and ends Saturday. Go to: www.groupon.com and look for Philadelphia or Central Jersey deals.

http://www.lambertvillestation.com/default.aspx?pg=dining_station

If you find yourself in the northern Philadelphia suburb of Bucks County this Labor Day Weekend, be sure to visit the Delaware River towns of New Hope and Lambertville for a history filled day, with

a special focus on the American Revolution. There are great shops, the best leather store in the country in New Hope and restaurants galore in both towns. Lambertville, NJ and New Hope,Pa. are directly across the river from each other. And everything is within walking distance. Parking is at a premium on the New Hope side, so I recommend you park in Lambertville. If you're going to have a bite at one of the restaurants anyway, park at Lambertville Station. They will charge you $20 for parking, but the $20 will be refunded to you when you dine inside the station. Lambertville Station is located directly across the river from New Hope on Bridge St. After exploring the two towns and having lunch, drive either south on the Pennsylvania side via River Road/Route 31 to Washington's Crossing and explore the village used as a staging ground for George Washington's famous crossing and the Battle Of Trenton. Or travel north via River Road through picturesque river villages. One such village will be Lumberville where you will see the famous Black Bass Hotel. The hotel dates back to the early 1700's and was recently lovingly restore by the Thompson family. The original owner of the Black Bass remained loyal to the crown during the American Revolution and refused entry to General George Washington when looking for accommodations for the night. One of the few places in America where we know George Washington did not sleep. The Black Bass bar also features the original pewter bar from Maxime's of Paris. Continuing north you will pass through the next village of Point Pleasant, home to River Country, where you can rent a kyak, canoe or tube for a leisurely float down the Delaware. If your looking for a small treasure to take home with you, Point Pleasant's FP Kolbe housed in a wonderful 19th Century hotel features endless rooms of furnishings, curios, candles, and thousands of garden statues and fountains. Point Pleasant is also the home of the national famous gardening catalogue store Kinsman's Garden. Their shop is in the old Point Pleasant Firehouse. So if you're looking for one of a kind items to enhance your garden, this is always a good stop. If you continue north on River Road and cross the bridge over to New Jersey you will find yourself in Frenchtown, where they will be holding their annual River Festival this Labor Day Weekend. More great shops and restaurants, with street musicians and unique street vendors. So come on out and enjoy the best the the area has to offer on what promises to be a great holiday weekend.

HITTING THE MISSISSIPPI BLUES TRAIL

Da Palace Juke Joint along the historic Mississippi Blues Trail

This spring included a road trip through some of the more beautiful parts of the south, including a cruise down the Mississippi Blues Trail. The old highway is still dotted with juke joints and classic barbecue stops, and we took full advantage of the latter. Make sure you make your way to Yazoo City for the pulled pork sandwich at award-winning Ubon's restaurant.http://ubons.net/http://www.msbluestrail.org/

GETTYSBURG ON MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND

There is no better way to honor our servicemen and women than by visiting Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. And to do that on Memorial Day Weekend simply added to our visit to these hallowed grounds. The battlefield, which covers thousands of acres, is best explored via one of the many tour operators. You can also purchase a CD guide that will enhance your tour in your own car. The new visitors center offers a multi-media experience that we recommend as your first stop.  Loaded with artifacts and historic photographs that put you in the thick of the battle.  We stayed at the Quality Inn which was adjacent to the battlefield and within walking distance of restaurants for all budgets. If you want to treat yourself walk down to the Dobbin House, Gettysburg's oldest home built in the 18th Century.http://www.dobbinhouse.com/

VISIT THE BILTMORE ESTATE

We just complete a fantastic visit to Asheville, North Carolina with a special focus on Biltmore Estate, the largest private residence in North America built by the Vanderbilt family.  We recommend following Route 81 through the Shenandoah Valley.  It seems as though every other exit offers antique malls with all kind of well priced collectables. In Asheville we recommend staying at the Homewood Suites.  We arrived on a rainy night and were thrilled that the hotel offered a delicious complimentary dinner with wine and beer (unlimited !) Monday thru Thursday (we arrived on a Monday night). A full breakfast is also included seven days a week. www.hotels.com had rates from $152 to $183 a night. The hotel website offers the same rate,but booking through hotels.com will give you credits towards a free night at any hotel in the future.

Christmas In Santa Fe, New Mexico 2009

There is no more beautiful place in the United States than Santa Fe at Christmas time.  Over the next couple of weeks we hope to bring you a true feeling of the Holiday's from the Land Of Enchantment. From visiting the historic sites, shopping for unusual gifts on the plaza, visiting the Pueblo Indians for their Christmas Corn Dance and the Christmas Eve tradition of the Canyon Road walk.  So get ready for a celebration of the farolitos in the coming days.

Broadway's Marriott Marquis A Must For Theater Goers

If you're planning a theater night in New York and want to indulge yourself with services and convenience, The New York Marriott Marquis is the place to stay.  At $500 a night, not a the cheapest hotel.  Once a year you can treat yourself.  The hotel is on Broadway in the heart of Times Square with great restaurants and bars.  They offer a wonderful Italian buffet for lunch and dinner at around $25 a head.  Their exercise gym looks out onto Times Square and has to be the best view for working out on a treadmill.

America Restaurant At Washington's Union Station

This restaurant is a wonderful place for lunch on a cold rainy day. Their Santa Fe Chicken Chowder is perfect on a winter day.  Rich and creamy with just the right amount of kick to keep you wanting more.  Their chicken and fruit salad is delicious and huge with fresh melon, pineapple, grapes and raspberries.  We also recommend the vegetable fajita, with perfectly seasoned slices of grilled portobello mushrooms with peppers and onions, accompanied by a generous portion of black beans and rice, as well as the usual fajita trimmings.  Enough for two people, really.  

There are many great stores, for all in a shopping mood.  Unfortunately, the multiplex movie theater inside Union Station, which was always a great option during long waits between trains, is now closed.  The lower level food court is as popular as ever with travelers.  No matter when I visit this location over the years, about 10% of the food kiosks always remain unrented.  

Touring Washington...Consider Your Options

We thought the double-decker touring bus might be a good idea.  Not during cold and inclement weather. Many of the old English buses are without heat and leak, resulting in a less than ideal touring experience. At $20 a head, if there are two or more of you, take a cab.  In half of our attempts to get around in the cold rain, taxis were more available than the bus, which comes around every 20 to 30 minutes. Standing for that amount of time in the cold rain will kill the touring spirit.  If your hotel is downtown, a cab to the National Mall will be cheaper in many cases.  Our cabs averaged $8 one way from the Washington Monument to the Union Station area where our hotel was located.

Dinner & A Show in DC

The Washington Shakespeare Theatre Company's production of Ben Jonson's"The Alchemist" at the Lansburgh Theatre is hilarious.  And dinner before the show directly across the street at the District Chop House & Brewery is great.  Atmosphere is very clubby and traditional steak and seafood dishes.  Dinner for two under $75. Great homemade micro brews. Perfect rainy evening in the District.

A Rainy Weekend In Washington Can Be Romantic

The autumn months are a wonderful time to spend a weekend in DC.  Hotel prices are more affordable and the museums are less hectic.  We're here on a rainy weekend, which will find many of the museums next to empty because Washington goes into a hibernation panic at the smallest sign of weather.  Better for the weekend visitor.  The Amtrak Business Class was comfortable and uncrowded, while coach was packed.  Business Class is well worth the additional funds.  Will go to a production of "The Alchemist" while here.  For surface travelers we recommend the Phoenix Park Hotel, 520 North Capitol St, (202)393-3236.  Hotels.com will give you a great internet rate. Visit their Irish Dubliner Pub for traditional music and ales.  More to come...

Wilderness Lodge, Disneyworld's Best Hotel

Spent a week at Disney's critically acclaimed Wilderness Lodge.  The best hotel on Disney property.  While the Grand Floridian is arguably the most elegant, the understated beauty and craftsmanship of the Wilderness Lodge will transport you to the great lodges of the National Park's out west.  It has it's own lake and boat rentals, fishing expeditions and hang gliding. Their restaurant gets three stars and the facilities go well beyond the other properties.

Breakfast With Miss Turner

Its 7:30 in the morning of Friday, September 11, 2009.  The Amtrak dining car smells of french toast and scrambled eggs. The sun is just above the horizon in the Jacksonville, Florida area when Miss Gwen Turner breaks her silence to tell me that she has a three year old great grandson in the area that she has never met. Her schedule is such that she will not have the time to stop and spend some time with him.  As the train continues to move south, she waves out the window to an imaginary grandson, “See you when you’re five, if I’m still around.” Miss Turner’s home for the last forty years has been St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands.  The New York native and mother of two first paid a visit to the Virgin Islands in 1969 and never left. “I went to see a friend in St. Thomas and she suggested I move there.  I wasn’t crazy about St. Thomas, but fell in love with St. Croix. She reminded me that Hess Oil was hiring in St. Croix and that I could probably get a job with them.”  The rest is history.  Miss Turner came stateside in May and spent the summer visiting with her son, a school teacher in Middletown, New York and her daughter in the Pennsylvania Pocono Mountains.  With the exception of a small puddle jumper plane from St. Croix to St. Thomas, Miss Turner’s journey was a true seatrain.  She left St. Thomas in late spring via Carnival Cruise Lines to Cape Canaveral. Upon her arrival on the mainland, she reserved a sleeper car on Amtrak’s Silver Star. She found her dinner of chicken curry most disagreeable.  She expected a more robust dark curry native to her adopted island home and the tame Amtrak version left something to be desired. Now she is on her way home, boarding a Carnival ship on the morning of Saturday, September 12th.  She’s decided not to travel for a while, the rainy summer in the Northeast left her longing for her tropical homestead.  Godspeed Miss Turner.

Monument Valley

Your "Bucket List" should include Monument Valley.  The place to stay is The View hotel, the only hotel within the Tribal Park of Monument Valley.  Their rates, advertised at around $190 a night, are about the same as the less than spectacular chains along the highway some 30 miles away from the park.  The only other close hotel is Gouldings Lodge, where John Ford and John Wayne held up during filming some of their classic westerns.  When we arrived at the hotel at the height of tourist season, July 7/8, there were still rooms available and were going for $99 for that night.  I believe these were rooms with no view though. Take the self-guided tour for a more solitude experience.  Park at the North Window buttes and stroll the trail for a remarkable feeling of awe and isolation.  Great photo op's abound. Their hotel restaurant is basic and passible.  Remember, you're not here for the food.  The restaurant is 100% better than anything you'll find in the nearest town. 

Monument Valley In July

There's a new hotel in Monument Valley called the View. The first and only hotel within the territory owned by the Navajo Nation. Will visit in July after a brief stay at the historic Strater Hotel in Durango, Colorado (talk about a hotel straight out of the west...you can picture the old "Have Gun Will Travel" western tv series being filmed here). If you have the time, ride the Durango-Silverton Railroad during the warmer months. Will give you a full report as our trip unfolds. Visit: www.theview.com.

This weekend will be a road trip to Atlantic City's luxurious Borgata to see comedian Wanda Sykes.  Accommodations will be at the Water Club, the best hotel in Atantic City and part of the Borgata complex.  If you want to treat yourself, or that special someone, take it from CSL, you want to rest your head hear.  Nice thing about the Water Club is that its separated just enough for Borgata's casino to allow you to relax.  Their pools are wonderful(although I do have to give props to Harrah's pool as the best in Atlantic City.