Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Amusement Park Fun Choices



Do you get the most fun at a amusement park that costs the most, or that costs the least?  How is Valley Worlds of Fun, located in Fairmont West Virginia, a better value than Universal Studios Orlando?

The website Mainstreet.com tries to figure these questions out by studying 103 amusement parks using criteria like total cost for a family of four (all day pass, parking, no food, etc.), and whether there are rides (not just activities like mini golf).  Their final report lists the top 10 least expensive amusement parks and the top 10 most expensive in their article "The Most Expensive Amusement Parks".

Just for fun, from the Roller Coaster Database we've mapped the top 10 amusement parks that have the most inversions on their rides.  A roller coaster inversion is an element of a roller coaster track that turns riders upside-down and then rights them, which can be a good indication of the thrill-level.  Fun!

Friday, June 24, 2011

Where Are The Best Burgers in San Diego?

Hamburger Heaven: The Illustrated History of the HamburgerSouthern California has had a large role in providing the world with the food staple we call the hamburger (or burger for short).  McDonalds, Jack in the Box, Carl's Jr, In-N-Out and Fatburger all started in Southern California, and these are just the most widely known.

New burger chains like The Counter and San Diego's own Burger Lounge show that there is still plenty of demand for new variations, and while the most convenient burger can be found at a burger chain, sometimes the best are found at the truly local burger joints like Hodad's or new food havens like Jayne's Gastropub.

Where can you get the best burger in San Diego?  We've pulled together three "Best Burger" lists for you to sample (yes, go eat there):
Let us know when you're done sampling and want to crown a winner.

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Monday, June 20, 2011

Minor League Baseball Is Major League Fun



What do Alabama, Connecticut, Iowa, Kentucky, Montana, Oregon, West Virginia, Wyoming and 20 other states have in common?  These states don't have Major League Baseball (MLB) teams, but they do have Minor League Baseball (MiLB) teams.

Minor League Baseball offers a more up close and personal experience, with stadiums that average around 10,000 seats versus the 39-68,000 at a Major League stadium.  Add in much lower ticket prices, and suddenly minor league baseball becomes a fun family & friends outing.

Our map below shows the exact location of all 159 minor league stadiums.
Quick quiz:  Which minor league ballpark is the only one to host two minor
league teams?

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There is a lot of new technology that is going into stadiums these days, and Wired.com looks at some of the most interesting in their article called "Fields of Dreams: Ballparks Unveil Tech Upgrades".

If you have an iPad or iPhone, you have lots of options for keeping track of your favorite team and live scores:

MLB.com MLB.com | FOX Sports Interactive FOX Sports Interactive | CBS Interactive CBS Interactive | SportsTap SportsTap | Quizner's Quizner's | Citizen Sports, Inc. Citizen Sports, Inc.

And if you're interested in Fantasy Baseball, there's an app for that too:

ESPN ESPN | Yahoo! Yahoo! | Bignoggins Productions LLC Bignoggins Productions LLC |
Citizen Sports, Inc. Citizen Sports, Inc. | Bloomberg LP Bloomberg LP | Roto Sports, Inc. Roto Sports, Inc.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Blue Star Museums: Kentucky & Tennessee

Just in time for the start of summer, the Blue Star Museum initiative offers free admission to active duty military personnel and their families from Memorial Day, May 30, 2011, through Labor Day, September 5, 2011.

Blue Star Museums is a partnership among Blue Star Families, the National Endowment for the Arts, and more than 1,300 museums across America, and this edition of our map was inspired by the soldiers at Fort Campbell Kentucky.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Follow The Food Celebs To: Indianapolis IN


Man V Food: Season 3Diners, Drive-ins and Dives: An All-American Road Trip . . . with Recipes! (Food Network)Love watching the Food Network shows like Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, and The Best Thing I Ever Ate?  How about the Travel Channel food show Man v Food? It's time to follow these professional foodies and try out some of the restaurants they have visited...

If you look at the map of Indianapolis IN there is an interesting resemblance between the surrounding I-465 highway and the racetrack of the Indianapolis Speedway.  Coincidence?

There is lots to ponder about this vibrant midwest metro area, and plenty to do in addition to sampling the variety of food visited by the food celebs.

We've mapped out just a small sample of the things to do and places to go around Indianapolis, and you can certainly find more on our Attraction Map (tab at top) as well as at Visit Indy, the official tourism site of Indianapolis.

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Thursday, June 9, 2011

Blue Star Museums: Washington DC Region

Just in time for the start of summer, the Blue Star Museum initiative offers free admission to active duty military personnel and their families from Memorial Day, May 30, 2011, through Labor Day, September 5, 2011.

The Blue Star Museums initiative is a partnership among Blue Star Families, the National Endowment for the Arts, and more than 1,000 museums across America.  Our map below shows the participating museums in and around the Washington D.C. area, and the states nearby.

Monday, June 6, 2011

National Park Camping

The National Parks: America's Best IdeaIn Parade magazine this week they have "America's Bucket List 2011".  Lots of good stuff like "visit a farm", "enjoy a minor league baseball game", "mail a care package to a service member" - 32 bucket list items total.

Number 24 on the list is "Sleep beneath the stars in a national park", and to help you find a national park to do that at, we've put together a map of the National Parks that offer camping.  Not all of them do.  Out of the 394 National Parks, only 139 offer the opportunity, and here's where they are:

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Best Places To View Wildlife

Travel + Leisure (1-year auto-renewal)Spring has sprung, and nature is starting to reveal it's flora and fauna again.  For this map, we're identifying the best places to view fauna (animals) out in the wild - wildlife.

We've combined the recommendations of three sources:

Travel + Leisure - Best National Parks for Wildlife Spotting
Birding and Wildlife Hotspots - North American Hotspots
National Wildlife Federation - Wild Places

Don't wait too long.  Sometimes the best viewing is early in the season.

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