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A Unique Way for Kids to Learn About Chicago

Tonia — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 15:15:50 +0000

Kids on the beach, Chicago

Do you know what ingredients it takes to make a real Chicago hot dog or why the “L” goes around the Loop?

Find out with the free Chicago for Kids audio tour and interactive web site, a new way for young Chicagoans and visitors from around the globe to learn more about Chicago.

The audio tour and website takes kids on adventures throughout the city and features eight destinations, plus games and challenges that highlight the rich culture and history of Chicago. Download Chicago For Kids to your MP3 player and take it with you as you explore the destinations or experience the tour online before visiting Chicago. Stops include the Chicago Cultural Center, Michigan Avenue Bridge/Tribune Tower, Millennium Park, The “L”, Picasso Sculpture, North Avenue Beach, Chicago Food, and the Garfield Park Conservatory.

Interviews with famous Chicagoans, experts and city officials, including former Chicago Cub Ryne Sandberg, cheesecake manufacturer Marc Schulman, Chicago historian Tim Samuelson and bridge operator Dennis White, provide kids with the ultimate insider’s view of Chicago. Learn the answers to some of Chicago’s hidden secrets such as:

Why does the Chicago River run backwards?
How did Daley Plaza become home to the Picasso Sculpture?
Where was the first Chicago-style pizza served?
Where in the city can you experience a warm jungle in the dead of winter?
How many tons does the “bean” in Millennium Park weigh?
Why can you go to the beach in Chicago without having to worry about jellyfish or sharks?
Why do cows play a huge part in Chicago’s past?
What makes Chicago’s bridges so unique?

Once tour-takers have learned the inside scoop on famous Chicago landmarks, they can try to master eight interactive games on the website that are colorfully animated with themes such as playing volleyball at North Avenue Beach or catching bugs at the Garfield Park Conservatory. “The Chicago For Kids tour is entertaining and packed with information about the city,” said Dorothy Coyle, Director, Chicago Office of Tourism. “We hope children in Chicago and beyond will use it to explore the city in new and imaginative ways.”

The Chicago For Kids tour is available in five languages: English, German, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese and Spanish. With maps and directions for each stop, sound effects and photos, it offers a completely new downloadable tour experience.

The Chicago for Kids audio tour, produced by the Chicago Office of Tourism, can be downloaded at www.downloadchicagotours.com.

The award winning Millennium Park and Chicago Blues audio tours are also available for download on this site.

Explore “A Place of Delicious Contrasts” with Lonely Planet’s New Japan Travel Guide

Tonia — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 13:00:52 +0000

Kaminarimon and Senso-ji in Asakusa, Japan. Photo by Foong Siew Kuen

Time to plan that next dream vacation, and with Lonely Planet’s new Japan Travel Guide it is easier than ever!

Nobody knows Japan like Lonely Planet. With 178 detailed and easy-to-use maps, expanded activities, itineraries and cultural coverage, the 100% researched and updated Lonely Planet Japan is the most in-depth guide to Japan available.

Coordinating Author and Kyoto resident Chris Rowthorn writes in his introduction: ‘First and foremost, Japan is a place of delicious contrasts: ancient temples and futuristic cities; mist-shrouded hills and lightning-fast bullet trains; kimono-clad geisha and suit-clad businesspeople; quaint thatch-roofed villages and pulsating neon urban jungles. This peculiar synthesis of the modern and the traditional is one of the things that makes travel in Japan such a fascinating experience.’

All Lonely Planet guides are written by experts who get to the heart of every destination they visit. The new edition of Lonely Planet Japan is packed with accurate, practical and honest advice, designed to give travelers the information they need to make the most of their trip, such as:

An architecture chapter leading visitors from ancient temples to modern towers
Reliable advice from resident and specialist authors – and locals
Japanese script in text and on maps, to make navigation a cinch.

With more maps and language content than any other Japan guidebook, this 11th edition unveils so much of the country, including:

The very best of shopping in Tokyo – ‘Tokyo is not as notoriously expensive as it once was, and shopping is one of the great pastimes of local residents. Shopping may not normally interest you, but the city’s seductive wares may sway you.’
Skiing in the Japan Alps – ‘Japan’s best ski resorts are found in the Japan Alps region of Central Honshu (mostly in Nagano and Niigata prefectures) and on the northern island of Hokkaido. The former lays claim to the highest mountains; the latter lays claim to the deepest and most regular snow in the country.’
Soaking in idyllic onsen – ‘The Japanese word for a hot spring is onsen, and there are more than 3000 of them in the country, more than anywhere else on earth – it’s like Iceland on steroids.’
Trekking to Kansai’s feudal castles – ‘Kansai is the heart of Japan. It is here that a truly distinctive Japanese culture came into being, and with it, those things that so many of us associate with Japan.’
Slurping soba at Kyushu food stalls – ‘Let the aromas and the chatty conversation guide you.’

Get the book, and start planning now!

Lonley Planet Japan (Country Guide)

– 11th Edition, published September 2009

Plan your 2009/2010 West Michigan Getaway

Tonia — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 17:06:20 +0000

Little Sable Lighthouse, Silver Lake, MI

Gather the family, pack the suitcases, fuel up the car and get ready for an adventure! The new 2009/2010 West Michigan: Carefree Travel Guide has been released and is ready for download. This year-round travel planner is your guide to all the best places to stay and play throughout the entire western half of the Lower Peninsula, from the Michigan-Indiana state line to Mackinac Island.

The 2009/2010 edition of this free guide features comprehensive vacation grids that will guide travelers to:

Farms, Markets & U – Picks — Your guide to the freshest produce in West Michigan.
Festivals & Events — A monthly calendar to guide you to the best festivals & events happening year–round.
Food & Spirits featuring Michigan Wineries — A gourmet meal, a glass of Michigan wine, an ice cream cone, you will find them all here.
Outdoor Recreation — Golfing, canoeing, skiing – West Michigan provides four season of outdoors fun.
Places to Stay — Everything from rustic campgrounds to four-star accommodations.
Shopping — Pick up the perfect souvenir to remind you of your adventures.
Things to Do — Must see sights and activities.

“This guide is a must for anyone traveling in West Michigan,” said Sarah Hayes, Director of Marketing for the West Michigan Tourist Association, who publishes the guide. “This guide is the only comprehensive publication encompassing four-seasons of travel planning in the West Michigan region since 1917. Throughout its pages, visitors and residents of West Michigan alike will discover the most exciting ways to spend their time whether they are planning a week long vacation or day — trip!”

Order your free copy today. The 2009-10 West Michigan: Carefree Travel Guide is available online here or by calling 616–245-2217.

Founded in 1917, WMTA is the oldest continually operated regional tourist association in the nation and dedicated to proving that “Nobody Knows West Michigan Like We Do!”

Discover Lighthouses as You Travel the Lake Michigan Circle Tour

Tonia — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 14:15:06 +0000

Port Washington Lighthouse at Sunrise. Photo courtesy of West Michigan Tourist Association

Do you enjoy visiting quaint towns? Do you find serenity in a scenic drive? Like me, do you find lighthouses mesmerizing? Then this is for you!

The 2009 Lake Michigan Circle Tour & Lighthouse Map, a guide to the lighthouses located on Lake Michigan, is now available. This free travel map is a complete source for discovering the lighthouses that dot the Lake Michigan shoreline. The map was produced by the West Michigan Tourist Association and includes coverage of all four Lake Michigan shoreline states – Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin.

The easy to read map will guide you around the 1100-mile Circle Tour route with icons identifying where to see a lighthouse. The map lists & identifies the location of 102 lighthouses along the Lake Michigan Circle Tour Route. This year the map spotlights twenty-two lighthouses and includes a picture of the light, additional structural details, accessibility information and special features of each selection.

Additional icons on the map are perfect for trip–planning and include ideas on where to stop to dine, lodge or even pick fresh fruit. This map is perfect for lighthouse enthusiasts, those who want to travel the complete Lake Michigan Circle Tour, or for those just looking for a day trip.

To order a free copy, visit the West Michigan Tourist Association website at at www.wmta.org or by calling 800–442-2084. The map and additional guides are available to order in print, or by PDF download so you can take off immediately!

2009 Lighthouse Map — PDF

Rand McNally’s cloth fabMAPs

Ron — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 04:34:29 +0000

These fall into the “why didn’t anyone think of this before” category of amazing! I cannot count the number of times my wife or I have been driving on vacation, trying to fold or unfold a paper map in the cramped confines of a car, only to get frustrated and end up tearing the thing or folding it in some new convoluted shape that more closely resembled a Japanese origami piece than a flat map.

The fine folks at Rand McNally have come up with an answer. Print the map on cloth! These maps are made of washable microfiber fabric that won’t tear or wrinkle, even when wet. Best of all, fabMAPs require no folding.

They also make a safe lens cloth for eyeglasses, cameras and mobile devices. No kidding.

There are currently only 17 locations covered by these maps, including the usual suspects like Midtown Manhattan, downtown Chicago, Washington D.C. and San Francisco. While most of the locations make sense, some of them I just have to wonder about. Branson, Missouri? Ohio State University? Really? I’m not knocking either of those places, I just found it curious that other locations weren’t chosen first.

Rand McNally’s FabMAP

FabMAPS retail for $5.95 each, although some are marked down even lower on Amazon.com. For instance, the San Francisco map is down to $4.73. Free shipping too!

View the entire list of fabMAPs

Have you used a fabMAP? If so, let us know what your experience was like by leaving a comment below.