A lineup of cars to drool over.

This right here is a typical sight in the valet parking area of Scottsdale Fashion Square in Scottsdale, Arizona (right in front of The Yardhouse). My husband and I were headed to our car one day last weekend, when we came across this sight. We continued on to our car, grabbed the camera, and headed back down to drool.

This is an Audi R8. The STARTING PRICE is $114,200:

The Audi R8.

This is a Gumpert Apollo, which will set you back somewhere around $400,000:

The Gumpert Apollo, which can get away with this color.

This is a Bugatti Veyron, which is a total bargain at around ONE POINT FIVE MILLION DOLLARS. That’s Million. With an M:

A Bugatti. I'll never own one in my lifetime.

And this is a Lamborghini (I’m not sure if it’s a Gallardo or a Murcielago – I’m sure someone out there will set me straight!), one of which you can have for your very own, for between $200,000 and $350,000 dollars:

A lovely Lamborghini.

There was a lot of staring going on:

They're hooked and they can't stop staring.

And we weren’t the only one taking pictures:

Take a picture! It'll last longer.

Since Scottsdale is one of the wealthiest cities in America (ranked 20th for Top 100 Highest Income Cities), it’s not surprising to see these uber-luxurious cars around everywhere. Go to the mall to do some shopping and dining, stay to see a spontaneous mini car show!

Photo Credits (all): Laura Charon.

Gobble, gobble.

Turkeys may not fly, but they’re arriving by the plate full.  Also, tofurkey.

Speaking of turkeys, people are traveling in mass this weekend and into next week.  No, I did not call you or your mother a turkey – just that one relative that you’ve called worse.  Turkey.

The roads are wet and covered in ice.  People are giving thanks and making merry.  Let’s be careful out there and enjoy our families, friends, assorted loved ones and coworkers.

Do it for the children. And the turkeys.

Photo by Whit Honea

For more family-friendly travel photos visit DeliciousBaby’s Photo Fridays.

Iron Maiden torture chamber at Ripley's Believe It or Not!

I loved the Ripley’s Believe  It or Not! cartoon as a kid.  Learning about  Robert Ripley’s weird and wacky discoveries around the world was always intriguing.  So there was no way I’d pass up the strip of Ripley’s attractions on Ocean Blvd in Myrtle Beach.  I grabbed my reluctant 12-year-old and headed to the Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum. I wouldn’t recommend it for children under 10 because the museum is filled with creepy and eerie artifacts. Once you walk past the  photos of the 8″11 tallest man of all time and the Egyptian barge made from toothpicks, the offerings grow scarier. There’s a whole wall devoted to medieval torture  devices and a gruesome “Iron Maiden”, a wooden, female -shaped, cabinet equipped with 13 spikes to pierce the eyes, throat and heart of religious heretics. 

For a lighter hearted -adventure, Ripley’s Marvelous Mirror Maze is just a few doors down.  It’s a confounding  arrangement of 100  mirrors with lighting and digital sound that’s fun to figure out.  You can go through as many times as it takes, once you buy your ticket. Next door, Ripley’s 4D Moving Theatre features action-packed films and a ride that bumps, dips and turns along with it.  After hanging out with Ripley, head offer to the Sea Captain’s House, a Myrtle Beach institution serving up made-to-order shrimp salad and Southern charm.

A collection of medieval torture devices

Photos by Rosalind Cummings-Yeates

Where lost luggage goes to die. Sacramento International's "Samson" uses real suitcases!

Remember when airports became shopping malls? Sure, I love browsing for iPhones and sweaters or a burger and a beer as much as the next guy, but it’s just so lowbrow. Finally, the latest phase in airports is upon us: the art gallery. Here are just a few examples of airport art springing up in a concourse near you.

For the record, I like beer with my art, too.

Seattle, as usual, was ahead of the trend as Sea-Tac Airport went artsy in the 60s. Artist Trimpin's "On: Matter, Monkeys and the King" is a moving piece. Literally and figuratively.

Philadelphia Airport has both a permanent collection as well as a rotating exhibit. Among the mainstays is "Impulse" by Ralph Helmick and Stuart Schechter which consists of several thousand small birds that together transform into different shapes.

Austin-Bergstrom International features the paintings of Judy Jensen. Her luggage on glass series is, in her words, "like memories in the mind of the traveler."

Tucson features the famous flying carpets of the Southwest. Well, maybe not famous, but they're colorful. And they fly!

Craig Nutt's "Corncorde" in Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport drips butter twice daily. Not really, that's just a corny joke.

Indianapolis features Ron Baron's art which is both fun and user-friendly. (Suit)case in point, it's art you can sit on!

Albany International is home to Joy Taylor's "Dream of Flight" which is made from 240 big foil leaves and they're falling - very, very, very slowly.

See, isn’t a little culture good for the layover soul? Also, beer.

__________________________________________

Photos featuring the airports of Atlanta, Austin, Indianapolis, Philadelphia, Sacramento and Seattle were first featured at MSN Travel and are part of a larger slide show covering airport art.

Tucson photo courtesy of Seen Not Heard: http://www.flickr.com/photos/20186423@N00/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

JFK photo courtesy of DogFromSPACE: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sterlingely/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Albany photo courtesy of Albany International Airport via Stuck at the Airport.

Summerzcool Tour, Jimmy Buffett

Parrotheads won’t mind shelling out for Jimmy Buffett tickets and checking-in for the Buffet Hotel experience at MSGNYC. But that’s not all a Parrothead does.

A loyal Parrothead, in addition to being a fan and groupie whenever possible, also must experience an authentic Jimmy Buffett-style state of mind on an island vacation. Where better to do this than in Hawaii? 

Parrothead on Vacation

Stay at the Ohana Waikiki Beachcomber on Kalakaua Avenue. The hotel is situated in a prime location perfect for the visiting malahini (that’s you) and attracts a fair number of kamaaina (the locals), who enjoy the food and the live music at the 400-seat Jimmy Buffett’s at the Beachcomber on the lobby-level.

 It’s not just food, but an authentic Hawaiian experience with simulated sunsets and rolling surf, and the Hot Spot Bar makes you feel like you’re in the middle of a volcanic eruption.

Ohana Waikiki Beachcomber, Kalakaua Ave

There are Ocean Waves dining booths where you feel you’re surfing on the North Shore. For the genuine Parrothead experience, wolf down a cheesebuger, and wash it down with LandShark Lager or sip a margarita with gold tequila - on the rocks, and snack on some volcano nachos.

The only thing in-between the Honolulu Surfing Museum and the outdoor tables of the restaurant is the hotel’s pool. How cool is it that you have a hotel, a restaurant with live entertainment, great food and famed margaritas, and a surfing museum to boot – all in one place. And it’s not even Vegas!

You might also want to take some time to check out Waikiki beach, take the trolley to poke around the local attractions and do some shopping at the Ala Moana Center. If you’re on the beach, don’t forget to listen to Summerzcool – the perfect beach song.

Jimmy Buffet photo – public domain, released by U.S. Navy; Parrothead & Summerzcool photos by Sam Howzitt; Jimmy Buffett’s at the Beachcomber logo courtesy Margaritaville; Ohana Waikiki Beachcomber photo by LukeGordon1; Kalakaua Ave photo by Son of Groucho

Located in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, Mount Washington, the highest peak in the Northeastern United States, is also the site of the highest recorded wind gust measured at the Earth’s surface–231 mph (372km/h) on April 12, 1934. So bring your winter jackets even if you’re visiting in July. Soon enough though, this mountain range and others throughout New England will provide some of the best family ski destinations in New England.

Photo copyright by Darren Farrington

No booking fees and a $200 coupon to use on a later trip? It’s true.  Merry holiday of your choice from Expedia.

Virgin America is having a huge 24-hour sale. Hurry!  If you miss that there is still this: Virgin America is the first airline to offer fleetwide Wi-Fi and thanks to Google it’s free for the holidays!

Orbitz provides us with the ten busiest holiday airports in America.

Redeeming miles for breast implants? (via Upgrade: Travel Better)

Combine your adventure with meaning at inside/out with Humanitourism.  Be well, do good!

Congress talks Cuba travel ban!

Indie Travel Podcast launches a print magazine.

Traveling to Australia? With kids? Let Disney help you: Adventures by Disney.

Speaking of Disney, their newest ship is almost ready and taking reservations now.  You won’t believe what it has on it – the AquaDuck, a water coaster that takes you over the side of the ship.  Seriously.

Sosauce, the blog for “travel geeks” needs your help. And your postcards.

And there you have it, folks. Travel stuff.  If you have something you would like included please contact UpTake via the links in the sidebar or via Twitter.  Safe travels.

This is what you won't see at airports this holiday season.

The good folks at Orbitz were nice enough to send along a list of the U.S. airports with the heaviest amount of holiday travel. They also offered up some words of wisdom.

Their travel advice falls along the lines of flexibility, utilizing technology and staying in the know. It’s fairly straightforward common sense, but you know what a lot of people forget to pack for when traveling? Common sense. It’s true.

The list and links are provided below.

Please note that New York’s LaGuardia isn’t getting special treatment.  It’s just really happy.

Apparently.

The Top 10 Busiest Airports for Thanksgiving Travel:

1) Chicago, IL – Chicago O’Hare International (ORD)

2) Los Angeles, CA – Los Angeles International(LAX)

3) Denver, CO – Denver International (DEN)

4) San Francisco, CA – San Francisco International (SFO)

5) Atlanta, GA – Atlanta Hartsfield International (ATL)

6) Boston, MA – Boston Logan International (BOS)

7) New York, NY – New York LaGuardia (LGA)

New York – New York John F. Kennedy International (JFK)

9) Newark, NJ – Newark Liberty International (EWR)

10) Seattle, WA – Seattle Tacoma International (SEA)

The least busy? San Jose.  For a complete list of the top 10 least busy airports and some timely holiday travel advice please check out Orbitz.  As an added bonus, here are our suggestions for flying with kids.

Gobble, gobble.

Photo: Wikipedia Creative Commons

Jay-Z

If you’re not a New Yorker, you can buy your Jay-Z tickets for the BP3 Tour, same as everyone else. But not in the Big Apple - because Empire State of Mind is also a candidate to replace Sinatra’s New York, New York as the New York anthem song.

And Jay-Z is relentlessly hammering it home – with Alicia Keys to add some oomph, he performed the song at Madison Square Garden on Sept 11, as part of the ‘Answer the Call’ charity concert.

Next stop the MTV Video Music Awards. After that the Yankee Stadium, for Game 2 of the World Series, and then again at the Yankees Parade.

He was even introduced as the Mayor of New York by Bono at the U2 Berlin Wall concert streamed live on youtube.

Is playing BP3 on every available stereo going to change New York’s state of mind about Jay-Z and Empire State of Mind anymore than it already has? Maybe a connection between Empire State of Mind and pictures of the iconic landmarks mentioned in the song might help.

Read the lyrics, check out the video, and see the pictures below of the landmarks and icons mentioned. I’m loath to admit it, but once you make the connection, Jay-Z’s Empire State of Mind is every bit as good as the New York of Frank Sinatra and Robert De Niro. 

 Yea I’m out that Brooklyn, now I’m down in TriBeCa
right next to Deniro, but I’ll be hood forever
I’m the new Sinatra, and… since I made it here
I can make it anywhere, yea, they love me everywhere   

Tribeca - Washington Market Park & Powell Building

Jay-Z, Frank Sinatra & Robert De Niro

 

Labor Day Parade, rest in peace Bob Marley
Statue of Liberty, long live the World Trade
Long live the Kingdome, I’m from the Empire St. that’s…

WTC Memorial & Statue of Liberty Flyby

Newww Yooorrrkkkk, I’m becomin’ where dreams are made of
There’s nothin’ you can’t do
out of Neww Yooorrrrkkk
These streets will make you feel brand new
Big lights will inspire you
Let’s hear it for New York, New York 

Times Square in the Rain

 
Jay-Z top photo by MjaMes1408; Jay-Z bottom photo by robertcastro; Statue of Liberty parade photo by golbal jet; WTC Memorial photo by Denise Gould (DOD – public domain); Robert de Niro photo by David Shankbone; Tribeca pics by Kmf164 ; Times Square photo by ChrisGampat

 

The Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer

Twilight fans, get ready to get your squee on!!!

The next movie in the saga, New Moon, hits theaters this Friday. In anticipation of this august occasion, the town of Surprise, Arizona, is preparing a pre-movie party sure to whip all Twilight fans – adolescent and not-so-adolescent – into a frenzy of Team Edward and Team Jacob hysteria the likes of which the world may never fully recover.

The town of Surprise is hosting New Moon Rising Over Arizona on November 19th from 6:00 pm to midnight at the UltraStar Cinemas 14 (13649 North Litchfield Rd.). This FREE party features costume and trivia contests with prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place; a blood drive hosted by the Red Cross; Twilight memorabilia and merchandise; raffles, cars, costumes, and props from the movie on display; a free “New Moon Rising over AZ” t-shirt for the first fifty folks in line; and live music.

The party culminates in the first showing of New Moon just after midnight on November 20th. Be the very first among your friends to see the movie! Brag about it the next day at work! Save your ticket stub in an album and regale your grandchildren with the tale of how you were First In Line on Opening Midnight to see the second installment of the Twilight saga!

The Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites at 16540 N. Bullard Ave is even offering discounted rooms for attendees of New Moon Rising Over Arizona. Regular room rates of $108 for double occupancy have been reduced to $89.00 for the night of November 19th.

Head on over to Surprise and mingle with your fellow Twilight fans! Vampire teeth recommended but not required.

Photo Credit: “Twilight books” by annafur on Flickr Creative Commons.