#175: Cape May (Pg 664, 2nd Ed pg 827)

Nov. 26-27, 2015

Congress Hall was Established in 1816.  Next year they will be celebrating their 200 year anniversary.  Such history in this town!  Congress Hall has two sister properties, the Star Inn and the Virginia Hotel.  We stayed at the Star Inn, located directly across the street from Congress Hall.

The view of beautiful Congress Hall from the beach. 

Cape May is chalk full of beautiful victorian homes with wrap around porches, known affectionately as "gingerbread homes" or "painted ladies."  

We had a lot of fun strolling up and down this outdoor shopping center full of quaint one-of-a-kind shops and restaurants.

Me and my littles.  I love bringing them along on my travel adventures!

Verdict:  Hmmmm...... Truthfully, no I don't think you HAVE to do this before you die.  But if you can, you should!  We all absolutely loved this town.  I wasn't sure how much we'd love a beach time in the end of November, but we did!  My husband especially loved it and even though we just got home a few hours ago, he is already talking about when we can go back.  It was quaint, charming, clean and lovely.  And on the beach.  What's not to love?

#174: Canyon de Chelly National Monument (pg 567; 2nd Ed pg 705)

Canyon de Shelly is a 130 square mile canyon with multistoried cliffside dwellings built by the Anasazi people between A.D. 700 and 1300.  These dwellings are the oldest houses in the United States.  

We decided to do the White House Trail.  Here is our view from the top.

It took us about 40 minutes to reach the bottom of the trail and we were treated to views like this.

Info:  Cost: Free.  Bring your own water on hikes.  There is a drinking fountain where you can refill water bottles in the Visitors Center.

Verdict:  Well, this may not be something you have to do if you've been to Grand Canyon, since this is sort of a "mini" grand canyon.  But honestly, it was VERY cool and we loved this hike and the time we spent here!

#173: Monument Valley (page 720; Listed as Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park in 2nd Ed, pg 708)

The Three Sisters

What better way to see John Wayne Country (where many old westerns were filmed) than by horseback?

Info:  Cost to enter the park:  $20/vehicle.  There is a 17 mile unpaved VERY rocky dirt road that you can travel on your own for free.  Beyond that, you must hire a Navajo tour guide for everything.  Horse rides vary depending on number of people in your party and length of time.  It cost us ~$60/person for our hour long ride.

Verdict:  Yes.  It was absolutely beautiful!  We learned a lot and LOVED being surrounded in such beauty and natural wonders!

#172: Mesa Verde National Park (pg 587, 2nd Ed pg 736)

Oct. 2, 2015

Mesa Verde is a World Heritage Site.  The National Park was created in 1906 to preserve the archeological heritage of the Ancestral Pueblo people.  It includes over 4,500 archeological sites and 600 cliff dwellings.

There is a $10/vehicle entrance fee and a nominal fee for the ranger-guided hikes.  We did the Balcony house hike and it was $4/person.

After stopping by the Visitors Center (there is only one way into/out of the park), we continued on until we reached the loop which includes Spruce Tree House, about a 45 minute drive.  We went on a short hike (10-15 minutes) to see Spruce Tree House.  We thought about continuing on the hike past Spruce Tree House to see the petroglyphs but it said the hike would take 2+ hours and we didn't have that much time, so we hiked back up, had lunch at the restaurant and walked through the museum before heading to see Cliff Palace.

Spruce Tree House

Spruce Tree House in the background.

Cliff Palace

After seeing Cliff Palace, we met up with our 3:00 ranger-guided tour to see Balcony House.  We climbed this ladder.....

and explored these cool dwellings.  Very cool!

Verdict:  Yes!  We loved Mesa Verde.  Beautiful scenery, great hikes, interesting culture and information.  Definitely a must do!

#171: The Million Dollar Highway and the Durango and Silverton (pg 588, Listed as "Durango" in 2nd Ed, pg 735)

Oct. 2, 2015

The San Juan Skyway is arguably the most beautiful drive in the country.  It is an officially designated scenic byway and for good reason.

The byway links the od mining towns of Ouray and Durango.  

If you take the train, the Durango and Silverton's vintage steam locomotive is a great option ($109/person) but call ahead to reserve as these sell out (which we learned the hard way).  Silverton is a delightful town with all kinds of one-of-a-kind vintage shops and cafes.  A great "go back in time" town that we all loved.

Verdict:  Yes, this is absolutely worth seeing.  From everyone we talked to, the train is the way to go. But if you aren't able to, then the drive is absolutely still worth it!

#170: The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad (pg 667, 2nd Ed pg 829)

 The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad is North America's longest and highest narrow-gauge steam railroad.  It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2012 and is the most complete example of late nineteenth century narrow gauge railroading in the country.

Built in 1880 it was part of the Denver and Rio Grande extension into the silver-rich San Juan Mountains near Silverton, CO.  

During the summer months, half-day trips and dinner trains are available.

May-Oct, there are 3 different options to choose from where you can take a motor coach to Antonito and return by train, take a train to Antonito and return by motor coach or take the train both ways.  The prices are the same for all choices but vary by whether you choose the Coach ($95 for Adults/$49 for kids), Tourist ($139 for adult/ $69 for kids) or Parlor ($179 - must be 21 yrs of age or older to ride).

  

Verdict:  I love the history, the scenery and the charm of this town and Railroad.  If you have the time (it's an all day excursion this time of year), it's worth doing.  But if not,  you can still see much of the scenery of the nearby Rio Grande National Forest by car/hiking and feel just fine dying without actually riding the train.

#169: U Fleku (pg 295; Listed as Czech Beer in 2nd Ed, pg 289)

May 29, 2015

U Fleku is the city's oldest brewing pub.  It is famous for its dark lager and modest prices.

Prague's most popular beer hall.

Verdict:  No.  Then again, I'm not a beer drinker.  Prague is famous for it's beer, so if you happen to be a beer drinker, then this is definitely worth a stop.  Great atmosphere and great prices.  But not something you have to do before you die.... especially if you don't drink beer!

#168: Estates Theatre

May 29, 2015

Don't you hate it when you go to something you're super excited about seeing and getting pictures of and then you find it..... covered in scaffolding?  Bummer.  But hey, I suppose a building from the 1700's deserves a little restoration and TLC now and then ;)

The Estates Theatre is most famous for its tie to Wolf gang Amadeus Mozart.  It was here that the premier performance of Don Giovanni was performed and he was there to conduct it himself, in 1787.  It is still performed there on a regular basis.  Unfortunately, it was not performed there during the 3 nights we were there, but there are all kinds of performances played here.  Walk across the street to the box office for a list of current performances and prices (which are very reasonable!).  

Verdict:  No.  The theatre is beautiful and has amazing history and worth seeing if you happen to be in Prague.  But, it is not something you have to see/do before you die UNLESS you happen to be a die hard Mozart fan.  Well, then, of course you have to go!

#167: Castle District (pg 292; 2nd Ed pg 291)

May 29, 2015

So, when I first pictured us going to the "Castle District", I thought we were going to an area that had several castles that we could see from the outside and go inside of as well.  But when we got there, we kept wandering around trying to find the castles.  Well, here is what I learned:  The term "Castle District"basically refers to Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral and the surrounding land.  Prague Castle is the metaphorical and historical throne of the Czech lands.  The President of the Czech Republic resides here.  The area includes the Old Royal Palace, the South Gardens, St. George's Basilica, etc.  BUT, it is not an area with a bunch of castles like I pictured it being.  

St. Vitus Cathedral

The inside of St. Vitus Cathedral

On our walk up to the District.  Beautiful views!

A view from the back of the cathedral.

Verdict:  No.  Prague is such a walkable city and you would never come to Prague and not go to the Castle District.  However, in my opinion, Old Town Square and Charles Bridge had more charm than this area.  Here, we walked around for an hour or two, went inside the cathedral, and moved on with our day.  A nice place to see and a very impressive cathedral, but not a must do before you die.