Travel Rinse Repeat Roundup May 20th, 2012

Welcome to the next edition of The Travel Rinse Repeat Roundup from Denver, Colorado. I won’t be here for long though, as I’m off to Wichita once again tomorrow. I’m getting settled in my new work location and the city has been full of surprises so far; the weather has been spectacular, the food has been good, and I’ve found some unique sites that you’ll be hearing more about later. Today’s header image is from the Wichita Cowtown Museum. Yes, Wichita embraces its Western cowtown heritage.

Aside from Cowtown, I’ve also been working with Tanganyika Wildlife Park to put together some material on their unique animal encounters (you can feed lemurs at this place – I’m so stoked to visit). With that being said, let’s get to the roundup.

Top Travel Blog Reads

GQ Trippin - How To Bargain Like An Indian – Kieu shares excellent tips on negotiating in India for everything from clothing to henna – and saving massive rupees along the way. While her tips are especially relevant in India, many of the principles can be applied in any haggling situation.

Hike Bike Travel - Charleston’s Houses – It’s in the Details – I’m a big fan of old southern architecture – I’ve covered houses in New Orleans and an old Louisiana plantation home on this blog before. That’s why I loved Leigh’s post about the houses of Charleston, South Carolina. In it, she takes notice of the little details that create intrigue in architecture.

Couple of Travels - Thoughts on the New World Trade Center – Christina compares her feelings on the new world trade center building to the Five Stages of Grieving and explains why the new skyscraper holds more significance to her than any other.

Four Footprints - The Milford Track – Greatest of the Great Walks? I just recently came across Four Footprints and I’m a big fan of Ruth and Andy’s site – it is beautifully designed and has an amazingly intricate header image. But it was their post on The Milford Track that really caught my attention. In it, they chronicle their participation in one of New Zealand’s great walks through spectacular photography and a detailed account of their journey.

Beers and Beans - We’re In A Maui Kind of Mood - Beth and Randy are headed to Maui on their next press trip and I couldn’t be more excited for them. Maui is a spectacularly beautiful island and I can’t wait to see the beautiful images and stories they’ll be sharing over the coming weeks from their adventures.

Travel Rinse Repeat Around The Web

Flip Nomad - Flip Nomad was kind enough to feature me on his site in his ‘Meet the Nomads’ series. While I’m not a world traveling nomad in the traditional sense (like Flip), I was able to share many of my stories and tips from traveling – many from trips I’ve never talked about here on this blog. Head on over to Flip’s blog and check it out. - Meet the Nomads – John of Travel Rinse Repeat

Twenty  Something Travel – Stephanie runs an excellent travel blog about her adventures (most recently in South America). Friday Postcards is one of her weekly recurring series and just last Friday, she featured my picture of a sunrise from Punta del Este, Uruguay.

Don’t Ever Look Back - Amy and Kieron have a great couples travel blog that they started for their round-the world trip. Like Stephanie, they also run a Photo Friday series and were kind enough to feature my image of the St. Louis Cathedral in the French Quarter neighborhood of New Orleans.

Upcoming Travels

I always announce my upcoming travels on facebook first, so if you want to follow along and provide any input for my upcoming trips, make sure you like the Travel Rinse Repeat page.

Other than my travels through America’s heartland for work, I’m excited to announce that I’ll be headed to sunny Southern California for two weekends in May and June. First I’ll be off to Santa Monica, California where I’l be taking in the beach, hanging out at the Third Street Promenade, and visiting the world famous pier – with possible day trips into Malibu and the greater Los Angeles areas.

Afterwards, I’ll be headed down to San Diego, California for a weekend of surfing and visiting some of my old favorite haunts. The only other time I surfed was in Hawaii and it was a pretty humbling experience, so I’m excited to get out on the board again and give it another shot.

The last time I was in Southern California was in February on a visit to Santa Barbara, and I’m excited to get back to the sunshine, the sand, and the Pacific Ocean. But this time I’d like to have your input.

Have you been to Santa Monica or San Diego?

What are your can’t miss sites or attractions? Did you have any spectacular meals that still make your mouth water? What activities would you put on your itinerary? Let me know in the comments or find me on facebook – I’d love to incorporate your suggestions into future posts.

Santa Monica image courtesy of ziowoody
San Diego image courtesy of nathaninsandiego

Similar posts:

1. Travel Rinse Repeat Roundup April 25th, 2012
2. Travel Rinse Repeat Roundup – April 1st, 2012
3. Travel Rinse Repeat Roundup – February 19th, 2012
4. Travel Rinse Repeat Featured On ‘A Dangerous Business’