Archive for the 'Last Minute' Category
Leonid meteor shower 2009 to peak early Tuesday morning
November 16, 2009 12:34pm
Sky-watchers in North America can expect to see up to 30 meteors hourly tonight as the annual Leonid meteor shower peaks in the wee hours of Tuesday, Nov. 17. Earth will cross the first meteor-producing stream on this date starting at around 1 a.m. PST, experts predict.
This shower, consisting of debris from Comet Tempel-Tuttle, may not be as grand as the Perseids of this past summer (a recent year’s meteor is pictured above, in Joshua Tree National Park), but the show should still be worth watching.
And it’ll be unusual. “A remarkable feature of this year’s shower is that Leonids will appear to be shooting almost directly out of the planet Mars,” said Bill Cooke of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office on a NASA blog.
Your best vantage point is a remote, dark place. That means that, yes, you’d do well to pack up your warmest sleeping bag and camp out in the desert or mountains. In the past, Los Angeles Times staff members have recommended Joshua Tree National Park, Red Rock Canyon State Park and Mount Piños. Read the rest of this entry »
Friday the 13th travel deals: Hotels.com 50%-off one-day sale
November 13, 2009 10:31am
I’m going to ignore the bad luck that is associated with Friday the 13th and focus on the good. As in it’s a good time to take some time off with a hotel travel deal. Hotels.com is having a one-day sale on rooms through Nov. 27. Nearly 200 properties in 60 destinations are on sale for up to 50% off. I started looking at hotels in San Diego and Los Angeles, but I might not have been as lucky as I thought. Although the rooms were heavily discounted, I was hard pressed to find them at the promoted prices in San Diego on the Friday the 13th sale page. I did, however, get lucky with hotels in Los Angeles. Let us know what kind of room you scored with this sale. But you better hurry, the rooms with the lowest prices are selling out fast.
Deal or no deal? I had better luck finding the sale rates in Los Angeles than I did with hotels in San Diego.
Los Angeles: On the promotion page, the Custom Hotel was marked down from $178 per night to $95, but when I plugged in my dates for next Saturday, the nightly rate came to $69 pretax for a deluxe room with a queen bed. One of my favorite hotels, Hotel Angeleno, was promoted at $80 per night. I didn’t find it for $80, but I did find it for $99, which is still a great price for this hotel that can sometimes cost more than $200 per night. I also found the Hotel Maya (pictured) for $100 per night. Sure, it was listed at $90 on the sale, but at only $10 more I’d still hop on this rate for a Joie de Vivre boutique hotel.
Washington: Clam-digging season underway; scheduled digs and hotel deals this winter
November 12, 2009 11:18am
Are you manic for mollusks? Then head north, dear adventurer, as clam-digging season is underway in the Pacific Northwest.
Among upcoming clam digs in Washington is one on Nov. 16 at Olympic National Park’s Kalaloch Beach, scheduled by the National Park Service. The search at this coastal site, presumably popular with clam-digging types, will be for razor clams during the evening tide, with digs restricted to the period between noon and midnight. Other tentative dates for the season, meant to coincide with clam digs in other parts of the state, are Dec. 4-5, Dec. 31 and Jan. 1.
Helping to make such an excursion easier to plan, Kalaloch Lodge, a remote hotel within the park which Times staff writer Christopher Reynolds visited on a road trip in July, is offering related deals.
Deals: Kalaloch Lodge’s “Clam Digger” package features one night’s accommodations, a bucket, shovel and net, and breakfast for two for $169 per night (pre-tax). The equipment will be yours to keep. Experienced clam-diggers with their own tools, however, can opt to skip the equipment component and pay just $129 for the room and breakfast. Read the rest of this entry »
Orionid meteor shower peaks tonight: Use Twitter hashtag #meteorshower to boast of spotting shooting stars
October 20, 2009 4:33pm
Do something different tonight: Leave the city and the suburbs for a late-night picnic beneath a meteor shower. The Orionids, the second annual meteor shower of the year, is expected to peak Oct. 21 around 3 a.m. PT. The best places in Southern California to view a meteor shower are, as you’d expect, in rural areas. Here’s a photo gallery of some prime viewing locations, such as Red Rock Canyon State Park and Joshua Tree National Park (pictured above and taken during the more well-known Perseid meteor shower that occurs between July and August).
“The best time to watch will be between 1 a.m. and dawn local time Wednesday morning, regardless of your location. That’s when the patch of Earth you are standing on is barreling headlong into space on Earth’s orbital track, and meteors get scooped up like bugs on a windshield,” said Robert Roy Britt on Space.com.
For those of you who want to Twitter your star-gazing experience tonight, use the hashtag #meteorshower. You can also find other reports of people talking about the Orionid meteor shower by searching for “Orionids” on Twitter Search.
Fall foliage: Aspen aglow near Big Bear
October 17, 2009 6:00am
The fall foliage around Big Bear is exploding, courtesy of heavy snows a year ago. Meanwhile, a grove of aspen 30 minutes from town is expected to peak this weekend.
Dan Mckernan of the Big Bear Lake Resort Assn. says the grove is the only one in Southern California and a favorite of local hikers. Note that the final leg of the drive from town takes you on a forest road that is not particularly friendly to low-slung sports cars or low-riders. Family sedans should by OK, if you take it slowly.
Once there, you’ll think you are in Colorado, rather than two hours from Los Angeles. Also on display in area day hikes are oak, cottonwood and ferns. Timing the color peak in the area is always tricky, Mckernan says. Peak colors usually last only a week or two. Don’t forget your forest day pass ($5) before leaving town.
Mammoth opening with Freebie Friday
October 14, 2009 5:43pm
Mammoth Mountain will open Friday with free skiing and snowboarding, after a powerful storm left up to 6 feet of snow in higher elevations of the Eastern Sierra resort. Areas lower on the mountain will offer 16-24 inches of machine groomed snow.
“We are so excited to start the season nearly four weeks ahead of schedule and to be able to reward our guests with a free day on the slopes,” said Howard Pickett, chief marketing officer of Mammoth Mountain.
This is the resort’s earliest opening in 15 years. In 1994, the resort opening Oct. 8.
Broadway Express will open at 8:30 a.m. Friday, servicing a base of up to 2 feet of machine groomed natural snow, with runs on Broadway, Forest Trail, Mambo, St. Moritz, and Main Park, and assorted rails and jibs. Mammoth officials said more runs will open as staffing and weather allow.
Contact: Mammoth Mountain, (800) MAMMOTH or (800) 626-6684
–Chris Erskine, Los Angeles Times deputy Travel editor
[Photo: Skiers and boarders on the slopes at Mammoth Mountain; Credit: Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times]
Last-minute: Squaw Valley, Kirkwood ski passes on sale for winter 2009-10
October 13, 2009 6:04pm
Last week we reported that Southern California ski resorts were gearing up for an early snow season. Well, the same goes for the ski resorts in Lake Tahoe. They got their second snowfall this week with more rain and snow expected tonight and possibly into Wednesday. A reminder crossed my desk today that skiers and boarders still have time to cash in on discounts for this winter’s ski passes. Squaw Valley’s 50/60 Squaw season pass deal is on sale through Thursday, Oct. 15, and has significant discounts to honor the 60th anniversary of their opening and the 50th anniversary of Squaw hosting the Winter Olympic Games.
Deal: There are four different season passes available at Squaw Valley starting with the “Bronze” pass that is $649 for adults, $499 for young adults and seniors ages 13-22 or 65-75, and $179 for children 12 and under. It is good for skiing seven days a week beginning Nov. 20 through the end of the season with the exception of select Saturdays and some listed blackout dates. After Thursday prices rise significantly. As an example, the adult Bronze pass will cost $999 per person. The $749 Silver pass jumps to $1,199, and the $1,299 Gold pass jumps to $1,799 after Oct. 15.
Note: If you enjoy skiing and boarding in South Lake Tahoe, you have a little bit more time to consider Kirkwood’s season pass, with prices starting at $559 for adults and on sale until Nov. 3. Heavenly’s season pass is priced at $369 and also great for skiers and boarders looking for a deal.
– Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel & Deal blogger
[Photo: Squaw Valley USA; Photo credit: Thomas Kranzel/Venture Media]
San Diego: Halloween family fun at Hyatt Regency Mission Bay
October 11, 2009 12:53pm
Is your neighborhood a dud when it comes to Halloween? If you’re thinking about taking a quick getaway over Halloween weekend this year and haunted hotels and haunted houses are a bit too scary or inappropriate for your kids, you might want to consider a quick jaunt down to San Diego. The Hyatt Regency Mission Bay near Sea World is ramping up the Halloween fun for guests from Oct. 30 to Nov. 1, and the room rates won’t scare you one bit.
Halloween travel deal: Room rates starting at $135 per night come with lots of family-friendly Halloween activities, including:
> Three waterslides with haunted music, spooky sounds and lights that will have kids lined up until 10 p.m.
>A spooky family movie in the pool, Halloween s’mores and monster-themed hula-hoop contest.
>Trick-or-treating at several locations in the hotel.
> Halloween-themed pool cabanas for adults.
“We encourage kids to trick-or-treat in costume in our safe family environment and enjoy our many spooky activities ranging from haunted waterslides to Halloween family s’mores,” said Prescott Yee, director of guest services and recreation at the HR Mission Bay.
Yosemite National Park travel: $99 fall cabin deal at Evergreen Lodge
October 8, 2009 5:54am
Does the PBS Ken Burns series “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea” have you itching for a hike in Yosemite? Do you want to see the valley at sunset or sit by the fireplace at the Ahwahnee before it closes for a big remodel? If you answered yes, or were already researching a trip to Yosemite, check out this fall deal from Evergreen Lodge brought to you by Hotwire’s Travel-Ticker.
The lodge has a history dating back to 1921, but the property was renovated and expanded in 2005. This summer they added 24 more cedar cabins spread out among towering old growth trees. Valued for its serene location about a mile outside the park’s northwestern side, near the Hetch Hetchy entrance, it offers numerous outdoor activities. Or you can just relax with the family during a night of s’mores at the Plaza fireplace.
DineLA Restaurant Week Oct. 4-9 and 11-16
October 4, 2009 12:47pm
DineLA is offering a second helping of Restaurant Week that starts today (Oct. 4-9 and 11-16). As if it weren’t hard enough to decide which of the 175 participating restaurants to try during the last event, in January, there are 125 more restaurants in this event. That’s a grand total of 250 restaurants to choose from. Some of the new celebs jumping on board to have some Restaurant Week fun include Josiah Citrin with Caché, John Sedlar with Rivera, Michael McCarty with Michael’s and Josie Le Balch with Josie.
If you haven’t dined out during Restaurant Week before, it’s a great opportunity to try new eateries around town. Participating restaurants offer a three-course meal for lunch and dinner at special prices that range from $16 per person to $44 per person. Note: Prices do not include tax, beverages or gratuity. It’s also best to make a reservation.
As you know, there’s been a big food-truck fad happening in LA. Five of L.A.’s top chefs took to the road to promote this season’s Restaurant Week, including Anisette’s Alain Giraud, above.
Tip: Did you know that lots of new restaurants have been opening up downtown? Check out the buzz to see whose tables you might’ve missed.
When: Oct. 4-9 and 11-16
More info: DineLA Restaurant Week
– Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel & Deal blogger
[Photo: Anisette's Alain Giraud will be one of five chefs offering free tastes. Credit: Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times]
