Travel plan idea blog

Some Fascinating Fall Festivals / Not so Fascinating Travel Channel

Guest entry from Mancunian (welcome back!):

Firstly, my apologies for not posting on here in quite a while.. (Not since May of this year, I see) I have just been busy with things - I'm sure everyone knows how that is! Including taking my son to summer camp, where he enjoyed archery, hiking, orienteering, baseball games, trips to the zoo and tennis every day (he seems to have a more exciting life than I do).

Anyway, my son has been back at school for a few weeks, so I suppose that means it must be fall. To my amazement, the local Home Depot had a Halloween display up at the front of the store as long ago as August 31st - that seems almost as bad as celebrating Christmas months before the actual day (I remember the date well as I had to buy a new water heater - the only scary thing I found in the store was the price of them.)

Anyway, as it is fall (or autumn, if you are in the UK) here are some interesting and fascinating events that you shouldn't miss. The famous Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta takes place from October 3rd to 11th this year, in New Mexico. The festival features over 700 balloons and pilots from countries such as Latvia, Israel and the Ukraine and apparently is the most photographed single event in the world.

I have seen signs for several corn mazes while driving around recently, although I hadn't realized just how popular these were. Apparently, there are more than 600 of them all over the United States - even one in Washington, DC. And the largest one is said to be Sever's corn maze in Shakopee, Minnesota. Of course, if you get lost in it, I suppose you can just trample your way to freedom.

Another thing associated with the fall is the pumpkin. This site has everything you ever wanted to know about pumpkin festivals and weighoffs all over the US, as well as some overseas. If you are in Half Moon Bay, California on October 12th, you can catch the world pumpkin championship weighoff - the winner collects around $20,000.

The next month or so is a great time to go to Europe - cooler temperatures, lower airfares and not as many crowds. And if you are heading to Germany in the next couple of weeks, you can try to catch one of the world's most famous and spectacular (not to mention overcrowded) festivals, the Oktoberfest in Munich. This year's extravaganza is from October 19th to October 4th.

And I can't resist mentioning one of my favorite subjects - the Travel Channel. I had high hopes that their programming would get better, although this has not really happened. The Travel Channel hit an all time low a few weeks ago by showing the movies "National Lampoon's European Vacation" and "National Lampoon's Vacation". Yes, admittedly they are films in which people travel, but to me this is rather like showing films in which people happen to be eating, on the Food Network! And the World Poker Tour is still on!!! Re-runs, at that! Anyone else have any opinions on the Travel Channel? I know we haven't discussed it for a while.

Posted by James Trotta at September 19, 2009 10:26 PM