Bizarre and unusual destinations around the world

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by Wetdogeared

I didn't know what y'all were talking about, so I went back to FF3 from Chrome and saw the resizing. Not nice at all.

Thanks for the tip Daffy. I sometimes have both browsers up and running since there are certain functions I can do in FF3 and not Chrome.

Great destinations and photos!

WDE.

I've never used Chrome, so I may give it a try. Glad you like the destinations. Do you live near any of them (I'm still organizing my travel plans)?

BTW, the resize annoyance is also present in IE8 and it too can be turned off.

To enable or disable JavaScript:

1.From the Tools menu, or the Tools drop-down in the upper right, choose Internet Options... .
2.Click the Security tab.
3.Click Custom Level... .
4.Scroll to the "Scripting" section of the list. Click Disable or Enable.
5.Close and restart your browser.

[NormHart]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

aw ! jealous ! collect a bit of glass for me, please ? i prefer the blue and white colours.

Hum, google maps tells me that the beach is exactly 120 miles from my driveway. I had no idea. 2 hours 42 minutes - I'll take pictures.

[GraceKrispy]

Originally Posted by daffy4u

GraceKrispy, I am so very jealous of you! You live in a state surrounded by by fascinating sites. You just can't go wrong. I haven't been to Hawaii since 1999, so I'm way overdue for another trip.

I was in Kauai the last time, in Poipu. I am terribly afraid of heights but I went to Waimea Canyon anyway. It was so huge and beautiful, it was unreal and didn't freak me out the way I expected. Maybe I *can* take on the Grand Canyon.

You can definitely take on the Grand Canyon! I'm afraid of heights (perhaps not as much as some people, but I cried my whole way through a high ropes course once, and was *so* proud of myself for finishing it-- tearstains and all), and I hiked the Grand Canyon. Yes, I hugged the walls and refused to get further than about 2 inches from the canyon walls while on the path, forcing kids and little old men to go around me, but I did it!

I think you're definitely due for a trip! It's been a decade! Kaua'i is gorgeous-- I haven't been there since 1999 as well, actually. That's sad. It probably costs less to fly to Vegas though, than for me to fly to Kaua'i. That's just a guess, I could be wrong. I just remember last time we looked into it, we looked at each other and said "might as well fly to the mainland for these prices..."

Originally Posted by Elsi

Dear LA Times. I'm sorry, but I resent it when you try to choose what size my browser will be. It's my computer and *I* am in charge. I think you just blew any chance of every getting my patronage.

AHA! THat's What happened!! It confused the heck out of me and kind of ticked me off. Now I get it.

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by daffy4u

This article from the L.A. Times has images with a blurb about 20 fascinating sites to see around the world. If you live near any of them, please let me know so that I can make my travel arrangements (this includes you Marc and desertgrandma!). Thank you.

Bizarre and unusual destinations around the world

Unfortunately, to get further away from Shark Bay than where the Visbile One currently lives, he'd have to move to another country:

Link

It's okay, though. We have business with the stromatolites of Shark Bay that needs attending to, so we can include them in your Downunderverse itinerary. Bring flippers, a snorkel, a one-piece, and a small pellet of Plutonium-239 (it's part of the stromatolite Exchange of Radiated Greetings ceremony), and all will be very well.

I'll be driving (like a maniac).

Yours in budgie-smugglers,
Adrian Antipodes

[GeoffC]

looks like we've got some serious saving to do ....

[krisk]

wow! I've been to all of the Arizona and Utah places! there are BUNCHES of other equally fantastic locations though!

[Angst]

Here's a list of cool destinations.

At one point a few years ago, I built a list of 100 places I wanted to see. So far I've only made it to 3 of them. If I had the money and time I would still try to see all of them.

My most desired destinations? Machu Picchu and the Ngorongoro Crater.

[desertgrandma]

Originally Posted by Angst

Machu Picchu and the Ngorongoro Crater.

Machu Picchu. I want to know the history. and why it was abandoned.

[NormHart]

To Glass Beach!

A lovely three hour drive first through a short twisty bit then about sixty five miles of fairly nice freeway winding through vineyards. (I had not realized how far north the grape growing business had spread.) Then an absolutely lovely 33 mile twisty climb over the coastal mountains. 15mph hairpins and 7% grades through second growth redwoods, lovely. zoom, zoom, zoom ahhh!

Arriving at Fort Bragg, a right, drive through town a left on Elm and down to the end. Here we are, a short 750 meter walk to the ocean.

[NormHart]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

yes please !!! and collect some blue and white glass for me !!!

I am so sorry zelda but I was raised to never remove anything from our parks, not even shiny pieces of glass.

However here you can see others gathering glass.

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by NormHart

To Glass Beach!

A lovely three hour drive first through a short twisty bit then about sixty five miles of fairly nice freeway winding through vineyards. (I had not realized how far north the grape growing business had spread.) The an absolutely lovely 33 mile twisty climb over the coastal mountains. 15mph hairpins and 7% grades through second growth redwoods, lovely. zoom, zoom, zoom ahhh!

Arriving at Fort Bragg, a right, drive through town a left on Elm and down to the end. Here we are, a short 750 meter walk to the ocean.

Cool! Does it leave up to it's hype? Did you pick up any glass? Did you visit any of the town while you were there? I'm still looking for my future retirement home on the beach.

Thanks for the pic!

[NormHart]

Here you can see Her Kindleness Alexandria with her honorary Otter Escort (including the dread blue one). As you may note Alexandria is still contemplating the Mexican adventure. Also included is a nice closeup of the glass/sand/stones/shell fragments/bits of broken plastic.

[NormHart]

Her Kindleness was kind enough to pose with me and James Joyce. (Poor James seems to have gotten a headache.) There is another of Alexandria on the rocks.

[NormHart]

Originally Posted by NormHart

I have an ulterior motive though.

I lived in Santa Cruz for a large portion of my life and there was this used bookstore where I could find anything. Anything at all book wise. He had a Civil war collection that ran to fifty volumes, Ace Doubles, the very same edition of Winnie the Pooh that my Mom read to me when I was too young to read. Time happened and the owner had to go to Fort Bragg to care for his aging mom, he told me that his brother had a used bookstore there and he was going to help run it.

So I am not only looking for shiny things, I'm looking for that bookstore that only lives in my memory unless he and his brother recreated it in Fort Bragg. (That could be considered a shiny thing now that I think about it.)

Originally Posted by montsnmags

It's a shiny thing in your head that you polish with recollection.

Indeed! And now I have some photos to add a little glitter. Drop by Windsong if you are in Fort Bragg. (downtown on the east side of Hwy 1. AKA Main St.)

[NormHart]

Originally Posted by daffy4u

Cool! Does it leave up to it's hype? Did you pick up any glass? Did you visit any of the town while you were there? I'm still looking for my future retirement home on the beach.

Thanks for the pic!

Umm, yes and no. There are extensive glass deposits but as you can see there were at least ten people picking it over in the short time I was there so I suspect the really good stuff is garnered quickly. Now if one had the time to judge tides, deposition patterns, and get out at the right times you could probably find some wonderful stuff.

As I said above I never take anything from our parks, and all beaches in California are parks, (except trash of course).

I did spend a short amount of time poking about the town. As with most smallish towns there was evidence of the depression/recession whatever. Closed shops and bars, etc. Fort Bragg mixes some odd elements, there is a fishing harbor so you have the fisherman. Pacific Northwest logging/lumber mills (Georgia Pacific has a large mill there) so you have lumberjacks. It is California so you have micro breweries (Scrimshaw Ale), Spas, Macrobiotic Vegan Fresh Organic Foods, so you have hippies. The lumber trade means a substantial Japanese national population since they buy most of our lumber (and some of our fish). I don't think I got a clear sense of the town but it was interesting.

Look to Glass Beach Drive, new homes about 500-1000 meters from the beach. There was a nice sand beach just north of Glass Beach. But remember this is the North coast, the weather there can be harsh.

All in all, a great trip. Thanks for the suggestion.