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Vacationing at home: books that roam the U.S.A.
REVIEWS BY ALISON HOOD Spring is a wonderful time for exploring our great continent: the weather's fine, the roads are clear and, if you'd rather fly, a judicious web search might uncover an airfare that'll have you eating baked beans in Boston in no time. Any journey, though, whether of a thousand miles or a trek around town, begins with a crucial first step—an itinerary. And savvy travelers know that memorable jaunts have their genesis in a darn good guidebook. Here's an eclectic selection to get you going. America coast to coast
St. Martin's, $24.99 1,010 pages, ISBN 0312335695
North Point, $22.50 430 pages, ISBN 0865476853
Guides made for walking
Crown, $16 144 pages, ISBN 1400046459
Chronicle, $14.95 ISBN 081184563X
All for one
Fodor's, $15 276 pages, ISBN 140001400X
Stretch, not stress, out
Chronicle, $9.95 96 pages, ISBN 0811845036
Alison Hood's car is tuned up and her guides, snacks, aromatherapy candles and sunscreen are packed.
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From sea to shining sea, there's no better traveling buddy than the exuberant Let's Go guide, Roadtripping USA: The Complete Coast-to-Coast Guide to America. This hefty book, a quirky paean to the American road trip, features eight classic routes that dance along our coasts, crisscross our plains and trace our north-south borders. Want to kick up your heels on Route 66? Dog the footsteps of Lewis and Clark? Hoist a few in Hemingway's favorite Key West watering hole? This thorough, budget-conscious guide will get you there, and is packed with invaluable, entertaining information: detailed maps and navigation tips; regional and local lore; odd roadside attractions; the must-see sights and nightlife; and food and lodging recommendations. There's even an essay on meeting people on the road. Bonuses are sections on the history of the American road trip (with a list of roadie films), and one on "essentials"—all the necessary information (plus great car care tips) for a safe, happy trip.
The New York Times scion of taste, R.W. Apple Jr., explicates our continent's prominent cities in Apple's America: The Discriminating Traveler's Guide to 40 Great Cities in the United States and Canada. This upscale guide includes conversational essays on selected North American cities and shines with Apple's discerning style sense and observant reportage. Along with captivating histories of each city, he analyzes each town's political and economic climates and their impact on the social-cultural landscape. Apple unerringly finds each city's unique pulse, making personal suggestions on what to see and do, emphasizing the arts, architecture and food. His hotel and restaurant recommendations are not budget-conscious, but are lusciously descriptive of the sybaritic and culinary delights that lie in wait.
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The Big Easy's steamy streets, jazzy jive and inimitable oysters are celebrated in Feet on the Street: Rambles Around New Orleans. A witty and irreverent tour guide, humorist Roy Blount Jr. heads straight into the decadent, heady heart of Noowawlins (the proper pronunciation) with eight idiosyncratic, nostalgic "rambles" that reflect his particular love for the city in which he "first ate a live oyster, and first saw a naked woman with the lights on." Feet on the Street has a meandering narrative style, but covers good ground, from the city's beginnings and geography to its weather, food, resident characters and offbeat attractions. There aren't any maps in this laid-back travelogue, but with Blount as your guide, your feet will easily find the right streets.
San Francisco, though a city where cable cars climb hills halfway to the stars, is also eminently walk-able. Armed with Christina Henry de Tessan's compact travel deck, City Walks: San Francisco: 50 Adventures on Foot, you'll see the "insider's" San Francisco, far beyond the T-shirt shops and sourdough stands of Fisherman's Wharf. Sturdy, pocket-sized cards map each walk, offering descriptions of sights, eateries, shops and transportation links. This 50-card guide is a little powerhouse that will take you from exotic Chinatown to hidden coastal lookouts, where, as you watch fog drape the Golden Gate, you'll lose your heart to San Francisco.
You can't pry your husband off the couch, and your closest friend can't leave her kids. So, your next adventure will be with the best possible traveling companion—you! Journalist Lea Lane outlines the pleasures, pitfalls and practicalities of going it alone in Solo Travel: Tales and Tips for Great Trips. This guide, designed primarily for women (most soloists are female), takes a lighthearted but commonsense approach to traveling singly, and includes the author's first-person anecdotes of her own solo sojourns (I like the one involving the dark-eyed horseman in Marrakesh). Lane lists both the annoyances and joys of traveling alone, offering techniques for diminishing the negative and accentuating the positive. From trip planning and packing to what to do once you get there (dining and rooming alone, tipping, cultural niceties, shopping, safety and hobnobbing), this go-to guide champions an independent spirit that'll have you confidently requesting, "Table for one, please."
Traveling can be downright uncomfortable. Long waits in lines, cramped airplane seats and obnoxious fellow travelers can take their toll. Darrin Zeer's Travel Yoga: Stretches for Planes, Trains, Automobiles, and More! is just the right antidote for the stresses and strains of any journey. This calming pocket-sized book is built around the number five: five thoughtful keys to happy travels (be patient, friendly, positive; stretch; take things easy), and five short chapters on using them to open the doors to stress-free travel. The soothing solutions in Travel Yoga are guaranteed to uplift the spirit.