Category Archives: Places of Interest

August 2, 2007   Anaheim Orange County CA, California, news, Places of Interest, Recommended Reads, Restaurants and Dining

TEMPTATION – AT THE WHITE HOUSE



President Jimmy Carter, Governor Gray Davis, Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, Gwen Stefani, Beau Bridges, Naomi Judd, Danny DeVito, Seigfried & Roy, Janet Leigh, Jimmy Smits, Antonio Sabato, Jr., Linda Gray, Jenny Craig, Keenan Ivory Wayans, Sydney Poitier, renowned chef Wolfgang Puck,  Melissa Manchester, Annette Funicello, President George W Bush, Governor Jeb Bush, Connie Francis, Brigitte Nielsen, Jose Eber, the Crown Prince of Belgium and Lauren Hutton!

This book will make a perfect hostess gift for any lover of food – or men! Finger Lickin Good! – as the Colonel used to say!

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June 17, 2007   Places of Interest, Places US

CAMP CAMP FUN IN THE WOODS

Camp’ Camp! . . . America’s premiere summer camp for GLBT adults!


Since 1997, ‘Camp’ Camp has offered a fun and distinctive vacation for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. Camp is structured just like the sleep-away summer camp that you remember from when you were young(er), with a full program of great outdoor, athletic, and arts & crafts activities and a variety of entertaining evening social events. Located in scenic southwestern Maine, ‘Camp’ Camp is the perfect alternative vacation for adventurous members of the GLBT community looking for a unique vacation option beyond the usual gay cruise or resort. It’s a gay camp for adults! …What could be better than that?

A week at Camp includes all activities, meals and accommodations – plus, all the new friends you can handle! With a wide variety of activities such as mountain biking, pottery, hiking, lake swimming, sailing, stained glass, tennis, softball, theater, volleyball, yoga, and an adventure course and climbing wall, you’re sure to find something to keep you active and challenged, returning home relaxed and renewed. Camp is the perfect place to rediscover the kid in yourself – and maybe even discover the athlete or artist you didn’t know you were.


Accommodations are rustic, but comfortable: cabins with bunks and attached bathrooms, shared by groups of 5-20 men or women. While the cabins are indeed camp-like, the food is not – you’ll find no bug juice or Jell-O at our camp. Our chef makes a special effort to make all the food plentiful, healthy, and delicious.


Camp is typically attended by around 200 men and women, ranging in age from 18 to their 70s. The majority of Campers have historically come from the Northeastern U.S. (mostly from the Boston and New York City metropolitan areas), but GLBT folks from such places as Florida, California, Michigan, British Columbia, Georgia, Iowa, Ontario and Ohio also make ‘Camp’ Camp their yearly destination. The price is about $1000. NOTE – This camp is NOT sex or liquor focused! For more info, visit their site.

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June 5, 2007   Anaheim Orange County CA, California, Celebrity, Gay News, Places of Interest

WILL GEORGE CLOONEY & BRAD PITT SAVE A GAY BAR?

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A former clubhouse for semi-closeted actors like Rock Hudson, this as an example of “heterosexualization,” noting “once-blighted neighborhoods that were settled by gays–often
because they felt unwelcome elsewhere–now are so gentrified, in many cases, that younger
people can’t afford them.”


Laguna Beach has no shortage of hotel space, but the Boom is a historical treasure.
Housed inside the city’s second-oldest hotel, it is the oldest gay bar in the western United States and an anchor of Laguna’s gay community. If the Boom were demolished, an important local institution would be
lost forever.

Will the lifelong bachelor and Mr. Angelina Jolie step up to the plate? Boys, it’s the least you
can do for Pride Month. But the bar’s lease is up in September, so you have to act fast! Give
us something to really celebrate and you’ll be our hero’s for life!

READ THEIR  BLOG FOR CURRENT DETAILS!

           


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June 2, 2007   Places of Interest, Places US

KIMPTON HOTELS A TOP CHOICE FOR GAY TRAVELERS PLUS PRIDE SPECIALS

the needs of LGBT travelers. In working with every
guest, each employee instinctively portrays the five elements of Kimpton, “Care, comfort, style, flavor
and fun.” We take the time to train our front desk staff not to make assumptions but instead to offer choices, even in small personal ways.”

Pet friendly, free WIFI, complimentary wine hours, tall rooms, specialty suites, and hip flair, are what
 this hotel chain popular.


Kimpton is based in San Francisco, where you’ll find the greatest number of the company’s hotels
and restaurants (the restaurants are always inside hotels, and they’re virtually always first-rate
dining destinations on their own, just as popular with nonguests as guests). In San Francisco, there
are nine hotels, plus another in nearby San Jose. Other cities with two or more Kimpton’s include
Chicago (3), Boston/Cambridge (3), Dallas (2), New York City (2), Portland, OR (2), Seattle (3), and Washington, DC, which is second only to San Francisco with seven hotels.


Firefly at Washington, DC’s Hotel Madera enjoy vaunted culinary reputations.

Participating Kimpton hotels offer GLBT travelers 10% off the best available rate. When you book online, just type in “PRI” into the “rate code” field, and you’ll receive this special “PRIDE” rate.

JUST IN!  Kimpton Hotels group is offering “Summer of Pride” discounts of 15 percent in eight cities, including those with gay pride events scheduled. In San Francisco, take 15 percent off the Hotel Palomar starting room rate of $189 every day during the month of June. In New York, Washington and Boston, the deal extends through summer, but is valid on weekends only. Deal also available in San Diego, Scottsdale, Chicago and Denver. Request “Summer of Pride” code PRD when booking. (800) KIMPTON, www.kimptonhotels.com/lgbt.




        


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November 1, 2006   Places of Interest

ASPEN GAY SKI WEEKEND


For those that plan ahead,
the 2007 Annual Gay and Lesbian Ski Weekend will take place in Aspen,
January 14th-21st, 2007.

Called The Seven Deadly Sins – It’s the 30 th anniversary and I am told they are going
to be  pulling out all the stops. If you’ve never been to Aspen for Ski Week before, this
will be the one not to miss !

For over 30 years now, as the first official gay ski week, Aspen Gay Ski Week has gained
the reputation of hosting the most exclusive and explosive winter entertainment. World
renowned DJ’s, indoor & outdoor pool parties, debauchery that will take you into the morning
hours just in time to hit the slopes.

 

Every January, this ski resort, synonymous with fur-wearing celebrities and jet-setters,
turns into a roving gay pride parade on snow. In what is known simply as Gay Ski Week,
more than a thousand well-groomed men (and a smattering of women) converge on Aspen
for seven days of cocktail mixers, shopping sprees, sushi dinners, pool parties, dancing and,
if time allows, some skiing and snowboarding, too.

The town has an angle, too. Gay revelers help fill the gap between the holidays and the peak
ski season, not only in terms of lift tickets, but for bigger-ticket items like Prada parkas
(about $1,300) and St. Regis suites (starting at about $1,125 a night). “January has historically
been our quietest month,” said Paul Menter, Aspen’s finance director. “After the holidays, Gay Ski
Week is the most lucrative time for retail stores.”

 

The Aspen resort is deemed to be one of the best in the world.
It is renowned as the winter playground for the rich and famous,
and so could be considered an ideal location for the event!

There are 4 mountains to ski, providing endless runs. Some seem to be appropriately named for us, the best include: Bottom’s up, Hal’s Hollow, Naked Lady, Fanny Hill, Bear Bottom, Adam’s Avenue and even Sam’s Knob! The snow is always  fantastic with lots of fresh powder. The snow, the breath-taking scenery and the fantastic runs lined with beautiful snow drenched pine trees all make the resort live up to it’s hype.
(Thanks to Chris Geary for some of the photos & text!)

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October 17, 2006   California, Gay Hotels, Places of Interest, Places US, Restaurants and Dining

HEARST CASTLE & THE MADONNA INN

CALIFORNIA is such an amazing state. It’s really my favorite state. It has everything! San Francisco & Napa, Palm Springs, San Diego, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara,  Pebble Beach and the amazing 17 mile drive, and we’ll talk about all the areas in coming months.

But in this installment, we’re talking about San Luis Obispo area, home of the HEARST CASTLE / SAN SIMEON HISTORICAL MONUMENT and the MADONNA INN.

Halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles along the central California coastline is a meeting of land and sea that is an integral part of the California State Parks system. Beaches, waterfalls, natural and cultural preserves are all part of the Central Coast State Parks. In this breathtaking region, redwoods march down to the sea, wildlife thrives along the rugged coastline, and sand dunes protect endangered plants and animals as part of this natural treasure. This is where William Randolph Hearst decided to build his magical castle!

  

           

The entire compound is 90,000 square feet, with the main house being 60,000 square feet, 38 bedrooms and 41 bathrooms. 3  guest houses and a spectacular outdoor pool as well as a magical indoor pool. Did I mention 41 fireplaces?! Hearsts’ father bought 40,000 acres initially and over the years, Randolph acquired another 210,000 acres around it!

The estate is a pastiche of historic architectural styles that Hearst admired in his travels around Europe. For example, the main house is modeled after a 16th century Spanish cathedral, while the outdoor pool features an ancient Roman temple front transported wholesale from Europe and reconstructed at the site. Hearst furnished the estate with truckloads of art, antiques, and even whole ceilings that he acquired en masse from Europe and Egypt.

   

Originally known as “Camp Hill,” its wilderness offered a place for family members and friends to “rough it” on camping trips. Despite elaborate arrangements with separate sleeping and dining tents, Hearst envisioned more comfortable accommodations. His simple instructions to famed San Francisco architect Julia Morgan in 1919: “Miss Morgan, we are tired of camping out in the open at the ranch in San Simeon and I would like to build a little something.” 

 

Did he say “little something”?  Hearst and Morgan’s collaboration has become one of the world’s greatest showplaces. The state of Californina owns it now and tours are given daily. It’s truly a MUST SEE. And when you are there, you might as well run over to the MADONNA INN, at least for dinner, if not a sleep over!


A landmark on California’s Central Coast for over forty-five years! The world-renowned Madonna Inn offers 109 rooms, each uniquely decorated with a special theme and color scheme, no two alike! It’s very dated 60’s-70’s, but very cool! Very over the top!

Enjoy a great  meal in the Copper Café & Pastry Shop or Alex Madonna’s Gold Rush Steak House. Dance the night away in the Silver Bar Cocktail Lounge. Shop in one of three specialty stores: Classic Gourmet and Wine Shop, “My Favorite Things” Boutique, and The Brass Tower Men’s Clothing Store. Indulge in a bit of pampering in the Whispering Hills Massage Center.

 

Rooms run about $150-$250. And themes like the Bedrock Room with Waterfall shower are very popular! There is also the Austrian Suite, China Flower, Dot & Daisy, Love Birds, Manhattan Room, and Safari.

The restaurant is eye-popping and jaw-dropping! Treat yourself to unforgettable fine casual dining, indulge in a delicious oak-pit-barbecued steak or seafood dinner in the warm and inviting Gold Rush Steak House. It’s a spot to remember with outstanding service, superb wine list, mouthwatering entrees, and rich desserts. And they have  elaborate fantasy holiday decorations— just spectacular!  And don’t forget to pee before you leave! 

 

A trip to San Luis Obispo wouldn’t be complete without visiting the men’s room at the Madonna Inn. As crazy as it sounds, this room is a popular stop for both men and women. Unfortunately, if you’re a man and need to use this for it’s original purpose, be prepared to be interrupted by giggling women with cameras.  Once you enter the main building, go down the staircase at the right. This will take you to the wine cellar, and pay phone in the Flintstones-like rock cave. The men’s restroom is to the left. Here you’ll find the attraction… a urinal that looks like a waterfall which is activated when you break a beam of light. 

 

This place is another MUST SEE!

 

 

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