Live Chat with author Patricia Schultz When Wednesday, February 13th
3:30 P.M. EST
Want to learn more? Post a question in your comments below and help welcome Patricia to Gather!
Please join me for a live chat with Patricia Schultz author of the book:
'1,000 Places To See In The USA And Canada Before You Die'
She is a fascinating and talented woman who has great insight. Patricia is Executive Producer of the Travel Channel's reality show of the same name. She is a veteran travel journalist with twenty-five years of experience, and has written for Frommer's, Berlitz, and Access travel guides, as well as Condé Nast Traveler, Islands and Harper's Bazaar. I am sure it will be a wonderful hour of lively discussion. When she is not traveling, she lives in New York City.
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Gather members, Patricia and I hope to see you here on wednesday at 3:30 for the live chat. If you are unable to make it, but have a question for Patricia , please leave it in the comment thread below.
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Gather members Patricia and I hope to see you here on Wednesday at 3:30 for the live chat. If you are unable to make it, but have a question for Patricia , please leave it in the comment thread below.
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Comments: 69
Welcome to Gather, and thanks for joining us.
I find that when I make a list of something, and it doesn't matter what the topic, I find something new to add when I'm done. So, my question is, what is the 1001st place to see before I meet my maker?
I'd love to hear where you recommend in CT and the rest of Southern New England- and, yes, I WOULD like to hear of some places in the Big Apple, too!
Thanks!
Hi Patricia. I was wondering, with your obvious extensive knowledge of the continent, what wine valley/area you would recommend other than Napa. I adore Napa, but am always looking to branch out. I have heard different places from different people, and was wondering if any others cracked your list.
We look forward to spending the next hour with you as you answer some Gather member questions .
It looks like you already have a couple of questions above to get you started.
My first response for this on-line chat!! I'm glad to be here, and glad to tell you that you are not alone re List Making.
Every list is an ever growing, morphing, organic work-in-progress. And it should be, because every day another friend or TV program or film we've seen or magazine we've read enlightens us about another thing to do or place to visit.
I have a million other places I've learned about since writing the first book, and as well since publishing the 2nd book about the USA and Canada this past summer.
I like to think that my research for the North America book was so exhaustive that I hit most of the must-do's, but there are bound to be countless parks (state and national), and roadside eateries (truckstop dives and BBQ pits) and small museums that could keep the average person busy for many lifetimes to come.
I am a born New Yorker - from the mid-Hudson Valley area. And altho NYC is one of my favorite cities on the planet, I know from growing up outside of the City that New York State is one of the most historically and beautiful states in the Union. The Catskill area and the Adirondack Mt region are stunning, and the beaches of Long Island as enticing as well.
We have great art museums outside of those in NYC, such as the DIA modern art museum in Beacon - and then there is the very prestigious wine-growing area of the Finger Lakes.
And the possibilities go on!
There is so much to see in Mass., Conn and NYS - the southern swath of New England. The Litchfield Hills area in the northwest corner of Conn., as well as the small historic gems along the state's coastline such as Essex, and Old Lyme (with a very impressive American Impressionism movement) are wonderful to visit. The Mystic Seaport is like a peek into other times.
I have touched upon some of the wonders of up-state New York in the previous email and Mass...? You could spend a lifetime in Mass! The Berkshires are not only physically beautiful in each season, but in the summer time the hills are alive with music and culture (dance, Shakespeare, excellent restaurants, etc) - Tanglewood was the first to put this area on the map as summer home of the Boston Symphony. Massachusett's eaternmost Cape Cod was the landing of the first pilgrims before they moved onto Plymouth, and the Cape's small towns, protected sand dunes and fresh fresh seafood make a b&b weekend a perfect retreat.
I also especially love the forts like Ticonderoga and Stanwix and Niagara.
With so many places to love, how did you limit your choices?
The good news is I have been to all the places you mentioned and I think you hit the highlights (except for Sally's Pizza in New Haven).
Thanks, again!
Someone told me not too long ago that these days, every one of the contiguous 48 states has a flourishing wine growing corner. Even Texas! There are small vineyards in the Hill Country outside of Austin that are making some pretty impressive wine.
Napa and Sonoma remain America's premier wine region, but Calif has various other possibilities (as was brought to light a few years ago in the great movie "Sideways") - Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, etc. Continue north over the border into Oregon, and the vineyards continue - the Willammette Valley is Oregon's contribution to the wine world - many say it is like Napa 20 years ago.
And keep going north and you are in Washington's Walla Walla world of wine - over the Canada border and you'll find the Okenagan Valley in British Columbia - Canada's largest.
But if you are visiting the continent's greatest falls in Niagara (on the US/Canada border), you can travel by car to the pristine 19th-century town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, a beautiful area with over 60 vineyards, and especially known for its excellent ice wine, produced in very few parts of the world outside of Germany!
I love wine too and I just this past weekend we were touring NJ on a Wine & chocolate weekend.
I know I know! How does one limit and include the huuuuuuge range of the continent's possibilities into a list of only 1000 places??? Travel is such a very personal thing, and the places you like - historic sites such as Fort Ticonderoga, or Valley Forge outside of Philadelphia, may amaze you and me ...and put the next visitor to sleep.
But I hope in the book I created a wide and varied selection of wonderful and unexpected things - museums large and small, islands, beaches, river cruises, historic towns, the best hot dog in Chicago - that there is a little something for everyone.
Are these the only things to see in the USA & Canada? Not at all! But I hope they serve as an imagination-jogger that awakens everyone to the possibilities that are out there awaiting to be explored - and many of them in your back yard.
"From the Hudson Valley - me too! I wondered if there was a Canadian equivalent to NY's Letchworth Park (Grand Canyon of the East) or the big western Grand Canyons?"
Everyone should try to make a trip to Alaska happen! How lucky are we to have it as part of our country - it is awesome, majestic, magnificent - and empty. The cruise of the Inside Passage is on everyone's list, in fact 2/3 of tourists going to Alaska take this cruise. And since late June/July is the perfect month, you must book early even tho there are dozens of various cruise lines who offer it. Unless you have the luxury of open time and deep pockets, I'd suggest a one week cruise -- there are guidebooks who will describe the various lines - large, small, with all the bells and whistles, and those of more eco-oriented expedition-like sailings with naturalists and lecturers -- there is a vast disparity of prices to match the various offerings.
The Kenai Peninsula is an excellent place to visit by car once you've disembarked, with national parks, wildlife, kayaking, the artsy-fishing town of Homer, etc. I would suggest the glass-domed Alaska Railroads train ride from Anchorage to Fairbanks - it makes stops in the middle of nowhere to pick up local folks and their dogs, and then can drop you off at Mt McKinley/Denali National Park.
You will have seen and understood a little bit about Alaska's magic.
I love Sally's pizza in New Haven!
And Louis' Lunch place where they make (with toast!) what is said to be the world's first hamburger!
Good question re the Grand Canyon of Canada- and I don't have an answer. I know that the Gros Mourne national park in Newfoundland has some scenery that will blow you away. And Canada has national parks in Alberta and British Columbia in the west (the Canadian Rockies) that have some of the most astounding scenery anywhere - Banff is their first and most visited park.
There is a train ride west-to-east (or vice versa) through the Rockies and many of the parks that lets you sit back and revel in it all - a great trip for the kids and grandparents.
If anyone knows of a Grand Canyon-like equivalent in Canada, let me know!
Oh, and one of the most scenic drives anywhere - the Cabot Trail on Cape Breton Island, which is part of Nova Scotia.
There is so much to see- how did you decide which places to include in the book?
If you like that then, when you are in Chicago, check out Piece for their pizza, New Haven-style. And one of the owners is Rick Nielsen, of the rock group Cheap Trick and his partners are from Hew Haven and wanted to bring that kind of pizza to Chicago.
April- to clarify- I got to all the places Patricia discussed- but just in New England.
Alaska, alas, not yet.
How did you come up with the title?
Your question might interest many of you - i.e., how did I ever decide which places to include?
A loaded question!!
Because I am a firm believer that every state in the union and every province in Canada has its own special places, I tried to include something particular for each state -- and I wanted the compilation to be a great mixed-bag of the world-famous (the New Orleans Jazz Festival, the Chicago Institute of Fine Arts) and the totally unknown (the Amish community of Shipshewana Indiana, the Aquarium in Newport, Oregon) - and hundreds of others....
I wanted to make folks aware of the myriad possibilities out there, yours/ours for the cost of a train ticket - or a tank of gas.
So get off the couch and get going!
If you've seen the Bucket List, you'll know that Jack Nickelson and Morgan Freeman were brutally reminded - life if fragile, and there are no guarantees.
And anyway, it is not only about our health, but the unpredictability of Fate - we almost lost New Orleans, and brush fires and hurricanes can wipe our historic treasures off the map.
So get going!! and enjoy!
I think it might soon be time to sign off, but I'll try one more question!
How did I come up with the title?
I think it came up with itself -- never has a title said so much in so few words to so many people!
Carpe diem - grab the day!
This is no dress rehearsal!!
Thanks for this chance to chat with you all - wish I was a faster typer!
Bye guys - Ciao!!
Patricia
Thank you to all the Gather members who participated. Until next time!
April H., Feb 13, 2008, 4:30pm EST
Thanks so much for allowing us an hour with Patricia. Her answers were so to the point. I don't know if you realized it, but more than once I forgot we had the same name. When Patricia addressed Danielle & April, I thought she was addressing me. I will try do better next time.
April R.
"Ristorante & Pizzeria, find the best variety's of New York style pizza and Itailian food,Since 1947"Located on Pine Ave,Niagara Falls ,New York .
They custom make your pizza using thick or think crust, the toppings range in a wide variety from simple cheese to the more exotic pallet like white or red clam sause. I have tried many varietys. All food is made fresh to order ,and affordable on any budget.
(2) others places we love is Itialian owened is Buzzy's for many varietys and the basic cheese and pepporoni,Located in Niagara falls ,New York.
Another is a simple place but very good is Favorites "1986" Located in Lewiston, New York, close to Fort Niagara,Artpark, among other things.
It makes me wonder if these places made the list..??? Can you tell I'm a Lover of a good Pizza :))
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