Monday, February 16, 2009

Travel Books

An unseasonably warm winter afternoon coaxed my son and I out of the house and to our local Barnes & Noble store (to read up on blogging, yikes, the 11-year-old wants his own blog like mom!). While he's in the teen section to find some info geared for his age I, of course, head straight to the travel section. I'm incredibly disappointed with what's available for my upcoming trip but then remind myself that I'm going to Orlando to relax, soak up some sun and have a hell of a good time with my girlfriend! I am reminded that Orlando's identity is centered around the one and only Walt Disney!! Well, at least I know there's a plethora of information out there for when I plan a family trip to International Drive. I picked up a book "The Other Orlando" thinking, awesome, tell me something different than about the over-the-top theme parks . . .well, guess what, it was pretty much about the other parks that are not Disney!!! Good grief!

So, this got me thinking of some of my favorite travel guides, essays and books but also curious about what others read either to plan a trip or while you're on the road.

**I must say that I am a HUGE Bill Bryson fan. I've yet to make it through any one chapter of any of his books I've picked up without cracking up at least once.
**Falcon Guides puts out some good hiking guide books, even for Iowa, which is a quite a find since we're not really a typical "hiking" state.
**"Solo Traveler" is also a great book that I've found helpful in looking at pretty much any aspect of traveling alone.
**In general I never leave for a trip without at least two novels in tow and preferably one of them somewhat related to where I'm traveling, either the setting or the author (i.e. last summer in the Outer Banks I read Nights in Rodanthe, rather fitting I thought)

So, what are your favorites?

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