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A Nine Day Kansas Itinerary for Adventurers

On October 5, 2020

I’ve said it so many times while working on these posts about Kansas- this is a surprising state! Many people who aren’t from the region definitely think I’m crazy for traveling to Kansas for a raodtrip. What’s there to see? they ask, Kansas is just a bunch of corn and grass! That’s not true, however, as I hope this Kansas itinerary will illustrate. There is so much to see and do if you are interested in a roadtrip across this Midwestern state, especially if you are a hiker and/or you enjoy experiencing history and culture in new places.

All that being said, welcome to our nine day Kansas Itinerary! Use this to plan your own trip and learn about what to do in Kansas.

Day 0: Arrival

I would suggest starting your trip out in Kansas City, particularly if you are flying in. That being said, if you are driving in from other parts of the state or flying into another airport, you can adjust this itinerary to suit your needs.

Day 1: Elk City State Park and the Table Mound Trail

Elk City Lake (c) ABR 2019

It’s about a 3 hour drive from Kansas City down to Elk City State Park.

For nature lovers and hikers, this will be a great start to your Kansas itinerary. As we discuss in detail in our Kansas Hiking post, Elk City State park is home to the beautiful Table Mound Trail, as well as loads of other outdoor activities. These include picnicking, fishing, paddling, and camping.

Elk City State Park (c) ABR 2019

If you’d like to do a longer hike, the Elk River Hiking Trail is also nearby and it will offer you about 14 miles of hiking if you go from one end of the trail to the other.

Stay the night in Independence, KS.

Tips for A Unique LA Itinerary

By waitingforrain28

On January 14, 2019

In U.S. Travel

LA itinerary

I grew up in Phoenix, AZ so I have been to Los Angeles more times than I can count. The last time that I visited, however, I forced my friends to come with me to some of the tourist spots that the city is famous for. My husband tried to warn me away from some of them, particularly the Walk of Fame, but let’s just say… sometimes I just need to see how bad something is before I can believe the stories. Luckily for me, it’s easy to go back to LA to discover the good about the city. Not everyone has that opportunity, so I’ve written up this detailed guide to some of the major attractions that you should and should not visit on your LA itinerary.

Famous Locations to Make Time For

Griffith Observatory

I’m going to be honest here and admit that I had no idea that the Griffith Observatory existed until I saw La La Land. So, the last time that I visited Los Angeles I wanted to give it a try and I ended up loving it. Whether you are a nature lover, fan of beautiful architecture, or just looking to snap a good picture of the Hollywood sign, this place belongs on your “what to do in LA” list.

The Observatory itself has a beautiful astronomy museum inside the building that is free to visit. There are talks and educational events throughout the day for all visitors as well. When I was there, I caught two talks, one about the iconic Foucault Pendulum in the entry rotunda and another about the mysterious Gottlieb Transit Corridor outside. In either case, it was a lot of fun to learn how these tools work and what we can learn from them. Adults and kids will enjoy the museum and it’s well worth an hour or more of your time.

Of course, you should also take some time to explore the outside grounds, because you will not only get a great view of the entire city from the Observatory vantage point, but the Hollywood sign is perched nearby. It’s a great place to indulge your inner tourist and snap a few pictures with the sign in the background.

Finally, if you are looking for a half-day experience, you might consider parking at the base of the mountain and then hiking up to the observatory. This will take you through a hilly, wooded area and give you a chance to escape the crowds for a bit.

The Observatory itself is free, however parking is not. If you’d prefer to save some money or aren’t comfortable parallel parking, there is a bus that you can take up. The DASH Observatory bus will get you up the mountain from the Vermont/Sunset Metro Red Line.

Disneyland

Personally, as a Disney fan, I don’t think any LA itinerary would be complete without a trip to Disneyland. Even on the most crowded day, I just enjoy being in the park and taking in all the beautiful environments that have been created there. There’s really nowhere else in the world that you can wander from the Old West to a busy African marketplace in a matter a minutes.

Of course, Disneyland is a great place for families as well, although it is the most expensive attraction here by far. Some of my best memories as a kid were made in Disneyland, and of course, this is the best place to get great pictures with all of your favorite Disney, Marvel and Star Wars characters.

Besides the great rides, I enjoy trying all of the great foods in the park (something they have really upped their game on in the past couple years). If you want to keep updated on all the food news in Disneyland, I would suggest checking out the Wonderful World of Food Youtube Channel.

All that being said, Disney recently increased their prices and last I read we are up to $150 a day during peak season and $104 otherwise. Parking is $25 per day on theme park grounds, so if you can, try to stay in one of the hotels that are within walking distance or have a shuttle. There are a few that aren’t overly expensive, surprisingly.

Lesser Known Locations that you MUST Visit

Little Tokyo

We have an entire post on Little Tokyo, so I always consider this in my “what to do in LA” lists. It isn’t a large area, but we never fail to spend a few hours there. In particular, if you have been to Japan, Little Tokyo will be a nice reminder of that beautiful country across the sea.

For a lovely afternoon in Little Tokyo, I would suggest going around lunch and planning to get dinner there as well. There is a lot of good food in this area, and they serve things that you really can’t get easily in other places. After lunch, take some time to visit the Japanese-American National Museum. This is a great place to learn about the history and vibrant lives of Japanese-Americans, from the shameful parts of our history to the beautifully unique art and culture that has resulted from the mixing of American and Japanese heritage. It is $12 dollars to get in for adults.

After spending some time in the museum, taking in all the history and art, take time for a tasty snack or dessert and then enjoy the shopping in Little Tokyo. There is a ton of stuff that you would find in Japan, but also shops with unique items that mix Japanese and American culture with the unique character of the shop owners. It is a really great place to find a unique souvenir. Top the night off with some delicious Japanese food, or a downtown LA restaurant if you want to mix it up.

Parking in downtown LA is not free, so budget for parking; there is a big parking structure right next to Little Tokyo if you prefer to avoid street parking.

Santa Monica National Recreation Area

This is a massive national park unit, and there are definitely trails in the park that you will probably see in top ten lists here and there. But I would highly suggest getting out of the city a little bit to really explore this majestic slice of urban nature in your LA itinerary.

Solstice Canyon is a must-do. The trail there is not difficult or long, but the canyon is beautiful and ends at the ruins of a mansion. The nature and architecture tell a story unique to Los Angeles, so it is a great place to find a mix of my two favorite things, culture and nature. There is also a lovely picnic spot at the trailhead that’s the perfect place to eat lunch with the family.

For those of you looking for a harder hike, head up into the mountains to summit the tallest peak in the range, Sandstone Peak. It’s only a little over 3,000 feet, so it’s not extremely challenging but there are unparalleled views from the top. The ocean will be on one side and the city on the other, sandwiched in the middle will be you and the wilds of the mountains.

Best of all, this park is free, so you can wander at your leisure.

What to Avoid in your LA Itinerary

Walk of Fame

The Walk of Fame is my least favorite thing that I have ever done in LA, and I insisted on going the last time because I see it on so many “what to do in LA” lists! I just wanted to do the tourist thing and experience this place, but I ended up just absolutely hating it. Parking was extremely expensive compared to everywhere else in the city, and as soon as we walked out onto the street it was impossible not to notice how dirty the street was. The stores were little better for the most part.

Like any tourist trap, basically everything that you want to do here, besides just walking around will cost you something. And I just got a very predatory feel while I was there. I doubt that this is an area that many local people go to, so coming to the Walk of Fame just slaps a TOURIST sign on you. I’ve never liked that feeling and a few pictures of the Chinese Theater and the stars just don’t make the experience worth it.

The worst part of the whole thing was the people wandering around in costumes. Unless you want to pay to take a picture with one of them, stay far, far away. They like to fluster people with handshakes and then pull you in for a picture. One of them even grabbed a friend of mine in a very inappropriate way. It was very uncomfortable. As far as I know, none of these people are actually sanctioned to be there as those characters either. As an example, you might get manhandled by a Mickey or Chewbacca, and it’s not something that Disney would ever allow.

I’m sure there are people out there who have had a good experience on the Walk of Fame, but in my opinion, it just really isn’t worth your time. Save your money and go elsewhere. You can get great Hollywood pictures from Griffith Observatory, and there are plenty of unique spots in LA that you can go without the tourist scams and people trying to pull you into pictures with them for a buck.

Downtown LA in general

From Wikimedia Commons

Besides Little Tokyo, I find downtown LA to be one of the worst downtowns that I have ever been to (and I’m from Phoenix). There is some really good food here, which is still worth the trip, but I would never spend the day walking around in the city like I would elsewhere. The streets are just dirty, and there isn’t a lot to see when you are walking around.

That being said, I feel a lot more ambivalent about this than the Walk of Fame. I think people that really love the city could keep this on their LA itinerary and have a good time. There are certainly some cool museums in the city and instagrammable spots, so it wouldn’t be impossible to enjoy an afternoon there. However, it certainly won’t be the best downtown experience that you have, and if you have limited time, this is definitely something that you can skip.

If you like this post, you might also enjoy:

The Ultimate Southern California Road Trip for Hikers and National Park Enthusiasts

Escape the City in 5 LA National Parks

Nightborn Travel’s Guide to the California Channel Islands

LA Itinerary

The Un-Planner’s Guide To: New York City (Day 2)

By tigasngulo

On August 7, 2017

In Cultural Highlight, The Un-Planner's Guide, U.S. Travel

Hello, wonderful person! If you’ve made it here, that means you’ve made it to the second and final part of Un-Planner’s Guide to New York City.

I hope my itinerary, and I use that term VERY loosely, for Day 1 serves you well. Now, let’s get the show on the road for Day 2, we don’t have much time to waste.

Day 2:

Herald Square

Plan to meet up with family for breakfast, but start your day off a little bit earlier so you have time to wander.
Realize that you’re a block from Herald Square and its Macy’s of Miracle on 34th Street fame. Use store as a landmark to return to because it’s impossible to miss, considering it takes up an ENTIRE city block.
Pick a completely random direction to go in and enjoy strolling at your own leisure while watching sleepy businesses open and traffic buzz by.

Koreatown

Be lucky that Koreatown is close enough to Herald Square that you can stumble upon it by accident.
See a street sign for Korea Way. Follow the sign.
Decide that Korean food would be an AMAZING breakfast. Meet up with your people and tell them so.
Find that there’s an abundance of Korean (surprise, surprise) places to eat that you know nothing about.
- We interrupt this guide for the Un-Planner’s Mini-Guide to: Selecting a Restaurant (A guide within a guide. Guide-ception.)
  1. Yelp it.
  2. Be indecisive.
  3. Walk up and down the street looking at menus.
  4. Wonder how you ever make any decisions in your life.
  5. Say “to heck with it” and just walk into a random place.
Fortune smiles upon you and the restaurant you’ve chosen is New Wonjo, a popular Korean BBQ eatery that also happens to serve a really dope breakfast.

This beef and kimchi soup was as delicious as it was enormous. Pictured in the background are all our side dishes or banchan, plus some excellent fried veggie dumplings.

Be thoroughly stuffed, but it’s fine, because you’ll need all those calories for all the walking you’re about to do.

American Museum of Natural History

Take your first subway trip of the day.

For this iconic blurry subway train picture, I stood just a little too close to the platform edge and got the breath sucked out of me as it went by extremely quickly. 100% DO NOT RECOMMEND. Seriously, take your blurry photo from a distance.

Arrive at the American Museum of Natural History and marvel at its museum…ness.

KNOWLEDGE.

Buy the Super Saver pass because you want to do all the things and then realize you may have made a mistake because you have roughly three hours and 5 floors of museum. TRY TO DO IT ALL ANYWAY.
Run around from floor to floor ‘oohing’ and ‘ahhing’ at things, but mostly getting lost because seriously, how is this place so large.
Pause to watch a planetarium show about the universe. Or more accurately, watch two minutes of the show and fall asleep because the chairs are comfy, the planetarium is just the right amount of dark and Neil deGrasse Tyson’s voice is really soothing.
Spend the rest of your time enjoying the dinosaur exhibit the most because they are GREAT.

SO MAJESTIC.

Central Park

Morning has somehow quickly bled into afternoon. Head over to Central Park, which happens to be just across the street.
Walk through Central Park while thinking, “I think I’ve seen that in a movie.”

I can’t tell you what part of Central Park this is, but you’ve probably seen it in a movie.

Keep walking a find yourself amidst a lot of hubbub you don’t understand. Tourists are standing in a circle and taking photos of the ground (and of themselves and the ground).
Make it to a break in the circle and it suddenly all makes sense. You wandered into Strawberry Fields, an area paying tribute to late Beatles member, John Lennon.

Imagine all the people… trying to take a photo with this mosaic. It was a lot.

Chelsea Market

It’s time to regroup with the rest of the family, so back to the subway you go.
Really experience the ride. People watch. Read the poetry that the MTA has put up in the cars, or the other fascinating literature other passengers have left behind.

Uh, where exactly is this train going, again?

Decide on Chelsea Market because your group cannot agree on dinner. Thankfully, the market is a block long and chock full of a variety of restaurants and shops.
Let the smell of french fries take you to the Creamline for a burger and fries that you practically inhale. Then for dessert, the mini-donuts that your brilliant father has gotten from the Doughnuttery.
Roll out of Chelsea Market.
Struggle to find the right train station with machines to refill your metro card.
Arrive at correct station.
Zombie walk to hotel because you’re full of a combination of sun, food and exhaustion.
And finally, sleep.

That’s all she wrote, folks. Thanks for joining me for this brief and devil-may-care tour of NYC!

Happy Un-Planning,

Katie

The Un-Planner’s Guide To: New York City (Day 1)

By tigasngulo

On July 11, 2017

In The Un-Planner's Guide, U.S. Travel

Welcome to the first installment of the Un-Planner’s Guide, a wholly un-serious and unusual approach to travel itineraries.

I’m Katie, and I’ll be your host through approximately one-and-a-half days of New York City, NY.

Yes, this hat is part of our required tour guide uniform.

Trip Pre-work:

Know about the trip, in my case, AT LEAST a year in advance.
Book your flight accordingly, apparently for domestic flights the magic number is 54 days for cheapest fares.
Have ample time to pack and let that dwindle down to months, weeks, days and mere hours before your trip.
Go out to dinner with friends and/or family the night before your flight.
Struggle to pack within the window of 12 a.m. to 2 a.m. (Stop mid-packing to justify your procrastination.)
Sleep for 2 hours.
Wake up to leave for airport and hate yourself a little bit.

Day 1 (or Day 1/2):

Getting There

Be at airport.
Go through security rigamarole.
Fly.

Land and realize you lost half your day because of time changes. Curse.
Rideshare from the airport to your hotel and get stuck in traffic. Learn your lesson and take the subway for the rest of the trip.

Ice Cream Break

Get your Wonder Woman on and before you head into battle (or into the rest of the city), get yourself some ice creams. Discover that soft serve is a big deal in the Big Apple.

It has to be soft serve. From a truck. No exceptions.

Wrangle large group of Filipinos (who are your family so it’s okay) and proceed.

Oculus – World Trade Center Transportation Hub

Take subway to get to the Oculus, which is the World Trade Center’s transportation hub.
Exit train and enter Oculus. Be impressed. Take a moment to admire the architecture.

The structure of the Oculus was like being inside the skeleton of great beast.

National September 11 Memorial

Cross the Oculus, meaning just walk straight across it and up a flight of stairs, and you’ll find yourself back at street-level and able to walk right over to the National September 11 Memorial. There’s a museum there, as well.
Visiting the memorial, as you would imagine, is a truly sombering experience. But beautifully moving, too, if you take in not only the construction of the memorial but the fact that they place white roses next to the names of the people being remembered on their birthdays.

The day we visited, there were two birthdays.

One World Observatory

Check out One World Observatory. It’s just a short trip across the street. The building itself if stunning, but it also offers you 360-degree views of the city from 100 stories up.
The trip up to the observatory does require admission, so expect to pay about $30+ for a single person.

If you were to ask me what part of the city this way or what any of those buildings were, I couldn’t tell you. They had these tablet thingies for purchase that you could point out at the city, like a virtual tour guide, but I was more keen on just looking.

Chinatown (And Little Italy, Sort Of)

Find that after all the subway riding and walking you are famished, as one ice cream alone cannot hold you down.
Fumble through the subway with your herd and somehow make it to Canal Street.

Arrive late enough that most of the shops are closed, but just in time for the restaurants to be bustling with business.
Let your dad pick the place, though his relationship with Google is tentative at best, and then let him lead the way (???).
Walk into an unfamiliar neighborhood almost to the point of concern until you reach Shanghai Asian Manor. Note that this restaurant only accepts American Express or cash.

Eat delicious food and not realize until later that this is actually a really popular place.

Leave and enjoy the light sprinkles of rain as you walk. Let your family make ill-advised hat purchases at a souvenir shop about to close.

Pass up Little Italy (sad-face) because majority rules to go to Times Square.

Times Square

Arrive in Times Square and be baffled by the fact that the city is still buzzing at 11:00 p.m. on a Wednesday. Assume that maybe all the huge electronic billboards are making people think it’s still daylight.

SO BRIGHT. MY EYES.

Be horrified by the discount store-looking nightmares that are parading around as notable characters. Pull your unsuspecting aunts away from a particularly disturbing Minnie Mouse and Woody.
Decide you’ve had enough of these shenanigans and decide to turn in so you can get up early for more exploring tomorrow.

Well, that’s it for the first part of The Un-Planner’s Guide to NYC! Come back next week for part deux.

Your Humble Host,