If you’re looking to put down your concert travel money on a band with some pedigree, you couldn’t do better than hard rock band Nickelback, whose last album All the Right Reasons has sold 11 million copies.
Chad Kroeger, Nickelback
The album also spent a stunning 156 [...]
Napa Valley
Nancy Brown, Uptake lodging editor, takes on a funny and fun drive north into the Napa Valley for a visit to Avia Napa, the Pink Mansion, Calistoga, Solbar, Solage Resort, Castello de Amorosa & Twomey wine tasting. It sounds like a trip where you won’t [...]
Baby Oranutan at the Phoenix Zoo
The Phoenix Zoo, which has been voted among the “Top Five Zoos for Kids”, once again hosts its annual Zoolights Christmas light display. From now until January 10th, from 6:00-10:00 p.m. nightly, patrons of [...]
The world as we know it is about to end. Immediately after we enter 2010, physicists at Switzerland’s CERN facility will use the Large Hadron Collider, a particle accelerator with awesome power, to smash protons at record energies in a bid to re-create conditions that existed right after the Big Bang.Â
If it works, tiny [...]
Girls sing during the Andersonville St. Lucia Festival of Lights
Skip the glitz of the Magnificent Mile and head to Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood for the quaint, culturally rich yuletide excursion of the  St. Lucia Festival of Lights. [...]
You'll Cut Your Finger Off, Kid!
My son wants a pocket knife for Christmas. He’s seven. And while I certainly can’t recall how old I was when I received my first pocket knife I can assure you that I wasn’t seven. “You’ll cut [...]
Once a year several spots around the Southland are transformed into scenes from a Canadian hockey film, if you squint really hard and just let someone slam you into the glass. Otherwise, you’ll simply find yourself skating along on temporary ice skating rinks while the sun beats down on you [...]
Hips don’t lie, and neither do album sales. Shakira’s latest album She Wolf is well on its way to adding a few more awards and millions of record sales to the sizzling star’s already sizeable pile of 103 awards and the over 50 million albums sold.
Shakira MySpace Karaoke Contest
Shakira [...]
See what's important to you, skip what's not
For me, travel is about experiences. I love going places I’ve never been and doing things I’ve never done and meeting people I wouldn’t normally meet. I once spent a [...]
My husband and I have two local restaurant/bars that we regularly visit in our home town. We’re there so often that we’re known by name, and when they see us coming they plunk our preferred beverages, sitting all nice and frosty on the bar, before we can even plunk ourselves [...]
One of the key assets in Kathy Griffin’s closet – other than her acerbic wit – is the way she turns everything in her life into a part of her act.
Kathy Griffin
This versatality extends to her Hollywood career, which she turned into an emmy worthy reality show – My [...]
Sunset over Hilton Head Island
You might know Hilton Head, South Carolina for its rolling golf greens and pristine beaches but there’s more to this balmy paradise. Hilton Head is also home to the centuries-old Gullah culture and the land was owned by [...]
The Fairmont Resort in Scottsdale
There’s always stuff going on in Scottsdale, Arizona – which is why it’s such a popular vacation destination. Plus, the winter weather in this area of Arizona just can’t be beat – you can indulge outdoor dining [...]
Ice skating at Millennium Park
A dip in temperatures means that Chicago weather is moving back to its natural state but it also means that it’s the season for ice skating in Millennium Park. A Chicago tradition for 9 years, skaters can [...]
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Delve into an art lovers paradise at the 22nd annual Cornelia Arts Holiday Show, fromDecember 4th through the 6th. A beloved tradition in Chicago’s artsy Roscoe Village neighborhood, the Corneila Arts Holiday Show features the work of 40 local artists in an array of [...]
A view from the Apache Trail.
The Apache Trail – officially designated as AZ Rt. 88 – is forty miles of steep, winding, and mostly unpaved roads that connect the Arizona towns of Apache Junction and Globe, through [...]
Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and James Hetfield have watched heavy metal grow and spread out of the underground and morph from St. Anger to become part of the mainstream. 29 years from inception, Metallica remains one of the only two bands in history with five successive albums debuting at No.1 on the Billboard [...]
Sleeping Beauty's Winter Castle
If you’ve never been to Disneyland during the winter holiday season, allow me to submit that a visit to the park at this time will cure your “been there, done that” blues. The enormous Christmas tree, the holiday music piped' [...]
Poinsettias at Garfield Park Conservatory Holiday Flower Show
Grab some green during your holiday excursions and visit Chicago’s Garfield Park Conservatory  for the annual holiday flower show, which runs through January 10.  Nestled in a historic building on Chicago’s west [...]
A ski lift up the mountain at Sunrise.
I recently posted about Arizona Snowbowl, the ski resort in Flagstaff, Arizona. However, Flagstaff is not the only Arizona town that boasts a great ski resort.
Mexican folk art
Don’t think you’re stuck shopping for the same old gifts and stocking stuffers this holiday season.  A visit to Chicago’s  National Museum of Mexican Art’s Mercado Navideno holiday market will reveal all the colorful options to spice up your shopping. The [...]
If fame could kill, Lady GaGa would be stone cold by now. It was little more than a year ago in Aug 2008 that she put out her first album – The Fame.
Lady GaGa - Bad Romance
In one year, Lady GaGa has hogged 20 [...]
Okay, I’m pretty sure this is our last Thanksgiving post. Maybe not. Either way, we here at the UpTake Vacations Blog would like to wish each and every one of you a happy, safe and filling Thanksgiving. You deserve it.
Pies!
Left – apple pie recipe
Right [...]
Is that a turkey in your pocket?
You know what this is. This is where we remind you to be careful out there. This is where we tell you that everyone and their former president are traveling today and to allow yourself [...]
The 45-foot rotunda tree in the Christmas Around the World exhibit
Experience the holiday traditions of over 50 different countries at the annual “Christmas Around The World and Holidays of Light” exhibit at the Museum of Science [...]
Kanye West has won 12 Grammy awards, a bucketload of other music awards, been crowned as MTV’s Hottest MC, and got 2 GQ awards for Man of the Year and International Man of the Year.Â
Kanye West
Two years ago this month, his mother’s death gave Yeezy a devastating blow, but [...]
Do you like the links and the deals and the travel stuffs on the internets? Then you’re in luck! Here are some of the latest travel-related news to find its way into our inbox/twitter stream:
The Window Seat breaks down the 8 rudest travelers [...]
All we are is just another tap on the wall
Everyone knows The Bull and Finch Pub in Boston (known as ‘Cheers’ on T.V.) as the place ‘Where everybody knows your name’. To me, that is an essential ingredient in any place you frequent, [...]
What kind of place does a teen heart-throb band like the Jonas Brothers go to, when It’s About Time for a vacation? Preferably a place where there are No Lines, Vines & Trying Times - the name of their latest studio album, and what also appears to be a lifestyle choice.
[...] 
A lineup of cars to drool over.
This right here is a typical sight in the valet parking area of Scottsdale Fashion Square in Scottsdale, Arizona (right in front of The Yardhouse). My husband and I were headed to [...]
Gobble, gobble.
Turkeys may not fly, but they’re arriving by the plate full. Also, tofurkey.
Speaking of turkeys, people are traveling in mass this weekend and into next week. No, I did not call you or your mother a turkey – just that one relative [...]
Iron Maiden torture chamber at Ripley's Believe It or Not!
I loved the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! cartoon as a kid. Learning about Robert Ripley’s weird and wacky discoveries around the world was always intriguing. So there was' [...]
On Nov 24, Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band are all set to bring Summerzcool to Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Summerzcool tour is heading towards a grand finale with the upcoming December release of Buffet Hotel - Jimmy Buffett’s latest album based on a musical experience he [...]
Located in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, Mount Washington, the highest peak in the Northeastern United States, is also the site of the highest recorded wind gust measured at the Earth’s surface–231 mph (372km/h) on April 12, 1934. So bring your winter jackets [...]
Are you cold and wanting to get away? Are there visions of beaches in your head – or maybe falling leaves and fresh snow? Also, turkey. Then read on, gentle reader, read on.
No booking fees and a $200 coupon to use on a later trip? It’s true. [...]
This is what you won't see at airports this holiday season.
The good folks at Orbitz were nice enough to send along a list of the U.S. airports with the heaviest amount of holiday travel. They also offered up some words of wisdom.
Their travel advice falls [...]
Jay-Z owns the Big Apple. He knows it, Mayor Bloomberg knows it, and so does everyone within earshot of his latest album – The Blueprint 3. Songs from the album – ‘Run this Town’ and ’Empire State of Mind’ - are aimed squarely at propogating the myth of J Hova’s absolute dominance of all things New York.Â
Philanthropic Travel
How about a trip where you give and get back? It’s more than memories and pictures. By traveling you can change somebody else’s life for the better. That is surely one of the most compelling reasons to plan a trip. Global Sojourns’ Priscilla Macy has [...]
Entrance of the Du Sable Museum
Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood has gained lots of visibility as the home of President Barack Obama but he’s not the only exciting aspect of the area. This stately south side neighborhood is also home to the[...]
Local Wild Life at the Fair
While amusement parks and beaches provide great entertainment for your kids, entertainment is only one of the reasons to travel with children. Travel is also a great way to introduce your kids to [...]
Dress your dog in holiday festivewear for the 1.2k Santa Sled Run.
The 12K’s of Christmas celebrates the “health, fitness, and joy of Christmas.” This Christmas run is being held in the town of [...]
Gary Allan Get Off on the Pain Tour
Vacation planning for touring musicians is slightly more complicated than it is for everyone else.
Country star Gary Allan is on a whirlwind 25-city Get Off On The Pain tour with special guests Jack Ingram and [...]
Laura Charon, P. Ling, Whit Honea, Rosalind Cummings-Yeates, jeremybanas, Britt Reints, Kim Tracy Prince, Darren Farrington, Ed Lamaze, Phil Corless, katiehammel, spencerspellman, aschonland, Joe Romano, Finn, jkhalsted
