Main Page

Welcome to The California State Automobile Association Unofficial Wiki.
We are currently editing over 8 articles, and you can help

About this wiki | New pages | Categories | Wiki tutorial | Help pages

[edit] The California State Automobile Association Unofficial Wiki

CSAAWiki is a pilot project to create a free, current and reliable travel guide for the over 3 million members of the California State Automobile Association. What you see in these pages are contributions from your fellow CSAA members - places to go, sites to see, routes to enjoy...

• Think about all the reasons those of us in the Auto Club travel and about how we enjoy experiences in our travels that go beyond the hotel guides or a concierge's suggestions.
• Think about how many of us take great pride in little 'gems' that have come from our wanderings - be they delightful finds or hard-won lessons: cozy little restaurants in Brooklyn Heights to watch the sun set over Manhattan, an easy hike through the East Bay Hills where you get to see both San Francisco Bay and Mount Diablo, the best time to see the lions being fed at the Chicago Zoo, places with horrendous traffic flow in West Fort Meyers...
• And finally, think about how valuable it would be to have a place where travelers could share their discoveries.

CSAA.wikia is such a place!

To write a new The California State Automobile Association Unofficial Wiki article, enter the page title in the box below.

[edit] What are your discoveries?

Add yours to one of the sections below:

Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming

[edit] Alabama

[edit] Alaska

[edit] Arizona

Arcosanti - a new vision of a city in the American desert

We are occasionally blessed by the presence of truly heroic thinkers. A visionary, and an architect by the name of Paulo Soleri is such a thinker.

In an effort to demonstrate a peaceful coexistence of the built world and the local ecology, an 'archology,' Soleri has begun the heroic effort to build a city - ARCOSANTI -. [http://www.arcosanti.org/main.html ]

Arcosanti Project History In 1970, the Cosanti Foundation began building Arcosanti, an experimental town in the high desert of Arizona, 70 miles north of metropolitan Phoenix. When complete, Arcosanti will house 5000 people, demonstrating ways to improve urban conditions and lessen our destructive impact on the earth. Its large, compact structures and large-scale solar greenhouses will occupy only 25 acres of a 4060 acre land preserve, keeping the natural countryside in close proximity to urban dwellers.

Arcosanti is designed according to the concept of arcology (architecture + ecology), developed by Italian architect Paolo Soleri. In an arcology, the built and the living interact as organs would in a highly evolved being. This means many systems work together, with efficient circulation of people and resources, multi-use buildings, and solar orientation for lighting, heating and cooling.

In this complex, creative environment, apartments, businesses, production, technology, open space, studios, and educational and cultural events are all accessible, while privacy is paramount in the overall design. Greenhouses provide gardening space for public and private use, and act as solar collectors for winter heat.

Arcosanti is an educational process. The five week workshop program teaches building techniques and arcological philosophy, while continuing the city's construction. Volunteers and students come from around the world. Many are design students, and some receive university credit for the workshop. But a design or architecture background is not necessary. People of many varied interests and backgrounds are all contributing their valuable time and skills to the project. Week-long silt sculpture workshops and Elderhostel programs offer other ways to be involved. At the present stage of construction, Arcosanti consists of various mixed-use buildings and public spaces constructed by 5000 past Workshop participants.

The residents of Arcosanti are workshop alumni, who work on planning, construction, teaching, computer aided drafting, maintenance, cooking, carpentry, metal work, ceramics, gardening and communications. They produce the world-famous Soleri Bells, as well as hosting 50,000 tourists each year in a Gallery, Bakery, and Cafe open every day except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Day. Guided tours introduce visitors to the philosophy , history, planning and ongoing construction of the site.

Concerts and other events in the Colly Soleri Music Center also allow visitors to experience Arcosanti. Shows include dinner, and are often followed by a pictograph light show on the opposite mesa.

[edit] Arkansas

[edit] California

[edit] Aptos and the great See-Ment boat

WHERE IS IT? At the northern end of the great crescent of Monterey Bay - right off of Highway 1 (The Pacific Coast Highway).

BACKGROUND Aptos, legend has it, is the Spanish corruption of the Indian word awotos, meaning “meeting of the streams.” You've probably driven by this small village on the Central Coast a dozen times without giving it a thought. Aptos, for many, is simply one of those towns on the way to somewhere else."

There's a charmingly quaint 19th Century feel to part of the center of the town.

But what's remarkable is something you'll find at Aptos Beach.

There's a story here. Turn of the last century - around the last several months of WWI, naval architects decided to try out an old theory: to build a ship out of reinforced concrete. It was a solid argument -- reinforced concrete could be fashioned into the right shapes, it had incredible compression strength, it was cheaper than steel, and -- once the moulds were created -- the cost/ship would be even lower. Commissioned in the last weeks of the War, the 450 foot-long USS Palo Alto turned out to be a dud. Its weight made it difficult to steer as well as too expensive to keep fueled. Mothballed shortly thereafter - and soon after that, an entrepreneur from Santa Cruz California got the idea of converting the Lightly Used freighter into a very posh, floating hotel. Well, that didn't work either. The investors pulled out of THAT deal and soon, the State of California purchased the now-gutted hull of the Palo Alto - for $1. It was towed to a pier - supposedly until someone could figure out what to do with it. A major winter storm changed the plans. During unsually high seas, the Palo Alto was pounded up and down in the shallow waters - time after time it slammed into the seabed just feet below its keel. In twelve hours the Palo Alto's stern cracked open - two pieces of the empty hull sank into the sand at the pier. (the fuzzy blob at the left side of the pier is the ship's bow) And - generations later - the hull of that great ship STILL sits at the pier. There's good news here. Both sections of the ship are used by zillions of migratory birds and the submerged parts of the hull create safe habitats for a whole bunch of marine life.

Nepenthe restaurant, Phoenix giftshop, and a deck view to die for

To describe this place -- right on Highway 1 (Pacific Coast Highway) about 140 miles south of San Fran -- as preternaturally chic would be an understatement. This is the kind of place that's been selling aroma therapy oils, books on build-your-own-yurt, and sand-cast bells from Arcosanti for longer than almost anyone can remember.

It's a must see kind of place -- to go back to if you were there once, and to visit for the first time if you're driving south from Carmel.

There's a restaurant - "california cuisine" of course. There's the cutting-edge-chic gift shop and there's The Deck. It's a deck that faces southwest, over the pine and redwood towards the amazing vistas of Big Sur.

Go and have the organic egg, tofu and mung bean omlette and a soy latte -- smile at the pretentiousness of it all, and - honestly - be grateful there are places as beautiful as this we can still all enjoy.

The Nepenthe web site: [[http://www.nepenthebigsur.com/ ]]

AND - their recommendation for what may be one of the grandest beaches .. in the world.  : Our Favorite Beach - Pfeiffer Beach - Just two-miles north of Nepenthe, with a five minute drive down Sycamore Canyon Road is one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Pfeiffer Beach has been photographed by Ansel Adams, and is featured prominently in "The Sand Piper." Coming to Big Sur, and not enjoying a walk on this beach would be a real shame. To get to Pfeiffer Beach, drive north from Nepenthe on Highway One. After you crest the hill, in about half a mile you will pass Big Sur Center Deli and the US Post Office on your left. In another quarter mile you will go over an unmarked bridge. Just 300 yards later you will see an unmarked, paved road, heading downhill to your left. Take this road two miles to the end and park. There is a short path through cypress trees opening onto the mile long Pfeiffer Beach. Be careful, it is easy to miss the turn from Highway One. Though there is no sign, after you make the turn you will see a sign which reads "Narrow, winding road, trailer traffic not recommended." There is a $5.00 dollar charge for parking at Pfeiffer Beach, but the visit makes the parking fee a bargain. If you take the wrong road, you will find yourself on private property. So please watch where you turn. Other Beaches of note include Garrapatta, Jade Cove, Pacific Valley Store and Sand Dollar Beaches. Stop by Nepenthe and ask directions to any of these great spots.

[edit] Colorado

[edit] Connecticut

Kent Falls, Kent, Connecticut

http://www.ctwaterfalls.com/pictures/KentFalls_5.jpg

While no-one will mistake this northwestern Connecticut waterfall as something along the Zambezi, the series of cascades makes for an enjoyable day trip from just about anywhere in connecticut or, for that matter, New York City.

Although Kent Falls is sometimes considered the highest fall in Connecticut, it is actually a series of waterfalls and cascades that drop 250 feet over a quarter mile.

There are two major drops in this series a lower falls and an upper falls, with the lower falls (the three largest drops of that falls, at least) visible right at the entrance to the park.

It's a subdued quiet sort of park - a large grassy area, a bunch of picnic tables, and lots of trails that lead you up, around, and sometimes *through* the cascades.

[edit] Delaware

[edit] Florida

[edit] Georgia

[edit] Hawaii

[edit] Idaho

[edit] Illinois

Evanston Illinois - If you're going to Chicago to look at skyscrapers, sample cuisine from around the world, check out quality theatre, or just to see how a large city can be well run, that's fine.

If you're in the mood for something just a little different, though, do something natives do. Climb aboard the local commuter train - the METRA - and head up to Evanston. (It's pretty much the first town north of Chicago).

Evanston is a town that even Hollywood couldn't make up about life in the Midwest. Hugging Lake Michigan, there are miles of walking and jogging paths that occasionally give teasing views of the metropolis to the south. There's a local historical society that's adjacent to a lighthouse and sand dunes (something that always surprises 'coastal' US residents). There are broad cottonwood shaded streets and rambling Midwestern frame houses that still have swinging benches. Home of Northwestern University and the highly respected Kellogg Business School (yes - the same Kellogg family), Evanston has its share of bookstores, inexpensive restaurants and coffeehouses. One recommendation: Kaffeine is a coffee house that's open till the wee hours of the morning, 7 days a week. Predictably enough, it's often full of local students doing homework -- and perhaps not as predictably, ALL its espresso drinks are doubles.

[edit] Indiana

[edit] Iowa

[edit] Kansas

[edit] Kentucky

[edit] Louisiana

[edit] Maine

[edit] Maryland

[edit] Massachusetts

Crane Beach, Ipswitch MA. The Bostonian world is roughly trisected into three parts: the Western Suburbs, The South Shore, and The North Shore. To the West are towns and places most people have heard of: Lexington, Concord, Walden Pond. Going south and you head to 'The Cape' (Cape Cod). Going North - and towns become increasingly quaint.

About a half hour north of Boston is a coastal town, Ipswitch. The town itself is pretty quiet but the real gem of the place is its beach - Crane Beach. You have miles of white sand facing the Atlantic surf.

The area is generally undeveloped. You won't find cheese-y beach stuff here - what you will find is one of the great beaches of New England.

Red Lion Inn, Western Massachusetts There are times when we should travel in a way that reminds us of a pre-Starbucks, pre-sushi-bar, pre-Yoga America. In the western corner of Massachusetts is an art-sy little town called Lennox. The Main Street of the town is actually a stretch of one of the country's earliest 'motorways' - Route 7. There's a hotel on the main street -- the Red Lion Inn. Think wainscoting, quietly lit dining rooms with colonial portraits and menu items like Shepherd's Pie and Pork Chops. Along the front of this inn is a glorious porch. A porch that stretches 150 feet in length, that has ceiling fans and - best of all, has dozens (and dozens... it seems) of Kennedy-esque rocking chairs that you can settle down in (anyone - not just hotel patrons), and watch the world go by while sipping on an iced tea.

[edit] Michigan

[edit] Minnesota

[edit] Mississippi

[edit] Missouri

[edit] Montana

[edit] Nebraska

[edit] Nevada

[edit] New Hampshire

[edit] New Jersey

[edit] New Mexico

[edit] New York

The Best Museum in New York City.

The Frick

You know the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Musuem of Modern Art, The Guggenheim, but have you considered The Frick Collection?

The Frick is housed in the palatial former home of US Steel Founder and art patron Henry Clay Frick. The collection; dominated by old masters and pre-20th century fine and decorative arts, was in fact Henry Frick's personal collection.

Instead of the cavernous galleries of the Met, or the sterile modern galleries typical in modern museums, the Frick collection is displayed in a uniquely domestic setting. You get a real feel for how one the pre-eminent art collectors of the 19th century lived with his collection. You see Hans Holbein portaits hanging in Frick's study just as they did during his life. All the public rooms on the main floor are largely as they were when Frick lived here.

The smaller more intimate size of the museum often means smaller crowds than at the larger more famous museums. And you will be sacrificing anything in quality. Frick's collecting instincts and taste were superb. You'll find Valazquez, Ingres, Bellini, El Greco, and De Goya among others.

[edit] North Carolina

[edit] North Dakota

[edit] Ohio

[edit] Oklahoma

[edit] Oregon

[edit] Pennsylvania

[edit] Rhode Island

[edit] South Carolina

[edit] South Dakota

[edit] Tennessee

[edit] Texas

[edit] Utah

[edit] Vermont

[edit] Virginia

[edit] Washington

[edit] West Virginia

[edit] Wisconsin

[edit] Wyoming