Roadtripping

Oktoberfest and biergartens

You might think that Oktoberfest celebrations would begin in October. You are being too literal. In Munich, where Oktoberfest originated more than two centuries ago, the festival begins in mid-September and runs to the first Sunday in October. That wasn’t always the case. The original party celebrated the marriage of Prince Ludwig of Bavaria to Princess Therese of Saxony-Holdburghausen on Oct. 12, 1810. Copious beer-drinking wasn’t added for some years. Oktoberfest is still held on the same spot — Theresienwiese, or Therese’s Meadow — but has grown in duration (usually 16 days in Munich) and number (all over the world). Now, to commemorate Oktoberfest, CheapFlights.com has compiled its 10 favorite beer gardens — three in Munich, two in the U.S. (Milwaukee and Brooklyn), and the rest in Brazil, Tokyo, Austria, Sydney, and Vancouver. B.C. You can find the detailed list here.

Countdown to Endeavor's final departure from Kennedy Space Center

As space shuttle Endeavor is being prepped for its final trip — to Los Angeles, where it will go on display at the California Science Center — consider its vital statistics: 25 missions, 299 days in space, 122,883,151 miles traveled, and 133 astronauts carried.

On Sept. 17, Endeavor will begin its flight to California on the back of the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, a specially designed Boeing 747. Kennedy Space Center is offering special tours in advance of the departure and special seating to watch the takeoff.

On Sept. 14 and 15, the Endeavor Bus Tour will drive by the mate-demate device as the shuttle is being mated to the aircraft; it will also drive by Launch Pad 39-A, from which most shuttle missions were launched. Cost is $20 ($14 children) in addition to admission to the center.

On Sept. 17, visitors can watch the takeoff and fly-over of Endeavor from the shuttle launch facility at about 7:30 a.m.; seats are $40 (plus admission). They can also watch the fly-over from the Rocket Garden of Kennedy Space Center or the live NASA broadcast in the center’s IMAX theater at no extra charge above regular admission ($50 adult/$40 child ages 3-11).

The public also can see the departure from outside Kennedy Space Center. The aircraft carrying Endeavor will fly over various parts of the Space Coast at about 1,500 feet above the ground, said Michael Curie, a NASA spokesman.

For tickets and information, click here or call 877-313-2610.

Endeavor is the last of the shuttles to depart for a permanent home in a museum. The Enterprise is in the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum in New York City, and Discovery is at Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, part of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum.

Atlantis will remain at Kennedy Space Center, where it will go on display in the summer of 2013 in a building now under construction. 

Photo: Space shuttles Atlantis (L) and Endeavour face each other as Endeavour backs out of the Orbiter Processing Facility and Atlantis is moved out of the Vehicle Assembly Building on Aug. 16. Roberto Gonzalez/Getty Images

My foodie day in Naples

You might not be lured by the promise of an olive oil tasting. I was.

I was planning a road trip to Naples to try out the Scion iQ, Toyota's answer to the Smart Car, when I heard about a new food tour in that city. What better way for a foodie like me to spend half a day in Naples, city of snowbirds and money? So I bought a ticket for the end of my stay.

Right now,  Naples is in its low season. Seasonal homeowners shutter their places and leave til the holidays. Restaurant owners take long vacations. Even the art museum is closed for the summer. So Naples Food Tours is doing only one food tour a week, on Saturdays, until the snowbirds start returning. In the spring, the company was doing three tours a week, varying the shops and restaurants so that someone who took a tour in March could do another in April and have little or no overlap in the stops. But in the slow season, there are fewer choices.

We had five stops, starting with the Naples Olive Oil Co., where we sipped thimble-sized samples of several olive oils and several balsamic vinegars. We were all stunned by how good the combination of strawberry balsamic vinegar and basil-infused olive oil tasted -- there we were, happy to be drinking salad dressing out of tiny paper cups.

We went to a pizza place for a slice, and some of the guys snuck off to the bar for a beer. We ate calamari at a seafood restaurant, Greek cheese and Hungarian and Bulgarian sausage at a cheese shop, and had a glass of wine at both places. We ended at Norman Love Confections, sampling beautiful and expensive chocolates.

Then I went to Trader Joe's. Why this purveyor of discounted wine and gourmet goodies would open its first Florida store in a city with perhaps the state's highest concentration of wealthy residents, I can't figure out. Seems like the wrong demographic. I know people from this side of the state who drive the 100 miles or so to Naples just to go to Trader Joe's and buy Three-Buck Chuck (the store's private label wine, at $3 a bottle). On this day I joined them.

So I drove back home with a stash of goodies I had bought on my foodie day in Naples: wine, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, cheese, chocolates, spiced nuts. I'll be tasting those memories for some time to come.

 

Mini-car road trip adventures Part 2

Last month, at the invitation of the Smart Car people, I took one of the tiny cars to Sebring for the weekend. This weekend, I’ve got the Smart Car’s competitor, the Toyota Scion iQ, 14 inches and one cylinder larger. The road trip: Marco Island and Naples.

The iQ has a very different personality. That fourth cylinder – the Smart Car has only three – makes an enormous difference, for this car has a lot more get-up-and-go. Unlike the Smart Car, the iQ has a pretend backseat, a bench that wouldn’t seat two full-grown adults or anyone with knees. But that backseat folds down and turns into cargo space approximately the equivalent of the Smart Car, which is plenty for two people going away for the weekend. The Smart Car’s front seats are more comfortable, however.

Stuff stowed in the back seat, I headed across Alligator Alley, with Daniel Silva’s latest audio book, The Fallen Angel, in the CD player.

This is low season for Collier County. The advantages: I got a great deal on Priceline for a room at the Hilton Marco Island Resort, $99 a night, compared to $199 a night on Hotel.com. I booked a massage at the hotel spa at the last minute.  I had my choice of waterside tables at the Capri Fish House.  Disadvantages: The art museum is closed until late September, as are some restaurants.

And the car? It's just fine for a weekend getaway.