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By Neil, 19 November 2007

This is the first time Kate and I have hosted a blog carnival on our site and we are very excited for the opportunity. My favorite part of the process was weeding out the unrelated, the advertising, or the completely insane (nothing like a lesson about breast cancer or a computer component add-icle to really help you appreciate cities!). OK, the jokes are out so let’s being.

We’ve been hearing a lot about “buying local” these days so we decided to start are Carnival of Cities with a little trip to our own Salt Lake City, Utah to join a “Shop Outside the Box” parade in an article called “Shop Outside the Box Salt Lake City!” hosted by www.kateandneil.com.

Well wasn’t that a treat. Kate doesn’t mind a good costume opportunity! While we are still in the parading mood why don’t we jump cross continent to the eastern seaboard and try and catch the 81st Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. The Explorer Pass Blog has some interesting history and facts about the parade in their article titled “Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade” as well as sound advice for those planning to attend.

And we thought we would never get tired of parades, but man we are pooped. All this celebratory fanfare has really taken it out of us and we are sure you all are just as exhausted. We better head strait to Washington DC and get a room in the Willard Hotel. Before you go, you’d better read this very informative article by the DC Traveler titled “The Willard Hotel – Power Central” which has a very interesting description and history of the hotel including a blip on where the term lobbyist came from.

Now we are all rested, our minds fresh and bodies invigorated why not pack our bags, get a ticket, and start tackling a controversial topic or two. First lets move straight to Cleavland, Ohio where The Bag Lady is going to teach us what happens to a community when its citizenry try to buy more than we can afford in her eyeopening article, “Cleveland is Getting Owned by Germans.”

If you’re still in a feisty mood, as of course we are, than let’s mosey on over to dreamy California to hear about two issues affecting the cities of Emeryville and Santa Cruz. Lets start with Emeryville where The Bay Radical uncovers buried secrets about the local shopping mall in “The Shellmound.” I probably shouldn’t say but…it’s built on an archaeological site! As if California didn’t have enough problems there’s also Teresa Miller’s article, “UCSC Students Act Out,” about the endless battle between environmentalists, city planners, and UCSC against the far reaching tentacles of urban sprawl and sub-par-burbia.

Wow there are a lot of issues in the world. Sometimes we get so overwhelmed we head to a quite place to get away from it all…some place like a museum. Well great news the Seattle Traveler knows the perfect place. How about the “Audubon Birds of Display at MOHAI.” In this post you will find an interesting description of the art show as well as helpful information about planning your trip.

You know, the US is great and all and we hate to leave it, but there is a wide world out there and if we don’t get a move on we’ll never see it all. So we propose heading south to Mexico City (one of Kate and Neil’s favorite cities in the world) and meeting our good friend The Aussie Mom, I mean Mum, for a fun filled day in “The Big Smoke.”

Mexico City was so interesting and beautiful Kate and I can’t help but be drawn somewhere else in the world…and that somewhere happens to be Cambodia and we are going to need a guide. Art Thailand was kind enough to agree to show us around Cambodia’s mysterious “Tonle Sap Lake” and boy are we in for a treat. Rarely visited by tourists, Tonle Sap Lake is a treasure trove of sights, smells, and even a little bit of danger.

Now that we’re over the thrill of riverboats, crocodiles, and mangrove let’s head to Europe for a little taste of history, fashion, and chaos. Out first destination will be none other than Barcelona, Spain for the one of kind “Fiesta de la Mercé.” If we and Joanna España survive through the insanity that apparently takes over Barcelona during this holiday, then it will only be because Lady Luck was by our side.

Good thing we survived because we’ve two more places to go and our time is running short. Our final stop is Paris but we couldn’t get a direct flight and will have to stop in Lithuania (airlines these days!) for a connecting flight. Do be chagrined, according to the American in Oslo Lithuania is an interesting and beautiful place with more history in its pinkie finger than can be found in the entire US. In the article, “Lithuania – Vilnius” we learn about the magnificent history of this ancient capital city including a highlight of Vilnius’s ancient churches.

As promised, finally we head to Paris, but before we get there we want to make sure we’ll fit in, because Paris is high fashion and by the looks of it we all need some tips. Well, good news- Busy Bee Lifestyle has a few tips about what’s “in” in France with “Fashion in Paris.”

What a trip we have taken! Kate and I have had a great time reading all the submissions and learning about such interesting places like Tonle Sap Lake, Vilnius, and Cleveland. And don’t forget next Monday, the journey continues at The Go Chicago Card Blog; don’t forget to submit your blog posts to their edition of the Carnival of Cities! And finally the Carnival of Cities is always looking for new participates to host a blog carnival. Just go to Canival of Cities and contact them if you are interested.

Thanks again,
Kate and Neil

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By Neil, 21 August 2007

The ruins looked just like this except not a blue in the sky and darker and with a lot of rain.

So here’s the scoop. The killer hurricane, Dean, forced us to cancel the Kelly family trip to Cancun. Kate and I were suposed to meet her family in Cancun tomorrow afternoon but Cancun officials have  asked tourists not to come. So tickets have ben canceled and plans changed. As of now we are meeting in San Diego. Lucky for us BYU has changed our tickets so we can meet them there.

In the meantime Kate and I we have decided to visit Palenque, a famouse Mayan city that trived during the Early and Lateclassic periods (425 – 725 AD). Yesterday we arrived by bus…and by bus I mean food processor. I get car sick about as often as Bush admints he makes mistakes, but by the end of the ride I was ready to give up the morning meal. To make matters worse they ran a 6 hour “Die Hard” marathon…and the bus ride was only 5 hours…go figure. We crashed in the first hotel we could find (with a pool) and had a nice dinner, a lovely swim, and a crapy sleep on crappy beds. I will let Kate tell you more about this in her forthcoming entery.

This mroning we went to the ruins and man are they amazing. The only problem is we are experaancing a little of Dean’s furry and it has been raining all day. Just after we entered teh park some tourists were walking through the jungle when a giant tree branch nearly fell on them. Luckly they ran to safty, but it was crazy.

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By Neil, 16 August 2007

It has just been brought to my attention Hurricane Dean is progressing through the Caribbean and in all likelihood will hit Cancun the day before the Kelly family and Kate and I arrive.

The following outcomes were predicted by NASA’s super computer, Columbia:

1. Kelly family’s flight is delayed in Texas for a day or two before it is safe to land in Cancun. When they land they find Cancun a desolated rumble heap with the entire population of tourists absent because they have illegally immigrated to Chiapas, Mexico. Kate and Neil have to steal a scooter and scoot their way through the eye of the hurricane at 35 miles an hour until they get to Cancun and meet the rest of the family. They all have a wonderful family vacation living in the remains of 5 star hotels and eating deep sea creatures washed up from the tsunami that follows.
2. The Kelly family is able to fly to Cancun on schedule however they must fly around the hurricane adding 130 hours of flight time. By the time they land in Cancun they have just enough time to run through the airport and catch their flight home. In the mean time Kate and Neil start a NGO to help displaced tourists find foster families. While Kate remains a charitable saint Neil embezzles most of the hundreds of millions of aids dollars sent to the NGO. He eventually buys the state of Oaxaca from the Mexican government in what becomes known as the Oaxacan purchase, declares himself Mayan king, and rules the region with blood and terror the remained of his short days until he is violently dethroned by a CIA backed Mayan Liberation Army (MLA). The MLA eventually take over and rule with even more blood and terror. The MLA begins training terrorist who make an attack on American soil affecting mostly farm land. The US retaliates and starts a “short war” that turns out to be a quagmire costing the US thousands of soldier lives and billions of dollars only to withdraw in defeat.
3. The Kelly family arrives without a hitch. During the few short hours they are in the air the Republican Party is found to be slave trading, illegally trafficking stolen human organs, and funding the largest systematic massacre of bunnies, puppies, and kittens. All of them are forced to resign and flee to Mexico as political refugees. Kate and Neil arrive on time in what turns out to be a pleasant bus ride from Campeche. Refugeed republicans are forced to seek low wage jobs throughout the Yucatan. The Kelly family vacation is wonderful, the sun comes out, the world’s pollution goes away, and during a nice seafood dinner the Kelly family is served by none other than George Walker Bush…and they Kelly’s don’t leave a tip.