Automobile Club of Southern California
The Auto Club of Southern California
We’re Always With You!
- Search Calendar
Your guide to upcoming local events - Back Issues Online
Catch up on any of the issues you missed - Back to TOC »
Credit: courtesy Turismo Valencia
Spanish Beauty
In June and July 2007, Valencia, Spain, will host the 32nd America's Cup race — the first to be held in Europe in more than 150 years. Yachting fans who visit will find a Mediterranean city with boatloads of attractions, including the City of Arts and Sciences (pictured). The complex includes one of Europe's largest aquariums (the Oceanographic) and an eye-shaped planetarium (the Hemispheric), as well as the Queen Sofía Palace of the Arts, designed by Valencia-born Santiago Calatrava. With spaces for opera, concerts, dance, and theater, the palace resembles a giant clamshell about to open. Learn more from the Tourist Office of Spain at (323) 658-7188 or okspain.org.
Harnessing Safety
Children can fly more safely with a lightweight seat harness recently approved by the Federal Aviation Administration. The one-pound harness protects the upper torso of young passengers who don't get the support they need from lap belts. It's designed for children who can sit upright, are one year or older and weigh 22-44 pounds, and are no more than 40 inches tall. Suggested retail price: $74.95. Visit kidsflysafe.com.
—Brenda Tabor
Kid Stuff
Juggling waiters. Singers and dancers in bright costumes. A salad tossed in time to music. The Master Chef's Dinner (pictured, left) is just one of the things Holland America Line is offering these days to entice families. On most of the line's ships, teens can hang out in the Loft or meet friends on deck at the Oasis (pictured, right), new facilities that were added as part of the company's recent $225-million fleetwide upgrade. Eight- to 12-year-old kids now have their own Club HAL areas on board with video games and deck sports. Three- to seven-year-olds have play areas that resemble oversized paint buckets and include a giant tape dispenser slide. For a nominal cost, parents traveling with infants can have diapers, baby food, and formula delivered to their staterooms. The line provides cribs, booster seats, and high chairs at no cost.
 |
 |
Credit: Phil Coblentz/SFCVB
Bay Bridge
A Day With Emperor Norton
In 1859, San Francisco businessman Joshua Norton lost a fortune, went mad, and proclaimed himself "Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico." Thanks to the Barbary Coast's freewheeling spirit, not only was Emperor Norton not sent off to an insane asylum, but he also became a compadre of Mark Twain, printed his own money, ordered the construction of what would later become the Bay Bridge, wrote to the Queen of England, and became the most beloved San Franciscan of the 19th century. He's now been brought to life in a new play, Emperor Norton, the Musical. Following in the footsteps of The Imperial One makes a memorable day by the Bay.
- Have breakfast at the swank Palace Hotel (2 New Montgomery Street; 415-512-1111; sfpalace.com), where the emperor futilely demanded to be housed.
- Take the Barbary Coast Trail walking tour, either guided by or with a map from the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society (785 Market Street, Suite 600; 415-775-1111; sfhistory.org).
- Stop for lunch and an Emperor Norton Lager at the San Francisco Brewing Company (155 Columbus Avenue; 415-434-3344; sfbrewing.com).
- Head to the Transbay Terminal (First and Mission streets), where a plaque honors the man whose "prophetic wisdom conceived and decreed the bridging of San Francisco Bay."
- Dine on cioppino at Tadich Grill (240 California Street; 415-391-1849), the 1849 landmark that was a regular haunt of His Majesty.
- End the day with the 8 p.m. performance of Emperor Norton, the Musical, which runs on weekends at the Shelton Theater (533 Sutter Street; 415-433-1227; sheltontheater.com).
No Nerds Here
Built NY Electric's neoprene sleeves for cell phones, PDAs, cameras, and laptops provide a stylish way to protect your electronic devices while you travel. The smaller sleeves can be attached to a bag via a sturdy hook, and the laptop sleeves, while not tough enough to ensure a computer's safety, are sufficient to keep a laptop from getting scratched by the other things knocking around in your carry-on luggage. (212) 227-2044; builtny.com.
The Healthy Traveler
Solar Protection
The first effective sunscreen protection from UVA rays — the rays linked to wrinkles and skin cancer — has arrived. The FDA recently approved the sunscreen
ingredient Mexoryl SX. In the U.S., it's currently available only in a facial moisturizer called Anthelios SX, sold by dermatologists. There's no word
on when a full-body sunscreen will be out in the U.S., but Anthelios brand full-body sunscreens — in over-the-counter lotions, creams, and gels — are available
through online pharmacies in Canada. (Europe and Canada approved the UVA sunscreen in the early 1990s.) For information about online pharmacies, visit safeshoppingnetwork.com.
— B.T.
To make travel arrangements for AAA MemberVacations, visit your AAA Travel office, call 888.874.7222 or go to aaa-calif.com/travel.
You are reading the January/February 2007 issue of Westways. Some information contained in this publication is time-sensitive, and the terms of some offers (cruise or vacation packages, for example) or services (provisions for roadside assistance, for example) might have been superseded by subsequent information and might no longer apply.