PICK OF THE WEEK
“Escape to the Hawaiian Islands”
(Fodor’s, $20)
The maddening thing about travel stereotypes is that they so often are true, or at least were at one time. That’s how they became stereotypes. Hawaii, love of my travel life, is a textbook example of how a destination can, in turns, benefit from and fall victim to its stock images. The hula dancers, music, colorful shirts and tiki gods that made Hawaii seem exotic in the 1950s and ’60s became the same things that made the place seem a tacky, touristy has-been by the 1980s–and that are enjoying a revival of respectability today, thanks to the political correctness of multiculturalism and the marketing ploy of adventure travel. True travelers know that the soul of any place runs much deeper than its imagery and is infinitely more varied than a handful of stereotypes, even recently minted ones. It takes a remarkable book–and this definitely is one–to communicate that depth and variety. Bob Holmes’ photos focus on Hawaii beyond the package tours and away from the resorts. This book visits the astronomical observatories atop Mauna Kea, studies the petroglyphs of Lanai, enters a canoe race off Maui, shops the farmers market in Hilo and eats with the locals at a saimin diner on Kauai. It doesn’t ignore Waikiki Beach; it just doesn’t dwell on it. This is primarily a photo book, but there is accompanying prose by Paul Wood. The text reflects the current trend of torturing Hawaiian words with a flurry of accent marks and apostrophes: so that a simple word like “luau” becomes L, U-with-a-long-accent-mark-over-it, apostrophe, A, U. Perhaps to avoid too much of this “punctuation soup,” Hawaiian terms are kept to a minimum. Everything’s packed into a hardcover that’s not much bigger or thicker than a CD, just the right size for the bedside table–and the best of dreams. (ISBN 0-679-00798-9)
TRAVEL GAMES
City Visions: San Francisco
(TLI Games, $6.99)
They designed this pack of cards to work as a game: photo on one side with corresponding questions and answers on the reverse. That’s an OK way to use CityVisions. But I tend to see this product as more akin to baseball cards, with more than 70 of the city’s famous places featured as “players.” The cards are more compact than a book, so they’re easy to take along in car or plane. Particulars about the Golden Gate Bridge, the Embarcadero ice rink, Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant and shopping on Union Street are all here. Another fun aspect is that some cards ask-and-tell you where the photographer stood to take the photo–all the better to find that vantage point yourself to snap the same view. All versions, including ones for Chicago, Los Angles, New York and Washington, are available through amazon.com. (ISBN 0-9654538-1-2)
MAPS
AAA Tour Guide: New Orleans
(AAA, $5.95)
This fold-out map serves double duty as a travel guide. Unfolded, each side presents grids for greater New Orleans, the French Quarter and downtown that are identical but for their focus; one side describes hotels and restaurants and locates them on the maps, and the other side describes and locates tourist attractions and entertainment venues. The suggested walking tour of the French Quarter is particularly helpful. Short blocks of text explain cuisine such as lucky dogs and andouille; Mardi Gras customs; and where to shop and find the nightlife. Charts let you compare the prices and merits of restaurants and hotels, and a how-to section is honest enough to warn that “parking in the French Quarter is extremely difficult.” When you’re through, the map folds neatly back into its card-stock cover. Additional titles in the series cover Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Chicago, New York, Washington and Orlando; soon to come are Miami, Honolulu, Vancouver and Seattle. (ISBN 1-56251-348-6)
DINING GUIDES
“Out to Eat: San Francisco 2001”
(Lonely Planet, $12.99)
It’s only a matter of time. There’ll soon be no rock unturned, no alley unexplored, no bed unrumpled, no plate uncleaned by Lonely Planet in its quest to cover the world. Now, better make that eat the world as well, for the publishing juggernaut has introduced a new series of dining books. In this volume, it divides and conquers the bars, bistros, brew pubs and brasseries of the Bay Area. Eateries are arranged by neighborhood, from the oh-so-trendy Fleur de Lys in the Terderloin to the flip-’em-and-weep Burger Joint in the Mission District. Each restaurant description is accompanied by icons that advise if a place tends to be noisy or is a good bet for business lunches or romantic dinners. Plentiful maps give this series an advantage over other dining guides, and a glossary helps you navigate dining lingo such as gambas al pil pil, Niman Schell beef and injera. Also new titles for Melbourne, Sydney, London and a French-language version for Paris. (ISBN 1-86450-084-0)
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To submit materials for consideration in Resourceful Traveler, mail them to:
Toni Stroud
Chicago Tribune
435 N. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60611
