Ware Travel

On our Alaska cruise we stopped in the small town of Haines, Alaska. The town might be small but it has what is likely the largest collection of hammers in the world. This amazing collection can be seen at the Hammer Museum. The museum is easy to find just look for the giant hammer standing up in the yard. The yard itself is like an outdoor art museum with hammers. Entrance to the museum is $5. Kids 12 and under are free. If you want to visit all 3 museums in Haines you can save 20% by getting a 3 in 1 ticket. The museum is open from May through September from Monday to Saturday. The rest of the year it can be opened by appointment. Even if you are not interested in tools and hammers there is sure to be something in this museum you will find interesting. Hammers are used in all kinds of professions. There was a section of medical hammers, musical hammers, and more. The museum contains over 2,000 hammers. The curator is very knowledgeable and friendly. He is happy to share...

Everyone in the world knows Disneyland. Most people in the US know Universal's. Coaster enthusiast know Six Flags Magic Mountain. Knott's Berry Farm is less well known than these other parks. That is why I like to think of it as the So Cal secret. Many of you know Disneyland claims to be the first theme park but Knott's claims to be America's first theme park. Knott's certainly did open before Disneyland. The only real question is if was an amusement park or a theme park then. It certainly had a wild west theme but is a single theme enough to qualify as a theme park. Actually I think it does since there are other parks that have one theme and call themselves theme parks. I think it would be better to say Disneyland is the first mute-themed theme park. Growing up in LA what I liked about Knott's was that it was in between Disneyland and Six Flags. When you get to be an older kid Disney loses some its of its magic. You gravitate toward the extreme thrills...

Everyone thinks Paris is an amazing place. It is supposed to be the most romantic place in the world. I believed this lie until I went to Paris. Now I know better. While I was in Paris I was offered your typical vices like prostitution and some drugs. As an young American male you get offered these kind of thing s from time to time. The thing that surprised me was how regular it was and the variety. I was offered hash which was a first but I was even offered crack. I am not an expert but I would think if offering drugs you might start out small with things like marijuana and work your way up to the hard drugs. It doesn't seem like a good idea to let people know you have or can get such serious drugs. I even was offered either fake or stolen cell phones and high end watches. The guy who offered me these items had them in his coat. It was almost comical being the real life version of the classic character with a trench coat selling goods of dubious nature. There are also tons...

This isn't going to be an in depth article about Ukraine. This is just going to be a general overview.  I want to let readers know why I was surprised by Ukraine. When you think of former Soviet locations you probably think of Soviet block type architecture. The same apartment buildings all over with no soul. You think of obsolete factories with huge smokestacks spewing out black death upon the people. You think of large mean men in long black leather coats that go by Boris and are probably part of the Pravda. You also probably think the whole place looks run down and the sky a constant grey. I even lived in a place in China that this is pretty accurate. I referred to the place as Post-apocalyptic Soviet. These kind of places do exist. Ukraine though was not like this. To be fair their certainly were parts of Ukraine that had a run down look. There were clear signs of the communist rule like other parts Eastern Europe. Ukraine did not get stuck in the Soviet era and onl...

If you like Dark Rides then you will love Vienna's Prater Amusement Park. Prater is located in the Austrian capital of Vienna. Prater is similar to New York's Central Park. Prater is a large park with normal park amenities. It also features a variety of restaurants. What sets Prater apart from Central Park though is the Amusement Park which is similar to many European and Asian fun fairs but on a much larger scale. Prater is like a permanent county fair on steroids. The park has a number of attractions that are large carnival rides along with permanent rides. Some of these large carnival rides though are far larger then what we have in the US. The carnival rides in Europe are giant compared to anything you have seen in the US. The park itself is free but the rides all cost. The cost vary and there may be a free different deals going on which will allow you to ride a large number of rides for a lower rate. The rides are not owned by one company but different fa...

(He looks so familiar) You might remember hearing about the  Fake Disneyland  earlier. Well there is a less well known Disneyland knock-off in China. It is also located in Beijing. The park is known as Chaoyang Park. It is the largest park in Beijing. It is like Central Park with an entrance fee and a theme park. (Is this where we talk to Stitch?) Like most theme parks in China there is an entrance fee and separate fees for each attraction. However most attractions are very inexpensive. Chaoyang is not just a theme park though. It is also a large city park. It feature a lake that you can rent boats on. The park features art sculptures. This park is where the Olympic Beach Volleyball tournament was held. There is a water park in the park that is an additional fee. The park also features many sports facilities. Unlike the US though these sports facilities cost money to use. This is common in Asia as well as parts of Europe. The park has a rope course. Their is ...