TripCart :: The Travel Blog

Michael Jackson Concert Venues

As a tribute to Michael Jackson, we dug through the web to list some significant Michael Jackson concert venues in the United States. His last concert as part of a world tour in the United States was on January 27, 1989 (20 YEARS AGO!) in Los Angeles at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, not far at all from Staples Center.

Other stops on the Bad World Tour were in:

• Kemper Arena in Kansas City
• Madison Square Garden in New York
• St. Louis Arena (demolished)
• Freedom Hall in Louisville, KY
• McNichols Sports Arena in Denver (demolished)
• Hartford Civic Center
• The Summit in Houston (now Lakewood Church)
  
• The Omni in Atlanta (demolished)
• Rosemont Horizon in Chicago
• Reunion Arena in Dallas
• Met Center in Minneapolis (demolished)
• Irvine Meadows Amphitheater (now known as Verizon Wireless - not to be confused with the Verizon Wireless in Virginia)
• The Palace of Auburn Hills in Detroit
• Capital Centre (demolished) in Washington DC
• Richfield Coliseum in Cleveland
• The Meadowlands Arena in New Jersey
• Civic Arena (now called the Mellon Arena) in Pittsburgh

Prior to that - The Jackson's 1984 Victory Tour took him to 17 US cities:

• Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, MO
• Texas Stadium in Dallas
• Gator Bowl in Jacksonville
• Giants Stadium in New Jersey
• Madison Square Garden in NY
• RFK Stadium in Washington, DC
• Neyland Stadium  in Knoxville
• Pontiac Silverdome  in Detroit
• Rich Stadium  in Buffalo
• JFK Stadium  in Philadelphia (demolished)
• Mile High Stadium  Denver
• Comiskey Park in  Chicago
• Cleveland Stadium
• Fulton County Stadium in  Atlanta (demolished)
• Miami's Orange Bowl
• Houston Astrodome
• Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles

The Jackson's 1981 Triumph Tour took him to 39 US cities. I will list them in a future post (assuming this post is well received by MJ fans)

Interested in a pilgrimage to sites of his more recent appearances:

• Performed Rock With You as part of the 1980 UNICEF Benefit Concert at Nassau Coliseum in New York
• On Sept 10, 2001 (and three days before) at Madison Square Garden in New York
• United We Stand: What More Can I Give charity concert (for Sept 11 victims) at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC
• Pasadena, California - as part of "American Bandstand 50th.. A Celebration:"
• Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York in 2002, his final appearance in the United States

To the best of my knowledge, Michael Jackson never performed on Broadway, but he did perform with the Jackson 5 at Radio City Music Hall.

Southwest and Bar Refaeli help TripCart kick off Beach season

While half of the United States is buried in snow, Southwest airlines has decided to help out TripCart and cheer up the freezing citizens of the east coast by kicking off Beach Season. They even went to the trouble of painting a plane that will inspire people to plan their beach vacation on TripCart. You should not have trouble spotting this plane, pictured above but for the die-hard aviation nuts out there, the plane can be identified by the FAA Registration number on the tail of the 737-7H4 model, which is:

N922WN

Here are some popular beach destinations that Southwest flies to:

When you are finished with the Orlando, Florida places to visit, head to the coast for more places to visit in Florida -caladesi island state park, bathtub beach and sebastian inlet.

All over California - from glass beach in the north through pismo beach and  bolsa chica beach all the way to blacks beach in San Diego.Besides beaches, there are certainly lots of places to visit around Los Angeles, California

Besides the Norfolk, VA James river cruises, down the coast from Norfolk into North Carolina, follow in the footsteps of the Wright Brothers (without whom Bar Refaeli might not be decaled onto a 737) and visit Wrightsville Beach,Hammocks Beach State Park or Hatteras Beach.

And if a subway ride from JFK is about as exotic as you are getting this summer, head to Riis Beach, Orchard Beach in the Bronx, Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach in Brooklyn or - if you are a fan of the Ramones - Rock Rock Rock Rock Rockaway Beach. Then head back to the city and enjoy some of the fun things to do in Manhattan and NYC.

Picture from Crystal Cove State Park

Absolute stunner of Catalina Island from Crystal Cove State Park in Orange County, CA.

(thanks Automania)

Picture of Nighttime in Santa Barbara, California

Nighttime in Santa Barbara, California.

(thanks again BURИBLUE)

Picture of the Day (09/15/07) - From TripCart

From San Francisco, California.

(thanks again Thomas Hawk)

Related posts: Biking Like a Dork in San Francisco • Forests are Forever • Central California Coast is on the Map! • Picture of the Day (05/29/07) • Picture of the Day (04/27/07) • Eccentric America

Related travel guides: San Francisco Bay Area Scenery • San Francisco Bay Area Tourist Information • Tourist Attractions around San Francisco Bay Area • Fun Things to Do around the San Francisco Bay Area

Recommended Tourist Attractions in San Francisco: San Francisco's Golden Gate Park • Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf • Lombard Street • The Golden Gate Bridge • San Francisco's Chinatown

BART Widget

If you live around San Francisco and you're lucky enough to have a Mac you should definitely think about downloading this nifty little widget.  The BART Widget is a trip planning tool for those taking public transportation around the Bay Area.  It'll let you know how long it is until your next train, and because it's self-contained it doesn't require a WiFi connection in order to work.  Pretty cool.

Related posts: Calculating Cab Fare • 5 Podcast Tours for The City by the Bay • Biking Like a Dork in San Francisco

Related travel guides: Getting around San Francisco • Shopping in San Francisco Bay Area, Carmel, Napa Valley, Central California • Romantic Vacation Getaways in San Francisco and the Bay Area • Fun Things to Do in San Francisco, California

Recommended Highlights in the region: Westfield Valley Fair Mall - Santa Clara, California • Stoneridge Mall - Pleasanton, California • Stanford Shopping Center Mall - Palo Alto, California

Calculating Cab Fare

Never sure how much that cab's going to cost you?  The Taxi Fare Finder can help give you an idea of how much your next cab will run you.  Just plug in an address or pick a major landmark around the city and this little mashup will give you an approximate price for your trip.  It appears that at the moment the going rate from Fisherman's Wharf to the Presidio is about $15.  The Taxi Fare Finder is available in San Francisco, New York, Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

Giant Squid in California

It's summer time and the squid are out in full force in California.  The massive Humboldt Squid are showing up in record numbers.  If you get the chance, you should take the time to head out to sea on a squid expedition.  Though these squid appear annually, this year is a particularly banner year with squid weighing in at almost 40 pounds (about double their normal size).  Fisherman head out at night using glow in the dark lures, ABC has a video from one boat, it looks like a lot of fun.

Picture of the Day (04/27/07) - From TripCart

Some impromptu breakdancing during the annual 12k Bay to Breakers race in San Francisco.

(thanks jaymce)

Los Angeles Time-lapse

We're such suckers for time-lapse videos.  The one above is artist Tim Biskup throwing up a mural at 616 N. La Brea in Los Angeles.  If you're going to be in Los Angeles any time soon, stop by and check it out.

(thanks again boingboing)

Annie Leibovitz Last Weekend in San Diego

We told you back in October about Annie Leibovitz's retrospective at the Brooklyn Museum. Well, her exhibit is now on the West Coast for one last weekend.  If you want to see a fifteen year retrospective of some of her best professional work, swing by the San Diego Museum of Art by April 22nd before the exhibit ends (the museum warns that you may be waiting up to an hour to get in over the weekend). Leibovitz is known for her portraits of many notable public figures including: Colin Powell, Nicole Kidman, Brad Pitt, Bill Clinton, Demi Moore, William S. Burroughs and many more.

(thanks flyawaycafe)

Related posts: Annie and the Bigwigs in Brooklyn • Magritte in LA • Ron Mueck at the Brooklyn Museum of Art • LEGO Art at Discovery Center Museum • Boston's Institute of Contemporary Art Opens on the Water • Free Museums

Related travel guides: Arts and Entertainment in Southern California Coast

Time Lapse of Los Angeles at Night

Most of us don't have time to stand around all night when we're hanging out in LA but luckily someone did.  Enjoy this fantastic time-lapse of LA with different scenes from around the city, if time is of the essence jump to the planes landing around 1:30.

(thanks again ursi's blog)

FLW in LA

If you're going to be in southern California in the near future and you want to see Frank Lloyd Wright's contributions, you might want to check out this beautiful website first.  There are stunning photos of five different projects that FLW worked on around Hollywood, they include the Hollyhock House, the Ennis House, the Storer House, the Freeman House and La Miniatura.  For us, the Storer House steals the show but unfortunately the site doesn't show the interiors of any of the houses.

Biking Like a Dork in San Francisco

It's a great week for mashups, this one comes to us courtesy of Yahoo but it only works for the time being in San Francisco. Type in your start and end points, select your preference between the most bike friendly and the fastest route and this nifty little site will let you know the most efficient way for you to peddle through the city.  This is a must-have for every bike messenger in town with a PDA.

Related posts: Walk Down the Street with Google Maps Street View • The Top 10 Places to Eat • Top 10 Cities to Feed Your Face • Top 10 Earliest Places to Get Your Ski On

Related travel guides: Outdoor Recreation in Central California • Biking in San Francisco Bay Area, Carmel, Napa Valley, Central California • Cool and Fun Things to Do in San Francisco Bay Area • Shopping in San Francisco

Forests are Forever

ForestsForever is an amazing website that was made in partnership with Fuji Film documenting amazing forests throughout the world. This site abounds with eye candy and it's a good place to spend a few hours just looking around. The photos of Sequoias and Bristlecone Pines (some of which are 4000 years old) in California are absolutely stunning. We're also particularly enamored with the Baobab forests in Madagascar.

(thanks ursi's blog)

Related posts: The Best Designed Hotels in the US • Highest Rated Ski Resorts by Google • One Week and 50 States - The Ultimate Road Trip

Related travel guides: Nature and Wildlife in San Francisco Bay Area, Carmel, Napa Valley, Central California • Scenery - Scenic Views in San Francisco Bay Area, Carmel, Napa Valley, Central California • Nature and Wildlife in Bodega Bay, Mendocino, Eureka, Northern California Coast

Write on Your City

Axel Albin and Josh Kamler live in a neighborhood of San Francisco known as the Mission. Over the summer they started noticing more and more graffiti in the form of messages popping up all over the area and decided to document it on their website writtenonthecity.com - it's a good place to kill some time.  The next time you're in San Francisco, stop by and add your own graffiti to the conversation.

(thanks randomgoodstuff)

Related posts: Cultural Overload in San Francisco • Biking Like a Dork in San Francisco • Finding Salvation at the Salton Sea • AirTran's Passengers: 1 | Toddlers: 0 • The Dance of the Flight Attendant • Central California Coast is on the Map! • Walk Down the Street with Google Maps Street View • Watch Where You Park in Baltimore • San Francisco trip

Related travel guides: Hotels around San Francisco, California • Luxury vacations around San Francisco, California • Romantic vacations around San Francisco, California • Wineries around Napa Valley, California • Kids and Family activities around San Francisco, California

Amazing UFO Clouds

If you're in California in the near future and have the time to make it to Mt. Shasta there's a chance you might see some of these wicked lenticular clouds that sometimes hover above. These crazy clouds that often look like UFOs are formed along mountain ranges all over the world.

(thanks presurfer)

LA to NYC? 2 Hours Tops

Lockheed Martin's got a new super sleek 12-seater executive jet that's costing a mere $2.5 billion to develop out in Nevada.  When all is said and done, the QSST (quiet supersonic travel) jet will rock the 4,600-mile trip from Los Angeles to New York City in under two hours flat.  Finally, you won't have to worry about your video ipod running out of battery before your flight lands.  They're hoping to have diplomats and high-level business execs hopping on board by 2013.  Not to be outdone, Nevada rival Aerion has their own acronym and prototype, the SSBJ (supersonic business jet).  Apparently there's a market for up to 300 of these jets - though the biggest problem (other than the estimated $80 million dollar price tag) is finding engines and figuring out a way to reduce the impact of the sonic boom.

(via wired)

Related posts: Road-Trippin' from LA to NYC in 4 Minutes • FlyLite for the Business Traveler • Rate An Airport Near You • Frequent Flyer Mileage Runners

Related travel guides: Getting to New York City • Fun Things to Do in Manhattan • Places to Visit in Los Angeles, California • Factory Tours in Nevada

Cultural Overload in San Francisco

As if there wasn't enough culture in San Francisco already, the Hotel des Arts will let you soak it in while you sleep.  This French Quarter, boutique hotel features the work of local artists. Standard Queen, Deluxe Queen, and Suites are available by phone reservation only and "designed and painted by emerging artists from around the world. Some Painted Rooms are imaginative installations and some are edgy graffiti inspired works of art. They are available in all three of the room types listed," above.

Central California Coast is on the Map!

We're proud to announce that TripCart's newest travel guide is now online. Go to our site now to check out our central California coast guide.

Here's an excerpt:

From the scenic wineries and vineyards of Napa Valley and Sonoma County, to the bustling, world-famous metropolis of San Francisco, to the tranquil, beautiful coastal towns - the central coast of California region has enough attractions and beauty to entertain any tourist for weeks on end. There is no better way to get around the central California coast than on the famous Pacific Coast Highway (PCH or California Highway 1). The PCH is a beautiful drive that begins south of Los Angeles and slowly winds its way up the coast through San Luis Obispo, Carmel, Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Francisco, Marin County, and finally terminates in Mendocino County. This drive takes you through the best that California has to offer - dozens of historical landmarks, amazing views of coastal beaches and cliffs, and access to some of the most famous cities in the country.