Sherman's Travel

Costume ready? Party planned? What, you don’t have plans yet for Halloween? With just six days left until the gayest holiday of the year, time is ticking to get your ghoul on – especially as its being on a Monday brings a whole weekend of frights beforehand. Let us be your guide with this crib sheet of the coolest gay events from coast to coast. As for costumes, just try to avoid one of these.

CHICAGO: The city’s biggest bash is in Boystown with a parade from Belmont to Bradley on Halsted Street with plenty of boozing, main stage entertainment (Musical of the Living Dead, Chicago Fire Tribe, and more) and after-hours action in the bars and clubs. Visit NorthHalsted.com for more info.

COLUMBUS, OHIO: Held early, on Friday the 28th, The Short North Highball Halloween combines both a public costume contest and a couture contest fashion show with plenty of queer creativity, pulling in crowds of over 20,000 from throughout the Midwest; from 5pm to 1am outdoors, under and around the area’s iconic arches. Read more

Fly across the country or escape somewhere nearby with this nationwide (plus Cancun) Virgin America flight sale. Book by July 29 and travel August 16 through November 16. Cross-country fares in this sale are going for as low as $139, one-way.

Sample One-Way Fares:

•    San Francisco – Las Vegas: $49
•    Seattle – San Francisco: $79
•    Dallas-Fort Worth – Los Angeles: $99
•    Chicago – San Francisco: $109
•    New York – Los Angeles: $139
•    Cancun – San Francisco: $169
•    And more!

THE VALUE: These fares can save you over $100 each way!

THE CATCH: Taxes and fees are not included.

THE DETAILS: To book your flight, visit Virgin America

WE’VE GOT MORE: Use our Travel Search price comparison tool to find great rates on hotels in your destination city!

Not sure where to go? Look to our Travel Guides for some inspiration.

Celebrate America’s birthday in serious style next week with this three-night package at The Joule, one of Dallas’ poshest hotels and a Starwood Luxury Collection property. Travelers who stay for two nights in a row score the third night on the house, and get complimentary tickets to the July 3rd Midnight Pool Party, complete with a live DJ set by Foster The People and noshes from Chef Scott of the hotel’s Charlie Palmer restaurant. The rooftop pool itself is a stunner (we rated it one of our Top 10 Urban Hotel Pools) that cantilevers some eight feet off the edge of the building’s 10th floor.

THE VALUE: Regular room rates start at $249, but this offer slashes the average price to just $166/night. Plus, tickets to the midnight fête cost $45 each – a $90 savings with this package, based on double occupancy.

THE CATCH: You must book this package for three nights.

THE DETAILS: The deal is only available June 30 through July 5; to reserve, call 866-716-8136, and ask for rate plan “BOGO.”

WE’VE GOT MORE: See our Dallas Travel Guide for general trip-planning information, then use our Travel Search price comparison tool to find the lowest rates on flights, packages, and more travel deals.

Qantas: The Australian airline debuted in the Dallas/Fort Worth market on May 16 with flights to Sydney (includes stopover in Brisbane); return flights are nonstop (one-way fares from $499, based on round-trip purchase; www.qantas.com).

Lufthansa: The German airline will launch Airbus A380 service between Miami and Frankfurt on June 10, marking the first opportunity for Miami-area travelers to experience the world’s largest passenger plane (one-way fares from $614; www.lufthansa.com).

JetBlue: Starting on June 17, JetBlue (www.jetblue.com) will expand service from Boston to the Dominican Republic with the launch of that market’s only nonstop route to Santiago (one-way fares from $114).

Porter Airlines: Toronto-based budget carrier Porter Airlines (www.flyporter.com) kicks off its first fall service to Myrtle Beach (following two successful winter/spring seasons) on September 8, offering the only nonstop service between the beach resort and Canada (one-way fares from $179).

From the spring/summer issue of Smart Luxury Travel magazine by ShermansTravel.com.

Use our Travel Search price comparison tool to find the lowest rates on flights, hotels, packages, and more travel deals.

Spring usually means the arrival of warmer weather, blooming flowers, and higher airfare to Europe. Fortunately, KLM is breaking tradition and slashing rates on flights to London, Venice, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Rome, Barcelona, Helsinki, Oslo, Prague, Madrid, Zurich, and Stockholm! This sale coincides with the start of festival season in Europe, so why not pop over to Budapest for the Palinka food and wine festival, Barcelona or Madrid for May Day fiestas, and Stockholm for the popcorn film festival?  Fly now through May 15 from Chicago, New York, Dallas, or San Francisco for rates as low as $278 one-way.

Sample Fares (O/W)
•    New York City – Barcelona: $278+
•    Dallas – Amsterdam: $313+
•    Chicago – London: $336+
•    Miami-Budapest: $374+
•    Washington – Oslo: $379+
•    Houston – Venice: $384+
•    San Francisco – Madrid: $419+

THE VALUE: Fares to Europe in April and May are often close to $500 each way, so this sale saves you an average of $400 round-trip.

THE CATCH: Taxes and fees are not included, and these one-way prices are based on round-trip purchases.

THE DETAILS: Click here to book your flight with KLM.

WE’VE GOT MORE: Use our Travel Search price comparison tool to find the best hotel deals in Europe.

Realistically, Earth Day can be celebrated any day when dining out. It’s easy to find eco-friendly eateries around the country that serve sustainable food and embrace environmental business practices – online directories like the Green Restaurant Association (www.dinegreen.com) even provide state-by-state listings.

But many of these restaurants and cafés step it up a notch on Earth Day itself by offering special menu items and discounts, and producing special events and entertainment. On April 22, dine out and do good at these eight locations nationwide.

Red Stag Supper Club: Start the day with breakfast at Minneapolis’ Red Stag Supperclub (www.redstagsupperclub.com), where all money raised from 8am to 12pm benefits the Land Stewardship Project (www.landstewardshipproject.org). Minnesota’s first LEED-certified restaurant will serve up locally-produced and organic ingredients, while the LSP will give brief presentations.

Eco-Cafe: Write your pledge to go green on the chalkboard in front of New Orleans’ Eco-Café (www.ecocafeno.com) and you’ll get a free cup of organic coffee. That Friday, featured menu items – like the soup and salad combo – will be made exclusively with ingredients from Holly Grove Farm, just three miles away.

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Cowboys Stadium, the site of Super Bowl XLV on Sunday, presents wonders at a previously unheard-of scale: Costing $1.1 billion to build in June 2009, the stadium is the NFL’s most expensive to date and has the world’s largest dome and the biggest high-definition video display.

Yet fans who visit the stadium 20 miles west of Dallas will also notice a Texas-size art program, big in the number of pieces as well as artist reputation. Steel sculptures dangle above entranceways; intricate murals line stairwells; and vivid, geometric plaques swoop above concession-stand signs – part of 19 site-specific art installations spread throughout the 73-acre arena. This is probably the country’s only sports stadium where the art is basis for a $30 tour offered on nongame days.
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Already set to shatter attendance records, Super Bowl XLV at Cowboy Stadium in Arlington, Texas, just outside of Dallas, is bringing novelty to the over 100,000 superfans: a first-ever LGBT sports-themed street fair, plus a separate three-day circuit-esque party. Gay sports fans, this one’s for you.

The Cedar Springs Super Street Party (ShopCedarSprings.com) kicks off Saturday, February 5 on “The Strip” in Oaklawn, the city’s gay neighborhood and bar epicenter. A pedestrian-only affair with plenty of Bud Light on tap (they’re a sponsor), there will be live entertainment by Chaz Marie and the Band, DJ sets, food vendors, games, and an appearance by hunk-a-riffic swimmer Michael Holtz, named “Gay Athlete of the Year” by Compete Magazine. Bars will be open as well, so don’t miss your chance to two-step with a cowboy at the Round-Up Saloon, a sprawling, clean and friendly country-western joint with a massive dance floor and one of the most fun times I’ve ever had at a gay bar. Entry is free. 7pm–1am.

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Good news for travelers to Mexico: American, Continental, Delta, and United are all increasing service and adding new routes south of the border to fill in some of the gaps that Mexicana left when it went bankrupt in August; many of the changes kick in this fall.

American
American is seriously bulking up its Mexico service, with additional flights to Aguascalientes, Cancun, Guadalajara, Leon/Guanajuato, and Mexico City, as well as brand-new routes to Queretaro and Veracruz launching this fall and winter.

Dallas will see a trio of improvements starting November 18, when the airline increases daily flights to Mexico City by one, bringing the total to four takeoffs each day; a second daily  flight to Aguascalientes will also lift off November 18. Four flights, instead of three, will service Leon/Guanajuato from Dallas beginning December 16, and Queretaro and Veracruz itineraries start February 10.

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Whether you knew or not, National Yoga Month (September) has come and gone. But fortunately Kimpton is offering a program for downward-doggers all year long.

As we all know, it’s too easy to use travel as an excuse to put off exercise – new place, no gear, fresh distractions, no routine. Yet after spending hours folded into an airplane seat or hunched over a steering wheel, a yoga session offers the perfect chance to stretch out bag-weary shoulders and shake off travel-fatigue mind fog.

Kimpton properties across the country – generally cool, boutique-feeling hotels with artsy interiors and pet-friendly perks – offer the gear, in-room instruction, and even at some locations, free on-site classes. Read more