The 100 Best Affordable Vacations (52 page)
Read The 100 Best Affordable Vacations Online
Authors: Jane Wooldridge
TUNE IN TO THIS L.A. MUSEUM
Want to watch
My Favorite Martian,
or relive news footage of the moon landing? You can catch these and 140,000 other television and radio shows and news broadcasts from the past century at the ambitious
Paley Center for Media.
The center (formerly the Museum of Television and Radio) takes the lowly TV program to new heights in a sleek contemporary L.A. building. Simply type your selection into a computer catalog, and head to a semiprivate booth to take it in. Fortunately commercials are included, because they’re often just as entertaining as the programs. Suggested donation: $10.
An active public lecture series features big names from the entertainment world discussing their craft and, often, the societal impact of it. Programs might range from Hollywood’s take on the immigrant experience to a discussion on the influence of the music show
Soul Train
. There are often panels with screenwriters, directors, and actors about new and classic shows. Admission ranges in price from free to $15 or more for special events.
Paley Center for Media, 465 N. Beverly Dr., Beverly Hills, CA 90210, 310-786-1000,
www.paleycenter.org
. Open Wed.–Sun. 12 p.m.–5 p.m., & Thurs. until 8 p.m.
HOW TO GET IN TOUCH
LA Inc.,
333 S. Hope St., 18th Fl., Los Angeles, CA 90071, 800-228-2452 or 213-624-7300,
www.discoverlosangeles.com
.
learn to survive in the wild
ARIZONA & TENNESSEE
To survive it is often necessary to fight and to fight you have to dirty yourself.
—
AUTHOR GEORGE ORWELL,
LOOKING BACK ON THE SPANISH WAR
(1943)
65 |
On a sun-stroked afternoon, the outdoors can seem like a haven. But nature isn’t necessarily kind—or even benign—especially when the weather turns vicious or you sprain an ankle. Getting caught in the wild without the appropriate knowledge, skills, or gear can be downright dangerous, as unfortunate hikers learn every year. Courses such as the two noted here can help you prepare, both physically and mentally. And even if you limit your nature encounters to gazing through a picture window, you’ll enjoy them more if you understand the forces lurking outside the glass.
Ancient Pathways’ Desert Survival Course, Colorado Plateau.
If you’re seriously into
Man vs. Wild
and
Survivorman,
this course could be for you. Participants head out into the Arizona desert to study firsthand how to deal with heat-related injuries, build improvised shelters, locate water, build a fire, and dodge desert monsters like snakes and scorpions.
For three days guests practice skills like making mud huts and discerning edible plants from the poisonous ones. Most important, perhaps, they learn how to get their minds into survivor mode. The $350 course includes group camping, instruction, and two meals daily.
If that’s not quite rugged enough, check out Ancient Pathways’ five-day hunting and trapping course in Utah, where you’ll kill, skin, and cook your dinner. The cost is $495.
BE PREPARED
Don’t leave home without telling others where you’re planning to go and when you expect to return. Be sure to take the proper gear, including the following:
Sufficient water (probably more than you think you need)
