Oh, The Places You'll Go!

Welcome to my blog, a companion piece to my book 101 Places You Gotta See Before You’re 12! (Lark Books, 2006).

I came up with the idea for the book after reading a book for grown-ups with a similar title but a lot more places. While it would be nice if we could all get to the Taj Mahal and the Pyramids, I thought there was a need for an alternative for families who don't let limited time and money dampen their spirit of adventure. There are so many other amazing places to explore, places you can reach on a quick trip, a weekend, or even after school or soccer practice: historic places, scientific places, fun places, kooky places, spooky places, places for art lovers, animal lovers, nature lovers, sports fans, and people who love to eat.

I organized the book into 101 'types' of places so there's no pressure to try to see a specific place that won't fit into your budget or schedule. For example: If you live on the East Coast and can't quite make it to the Grand Canyon any time soon, you can check out some other cool canyons: Cloudland Canyon in northern Georgia and Alabama, Genessee Gorge in upstate New York, or Agawa Canyon in Ontario (which has the added distinction of being acessible only by steam train!).

I’m really pleased that kids and grown-ups are enjoying the book and using it to plan their adventures. Even more exciting is the that fact that, as I had hoped, people are using the list as inspiration to take a fresh look at some of the cool places right in their own backyards. Check out this partial list of places in Houston that was featured in the Houston Chronicle:

http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2006_4248094


I did a huge amount of research for this project—much too much to fit between the covers of a 144-page book. This blog is a chance to share more of the information I’ve collected about interesting, offbeat destinations for those looking for experiences beyond the typical packaged family vacation. I hope that parents, kids, and teachers alike will stop by here not only to discover new destinations, but to share the places they’ve found with others and to report on their progress ‘seeing the list.’

I'm going to try to add a new entry every other week, so there will always be new things to see here. Each entry will correspond to a numbered entry in the book. And when 101 Things To Do Before You're 12! comes out in April, we'll start going through that list, too.

In honor of Chinese New Year, which falls on Sunday, February 18th this year, my first post will feature Place # 22—A “Little Country” or Town, which includes all the amazing ethnic communities in North America—Little Saigons, Little Italys, Little Indias, etc—some of which are found in the most unexpected places. I’m going to focus on Chinatowns this time, since Chinese New Year is a great time to visit one. No matter where you live, you’re within driving distance of one, and it’s a trip that kids and parents will both enjoy.

#22 A Little Country or Town

Places in the North/East

Toronto
Could Toronto hold the title for most little cities within a city? It's home a Greektown, Little Portugal, Corso Italia, Little India and not one, but four Chinatowns. The largest one, also known as Kensington Market, hosts the Chinese New Year Dragon Dance Parade. Kids and parents alike will love watching dragons dance down Dundas Street this weekend. For more info on Toronto's biggest Chinatown, check here:

http://www.torontotourism.com/Visitor/WhatToSeeAndDo/Neighbourhoods/Chinatown.htm

Boston

Stateside, Boston has an interesting Chinatown with a colorful New Year’s celebration:
http://www.bostonusa.com/images/admin/logos/ChineseNY.htm












Now entering Boston's Chinatown



New York

New York’s Chinatown is also hard to beat. It covers such a huge area, it's easy to completely immerse yourself in Chinese culture. Walking just a block or two in, you'll feel as though you've been swept away to China. A walk down Canal Street, with its shops and booths brimming with cheap "Made in China" goods, can be a treat for some kids and Overstimulation Central for others. If yours falls into the second category, duck into one of the many Chinese bakeries for a breather and decide how much more you can handle.

Doyers Street in New York is said to be the ‘most Chinese’ street outside of China. The street’s 90 degree angle is said to keep straight-flying ghosts away. Kids will love the story of the “Bloody Angle”—scene of some infamous early 20th century murders.


Here’s a link to a good daylong intinery in New York’s Chinatown: New York Chinatown Tour:
http://www.explorechinatown.com/Gui/FullPage.aspx?Page=SelfTour1




Places in the South
DC

Washington, DC’s Chinatown hosts an annual Chinese New Year’s parade H Street between 5th and 9th. Here’s a link to info on this year’s parade:http://godc.about.com/b/a/236823.htm


Atlanta

Unlike the Chinatowns in some of the older, more established cities, the place called Atlanta’s Chinatown is a single strip mall in an area of town with many different
Asian immigrants. Scattered throughout the Chamblee and Doraville areas, you’ll find little pockets of Vietnamese, Korean, and Chinese restaurants and shops mixed in with Mexican and Russian businesses. It's not an area for walking tours, but if you've got a car and can cover some ground, it's interesting to see the way the community has adapted to the sprawling layout of the city.


Places in the Midwest

Chicago

Move over beer and brats, make way for wontons. Chicago may be best known for its Eastern European neighborhoods, but it actually has quite an interesting little Chinatown. A museum covering the little-known history of Chinese immigration in the Midwest is an interesting stop. There’s also a parade there this weekend. For more info, check out:
http://www.chicagochinatown.com/













Places in the North/West

San Francisco

When you think of Chinatown, San Francisco’s is probably the first that comes to mind. It’s the largest Chinatown outside of Asia. It’s great to visit any time of year, but there are tons of events happening for the new year, including a huge parade, flower fair, fun run, and citywide scavenger hunt.

http://www.sfgate.com/cny/

Even the most hard-to-amuse kid will love watching fortune cookies being made on the tour of the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory.
http://www.sanfranciscochinatown.com/attractions/ggfortunecookie.html

Locke, California

For a really unique experience, check out a rural Chinatown. Locke, California—sometimes called America’s Last Chinatown—is located near Walnut Grove, between Sacramento and Stockton. It’s an interesting little piece of California and Chinese American history. There’s a Chinese language school, an old grocery store, and a small museum. You can take a historic walking tour of the town (including a visit to the museum) for $1.25 for adults and .75 for kids. It’s not flashy, but if you are or have a kid who’s into history, this is a great half-day trip if you happen to be in the area. You can find out more about Locke at:

www.locketown.com





Vancouver and Victoria, BC


Vancouver’s Chinatown is the 2nd largest in North America. It’s well worth a visit for the culture and the breathtaking views of the mountains in the distance.

www.vancouver-chinatown.com




If you’re in BC, you really should check out Victoria’s Chinatown, too. It’s home to Fan Tan Alley, “the narrowest street in North America (so you can also check off #9 Superlative Place if you visit here).


3-foot-wide Fan Tan Alley in Victoria (BC)’s Chinatown is the "narrowest street in North America."








Tips for Seeing Chinatowns With Kids

• Take some time to become familiar with Chinese culture before you visit, even if it’s just enough to answer basic questions your kids may ask. You don’t need to know how to read Chinese—but you should be able to explain that each character represents an idea rather than a sound. Try to find out why the Chinese community sprang up in the area—When did the first Chinese settlers arrive? What brought them there?

• Plan on having a meal there. Encourage your child to try something new—even just a bite is OK. If your kids are up for a challenge, order something really different, such as squid or octopus. Have a contest to see who can eat the most of it-it will give them a great story to tell their friends

• Some of the more visceral sites in a market—such as whole pigs hanging in the butcher shop window or fish staring out from a cooler of ice—might be disturbing for some kids or dismissed as gross by others. Take the opportunity to encourage respect for cultural differences and explain that others might consider some things your family eats gross as well.It's important not to leave the impression that "this stuff is weird and different, therefore bad."

• Spend some time perusing the aisles of some of the bigger, indoor markets. There are loads of interesting little items that interest kids. Incense, joss paper, paper lanterns, and ‘hell money’ (used during the Festival of the Hungry Ghosts) are fun and inexpensive items that kids love (and which provide another opportunity to learn a little more about the culture). Try to figure out what some of the unusual kitchen implements might be used for. Bring home some spices or other food items for making a Chinese meal at home.
  

Incidentally, this year is the year of the Pig! Pigs are known for their noble hearts. Happy New Year, or as they say, Gung Hay Fat Choy!