Bing, bing, bing. . . the bells, whistles, and bumpers of pinballs fill the air at the Pinball Hall of Fame in Las Vegas, while on display is the world’s largest pinball collection. Established as a non-for-profit corporation, the museum showcases games from the 60’s to the present.  It’s pure pinball, so deposit your coin and see if you can play well enough to rack up those additional games.  The museum is family-friendly (no violent games allowed), and prices for the games are 25 cents for the classic games  and 50 cents for the post-1990 games. The Hall of Fame has 4,500 square feet of wall to wall pinball machines that, unlike many slot machines, will have cheering and laughing.  Here you can have fun — whether you win or lose.  In fact, there is no focus on making a […]

I do a lot of reading about travel, and a lot of research and planning for future vacations.  From the practical to the silly, and from the certain-to-try to the it’s-never-going-to-happen, most of it captures my attention and imagination. While most of my travel blogging here at Flyaway Cafe involves personal experiences and recommendations, occasionally I read about something that I want to share with you — even if I haven’t yet experienced it myself. As I’m reading and researching about Italy for an upcoming trip, I heard about an usual, yet special dining experience. Jail. No bread and water here, and in this case getting into jail is nearly as difficult as getting out of jail. Fortezza Medicea in Volterra, Italy is a high-security prison restaurant.  In order to get a reservation you need to plan pretty far in […]

Boasting over 300 clear nights a year, Kitt Peak National Observatory, located about an hour outside of Tucson (Arizona), offers stunning view of the night sky. Kitt Peak has the world’s largest collection of optical telescopes, 21 in all, and offers a number of viewing programs sure to get you hooked on Astronomy.  Daily observatory tours begin at 10 am, 11:30 am, and 1:30 pm, and last approximately one hour.   You’ll get to see the telescopes from a gallery, and tour guides will provide you with information about the work going on at the observatory.  It’s an informative tour, and the only downside is that there is no telescope observation during daylight hours.  Although there is no official charge to visit the observatory, a recommended donation is $2 for adults and $1 for children.  It’s worth it! The Nightly Observing […]

Fans of Kerouac, Burroughs, and Ginsberg, probably already know about The Beat Museum, and it’s certainly no surprise that the home of The Beats is now the home of The Beat Museum. Having moved to San Francisco’s North Beach area from a prior location on the coast, The Beat Museum continues to celebrate the beatnik generation of art, music, and way of life.  The lure of The Beat is probably as strong as it’s ever been.  It’s been 50 years since Jack Kerouac published On the Road, and it is arguably more popular today than it was when originally published. The Beat Museum is located at 540 Broadway (at Columbus) in San Francisco’s North Beat area (map it). It is open Tuesday – Sunday, 10 am – 10 pm.  Closed on Monday.  Depending on your interest in the topic, and your […]