Amazon.com
The unusual mixes with the familiar in this 58-minute installment of the popular Travel Channel series, which starts in Northern California with a trip north of San Francisco along the Russian River. First stop is Boonville, where inhabitants have developed their own 1,350-word dialect, followed by breakfast in Mendocino. Narrator Steve Fox takes viewers further north through the redwoods and into Humboldt County's Victorian district before looping back south through Napa Valley. The second segment takes place in Hawaii, starting with surfing at the famed--and crowded--shores of Waikiki on Oahu and culminating at the drive-in volcanoes of the Big Island, with trips to the ghostly haunts of Honolulu, the home of a lei maker, and botanical gardens in the country's rainiest city, Hilo, along the way. Finally, the crew hits the shores of Alaska, checking out the Kenai Fjords, taking a chair lift over Glacier Valley, panning for gold at Crow Creek Mine, and river rafting at the base of Mt. McKinley. Then it's inland toward Fairbanks for an exploration of all things native, including sled dog training, subarctic farming, parka making, and Olympic games--Aleut style.
--Kimberly Heinrichs
From the back cover
California. Head north to Boonville, a town that's created its own language, and find out what a "bucky walter" is (that's Boon for pay phone). Explore the legendary forest of giant Redwood trees and watch chainsaw artitst at work in Humboldt State Park. Take in the tranquil oceanside towns of Mendecino County, then step into a smoothing mudbath in the Calistoga Hot Springs. Finally, sip the famous wines of Napa Valley. Hawaii. Unlock the treasures of Oahu and the Big Island! Search for the ghosts that haunt Honolulu's streets. Watch a veteran lei-maker weave together a magnificent blend of blooms. Step into the splendid solitude of the Place of Refuge, where ancient lawbreakers sought sanctuary. And then explore Hawaii Volcanoes explode before you very eyes. Alaska. View gigantic glaciers up close as you cruise the peaceful waters of Kenai Fjords National Park. Or perhaps go "flight-seeing" and see them by airplane instead. Stop off at the Crow Creek Mine and try your luck panning for gold. Then go river-rafting at the base of the awesome Mt. Mckinley. Finally, explore the riches of Fairbanks, a cosmopolitan city just 150 miles south of the Arctic Circle.
