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One of my favorite things to do when I arrive in a new place is go to the highest point, it helps me get my bearings and lays out the landscape in front of me like a huge buffet table that I'm eager to dig into. But I do admit to the occasional bout of vertigo when it comes to actually looking down. So my stomach feels a little queasy right now just thinking about "The Ledge," the new glass-enclosed feature of the Skydeck in the Sears Tower in Chicago, which opens today to the public. These new glass balconies are suspended 1,353 feet (412 meters) in the air and extend 4 feet (1.22 meters) from the Sears Tower's 103rd-floor Skydeck. According to the Sears Tower:

The inspiration for The Ledge came from hundreds of forehead prints visitors left behind on Skydeck windows every week. From the memorable scene in Ferris Bueller's Day Off to curious children going right up to the window, visitors are constantly trying to catch a glimpse below. Now they have a unique and unobstructed view of the city.

"The Ledge" is made from three layers of half-inch thick laminated glass, and each of the panels weighs 1,500 pounds. Apparently (and thankfully for the cleaning crew) the boxes are retractable, so they're able to be pulled into the building for easy maintenance. Because if this slide show from the AP is any indication, the number of forehead prints they're going to have to deal with will exponentially increase.

What do you think? Would you stand on "The Ledge"?

[Sears Tower Unveils Glass Balconies on Skydeck]

Photo: AP

It's less than a week until senior editor Norie Quintos's trip to Kenya with her teen sons. In this posting, the third in a series of blogs on her trip, she covers vaccinations/medicines. Find the first and second posts here.

The glossy catalogs filled with pages of majestic elephants, lions in mid-roar, or huggable baby cheetahs rarely, if ever, mention the vaccinations or medications you'll need for an African safari. The catalogs' job is to romance and seduce, and not until you have fallen hard for Africa do you receive the get-down-to-business, no-more-cute-animal-photos information packet with "optional, recommended" travel health precautions against the scary tropical diseases you could catch.

The list of vaccinations is daunting, and includes Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Meningitis, Typhoid, Rabies, and Yellow Fever. The vaccines are also eye-poppingly expensive and not generally covered by insurance. The good news is you may not need every single one; it depends on your specific itinerary, your length of stay, your planned activities, and your health. To suss this out, you'll need the help of an experienced travel clinician. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website details recommended vaccines and links to an external clearinghouse of travel clinics.

I spotted this NY Daily News story on ColdMud, an aggregator site I love that scours the Web for interesting food news. (Researcher note: "Cold Mud" is diner slang for chocolate ice cream).

Tired of cooking only for their own sometimes unappreciative families, eight Italian grandmas are taking turns in the kitchen of Enoteca Maria restaurant in St. George, Staten Island in New York City, and diners are praising the results, according to this article by Christina Boyle in the New York Daily News. 

New York state Senator Diane Savino is a regular. "It's kind of like having dinner at your grandmother's every day of the week," she said. "These are not fancy chefs, these are Italian women who know how to cook Italian food."

"My family have this everyday so they don't appreciate it anymore. I prefer it here, because the people love me," she added. "On Saturday nights the customers clap."

Enoteca Maria is located at 27 Hyatt Street, Staten Island, New York +1 718 447 2777 and is open from Wed-Sun.

Photo: via The New York Daily News

For some, it's kitsch, Americana, and corn dogs. For others it's the pinnacle of summer. And for Garrison Keillor, host of widely popular radio show Prairie Home Companion, it was an assignment unlike any other. In this month's issue of National Geographic, Keillor shares the lessons he learned while visiting six state fairs last summer, and emumerates his Top Ten State Fair Joys. Photographer Joel Sartore traveled with Keillor to each of the fairs, and some of his brilliant images are featured below. Check out the full gallery and submit your own photos to National Geographic's My Shot: State Fairs, and take our quiz to test your knowledge of state fair history.

"I ain't got no body," croons Andy Mullins, midway barker at the State Fair of Texas. "I greet people, crack 'half' jokes, sing 'All of Me,' " he says. But the mirror illusion that makes him look like half a man is the big draw. "I love the way kids look at me and ask if I'm real."

Rainer Jenss and his family are currently on an around-the-world journey, and they're blogging about their experiences for us at Intelligent Travel. Keep up with the Jensses by bookmarking their posts, and follow the boys' Global Bros blog at National Geographic Kids.

"Welcome back" were not the words we wanted to hear with six weeks left on our year-long journey, but there was no avoiding it unless we didn't tell anyone about the forty-hour layover we had in New York before flying on to Peru. "We're not finished yet," we had to say again and again. Carol and I were actually quite apprehensive at the thought of breaking up the flow of our trip to spend two nights back where we started last July. The benefits of doing this, besides seeing some family and friends, were that the boys could play with their long-lost buddies while Carol and I seriously downsized our luggage for the trip's final leg that would be spent mostly in tropical climates.  

As far as how it felt to be home for the first time in ten months, it was actually quite revealing. If there's one thing I've realized throughout all my travels, it's that your senses are elevated. Food, fashion, architecture, language, landscapes, wildlife, smells--you are much more aware of everyday details whenever you leave the familiar surroundings of home. Since I've been in this heightened state of awareness for almost a year, it didn't go away when we landed in the U.S. Just the opposite. I seemed to walk around in an "all that's old is new again" frame of mind.

Meanwhile, our trip to Peru would also be a sort of homecoming, for we were joining up with the winners of the National Geographic Kids Hands-On Explorer Challenge, which would reunite me with fellow staff members and other colleagues from The Society.  It also meant that Tyler and Stefan would have plenty of peers to share the experience with, a huge bonus for two boys who only had sporadic interaction with other kids their age in the last year.

It's summertime and the living's easy. Why not spend the night at the zoo, drifting off to sleep to the hoots of owls and the growls of lions? Zoos across the country host overnight sleepover events where kids and their families, Scout troops, and school groups can pitch their tents, snuggle in their sleeping bags, and get a behind-the-scenes look at zoos after hours when the crowds have gone home.

Visitors pitch tents at the Houston Zoo

Most zoo overnights are aimed at a local audience; oriented toward kids; typically provide dinner, a late-night snack, and light breakfast the following morning. Some may focus on a particular theme or animal (conservation, adaptation, African elephants, animals of the Bible, for example), and range and price between $30 and $139.

As I compiled this list of U.S. zoos putting on such fun events, I discovered, to my delight, that a lot of U.S. zoos organize overnights and put their own spin on them. To make sense of things, I contacted Allen Nyhuis, co-author with Jon Wassner, of America's Best Zoos: A Travel Guide (The Intrepid Traveler, 2008) to get a feel for some of the best zoo overnights. Here are his top five picks:

1) Probably the most attractive-looking program has to be at the San Diego Wild Animal Park's Roar & Snore Camp (in Escondido, CA). They have a camp of tents set up overlooking SDWAP's gorgeous East Africa Savanna, with its many antelope, giraffes, zebras, rhinos, and more. The rows of perfect tents look authentically like one of those tent camps you've seen in the real African safari camping resorts in South Africa or Tanzania. This camp is near the park's Lion Camp exhibit, so campers usually wake up to lions roaring.

2) A lower-budget ($35/person) option would be the Binder Park Zoo's Overnight Safari (in Battle Creek, MI). The safari is entirely in the zoo's Wild Africa section, which we find amazing in its African realism. This zoo exhibit is modeled after an African national park, so I can imagine that sleeping there would have the same feeling.

 3) Some zoos have overnight programs with a chance to sleep in some very interesting buildings. At the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, you can sleep in the Manatee Springs building and fall asleep watching the peaceful creatures. At the Minnesota Zoo, overnighters tuck in at their Discovery Bay building and doze off watching either dolphins or sharks. Here in my hometown, the Indianapolis Zoo offers the same -- a chance to sleep within view of dolphins, sharks, or even jellyfish.
 
4) At the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, you can fall asleep watching gray wolves in their rustic Wolf Lodge, a replica of a 19th-century trapper's cabin. You might also get the thrill of hearing them howl at night.

5) At the Fort Worth Zoo, their Outdoor Explorers Overnight program includes using a compass to find your way around the zoo and fishing in a stream early in the morning. You'll likely stay in the excellent Texas Wild! exhibit area, learning about the animals and habitats of the Lone Star State.

Six more fun overnights await after the jump!

It's less than a month to senior editor Norie Quintos's trip to Kenya (her third) with her teenage sons (their first). Here's how she's been prepping. This is the second in a series of blogs on the trip. Click here to see the first.

Kenya currently remains under a U.S. State Department travel warning due to "threats of terrorism and the high rate of violent crime." (Many on-the-ground experts say this designation is unfair, undeserved, and politically motivated, but that's another story). I consulted the travel intelligence folks at iJet, who said that if I avoided the northwestern border areas, as all safari itineraries do, and practiced basic personal precautions, there was no reason to stay away. As with any trip to a developing country, or any trip really, I wanted a tour operator that would be able to respond effectively should the unexpected and unlikely happen. There are many established safari companies that fit the bill. The one I selected--New York-based Micato Safaris--maintains deep ties to Kenya; its Kenyan founders still reside in Nairobi. The company also uses the services of a group of aircraft-supported physicians if medical treatment is necessary.

Pittsburgh, aka "Roboburgh," has long been a hub of cutting-edge robotic technology, and Chris O'Toole downloads the details on the newest exhibit at the Carnegie Science Center, which opens this weekend.

Robots: so smart, so shiny, so smooth. They're the celebrities of the machine world (next to the iPhone). So it's fitting that the most glamorous and well-known machines have gathered in one place, at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Science Center, so humans can pay tribute.

The Robot Hall of Fame honors movie droids like R2D2 and C-3PO, creepy HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey, Gort from The Day the Earth Stood Still, and a classic 1928 pin-up girl: Maria, the shapely robot of Fritz Lang's Metropolis. But it also credits real-word winners like NASA's Mars Sojourner, the DaVinci surgical robot, and everyone's favorite living room pet, the Roomba.  

The hall of fame is the brainchild of Carnegie Mellon University's School of Computer Science, which inducts new members each year. It's part of the world's largest permanent museum show on robotic sensing, thinking, and acting. It opens tomorrow, June 13. Roboworld features over 30 exhibits packed with super-smart demonstrations of how robots collect data, process information, roll, fly, and build things. And it has a few lovable greeters, like Andy, a robo-thespian, and Athina, a sassy chat-bot who'll converse on any topic. She even laughs at her own jokes, like this one: how many humans does it take to change a light bulb? Her answer: three. One to weep uncontrollably; one to cut its soft fingers while attempting to change the bulb; and one to program the robot to do it. Hey, at least we're good for something.

Photo: Andy the robo-thespian via The Carnegie Science Center

Contributing Blogger Cathy Healy got the scoop from naturalist writer and artist Emilene Oslind on when, where, and how to watch pronghorn antelope in Wyoming this June.



LARAMIE, Wyo. -- Pronghorn fawns will make you laugh, promises Emilene Ostlind, a former natural history photography coordinator for National Geographic magazine. "Fawns have these little snub noses and a funny poof of white hair on their butts that stands up when they get excited. Most does have twins and they're full of energy. If you're lucky, you'll get to see two fawns jump up from behind a sagebrush, drink some milk from their mother and run around, playing and chasing each other."

You can easily find pronghorn in Wyoming if you get off the interstates and onto Bureau of Land Management roads. The state has about half of the million pronghorn in the world, all of which live on North America's western plains. (Map).

While you won't need a four-wheel drive, you will need binoculars or a scope to observe the skittish animals, says Ostlind. Pronghorn are the fastest creatures in North America--they can run away from you at 53 mph. Not only that, but antelope have 270-degree eyesight and can spot movement from two to three miles away. Your advantage is that pronghorn are curious, so they might come closer if you're in your car and not on foot. Or, if you're watching from a hilltop a couple of miles away.

Amelia Mularz had an EXTREME weekend visiting the newest exhibit at New York's American Museum of Natural History.

Heading to the American Museum of Natural History always makes me feel like a kid again. Within minutes of stepping foot in the museum this past weekend, my friend and I had already challenged each other to a T. rex impersonation face-off and battled for the greatest--or most annoying, judging from one woman's expression--pterodactyl cry. His take on the prehistoric call sounded oddly reminiscent of 21st century screeching car brakes, while mine was more of a wounded animal sob--either way, music to our ears. We exchanged obligatory high-fives and headed towards the latest exhibit at AMNH, Extreme Mammals: The Biggest, the Smallest, and Most Amazing Mammals of All Time.
   
If the entryway of the museum can excite two full-grown adults to the point of shameless dino shenanigans, you can only imagine what an exhibit with a name like EXTREME MAMMALS did to us. The exhibit, which opened this past Saturday, takes a look at some of the most incredible creatures, extinct and living, to ever roam the planet. Extreme Mammals packs a punch from the moment you enter--through the legs of the largest land mammal ever (the Indricotherium, which weighed as much as four adult African elephants)--until the moment you exit--near the interactive web activity.
   
One look at the Indricotherium, and our child-like excitement once again took hold of us: "Whoa, look at this unicorn thing!" (actually a narwhal whale with an eight-foot tusk). "Oh my god, this elephant has a shovel for a face!" (actually a prehistoric elephant with oversized incisors). "Dude, this squirrel ate dinosaurs!" (actually, the Repenomamus).

At one point, between pointing excitedly at the fossils of a massive horned creature and peeking through a glass window at live sugar gliders, we realized we were just steps away from one of the curatorial assistants for the exhibit, William Harcourt-Smith. I had the pleasure of speaking to Harcourt-Smith and learning about the process for determining what qualifies as "extreme."

Chris O'Toole reminds us that even if you can't make it to the Kentucky Derby this weekend, you can still go "out to pasture" and see champion stallions any time of the year.

Attention job hunters: If you're an experienced racehorse with a few million in winnings under your saddle, consider a second career in bluegrass country. In Lexington, Kentucky, the track superstars of past Kentucky Derbies extend their rich-and-famous life style, earning six-figure stud fees as they sire future champions. Aside from the obvious romantic perks, they get to retire in the prettiest part of the state. There's plenty of that famous fodder, and the local limestone supplies shimmering ponds of pure drinking water, used by humans to make bourbon and by racehorses to make strong bones. Want to visit Big Brown, Smarty Jones, and other legendary thoroughbreds? Come on down.
 
At Three Chimneys Farm in Midway, Jen Roytz leads groups through barns with mahogany stalls more elegant than my first apartment (recall the horse-breeding scene in Tom Wolfe's A Man in Full and you've got it right). The reservation-only tours continue through 1,500 acres, where each stallion has a private pasture.
 
At Three Chimneys, horse breeding is ultra-serious business; top stud Dynaformer commands a $150,000 fee for his services. (Don't even think about petting his nose.) But drive scenic Old Frankfort Pike towards the city to the state-owned Kentucky Horse Park for plenty of kid-friendly attractions. Fifteen thousand horses compete annually at this year-round equine center, and daily public events include a Parade of Champions of past racing stars, horse-drawn tours, mare and foal shows and an excellent little museum. You can even camp on site. Just watch your step. 
 
Photo: A mare and her foal in the spring at Three Chimneys Farm, by Lee Thomas

Senior editor Norie Quintos recently visited New York City with her teenage sons, trying to go as green as possible. Here's Part 2 of her report. To see Part 1, click here.


What to do

We picked up bikes from Bike & Roll (from $10 per hour), which has several locations, including one at Pier 84 along Hudson River Park. New York's Greenway is a bike-friendly series of linked waterfront parks that hug lower Manhattan. The kids loved the ride, filled as it was with pockets of green, waterside views, and joggers. It was sightseeing on steroids, just the way teens like it: We blew by Chelsea Piers, the Frank Gehry-designed IAC building which locals call "The Ice Cube," the Meatpacking District, Battery Park City, the crane-dotted site of the World Trade Center, and ended up at Battery Park, just in time to lock up the bikes to get on the ferry for our rendezvous with Lady Liberty. After a relatively quick howdy-do (purchase your tickets online to cut the waiting time), it was back on the bikes for the ride back.

The rest of the time we walked or took the subway or bus everywhere, just like the locals. Parents: Pick up a subway map (available at hotels or subway stations), hand it to your teens, tell them where you want to go, and let them figure it out; it's good for them.

Camping may seem like one of the greenest possible ways to travel. You're close to nature, bringing only what you need, and leaving only footprints behind. But as it turns out, the managers of campsites across the country are attempting to make the camping experience even greener, and are rolling out new methods of cutting the energy costs of running their sites. It's all part of the National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds (ARVC) green parks initiative, called "Plan-it Green."

"A lot of parks were already doing things that helped the environment and I think a lot more of them are embracing the concept," says Linda Profaizer, president and CEO of ARVC, which represents the more than 8,000 private campgrounds, RV parks and resorts across the United States. Sites have been installing geothermal heating and cooling systems, low-flow shower heads, and efficient lightbulbs and hand-dryers, switching from chlorine-based pool cleaning systems to salt water treatments and even encouraging their staffs to use bikes instead of cars to travel the grounds.

As part of the initiative, ARVC has launched a competition which awards parks with the most outstanding forward-thinking practices. Last year's Green Award winner was the Grand Haven Resort in Kimbolton, Ohio. What put them over the edge? Among their eco-efforts was the installation of a geothermal heating and cooling system for its customer service and fitness centers. The result? The site's heating and cooling costs drop from over $12,000 per year to just over $1,200. That's a big chunk of change. And that kind of change is a good thing.

Photo: ARVC

Senior editor Norie Quintos recently visited New York City with her teenage sons, trying to go as green as possible. Here's her report:

Getting there: The train, the most eco (as well as the most comfortable) way to go, was too expensive, so we took one of the many inter-city buses that ply the busy DC-New York corridor. Public buses are an excellent green option, and the one we booked, a double-decker Megabus, was modern, clean, and offered free Wi-Fi. Promotional rates start at $1 (good luck getting that rate) but typically go for about $20 one-way. On a five-hour ride, you'll likely get hungry; pack a sandwich and bottled water. We saw someone get on with a large takeout pizza.

Those of you who were fans of Hunter's story yesterday about Costa Rican turtle preserves, or recall our great Q&A with Wallace J. Nichols, a conservationist whose turtle-tracking project thrilled children around the world, we offer you some more turtle topics, only this time these turtles are traveling themselves.

National Geographic is partnering with Conservation International and the Canadian Sea Turtle Network to sponsor the Great Turtle Race, and yesterday, the contestants (all of whom are leatherback sea turtles) started on their two-week journey from the frigid Newfoundland costline down to the Carribbean. The turtles are tagged with state-of-the-art satellite tracking devices that enable the rest of us to follow their incredible 3,700-mile (6,000-kilometer) journey, which you can track yourself here on NG's interactive race map. So far, it seems as though Nueva Esperanza is winning, though Cali is on her tail. You can sign up with Conservation International to get updates on the the racers, and get their play-by-play of race on their blog.

For more on turtles, check out the story by Tim Appenzeller about Leatherback Sea Turtles in this month's National Geographic. And watch the video of photographer Brian Skerry as he talks about using natural moonlight and a long exposure to create this ghostly image of the vanishing species.

IT contributing writer Andrew Evans sends along a carbon footprint-free blog post after spending this afternoon at the Centre for Alternative Technology in northern Wales.

We'd like to welcome Traveler Intern Giovanna Palatucci, who is getting her sea legs on the blog with this, her first post. 

Picture this: cows grazing on Beacon Hill, burlesque theaters in Government Center, and waves crashing at the Old State House doorstep. Certainly this is not what Boston looks like today. As modern architecture and planning quickly propel the design of our cities into the future, one group pauses to map out Boston's beginnings and transformation into a major urban center.

The Walk to the Sea, entering its first spring and summer seasons, is the latest walking tour to hit Boston. The route highlights the evolution of the city over four centuries, focusing on Boston's ties to the sea and covering ground that was once part of an active harbor.

The trail follows a one-mile route, descending 100 feet from Beacon Hill to the Long Wharf, passing historic landmarks and modern skyscrapers. Ten glass and stainless steel informational panels mark the path and explain Boston and American history through images and maps. Beginning in May, visitors can log on to the website to download an audio tour for the walk right to their iPods. And we like this eco-friendly feature: a small wind turbine on the top of the last panel keeps the signs illuminated for nighttime tours.

Walk to the Sea intersects two of Boston's famous walking trails: The Freedom Trail and the Black Heritage Trail. For those who can't get enough of walking tours through historic Boston, check out the Fairmont Copley Plaza's Freedom Trail Discovery Package, available this year from April 1 through December 31 for $349. The package includes a one-night stay in one of the Fairmont's elegant guestrooms, two tickets to the Walk Into History tour with 18th-century costumed guides, two tickets to the three Freedom Trail historic museums, and a copy of The Freedom Trail: An Artist's View.

Former National Geographic staffer Sarah Louise Galbraith is traveling around U.K. and writes to us about an unlikely creature living in the English countryside.

When first arriving to the Old King Street Farm, located on the English side of the England/Welsh border just a few miles from Hereford and Abergavenny, guests may expect to be greeted by grunts and snorts from animals typically associated with farms--pigs, sheep, cows, perhaps the odd rooster or two. But in the heart of the Welsh Marches, you're more likely to encounter a rather more unusual animal that typically makes its home not in the heart of the British Isles, but rather in the heart of the Andes in South America: the llama.  
 
Old King Street Farm is run by Amanda Huntley and Robert Dewar, and home to not one, not two, but fourteen llamas who live in this stunning part of England. Holiday makers who visit the farm have a unique the opportunity to get up close and personal with these kind-hearted beasts by participating in a llama trek. With half- and full-day treks, the outings are perfect for explorers of all ages.   
 
Arriving to the farm mid-morning, you'll be just in time to help round-up, halter, and groom the llamas before setting off on a llama trek through beautiful countryside. All of the llamas are impressively named--in true National Geographic spirit--after British standing stone circles, including Brodgar, after the Ring of Brodgar in Orkney, and Avebury, located in Wiltshire. No doubt that after spending a day at this family-friendly, sustainable farm with such aptly named animals you will be inspired to learn more about the llamas' archaeological namesakes and adventure beyond well-known Stonehenge to discover these remarkable heritage sites for yourself.
 
Setting off on the trek I was a bit wary of my new furry companion Doll Tor, affectingly known as Dolly, who was on her first proper trek off the farm. Dolly, a large llama with a bushy coat, was a true natural, happily humming besides me and negotiating the occasional mud puddle with more grace and ease than myself. She liked to look at the scenery, so we would often stop to take in the gorgeous green hills and watch the sunlight shift through scattered clouds. By the time we made it back to the farm two hours later, I'll admit, I was unabashedly in love with not only the landscape but with my llama, and envisioning how I could bring Dolly home with me. 
 
Luckily for me and other guests who have similarly fallen for their new furry friends and the farm, the llamas at Old King Street Farm have their own blog, so readers can keep up with the daily lives of Dolly and the rest of her friends.
 
Beyond llamas, there is also much to do in the area, including visiting the book town of Hay-on-Wye, world famous for its thirty secondhand and antiquarian bookshops, as well as for its annual Hay Festival of Literature and the Arts. Venturing further you can explore many historic villages and shops in nearby towns, including castle ruins, weekday markets, and more. Since Old King Street Farm also offers holiday stays in beautiful two- and four-person cottages, guests can stay overnight for a short break or a week at a time, allowing plenty of time to discover the hidden local gems.

Photo: Sarah Louise Galbraith

IT Contributor Andrew Evans offers an all-inclusive guide to all things penguin.

Penguins are never passé. Be they marching or tapping their happy feet toward another sequel, the little black and white birds are still very much in everybody's minds and hearts. I also imagine that kids who play with plastic penguins in their Happy Meals grow up to be bigger kids who want to see the birds in real life, in the wild.

Admittedly, live penguins are so astonishingly cool--the way they tilt their heads from side to side to get a good look at you, the strange braying chorus they sing, and that distinctive penguin smell that's part fishy dishwasher detergent and part dusty, old attic. Travelers often bemoan the fact that penguin Grand Central is in almost-inaccessible Antarctica, a destination better suited for scientists, explorers, and millionaires. Still, that doesn't mean you have to cross wild penguins off your wish list. The southern hemisphere is filled with alternatives for seeing wild penguins in their natural habitats.

The following locations offer options for safe and sustainable human interaction with wild penguins:

1.    Isla Magdalena, Chile: This lone clump of rocks in the Strait of Magellan is home to over 50,000 breeding pairs of adorable Magellanic penguins. After a one-hour ferry ride from the city of Punta Arenas, the boat drops you off for a good 90-minute visit with the birds. A marked path guides you safely through the penguin nests and up to the island's lighthouse for a remarkable view. (Insider's tip: in case you're tempted to use your hands to climb up those giant mountains of yellow 'dirt' for a better view, don't. That isn't dirt.)

2.    Galápagos Islands, Ecuador: The Galápagos penguin is the world's northernmost penguin species. They live right on the equator, but look and act a lot like the penguins from colder climes. The best viewing spots are on Isabela island (the largest in the archipelago) and the west coast of Fernandina island.

3.    Boulders Beach, Simon's Town, South Africa: Gigantic granite boulders and tropical-looking turquoise inlets are the exotic home for the African or jackass penguin. A system of raised wooden walkways leads you right into the heart of penguin territory, including the penguins' own sandy beach. Afterwards, enjoy a swim at the people's beach next door.

Now I'm not the biggest sports fan, so I'm proud to say that I actually knew that the Super Bowl is taking place this Sunday, February 1st. And I know the Cardinals are taking on the Steelers in Tampa Bay, Florida.

That said, as a fact-checker here at Traveler, I have to admit to not knowing much about the city that'll host Super Bowl XLIII. To make up for this gap in my geographic knowledge, I've done some research and found some cool places to go, beyond Raymond James Stadium, if you're heading down to sunny Florida this weekend for the big game.