I’ve been a fan of L.L. Bean products for years (I wore out one of their River Driver’s Shirts.)

When we lived in New England, we took several road trips to Maine that included the obligatory stop at their flagship store in Freeport, Maine, established in 1912.

If you go to Maine, don’t miss the L.L. Bean outlet store there in Freeport, but remember that, like most outlets, the best buys are often out of season.  My wiggly kids always thought I was nuts when I had them try on coats at the outlet in July, but we had the last laugh when they donned their new finery in November.

Store founder Leon Leonwood Bean was an avid outdoorsman and the store’s products and general vibe reflect that, but many don’t know that you can also go kayaking, biking and camping with the L.L. Bean Outdoor Discovery Schools.

I knew about the School in Maine, of course, but learned recently that there is a branch in Maryland with plenty of island-hopping kayaking in the Chesapeake Bay and fly fishing near Columbia, Maryland and Front Royal, Virginia.

The offerings in both Maine and the mid-Atlantic seem to be mostly geared to the novice and mid-range adventure traveler, but for the semi-hard-core they also offer multi-day excursions and certification courses like Wilderness Advanced First Aid.

You can also experience short, half-day $15 “Walk-On Adventures” (kayaking, flycasting and “GPS Techno Treasure Hunts”) in many L.L. Bean stores across the US, including stores outside New England like Center Valley, Pennsylvania and Tyson’s Corner, Virginia.

Naturally, the company hopes that after a scenic day of kayaking with them, you’ll be inspired to, well, go buy an L.L. Bean kayak, but it’s certainly not required (although they do offer a 10% off coupon for select gear and apparel to those who register for a course.)

Today I wrote a heartfelt post on the Family Travel Logue about what my preteen daughter and I learned by visiting significant World War One battlefields near Ieper, Belgium.

Take a look at these two photos of the Ieper Cloth Hall and Grote Markt:

There is no lack of charm to Ieper; many wealthy medieval cloth guilds spent fabric and button profits erecting gorgeous buildings.

What is extraordinary is that most of what you see was painstakingly rebuilt after 1918 by the determined townsfolk themselves. They had been left with an artillery-ravaged wasteland after German and Allied forces mercilessly pounded the same real estate over and over again; not much was left but mud puddles, pockmarked walls and gaping holes.

Their reward for that hard work was to be invaded again in World War Two, but that’s another story.

It’s always good to find travel and tourism organizations that understand Web 2.0/social media (aka “blogs and stuff.”)  Travel bureaus that make an effort to get out and be, well, sociable online are going to attract more people to their destination; isn’t that kinda their reason for existence?

One of the best examples of a lively tourism staff that really loves their city is the gang in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; as I wrote over on my Family Travel Logue, they are definitely tourism experts who understand the Web.

While cruising around their main Web site and their UWishUNu blog, I found a fun video featuring “Joe Sixpack, Beer Reporter” who gives a rundown of brewpubs and taverns in one section of Philly.

Enjoy!

(For our RSS and newsletter readers who can’t see the video embed box, here’s the URL link to the Philadelphia beer tour.)

This past weekend, I stayed in a pretty heinous hotel.

I knew it would probably be a dump, and it was, but it was the only place in town where I could find a room so that I could cover the NHRA Fall Nationals drag race for Fast Machines.  Yes, I called six months ahead of time and it did not matter; everything was already full because race fans return year after year.

It was the Waxahachie, Texas America’s Best Value Inn, to be specific, but the exact hotel is really not all that important.  No, I did not go over and launch a fusillade of disgust on TripAdvisor; it wouldn’t change the hotel one iota because I’m not sure the owners really care what their customers think. Plenty of unsuspecting people will keep staying there who do not read TripAdvisor, and I was grossed out enough without running around documenting everything with my camera.

The issue is whether I expect too much from budget lodging, and whether I expect overly high standards from US hotel chains (since one would assume that a chain would want to maintain a decent reputation across its properties.) After all, the Holiday Inn chain was started in 1952 to provide inexpensive lodging for families; lodging that also adhered to consistent standards across all Holiday Inns. The founder didn’t like the wildly varying quality that he found across most Mom and Pop places.

Is it too much to ask to not have to look at gouged/stained wallpaper, cigarette-burned/stained carpet, chairs so blackened and filthy I wouldn’t sit in them, cheapo clothes hangar holders but no hangars in them, and a laundry list of monstrosities in the bathroom?

You will be pleased to know that the bed was decent and I did not personally spy any vermin running around. I’m a mellow, non-judgmental sort, you know.

There was free, functioning WiFi. The front desk personnel were nice - the young woman at the front desk on Sunday morning asked everyone checking out how their room was, then the poor thing stood there and listened to rant after rant. Maybe she was new, but she seemed genuinely surprised that everyone checking out reported that the rooms were a disaster. I gave her a rundown on my room but it seemed like piling on.

My room had a small fridge that worked, and a microwave that warned I would blow the circuits if I used it at the same time I used any other large electrical device.  There was a holder for an iron and board, but no iron or board.

The race weekend rate was $89 a day for this room.

I imagine that on a regular weekend, the rate is more like $50-ish, including taxes.

Is that what I can expect from $50/night? Really? Am I nuts to expect better?

Please, dear readers, enlighten me.  I want a basic but clean, well-maintained room to lay my head.

Do any of you stay regularly at one of the US budget lodging chains like Days Inn, Motel 6 or Super 8 that consistently provides an acceptable room for $50-$60 a night? As a point of reference, my favorite mid-range US hotel chain is the Hampton Inn.

I would love to hear from you in the comments. I hope you do not tell me to give it up and sleep in my car in the future. :)

One of my favorite memories of Louisiana road trips is a stay at the rustic and authentic Bayou Cabins.

They are right on the Bayou Teche in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana (a couple of hours west of New Orleans) and have been run for years by friendly Rocky and Lisa Sonnier.

Our stay included sampling fresh boudin (a special sausage) plus cracklins and homemade root beer upon arrival,  an enormous breakfast the next morning, dinner and live Cajun music down the road at Mulate’s and an excellent, eco-conscious guided Atchafalaya swamp boat tour in a shallow-draft crawfish skiff with an experienced local company, Champagne Swamp Tours.

We never made it to some other local attractions like the Zydeco Breakfast (every Saturday morning 8:30 am to 11:30 am at Cafe des Amis) but there’s always next time.

The tourism blog for St. Martin Parish, which includes Breaux Bridge, indicates that most places are quite open for business and would appreciate your support.  Some lodging is full with Texas evacuees, but certainly not all.

Curious about how the Bayou Cabins had fared, I called them up this morning and spoke with Rocky Sonnier.  He reports:

“We are open here. With Gustav, we had some big trees fall on a couple of the cabins, 2-4000 pound big ones, but they didn’t even dent the tin roof. I think the wind was keeping them up, you know.  With Ike, the water was already up in the bayou [Teche] of course, but we didn’t get the rain so we’re OK.  We’re really blessed on this end.”

Rocky said that unfortunately, Mulate’s roof was torn off and their dance floor and office were damaged, so it will be a few weeks before they reopen.

Meantime, eat at Prejeans, the Blue Dog Cafe or Randol’s in Lafayette, or at Cafe des Amis.

At the end of our conversation, Rocky said, “We thank you for calling, chère” and I felt all fuzzy.

You won’t find a more hospitable country anywhere than Cajun Country, so pay them a visit.

(….and bring me back some of Rocky’s cracklins!)