Laos: Tour du Jour

These Gluco-Max tea biscuits look like they should be from Japan, but they're actually from Uganda. Munch on enough of them and you might end up sumo-size, too (18¢).

For more travel news, updated daily, check our blog, This Just In. Houston deal The new Houston CityPass covers six attractions for just $34 (kids $24). New York falls This summer, artist Olafur Eliasson is creating four waterfalls in New York City's East River. Tel Aviv by bike The city is considering launching a bike-rental program like the one in Paris. Open L.A. Downtown L.A. Open House is a self-guided, free tour of the city's gentrifying downtown (June 6–8, downtownla.com). Saarinen in D.C. An exhibit on architect Eero Saarinen will be at the National Building Museum May 3–August 23. London layover Heathrow's Terminal 5 debuted in March; it's devoted to British Airways. Cruising Tobago A renovated pier allows large ships to make the Caribbean island a port of call. Jewish museum San Francisco's new Contemporary Jewish Museum, designed by Daniel Libeskind, opens June 8. Mexican port Damaged by a hurricane in 2007, the Costa Maya cruise port will reopen this summer. Security lanes The TSA is testing a system at Salt Lake City's airport in which people choose their own lanes at security checkpoints based on their familiarity with TSA procedures. Summer routes Spirit Airlines begins twice-daily nonstop flights between Fort Lauderdale and Long Island's airport in Islip, N.Y., this month. Baggage fees US Airways has started charging $25 to check a second bag and $100 for each bag after that. Mobile GPS As part of a pilot program, Omni guests in San Francisco can rent a handheld GPS to help them get around. The device also gives event and restaurant listings ($15 per day). Priceline by cell Priceline users are now able to search for hotels in real time from a Web-enabled mobile device. You must still make bookings on a computer or by phone. Driving music Book your rental car with Avis and receive free song downloads from emusic.com. You get five songs if you rent a car for up to four days, and 10 songs if you rent for five or more days.

LEEDS, ENGLAND York Gate Garden When asked to spotlight a special garden, designer Andy Sturgeon (who has won numerous awards at the Chelsea and Hampton Court flower shows) picked York Gate, saying simply, "It's a gem." The one-acre garden is tucked behind a 12th-century church and comprises a series of outdoor rooms: The Dell is an informal woodland garden with half-hidden pathways and a stream; a formal herb garden, with an Italianate summer house, is dotted with topiaries, many pruned into spirals. 011-44/113-267-8240, perennial.org.uk, $7. PORTLAND, ORE. Elk Rock Garden of the Bishop's Close What can you say about a garden that overlooks a dormant volcano? "'Wow' is right," says landscape architect Steven Koch, whose Portland firm is known for its ecologically sustainable work. Vast lawns lead to woods with magnolia trees and English-style borders (designed by Frederick Law Olmsted). The vista opens up at the edge of the gardens—from a bluff, you can see Mount Hood and the Willamette River. The east-facing scene calls for a sunrise visit. 800/452-2562, diocese-oregon.org/theclose, free. ESCONDIDO, CALIF. Queen Califia's Magical Circle, Kit Carson Park "Queen Califia's Magical Circle garden in the park's arboretum is a sculptural fantasy," says landscape architect Pamela Palmer, whose firm, ArtEcho, won the American Society of Landscape Architects' top residential-design award last year. The Magical Circle was dreamed up by the late French artist Niki de Saint-Phalle; it depicts the mythical figure Queen Califia standing on top of a 13-foot-tall, five-legged eagle. (Legend has it that California was named for the warrior queen.) Eight totems, each covered in hand-cut glass and stone, represent the cultures that settled the state. 760/839-4691, queencalifia.org, free. WAYNE, PA. Chanticleer Julie Moir Messervy, who collaborated with cellist Yo-Yo Ma on the Toronto Music Garden, didn't think twice about her top pick. "I love how quirky Chanticleer is," says Messervy of the garden in suburban Philadelphia. Walk among the cut flowers and the bulbs (there are tens of thousands) and you may come upon a carved-stone sofa. Stroll through a woodland only to encounter a ruin where plants appear to be reclaiming all vestiges of man. Bend over a gushing fountain and you may be startled by the carved marble faces looking up at you. Formerly the estate of Christine and Adolph Rosengarten Sr. (he was head of a pharmaceutical company), Chanticleer was established in 1913. It was made a public garden by Rosengarten's son, Adolph Jr. 610/687-4163, chanticleergarden.org, $5, guided tours $10. CRESTWOOD, KY. Yew Dell Gardens Imagine sprawling lawns dotted with evergreens surrounding a Cotswolds-style castle; a secret garden overflowing with 70 types of hellebores (Lenten roses) hides at the end of a holly-canopied allée. Then imagine that you're only 15 minutes from Louisville, Ky., usually thought of as a mecca for horse lovers, not horticulturists. "This is a must-see," says designer and author Wayne Winterrowd, who visited the gardens while working on nearby residential projects. Yew Dell was the vision of plant expert Theodore Klein, who started the now-public garden as a nursery and laboratory in 1941. Klein collected and tested more than 1,000 plants and developed more than 60 unique plant varieties, including a variegated redbud and several types of sugar maple. 502/241-4788, yewdellgardens.org, $7. GAMBIER, OHIO Schnormeier Gardens "The last thing you'd expect in the middle of the Midwest is a Japanese teahouse," says designer Tracy DiSabato-Aust, author of The Well-Designed Mixed Garden. "The garden, owned by entrepreneur Ted Schnormeier and his wife, Ann, offers many things—except a sense of place." Indeed, the 75-acre garden in central Ohio is a monument to the unexpected. Along with a Chinese pavilion, there's a Japanese zigzag bridge over a pond with Australian black swans. The Schnormeiers also added a waterfall, 10 lakes, and dozens of sculptures. The garden is privately owned, and it's only open one weekend a year (in 2008, June 14-15). schnormeiergardens.org, free. ORONO, MINN. Noerenberg Gardens This is a garden that beer built—and landscape architect C. Colston Burrell finds it intoxicating. "It's a journey through lots of colorful plantings in an artful design," says Burrell, a residential designer who has twice won the American Horticultural Society's book award. Grain Belt Brewery founder Frederick Noerenberg created the garden on the north shore of Lake Minnetonka, just outside of Minneapolis, first planting a grove of Scotch pine and Norway spruce that reminded him of his native Germany. The garden is noted for its ornamental grasses and some pretty resilient azaleas, which are cold-hardy down to -35 degrees Fahrenheit. 763/559-9000, threeriversparkdistrict.org/parks, free. NEWTOWNARDS, NORTHERN IRELAND Mount Stewart Spread across 90 acres on the Ards Peninsula, about 30 minutes east of Belfast, Mount Stewart is one of the finest gardens in Europe. Founded in the 1920s by Edith, Marchioness of Londonderry, with advice from gardening legend Gertrude Jekyll, Mount Stewart contains so many subtropical plants that you'll have to remind yourself you're in Ireland, says Helen Dillon, one of Europe's best-known gardeners. There are more than 100 eucalyptus trees, some of which top out at 120 feet, as well as an eye-popping stand of bloodred and orange rhododendrons. The whimsical topiaries include an Irish harp, a shamrock, a sailboat, stags, the goddess Diana, and the devil. 011-44/28-4278-8387, nationaltrust.org.uk, $11. APPLEDORE ISLAND, MAINE Celia Thaxter's Garden Celia Thaxter's Garden is on an island 10 miles off the coast of Portsmouth, N.H. "You can only reach it by boat, which is pretty exciting stuff for a gardener," says designer Gordon Hayward, author of several books, including The Intimate Garden. Framed by spectacular sea views and tended by volunteers and staff from the nearby Shoals Marine Laboratory, the garden is only 750 square feet, but it's filled with colorful annuals such as red poppies and blue love-in-a-mists. Nineteenth-century poet Celia Thaxter fashioned the garden, saying it gave her "perfect happiness." 603/430-5220, sml.cornell.edu, full-day tour $85. HAMILTON, NEW ZEALAND Hamilton Gardens The small city of Hamilton is home to "one of the most spectacular gardens you'll ever see," says Richard Lyon, an award-winning landscape architect in Kennett Square, Pa., who also leads garden tours of New Zealand. Built on the site of an old sand mine, the 143-acre public park is like a trip around the world. There's an Indian walled garden with a carpet of Persian roses, dianthuses, sweet williams, zinnias, and more; English-style garden rooms with a fountain and a dovecote (and doves); a Japanese Zen garden with artfully raked sand; and an American modernist garden with a kidney-shaped pool and a mosaic of Marilyn Monroe. 011-64/7-838-6782, hamiltongardens.co.nz, free.

DAY 1 In eight years of annual road trips, my friend Shawnda and I have never seen anything like the Garbage Plate atFranks Diner in Kenosha. We're at the counter, watching in horror as the cook fills plates with a heaping mishmash of eggs, ham, hash browns, and more. It looks like someone stepped on Paul Bunyan's omelet." What's up, chicken butt?" asks our waiter. "Ready to order?" Franks is proudly sassy, and we're immediately dubbed the Magellans because we had to call twice from the road for directions. It's the kind of place where everyone feels at home. When we slap down money for the check, the patron next to us gets our change from the register. Taking a tip from Jerome Pohlen'sOddball Wisconsin, a 2001 book that proves indispensable (if a little out of date), we meander over to Burlington. In 1929, two reporters made up a story about a lie-off between the fire and police departments. The following year, the Burlington Liars' Club contest was held for real. Plaques downtown honor the winning lies, such as one from someone in 1976 who saw a worm "steal the fur coat off a caterpillar" during a cold spell. The sandwiches atThe Elegant Farmerin Mukwonago are blah, but the apple pie is the best we've ever had. We ponder buying a tub of frozen cherries, then think better of it. Desperate to do something besides eat, we drive north to theHoricon Marsh State Wildlife Area. It's the largest freshwater cattail marsh in the U.S., as well as (according to the website) a Wetland of International Importance and a Globally Important Bird Area. Unfortunately, it's also a National Mosquito Refuge—the insects are biting us right through our clothes—and we have no choice but to abort our walk. At theFountain Prairie Inn & Farms, an 1899 Victorian farmhouse in Fall River lovingly restored by John and Dorothy Priske, we take the two smaller rooms (of five total) and share a bathroom down the hall. The inn is airy and nice, not fusty and crammed with knickknacks like many B&Bs are. Dorothy is a sweetheart, and Shawnda develops a crush on Ace, the Priskes' manic English springer spaniel. We also get a kick out of watching the farm's Highland cattle in the pasture: They're magnificent creatures. Dorothy directs us to James Street Dining Company in Columbus for dinner (it has since closed). My filet is delicious, and we both enjoy the pumpkin bread with spice butter. As we debate dessert, the waitress approaches. "I have to ask," she says. "Are you celebrating anything?" We later daydream possible answers: our third marriage, a prison break, National Pickle Month.... Back at the inn, we finally get to meet Dorothy's husband, John, who is also super friendly. He's sorry that he won't see us tomorrow morning, but he has to get up before dawn because it's "butcher day." When the Priskes say that Fountain Prairie is a working farm, they're not kidding. Lodging Fountain Prairie Inn & FarmsW1901 State Rd. 16, Fall River, 866/883-4775, fountainprairie.com, from $99 Food Franks Diner 508 58th St., Kenosha, 262/657-1017, franksdinerkenosha.com, half Garbage Plate $7 Elegant Farmer1545 Main St., Mukwonago, 262/363-6770, elegantfarmer.com, pie $2 Activities Horicon Marsh State Wildlife Area N7728 Hwy. 28, Horicon, 920/387-7860, dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/wildlife/wildlife_areas/horicon DAY 2 I wake up early and take many photos of the fog blanketing the pastures. Ace and I chill in the gazebo for 10 minutes, and then I return upstairs, where Dorothy has left a tray of coffee. She serves us breakfast in the dining room, and explains that most of the ingredients are from the area. The apple cider tastes more like apples than apples do. Dorothy asks if she may join us for coffee, and we grill her about the restoration and what it's like to own a B&B. The Priskes have yet to start on the third floor; it turns out there's a ballroom upstairs. They clearly believe in the importance of farm life and local, sustainable food, as do Shawnda and I, so we're kind of embarrassed to tell her we're headed to kitschy Wisconsin Dells. But first (kudos again toOddball Wisconsin) we check out the "Aliens and Oddities" exhibit at theMacKenzie Environmental Education Center. Inside what looks like a serial killer's shed is the field trippers' reward for putting up with the educational stuff: a hermaphroditic deer's one-antlered skull, an albino muskrat, and a two-headed piglet in a jar filled with formaldehyde. (Apparently, some kids once stole the jar so they could dip their cigarettes in the liquid and smoke them.) We feed the ducks in the town of Lodi and then continue on pretty Route 113, taking the free ferry across Lake Wisconsin. In summer,Circus World Museumin Baraboo has performances and animal attractions, but it's September, so there's not much going on. We spend a half hour doing anything interactive: posing in wooden cutouts, trying on costumes, giggling at fun-house mirrors. Wisconsin Dells is basically Las Vegas for kids—a strip of silly attractions and rides. TheKalahari Resortis both corporate and giddy—imagine a Marriott having a midlife crisis. The resort's outdoor water park is closed for the season, but the indoor one has seven big slides and no lines. My favorite slide is the one I call the toilet bowl: You're whooshed around a funnel and then dropped through a chute into a pool. Rather than give in and let herself be flushed, as it were, Shawnda ends up doing a painful move we name "cleaning the rim." Climbing all the slides' stairs is work, so we grab a bite atThe Cheese Factory Restaurant. We're surprised to learn it's a vegetarian establishment, but the linzer torte is out of this world. Shawnda brings custom-made T-shirts for every trip, and this year's say "Schlemiel and Schlimazel." Wearing Yiddish T-shirts to a restaurant with Christian books displayed by the door isn't ideal—or is it? After decompressing, we have dinner at theHouse of Embers, drawn like moths to the neon martini-glass sign. It's the type of spot that has photos of Ava Gardner and other beauties in the men's room; I half expect to see Louis Prima and Keely Smith strolling by our table. Shawnda gets into an exceedingly long conversation with our Polish waiter about how the big Wisconsin Dells resorts allegedly trick young foreigners into working for them. Shawnda, it should be noted, feels as passionately about labor issues as men of a certain age feel about Ava Gardner. Lodging Kalahari Resort1305 Kalahari Dr., Wisconsin Dells, 608/254-5466, kalahariresort.com, from $149 Food Cheese Factory 521 Wisconsin Dells Pkwy. S., Wisconsin Dells, 608/253-6065, cookingvegetarian.com, torte $4 House of Embers 935 Wisconsin Dells Pkwy., Wisconsin Dells, 608/253-6411, houseofembers.com, ribs $13 Activities MacKenzie Environmental Education Center W7303 County Rd. CS, Poynette, 608/635-8105, dnr.state.wi.us/education/mackenzie Circus World 550 Water St., Baraboo, 608/356-8341, circusworldmuseum.com, $7 ($15 in summer) DAY 3 After a regrettable breakfast at a forgettable restaurant, we turn again toOddball Wisconsin. It directs us to theForevertron outside Prairie du Sac. Tom Every owned a salvage business but craved more in his life, so he adopted the name Dr. Evermor and built a scrap-art extravaganza. Words don't do the Forevertron justice. One glance and you see a flock of birds; look closer and you discover they're all made out of old musical instruments. Dr. Evermor's work is a monument to the power of imagination and, perhaps, boredom, and I'm dying to climb all over it. That's forbidden, however, and anyway I'm not sure when my last tetanus shot was. Taliesinis the house outside Spring Green that Frank Lloyd Wright built for himself and the woman for whom he left his wife and six children. We take the two-hour Highlights Tour ($52), which includes Taliesin and a building called Hillside. The guide refuses to discuss Wright's love life, but without personal or architectural context, Taliesin isn't very special. The guide hasn't just drunk the Kool-Aid; she's mainlined it. At one point, she compares Taliesin to the Grand Canyon—and then says Taliesin is more interesting: "You've seen one rock, you've seem 'em all." In a village called Black Earth, kids are lining the streets, waving and begging us to honk. The Wisconsin Heights homecoming parade is about to begin! On one float, football players are sawing the Belleville-Albany Wildcats in half; on another, they're cooking them in a smoker. At theMount Horeb Mustard Museum, I can't resist buying a yellow "Squeeze me" T-shirt. Shawnda, feeling ornery, puts her ketchup-loving friend Justine on the museum's mailing list. Based on a visitors bureau brochure, I book a room at Deer Valley Lodge. If we return to Mount Horeb, though, we'll stay at the cuteVillage Inn Motel("Just a little bedder"). We drive back to Black Earth for dinner atDavid W. Heiney'sand then hurry to the big game. As soon as we pay the $3 admission, the dark clouds open up. The band runs for cover beneath an overhang, and we sprint to the car, drenched but laughing hysterically. (Alas, Wisconsin Heights lost 22–13.) Lodging Village Inn Motel701 Springdale St., Mount Horeb, 608/437-3350, littlebedder.com, from $43 Food David W. Heiney's 1221 Mills St., Black Earth, 608/767-2501, heineysdining.com, fish fry $12 Activities ForevertronHwy. 12 (park at Delaney's Surplus), North Freedom Taliesin 5607 County Rd. C, Spring Green, 608/588-7900, taliesinpreservation.org Mustard Museum, 7477 Hubbard ave , Middleton, 800/438-6878, mustardmuseum.com DAY 4 Sjölinds Chocolate House is a bakery as well as a chocolate shop; the Thompson family serves excellent coffee, quiches, and Swedish morning buns with lingonberry jam. I fall in love with the place. We typically avoid cities, with their traffic and limited parking, but we want to say hi to John and Dorothy Priske, who sell their beef at theDane County Farmers' Marketin Madison. The market, which has a wonderful location around the state capitol building, may be even more of a yuppie-fest than the market I go to in New York City—one stand touts its mint as being "great for mojitos." Everything I know about Limburger cheese I learned from Warner Brothers cartoons—it stinks. I've come to admire a strong cheese, however, and I wonder if Limburger is so different from a nice Époisses. Monroe is the place to find out: The sole remaining U.S. producer of Limburger is a co-op in town, and you can try it atBaumgartner's Cheese Store & Tavern. At a communal table, we sit next to eight ex-Monrovians having a reunion. Limburger is similar to a typical French cheese, but while a little on a cracker is one thing, a big bite of it in a sandwich made with soft rye bread is overpowering. (The traditional raw onion would add texture, but at no small cost.) Shawnda and I wish we could try it with a baguette and an apple. Baum­gartner's sells shirts with a drawing of a waiter bearing a reeking Limburger sandwich; the text says "Pull my finger." I may be a schlemiel, but I learned long ago to decline that particular request. Food Sjölinds Chocolate House219 E. Main St., Mount Horeb, 608/437-0233, quiche $4 Baumgartner's1023 16th Ave., Monroe, 608/325-6157, sandwich $3 Shopping Dane County Farmers' Market Madison, 608/455-1999, dcfm.org Finding your way Shawnda and I met up at Chicago's Midway airport, but Milwaukee would be easier. The Illinois turnpike gives little warning when a toll is coming, and at least one stop requires that you have change on hand. In Wisconsin, many county roads have letters for names, and we were never able to make sense of them, even with a map. Want to write a Road Trip? This year isBudget Travel's 10th anniversary, and to celebrate we're devoting our next issue to articles that were written and shot by our readers. We'll also announce a new contest to write a Road Trip. If you've ever thought you could write a good one, look for it!