Archive for category: Just for Fun

In Europe, it’s not uncommon for someone to leave their home on a Friday for a weekend trip that includes crossing international borders. For much of the EU, a few hours drive or train ride will land you in another country—or perhaps a few countries over. In the United States, that same scenario is pretty rare due to the sheer size of the country. Residents of many states can drive for hours without ever leaving the boundaries of their home state, much less the country.

It is perhaps for this reason that the most common destination spots for US travelers are within the borders of the United States. While many people visit Disney World in Florida or The Statue of Liberty in New York City every day, it’s less common that these US travelers know about or visit places such as Antelope Canyon, Seven Magic Mountains, or White Sands National Monument. Check out some of the craziest, coolest, and most intriguing destinations for your next vacation right here in the Southwest United States.

Mat Bevel’s Museum of Kinetic Art, Tucson, Arizona
Lose yourself in the intoxicating space where science meets arts meet technology and magic! Located in Tucson, Arizona and billed as “High Art for the Whole Family” this museum is definitely worth the stop. This museum features nearly 100 found-object moving sculptures, a surrealistic pop science theater, hands-on learning experiences and digital media arts.

Antelope Canyon, Page, Arizona
Thanks to social media, and especially Instagram, this spot has become the most-photographed and most-visited slot canyon in all of the American southwest. Millions of years of wind and water erosion have formed the smooth and flowing shapes found in this spectacular canyon. This area is extremely dangerous as it is prone to flash flooding but can be visited through professional guided tours. You can find this stunning natural wonder in Page, Arizona.

Neon Boneyard and Mob Museum, Las Vegas, Nevada
While most people visit Las Vegas, Nevada for the gambling or shows on the Strip, this funky collection of decommissioned neon signs is an impressive stop not far from the action of Fremont Street. To get the most out of your experience, purchase the combo ticket that allows you entry to both the Neon Boneyard and Mob Museum, visit the Museum during the day and schedule your guided tour of the Neon Boneyard just before dusk to experience the signs in natural light as well as lit up.

Seven Magic Mountains, Sloan,Nevada
Located just 10 miles outside of the heart of Las Vegas, Nevada this art installation features seven 30 foot tall fluorescent “totems”. Visitors can walk up to the stacked works of art, take stunning photos, and even listen to a guided audio tour via their personal cell phones. If you want to see this attraction, you’ve gotta act fast–this installation is only on display until May 2018!

White Sands National Monument, Alamogordo, New Mexico
When you think of miles of white sands, you probably think of the beach. Not the case in this southern New Mexico attraction! This area is covered in undulating pure gypsum dunes, the most active of which move in a northeasterly direction at a speed of up to 30 feet per year! A reserve can be found at this park which features specially adapted plants and animals, but for a truly unique experience, purchase a sled and try out some dune sledding!

Bonus: If you’re going to be in the Alamogordo area anyway, make sure to stop by the World’s Largest Pistachio! While it’s (probably) not worth the trip to the area just to see this record-holder, it’s another way to spice up your trip to this area!

Meow Wolf, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Diving head first into a toilet might not sound like your idea of a good time, but wait until you see the adventure that lies within. Nothing is what it appears at Meow Wolf, an interactive choose-your-own-adventure art and experience gallery which houses the House of Eternal Return, the first permanent installation in Meow Wolf’s collection (and supported by Game of Thrones’ George R.R. Martin).

Musical Highway, Tijeras, New Mexico
Located just outside Albuquerque, New Mexico is the famous Route 66. While many people have heard of this famous southern highway, this particular stretch has a novelty of it’s own: It sings. Driving on this stretch of highway at exactly 45 mph treats vehicle passengers to a rumblestrip rendition of “America the Beautiful” over a quarter-mile stretch.
The United States is filled with so many great attractions, tourist destinations, and things to do and see. Have you fallen in love with the weird, wacky, and wonderful Southwest? From Arizona and Nevada to New Mexico and beyond, you’re sure to find the perfect place to call home on RealtyHive.

For better or worse, real estate is an industry ruled by trends. Whether you’re considering moving from the cities to the Leave It to Beaver suburbs (1950s) or from your McMansion(1990s) to a tiny home (2010s), it’s possible that you’re part of the current real estate trend.

As we near the end of a decade, a decade of gallery walls, Moroccan Poufs, reclaimed wood, and gray interior walls we’re seeing a new trend in real estate: a northern migration.

While people of a certain age (and those who don’t like the cold) have been long partaking in what is known as “Snowbird” behavior, spending the summer months in the northern states and the winter months in southern states, we’re beginning to see this trend reverse. Rather than chase a life of 70 degree days throughout the year, some adventurous and hearty souls are enjoying the most extreme weather the United States has to offer by spending the winters in the northern states.

The Great Northern Migration
Why would someone choose to live in a land aptly named “The Frozen Tundra”? In addition to the great people and healthy cheesy, delicious foods there are some real advantages to making the northern migration!

1. Plenty of Exercise

When those who don’t regularly get weather below 32F think of winter, they mostly think of being cooped up indoors because it’s just too cold to do anything else. Northerners? 32 degrees sounds like a great day! But while you won’t see many runners or other typical “exercises” going on, living in an area with large volumes of snow means each morning can be an impromptu workout! As any hardened snow bunny will tell you, there are many kinds of snow. Looking for a light workout? Hope for small flurries with light, fluffy snow. Need to train for your Crossfit competition? Fingers-crossed for some dense, wet snow. Want to drive your car? Grab a shovel! Want to open your door? Grab a shovel! After one session of shoveling you’ll realize how much of a total-body workout you can really get!

2. Adrenaline Junkies Unite

Have you ever driven to work and thought, “Wow! That was really boring!” or “Man, I wish there was something strong than coffee to get me going today!” Northerners have found the perfect solution to this issue–winter driving! Whether the roads look perfectly clear (usually black ice) or terribly sloppy (good ol’ fashioned snow) you’re sure to have an adventure! Pair this with the fact that most northern states have an extremely difficult time keeping up with road work–those seasons are tough on pavement!–and you’ve got yourself a fun little obstacle course of potholes and bumps!

3. Low Maintenance Yards

While the residents of some states have year-round accessibility and use of their yards, the Northerners get a break from October to April. Sure, it would be great to grill out on the patio, but you’d also have to cut the grass, clean the pool, or otherwise make your yard presentable. Northerners put yard work out of sight, out of mind, and buried under a foot of snow–at least for part of the year. The exception to this rule may be Green Bay, Wisconsin where locals will shovel and plow the yards of their home for parking, proving there’s no maintenance like snow-maintenance for a Packer fan!

Want to get in on this burgeoning trend? Ready to make the northern migration? Find your perfect snow baby palace here!

Only 11% of US residents claim Irish ancestry (the second highest motherland after Germany), but on St. Patrick’s Day everyone’s Irish! Whether you’re planning to celebrate with some corned beef and cabbage or a pint of Guinness, there are plenty of ways sham-rock this St. Paddy’s Day! Looking for the best place to find a little slice of the Emerald Isle right here in the US? We’ve got the 5 P’s to find the perfect Paddy’s Day party spot!
 

People
 

 
More than 30.5 million people in the United States claim Irish ancestry–that’s more than 6 times the current population of Ireland. If you’re hoping to spot a leprechaun, these may be the best US states to look!
 
States with Most Irish Descendents (as percentage of the population)

Massachusetts 22.5%
New Hampshire 19.5%
Rhode Island 18.4%
Connecticut & Delaware 16.6%
Vermont 16.5%
Pennsylvania 16.1%
New Jersey 15.9%
Maine 15.1%
Montana 14.9%
 

States with Most Irish Descendants (total number of people)

California 2.62 million
New York 2.45 million
Pennsylvania 1.98 million
Florida 1.65 million
Illinois & Texas 1.51 million
Ohio 1.45 million
Massachusetts 1.43 million
New Jersey 1.34 million
Michigan 1.07 million

 

Potatoes
 

 
While Ireland is famous for potatoes, thanks to the Great Potato Famine, it isn’t the home of the potato (that would be Peru) nor is it a top global producer. If spuds are your St. Patrick’s Day food of choice, there are 30 US states that grow potatoes. Idaho is the largest producer by far followed by Washington, Wisconsin, and Ohio.

Countries with Highest Potato Yields (2016) (in hectogramme/hectare)
United States 490203
New Zealand 489883
Germany 444210
Denmark 424786
Netherlands 419961
Australia 404096
Jordan 400507
Ireland 391111
France 390052
United Kingdom 386547

 
Provisions
 

 
What would St Patrick’s Day be without a bit of beer or whiskey? While the Irish may cringe at the American custom of green beer, they will definitely “sláinte“ over a pint of Guinness or a pour of Jameson. On average, an Irish person will consume 25.76 gallons (97.5 liters) of beer per year.
 
Average Gallons of Beer Consumed per Person per Year
North Dakota 43.3
New Hampshire 42.2
Montana 40.5
South Dakota: 38.1
Vermont 35.9
Wisconsin 35.8
Nevada 34.9
Maine 34.8
Nebraska 34.2
Iowa 33.2
 
Parties
 

 
Planning to go “out on the lash” for St. Patty’s Day? These cities have some of the best festivities around to celebrate, but make sure you get there early–these events are sure to be jammers!

NYC: World’s largest St Patrick’s Day celebration– more than 2 million people come to watch the parade which lasts about 6 hours! This parade has no floats or cars, but about 150,000-250,000 people participate as bands, bagpipes, and dancers. This parade dates back to 1762 making the parade older than the US!

Chicago: The Windy City gets in on the St. Patty’s Day action by dyeing the Chicago River green! It only takes about 45 pounds of environmentally safe vegetable dye to turn the otherwise murky river a vibrate shade of green. After the dye ceremony, a parade kicks off at noon for about 400,000 spectators.

Savannah, GA: With a crowd of more than 300,000 people, Savannah gets into the Irish spirit with a parade featuring horses and a variety of floats. Other attractions for the day include a celebration on River Street with vendors, music, storytellers, and more!
 

Parks
 

 
Ireland is known for having tons of beautiful green landscapes. Since most Americans live in the city, some of the best places to recreate that fresh field feeling is in public green spaces. If your idea of a great St. Patrick’s Day celebration is a little less “pubs” and a little more “parks” here are the US cities with the most parks per capita.
 
Minneapolis, Minnesota
St. Paul, Minnesota
San Francisco, California
Washington D.C.
Portland, Oregon
Arlington, Virginia
Irvine, California
New York, New York
Madison, Wisconsin
Cincinnati, Ohio

From beauty queens (the most Miss USA titleholders) to chili con carne dreams (4,800lb–the world’s largest serving!), it really does seem that everything is bigger in Texas. Check out some of the other Guinness World Records set by Texans!
 

 
Largest Frito Pie
Snackmaker Frito-Lay calls Plano, Texas home so it’s no surprise that Texas is the home of the Guinness-certified World’s Largest Frito Pie. Created in 2012 at the State Fair of Texas in Dallas, the pie was assembled in a U-shaped chaffing dish measuring 133sq ft, produced 5,000 individual servings, and weighed 1,325 pounds!

For non-Texans, a Frito Pie is a meal comprised of Fritos corn chips, bean-less chili (in this case, Hormel brand), and shredded cheddar cheese. This record-setting pie required 635 bags of Fritos, 660 cans of chili, and 580 bags of shredded cheese!
 
Largest Pecan Pie

The El Paso Diablos Baseball Club set the world record for largest pecan pie in 1999, shattering the record previously held by Okmulgee, Oklahoma. The Texan pie weighed just under 19 tons, was 50 feet in diameter and was produced using 1,500lbs of pecans, 13,350 lbs of sugar, 9,700lbs of corn syrup, among many other (large quantities of) ingredients.
 

 
Tallest Free-Standing House of Cards
Set by Texan Bryan Berg in 2007 during the annual State Fair of Texas, the structure measured 25 feet, 9 7/16 inches at its tallest point. As the record name implies, the structure contained no glue, adhesives, or other bonding or support agents. Berg also holds the Guinness World Record for largest playing card structure.
 
Largest YMCA Dance
During the Sun Bowl, a college football matchup featuring teams from the ACC and Pac-12, the world’s largest “YMCA” dance was achieved by 40,148 participants on December 31, 2008. The dance lasted for 5 minutes and 34 seconds and the accompanying music was sung live.
 

 
Largest Gingerbread House
Traditions Club, a private golf club in Bryan Texas, is the holder of the world’s largest gingerbread house! Created in 2013, the house was 60 feet long, 42 feet wide, and 10.1 feet tall at its highest point. The house was created as a fundraiser to build a new trauma center at St Joseph’s Hospital and visitors were able to meet Santa Claus inside the gingerbread house with a donation.
 
Oldest adoption
This is a heartwarming two-part record, both set by Texans. The oldest person to ever be adopted was Mary Banks Smith who was 76 years and 96 days old when she was adopted by Muriel Banks Clayton aged 92 years, 322 days. Mary, Muriel’s first cousin by birth, had been raised by Muriel, but was officially adopted on June 9, 2015 in Dallas.
 

 
Most Tennis Balls Held in the Mouth – Dog
Augie, a golden retriever from Dallas, Texas, holds the world record for most tennis balls held in the mouth at one time by a dog with five regulation sized balls.
 
Tallest Donkey
Romulus, an American Mammoth Jackstock owned by Cara and Phil Yellott of Red Oak, Texas holds this record. The Yellott’s confirmed the record in Waxahachie, TX on February 8, 2013.
 

 
Largest Makeup Painting
Texas is the land of sky-high hair and pageant queens, so it’s no surprise that Mary Kay cosmetics calls the Lone Star State home. In honor of the company’s 50th anniversary in 2013 a mural was commissioned in Dallas, Texas measuring 76 feet long by 8 feet high and was created entirely out of Mary Kay makeup using only makeup brushes and sponges.