Clue #4: Alan & Harriet’s 2011 Summer Vacation Contest

Dear Friends,

Uh oh. A few of you seem to have dropped out and we suspect there are some who are waiting to do a last-second-eBay bid/guess sort thing. Maybe it’s time we answered a couple of questions and reviewed a clue that seems to have slipped by many of you.

To answer Sylvia’s question, the destination does not start with the letter “B.” So Bolivia, Botswana, Burkino Faso, Bamako and Bhutan are all out, however they’ll all be considered for November.

Clue Review: We’re all clear on the geography (landlocked) thing and that the average temperature this time of year is about 90 degrees. Good. Now let’s give Clue #2 another look-see, shall we: “a week in Paris… one of our very shortest… trips” means “less than a week.” Not that we wouldn’t spend more time in airports and in the air than at the destination itself if there were a compelling reason or free ticket involved, but in this case, we paid for our airfare and we’ll be “there” longer than we’ll be traveling to and from there. Hell, this little contest is lasting longer than we’ll be there.

Clue #4 (Trivia)
We do not need a visa to travel there.
The predominant language is English.
It is a popular tourist destination.
In addition to tourism in two well known cities, the major industry is gold production.

Oh, in answer to Gayle’s altitude/attitude question, we’ll just say that “altitude” was not a typo but we readily acknowledge Harriet’s “attitude” is (always) a consideration.

18 thoughts on “Clue #4: Alan & Harriet’s 2011 Summer Vacation Contest

  1. Ok, so on last night’s 7-hr bus from hell, I was sure it was an Italian city since they are fab destinations, and Florence and Rome both have rivers running through them. Now with English-speaking and gold production, how about Joberg and Cape Town, though So. Africa involves a lot of flying from SB. Could be our CA gold country in the Sierras, but no offense, that doesn’t seem very memorable. Maybe the gold panning equipment is what is not carried by Magellans. More exotic would be something like Whistler in the Rockies. Maybe combined with Vancouver as the second city. More clues please. I’m off to explore La Serena which has 29 churches, many colonial, in the vicinity of the plaza.

  2. Emerald City in the Land of Oz. I’m sure there must be some gold there. The flight is free if you are standing in the right place.

  3. Ok I think you are going to Utah. Zion, Bryce Canyon, Arches, Canyonlands. They are golden and hot and the altitude can be high. Wow I am jealous. Sounds like a fun trip.

  4. Well, since we can make as many guesses as we want, I am going to go with The Pallazzo in Las Vegas, which also offers gondola rides. Dinner at Thomas Keller’s Bouchon, followed by Jersey Boys. I don’t know about “taking the plunge” officiated by Elvis, but that would sure make the trip noteworthy.

  5. SOOOO fun watching this…can’t wait to see the end results/winners/reactions/etc. Cool Clues…you guys are going to have an awesome trip…can’t wait to here all the details…and I expect you will blog for all of us the daily events????????? xxoo

  6. Don’t know why, but my first thought was
    Niagra Falls. I realize it doesn’t have much
    connection with your clues, but I think it’s somewhere in the good old USA.
    The panning for gold idea seems to be a possibility.
    After doing a bit of research, I’m going to guess
    somewhere in Colorado…
    it’s landlocked, has rivers & altitude…
    maybe Pikes Peak near Colorado Springs?

  7. Ok, so my first guess was Bolivia which has been ruled out by the starting letter of “B” and the temperature. I’m going to go with Laura and guess that it’s either Utah or Nevada. Although the thought of you two in Vegas is pretty darn classic :).

  8. If the special equipment isn’t for mountain climbing in Colorado, it must be for whitewater rafting on the Snake River in Idaho!

  9. English speaking, landlocked, high altitude, hot (in a northern-hemisphere summer), non-visa, gold producing region. You would think it wouldn’t be that hard!

  10. And for today’s guess: staying domestic. Bingham, Utah.

    Although I may be leaning toward’s Andre’s approval of Diane’s day 1…

  11. It is starting to look like Reno: high desert, hot, river, gold production. But best of all, from July 1 through July 10, the Reno – Sparks Convention Center is hosting the National Championships for fencing. Good luck, Harriet.

  12. I was ready to guess Zimbabwe (lots of English, gold, high altitude, landlocked but the are no major tourism cities and the travel time ratio doesnt work) or the Czech Republic ( again language and travel time don’t work). Perhaps the answer is a region of the US or Mexico, maybe something as bourgeois as San Miguel Allende. Ah but the two major tourism cities confuses me.

  13. Well Darn, I thought it would be Santa Rosa. We are landlocked, We have a river, Russian River or we can run a hose from the front yard to the back, We will keep the house set at 90 degrees, keep Harriet from going upstairs to solve her altitude problem, We have an in house Gourmet Chef, a bumper crop of escargot, an in house tour guide who will take you to all the wine tasting you could ever want, (after which who cares what you eat and would solve Harriets attitude problem) , concierge services, 4 stars on the door and only 30 bucks a night. Oh, well.
    Good Luck Harriet.

  14. Well heck, I was going to say Hollywood, but who flies into Hollywood? Not even Harrison Ford. But that might have been one of those fishy Red Herrings you threatened to throw out, “Look over here at this shiny gold object little girl…”

    The gold industry would be Oscar and gold albums. And the river runs thru it would be that one we get stuck up without a paddle, shit.
    Or, I know there is a old dried up wash, but that was done in by those who created LA. I want to say Santa Ana Wash ? (yes, I grew up there…)
    Remember “Chinatown” and the water spills?

    And yes, it get’s HOT there, both by the mercury and with too short shorts and lot’s ‘o Hot Air.

    And then some “Event” would account for your short stay. I can’t come up with one unless there is a movie opening that you are invited to. Something that would include landing in a Hot Air Balloon perhaps?

    Well that’s a long, snake-like guess.

  15. Oh, I forgot the high altitude. That’s because of where everyone of the Who’s Who thinks they are.

    Richard Gere in “Pretty Woman” gets the penthouse because it’s the best.

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