Thinking “green” in terms of travel planning once meant considering your budget. Today, it means so much more.

More than likely, you’ve made travel decisions in the past year based on a restaurateur’s, hotelier’s or attraction’s level of eco-friendliness, or commitment to supporting local and regional sources. 

Today, I offer two suggestions from Ann Arbor, Michigan, on the subject.

To do: Visit Leslie Science and Nature Center, which originated as a gift to the city of Ann Arbor from Dr. Eugene and Emily Leslie (Dr. Leslie was a scientist, innovator and professor based in the area). The center’s crown jewel, reserved for special events and programs, is the Nature House. Constructed in 2000, it employs solar energy, rainwater collection and building materials and finishes crafted of recycled auto glass and the chaff of sunflower plants. Take a close look at the systems from the building’s exterior; catch a birds of prey feeding (Saturdays, 4-6 p.m.); observe snakes, turtles and rabbits inside the Critter House; and enjoy a picnic on the forested grounds. And don’t forget to check the event calendar before you go – you never know when the Leslie might be hosting a circus or a photo safari on its grounds.

To eat: Make a reservation for brunch or dinner at Café Zola, where savory (Champignon) and sweet (Nutella Banana) crepes are “works of fine art” – true to the traditions of Brittany and made fresh, one at a time. Other menu items, from omelets and waffles to salads and sandwiches, are also crafted with the freshest ingredients possible (oftentimes organic and locally sourced), and some nod to the Mediterranean – request the Grilled Lamb Chops à la Turque at dinner: They’re a masterpiece marinated in extra virgin olive oil, mint, oregano and garlic. But it’s not only the quality of the ingredients that Café Zola gets right – the philosophy here seems to be, simply, do things well. Any doubters on this point need only to study the extensive beverage selection, which spans specialty coffees, scented teas, elegant cocktails and wines.



The Nature House at Ann Arbor, Michigan's Leslie Science and Nature Center is a model of green building techniques and materials. Photo by Leslie Science and Nature Center.

Do you know this man?

Photo by Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA)/Tor Johnson.

That’s King Kamehameha. He united the Hawaiian Islands in 1795.

Next month, across all of those beautiful islands, you can celebrate the erstwhile king (and all things Hawaii) during several King Kamehameha celebrations. My picks:

• A lei-draping ceremony at his statue (June 8) and the 96th annual floral parade in his name (June 9) on Oahu. The parade, a regal spectacle of vivid floats, marching bands and traditional pau riders begins at Iolani Palace. Know before you go: Pau riders represent a royal Hawaiian court on horseback, complete with lei-draped princesses and tropically wreathed horses. As for Iolani Palace, it’s the U.S.’s only official royal residence.
  
  
• Maui’s festivities are scheduled for the following weekend, with a parade on June 16 followed by a day of cultural and celebratory events: Take a walking tour; meet pau riders and princesses; take in live, local musical entertainment and Polynesian dancing; browse Maui-made arts and crafts (then make your own lei); and purchase something delectable from an island food vendor.

Let’s play word association.

I say Wisconsin.

You say: Cheese? Motorcycles? Beer?

All good answers, readers. But today, we expand our Wisconsin vernacular to include spas. Ultra-inviting spas. So cozy into your waffle robe and slippers and soak in my top three:

1. Sundara Spa, Wisconsin Dells: A pine forest cradles this luxury-poll darling (just ask readers of Conde Nast Traveler or Travel + Leisure), which offers spa, salon and wellness services for men, women and couples. For its part, the spa tempts with treatments including the Raysayana Four Handed Massage (that’s two therapists to melt both sides of your body with warm, herbal oils) and the Sundara Dream Facial, which eventually lulls you into an essential oil- and massage-induced slumber atop a feather bed. For fitness, take a lap in the heated infinity-edge pool or request a personal Hatha yoga session in your suite or villa. Bonus: Sundara is a certified Travel Green Wisconsin property.

2. Kohler Waters Spa at the American Club Resort, Kohler: Also a decorated destination (Kohler Waters earned a Five Star Award from Forbes Travel Guide for 2012, making it the first and only Five Star spa in Wisconsin, and one of only 30 Five Star spas worldwide). While the spa menu is robust with massage, energy therapies and body treatments for individuals and couples, the signatures here are elemental: Bathing and hydrotherapy treatments including the Acoustic Bath exfoliate and hydro-massage your body to a calming blend of sound vibration and music. Tip: If you’re pairing your spa services with an overnight stay, request a room in the American Club Resort’s Carriage House. It will position you even closer to the spa.



The relaxation pool at Kohler Waters Spa. Photo courtesy of Kohler Waters Spa.

3. Aspira Spa at The Osthoff Resort, Elkhart Lake: Heart-shaped Elkhart Lake, deemed mystical by Native Americans for its beauty and curative powers, gives identity to The Osthoff Resort and its Aspira Spa. Book a SpaSuite to experience Aspira’s Sacred Waters treatment in your room – the massage and bath incorporate water from the lake.

It’s my job to make sure you have something memorable to do this Memorial Day weekend.
And since I can’t invite you all over for a barbecue, I’ll feed you ’til you’re full of ideas for fun things to do across the country that weekend.

Today’s pick is the 32nd Annual Wyatt Earp Days in Tombstone, Arizona. On May 26-28, you can witness gunfights (re-enacted, of course), a fashion show à la 1880 and a chili cook-off – all for free in Tombstone’s historic downtown.

Spend a little time in this town made famous by the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, and you’ll find all sorts of wild ways to experience history in its patchwork of landmarks, ghost towns and graveyards (Boothill) threaded into the National Register. Take a walking tour; shop for Native American art and crafts (or outfit yourself Southwestern-style in a hat and pair of boots); then sidle up to the bar at Big Nose Kate’s Saloon (the bar here is one of the only surviving items from the 1882 fire that devoured Tombstone’s Grand Hotel, an erstwhile haunt of the Earps, Clantons and Doc Holliday). Big Nose Kate’s operates a full kitchen. Just be sure to wash your vittles down the Doc Holliday way with some Old Overholt whiskey. 

During Memorial Day weekend, downtown Tombstone will host the 32nd annual Wyatt Earp Days. It's also a spirited stop for shopping, salooning and Wild West landmark-sighting. Photo courtesy of Cochise County Tourism Council.

If you’re in Vermont on May 26-27, keep an eye out for yellow signs: Throughout the state, they’ll guide you to nearly 260 studios where artists and craftspeople will invite you in to watch them work.

The Vermont Spring Open Studio Weekend, presented by the Vermont Crafts Council, celebrates its 20th year this time around. Glassblowers Harry and Wendy Besett and furniture-crafter Bob Gasperetti have opened their studios to tour-goers since year one. The Besetts' studio sits across the street from the couple's home near the village of Hardwick; Gasperetti’s fits into a hill at the edge of Green Mountain National Forest. There are so many reasons to love this event, but I particularly like how the setting of each studio introduces you to a different downtown or small town where the crafters live and work.

Apart from glass and wood, you might glimpse artists working with jewelry and iron; quilters and weavers; sculptors and painters. You might also speak to (and buy from) an artist directly, and peek at experimental works or raw materials. In Gasperetti’s showroom and drive-through basement, for example, you can marvel at finished pieces (like a pencil-post bed) or towering stacks of lumber, including samples of “Robert Frost red pine” planted by the poet. It all depends on which studios you choose to visit. Download a free tour guide here, or plan your weekend by region.

And if you already have plans for Memorial Day weekend, mark your calendar for Vermont Fall Open Studio Weekend, scheduled for Oct. 6-7.

The Vermont Crafts Council celebrates 20 years of Vermont Spring Open Studio Weekend on May 26-27. Photo © 2012 Vermont Crafts Council.

To pop the hood on Michigan’s automotive past and present, head southeast to Detroit and its surrounds – preferably by June 1. That’s day one of the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix, which continues through June 3 in a blur of cars representing the IZOD IndyCar Series, the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series, the Indy Lights Series and the Pirelli World Challenge Championship Series. The track is a temporary street circuit constructed on Belle Isle, the thousand-or-so-acre, city-owned island on the Detroit River – more on that in a moment.

When the Grand Prix slows, the calendar picks right back up with a NASCAR Weekend at Michigan International Speedway, June 15-16. Events run like this through September in what the area calls “Autopalooza.” View the full events calendar here – expect car cruises, more races, and shows including the Concours d'Elegance of America planned for The Inn at St. John's in Plymouth, Michigan, on July 29. Bonus: The Autopalooza website is a good place to find add-ons for an auto-themed itinerary – consider the Chrysler Museum and the Model T Automotive Heritage Complex.

Fans pack Michigan International Speedway. Photo courtesy of MIS Archives.

Now, back to Belle Isle. Here’s why you should hang around post-Grand Prix:

1. Cap a day of sunning and sliding on Belle Isle Beach and its water slide (both are open the second week of June through Labor Day) with a Sunday evening Jazz on the Beach concert.

2. Watch the light and water shows at the carved white-marble masterpiece that is the Scott Memorial Fountain. Funded by a gambler’s fortune and designed by Cass Gilbert (designer of the U.S. Supreme Court Building), the fountain's shows operate daily between dusk and 11 p.m., Memorial Day through late September. (You should know that Gilbert was selected for the project in part by American landscape master Frederick Law Olmstead, who created Belle Isle’s master plan in 1883.)

3. Stroll through a conservatory patterned after Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello (the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory); then view the world’s largest collection of model ships of the Great Lakes, featured inside Belle Isle’s Dossin Great Lakes Museum.

See a complete list of Belle Isle activities, and download an island map, here.

Kansas City, Missouri, has previously earned Sam in the City’s kid-friendly seal of approval (read this for a refresher). This month, KC cemented its status by adding an aquarium to the family haven that is the city’s Crown Center.

Thanks to the new SEA LIFE Aquarium at the Crown Center, you can hang out with a blacktip reef shark on your next trip to Kansas City. Photo by SEA LIFE.

SEA LIFE Kansas City Aquarium opened this month, creating a home for more than 5,000 sea creatures. Here are my tips for making the most of your visit:

1. Come prepared to roll up your sleeves: You’ll want to touch the crabs and starfish that inhabit the interactive Rockpool.

2. Depending on the ages in your traveling party, you might spend anywhere from 1.5 to 3 hours exploring the aquarium. There are plenty of exhibits to see (like the underwater ocean tunnel where blacktip reef sharks swim above you), but you can break them up by letting the kids romp in the soft play area.

3. Buy your tickets online before you visit – it will save you a couple bucks. In either case, children under 3 are free.

4. Check the aquarium’s chat schedule when you arrive. Several times daily, staff members will tell you about (and in some cases, feed) the species you’re seeing, from seahorses to stingrays.

After your aquatic adventures, venture into the Crown Center for lunch or to check out a different attraction: This summer, the center’s calendar is packed with family fun including a production of Once Upon a Mattress by the Coterie Theater and a stint by the traveling exhibit Dinosaurs: Land of Fire and Ice.

By day, Mount Vernon is a stunning sight – its cupola reigning over woods, gardens, original outbuildings and the Potomac River. Sunset casts even greater intrigue over the estate near Washington, D.C., most famously known as the former plantation of George Washington. Experience it during Mount Vernon’s Sunset Celebration, May 25-27. From 6-9 p.m. each evening throughout the Memorial Day weekend event, you may:

• Take an evening tour of the mansion and stroll its lantern-lit grounds
• Purchase wine and desserts
• Enjoy 18th-century music, dancing, games and wagon rides – and meet costumed interpreters (some will represent members of Washington’s family; others will demonstrate how chocolate was made in the 18th century...using an authentic recipe)

Sunset Celebration adult tickets cost $18; $12 for children ages 6-11. Children 5 and under are free.

Watch the sunset from George Washington's lawn during Mount Vernon's Sunset Celebration this Memorial Day weekend. Photo courtesy of Mount Vernon Ladies' Association.

Bonus: In nearby Alexandria, Virginia, the King Street Trolley has just begun running on a new hybrid trolley system. And yes, it’s still free. Look for it daily – it runs every 15 minutes between the Potomac riverfront and the King Street Metro Station, with 20 stops in between, delivering you to the shops, restaurants and attractions of Alexandria’s historic main street.

Something awesome happened in Boise, Idaho, on April 23: Keith Tuskey and Marylee Stephens opened up their home as a bed and breakfast.

Theirs isn’t just any home. It’s a striking model of rammed-earth construction, built of mysteries and what may seem like miracles within the paradigm of modern building techniques: Its 15-inch walls are made of rammed earth, naturally insulated and faced with logs. Not one nail holds the structure together. Rose stone cultivated from the Owyhee Mountains that frame the property form the door jambs. Such an approach to construction is ancient, yet avant garde in its eco-mindedness – particularly considering that the home was completed in 1970.

It took 20 years to build. 



This rammed-earth beauty in Boise could be your next B&B stay. Photo by Boise Hillside Suites.

John Fairchild designed it for himself and his wife, Marjorie. When Boise’s original city hall was demolished during the home’s construction, John hauled 135 stones from the demolition site for use in his home’s landscaping.

After John and Marjorie’s life in the home, it passed to a contractor who made some interior renovations; then to Keith and Marylee, who have given the home a new life as Boise Hillside Suites.
  
What you’ll find: John’s study, Marjorie’s library and another bedroom transformed into three suites for overnight guests. The results are cozy with an eye for detail: luxury linens; regional wines served in the afternoon; a breakfast basket brimming with fresh goodies made of local ingredients delivered to your door each morning. All suites are private with their own terraces and bathrooms, sitting/dine-in areas and kitchenettes.

What to do in town: Boise, and Idaho in general, are tops for outdoor pursuits; plus, Keith and Marylee’s house sits on the Oregon Trail. But it’s also just a few minutes’ drive from downtown Boise and the North End, which Keith calls “the most unique area of Boise – a mixture of arts, [history], trees and parks with lots of bike riding and really friendly people.” He likes to direct his guests to 36th Street Bistro for lunch or dinner; or to downtown, a core for restaurants, shops, public art and attractions such as the State Historical Museum and Capitol, Zoo Boise and the Basque Museum & Cultural Center, a nod to the city’s Basque heritage.

Scan all of the home tour possibilities across Iowa and you’ll uncover a President’s birthplace, a stop on the Underground Railroad, a mansion that cost $250,000 by the time of its completion in 1869 (now home to Iowa’s governor), and much more. My favorites:

1. Amana Colonies, near Cedar Rapids and Iowa City: German settlers moved here in 1855 and built seven villages with a nearly self-sufficient economy based on the handcrafts and agricultural traditions of their homeland. They maintained their communal lifestyle in the Amana Colonies through the 1930s. Today, the colonies are big with visitors – beyond the history and architecture, the colonies are full of restaurants, shops (antiques and furnishings are signature souvenirs) – there's even a handful of wineries and a brewery. Trace the colonies’ history, and view exhibits including original crafts and toys,  inside the Amana Heritage Museum, a collection of three 19th-century buildings including a circa-1870 schoolhouse. You can also see the village’s original blacksmith shop and general store, whose tin ceiling, wooden floor and display cases are original.

Bonus: The Colonies keep a busy social calendar, especially in summer, when festivals, walking tours, live music and more give reason to extend your stay. Maifest, a celebration of spring the German way, is scheduled for May 5-6.

2. Brucemore, Cedar Rapids: Come for the guided tour of this Queen Anne masterpiece: The three-story exterior is dramatically capped with gables and turrets; the interior reflects the years 1915-1925. You’ll find changing exhibits inside the estate’s 1911 carriage house; and in July, you can bring a picnic and blanket for the production of weekly classic plays on the lawn.

3. Herbert Hoover National Historic Site, West Branch: Though Herbert Hoover left West Branch when he was orphaned at the age of 9, this site preserves the two-room cottage where he was born, and includes a visitor center, Presidential Library and Museum, and several period and reconstructed buildings. Get the audio tour to take a self-guided walk to the birthplace cottage; the blacksmith shop (though a reproduction, this is a working shop that hosts demos – check the park calendar for dates); and the Friends Meetinghouse (restored to reflect 1857, when Hoover attended church services here). West Branch’s historic district has shops and restaurants, and will host Hoover’s Hometown Days Aug. 3-4 (2012 marks the 50th anniversary of the Hoover Presidential Library and Museum).

At the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site in West Branch, Iowa, you’ll find the former U.S. President’s birthplace, this two-room cottage. Photo courtesy of the Iowa Tourism Office.