San Francisco California San Francisco San Francisco, CA San Francisco offers two built-in advantages. It's one of the most scenic cities in the world and one of the most compact. The city is situated on a 46.6 square-mile peninsula bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, on the north by the Golden Gate strait, and from north to east by San Francisco Bay. The Bay is spanned by two landmarks, the Golden Gate and San Francisco-Oakland Bay bridges and graced by four islands--Alcatraz, Angel, Yerba Buena, and Treasure. Annual events include Chinese New Year Celebration, St. Patrick's Day Parade, ZooFest for Kids, 49ers' Football Season, and A Taste of Chocolate. New York New York New York, NY Sure it's king of the hill; top of the heap. Known as the Big Apple, New York has one of America's most dense populations. The state is divided into 62 counties. Founded as one of the original states of the Union. The state contains the Great Lakes, the Finger Lakes and extensive woodlands and forests in the northeast. The city of New York was inaugurated in the state as the first U.S. president. The city is filled with people, sports teams, fashion, culture, entertainment, and some world-class attractions and visitor destinations. San Antonio Texas San Antonio San Antonio, TX San Antonio is a modern city whose heritage, culture, traditions, and natural beauty combine into a blend that has attracted people for hundreds of years. From the earliest Spanish missionaries in 1691 to today's corporate executives, San Antonio continues to draw attention. Today, San Antonio is a center for trade, education, government, bio- medical research, and high-tech industries. San Antonio events include: River Walk Bottom Festival and Mud Parade, Carnival del Rio, Texas-Irish Festival, Tejano Conjunto Festival, Ballet Folklorico de San Antonio, Texas Folklife Festival, Fiesta Guadalupana. Kansas City Missouri Kansas City, MO With more fountains than the city of Rome, Kansas City has fountains everywhere. The town was established in 1838 and is located on the south bank of the Missouri River. Once, stockyards dominated the area but now the various parts of the city are linked by parkways and large parks. Known for the famous Kansas City steak and fine jazz, K.C. visitors and residents alike find plenty of interesting places to visit and things to do. Events include the Reggae Fest, Renaissance Festival, Lyric Opera, International Jazz Festival, and the Spirit Festival. Baton Rouge Louisiana Govenor's Mansion Baton Rouge, LA Baton Rouge, the capital of Louisiana is an area of lush, stately plantations along the soothing, shady reaches of the Great River Road. It's also home to intriguing Cajun cabins tucked back in the cool shade of Bayou Grosse Tete. Dominating the sky is the Louisiana State Capitol building, the nation's tallest state capitol. Nearby, the Governor's Mansion resembles an antebellum home. Baton Rouge's combination of government, universities, petrochemical refineries, and its port, guarantees a wealth of nightlife, entertainment, and restaurants. Louisville Kentucky Louisville, KY Nestled along the Ohio River, Louisville was founded in 1778 by Revolutionary War hero General George Rogers Clark and quickly grew into a thriving riverport. The the 1800s Louisville was a processing and shipping center for tobaco, bourbon, textiles, and agricultural products. Part of Louisville's charm is its rich heritage, rememberd and honored through the preservation of many majestic historic sites. The city is winthin a day's drive of more than half the population of the United States. Area events include Taste of a Nation, The Chocolate Rendezvous, Best of Louisville Bash, and Halloween in the Forest. Panama City/ Panama City Beach Florida Panama City Beach Panama City/Panama City Beach, FL Across the bridge from Panama City Beach is a small southern town called Panama City. It is active in theatre music, dance and visual arts. During the month of May Panama City has its annual art festival that gives local artist a chance to let people see their artwork. Recent remodeling down town has brought life back to Panama City. People are attracted to the downtown McKenzie Park to hear free concerts from local bands or go down to Martin theatre to see Broadway plays. The areas biggest employer in Panama City is Tyndall Air Force Base, which spends millions in the local community. Gulf Coast Community College is also located in Panama City and is one of the best colleges in the local area. GCCC has received national awards for its academic programs. Come to Panama City Beach to enjoy the world's most famous beach with ideal subtropical temperatures, sparkling emerald green waters and shimmering white sand, no wonder people find Panama City Beach a true vacation paradise. The sugar white sand delights the many people that come to the beach year round. Panama City Beach is a yearlong playground for the vacationer. You can bathe in the sun, go swimming with or without the dolphins, stroll along the beach, picking up sea shells, build a sand castles, go scuba diving or snorkeling among tropical marine life, and these are only a few things to do in Panama City beach. The gulf coast has a lot of different activities for each individual person. The family can spend the day cooling off at Shipwreck Island Water Park. Then spend the evening at Miracle Strip Amusement Park that is the home of the oldest wooden roller coaster on the gulf coast. If you want to spend the day shopping you can go to Alvin Island Tropical Department Store that offers a variety of clothing, plus it has live alligators and shark feeding throughout the day. If you feel like miniature golf you can pick from Emerald Falls or Coconut Creek. Emerald Falls is a tropical paradise that offers two miniature golf course and several go kart tracks that includes the super slippery slick track to the formula race track. Coconut Creek is the home of the Gran Maze that will surely get you confused, that has a two miniature golf course right beside it for the person who wants to conquer these two difficult courses. The beach has many outstanding restaurants to choose from that are highly recommended. Panama City Beach area restaurants are as the people who fill them. Elegant Oceanside dining with high standards and the price to match to the down and dirty oyster bars when slurping off the shells is expected and encouraged. Capt. Anderson has received the "Golden Spoon" award, which is a prestigious honor given annually by the Florida Trend magazine, and for 13 years Capt. Anderson's Restaurant has been named one of the Florida top-20 restaurants. You can watch the fleet of charter boats unload their catch on the dock while you wait for your food. Right down the road is the Treasure Ship, a huge restaurant that is a reproduction of Sir Frances Drake ship the Golden Hind. Go down to Schooner's the last local beach club, to shoot the canon at sunset to enjoy an open air dining experience to leave you with memories. If you are in the mood for ribs come down to Pineapple Willies Bar & Grill. They use a secret blend of Jack Daniel's in their sauce to make the ribs the best on the beach. During the summer months Panama City Beach has a vibrant nightlife. Teenagers come from all around to drive on " The Strip" which is a two-lane road through the main part of Panama City Beach. MTV has come down several times to host their annual Spring Break coverage for the year. PCB is home of the largest nightclub in America Club La Vela, that holds daily bikini contest & wet T-shirt contest during the summer time. If you want to hang out with the locals go down to Spinnaker or Salty's for a mature crowd to drink the night away with a live band. The beach has one of the largest seafood festivals on the gulf coast. The Indian Seafood Festival has many big name country stars' that perform throughout the weekend. The festival has many arts and craft exhibits that explore the works of local artists. The one thing that draws the crowd to the festival is the wide variety of seafood from all over the gulf coast. St. Andrew Park is one of those last undeveloped spots on the beach. It is the perfect atmosphere for a family outing. You can catch a boat from the State Park to Shell Island and spend a day exploring for legendary pirate gold, scuba dive or snorkel around the jetties. Fishing off the jetties is a favorite fishing spot for local fishing. Zoo World and Gulf World shows a variety of animals in their natural habitat and Gulf World has many shows that include dolphins, parrots, and seals. If you like to take your chance with "Lady Luck" come down to the Ebro dog Track to bet on the dogs. If you are interested in fishing. Panama City Beach has one of the largest fleet of charter boats in the nation. The warm water attracts a wide variety of fish from Blue Marlins to the Red Snapper, which is prized as one of the best tasting fish on the coast. During June, Bay Point has its annual "Bill Fish" tournament that draws anglers from all over the nation to catch the big Blue Marlin for the big pay out.