Sunday, June 5, 2011

Mancations subject of new TV travel show

Man vacations are the subject of a new Travel Channel TV program called “Mancations,” which premieres tonight.
It stars comedic duo Evan Mann and Gareth Reynolds. The pilot was shot at ManCation Nation in Parker, Ariz., which promotes itself as a place to “Load your gun rack, pack up your backpack and get your sack back,” according to MSNBC.
After taking my first mancation in over 10 years last March, I’m thinking about ideas for my next one.
Possibilities include tornado chasing on the Great Plains, climbing Half Dome at Yosemite National Park, camping at Yellowstone National Park and rock climbing at Devil’s Tower in Wyoming.
The big categories for mancations are: thrill-seeking, the great outdoors, sports and major events.
In the thrill-seeking category, I’d put whitewater rafting, skydiving, racecar driving, and running with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain.
The great outdoors category would include camping, hunting, fishing, hiking, canoeing, etc. It also would take in exotic destinations like the Wonders of the World.
Sports would cover such mancations as visiting baseball spring training, golf vacations, touring Major League ballparks, and going to the Olympics or the Super Bowl.
Major events would run the gamut from Oktoberfest in Munich, Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Mardi Gras in New Orleans and Tomatina in Bunol, Spain. This category also would include music festivals like South by Southwest, Lollapalooza, Coachella, Bonnaroo and the Pitchfork Music Festival. The category also would cover Comic-Con and the Adult Entertainment Expo.
Some websites have cropped up to capitalize on the mancation trend. I’ll write about that next time.

Photo from the Travel Channel show "Mancations." Cutline: Evan, Gareth and expert lumberjack Andrew Cole swing their axes at the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show.

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