Carol Burnett and Harvey Korman starred in the 1986 mini-series Fresno. Fresno was supposed to be this backwater place, an absurd location with which to parody soap operas. I lived there, a few years after the mini-series debuted. And I even have fond memories, there are many more things to do there than when I was there on and off from 1989 through 1996. I spent a ton of time playing $2 blackjack at the Indian casino…
What does this have to do with rental cars? As I’ve written in the past, there are only two real game changing innovations in rental cars that I can think of in my lifetime. One is keeping your information on file so that you can be pre-assigned a car and take off by showing just your driver’s license. The other is picking your own car.
The pioneer in the space, of course, is National with its Emerald Aisle. I love National’s “Go Like a Pro” slogan because their Emerald Aisle concept, to me, is the perfect frequent business renter feature.
National knows that business trips (and leisure trips, especially to visit family!) don’t always take folks to the most popular, most conventionally exciting destinations. If they did, there wouldn’t be air service to Omaha, Des Moines, Milwaukee, or Boise.
National, though, thinks that off-the-beaten path destinations can offer a lot to folks visiting, with the right inside tips. They call these places “Underrated, Over-Traveled.”
And since I used to live in Fresno, I decided to focus there. It’s also been many years since i lived there, and it’s changed a ton. So I’d love to learn the latest tips.
Prizes: When there’s something on offer from a company for me, my practice is to try to make it available to readers instead. I am not taking anything for running this contest. Instead, there’s a ‘grand prize’ in addition to five winners.
One grand prize winner will receive:
- $250 AMEX gift card
- National Extreme Sport Duffel
- National Case Logic Zippered Tech Journal
- National Ultimate Privacy Luggage Tag
- National 14oz Striped Coffee Tumbler
- National BicRoundstic & Notepad
Five additional winners will receive the following prize pack:
- $50 AMEX gift card
- National Extreme Sport Duffel
- National Ultimate Privacy Luggage Tag
- National 14oz Striped Coffee Tumbler
How to enter:
Leave a tip about Fresno, California either
- as a comment in this blog post, or
- via Twitter mentioning @garyleff and the hashtag #NationalUOT
You may leave as many tips as you’d like, but each must be a bona fide tip about Fresno.
- The tip can be about anything as long as it can reasonably be put on a map. (National will be sharing tips on its Foursquare page, and by entering you explicity grant permission for this with or without attribution.)
Subject area examples include Dining, Sports/Activities, Bars/Nightlife, Outdoors/Park/Public Facilities, Arts/Films/Theater, Historical/Famous Landmarks.
If you enter via twitter, you must also follow @garyleff so that I can direct message you if you win. If you don’t follow me on twitter you won’t be eligible.
If you enter here with a comment on this blog post, the email address you identify yourself with (which won’t be published online) must be real so I can contact you if you win.
Entries must be submitted no later than Noon Eastern time on Friday, July 18. I will pick the winners.
The fine print: the contest is open to US residents only (talk to the lawyers on this, sorry!). I’m the final arbiter in all matters related to this contest and in all matters of interpretation. There is no appeal. I’m doing this because there’s an opportunity to send out some cool prizes from a brand I like, and not taking anything from them in return, so please don’t give me a hard time in the process. However do note that National Car Rental is sponsoring the prizes.
- You can join the 30,000+ people who see these deals and analysis every day — sign up to receive posts by email (just one e-mail per day) or subscribe to the RSS feed. It’s free. Don’t miss out!
Best winery around is Ficklin.
Try the “Yosemite Ranch”. The steaks are really good. The portions are large, and the staff very friendly. Be sure to save room for the amazing bread pudding! And for the best part of the tip you can get discounted gift cards at Costco.
Best cheap fun golf course has to be Airways located right next to the airport.
Best cheap fun golf course has to be Airways located right next to the airport.
Best cheap fun golf course has to be Airways located right next to the airport.
Best cheap fun golf course has to be Airways located right next to the airport.
Best cheap fun golf course has to be Airways located right next to the airport.
Best burger place not named “In-N-Out” in Fresno is the Colorado Grill.
My favorite thing about Fresno is it’s amazing access to the Sierra Nevadas: Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks are all a short drive away.
The kids will love Island Waterpark.
For families visting: The Star Party at the Discovery Center. For $5, arrive with a picnic dinner and a blanket around 6-7ish. You can look thru telescopes and learn about the stars from a guide. A nice way to wind down the day…star gazing with your children.
If you’re looking for any outdoor activities and don’t want to travel as far as Yosemite, there’s a bunch of lakes close by, like Millerton Lake, which are only about a 30-40 minute drive outside the city.
Forestiere Underground Gardens are an interesting afternoon trip. They were dug out by hand over a 40 year period. Rooms, caverns and gardens are all yours to explore. A real unique place for sure!
For a romantic and elegant night out, The Palms Restaurant is the best.
Fashion Fair Mall has anything you could ever want to buy.
I should have added…check out the Discovery Center for the workshop offerings for kids/families during the week. This summer they have workshops in Sharks, CSI, Monsters, Space and Werid Science.
Fresno Chaffee Zoo is an amazing place. It has stingray exibits and a water tunnel that almost rivals Seaworld, and a Rainforest exhibit that will enthrall all ages.
The Chaffee Zoo is a nice outing to take the little ones to.
The Giant’s AAA team plays there: the Grizzlies. They can be fun for a family outing.
A fun family outing is to experience some of the fresh produce of the USA’s most productive county: go to a u-pick farm and get fresh, ripe cheap local produce.
I recommend an evening game watching the Fresno Grizzlies, the SF Giants’ triple-A affiliate, at Chukchansi Park before or after some cold adult beverages at Fresno Brewing Co. You can walk from one place to the other.
For a unique dining experience and a fabulous tri-tip sandwich, visit the Dog House Grill in Fresno.
My wife just returned from Fresno, though we were both there earlier in year. Our tip – Lunch at the Ripe Tomato is a must. Simple local food amazingly prepared. A real treat. Excellent desserts as well
Another fun family idea: there is a fairly unique laser tag place called Tac-ops. Games are played as teams, so communication and tactics become more important than just good aim.
Forestiere Underground Gardens. Definitely check them out
Make sure you try the Tri Tip Sandwich at the Dog House Grill. Don’t leave town without trying it.
Try Lola’s Rico Taco!
trying to cover all the bases on a fun trip to Fresno :
Dining: Definitely Pismos! http://www.pismos.com
Sports/Activities: The Fresno Grizzlies!
Bars/Nightlife: Try to time your visit to attend something at the Tower Theater which opened in 1939.
Outdoors/Park/Public Facilities: Woodward Park is beautifully situated with its location on the San Joaquin River
Arts/Films/Theater: Dinner Theatre/Theatre at Roger Rocka’s
Historical/Famous Landmarks: The Kearney Mansion Museum or the Tower District (where the Tower Theatre and Roger Rocka’s are)
I recommend eating at Tacos Marquitos on Barstow Ave.
It might be hot during summer, but it is a dry heat. 🙂 There are 2 local water parks in the area to help with the heat: Island Water Park and Wild Water Adventure.
Fresno State’s Dairy Processing Unit makes 65 delicious flavors of ice cream. You can buy containers from a half pint to a half gallon at the Fresno State Farm Market @ Chestnut and Barstow Avenues.
If you like Sushi, Yoshinos is a nice little place up in River Park (a large local shopping area).
Checkout “Lahori Tikka” for pretty good south Asian food.
Fresno’s airport, FAT, might be small, but I have made it from drop off to sitting at my gate in 5 minutes before. 🙂 A cheap way to fly is to use 4.5k BA miles to fly AA to LAX.
Fly into Fresno and rent a car to go to yosemite!
Hey, I live near Boise. Well, anyway, if you ever in Boise with a rental, drive East 2 hours to the Snake River Bridge – its where Evel Knievel made a jump, and also you can visit Shoshone Falls (212 feet higher than Niagra Falls).
There is a nice little dinner theater in the Tower district called Roger Rocka’s. For an even more intimate local theater experience try Second Space.
I would recommend seeing David Ligare’s River/Mountain/Sea exhibition at the Fresno Art Museum.
Bit of trivia: Fresno has a fairly unique city hall that has been used in sci fi movies. This includes the brilliant “Puppet Masters”. 🙂
The Downing Planetarium is educational for kids.
Catch a Fresno State University football game in the fall.
Do not leave your Papa Smurf tricycle outside overnight if you live in a small ungated apartment complex. It will get stolen and you will be scarred for life. In 30 years it’ll be the only thing you remember about the 3 years you spent living in Fresno as a small child.
Or so I’m told.
Going this fall? Check out a Fresno State Bulldogs football game. They went 9-4 last year.
Railroad Park has a very nice playground for the kids. Unfortunately there’s not a lot of shade. It’s too hot during the summer but it’s great when the weather cools down!
If you’re from the Bay Area and are wanting an In-N-Out Burger, and dismayed by how crowded they are there, travel to Fresno where the lines are not so gargantuan at the In-N-Out Burger. Mmmmmm
Catch a Fresno State University basketball game in the winter.
Check out the Fresno Chafee Zoo and touch stingrays at the Stingray bay exhibit.
Fresno has a large Armenian community. Yelp lists 16 restaurants and bakeries. Try Diana’s Classic Armenian restaurant.
Go to the amazing/interesting Forestiere Underground Garden which was made over a forty year period and has over 90 dug out rooms and balconies