Traveling with the Stars: World Series MVP Cole Hamels
— -- Philadelphia Phillies' pitcher Cole Hamels, the reigning MVP of the World Series, doesn't report to spring training in Clearwater, Fla., until Feb. 14. But he prefers to start working out early and in January drove south, where he spent a day at Disney World. He shares his travel highlights and tips with USA TODAY.
Q: Where have you been recently that you liked or were surprised by?
A:For New Year's we went to North Tahoe (Calif.). I hadn't been there in a long time. It was just a very nice vacation with the snow. It was fun and festive and a good way to bring in the New Year. I went with my wife (former Playmate and Survivor star Heidi Strobel), brother-in-law, sister-in-law, a cousin and a couple of buddies with their girlfriends. It was a group of 10. We rented a cabin right on the water at the Hyatt Regency.
Q: What's the best place you've ever visited and why?
A:Queensland, New Zealand. We went there last year at this time. Obviously with what I do I miss all of the summer activities so going into the Southern Hemisphere and having it summer again was great. The weather was perfect.
Queenstown is known to be the adventure capital of the world. Unfortunately I didn't get to do all of the sky diving and bungee jumping but just being able to be outside — there's a lot of running paths, mountain biking, kayaking, white water rafting. I grew up surfing (in San Diego) and going camping and hiking so that brought back a lot of good memories. The culture in New Zealand, they're so genuine and nice. They have great food.
Q: What's the most surprising/unexpected place you're ever visited and why?
A:South Africa. We went there for our honeymoon two years ago. You don't know what to expect. Then you go to this actually breathtaking, beautiful land. It has a lot to offer with Cape Town, the wineries, the restaurants, the ocean and the views. You can go to the wildlife parks, which are 100 times better than any zoo you could ever go to in the United States. That's a really good feeling to be able to explore and be out in the open and try to look back on what life was about 100 years ago when you see some of these really old towns.
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