TripCart :: The Travel Blog

Picture of the Day (09/30/06) - From TripCart

Wishes away somewhere in Ohio.

(thanks davebluedevil)

Top Ten First Class Airlines

First class, you always fly it but who's got the best cabins, executive lounges, cushy seats, free wine and cheapest prices? We're not sure but Conde Nast Traveller asked its readers for their opinion and here's what they come up with-

1. Continental
2. Alaska
3. Hawaii
4. American
5. United
6. Northwest
7. Delta
8. Aloha
9. America West
10. Air Tran

(thanks fly away cafe)

Fairchild Tropical Botanical Gardens

These beautiful balls are in the Fairchild Tropical Botanical Gardens in Miami.

related travel guide: southern florida

(thanks carvalho)

Tomorrow is Museum Day

Want to hit every museum in the city, but don't have the money to enjoy the finer things? Have no fear, because tomorrow is the day, Museum Day.  Museums all over America are opening their doors and they're not going to be charging you for walking through them.  You can print out a card from the Smithsonian website that's valid for two general admission tickets to one of the roughly 500 participating museums.

Picture of the Day (09/28/06) - From TripCart

Taken last week somewhere in the wilds of Minnesota.

(thanks *Micky*)

Changing Environments

The times they are a-changin' and, unfortunately, so is our environment. The United Nations Environment Programme has put together a special mashup with Google Maps showing the dramatic difference 25 years can make. The Atlas of our Changing Environment includes the Everglades, Prudhoe Bay, San Francisco and others, but the images of Las Vegas' continued urban sprawl are some of the most dramatic.

(thanks google blogscoped)

Picture of the Day (09/27/06) - From TripCart

From Jeff Kubina's backyard in Maryland.

(thanks Jeff Kubina)

Halloween Horror Nights

Universal is at it again this year, for the 16th time they'll be putting on their annual Halloween Horror Nights. From the end of September until the end of October, you can get the beejeezus scared out of you after the park's regular hours are over. They've built seven different haunted houses with names like Screamhouse - Resurrection (walk around a gothic mortuary) and Psychoscarepy - Maximum Madness ("If you think you know insane you don't know Jack"). There are also a couple of shows including Bill and Ted's that is a perennial favorite among fright fans.

related travel guides: southern california, central florida

(thanks theme parks insider)

Picture of the Day (09/26/06) - From TripCart

From Joshua Tree National Park in California.

(thanks rappensuncle)

Something Smelly in the Subway

You know how sometimes something comes along and you wonder how you ever lived without it? Well, our good friends at Gawker finally got around to putting some order into the chaos that is the NYC Subway System. I'm sure those guys who beat the record for running through every stop the fastest would have been happy to have this map that lets you know what you can expect to smell on your next trip into the bowels of the city. Users are encouraged to add their own review to help keep the site up to date, our favorite review so far, Canal Street-

Dead vomit ... Evil diarrhea ... Peaches ... Fermented shithouse ... Hobo urine and AAA batteries ... Like a family of rats died in the wall and is festering there ... Two-day-old vomit and crayons.

(thanks clicked)

related online travel guide and vacation ideas for new york city

Picture of the Day (09/25/06) - From TripCart

From Water Rock Knob on the Blue Ridge Parkway near the Tennessee/North Carolina border.

(thanks mricon)

Flying With No ID

Airport security is insane these days, most of the time you're asked to show some kind of identification at least four or five times before you get on to your flight. What you may not be aware of is that you don't legally have to produce an ID in order to fly. If you break out the FAA's Security Directive 96-05 you will see the following-

1. IDENTIFY THE PASSENGER -  

A. ALL PASSENGERS WHO APPEAR TO BE 18 YEARS OF AGE WILL PRESENT A GOVERNMENT ISSUED PICTURE ID, OR TWO OTHER FORMS OF ID, AT LEAST ONE OF WHICH MUST BE ISSUED BY A GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY.

B. THE AGENT MUST RECONCILE THE NAME ON THE ID AND THE NAME ON THE TICKET -- EXCEPT AS NOTED BELOW.

C. IF THE PASSENGER CANNOT PRODUCE IDENTIFICATION, OR IT CANNOT BE RECONCILED TO MATCH THE TICKET, THE PASSENGER BECOMES A "SELECTEE." CLEAR ALL OF THEIR LUGGAGE AS NOTED IN SECTION 6, BELOW.

6. CLEAR SELECTEE'S CHECKED AND CARRY-ON LUGGAGE, AND SUSPICIOUS ARTICLES DISCOVERED BY THE QUESTIONS ASKED;

A. IF THE SELECTEE IS ON A FLIGHT WITHIN THE 48 CONTINENTAL US STATES, OR TO MEXICO, OR TO CANADA, ITEMS CAN BE CLEARED BY EITHER OF THE FOLLOWING METHODS:

1. EMPTY THE LUGGAGE OR ITEM AND PHYSICALLY SEARCH ITS CONTENTS BY A QUALIFIED SCREENER, OR;

2. BAG-MATCH -- ENSURE THE BAG IS NOT TRANSPORTED ON THE AIRCRAFT IF THE PASSENGER DOES NOT BOARD.

B. IF THE SELECTEE IS ON AN INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT -- CHECKED LUGGAGE, CARRY-ON LUGGAGE, AND SUSPECT ITEMS CAN BE CLEARED ONLY BY THE FOLLOWING METHOD; EMPTY THE LUGGAGE OR ITEM AND PHYSICALLY SEARCH ITS CONTENTS BY QUALIFIED SCREENERS.

Basically, even though we keep hearing that "it's the law," the truth is, it isn't. Whether or not it's worth it to you to deal with the hassle of airport security in order to preserve a little personal freedom is up to you, but the law is on your side.

Related posts: TSA 86's Pudding But Leaves Swiss Army Knife • The TSA Loves Dressing Up Disaster • Marketing your Misery at the Airport • Baby in the X-ray Machine at LAX • Don't Take Flight 1659 From Newark To Chicago • Hold on to Your Luggage • SNL and the TSA • Can You Smell The Racism In The Air?

Related travel guides: Historical Sites in Juneau, Ketchikan, Sitka, Skagway, and the Alaska Panhandle • Historical Sites in Palm Springs, Death Valley and the California Desert • Historical Sites in Washington D.C, Annapolis, Gettysburg, Alexandria, Virginia and Baltimore, Maryland • Historical Sites in Woodstock, Cooperstown, New Paltz, Catskills and Hudson Valley • Historical Sites in San Francisco Bay Area, Carmel, Napa Valley, Central California Coast • Historical Sites in Orlando, Tampa, Cape Canaveral and Central Florida • Historical Sites in Nashville, Louisville and Lexington in Central Kentucky and Tennessee • Historical Sites in Boston, Cape Cod, Newport, Mystic, Connecticut, Coastal Massachusetts and Rhode Island • Historical Sites in Vail, Aspen, Telluride, Steamboat Springs and the Colorado Rockies • Airports around New York City • Airports around Miami, Florida • Airports around Los Angeles, California • Airports around Chicago, Illinois • Airports around Washington, D.C.

harDCore tours

In the late 70s and early 80s our nation's capitol was home to a burgeoning harcore punk scene that included bands like Bad Brains, Minor Threat and Fugazi.  If you're tired of the usual tours around DC you may want to check out the Capitol of Punk media walking tour hosted by Yellow Arrow - the tour includes 10 video podcasts with music and interviews.

(thanks boingboing)

The Big Queasy

Everybody likes road trips but no one has fun when the kids get sick.  TripCart has found a few tips to help keep everyone in your car in good spirits.  Here are the best way to ensure that the little one's stomachs are tiptop-

• don't let the kids read or watch videos in the car
• keep the windows down so that everyone gets plenty of fresh air
• don't eat big meals right before hopping in the car and try to steer clear of dairy products
• try to restrict how much heads bobble around in the car by using pillows
• if your kids are over two you could try giving them some antinausea medication like Gravol
• some folks swear by apricot or carrot juice for killing car sickness

Picture of the Day (09/22/06) - From TripCart

Sunset on the Gooseberry Mesa, southern Utah.

(thanks makelessnoise)

250 Free Miles from Delta

Every little bit helps.  Here's an easy way to pick up 250 free Frequent Flyer miles from our friends over at Delta. They have a super-simple survey online that involves answering one question. The big question? What is your favorite in-flight pastime? Options include watching a movie, playing games, listening to music, catching up on work, reading a book or magazine, and our personal favorite: learning a new language.

(thanks tim leffel)

Tens in Vermont

10:10 on 10/10 - that's the time and the place apparently.  Vermont's Mad River Valley claims October 10th is the very best day in the whole of autumn for checking out there amazing fall foliage.  There's some loose science involved to this date, mostly based on previous years' observations.  Either way the whole town participates in the festivities and everyone's encouraged to break out the plaid: "anything plaid- your cow, your truck, your boxers, whatever." Even if you can't make it on October 10th, this is a great time to visit to see the hills ablaze in color as the leaves turn.

Related posts: Fall Foliage in the Hudson Valley, New York • Coastal Massachusetts and Rhode Island Makes it's Mark • 10 Overlooked Travel Cities • Top 10 Labor Day Destinations

Related travel guides: new hampshire and vermont

Picture of the Day (09/21/06) - From TripCart

Fireweed on the hills outside of Homer, Alaska.

(thanks dangerding)

Picture of the Day (09/20/06) - From TripCart

Moonrise over Boston on the Charles River.

(thanks Pear Biter)

A Life More Fulfilling in LA

A few days ago a new exhibit by Materials & Applications opened in Silver Lake, Los Angeles and if you're going to be in the area soon, you should definitely stop by. "bubbles" is a tactile, interactive installation that uses a responsive environment on an urban scale. Large, inflated airbags, or "bubbles," inflate and deflate in raeaction to visitors who meander through the "spatially adaptable pneumatic environment." As people make their way past the 8' diameter bubbles sensors detect movement and begin a chaotic series of movements as the bags fill and empty of air. After time, the installation returns back to its natural state. Here's a bit more detail about the project from their website-

The installation aims at bringing an adaptive volumetric sense of architecture to the installation site that is continuously changing and compelling as it responds to visitors. The adaptability of the bubbles emulates at a super-human scale the organic thigmotropism of plant life.

The structure of this installation tackles volume over surface and interaction with space over static geometry while pushing the scale of interactive architecture. The designers have selected permeable rip-stop nylon to form the bubbles. At the center of each bubble is a hard "seed" made of CNC'd white HDPE plastic and strengthened with monofilament. The seed serves two functions: it contains a micro-flourescent lighting element to create a glow within each bubble, and it houses the mechanical switch used to trigger the reversible fan that deflates one bubble while inflating another.

(thanks we make money not art)

Picture of the Day (09/19/06) - From TripCart

From Victoria Park in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

(thanks cyrenaic)

Best Places to Travel to and Never Leave

Want to travel somewhere and have the option of never leaving? CNN lays out the best towns, small cities and big cities to retire to.  Now you can plan for the future while you wait for the pool boy to bring you your next daiquiri.

Top 5 Towns

• Walla Walla, Washington - besides a name that you will never get tired of saying, Walla Walla is home to three colleges and is a fast-growing destination for wine connoisseurs
• St. Simons Island, Georgia - this sleepy little island five miles off the coast is chock full of sandy beaches and live oaks covered in Spanish moss
• Prescott, Arizona - there are 450 miles of trails and six golf courses, what more could a senior want?
• Holland, Michigan - CNN doesn't really explain why you'd want to retire to this Midwestern city other than lauding its sidewalks and hospital
• Williamsburg, Virginia - after the novelty of wearing a three-cornered hat has worn off I'm not sure this would be the place to be

The top 10 small cities to move to included: Eden Prairie, Fairfield, Boise, Scottsdale, Overland Park, Cary, Columbia (MD), Sugar Land, Naperville, and Fort Collins. We're not sure exactly what criteria CNN used for making this list but it's obvious that being in Tornado Alley was just fine as somehow both Wichita and Omaha are among their top ten best big cities to retire to - the others were Colorado Springs, Austin, Mesa (how did Mesa and Scottsdale end up on here but no Phoenix?), Raleigh, San Diego, Virginia Beach, Columbus, and NYC.

Picture of the Day (09/18/06) - From TripCart

This stunner was taken from the North Shore of Lake Tahoe on the way from Tahoe City to Reno.

(thanks wayfaring stranger)

Beautiful Time-Lapse from the 2006 Reno Balloon Race

106 balloons at the Reno Balloon Race, but how do they "race?"

(thanks neatorama)

Picture of the Day (09/17/06) - From TripCart

Taken in the Ozark Mountains at the Hardy Cemetery.

(thanks danerator)

Get the Gas with Google Maps

Here's a great little utility to help you find the cheapest gas wherever you may be going this weekend. This little Google Map mash-up shows recent prices at gas stations in major cities and lets you find the cheapest one. This could be worth your while - we just found gas prices ranging a whopping 60 cents in LA and 35 cents in the Big Apple. No matter where you're heading to, use the gas-price map to help you fill-up for less.

Picture of the Day (09/16/06) - From TripCart

Early morning at the Empire State Building in NYC.

(thanks Bob Jaqendorf)

"Hey Man, What are you doing for International Talk Like a Pirate Day?"

It always happens around this time of year - the high of Labor Day has worn off, and now you start your frantic search for where to get your Blackbeard on for International Talk Like a Pirate Day. ITLPD was started eleven years back by two friends, a few years later humorist Dave Barry picked up on the idea, since then it's gone international.

But if ye don't know where to drop your anchors this September 19th, the Washington Post has a roundup on some of the better places to set sail for-

• Hunt around for the man himself at Blackbeard's Lodge on Ocracoke Island in North Carolina. There's a free ferry to Blackbeard's old hangout and at Teach's Hole you can get your hands on "over 1000 items that relate to piracy."
• If you're more into a commercial thing then let Mickey get your back at the "Pirates of the Caribbean" ride, now with new and improved Johnny Depp - new characters and movie enhancements have been added to this classic ride.  Afterward you and the fams can get right into the middle of the action at the Pirate's Dinner Adventure, there's meant to be lots of sword splay, action and vittles.
• Perhaps the appropriately planned (September 23rd) Portland Pirate Festival's the place for you this weekend - besides pirate music and souvenirs there'll be sword fights, cannon firings and plenty of reason to still talk like a pirate.

Picture of the Day (09/15/06) - From TripCart

This stunning reflection comes to us off of Crater Lake in Oregon.

(thanks Jan Tik)

Lonely Planet's Newest - Micronations

Lonely Planet's newest guide doesn't bother with the usual tourist destinations or even the usual list of countries, instead it focuses on the micronations of the world.  Some of the real gems include the Republic of Molossia, it encompasses a mere 6 acres of land and is located just outside of Lake Tahoe.  This guide is  definitely for those looking for the more unusual countries to visit, as they explain-

Bored of visiting the same UN-recognised countries? Ready to explore somewhere unique and perhaps a little wacky? want to add some really rare stamps to your passport? Then let Lonely Planet's guide to home made nations take you to a bunch of places you've never heard of. Here are countries where the national athem is the sound of a rock being dropped into water, where the currency is pegged to the value of Pilsbury's cookie dough; where the citizens vote in a poodle as president and where if you're lucky, the king will put on a pot of tea when you stop by.

(thanks kottke)