GEARING UP
Traveling light is the goal, but these days there are so many items to juggle. Try combining the wallet and the camera in an Ape Case, a water-resistant digital camera carrier that also houses multiple pockets in the back big enough for cash, a passport, maps, PDA, loose change and extra media cards. The detachable strap could be a little better padded, but the Velcro belt attachment is as strong as steel. Note that there is no room for extra film, and cameras with expandable lenses are too big for the AC252 model. Norazza does, however, make a messenger-sized bag for twice the price.
$29.99. Available at amazon.com or norazza.com.
As a forum for folks looking for detailed information, score last-minute deals, vent frustration, unconditionally praise their favorite ship or search for specific cruise types, cruisecritic is undeniably one-stop shopping. Granted, the big cruise lines all advertise here, but that doesn’t seem to stop anyone from editorializing at will, from people criticizing the food, the service and the experiences on all of the majors to the site itself posting news about lawsuits or cruise delays caused by safety concerns. Check out the tips for first-timers, which include everything from veterans’ suggestions on how to select a cabin to how to pack and what the best ports of call are, and you can log on to see if people on a ship you’re sailing have entered their names into the roll call for a “meet and mingle” before boarding.
TRAVEL BY NUMBERS
Some suggest there are too many airlines in America today. Terry Trippler at cheapseats.com submits this list.
Airlines operating a substantial U.S. domestic flight schedule now:
1. AirTran Airways
2. Alaska Airlines
3. Aloha Airlines
4. America West Airlines
5. American Airlines
6. ATA
7. Continental Airlines
8. Delta Air Lines
9. Frontier Airlines
10. Hawaiian Airlines
11. Independence Air
12. JetBlue
13. Midwest Airlines
14. Northwest Airlines
15. Southwest Airlines
16. Spirit Airlines
17. Sun Country Airlines
18. United Airlines
19. US Airways
20. USA 3000
Airlines operating a substantial U.S. domestic flight operation on July 1, 1982:
1. Aloha Airlines
2. American Airlines
3. Allegheny Airlines (USAIR)
4. Alaska Airlines
5. Continental Airlines
6. Delta Air Lines
7. Eastern Airlines
8. Frontier Airlines
9. Hawaiian Airlines
10. Midway Airlines
11. Northwest Airlines
12. New York Air
13. Ozark Airlines
14. People Express
15. Piedmont Airlines
16. Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA)
17. Air Florida
18. Republic Airlines
19. Southwest Airlines
20. Texas International Airlines 21. TWA
22. United Airlines
23. Western Airlines
24. Wein Air Alaska
Source: July 1, 1982 Official Airline Guide
BOOK YOUR VACATION
Travel editors and aficionados of travel writing discovered long ago that the insightful words of Elliott Hester, author of the syndicated column “Continental Drifter,” can stick long after the newspaper has been set aside.
Hester’s recently released collection of essays, “Adventures of a Continental Drifter” ($23.95, St. Martin’s Press) offers more tales from his far-flung journeys, which not only span the globe but the human condition, offering a look into culture as well as the psyche. Whether he’s being mistaken for a boxer in Bangkok or trying to drink beer through a snorkel mask off the coast of Australia, Hester manages to find the humor and shrug off the insult.
Sometimes the stories are just plain hilarious, such as the time Hester pretends to be Samuel L. Jackson at the Czech Film Festival. And sometimes things get a little bizarre. But mostly this is just a fun read from more than 50 destinations, and Hester’s promise to take the reader on an “around-the-world excursion into weirdness, danger, lust, and the perils of street food” is more than delivered upon by the end.
GEOGRAPHY QUIZ | Where are these places?
1. Which country does not have French as an official language – Canada, Gabon, or Ghana?
2. Which Texas city, connected to the Gulf of Mexico by a ship channel, is home to the Johnson Space Center?
3. Karachi is the chief port of which country in South Asia?
4. The Labrador-Ungava peninsular region includes parts of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador and which other Canadian province?
5. Sugar and sugar-related products, like molasses, account for most of the exports from Réunion, an overseas department of which European country?
6. In October 2003, a tiny island country in the Indian Ocean completed development of a new island in an attempt to alleviate overcrowding in the capital city of Male. Name this country.
7. The Gulf of Venice is to the Adriatic Sea as the Gulf of Bothnia is to what?
8. Dunedin is located in the Otago region in which Pacific island country?
9. Identify the volcano from these clues: This active volcano stands more than 12,000 feet above sea level; it is located on an island near McMurdo Sound; it was discovered by British explorer James Ross in 1841.
10. Which country in the Greater Antilles is one of the world’s leading producers of bauxite?
ANSWERS: 1. Ghana 2. Houston 3. Pakistan 4. Quebec 5. France 6. Maldives 7. Baltic Sea 8. New Zealand 9. Mount Erebus 10. Jamaica
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY
REAL DEALS
Gas prices got you down? Aspen wants to help you pay at the pump by rewarding those who make the drive with its Got Free Gas & Wheels program. Stay for two nights or more at any participating Aspen lodge (there are 17 on the list) before Oct. 15 and get a voucher good for $50 worth of gas from the Aspen Store, a gas station located at 435 E. Main St. In addition, the City of Aspen will kick in two free bus passes (worth $14) to the Maroon Bells to check out those attention-happy bad boys.
But, wait, there’s more. You also get a voucher good for two free (one-day) bicycle rentals and a pass to the Aspen Recreation Center. Call 800-670-0788 or visit aspenchamber.org.
