GEARING UP
You see them in airports and on airplanes, in lobbies and in restaurants: folks hunched over, frantically scribbling and erasing, staring off into space, thinking, then scribbling and erasing again. They are the sudoku-addicted, and they go through a lot of little pieces of paper covered with grids trying to work out the ingenious number puzzles. Enter Radica Games’ new Big Screen Sudoku, a hand-held electronic version of the puzzle. Of course, Big Screen is a bit of a misnomer, since the 2 1/2-inch display is smaller than some of the sudokus you might be used to working. But you can work on more than 100,000 puzzles in four skill levels using a dry-erase pencil (which can be stored in the back of the game), with the option of asking for hints, a variable timer and no sheets of paper shredded from excessive erasing. In addition, you can check off the numbers that won’t work as you go along. The major downside is that the dry erase can get smudged and hard to read; keeping the screen clean is a must.|$19.99, radicagames.com
TRIPSO.COM
It bills itself as “The last honest travel site,” and while we don’t know if that’s true, we do know it’s a fairly no-frills, straightforward collection of essays, tips, stories and comparisons of all things travel-related, run by a trio of travel journalists. Started in 1998 as ticked.com, the site morphed after 9/11 into travelcomment.com and then Tripso. The content includes a group of columnists – among them a psychologist, a travel agent and a flight attendant – as well as forums for travelers to share travel horror stories, up-to-date news on hurricanes, airline moves and other industry information. Recent columns include such topics as dealing with rental car companies on damages discovered after the car is returned, summer flying hassles, booking shore excursions before leaving on your cruise and what to do when your frequent-flier miles are lost. Be sure to check out The Daily, each day’s most important travel news.
BOOK YOUR VACATION
As every business traveler knows, it’s tough to stay on a diet when faced with yet another rubber-chicken banquet. And especially after a day spent feeling your rear end spread for 10 hours straight on a conference room chair and knowing that room-service food isn’t exactly known for its low-fat options. And running through the airport trying to grab a healthy meal? Fugheddaboutit. Author Peter Greenberg, the travel editor of NBC’s “Today” show and an annual logger of about 400,000 air miles, has put together “The Traveler’s Diet” ($14.95, Villard), a book that attempts to help readers follow Greenberg, who lost 70 pounds while maintaining his hectic road-warrior lifestyle. There are several chapters here that we’ve seen before – how to pick out the healthy options at fast-food chains, snacks to take along to keep from overeating junk – but some of it obviously bears repeating; as Greenberg points out, 30 percent of Americans are overweight. He shares which airports have gyms, how to choose hotel meals, exercise routines to try on the road and what to eat on a cruise, perhaps the biggest diet-killer of them all. The best thing about this book for business travelers may simply be knowing that you’re not alone.
TRAVEL BY NUMBERS
Top 10 Quirkiest Interstate Attractions
The U.S. interstate highway system turns 50 this summer, so members of the Society of American Travel Writers selected the Top 10 Quirkiest Attractions along the U.S. interstates.
1. Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo, Texas, I-40. Ten tail-finned Cadillacs are “planted” nose-down in the prairie. 800-692-1338, visit amarillotx.com
2. Dinosaur World, Plant City, Fla., I-4. Model dinos tower over pathways in a 12-acre forest. 813-717-9865, dinoworld.net
3. Jell-O Museum and Gallery, LeRoy, N.Y., I-90. The home where JELL-O was invented. 585-768-7433, jellomuseum.com
4. KFC Museum, Corbin, Ky., I-75. Here “Colonel” Sanders ran a motel and restaurant. 606-528-2163, corbinkentucky.us
5. Leila’s Hair Museum, Independence, Mo., I-70. More than 100 objects woven from human hair and horsehair. 816-833-2955, hairwork.com
6. Mystery Spot, St. Ignace, Mich. I-75. A 300-foot-diameter piece of land where strange occurrences happen. 906-643-8322, mysteryspotstignace.com
7. Wall Drug, Wall, S.D., I-90. Started in the Great Depression as a small drugstore, it’s now a massive emporium. 605-279-2175, walldrug.com
8. World’s Largest Roadrunner Statue, Fort Stockton, Texas, I-10. The Paisano Pete roadrunner statue is 20 feet long and 15 feet tall. 800-8888-TEX, traveltex.com
9. World’s Largest Truck Stop, Walcott, Iowa, I-80. Includes a Trucking Hall of Fame. 563-284-6961, iowa80truckstop.com
10. World’s Tallest Thermometer, Baker, Calif., I-15. A 134-foot-tall monument to the high temperatures in Death Valley.
GEO QUIZ
1. Inner Mongolia is one of the northernmost provinces of what country?
2. The Nazca plate stretches along the west coast of which continent?
3. The Eastern and Western Ghats are mountain ranges in which Asian country?
4. The ancient Phoenicians were sailors and navigators who controlled the trade routes in which body of water from approximately 1200 to 800 B.C.?
5. Which Brazilian city has a metropolitan population of more than 18 million people?
6. Mont Blanc, located on the border of France, Italy, and Switzerland, has the tallest peak in which mountain system?
7. Name the easternmost of Canada’s three Prairie Provinces.
8. Priests called Brahmans have traditionally held the highest social rank among followers of what religion that originated in South Asia?
9. After South America, which continent has the most acres of tropical rain forest?
10. Pilgrims on their way to the two holiest Islamic cities are important to the tourism economy in the region of Hejaz in which country?
ANSWERS: 1. China 2. South America 3. India 4. Mediterranean Sea 5. São Paulo 6. Alps 7. Manitoba 8. Hinduism 9. Africa 10. Saudi Arabia
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY
