Travel Log: February 2004 Archives

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Jupiter Research Seeks Travel Analyst

Jupiter Research is looking for a new travel industry analyst, to replace Jared Blank, who left a couple of months ago to join Tommy Hilfiger (somewhat incongruously, for a guy focused on the travel industry for the last few years). Details on Craigs List.

Rick Bruner | February 22, 2004 | News | Permanent link | Comments (0)

Highway Advocacy Group Identifies Worst Traffic Snarls in Country

The American Highway Users Alliance, a nonprofit advocacy organization, unveiled its report on America's worst traffic choke points in its 2004 Bottleneck Study, highlighting 233 bottlenecks in 33 states plus Washington DC. The 13 worst cities for traffic jams were identified as Atlanta, Chicago, Cincinnati, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Providence, San Diego, San Jose, Seattle, Tampa and Washington. The complete list of bottlenecks is listed here. Here is the press release and here is the complete study. More details at Highways.org.

Rick Bruner | February 21, 2004 | Best / Worst | Permanent link | Comments (0)

Top 10 Cities to Live in

Fine Living gives its list of the best 10 cities in the U.S. to live in. I'm sorry to see that NYC is not on the list and, I have to say, disappointed that San Francisco makes #1. I currently live in NYC and love it. I lived for four years in San Francisco, and while it's a fabulaous place to visit, and many people do love to live there, it didn't work for me. And...Las Vegas? It's the friggin' desert. These all look like great places to visit (well, okay, maybe not Westport, Connecticut), but I wouldn't want to live anywhere else right now but the greatest city in the world.

Rick Bruner | February 20, 2004 | Best / Worst | Permanent link | Comments (0)

Bed Bugs Put a New Bite on Vacation Plans

Yuck. CNN reports that bed bugs are making a comeback in hotel rooms around America. If you're woried, peel back the bedsheets and check the crevices. The American Hotel and Lodging Association says that the problem is not as bad as the media is making out. For my part, I've never seen the little buggers.

Rick Bruner | February 20, 2004 | News | Permanent link | Comments (0)

Five Great Restaurants in Paris Without Breaking the Bank

I just came across this story from the New York Times which is actually a few weeks old, but forever relevant: tips on five great Paris restaurants for moderate prices.

Rick Bruner | February 20, 2004 | Featured Destinations | Permanent link | Comments (0)

Airplanes Get Smaller, Passengers Cringe

As airlines battle to stay afloat while still providing service to smaller cities, downsized aircraft have been employed where flying a larger aircraft does not make economical sense. Using smaller plans such as the Embraer saves airlines money, gets passengers to their destinations quicker but does it in a less than comfortable manner. Referred to as "Barbie jets," these planes have small seats, less inflight service and overall cramped quarters.

It's a trade off. If you want to get there, you can. But you won't be able to do it comfortably.

Steve Hall | February 17, 2004 | Trends | Permanent link | Comments (0)

Jiwire.com Locates WiFi Hotspots

Credit my wife for this find: JiWire identifies at present count nearly 28,000 WiFi hotspots (that is, "wireless fidelity" Internet access points) in 52 countries, including thousands of hotels and cafes and hundreds of airports and free locations.

Rick Bruner | February 16, 2004 | Good Resources | Permanent link | Comments (0)

Tips to Make Your Long Flight More Enjoyable

About Travel offers a list of tips to help you relieve the stress of long flights and how you can make them more bearable. The usual advice such as walking around and stretching legs is offered as well as using moisturizer to fend of inflight dryness and the recommendation not to wear your hair in a pony tail. (The clip will dig into the back of you head.) The most interesting piece of advice, though, was this gem:

Keep the air vent above you open. Dampen a facecloth, place it over your face, and aim the air vent at the cloth. Helps with dryness. I also like to dilute an essential oil like lavender with water and pour it into a mini spray bottle, then dampen the cloth with that. A more loosely woven material like cheesecloth is also a good option as you can throw it away at the end of your flight.

Steve Hall | February 12, 2004 | Permanent link | Comments (0)

Explore the Skies Differently

There are not many things to really love about flying, but there are a few things you can explore to make your time in the sky more enjoyable. This article on About.com offers tips on flying in smaller, less crowded, propeller planes as well as tips on "regular" airplane trips you can take, such as an aerial tour of Mount Everest or Antarctica.

Steve Hall | February 11, 2004 | Travel Ideas | Permanent link | Comments (0)

American Airlines Pilot Calls Non-Christians "Crazy" in Flight

American Airlines is investigating an incident in which a pilot, during a flight from Los Angeles to New York, asked all the Christians on the flight to raise their hands, and then said anyone who wasn't Christian was "crazy," urging the non-Christians to seek cousel from the Christians on the flight. Passengers thought the comment was so strange many were worried about the pilot's intensions. BBC reports.

Rick Bruner | February 10, 2004 | News | Permanent link | Comments (0)