Travel Blog
A Trip to Comic-Con in Celebrity Tweets
by Eva Holland | 07.27.09 | 4:06 PM ET
I’ll admit, I’ve never paid much attention to Comic-Con, San Diego’s annual geekfest spectacular. In fact, I’d never even heard of it until the teenage characters on “The O.C.” used it as a pretext for an illicit Tijuana road trip. But for thousands of people from across the U.S., and even around the world, it’s the travel event of the year—and this time around I too found myself following along, through the tweets of my favorite Hollywood celebrities.
Herewith, a brief, vicarious trip through the wacky world of the Con, from departure to exhausted arrival home:
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Yahoo! BuzzTravel Song of the Day: ‘Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car’ by Billy Ocean
by Eva Holland | 07.27.09 | 3:01 PM ET
Dead American Poets: The Grand Tour
by Eva Holland | 07.27.09 | 2:04 PM ET
Walter Skold has found a novel use for his summer vacation: traveling around the U.S. in search of the graves of poets, and tracking his efforts in a photo blog. The Book Bench offers a quick review: “There’s little in the way of written musings, but the photos do a lot of talking. Dorothy Parker’s gravestone, reflecting the glare of a harsh flash, reads: ‘For her epitaph, she suggested: ‘Excuse my Dust.’’”
I Violated the Cuba Travel Embargo and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt
by Jim Benning | 07.27.09 | 1:23 PM ET
And a few refrigerator magnets. And a green and red Che Guevara beret. And some postcards.
Crazy story here about an American freelance entertainment news producer who wants to be fined for his Cuba visits so he can challenge the travel ban. So far, to his chagrin, he has been met with little more than indifference from U.S. authorities.
Here’s hoping that U.S. officials have quietly stopped enforcing the stupid law—and that President Obama and Congress will act soon to revoke it.
Google Mapping the Alphabet
by Eva Holland | 07.27.09 | 12:41 PM ET
Over at the Daily Dish, Chris Bodenner has come across a collection of Google map terrain views—all from New York state—that appear to spell out the alphabet. Just one more way that Google is helping to shrink the planet?
‘The Great American Road Trip is Resurgent’
by Eva Holland | 07.27.09 | 11:28 AM ET
In the latest issue of Outside, Ian Frazier declares that the road trip is back. We’re glad to hear that he’s come around—last summer he was one of those who predicted that the road trip was dead—but we’re also pretty sure it never really went away in the first place. Frazier goes on to offer some thoughtful reflections on the irresistible urge to jump in the car and head west. His short piece is accompanied by more fine, compact road tripping essays from Walter Kirn, Matthew Power and Eric Hansen. (Via @AdventureLive)
R.I.P. Sandy van Ginkel, Montreal Architect
by Eva Holland | 07.27.09 | 10:36 AM ET
The Dutch-born architect and city planner, who is credited with saving the Old Montreal we know today from development, died earlier this month at 89. In the late 1950s, van Ginkel “almost single-handedly persuaded the good burghers of Montreal to abandon plans for an expressway that would have cut through the old city, destroying much of its heritage and the ambience that still draws tourists and visitors,” writes the Globe and Mail’s Sandra Martin.
What We Loved This Week: Bad Roadside Puns, Puppy’s First Roadtrip and ‘The Runaway Jury’
by World Hum | 07.24.09 | 3:26 PM ET
Photo by Alicia Imbody Our contributors share a favorite travel-related experience from the past seven days.
Alicia Imbody
I loved setting off with my new pup on our first road trip together. We started out easy—just a weekend trip up the Atlantic coast—but he was such a good travel buddy, I see this as training for future pan-America adventures, a la Steinbeck and Charley.
Here’s a picture of the little guy lounging on the floor under an air conditioning vent. Who would you rather spend thousands of miles in a compact car with?
New Travel Book: ‘The Mile High Club: Plane Sex Stories’
by Eva Holland | 07.24.09 | 3:05 PM ET
Maybe the Mile High Club isn’t dead yet, after all? Jaunted recommends the Kindle version for discretion.
Photo We Love: Surfing Huntington Beach
by Jim Benning | 07.24.09 | 2:33 PM ET
REUTERS/Gene Blevins
Australian Taj Burrow at the recent X-Games finals in Huntington Beach, California.
One of surfing’s biggest events culminates at the Huntington Beach Pier this weekend: The Hurley U.S. Open of Surfing concludes Sunday. Forecasters are predicting some big, tasty waves thanks to a swell from the Southern Hemisphere.
Travel Song of the Day: ‘King of the Road’ by Roger Miller
by Michael Yessis | 07.24.09 | 2:02 PM ET
Pink’s Hot Dogs Headed for LAX
by Jim Benning | 07.24.09 | 12:57 PM ET
The iconic Los Angeles hot dog shop, which draws famously long lines and celebs to its historic La Brea location, plans to open an outlet in the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX later this year. “Various accounts have it opening anywhere from late fall to late December,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
It’s always good to see less generic, more local fare in airports. The trend continues.
Miami International: Off to the Races?
by Eva Holland | 07.24.09 | 12:02 PM ET
One corner of Airworld could get a lot weirder. There’s a proposal in the works to build a horse racing track in the parking lot at Miami International—apparently, a working track is a prerequisite for the real objective, slot machines at the airport.
Hey, I can see the slogan now: Win back your checked baggage fees!
Elizabeth Gilbert’s Ex Lands a Book Deal
by Eva Holland | 07.24.09 | 10:49 AM ET
Eat, pray, grab a share of the limelight? Michael Cooper, the ex-husband whose divorce launched a three-country search for meaning and a phenomenon of a bestseller, will publish “Displaced,” a memoir about “overcoming the divorce and embarking on his own world journey,” in late 2010. For anyone who’s counting, that makes two “man’s version” spin-off titles so far. (Via The Book Bench)
Travel Song of the Day: ‘Southern Cross’ by Crosby, Stills & Nash
by Jim Benning | 07.23.09 | 5:29 PM ET
