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Entry bubble Leave Your Hand Grenades At Home

By: Jake | October 19, 2009 | Category: Travel

Fake Desk Hand Grenade from TSA BlogSince July, twenty-one people have been caught bringing grenades (most of them inert) into the airport according to to a recent U.S. Transportation Security Administration blog post.  Amazingly, some of these people were unaware a grenade was a prohibited item. TSA makes a good point that when in doubt you should probably leave items that even look like they could cause harm out of your luggage.

I think their logic also applies when you enter a federal government building. I actually laughed when I saw the TSA blog's picture of the "Complaint Dept: Take a Number" gag grenade, which I've used in this post, because it reminded me of a friend who accidentally brought one of these into a federal building. 

He had started with a new company and had packed the gag grenade in his bag to put on his office desk, but never followed through on the idea. Unfortunately, he was reminded a few months later by a security guard manning the X-ray machine at a federal building where he was going for a meeting. Suffice it to say he got to spend some quality time with the security people.

What about you? Have you or anyone you've known ever accidentally brought a prohibited item through airport or building security? 

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Entry bubble Travelling? Tarmac Delays and Your Rights

By: Jake | September 28, 2009 | Category: Travel

Have you ever been on a plane that was grounded due to some sort of flight delay? I sat on the runway for a half hour waiting to take off once and I wasn't thrilled.

I could not imagine what it would be like to sit on the tarmac for almost six hours like some folks on their way to Minnesota did in August. According to the Department of Transportation, of the more than half a million flights in July there were 105 tarmac delays that were longer than 3 hours and 16 of these were longer than 4 hours.

There may be an end to these tarmac delays soon. If passed into law, the Federal Aviation Administration Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act will ban tarmac ground delays of 3 hours and longer. After the 3 hours pass, airplanes will be required to allow passengers to get off the plane. 

Airport upgrades are the main goal of the bill, but there are other provisions for consumers. In addition to the ban on keeping passengers on the plane for more than 3 hours, the law would require airline companies to provide essential services like water, food, functioning bathrooms and access to necessary medical treatment during delays. It would also set up an airline complaint phone line.

Keep in mind this is a bill and not a law and it still needs approval from the Senate and President. What do you think of the Federal Aviation Administration Air Transportation and Modernization and Safety Improvement Act?

| Post a Comment | View Comments [3] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: airport_delays   tarmac_flight_delays   travelling_delays  

 

Entry bubble Tracking hurricanes

By: Jess | August 20, 2009 | Category: Travel

HurricaneThe peak of hurricane season is now here, ushered in by the arrival of Ana and Bill. The southeastern part of the country will now be on alert until the middle of the fall when hurricane season passes. But hurricane season affects more than the people living in Florida, the Carolinas, or other hurricane-prone states. It also affects vacationers who plan fun get-aways to the South.

I know every year when my family planned our vacation to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for August, my mom would always pay close attention to the weather to see if any storms were a-brewin'. A hurricane far off the coast usually meant awesome waves, but anything that moved too close to shore had the potential to rain out our beach vacation.

NOAA's making it easier for people to track hurricanes by offering widgets that can be embedded on Websites and blogs. These widgets make it super easy to track the hurricanes. You won't have to be glued to the TV trying to catch the latest.

And to give residents and vacationers some peace of mind, NOAA's predicting this year's hurricane season will most likely be average to below average in terms of the number of hurricanes developing. People are still advised to be on alert if they plan to travel to or live in the areas most affected by the Atlantic hurricane season.

| View Comments [1] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: 2009_hurricane_season   hurricane_season   hurricanes   jess   noaa   severe_weather   travel   weather   widgets  

 

Entry bubble Summer Beach Vacation

By: Joanne | July 28, 2009 | Category: Travel

two pairs of bare feet standing in the sandThe kids are getting antsy. In a couple weeks we’ll be headed to the Jersey shore for our summer beach vacation. We’ve been doing the same thing for a few years now and we think a week at the beach is a wonderful family vacation. It’s nice to get away and spend a week biking, swimming, and golfing (mini golfing, that is) together.

Since we don’t live close to the coast, it’s a long, long ride to get to the beach. Any time you’re taking a long ride, it’s a good idea to check for road closures and construction. Anything that makes a long ride with little kids smoother is time well spent. We plan to map out a good route and then bring along plenty of snacks and dvd’s to keep the kids happy along the way.

There’s a lot to remember when heading to the beach – like water safety, and sunscreens, and hats, and towels. I start making a list weeks and weeks in advance. We also keep an eye on the beach temperatures just because we’re excited and we can’t wait to get there!

| View Comments [0] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: beach   jersey   joanne   new   ocean   sand   shore   sun   travel   vacation  

 

Entry bubble Have Summer Plans? Go Wild!

By: Editor | July 27, 2009 | Category: Travel

bird in waterOur guest blogger today is Martha Nudel of the Department of Interior's National  Wildlife Refuge System.  

Want to try something wild this summer? You don’t have to go far or spend a bundle.  National wildlife refuges, managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, are teeming with out-of-the-ordinary seasonal events.   Here is a sampling: 

• As bird watching grows in popularity, new trails are popping up around the country, many on national wildlife refuges. The new Makoke Birding Trail in central Iowa is a collection of 22 separately mapped sites, none more than 40 minutes from downtown Des Moines. One of those 22 sites is Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge, where tallgrass prairie restoration is bringing back habitat for more than 200 species of birds. A guide to the trail can be loaded: http://www.iowabirds.org/places/documents/Makoke_Trail.pdf.

• The new Sun and Sage Loop of the Great Washington State Birding Trail features more than 200 of the state’s 346 annually recorded bird species.  Among the 52 stops in southcentral Washington is # 29, Toppenish National Wildlife Refuge, with its 1,700 acres of seasonal wetlands and shrub-steppe.  Each fall, 30,000 waterfowl arrive at the Toppenish Refuge and stay for winter.  You may spot Pied-billed grebes, northern pintails, northern shovelers and perhaps even short-eared owls.  For a downloadable trail guide: http://wa.audubon.org/BirdingTrailMaps/TM_index.html.

• All summer long, track wolves at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in Manteo, N.C., during the red wolf howling safari.   Cars caravan to the howling site on Wednesday nights, weather-permitting.  $5 to participate in the two-hour guided program.  Bring a flashlight and insect repellant.  For more information: www.redwolves.com or www.fws.gov/refuges/profiles/index.cfm?id=41630 or 252-473-1131

• Learn how Native Americans made hunting tools from stone and bone August 9 at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, WA.  Enjoy demonstrations of historic Chinookan tool making, plant harvesting and weaving from natural materials, noon to 3:30 p.m. at the Cathlapotle Plankhouse. The plankhouse is open regularly on weekends from noon to 4 p.m. through October. For more information: www.plankhouse.org or 360-887-4106.

• Take your camera when you visit national wildlife refuges so you can become part of an online wildlife  photo mosaic.  Go to http://yououtdoors.org/ to get started.

This summer, go wild!!  For more information about national wildlife refuges, go to: http://www.fws.gov/refuges/.

| View Comments [1] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: doi   editor   fws   refuges   wildlife   wildlife_refuges  

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