Travel + Wine Stories Not to Miss: April 27
The Robert Mondavi Winery
Picture It!
Tis Spring in The Napa Valley! This shot is at The Robert Mondavi Winery.
Wine & Food Report
Bud break in the Napa Valley
April 23, 2012 – Great ready, it’s time for the 2012 vintages! Blogger Trevor Jonas at The Cork Board was out in St. Helena this week shooting some great spring shots around local vineyards. Looks like it won’t be long now before the vines enter the flowering stage and soon there will be fruit visible among all the vineyard rows.
Air Travel Report
Earn More American Miles for Qantas Flights
April 24, 2012 – Who doesn’t want more points, I mean really? If you’re heading to Australia, take note. Through June 30, AAdvantage members can earn up to 20,000 bonus miles for round-trip Qantas flights between the U.S. and Australia. Check out FrequentFlier.com for details.
TSA drug-smuggling plot at LAX — and another on the East Coast
April 26, 2012 – Problems at LAX? No, really? TSA is all wrapped up in a drug smuggling case that came to light Wednesday. At LAX, TSA screeners allegedly allowed luggage they knew was filled with cocaine, methamphetamine or marijuana pass through checkpoints at the airport from January to July 2011 in exchange for cash from drug couriers. Four current and former TSA agents have been charged. See the LA Times article for details on full scandal.
April 20, 2012 – Second Time Isn’t a Charm. You can possibly get away with saying you didn’t know you had your gun the first time, but a second time? A passenger at John Wayne Airport (SNA) attempted to bring a loaded .357 pistol through security in his carry-on bag.
April 20, 2012 – Lipstick Knife? Unlike cane swords, there is no way you could say you didn’t know the knife was in the lipstick case. This one was found at Oakland (OAK).
Technology & Travel
New Site Promises Hot People a Free Ride
April 25, 2012 – If something sounds too good to be true, it is. The Internet blew up Wednesday over Misstravel.com, a site that launched April 9. According to its founder, Brandon Wade, the site connects rich people with good-looking people who want to gallivant around the world on the rich person’s dime. In other words, if you’re hot and you want to travel with someone who’s not but has money this is the site for you. Um, ladies I would approach with caution. Serious caution. Here’s a quick clip on how it works.
10 Most Valuable Alternative Booking Sites
April 24, 2012 – Forget paying $200 for a hotel, why not stay for free? SmarterTravel provided an excellent one-stop resource to alternative accommodations sites, some sites such as CouchSurfing enable travelers to stay for free, in return for a little work. Others are great tools feature apartments, spare rooms, and houses at significantly discounted rates.
Technology in nature: 3 apps for national-park-bound travelers (msnbc_travel)
April 24, 2012 – Yes, there is an app for everything, even when escaping to nature. Normally when I go hiking I don’t want to use my phone – unless I’m using a hiking app or need to check the weather. It’s crazy how how apps have changed how we escape to nature… Here are three new apps that are aimed at enhancing your escape.
- Passport to Your National Parks: The FREE iPhone app designed to be a complement to the longstanding passport-booklet program in which visitors collect passport-cancellation stamps in the parks that they visit. (Big stuff for the little ones you’re traveling with.)
- Sierra Club Trail Explorer: Up for a hike but not sure where to go? The newly updated Trail Explorer app from the Sierra Club (free, iOS-only) lets users browse more than 40,000 trails from local day hikes to backcountry treks in the national parks. Users
- National Parks by National Geographic: Guides to 20 of the country’s most visited national parks complete with park statistics, weather reports and maps with points of interest, along with social media features, tips from the magazine’s editors and appropriately awe-inspiring images.
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