May 2008 Archives

Check out this story about a 10-year-old boy who finally got caught after hopping several flights around the country for free and outsmarting security.

Isn't that crazy?!

I celebrated Memorial Day by kayaking and hiking at Gifford Pinchot State Park this afternoon. I spotted a turtle in the reeds (in the lake) and a black snake in the brush (Quaker Race trail). Of course, you expect to see such creatures when you're at a state park.

But on Sunday, during a cookout at my parents' house, I was impressed to find a mother dove had nested in one of my mother's hanging flower pots on the front porch -- right by all the commotion of people banging the screen door shut in their comings and goings.

I was amazed I was able to get close enough to photograph her without her freaking out or taking flight. She didn't even seem bothered by the flash.

What type of wildlife have you had close encounters with? (not counting the mother goose who took up residence at Borders earlier this spring!) Post a comment and share! Better yet, e-mail me your story (and a photo if you have it) and I'll post it on here.

So, it's 4:30 on the Friday before Memorial Day weekend. Several coworkers have already scooted out the door to begin celebrating the official start of summer. I'm trying (and failing) to focus on my work. Instead, I keep thinking about what I want to do this weekend.

The past four years, I've gone camping with friends in Maryland. This year, I'm sticking closer to home. Probably going to a cookout and getting outside in either hike, bike or kayak form. That's my plan -- to stay out of my car as much as possible.

With gas prices a gazillion dollars a gallon and everything else just about that expensive, are you still planning to celebrate the start of summer the same way you normally do? Are you changing anything up because of the air travel/gas price/economy situation?

Post a comment and share -- or, even better -- send me a picture from whatever fun you have and I'll post it here.

First it was the food. Then came the extra checked suitcase. Most recently, it's the prized window or aisle seats.

You had to know it was only a matter of time until an airline decided it would charge travelers to check any luggage at all.

I've also heard rumors that come August, those who fly will only be permitted to bring one carry-on item aboard the planes. And that includes a woman's purse or handbag.

Anyone want to take a bet on what the airlines will charge extra for next? Is there anything left?

I love it when I discover someplace new not far from home. (Duh, you say, that seems to be half of what this blog is about.) I know. Anyway, after seven months of training, I was given my first wedding to photograph solo earlier this month.

When I called the bride to go over the information on the papers, I asked her about the request for cemetery photos. Cemetery pictures? On your wedding day?

Of course, when someone is paying you to photograph their wedding, you don't ask questions. Well, not those kind of questions.

Turns out, it was one gravestone in particular they wanted their picture by -- that of Edgar Allan Poe.

Check out this local travel story out of Harrisburg. Kind of disturbing.

I don't know about you, but I've never even heard of Pinnacle Airlines.

Those of you who read this blog frequently know that I'm a fan of public art projects. I recently wrote about some cool stuff I saw during an April trip to Seattle.

Remember how much fun it was when the Cow Parade came to Harrisburg in 2004? People were walking around downtown to see all the different cows up close and snap pictures. Anchorage does the same with salmon, Baltimore had crabs, Silver Spring, Md. had terrapins.

The latest news is that Philadelphia is asking artists to paint fiberglass sculptures of the popular Phillie Phanatic. I doubt the York Revolution's Downtown mascot is a recognizable enough icon for this to work in York, but what about doing White Roses?

John Bailey of Bailey Travel escorted a trip of 18 people to Ecuador's Galapagos Islands from April 25 to May 5. They flew to Quito, then Guayaquil, then an old Air Force base in the Galapagos.

From there, they got in little rubber boats called Zodiacs, which took them to the 98-passenger Xpedition ship (operated by Celebrity Cruise Lines). They cruised nearly 700 miles around the islands, using the small Zodiac boats to go from ship to land.

"Sometimes you had to chase the seals away so we could land," Bailey said.

His travel tip: All of the Galapagos Islands belong to a protected national park, so no one is permitted on the islands without a licensed, authorized guide.

Note: I have been to Ecuador twice, but I never made it to Galapagos, so I am obviously very jealous that I am posting this on my blog as a "Wish you were here" rather than a travel tale and photo from a journey of my own. I have read about Galapagos since I was little and so it has always been atop my list of places to go. I've heard it can be rather pricey though. Any tips on doing it cheaply?

Quick quiz: What is the largest (most populous) city in Ecuador? Post your guess as a comment (no Googling or otherwise cheating)

Mary Lynn Biggs, 73, of Manchester Township just could not believe it when her travel agent gave her seven pages of information she needed to know before flying to Alabama in July.

Biggs was thankful for the advance warnings, but flabbergasted by the way air travel changed in just the five years since she and her husband, Donald, flew to Alaska.

Sure, the rules are easily accessible online. But Biggs, her husband and many other older people they know don't use the Internet. "The younger people are seeing this, but we're not aware of it," she said.

Thank God for Sandy James. That's Biggs' advisor at Carlson Wagonlit Travel on N. George Street. "Thank heavens for her," she said. "If it weren't for Sandy James, we would have been in duck soup."

I'm relatively new to the whole aunt thing, so you might understand why I had problems figuring out what to get for my nephew and niece on the few gift-giving occasions that have popped up thus far in their short little lives.

As far as I'm concerned, they get more than enough colorful and expensive toys and gizmos. My sisters are practically busting out of their living space because of them. I didn't want to add to the toy craze, so to date, I have given them books. Board books, picture books, fairy-tale collections for their moms to read to them as they get older.

Then my friend Laura -- who is an experienced aunt of five or six older nieces and nephews -- gave me an even better idea.

We're nowhere near becoming an East Coast Napa Valley, but York County's wine scene will soon get a boost with the addition of Browns Vineyard and Winery.

In this story from last week's YDR, the name frequently associated with to-die-for baked goods might soon become linked with to-die-for wines.

Of course, we won't know for a while yet. Fruit wines and white varietals will be ready for sale later this year, but reds won't make an appearance until the fall of 2010.

Still, it will push the number of wineries on the Uncork York wine trail to an even dozen. Maybe the critical mass will draw even more locals and visitors to the wineries.

We'll toast to that.

She made a nest and did her best
To hatch her goslings well.
The spot she took by Borders books
Brought gawkers from all 'round.

But then one day, in search of food
She flew into a storm
Hit a line and took a fall
That left her injured, worn.

Kind people came and took her 'way
Together with her nest
They gave her medicine and care
To heal her, let her rest.

The eggs were cold, the people said,
The goose, too ill to care.
They wondered, would she ever mend?
Soon, she began to repair.

First she stood; then she wobbled
A step, then two, then three.
She sat on her eggs except for meals
When she hid them so no one would see

Her precious babes, without a dad
Eventually she knew

As a general assignment features reporter, I tend to get the stories that nobody else wants. They're the ones that nobody else thinks are real news. I call them "the fun stories."

Like a goose in a parking lot.

After sampling wines in Argentina's Mendoza grape-growing region in February -- and after learning that I could buy a bottle of this wonderful wine for about $6 in the grocery store -- I had to bring some home with me.

I had never brought back food products from foreign travels before, so I wasn't sure what the rules were.

Online research at Argentine Internet cafes didn't help. All I could determine was that I couldn't take it in my carry-on bags. It would have to be checked with my luggage.

Check out this bunch of dancing feet I collected during just a couple of hours at a milonga in Buenos Aires in February. The Argentines really dress up when they go out to dance. No need for signs reminding patrons not to show up with ball caps or sneakers or ripped jeans there.

Since my return from the southern hemisphere, I've been trying to get out dancing more with a friend of mine. I have yet to try the tango, but I love salsa, merengue, bachata -- all that good Latin music that practically challenges you NOT to get moving and have a blast.

As long as it's not a couple-y event and people ask you to dance, it's a lot of fun. I'm not the greatest dancer, but I have fun trying. And by the end of the evening I feel like I've gotten the equivalent of three gym workouts of exercise. Just listening to the music and watching the really good couples dance can take you miles away from workday stress.