I was looking around for some info on country-wide snow reports and found this
cool site dedicated to everything white and fluffy (well, not everything…there’s not much here about rabbits, for
example). On The Snow has got snow reports by state and region, some decent features, lots of news and is generally an
all around solid site for ski and snowboard enthusiasts. We’re inching into spring skiiing season, and as you plan your
trip, you might give this site a whirl.
The Best Travel Writing 2005
One of our favorite companies in the world is Traveler’s Tales. They
publish wonderful narrative travel books that are a must for every literate vagabond who wants to know more about the
place he’s going. I’m currently reading Michael Shapiro’s Sense
of Place, and am finding it a huge inspiration to do more travel writing…and travel reading.
A bit ago, we interviewed publisher James O’Reilly who
spoke eloquently and with passion about the need for great travel literature and how to find your own voiice as a
writer. And I recently had the pleasure of meeting TT Executive Editor Larry Habegger at an event here in New York
City. Larry was a very cool guy. Laid back in a hip California way, his eyes flashed with intelligence as he
spoke about his passion for good writing and the perils of book publishing. Not an easy business, to say the least. But
TT is still cranking out great books, which brings me to the point of this post…an announcement you should all tune
into:
Tonight at 7 pm, should you be in California, Traveler’s Tales will celebrate the publication of
The Best Travel Writing 2005 at the
Book Passage
bookstore in Corte Madera, California.
Larry won’t be alone. Joining him will be writers Michael Shapiro, Kathryn Kefauver, Chellis Ying, and Leilani Marie
Labong, who will read their stories from the book. If you happen to be in No Cal tonight, do yourself a favor and check
this out….or at least read the book.
Hot Dogs Worth Waiting For
Longevity says an enormous amount in the restaurant biz and any hot dog joint that can stand for
66 years and going strong must be something spectacular! I’ll admit, I had
some reservations about the dogs and the folks who lined up around-the-clock to a taste
a juicy American classic, but after waiting and inching closer to a delicious hot dog of my own, I was
hooked. Pink’s is a popular Hollywood hot dog stand with tons
of affordable menu selections. My personal
recommendation, the Chicago Polish dog.
Charlotte, Get Ready for Artificial Whitewater
There’s a whole lot of building going on down in Charlotte, North Carolina now that the new
U.S. National Whitewater Center has secured
final funding and
broken ground. Slated
for completion in Spring 2006, this very cool looking 307-acre facility will boast the world’s largest artificial
whitewater river, a high adventure center, 11 miles of hiking and biking trails and a 37-acre island you can camp on.
It has already been designated an U.S. Olympic Training Site and the new home of USA
Canoe and Kayak.
The Road Trip Effect
Pretty cool new app. for bloggers and Web heads who want to show
people where they’ve been.
The Road Trip Effect allows you to create video travel maps
of all the places you visit and then turn them into Quicktime movies. It makes one of those cute little Indiana Jones
flying around the world planes from place to place.
The app comes with 16 quality maps from all over the world. that you can customize. You can also use your own
maps. Configure and customize to your heart’s content, as you have full control over: how many stops, trail color,
vehicle icon (choose from our stock or use a custom icon), trail width, fade length (or no fade), opacity, and effect
duration. Supports both NTSC and PAL.
VERY cool.