Keep track of Thanksgiving holiday airport ruckus with Travelocity

by Grant Martin on

The busiest travel day of the year is almost upon us — have you got your chain mail travel pants and your 3oz 4Loko shots ready yet?

There’s no doubt that the Wednesday before Thanksgiving is the craziest day of the year to travel, and with this year’s new security screenings in place and a higher volume of air travelers predicted over last year, airports are going to be experiencing record-setting tumult.

For many of us who are dreading the miserable trek from the ticket counter through security and onto the plane, this year Travelocity is again placing spotters inside of the 12 largest airports in the nation to monitor crowds, security and whatever else manifests during two days of crazy airport mayhem.

This year, the online travel agent is coordinating the entire effort over Twitter. You can find and subscribe to your airport’s feed by looking it up over at the Window Seat Blog and then follow along over the course of the day as the drama unfolds.

Another nice advantage of using Twitter for the feeds is that you can actually interact with the spotters. At Chicago‘s O’Hare, for example, I can ask my spotter Jel to mosey on over to the Garrett’s popcorn booth in terminal 3 to check on the lines and volumes. Or you can just try to track your spotter down and mess with them.

Either way, make sure you spend extra time getting to the airport and doing your dilligence for your Thanksgiving travel this year. All of this airport research will turn moot if you end up missing your flight.

British explorer to ski to South Pole and back again

by Kraig Becker on

British adventurer Chris Foot is currently in Punta Arenas, Chile, preparing to set out on a long and difficult journey that will see him traveling on skis to the South Pole. That, in and of itself, is an impressive feat, but one that has done plenty of times in the past. But upon arrival at the Pole Chris intends to separate himself from the explorers who have gone before him, by turning around and skiing back to where he started, something that has never been done before.

The entire journey will cover more than 1392 miles through one of the most desolate and remote regions on the planet. To add to the challenge, Foot intends to make the trip solo and unsupported, which means he will be completely alone and won’t receive any supply drops or outside assistance for the length of the expedition. Instead, he’ll pull a sled behind him that will carry all of his food, equipment, and other supplies for the length of the journey, which could last for upwards of three months.

The expedition will begin and end at the new Union Glacier Antarctic base that we told you about last week, and could get underway as soon as today. Weather has delayed the start of Chris’ journey, as high winds and heavy snow have prevented planes from landing at the new base, but according to the latest dispatches from the former British commando, his gear has all been packed and weighed, and he is awaiting a clear weather window to allow him to get start the long, slow march to 90ºS.

Chris will be one of the first adventurers to hit the ice this year, but his arrival will mark the beginning of the Antarctic expedition season that will see other expeditions heading to the South Pole as well. Additionally, mountaineers will challenge themselves on several cold and remote peaks in the region and adventure travelers will get the opportunity to visit a place that few ever experience.

[Photo credit: Chris Foot]

Paris Hilton’s Top Twenty Travel Tweets

by Andrew Evans on
OK, so how creepy is it for a grown man to follow Paris Hilton? Because I do, like, on Twitter.

I’m not ashamed–on the contrary–I love Paris and will always defend her, because that’s what BFF’s do for each other. For the record, I’m no follower-come-lately. I’ve been with @ParisHilton back to the time when she was barely hovering around one million followers. Since then, we’ve gone through so much together, she and I–Life’s ups and downs, laughs and cries, canceled flights, denied visas, the works.

What I’ve learned about Paris is that she and I have SO much in common: We both love scuba diving, we both use superlatives freely, we like to fly carry-on only, we just adore baby animals and both enjoy deep tissue massage. Oh! And we’re both 29 years old!

We’re also crazy about travel–loves it–though if it was a contest Paris totally wins, chihuahua paws down. No matter that I’ve been to some 25 countries this year–Paris travels much, much more. In the last year she’s been to France, South Africa, Brazil, Asia, and Anguilla. She also can’t get enough of Vegas–heads there as much as possible on her private jet.

I always know where Paris is because she’s forever sending little messages from such-and-such a place, often with a little picture to prove that she’s really there. It’s our more intimate version of postcards and over the years I’ve been collecting her digital missives in stacks.

Here’s a few of my favorites from 2010, unedited and published in full with links for the sake of journalistic integrity (Thank you Paris!):

1. I LOVE BRAZIL!! :) 7:04 PM Sep 26th

2. Love Michigan, so fun. Been fishing all day and been at our friend son’s 16th birthday party all night, now lighting fire works. Loves it! 9:12 PM Sep 18th
3. I love Vegas!
4. On set, what another beautiful day in LA. I love this city! :) 2:27 PM Aug 9th

5. Just went on Space Mountain 3 times in a row. My favorite ride at Disneyland. So much fun! :) 11:37 PM Aug 3rd

6. On set of the music video shoot. What an incredible house were shooting at and the weather is just beautiful! I Love Ibiza! 4:32 AM Jul 28th
7. Having the time of my life in St Tropez! Best Summer Ever! :) 10:26 AM Jul 23rd via web
8. Portofino is such a beautiful place. http://twitpic.com/26zwce 7:12 AM Jul 20th via Twitpic // Sailing to Portofino. Looking forward to the shopping there and amazing italian food. Loves it!

9. http://twitpic.com/13bhne – Me in Seoul, Korea

10. Jetting off to yet another amazing destination. Life is amazing! http://twitpic.com/25s5hy 8:11 AM Jul 16th
11. Another day in beautiful Paris. The most romantic city on the planet. Friday, July 16, 2010 8:24:35 AM
12, Having the most incredible time in South Africa. This place is magical! I Love Life! 3:59 AM Jul 7th
13. Went to Cape of Good Hope. So beautiful. Saw the cutest penguins and ostrichs. Having an amazing dinner in Cape
Town now. Love the food here 12:27 PM Jul 4th
14. Cape Town Rocks! 6:20 PM Jul 3rd
15. Finally finished packing for my trip. Excited to go to Brazil again. :) 12:39 AM Jun 9th
16. Had such an incredible day! Saw the mummy’s and tombs at The Egyptian Museum, Went in the Pyramids, Saw the Sphynx and rode Camels. So Fun! 5:13 PM Jun 3rd
17. Such a Beautiful View from My Room. Central Park is so Beautiful. http://twitpic.com/1rcmob 4:49 PM May 26th

18. Just landed in Madrid for a couple important business meetings. It is so beautiful here! I Love Spain! :) 10:36 AM May 13th

19. I Love staying at The Fountainbleau Hotel in Miami. It’s such a beautiful hotel and has the best club and restaurants. Th Club LIV is fun! 7:03 PM Mar 22nd

20. Just landed back in LA. :) Can’t wait to get home to all my pets, miss them so much! :) 10:56 PM Feb 16th

Brits complete London to Cape Town drive in record time.

by Kraig Becker on

Awhile back we posted a story about three adventurous Brits who had set out to drive from London to Cape Town in the hopes of setting a new speed record for that route. Their road would take them across three continents and 20 countries, covering more than 10,000 miles in the process. Late last week they completed their mission, arriving at the finish line nearly two days ahead of the previous record.

Mac Mackenney, Chris Rawlings and Steve Mackenney drove their Land Rover Discovery into Cape Town last Thursday, arriving 11 days, 14 hours, and 11 minutes after they had set out. That time beat the old mark, which was set by Eric Jackson and Ken Chambers back in 1963, by 1 day, 18 hours, and 37 minutes. Perhaps even more impressive is that the trio had to average approximately 870 miles per day, in a wide variety of conditions, to arrive when they did.

The three men took turns driving, navigating, and resting, staying on the go nearly all the time. They did blog about their journey on the Max Adventure website, where they told tales of harrowing border crossings, interesting encounters with locals along the way, and the blur of countries they passed through as they sped toward the finish line.

While Mac, Chris, and Steve were certainly hoping to break the speed record, they were also hoping to raise some money and awareness for the Help The Heroes organization, a charitable foundation that helps wounded British soldiers to recover and get on with their lives. The team hoped to raise £10,000 through their adventure to donate to this very worthy cause. As of this writing they’ve raised about a third of that.

Personally, I applaud the boys for setting the new record, but this certainly isn’t the way that I would like to make that same journey. Give me that same Land Rover and I’ll take six months to explore the route. Seems like the ultimate road trip to me!

[Photo credit: Max Adventure]

Matador launches print magzine Beta

by Grant Martin on

When I met Matador Network’s CEO Ross Borden for the first time we were in the Air New Zealand lounge at LAX. He was nestled at the end of the lounge, import beer at his side and furiously typing away at his Macbook — where he remained, working hard, through two weeks of adventure travel through New Zealand and Thailand — furiously committed to his empire and to all things Matador.

At the time, they were expanding, launching the successful travel writing school Matadoru whilst pushing forth strongly on the other dozen fronts already live on the site.

And now, Matador has expanded into a hard travel product. This March, Borden, colleague David Miller and their editor in chief David T. Page will be releasing the first issue of Beta, a new travel magazine painted in the classic, edgy Matador style. Says Miller in his 8 Reasons Matador is Launching a Print Magazine article:

Travel writing in its highest form is like a cairn. It’s tangible. It’s formed out of the local landscape. It registers and measures one’s relationship with place. It’s meant to remain for a long time. It can guide you at ground level. And it can guide on other levels too. This is our vision behind creating our new print magazine, BETA.

In an era of transitioning travel media it’s a big risk for Matador and the guys behind the network — but if they’re all as tenacious as Ross is, we have no doubt that Beta will take off. You can check out their full masthead here.