Wapo on the Big Easy

by Erik Olsen on

New Orleans and Bourbon Street. They go together in the mind’s eye
like salt and pepper or the Captain and Tenille. I think of New Orleans (where I was recently for a bachelor party) and
I immediately think of the legions of extremely intoxicated people shuffling up and down Bourbon Street like a scene
from a new version of Animal House directed by George A. Romero.

But the Washington Post says
that once you get beyond the drunken tards all around Bourbon Street, you may find that New Orleans is one of the most
exotic places in the US. And this
article take you around, showing you other places to see, things to do, offers you a different glimpse of the Big
Easy. I wish I’d read this before my last trip.  

Don’t Miss Museum Day

by Erik Olsen on

Well, I hope it isn’t sunny on April 30 because that is the day that they are calling
National Museum Day, and they expect people to, well, go to a
museum. Almost any museum will do, some 460 museums around the country will participate.

Here’s the list for New York…which sadly does
not include the Metropolitan, but it does include the
Intrepid…and, um, the Tibetan Museum in Staten Island.
Sooooooo, it’s not a big deal, but I may go check out the Intrepid anyway.

Getting Your Items Back

by Erik Olsen on

Here’s a topic dear to my heart: Airport Security.

Over the last five years I have lost six pocket knives. Not just regular old pocket knives, but kick ass Swiss Army
knives, one of which was monogrammed and taken away because I was late for a light and absolutely could NOT go back and
check it. There really have been any decent solutions. You re found with a knife and given the opportunity to go back
to check in and check your object (and then you have to get back in the end of the security line), or else you
surrender the knife.

Of course, the brain-dead security people at the airport just take your items and shrug. They dump them into locked
metal boxes and go on with their miserable jobs (I now, harsh, but I really think it’s overdone, getting so concerned
about a knife with a 1 ½ inch blade.

Anyway, the point of all this is that there are
now solutions.  A
new kiosk system at certain airports will allow
you to send your items back to yourself. It’s a great idea who’s time has come.

Mammoth Found in LA

by Erik Olsen on

Wow, really amazing. Some construction workers in LA have
unearthed
some Mammoth tusks that are said to be 400,000 and 1.4 million years old.

Most poeple are probably aware of the La Brea tar pits in LA, so the idea of
Mammoth tusks found there is no surprise, but there have not been discoveries in the area for a long time. The tusks
area actually believed to be an ancestor of the Columbian mammoths discovered at La Brea Tar Pits, which are believed
to be about 30,000 years old.

Really damn interesting.

Walking Amalfi

by Erik Olsen on

Here’s another great summer trip idea. Walking the Amalfi Coast.
There are so many incredible trips offered through Backroads, that it’s hard to choose, but hikers should take a look
at this one. We’ll post about others for other sports in the
future.

So for this trip: You’ll meet in Naples and then continue to Capri on a private boat and ascend Monte Solaro,
the highest point on the island, you’ll walk through the tiny coastal villages of Positano and Amalfi, and enjoy fresh
seafood. It goes on and on.

It ain’t cheap, but what a way to spend a few weeks.