Russian Chronicles

by Kelly Amabile on

Here is a wonderful travelogue already in progress that you can follow along with. Ten years ago, in September 1995,
Lisa Dickey, an American writer living in Russia, took a cross country trip from Vladivostok to St. Petersburg with a
photojournalist, capturing words and images as they went, a series of “road stories”. They called it the
Russian Chronicles.

Ten years later, Lisa is doing the trip again, with a different photographer, but following the same route, in an
attempt to reconnect with the places and people she met the first time around:
Russian Chronicles, redux.
This photo is from an early visit with Vladivostok lighthouse keepers Vasily and Valentina Ilchenko, whom Lisa met ten
years ago. She showed them photos from her first visit and they shared stories of what their lives have been like
through the years.

Lisa and photographer David Hillegas are following the Trans Siberian Railway route, stopping in all the same cities
as the last time Lisa took the trip, making connections and reunions like this all along the way. They are currently in
Irkutsk, taking part in a
scientific expedition on Lake Baikal, which I mentioned
not too long ago. Their next post will feature a trip to Olkhon Island.

This is a marvelous travelogue, with dozens more stories being told and created as they continue on. The pair will
reach St. Petersburg on November 22. Subscribe to the Washington Post blog and enjoy the rest of
their incredible journey.

Photographing Puerto Rico’s ‘Faro’

by Adrienne Wilson on

Photographic Magazine Online has some incredible travel photo pointers before embarking on your
next big excursion. Though no one likes to live behind the lens while on
vaca, beginners just looking to bring back a few great shots can afford to look at this article. However, if you
do plan on going on a photo journey of sorts or at least spending a huge chunk of your time capturing one main
theme in the area you’re visiting, you may wish to research more than which filters, wide-angle, or telephoto
lens might come in handy.

When Efrain Prado set out to Puerto Rico to
photograph the ‘faro” or
lighthouses found on the tiny little island he based his equipment on the accessibility, location and
condition of the lighthouses. In addition to his stunning lighthouse shots like the one of the Cabo Rojo
pictured above there are great little pieces of historical fact for background and recommendations on when and how to
capture shots like these for your own Faro Portfolio. As of right now there is no access for visitors inside the
lighthouse, but future plans are in the works.

Segway Tour of DC

by Erik Olsen on


Of all the travel ideas I’ve seen in the last few days, this one really clicked with me. I lived in DC for a couple
of years and always enjoyed exploring the Mall and other parts of the city. Getting around on the subway is fine, but
to really experience DC you pretty much have to walk. Like I do now in New York, I walked everywhere in DC. And that
was fine, but it was slow. But now a company in DC is offering

Segway tours of the Capitol and I have to say that’s VERY cool.

Apparently you need about a half hour or so of training and prep, and then off you go, toodling around the Capitol
Building, kicking up grit along the Mall, running over the toes of Senators and Supreme Court Justices (Hey, Roberts!
Watch yourself, buddy!), and exploring the many historical nooks and crannies of the city. Then, at the end of the day,
maybe head over to Herpes Triangle for a sudsy one (do they still call it that?). The tours only last until the end of
November, and then pick up again in the Spring. So get busy if you want to do this in the short term. The cost of the
tour is $65, with a $400 deposit.

Fleet Week in SF

by Erik Olsen on

If you live or happen to be hanging out in California, you might be interested to know that tomorrow
Fleet Week officially kicks off in “The City”. The event brings nearly
3,500 uniformed sailors to town to frolic and get drunk in the local bars. Tons (literally…many MANY tons) of ships
will be moored in the bay so you can wander around them and pretend you’re about to set off to attack rogue
nations.

Of course, no Fleet Week would be complete if the U.S. Navy’s elite flying team, the
Blue Angels, didn’t show up and perform their
eardrum-splitting aerial acrobatics over the city. Along with these events, there will be other entertainment including
the Red Bull Air Race World Series.

To get more info check out the Fleet Week SF site. Festivities take place
at Marina Green, Municipal Pier and Pier 39 in San Francisco.

The State of Travel Television

by Erik Olsen on

If you’ve been reading much gadling, you’ve probably seen us highlight all sorts of new travel shows that are out.
The fact is, the genre seems to be exploding, as small bands of travelers head out to find odd nooks around the world
and to interact with people who have never heard of the Travel Channel.

From Stranded with Cash Peters (where the
eponymous host gets dropped in far off places with no money and no ride home) to the new show
5 Takes which follows a bunch of young travelers
as they make their way across Europe (see, we didn’t used to record this stuff…you just did it), you might say the
travel show genre is undergoing a Renaissance. Whether is is good or bad, well, it depends on your perspective.

Here
is
an interesting article about the state of travel TV. The article seems to suggest that all these new shows are a
good thing, that they are opening our eyes to places (we, the poorly traveled Americans) that we’d never otherwise see.
But there is the danger, of course, of trivializing these places or, as in the case of
Tara Reid’s abysmal Wild On, exporting the worst part of American
culture to other places. I think most of this stuff is probably good…and needless to say, it would be cool to have your
own show which seems ever more possible these days. But there are two sides to the debate. The question is: which side
are you on?