Two Men Detained At US Border For Carrying Chocolate Eggs

by Jessica Festa on

In the past year, there have been stories of travelers getting in trouble for painting their nails on flights, telling jokes on Twitter and traveling with baked goods. The most recent scandal in the world of surprising travel crimes, involves two men trying to cross the border from Canada to the United States with chocolate eggs.

During a trip to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Brandon Loo and Christopher Sweeney decided they wanted to bring treats back home to friends and family in Seattle, Washington. They decided on Kinder Eggs, chocolate eggs containing small toys inside. Unfortunately, the surprises ended up getting the men detained at the border.

According to CBC News, because children can choke on the toys inside the eggs, they are illegal to bring into the U.S. Moreover, travelers who decide to attempt to bring them into the country could incur a hefty fine. In 2011, there were over 60,000 Kinder Eggs seized from travelers’ luggage and international mail shipments.

In the end, the men were only detained for a few hours, getting off with a simple warning.

Will you be traveling on an airplane, and want to know what you shouldn’t bring? Check out these strange items prohibited by the TSA.

[Image via Matanya]

New Flight-Tracking App Takes The Hassle Out Of Airport Pickups

by Jessica Festa on

Have you ever told a friend you’d pick them up from the airport, only to have to wait around for two hours at the arrivals gate? Forget those hassle-filled days, as a new app called Just Landed has been launched to help with seamless airport pick-up.

This free tool has many useful features, including information and alerts on:

  • A flight’s arrival time
  • If a flight will be late, early or on schedule
  • Arrival terminal
  • Driving time to the airport
  • When to leave your house to get there on time

According to Jaunted, the app uses GPS to locate you. “When pickup time nears, a countdown begins until a push notification pops up, commanding you to get the heck out of the Lay-Z-Boy and get on down to Arrivals.”

To use the app, simply input the flight number, and Just Landed will do the rest.

Just Landed is compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S. To view the app in the iTunes store, click here.

Bradley Wiggins Wins 2012 Tour de France

by Kraig Becker on

British cyclist Bradley Wiggins has won the 2012 Tour de France giving the U.K. its first champion in the 99-year history of the event. He’ll cap his historic run in the three-week long race by riding onto the Champs-Elysees in Paris in the Tour’s final leg.

Wiggins, who rides for Team Sky, grabbed the lead on the first major mountain stage of the race and really didn’t face much competition after that. Last year’s winner, Aussie Cadel Evans, didn’t seem to have the legs to hang with the Brit on the big climbs and Canadian Ryder Hesjedal crashed out of the race with a broken collarbone early on. Combine that with the fact that Wiggins’ very strong team were always close at hand, and other contenders found it impossible to earn back any time on the leader. As a result, this year’s Tour wasn’t particularly interesting for spectators to watch but it was definitely a clinic on how a strong and efficient team can win the race.

Wiggins will be joined on the podium by teammate Chris Froome and Italian Vincenzo Nibali in second and third place respectively. There were times when it seemed that Froome could have pulled away from Wiggins and possibly won the race himself, but like a good teammate he stayed close and paced his friend through the mountains. He is expected to be a major threat to possibly win the Tour in the future, however, and the two men may find themselves battling each other down the road.

Today’s final stage is 130km (80.77 miles) in length and runs from Rambouillet to Paris. It is largely a ceremonial victory lap for the winner of the race’s famed Yellow Jersey as none of the other riders will attack the leader on the final day. The top sprinters will battle it out on the Champs-Elysees, however, and when they hit that famous road it will be chaos at the front of the peloton. Gaining a stage win in front of the crowd in Paris is a major accomplishment and there are a number of very fast riders who will be hoping to earn that distinction.

Congrats to Bradley Wiggins on his impressive victory. I’m sure British cycling fans will be enjoying the final ride later today.

[Photo credit: Sapin88 via WikiMedia]

Air New Zealand Will Soon Launch ‘Hobbit’-Themed Flights

by Jessica Festa on

Fans of the popular book and film “The Hobbit” now have another reason to travel. Air New Zealand will soon be launching themed flights in honor of J R.R. Tolkien’s novel and Peter Jackson’s two-part movie.

The two-year partnership makes perfect sense, as the natural landscape of New Zealand was the backdrop for the film.

According to CNNGo, “Passengers flying between New Zealand’s capital Wellington and the United Kingdom or the United States have a chance of being on the Hobbit-themed flights.”

While the official launch date is not confirmed, it has been decided that a Boeing 777-300 will focus on “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” while a Boeing 777-200 will set the backdrop for a flight centered on “The Hobbit: There and Back Again.” Changes will be made in safety briefings, flight attendant uniforms and airline social media contests to coordinate.

Says Sue Kroll, president of worldwide marketing for New Line and MGM’s parent company, Warner Bros, “The promotions planned by Air New Zealand in support of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again are both eye-catching and innovative and we look forward to collaborating with them on the campaigns for both films.”

[Image via Air New Zealand]

Video: Bhutanese Refugees In The US

by Elizabeth Seward on

When people are forced to flee their native countries, they become refugees. This concept seems simple, but it’s not one with which most citizens of the U.S. are familiar. This video on Bhutanese refugees originally ran on The Seattle Channel’s program, City Stream. The video follows in the footsteps of one Bhutanese family that was forced out of Bhutan at gunpoint 18 years ago. The family lived in Nepal in a refugee camp before being welcomed into Seattle. As the number of Bhutanese immigrants is rising in the U.S., this video offers important insight.