Cart Driver Demonstrates An Unusual Way To Get Around The Airport

by Jessica Festa on




Well, here’s something you don’t see everyday. This video, taken by YouTube user GrimbleGromble1 at Chicago O’Hare International Airport in the United Terminal, shows an airport employee actually joking around with fliers. The vehicle warning sounds you hear are being made by the cart driver, who drove back and forth past travelers trying to get them to laugh. Watch at the end as the video gets a bit trippy, with the driver appearing to go through a tear in the space-time continuum.

On YouTube, the short clip got much feedback, with humorous comments like:

“You know money is tight when they can’t afford a real siren” – lemonjellies

“Bieber? Bieber? Bieber! Bieber! He’s probably a fan?” – jojacool

“At moment 0:13 you can actually see him breaking the sound barrier” – Longknife

“Job Description: License to drive electric airport terminal car. Ability to produce public awareness alarm by voice” – copperkipper1

According to user LenntBear, the cart drivers at O’Hare do this all the time.

What’s the funniest thing you’ve ever seen in an airport?

Hiking, Scrambling And Swimming Oregon’s Oneonta Gorge

by Laurel Miller on

Despite the various nicknames bestowed upon me throughout my 20s (all along the lines of “Hippie,” “Nature Girl” and “Treehugger”), I had a love-hate relationship with hiking the great outdoors. Blame my poor, misguided parents, who made my brother and I undertake many forced marches on summer vacations. We hiked all over California, the Pacific Northwest, the Rockies and even Europe. I know, I know – call Child Protective Services.

It is perhaps unsurprising that I rebelled as I grew older. I was quite a sloth in college, despite my love of travel and camping, and not until 2000 did I rekindle my early love affair with walking the woods, deserts and mountains.

I was attending a conference in Portland, Oregon, and decided to spend a few days camping in Columbia River Gorge, an hour east of the city center. The Columbia is the second largest river in North America, covering 1,200 miles, from British Columbia to the central Oregon coast.

The Gorge itself is a stunning 80-mile drive, as well as a world-class wind-surfing destination, important salmon fishery and source of hydroelectric power. You can also kayak, fish and partake in various indigenous cultural events in the area.

During my 2000 visit, it was Indian Summer, and the dry heat combined with cool, mossy canyons, waterfalls (77 in the Gorge in all) and the Douglas fir forest made for enchanting hikes. On one memorable day, I embarked on three separate outings, stopping only when it became too dark to see.

Since then, I’ve returned to the area several times, but my favorite hike remains Oneonta Gorge, which is conveniently located on Oneonta Creek, just off I-84, 35 miles from Portland. Although frequently crowded with day-trippers, it’s such an unusual and beautiful hike (actually, it’s more of a scramble or slog, depending upon the season), it’s worth sharing.

Do note Oneonta requires some serious scrambling over massive boulders and a logjam or two, so you need to be agile and fit to do it. I’ve seen plenty of non-agile, unfit people in inappropriate footwear (tennis shoes, Chaco’s with Vibram soles or Keen shoes are ideal; water socks or high heels aren’t going to cut it) attempt the gorge. It isn’t pretty, and usually results in a homo sapiens jam, if not minor injury.Oneonta is a slot canyon, just 20 feet wide. A half-mile down the creek bed is a 100-foot waterfall that spills into a clear pool. The thing about the gorge is that there’s no trail; you need to either swim, scramble or slosh it.

The first time I visited, the water was so high in October that it hit me mid-chest. Because I don’t relish swimming in snowmelt and I love a challenge, I decided to see if I could climb the entire route without touching the water. To this day, I have no idea how I managed to grip those wet, slippery, craggy canyon walls without falling, but I succeeded. To be honest, I’m still impressed with myself (and rather despondent that I no longer possess that kind of upper body strength).

I’ve also done Oneonta when it’s just ankle-deep, but regardless of water levels, you can always count on its sheer basalt walls to be teeming with ferns, mosses, lichens and other primordial plants. It’s otherworldly in there, and I find it oddly soothing, even with summer crowds. You could go early in the morning to avoid them, but it’s better to wait until for heat of the day, when the cool, misty air of the gorge provides a respite, and the sun’s rays send shafts of light down into its green depths.

For the most diverse hiking experience, I suggest combining Oneonta in combination with the connecting 2.6-miles Horsetail Falls Loop. This extension will take you up into the forest, and provide views of the Columbia River from the Oneonta Bluffs. For the truly lazy, the 176-foot falls are visible from the roadside.

Getting there
Take I-84 East to the Ainsworth Park Exit 35, and make a right (west) on the Historic Columbia River Highway for 1.5 miles, until you reach the Horsetail Falls Trailhead parking lot. Cross the road, head west a few hundred yards through Oneonta Tunnel and you’ll see the “trailhead,” alongside a bridge with a set of decrepit concrete steps. Get ready to wade or scramble.

Tip: Ainsworth State Park is a lovely campground, and open March through October, first-come, first-served.

[Photo credits: gorge, Flickr user McD22; waterfall, Flickr user stokes rx;scramblers, Laurel Miller]

What To Do In New England’s Berkshires

by Dave Seminara on

One hundred sixty-two years ago, Herman Melville made an impetuous decision to move to the Berkshires after going on a picnic with Nathaniel Hawthorne and Oliver Wendell Holmes. He was taken with the region’s beauty and believed it would be a quiet refuge that would be an ideal place to write.

Melville penned Moby Dick at Arrowhead, the farm he bought in Pittsfield, but the book was a commercial disaster and he wasn’t able to support his family from his writing and half-hearted attempts at farming. He left the Berkshires to become a customs inspector in New York after a 13-year stint at Arrowhead, but retained his strong affinity for the region.

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The rural splendor that seduced Melville and others continues to bring creative types to the Berkshires from around the world, but the high cost of living means that it’s still difficult for starving-artist types to afford to stay for very long. There may be no other rural area in the country that has the combination of natural beauty and abundant cultural offerings as the Berkshires. The region’s proximity to New York and Boston makes it a popular, and pricey, weekend getaway.But you don’t have to break the bank to enjoy a short getaway in the Berkshires, especially if you visit during the week. On a recent trip to the region, we found a double room for $89 at the amiable Yankee Inn, just a few miles outside Lenox, a delightful town within spitting distance of a host of natural and cultural attractions. We liked it so much that we considered extending through the weekend, until we found out that our room rate would skyrocket to $259 per night.

Below you’ll find some suggestions for how to spend a short getaway in the Berkshires without breaking the bank. You can hit all of these places if you start in Williamstown, and proceed east and south to N. Adams, Adams, Hancock, Pittsfield, Lenox and Stockbridge.

Williamstown– Home to Williams College, one of the country’s finest liberal arts colleges, this handsome, walkable town has more going on than many cities with ten times its population. With the Williamstown Theater Festival, The Sterling & Francine Clark Art Institute and the Williams College Museum of Art in town, there’s always something going on in this classic New England town.

MASS MoCA– The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art is one of the coolest museums I’ve ever been to, even though most of the exhibits went right over my head and reminded me of something that might have been discussed on an episode of Sprockets (see video). Three things I love about this place: 1) it’s located in a restored 19th century factory complex that’s an attraction in and of itself, 2) my kids loved the dinosaurs, Legos and opportunities to do arts and crafts projects in the museum’s Kidspace, and 3) the museum café is one of the best of its kind anywhere, with good food, drinks and ice cream at reasonable prices.

Bike the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail– A scenic 11-mile bike/recreation path that begins next to the visitor’s center in Adams, and winds its way through Lanesborough and Cheshire. If you want to get your adrenalin flowing even faster, the region is also well known for its whitewater rafting.

Mt. Greylock State Reservation– Mt. Greylock’s peak is the highest point in Massachusetts and it’s a great spot for a scenic drive or hike. Melville is said to have loved the view of Greylock from the window of his home in Pittsfield.

Ioka Valley Farm– My boys, ages 2 and 4, loved the farm animals, slides, games and hayride at this family farm, which was established in the 1920s. It’s not dirt cheap at about $30 for a family of four, and I found their syrup for sale at a supermarket in Lenox for a lower price than they sell it for at the farm, but if you have young kids, you’ll want to bring them here for some low-tech, educational fun.

Melville’s Arrowhead– This is a great place to learn more about Melville’s fascinating life story and there’s a replica whale and whaleboat in the yard that makes for a great photo opp (see above).

Lenox- Classy little Lenox has a great, walkable little historic core that boasts some classic old New England homes, a great little bookstore, a host of expensive restaurants and the Old Heritage Tavern, a great place for dinner and drinks that’s a rare bargain in these parts. While in Lenox, you might also want to hear some live music at Tanglewood or take in a show at Shakespeare & Company.

Kennedy Park in Lenox– Right next to Lenox’s lovely 18th Century Church on the Hill, you’ll find Kennedy Park, which is a beautiful, quiet place for hiking, jogging and mountain biking. There are 15 miles of shady, wooded trails – my favorite is the Red Neck – but all of them are quite pleasant.

Stockbridge– This is yet another enticing little town that’s perfect for a leisurely stroll. And if you like Norman Rockwell, who lived in the Berkshires for the last 25 years of his life, you’ll want to visit the Norman Rockwell Museum.

See How the Other Half Lived- The super rich have been summering in the Berkshires for a very long time, and there are a host of posh estates you can tour, or if you’re frugal or have a short attention span, gawk at from the outside. Check out Naumkeag in Stockbridge, and homes built for Edith Wharton (The Mount) and J.P. Morgan’s sister (Ventfort Hall) in Lenox.

See How the Other Half Lives- You might get kicked out, depending on how you’re dressed, but stop by the Wheatleigh in Lenox to see where those with some serious cash stay and eat when in the Berkshires. Room rates range from $715 for basic rooms to $21,000-$35,000 per night for use of one of their 19-room “palazzos.”

[Photos by Dave Seminara]

The Perks Of Traveling Alone

by Chris Owen on

Traveling single over the last couple months has opened my eyes to the needs of the solo traveler. Stepping into that role, not by choice really but due to scheduling conflicts, I found myself alone. While a couple of months is nothing compared to a lifetime of solo traveling, I got a good taste for what’s different in the world of traveling single. It’s not all bad.

You are not sharing a room
You can put your stuff wherever you want to. For some, that might mean dropping their clothes on the floor as they fall off at the end of a long day on the road. Initially. Once the thrill of it all is over (in about 12 seconds for me: thanks mom for ruining it), I get an overwhelming desire to have everything neat and tidy. Not so much because of a need to be organized but because that messy +1 is not along for the ride. Undoubtedly, he/she/it would disorganize the mission, effectively sabotaging it.

Scheduling
You are on no one’s schedule but your own. Stay up later or go to bed earlier if you want to. There is no need to remember that other person’s dietary requirements or likes/dislikes about pretty much anything.

On your own temporarily, you might want to reconsider taking photos showing you at that place not everyone needs to know about. Amsterdam comes to mind.Healthy Choices
You don’t have to make the healthy choice when dining. You probably will but if a few off-track indulgences won’t make big a difference in your healthy lifestyle plan, now would be the time to do it with no guilt trip, actual or perceived, from anyone. Skip a normal exercise routine though and you’ll pay for it later.

On the other hand, if that absent traveling companion has a way of bringing out the worst in you, this is a good thing.

The down side: you also don’t have that extra person to share in expenses. There is no one to split cab fare with or help navigate in an unfamiliar part of the world. Hotels can be more expensive on a per-person basis while traveling solo. Cruise lines typically price everything as double occupancy, so solo travelers pay double too.

Still, there’s a bit of joy in traveling solo that is undeniable – but just a bit. Sharing travel experiences makes for rich memories, full of detail that can be recalled years from now. Social sharing via Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, HipGeo and more is one thing. Sharing with a friend is quite another.


[Flickr photo by JonoMueller]

How To Eat A Fertilized Duck Egg

by David Farley on

The first time I ate a fertilized duck egg was at a Vietnamese restaurant in New York City three years ago. I was headed to Vietnam in a few months and knew I’d be writing about something food related, so I spent the run-up to the trip eating as much Vietnamese food as I could. When I saw balut, as fertilized duck eggs are often referred to, on the menu, I knew I had to try it. But as if the chef expected no one to order balut, my dining companion and I were informed they were out of it. “You want us to go get some,” the server said, daring us. We called their bluff and soon enough someone from the restaurant was making a fertilized duck egg run to Chinatown. A few minutes later, the eggs were presented to my dining companion and I.


They weren’t good. They weren’t bad, either. If you closed your eyes and didn’t look at the little dead baby partially formed fetus duck pinched between your chopsticks you’d just think you were eating something very egg-y. My dining companion went for seconds but I think he was just showing off at this point.

I thought I’d sworn off eating duck fetuses but a few months later, there I was in Saigon, doing a story on Vietnamese-born New York chef and prolific restaurateur Michael ‘Bao’ Huynh for a New York Times travel article. The mission seemed easy enough: just go where he goes and eat what he eats. The rub, though, was that he was eating congealed pigs blood, rats, snakes and, of course, those fermented duck eggs.
I looked around and watched happy families inserting the aborted partially formed duckling carcasses into their mouths. I figured out there was a five-step system to eating balut:

1) Crack the top of the egg with a spoon.

2) Sip the broth from the hole in the top of the egg.
3) Enlarge the opening to bite off the boiled, cooked yoke.
4) Pull out the partially formed duck and eat it. Yum.
5) Go into the bathroom and vomit.

I’ll admit balut wasn’t my favorite – even rat was better – but one has to do such things in the name of journalism. Right? You don’t, of course, have to go all the way to Asia to eat balut. That Vietnamese restaurant on New York’s Lower East Side where I first ate a duck fetus is long gone. But there’s a new place proudly serving balut in New York City. The Filipino restaurant in the East Village called Maharlika. Or you can just stop by the very first balut eating contest on Saturday August 25 at 3 p.m., taking place at the Dekalb Market in Brooklyn, where 10 brave eaters will try to eat as many fertilized duck eggs in five minutes. It’ll be five minutes of unborn-duck-eating glory!

Nicole Ponseca, owner of Maharlika and sponsor of the eating contest, said, “Our goal is to push Filipino food forward. We’re the third largest minority in the US behind Mexicans and Chinese. But no one knows our food.” She added, “Some people ask why we’re putting balut on the menu. It might turn people off. But we have to be proud of our food. And I want it to cross over.”

Anyone want to meet me for some balut?