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Reduce, reuse, recycle – we’ve heard it ad nauseum, but it’s certainly a great maxim to live by. Bruce Campbell, an Oregon electrical engineer remodeling a retired 727-200 commercial jet into a home, believes he’s on-trend, according to an interview with CNN. He admits it’s not for everyone (it’s like the Ninth Circle of Hell for aviophobics such as myself) but he does have a point about the wings making for a great deck.
For a tour of Campbell’s dream home in progress, watch the video.
Want to celebrate the 2012 Olympic Games, but can’t make it to London? These U.S. hotels are offering Olympic-themed packages to guests.
Loews Coronado Bay
San Diego, California
To help guests get excited for the upcoming Olympics, Loews Coronado Bay is offering an array of Olympic activities for families. These include:
Rates begin at $209 per night, excluding Olympic activities. Click here to book.Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel
Santa Monica, California
Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel is getting in the Olympic spirit by offering an array of sporty activities. Guests can enjoy:
Families can also add on a “Bed and Breakfast” package, which includes a $50 daily credit toward breakfast.
Rates begin at $459 per night. Click here to book.
Affinia Hotels
Various Locations In New York and Washington D.C.
In support of the movement to make yoga an Olympic sport, Affinia Hotels is offering yoga at check-in with the “Affinia Yoga Check-In Challenge.” During the Olympics, July 27 to August 12, guests can show off their yoga skills upon arrival by completing one, two or three levels of poses. Each pose will give them the chance to win a prize. The poses, from easy to difficult, include:
If they wish, guests who complete the “head-to-knee” challenge can get their photo taken to be entered into the hotel’s online version of the contest. The winner will be chosen by Affinia Facebook fans, and will receive a complimentary three-night stay in the Affinia property of their choice.
Rates start at $179 per night. Click here to book.
The Hotel @ Times Square
New York, NY
Want to celebrate the Olympics in a unique way? From July 27 until August 12, The Hotel @ Times Square is featuring a variety of “unsporty” packages, to help guests steer clear of The Games. Offers include:
Click here to book.
The Houstonian Hotel, Club & Spa
Houston, Texas
From July 27 through August 12, The Houstonian Hotel, Club & Spa will be celebrating the Olympics with a “London Express” package. The offer includes:
Package rates start at $1,595, based on double occupancy. Click here to book.
Kimpton’s Hotel Solamar
San Diego, California
Kimpton’s Hotel Solamar is helping Olympics enthusiasts save big with their “Gold, Silver, Bronze – everyone wins” offer. The package includes discounts and perks, such as:
Rates start at $131 per night. Must book by July 15. Bookable for stays now through September 30, 2012. Click here to book.
Waldorf Astoria Park City
Park City, Utah
To help guests feel like Olympians themselves, the Waldorf Astoria Park City is offering a private ice-skating lesson with a member of the U.S. National Speed Skating Team and Olympic hopeful. This is the perfect activity for the city, which is a training ground for Olympians.
Offer is available through September 12, 2012, with rates starting at $299 per night, plus $120 per adult for a two-hour lesson. Click here to book.
TradeWinds Island Grand
St. Pete Beach, Florida
In honor of the Olympic Games, TradeWinds Island Grand is hosting an array of family-friendly and athletic activities, including an opening ceremony event, beach Olympics, poolside broadcasts of the Games, a torch relay, gymnastics, fencing, boxing, an inflatable obstacle course, glow-in-the-dark volleyball at night and more. To help make the activities seem more like the real thing, a podium will be placed near the pool for photos and awards. The area will also be adorned with Olympic rings and flags.
Room rates start at $169. Click here to book.
The ancient city of Cahokia in Illinois was the center of an advanced civilization from about 700 to 1400 A.D. Covering six square miles and home to up to 20,000 people, it was the largest prehistoric city north of Mexico. It ruled over a large area and had trade networks stretching across North America.
Dozens of mounds dot the site, atop which the people built temples and homes for the elite. Cahokia’s artisans made fine work like these worked copper plates typical of the Mississippian culture that created Cahokia.
Cahokia’s importance is recognized by it being designated a state historic site and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It makes a good day trip from St. Louis and has an excellent interpretive center. You can also climb up some of the mounds to get a sweeping view of the site.
Now archaeologists have discovered one of its suburbs in a derelict neighborhood of East St. Louis. It’s not much to look at today. The excavation is taking place between a derelict meatpacking plant and an abandoned strip club. Back in the day, though, it was a prosperous suburb of an important city with more than a thousand dwellings and earthen pyramids just like those of Cahokia.
Now there are plans to build a new bridge across the Mississippi at this spot. It’s hoped that the bridge will bring desperately needed visitors and investment from St. Louis, Missouri, into this part of East St. Louis, Illinois. Archaeologists are feverishly working ahead of the bulldozers to learn about this important period of America’s. They’d like to see at least some of the land preserved for a historical park but are pessimistic about their prospects.
[Image courtesy Herb Roe]
Earlier this week, Wyoming Senator Mike Enzi introduced a bill to congress that seeks to make the bison America’s “national mammal.” The bill, which is officially titled the National Bison Legacy Act, was brought before lawmakers at the request of the Wildlife Conservation Society and seems to have wide support from both sides of aisle.
If the act becomes law, the bison would be granted a similar status as the bald eagle, the oak tree and the rose as official national symbols of the United States. Beyond that there would be very little direct effect, although that doesn’t deter the sponsors of the bill. They see the bison as an important part of American heritage dating back to a time when only Native Americans occupied the region.
The bison is the largest land animal in North America and their vast herds once numbered in the millions. At their peak, those herds covered the Great Plains, ranging from the Rocky Mountains to as far east as the Appalachians. But as settlers moved west the animals were hunted for their meat and fur, bringing them to the brink of extinction. In the early 1900s President Teddy Roosevelt, working with several conservation groups, played an instrumental role in saving them from that fate. Today the bison population is estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands, some of which are domesticated, and healthy herds can be found in places like Yellowstone and Grand Tetons National Parks.
Although this piece of legislation doesn’t carry much weight, supporters say that it will still make American’s more aware of the role the bison has played in the country’s history and will help create support for further protecting the creatures and their natural environments.
This Photo of the Day comes from Gadling Flickr pool member James Wheeler who captured the image in Vancouver, B.C., using a Nikon D5000. The image is titled “Rocky Road.”
James added this caption to the image: “Although there are a lot of sandy beaches in Vancouver, a lot of the shoreline around the city is covered in rocks that are exposed during low tide like in this photo.”
Upload your best shots to the Gadling Group Pool on Flickr. Several times a week we choose our favorite images from the pool as Photos of the Day.
Tips for getting featured: in your Flickr account, check “Privacy and Permissions,” and check “yes” on “Allow others to share your stuff.” Adding information about your image does not hurt your chances either.
