The Ordnance Survey Outdoors Show

by Adrienne Wilson on

Returning on March
17-19, 2006, the Ordnance Survey Outdoors Show, one of the
biggest outdoors show in Europe will be held at the NEC in Birmingham. Comprised of some really awesome specialist
shows, adventure enthusiasts can find in a fit in almost every category. Climbers can check out the BMC Climb 2006 show featuring a mountain theater packed with
inspirational stories from mountaineers and climbers and beginners can test their skills in climb zone and rock cafe.
Aside from the climbers paradise other speciality shows include the Go Diving! 2006, Canoe 2006, Adventure Travel Show,
and Adventure Sports Show. While all the shows offer fascinating trip planning tips and methods to perfect your
adventure travel hobbies one that seems highly worth making the trip to Birmingham is within the Go Diving! show.

The British Underwater Image Festival will highlight
the underwater works of professional television documentary makers to first-time photographers with a fetish for
photographing great whites, schools of fish or sea coral. 50 of the best prints will be exhibited in a special area of
the Go Diving! show and six finalists from the film categories will have their work shown over the course of Friday and
Saturday. Underwater pictures are always cool to check out, especially for the non-diver like myself who may never
experience these sea worlds.

Best Travel Blog: Vote for Us!

by Erik Olsen on

Hey, there’s nothing like a
shameless pitch. This site called the Travel Bloggers
Network is holding a "Best Travel Blog" contest where readers can select the best site out there…or at
least among the ones listed.

Gadling is one
of the listed sites and we’d be mighty grateful if you could feel it in your hearts to go there and vote for us. Why?
Because every day we work our fingers down to the cuticle to bring you the best news and recommendations for travel.
Travel is something we are passionate about, and we hope it shows.

So do us a favor if you are able and go
over and vote. From all of us here at Gadling: thank you!

Martinique Carnival & Festivals

by Adrienne Wilson on

This week I’m going to step away from all my Trinidad frenzy and do a little island hopping. Martinique is the
second place in the Caribbean I’d personally like to visit the most. Unsure of what exactly draws me to this particular
island paradise, I do know there are a lot of activities for all visitors. Martinique’s carnival runs from February 25 – March 1,
2006 and details can be found on their tourism site. Even though it seems as if I’m all wild over playing mas in
carnival I’m not so sure I’d want to take part in Martinique’s. Nothing against the affair. It’s probably a little
tamer in comparison to Trinidad’s, but I’d be more interested in investigating the French culture, shops, and
restaurants. A full calendar of events taking place
over the year is also available and from the looks there are many boat races, yacht shows, drum, rum and fish
festivals. What more could you ask for on a perfectly sunny day?

(Photo from Martinique-Photos)

The Year of Outdoor Alabama

by Adrienne Wilson on

Last year Alabama was all
about rolling up the sleeves and digging into good, old-fashioned, down home, in the back woods Alabama food as well as many nuevo cuisines. Must
have been an extreme amount of good eating going on because now they want you to work it off in the great outdoors.
2006 has been declared the year of ‘Outdoor Alabama’ by Gov. Bob Riley
according to this piece from the Mobile
Register. After a visit to the Alabama tourism site it’s very clear why the decision was made to make the focus on
being out and about. Any type of outdoor enthusiast is bound to find an activity or environment perfect for their
needs. Check out the beaches on the Gulf Shore or spend a day in Northern Alabama’s caves. Hang out with the birds, on a hunt, campground,
trail or with your
camera on some of the state’s most scenic drives.

As a child I loved getting lost in early afternoon
strolls through woodsy trails near the house. Red clay mounds and small hills were an added bonus when I either wanted
to get dirty or tuck myself into a ball and tumble down the soft earth from a rolling hill nearby. They existed mostly
in the neighbors yards and spending hours on their property without getting caught was the adventure. Thanks for all
the swell memories outdoors Alabama!

Kayak Fishing: Canoe Kayak Magazine

by Erik Olsen on

I’ve posted about kayak fishing before, and have mentioned a few sites here and there, but I realized recently
that I was remiss in not mentioning the microsite done by Canoe and Kayak Magazine.

This is one of my favorite magazines around. I still pick it up pretty regularly at the magazine stand because it’s
always got informative pieces on kayaking including destination ideas, as well as gear reviews and so on. But kayak
fishing is really becoming a big deal.

I did some fine kayak fishing in Alaska a few years ago, and hooked a small King from my boat. Granted this was not
a specifically-outfitted kayak, so I ended up with slime and scales all over myself because I had to store the big guy
down by my feet. But boy, it made good eating. Anyway, give a look over at the magazines section, and read some of the
articles there like this one on lobster kayak fishing. As
Homer Simpson might say, hmmmm, lobster.