GADLING’S TAKE FIVE: Week of August 6

by Adrienne Wilson on

End of the week means it’s time for a quick review. Pay close attention as Erik and Neil both part ways with their latest travel installments, but let’s not babble and jump right to it, okay!

5. Balkan Odyssey Part 24: The End:
Looks as if Neil’s Balkan days are numbered and in his farewell blog he still does a damn fine job of highlighting while summing up his incredible fantastic voyage. I’m sad to see it end here, but I’m sure there will be more travels and features like this one headed our way.

4. Mermaids of the Weeki Wachee Springs:
Who here can honestly tell me they’ve never wanted to see a real live mermaid? I’m well past the suggested age of (believing in) fairytales, but I think this show is fabulous for kids and the kid at heart. The mermaids might not be in Florida’s Weeki Wachee Springs much longer, which is why I bring the topic to your attention a second time anyway. Don’t let this attraction swim away before you get there.

3. Gadling Audio Slideshow: Newfoundland Part III:
And yet another so-long, farewell piece from Erik this time as he wraps up his great Newfoundland adventure. Be sure to watch the first two first if you’re just checking in on this last showcase.

2. Alaska’s Seward Highway:
Does Erik have a way of picking up on some good travel pieces or what? This one on Alaska’s Seward highway has you virtually traveling to incredible photo galleries and a guide provided by Alaska.com on the highway itself. So awesome!

1. Top Ten Scenic Routes from the Sky:
If you’re the type that begs and demands window seats on flights you’ll probably want to know where some of the most scenic window seat routes are from 35,000 feet above. Neil points out this Telegraph piece on some of the top 10 and the readers follow right behind by leaving what they think are the best from above. Really cool read if you ask me.

Paddle Exumas

by Erik Olsen on

Been giving a lot of thought lately to my next paddling expedition. I think Greenland is at the top of the list, but I just came across this piece on paddling in the Bahamas that got me pretty fired up. Oh, man, how great would that be? The nice thing about the Bahamas is how close they are. It’s a hop, skip ad a jump flight to get there and not too expensive. The Exumas are an island group in the Bahamas where the paddling is said to be superb. They like about 220 miles southeast of Miami and make up an archipelago of boating bliss consists of 365 little cays. The waters are aquamarine, the sun shines down brightly almost all the time, and the paddling is said to be wondrous. The article is a bit long, but you’ll read it and, paraphrasing Pink Floyd, Wish you were there.

Gadling Audio Slideshow: Newfoundland Part III

by Erik Olsen on

Took a few days to pull this together, but here is the third and final installment of my Newfoundland audio slide shows. This last one takes us out sea kayaking once again in the lovely waters of Newfoundland, and in particular near the town of Trinity. The first trip out, with the good folks at Stan Cook’s, was delightful, but alas we saw no whales. This time out, however, things were different, and we not only spied a few humpbacks on the horizon, the leviathans came right up to us. Now THAT’s what sea kayaking is all about my friends.

So, I hope you take a look and once again excuse the cheesy music. And if you couldn’t tell, I am a big advocate of Newfoundland…at least in the summer. It is a lovely, culturally rich place. The perfect mix of adventuresome getaway and enriching cultural experience very close to home.

See the other audio Slide shows:
Part I
Part II
Part III

GADLING’S TAKE FIVE: Week of July 30

by Adrienne Wilson on

What a week! Not that all weeks aren’t a little something special here at Gadling, but you know. Maybe you don’t know? Maybe you missed all of our goodies this week? Maybe you missed only a few? Tsk-tsk. Well here’s a few to review:

5. Builda Yurt:
Of all things seen on Gadling – why would I point to this Builda Yurt blurb? Because I agree with Erik. Because Yurts are cool. Besides it’s a fun plug on the Yurt craze and if you’ve been paying attention you’d know that the holidays are just around the corner. Is a Yurt on your wish list? Should be.

4. Balkan Odyssey Part 16: Ulcinj, Montenegro:
Gotta love how Neil keeps every detail coming from his last adventure to the Balkans. He started with Albania and has worked his way into Montenegro with this post. More specifically, he describes the waiting-to-be-discovered beach resort that is Ulcinj. If you have to ask why – then you need to check out this excellent piece. The pictures are phenomenal.

3. Top Haunted Hikes:
Reading about some of our National Park’s top haunted trails really spooked me out. I wouldn’t want to imagine what walking the path of one on a dark starry night (lost, without a map, and a coyote’s howl) in the distance would be like. Spine-tingling indeed. Yosemite, Big Bend and Grand Canyon are all there. See what other parks made the haunted list.

2. Transparent Kayak:
See-through canoe-kayak, yeah – insanely awesome. Erik points out a fine piece equipment in the gear world and though it ain’t too cheap makes you want to start saving for one. Seats two people and it is really transparent. Check it out.

1. Havasupai:
With this one you almost wish Neil didn’t go running his trap about how grand the Havasupai Canyon located about 40 miles from the Grand Canyon is, but at the same time you’ve somehow placed it high on your list of destinations to go. If it sounds too hot for you to trek to these days, then you obviously weren’t put onto the cool blue Havasu Creek. Miss this piece again and that’s just your loss pal.

Canoe/Kayak Reader Photo Contest

by Erik Olsen on

Those looking for some luscious and lovely reader-submitted photos of people paddling…well, you have to look no further than this site over at Canoe and Kayak Magazine. Some of the pictures here are doozies. The one I’ve posted here alone is worrth the price of admission.