Photo of the day 7.13.09

by Karen Walrond on


Today, after a wonderful week in New York City, my family and I return to Houston. I must admit, I’m sort of looking forward to getting back home, crashing on my family room couch, sleeping in my own bed — even despite leaving New York’s wonderfully temperate weather for the hot, humid summer back home. So today, I thought I’d look for a photo that captured the sticky beauty of Houston — and I think Theodore Scott’s image above, shared in the Gadling Flickr pool does just that, don’t you?

If you’ve got some great travel shots you’d love to share, be sure to upload them to the Gadling pool on Flickr. We might just pick one as our Photo of the Day.

Gadlinks for Monday 7.13.09

by Brenda Yun on


Well, it’s Monday, and it’s back to the grind for most of us. I, however, am down with the flu and am writing this from bed. I hope the rest of you are having a more healthy day. Here are the latest travel stories from the world wide web.

‘Til tomorrow, have a great evening.

More Gadlinks HERE.

Famous Pittsburgh Morse code landmark actually spells Pitetsbkrrh

by Scott Carmichael on

Since March 1929, the 33 story Grant building in downtown Pittsburgh has been home to a huge flashing beacon, using Morse code to spell the word “Pittsburgh”. The beacon was installed so aviators could avoid the 500 foot structure, even though commercial air travel was not well established upon completion of the tower.

When Tom Stepleton was waiting for the local Fourth of July fireworks show to begin, he started decoding the Morse code message, but to his amazement, he noticed the flashing blink of the letter “K”. Since there is no K in Pittsburgh, he decoded the rest of the message, and discovered that the landmark was actually spelling “Pitetsbkrrh”.

It isn’t clear how long the beacon had been relaying the incorrect message, but the building’s current owners are aware of the mistake.

Mr. Stepleton is a recreational pilot, and even though the FAA no longer requires pilots to master Morse code, it isn’t too hard to learn. The correct beacon flash pattern should be “.–. .. – – … -… ..- .-. –. …. “. If you want to learn more about Morse code, or if you’d just like to mess around with it, and see your own name in Morse, check out this fun online Morse code decoder/encoder.
UPDATE: Now the building is flashing “TPEBTSAURGH”

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$18 rooms at The Copley Square Hotel!

by Annie Scott on

The Copley Square Hotel, Boston will be celebrating it’s 118th birthday tomorrow. What does this mean for you? Uber-cheap rates!

Starting at 1:18 pm ET and lasting 118 minutes, the Boston luxury hotel will offer rooms at $18 per night — up to 5 rooms per night (from July 14 until September 24, 2009) will be available for $18, and at least five more will be available for $118.

These rooms are going to be first come first serve, so be sure to visit their website right away at 1:18. The deal can only be booked through the website.

The Copley Square Hotel is Boston’s second oldest hotel, and just underwent at $18 million renovation. The property is environmentally friendly, WiFi equipped (complimentary), and has MP3 players, a fitness center and three venues for food and cocktails. Babe Ruth, President McKinley, Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald have all stayed at The Copley Square Hotel.

Rates at this classy hotel normally average $265 – $590, so this is quite a bargain and a great excuse to visit Boston! Visit Copley Square Hotel Birthday Celebration for more information.

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Save $400 by going to the beach … I wish it were always this easy!

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Hilton’s trying to make it as easy as possible for you to soak up the sun this summer. Its new deal in Puerto Rico will set you up with a free fourth night if you pay for three. Even better: the three nights that will cost you only start at $139 each. All in, you’re saving up to $400 a trip. Resort credits are offered for golf, dining, spa treatments and other activities.

And, it keeps getting better. You could also pick up a bonus certificate for a free night down the road if you book by July 15, 2009.

The four participating hotels are solid: El San Juan Hotel & Casino, The Waldorf Astoria Collection; El Conquistador Resort & Spa, The Waldorf Astoria Collection; Conrad San Juan Condado Plaza and Caribe Hilton, San Juan. So, it’s not like you’re being given a low price at a low-end hotel. This is strictly top shelf.

The catch? The promotion’s only good through the end of September.