Disruptive passenger arrested in Denver after bomb threat

by Tom Johansmeyer on

A disruptive passenger was arrested at Denver International Airport this past weekend when he said he had a bomb. The passenger was late for a flight to Salt Lake City, missed the connection and left his luggage on the plane. After being “disruptive in the gate area” and making inappropriate comments,” a United Airlines spokesman told CNN, the passenger claimed he had a bomb in his bag.

This was enough to get the plane back to the gate – not to mention the bag off the plane. This was followed by an hour-long delay while the incident was investigated by the authorities.

Now, the passenger is being charged with interfering with public transportation. A trip to the Denver jail is in his future, according to the report.

[photo by cliff1066 via Flickr]

Weekend travel media top five

by Alex Robertson Textor on

Among the best travel stories this last weekend of October: emerging Armenia, undervisited Northern Vietnam, a rail journey across China, top spots to celebrate Halloween (start your research for Halloween 2011 here!), and a wine-free tour of St. Helena, California.

1. In the Financial Times, Teresa Levonian Coles writes about the emergence of Armenia as a tourist destination. Her piece is inspiring and right on the curve. Armenia (along with neighbors Georgia and just possibly an apparently unwilling Azerbaijan) are moving into the tourist limelight.

2. In the New York Times, Jennifer Bleyer writes a piece on Northern Vietnam, providing an exciting window into an underexplored region of ethnic diversity and few tourists.

3. In the Globe and Mail, Mitch Moxley takes an entertaining ten-day journey across China by train, from Beijing to the southern tip of the country and then back again.

4. In the Los Angeles Times, Judy Mandell writes about top Halloween destinations.

5. In the San Francisco Chronicle, Spud Hilton attempts the near-impossible with a wine-free tour of St. Helena, Calfornia.

[Image: retlaw snellac / Flickr]

Scandal as hundreds of historic treasures go missing

by Sean McLachlan on


An audit of the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission has revealed that more than 1,800 historic artifacts can’t be found. Officials aren’t sure what happened to them but assume many have been stolen and others misfiled.

Missing treasures include a Kentucky rifle like those pictured above, an Ottoman ring that’s almost 800 years old, one-of-a-kind paintings and photographs, and other irreplaceable objects.

Officials hope most are simply lost in the system, which has been added to for almost a century with various filing systems being in vogue at different times, making for much confusion and sometimes leaving an artifact with more than one accession number, or the same number being used for more than one object. Anyone who has worked with historic archives will be familiar with this annoying phenomenon. Archives and museums rarely have enough funding to do a complete overhaul of the system and therefore problems get compounded over the years. The Pennsylvania commission has been especially hard hit by budget cuts, seeing its funding reduced from $58 million to $26 million in the past four years.

Another problem is theft. Artifacts such as Civil War memorabilia or an image of Daniel Boone (another MIA) can attract big money in the illegal antiquities trade. This encourages thefts from Paris to Baghdad. I conduct research at Madrid’s Biblioteca Nacional and security there was upped a couple of years ago after they caught a guy cutting out 17th century maps from old atlases and selling them on the black market. This sort of selfishness is great for private collectors who don’t mind breaking the law, but bad for the general public who have their nation’s legacy taken from them.

[Photo courtesy Antique Military Rifles]

Katrina exhibit opens in New Orleans

by Sean McLachlan on

It was the most catastrophic event in New Orleans history. Hurricane Katrina destroyed large swathes of the city and left hundreds of thousands homeless. Now the Louisiana State Museum has opened an exhibit chronicling the natural disasters that have visited New Orleans, culminating in the most recent and worst.

Living with Hurricanes: Katrina and Beyond, a 6,700 square-foot multimedia exhibition, opened this week. The show traces the history of the city’s relationship to the elements and explores how such disasters can be averted in the future. Interactive displays show how hurricanes form, why they are so prevalent in the Gulf, and how Katrina broke the levees and caused such widespread destruction.

Many individual stories are told, like that of Ken Ballau, who used his boat to rescue four hundred stranded civilians. His boat is part of the display. Claudio Hemb’s jeans are exhibited too. Thinking he was going to die, Hemb wrote his and his wife’s names, her phone number in Houston, his social security number and blood type on his pants so his body could be identified and his wife informed.

The museum hopes the exhibit will act as a catharsis for New Orleans residents, as well as educational for the thousands of out-of-towners who visit the museum every year.

[Image courtesy U.S. Coast Guard]

Viceroy Snowmass offers ski season bargains

by Kraig Becker on

With over 20 inches of snow already on the ground, and more in the forecast soon, luxury ski resort Viceroy Snowmass, located near Aspen, Colorado, is preparing for the ski season ahead. In order to entice both early and late season visitors, the mountain resort is offering a great deal that include pampering both on and off the slopes.

Viceroy has announced that visitors who book three or more nights between November 25 and December 22 of this year, or between January 4 and March 31, 2011, will receive $150 in credit per night of their stay, which can be used for a variety of options during their visit. For instance, those credits can be applied to ski and snowboard rentals, lift tickets, lessons, or even spa treatments. Rooms start at $225 per night and go up to $675 for a luxurious studio lodge.

Viceroy Snowmass opened in November of 2009, creating a new standard for luxury ski resorts in Colorado. In addition to their world class skiing and snowboarding runs, visitors can take part in cross country skiing, snowshoeing, ice skating, snowmobiling, and more. And when visitors are done playing in the mountains, they can rest and recuperate in the 7000 square foot spa and treat themselves to a gourmet meal in one of the resort’s fine restaurants, and after dinner they can retire to their comfortable and well equipped rooms. The Viceroy’s 173 ski-in/ski-out accommodations include fireplaces, HDTV’s, private sundecks, and much, much more.

The Viceroy isn’t just a winter destination however, as there are plenty of things to do there all year round. Visit during the warmer months and you’ll be treated to some excellent hiking trails, gondola served mountain biking, horseback riding, fly-fishing, paragliding and plenty of other outdoor adventures.

To learn more about Viceroy Snowmass and to book your visit, click here.