Enter Gadling’s “Perfect Road Trip” Contest!

by Willy Volk on

Yesterday, we announced Gadling’s “Perfect Road Trip” contest, a fantabulous contest in which Gadling is partnering with Cadillac to send one lucky winner (and a friend!) on his or her perfect road trip, all expenses paid. All you have to do is describe your favorite road trip, and if you’re selected as the winner, Cadillac will provide —

  • airfare for you and a friend from your home(s) to the start of your road trip destination;
  • a new Cadillac SRX to drive for the duration of a the road trip (sorry, you have to give it back at the end of the trip);
  • money for fuel and expenses along the way (think: hotel and meals);
  • airfare from the road trip’s end point back to your home.

Here’s how the contest works —

  1. In the comments below, leave a comment telling us about your favorite road trip. (Please: no months-long trips here; the road trip may only be two days long, but that’s PLENTY of time to, say, cruise the Florida Keys.)
  2. You don’t have to have been on the road trip before — it can be one you’re dreaming about — but try to be specific. Make us drool over your imagined itinerary. (Hint: the prize will be available in September, so try to think of a relevant destination — and that destination must be in the Continental US.)
  3. You can only leave one road trip suggestion, so choose wisely. Successive road trip ideas will remain visible on the site, however, for other people to dream about.
  4. All submissions must be left by July 22, 2009, at 5pm EST, in order to be considered.
  5. Gadling’s road trip gurus will choose the 5 best road trip ideas from those left in the comments.
  6. We’ll present Gadling’s readers with the list early next week, and they’ll vote on which is the best road trip — and therefore, who should be the winner of the contest.
  7. Leaving a comment below constitutes having read, understood, and agreed to the complete rules (link is a PDF).

Good luck.

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Gadlinks for Friday 6.12.09

by Brenda Yun on


It’s Aloha Friday as they say here on the islands — and a very special Friday at that! Today marks the beginning of the 62nd annual King Kamehameha Day festivities in Hawaii, so you can count on me enjoying the parade, draping ceremony, fun, and sun that lasts through the weekend.

Here are some other cool “happenings” going on in the travel blogosphere to jump start your weekend:

Have a great weekend, Gadlinkers. ‘Til Monday, aloha…

For past Gadlinks, click HERE.

Summer road trip must-have: Mobile TV from AT&T

by Annie Scott on

There are more and more things you can do on your phone.

My purse keeps getting lighter — I can access my Google Calendar from my mobile phone, with the use of a memory card I can record audio interviews or even make videos, and some cell phone cameras are already as good as the best cameras we could get just a couple years ago (like the Samsung Memoir). I am always a fan of technology being used to lighten our loads.

Well here’s a new addition to the world of the all-in-one device: Mobile TV from AT&T. This is a must-have for summer road trips, as now you can watch TV wherever there’s reception across the country. Yep, from the car.

Now, some of you have been using the internet or portable DVD players from the car already, but with this service, you don’t have to plan your entertainment ahead, and you don’t have to get out another device — the TV is your phone, and anywhere you could be making a phone call, you can also be tuning in.

What kind of TV can you get? Full length programs from CBS, Comedy Central, FOX, NBC, MTV, Nickelodeon, and live games on ESPN, to name a few. The channel browser looks just like the one you probably have at home; the grid where you scroll and select programs.

The service is available on AT&T’s LG Vu, Samsung Eternity, Samsung Access, and LG Invision, and you can get it either for $15 per month (unlimited), or along with unlimited data access (e-mail and web browsing) for $30 per month.

We certainly don’t recommend watching the morning news in traffic on your daily commute (though surely some fool will), but for the passenger on a long drive? This is an awesome service. Also, we hardly need to mention that this is airport and any-kind-of-waiting-room gold. Even in a bar where they’re not showing the game you want to see, AT&T’s Mobile TV service is gonna rock.

For more info, check out the FAQ here.

Budget Summer vacation from Chicago – the Wisconsin Dells

by Scott Carmichael on

You can’t really talk about budget destinations from Chicago, without mentioning the Wisconsin Dells. The Dells are a 3 hour drive from Chicagoland. The area itself is best described as “middle of nowhere”, about 40 miles north of Madison.

The Dells call themselves “the waterpark capital of the world”, and rightfully so – most of their hotels have built themselves around their own massive waterparks, and even the smallest motel will have at least one indoor pool.

There are two times of year in the Dells – Summer and “the rest”. Sure, you can visit the Dells in the period from November-April, but most attractions will be closed. That said, the downtime is when you’ll find the best deals at resorts in the Dells, and since the weather will suck anyway, it’s a great time to stay indoors and enjoy the amenities offered on-site. You’ll pretty much have to, because almost everything else will be closed.

Memorial day is when the Dells really comes to life – all the major attractions will be open, and most resorts will have their outdoor water attractions ready for the nice weather.Where to stay

Finding somewhere to stay in the Dells is probably the easiest part of your trip – the Dells are home to loads of different types of motels, hotels, resorts and megaresorts. Your choice will probably come down to budget and availability.

The large waterparks have 100’s of rooms, but even they fill up quickly in the Summer. A great resort to consider if you have younger kids, is the Great Wolf Lodge. The lodge has all the amenities of the larger resorts, but in a smaller and more friendly environment. That said, older kids will probably need some more excitement, so be sure to check out the Kalahari resort or the Wilderness resort. A great place to find hotels in the Dells is the website of the Wisconsin Dells visitor bureau.

If the upcoming weather forecast shows bad stuff on the way, you’ll appreciate being able to stay indoors in the larger waterparks. Just remember that some of the resorts do not allow non-residents to use their waterparks, so if you find yourself stuck at a hotel with a single pool and a small slide, you’ll need to go elsewhere for your fun.

Not everything in the Dells is targeted towards family fun – the Sundara Spa and Resort is an adults only spa with very upscale rooms and secluded villas. Of course, the resort offers full spa services, and the entire facility is located far away from the noise and distractions from the rest of the Dells. A perfect place for couples to relax.


Things to do in the Dells

If there is one thing the Dells does not have a shortage of, it’s things to do. In fact, during the Summer, there are so many attractions, that you can easily plan a 5 day trip and never be bored. Here are a couple of hightlights:

The Original Dells Ducks / Dells Army Ducks

The Dells is home to 2 different Ducks companies – The Original Wisconsin Ducks and the Dells Army Ducks. Both offer land/water rides in retired Army DUKW vehicles.

Rides on the Dells Army Ducks are not cheap – $23 for adults and $13 for kids, but if you order online, you’ll save $2 per ticket. Rides on the Original Wisconsin Ducks are $23 for adults, and $11.50 for kids.

The Ducks tour itself is fantastic – you’ll spend about half of the one hour ride in the forest, and the rest going up the river. The forest ride is pretty bumpy. The highlight of one of my rides was getting stuck on a sandbank, thankfully the companies have dedicated ducks to relieve a “stuck duck”.

Before spending money on the ducks – be sure to check out the other water rides offered in the Dells, for the same amount of money, you can take a jet boat ride or a slower river boat ride. The river boat tour is perfect for those with younger kids, or people who just want to relax.

Pirates Cove adventure golf and family fun center

Mini golf doesn’t get any bigger than the original Pirates Cove – this attraction has the largest mini golf park in North America, offering 5 different 18 hole courses on the side of a hill. At just $7.75 per round, it is very nicely priced. Mini golf fanatics can even buy a ticket for all 5 courses for $23. Kids under 5 play for free.

The family fun center offers good clean fun for families with kids – a bouncing pillow, pedal carts, jumping basketball and a sand/sun play area can all be enjoyed for just $6, or just $12.55 as a combination ticket with a round of mini golf.

Downtown Dells

The Downtown Dells area is your typical tourist village main street. It’s where you’ll find numerous t-shirt stores, chain restaurants and of course candy stores.

Sadly, many of the stores have recently closed, most likely more victims of the poor economy. That said, there is still plenty to do, as long as you resist the urge to buy tacky t-shirts or other stuff you’ll regret once you get back home.

Noah’s Ark waterpark

Noah’s Ark is one of several stand alone water parks in the Dells. The park offer over 40 different wet and dry attractions, including the longest water slide in the country. The park has been rated one of the best waterparks in the country by the Travel Channel for the past 8 years.

Admission to Noah’s Ark is $34.99 for adults and kids are 20% off. Children under 2 are free. If you need a second day, you can add that for $17.50.

Mount Olympus water & theme park

With almost 50 attractions, Mount Olympus is another “must visit” in the Dells. The park is split between a massive outdoor pool area and a large indoor pool/theme park. The park is hard to miss, thanks to its massive wooden coaster.

Admission to Mount Olympus is $39.99 for an indoor/outdoor combo ticket.

Circus World

Circus World is just up the road from the Dells, in Baraboo. This attrac
tion is part museum and part fully operational circus. During the Summer months, you’ll find circus performances all day long. Younger kids can create their own performance in the original Ringling Bros. Elephant House. Of course, no visit to the Circus would be complete without popcorn, cotton candy and hot dogs from the Cookhouse Grill.

Admission to Circus World is $14.95 for adults, and $7.95 for kids 5-11.

Other things to see and do

Here are some of the other things to do when in the Dells – Just up the road from the Dells is the massive Ho-Chunk Casino, a 24 hour casino with over 2400 slot machines and tables. The casino even features daycare for parents who want to drop the little ones off for a couple of hours, while they lose their cash.

The Tommy Bartlett show has been entertaining Dells visitors since the early 70’s, and it was Tommy Bartlett himself who helped make the Wisconsin Dells the tourist destination it is today. Shows are held twice daily in the summer. Admission is $16 for adults and $9 for kids.

Tommy Bartlett also operates the “Exploratory“, which is part science museum, part kids museum. Sadly, the museum is quite outdated, and older kids will most likely not be too impressed with it. That said – the Exploratory is the only place in the world where you’ll find a real full size MIR space station, purchased by the facility from the Russians. Admission to the Exploratory is $12 for adults and $9 for kids.

Shopaholics will love the Tanger Outlet center located in the same area as most of the big resorts. The outlet is home to a Disney store, a Coach Factory Outlet, and even a Build-a-bear.

And finally, if the weather does not cooperate, check out the massive indoor amusement park at Knuckleheads or the recently opened theme park at the Kalahari resort.

If you really want to turn your trip into a road trip, then take advantage of some of the attractions on the way to the Wisconsin Dells – I recommend heading West when you reach Madison for a trip to the Cave of the Mounds and the House on the Rock. That same area is also home to Taliesen, the Frank Lloyd Wright landmark.

Here is a quick link to a map of the area:

On the road with the Lincoln MKS

by Grant Martin on

When Ford contacted us about taking Lincoln’s new MKS out for a test drive, I thought that they had the wrong website. Autoblog, our sister site, takes care of all things automotive, and they would certainly be better equipped to handle a test drive. And in addition to being an airplane person, well, I’m not a very good driver.

But they made a good point: everyone on Autoblog has seen the MKS a dozen times and travelers go on road trips too. The content is just as valid. Further, since I was driving across the state of Michigan several times for Easter weekend I had ample time to test the vehicle out. So I agreed to take a look. But I made no promises about editorial content.

For those (myself included) among us that are not in the vehicle testing circles, I first have to comment on the kick of getting a test vehicle delivered. A third party company in the greater Detroit area handles the entire transaction, calling you before delivery and dropping off the vehicle wherever you want. They came to my office one sunny morning with a Mercury chase car and a pleasant woman tossed me a set of keys, asked me to sign a form and disappeared within five minutes. I was left with a bright red MKS for the weekend to do with as I pleased. Road tripping across Michigan over several days seemed like a good opportunity to acquaint myself.

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As luxury vehicles go, the MKS has all of the amenities that one comes to expect: a smooth, quiet ride, powerful V6 engine, heated and cooled comfortable, leather seats, wood trim, push-button starting and embedded navigation. Where I was surprised was in the features above and beyond.

Microsoft Sync is installed in the vehicle, and navigating though the touch screen AV system I was easily able to link up my iPhone via it’s Bluetooth link. Thus, for the duration of the trip when someone called the phone in my pocket the music automatically turned down and the call when through the speakers. Similarly, if I wanted to make a call I just pressed the talk button on the steering wheel and annunciated “DIAL” etc etc. Audio quality was decent, and I only lost one caller who happened to be inside of the noisy Detroit Metro Airport.

In fact, much of the interior control was handled from the steering wheel, including adjustment and selection of the MP3 audio system that I was constantly grazing about. It’s a nice feature that many manufacturers overlook.

Though hardly necessary, there is also a backup camera and very sensitive parking system that automatically beeps with increasing intensity as you approach a stationary object. This makes parallel parking a breeze, though it’s strange getting used to looking down instead of behind you when backing up.

Part of the MKS features I learned from the simple transition from my Audi TT – that is, the complete opposite in suspension and handling. Pulling onto I-94 on my maiden voyage to Buffalo Wild Wings, I got up to cruising speed and proceeded to start messing with the navigation. Only when my passenger pointed out that I was driving 95MPH did I realize that I was speeding – I had assumed my normal “comfort speed” as tuned to the TT on the expressway. That same vibration and feel was 20 MPH faster in the MKS.

Of the road trip? I enjoyed seamless navigation, an excellent ride and ultimate comfort as I drove from Ann Arbor to Kalamazoo to South Haven to Flint to Detroit in a head turning, modern car. My weekend couldn’t have been spent in a better piece of machinery. Oh and about the bad driver comment? I was lucky enough to get through the entire state without getting any speeding tickets or bumping into anything. My girlfriend? Not so lucky.