GADLING’S TAKE FIVE: Week of December 31

With so many interesting stories coming out and into the New Year it made selecting this week’s five a bit difficult, yet I think I’ve gathered a well-rounded batch for you to review.

5. Think Before You Click:

Here is the sad tale of a German tourist who accidentally booked a ticket and flew into Sidney, Montana when he actually wanted to go to Sydney, Australia. The lucky fellow was able to make it to his intended destination with the help of family and friends, but talk about a costly mistake! Ouch.

4. Ask The Pilot:
Looking for the answer to all your flying questions? Why not “Ask the Pilot” or pick up the book to see if your question happens to make the selection of commonly pondered questions.

3. Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum:
When a former president is no longer with us it is a big deal to say the least and many feel the need to pay some sort of tribute. The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum is just one place to start or perhaps you can think and thank him on your way from the ATM as he was the dude that made it legal to pull money from a machine. Not as grand as a trip to the museum, but its just a thought.

2. Paddling Baja Dispatch: Day 2:

After another great trip, Erik returns to share with us the details of paddling Baja. In this dispatch he talks about his guide Carlos, jagged coastlines, incredible rock formations, Mexican food, and rum and of course he does the favor of including some very cool photos from the affair. There is more to come, but in the meanwhile catch up on this if you already haven’t.

1. Chinese Shish Kabobs:
Death-wish or delicious? I don’t know about the food found in the pictures from Neil’s pal Pete, but I do know they make my skin crawl to the point where these Chinese shish kabob would be staying far from the taste-buds and only close enough for photo ops. Do proceed with caution.

Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum

Thanks to Roadside America those wanting to pay homage to President Ford can head out to Grand Rapids, Michigan, home of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum. Their write-up on the attraction is so superb I feel like I’ve already made the journey there myself. Seriously! According to their notes the museum was nothing more than a presidential bore up until 1997 (ten years back) when millions in cash poured in and enabled the place to get a much needed face-lift. Now visitors can experience light shows, surround-sound, and holographs. Included in their Sight-of-the-Week feature are some pretty nice photos from the inside which show shots of the faceless Betty Ford dummies modeling her hairstyles at the time and a picture of an ATM set into a wall. For those who do not know, Ford was the president who signed the legislation that made it legal to get money from a machine.

How my mind has expanded so much from just reading this piece! If you don’t have plans to go and don’t plan on making plans at least plan on visiting the Roadside America site sometime sooner than later. If you do plan to go or have been, please share your thoughts.