On the road with Mauiva AirCruise: Part I

by Kirsten Alana on

I’m a card-carrying frequent flyer, refer to airports by their three digit codes and know the exact ritual to go through before I can clear a TSA checkpoint and be allowed to put my shoes back on. The shine has worn off though, and the flying portion of travel is now a chore. But still enjoyable is the feeling I get when I am up in the air and looking down at the ground so rapidly passing beneath me.

Once upon a time my belief was that flying commercial was the only alternative should I decide against passage by train, bus, car or boat. Putting up with the pains of flying commercial? A necessary evil. Enter Mauiva AirCruise and a whole new world of plane travel.

The morning I depart for my All American East tour with Mauiva, it’s pre-dawn in New York City but I’m on a private charter bus and the still-sleeping Upper West Side soon gives way to Harlem and then the Bronx and before I know it we’re in Westchester. Already, this is so unlike my usual combination of trains and taxis and struggling with luggage through bustling city streets. At the private airport in Westchester, I don’t have to wait before I’m able to help myself to free coffee. Instead of hours, it is minutes before I’m driven through the gates, coffee still in hand, and onto a Tarmac right next to my waiting plane. I board and we’ve taken off before I even have a chance to soak in the fact that no one ever demanded I take off my shoes. Once up in the air, I’m served breakfast that’s fresh and recognizable, given a choice of any newspaper I could possibly want to read. The flight attendant calls me by name. I hardly have time to think about how long this journey might take before we’re down on the ground again, ushered into another private bus, again waiting for us on the tarmac while we watch our bags being transferred for us.

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By day two of my Mauiva AirCruise experience, I’m struggling to remember why flying had become such a chore. I think to myself, “Isn’t flying amazing?” and to my fellow passengers I quip, “I could get used to this.” Still, we walk a lot during the day in cities like Toronto, Lancaster, and Washington DC where I get the feeling we’re leaving no stone unturned. By the time I reach my hotel room each evening to find my bags are waiting for me, it’s rare that I have the energy to swim a few laps in the hotel pool or enjoy a cocktail in the bar. Though this trip includes upscale accommodations, I don’t have the energy to take advantage of them to the degree in which I’d like. The private charter buses and planes are certainly a highlight but the pace seems like a sprint, not a well-paced marathon. If that’s my only critique, I might forget it the next time Mickey — our personal flight attendant — hands me The New York Times and a coke before I even have to ask. Still, it’s in the back of my mind how tired I am as I look down to see another state passing rapidly beneath me.

[Editor’s note: Check back for more updates from Kirsten Alana on the Mauiva AirCruise later in the week. Mauiva provided passage on this trip but provided no editorial oversight]

5k zombie infested obstacle course comes to the United States

by Jessica Festa on

Adventure-lovers and zombie-enthusiasts will be excited to hear about a new zombie infested obstacle course coming to the United States this Fall. Like any other obstacle course event, such as Warrior Dash or Spartan Race, Run for Your Lives will include man-made challenges (12, to be exact) as well as tests of physical fitness. This obstacle course in particular will involve mud, water, climbing, crawling, ducking, diving, running, and maybe even blood, as you navigate through sewage systems and conquer uphill climbs to reach the finish line.

However, unlike your usual obstacle course race, there is a scary twist here. Participants will be given a flag belt that will hold flags that represent their health during the course. While making your way through the event, zombies will be attacking and trying to grab these flags. Don’t worry too much if you lose a flag, however, as there are “health bonuses” hidden throughout the course. If you lose all your health flags, you die and the zombies win.

This video game come to life has different possible routes to the finish line, so runners should be aware that while Run for Your Lives is called a 5K it could end up being longer. Participants are encouraged to dress up however they would like, as the living or the dead. There will also be an Apocalypse Party after the event so you can celebrate your survival (or drink with the rest of your new zombie friends).

Just in time for Halloween, the first Run For Your Lives event will take place on October 22, 2011, in Baltimore, Maryland. Other dates and locations include:

Austrian pop-up store opens in Nolita, New York, in October

by Jessica Festa on

Austria comes to Nolita, New York, this Fall from October 5-19, 2011, with the Taste of Austria pop-store store. For two weeks, the Openhouse Gallery will be transformed into an authentic Viennese coffeehouse, complete with marble tables, traditional Sacher wallpaper, and Sacher cups, under the name The Sacher Cafe. Along with delicious Austrian food fare, such as the Sacher Torte, a thick, chocolate cake separated by layers of jam and topped with whipped cream, there will also be cultural happenings. Enjoy a free film screening, sample some of the best wines from Austria, listen to a concert by Austrian composers, or sit in on some Austrian storytelling.

Aside from learning about Austrian culture through food, music, art, and film, patrons can also enjoy the fact that they are doing a good deed, as part of the proceeds from the event go towards helping City Harvest, a charity that works to feed the hungry in New York.

While almost all of the events for a Taste of Austria are free, you will still need to get a ticket. Click here to see the schedule of events and reserve your spot.

The Openhouse Gallery is located at 201 Mulberry St, between Kenmare St. and Spring St. Take the 4, 6, or 6X to Spring St., the J to Bowery St., or the N or R to Prince St.

Hours for the event are 12PM-9PM, Sunday-Thursday, and 12PM-10PM, Friday-Saturday.

Chicago named most mustache-friendly city in America

by Jessica Festa on

Chicago has recently been named the most “mustache-friendly” city in the United States by the American Mustache Institute (AMI). The research came in response to a “long-existing pattern of social and professional discrimination against Mustached Americans”.

Apparently, Chicago is leading the way in providing an ideal living and working environment for Mustached Americans. In fact, Dr. Aaron Xavier Perlut, chairman of AMI, claims, “Its vast pool of professional opportunities in first-responder fields and in the fishing industry centered around Lake Michigan, along with the heritage of retired Chicago Bears players who have continued to embrace a Mustached American lifestyle helped to set the Windy City Apart.”

Of course, with every achievement comes a celebration, which is why Chicago will be hosting a ‘Stache Bash on Friday, October 28, 2011, at Joe’s Bar on Weed Street. Tickets are $25 and include entertainment and beers. The event will serve as the opening for Movember, a world-wide mustache-growing charity campaign that works to raise awareness and contributions for the Prostate Cancer Foundation and LIVESTRONG, the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

Photo of the day – Colorado hikers

by Alex Robertson Textor on

We’ve all been there, right? We’ve all embarked on a hike somewhat carelessly, having paid only distracted attention to the weather report, only to encounter the threat of really terrible weather ahead–and usually far too late to take normal precautions. Or we’ve done our weather forecast research with nerdy focus only to find that it was all wrong and the weather patterns have changed dramatically.

Usually, this sort of discovery happens during a tame weekend walk through some fields or over a hilly outcropping of rock on the outskirts of a city. In other words, the discovery of unwanted weather conditions happens only rarely in a natural setting as glorious as this one. This image was snapped by Flickr user AlphaTangoBravo in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado.

We’re always excited to add arresting images as Photos of the Day. Why not upload some of your favorite images to the Gadling Group pool on Flickr?