Most people can’t stand spending more than 30 minutes on an airplane, but Mark Malkoff is actually spending 30 days on one. It’s part of a PR scheme and wild plan by AirTran to generate some buzz about the carrier.
Apparently Mark will be bouncing between AirTrain aircraft all month — even sleeping on them at night — and recording the content. You can follow along with the whole thing over at markonairtran.com and imagine the misery of living on a 737 firsthand.
Needless to say, some of the content is pretty hilarious, including this demonstration proving that you can suck and entire roll of toilet paper down an airplane toilet in one flush. Amazing. And weird. And amazing.
A few years ago, a friend of mine embarked on a trip to Kansas City on the now defunct Skybus for an anticipated mini-road trip vacation that included stops at two of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s houses.
These weren’t the only places on my friend’s family’s itinerary but they are the only highlights I can remember. Both of the houses are near small towns where life moves at a slower pace and charm is part of the draw as well as their unique spots in American history.
Starting in Kansas and Missouri isn’t a chronological approach to Laura Ingalls Wilder travel, but it is a way to pick up two significant Little House locations. Although Laura was born in Pepin, Wisconsin, these other landmarks were significant to her life–one provided the framework for the 1970s-1980s TV series. The other is where Wilder lived during her adult years until she died.
The Little House on the Prairie Historical Site is about 13 miles from Independence, Kansas and is a small reconstructed cabin that reminds me of Lincoln’s boyhood home in Indiana, although a bit more rough around the edges. Even though the rustic log cabin is not the actual home of Wilder, it is close to where the original cabin once stood about 13 miles from Independence. Built according to descriptions from Wilder’s book, the cabin, along with the 1872 school house, general store and post office offers a glimpse into what it was like to be a family creating a life in the early Midwest.
The cabin’s surroundings are similar to how the area looked when Wilder lived here with Ma and Pa and her sisters. I imagine if you look over the tall waving grass and the clouds drifting across the sky in the summer you can almost hear the TV show’s theme song.
For a bigger taste of life on the prairie living head to the Prairie Days Festival on June 13 where food, wagon rides, costume character contests, a petting zoo and craft vendors tap into the nostalgia of that time period. If June is too soon, I noticed Bluegrass on the Prairie on October 10 and Christmas on the Prairie, November 28.
For more Laura Ingalls Wilder travel head to Mansfield, Missouri.Rocky Ridge Farm, about 30 miles from Springfield is where Laura moved with her husband Almanzo and penned all nine of the “Little House” books. At this house are Wilder family artifacts and details about early American pioneer life. Here’s a tour of the house that provides an excellent overview of what you’ll see here, as well, as details of the changes the farm has gone through over the years from the first time Wilder settled here.
Mansfield, like Independence, throws a Laura Ingalls Wilder-themed festival each year. Wilder Days is on September 19. From the description, it seems like the crowds participate in 19th-century style fun. Don’t come expecting to just sit around.
There’s also Laura’s Memories, an annual outdoor theatre production in August and September that chronicles Laura’s life and her grave, along with her husband’s at the Mansfield Cemetery.
One place that sounds like a worthwhile eatery is the Owl’s Nest Cafe. The food is a mix of Native American and recipes from the Laura Ingalls Wilder Cookbook and the cookbook Good Ol’ Downhome Cookin.’
As a three-day weekend trip, making a loop that takes in Independence and Mansfield might be a simple, relaxing and interesting getaway. My friend’s trip exceeded her family’s expectations. If you do go, I’d bring a copy of Little House on the Prairieto add to the experience.The book is also on audio CD that includes fiddle music. Listening to the book while driving through land that can seem as flat as a pancake would nicely pass the time.
Because Independence and Mansfield are only a little over three hours from each other, you could put them together into an inexpensive travel option. Joplin, Missouri is almost exactly in the middle of the two and would be another worthwhile stop.
The Beast at King’s Island in Mason, Ohio not far from Cincinnati is by far my favorite roller coaster. It’s a body rattling thrill that has two major drops. Halfway through the 4 1/2 minute ride which makes it the longest wooden roller coaster in the world, the cars take a step climb upwards and a speedy, spine tingling, stomach dropping ride groundwards. This video was made by placing a camera on front of the roller coaster and captures the sights and sounds of the experience rather well. The Coaster Critique rode The Beast when I last did–at night. Highly recommended.
Here’s my technique for not ending up with a sore neck. Clasp one hand in back of your neck with your forearm pressed against your cheek and your elbow pointing out in front of you. It may look slightly ridiculous, but it works like a charm.
Like so many things in life, the latest Flip Ultra is two steps forward and one step back. At $199, this compact HD video camera is less expensive than the sleek Flip Mino. But it’s also bulkier than its little brother, both literally (it’s big enough to accommodate two AA batteries, as opposed to the internal battery the Mino runs off) and figuratively, since it can hold up to two hours of high-resolution (720p) video, twice as much as the Mino.
What I liked: In the tradition of previous Flip cameras, the Ultra is super-easy to use. The stereo mic is a huge upgrade from the tinny-sounding mono mic on the Mino. The camera felt solid in my hand, and even though it didn’t have any discernible image-stabilization technology, I experienced less shake when shooting. The USB port makes a better connection with some PCs — no need to unplug all the peripherals when I’m downloading video. Editing the images on my almost-obsolete version of Final Cut Pro … well, that’s another story.
What I didn’t like: If you’re used to the Mino, you may not appreciate the heaviness of its successor. The buttons take some getting used to; I turned the camera off when I was trying to zoom in on a subject, because I was used to the Mino configuration. A lot of my shots were unacceptably jerky. Flip should consider flipping the switch on image-stabilization when it develops its next generation of cameras. And batteries. Don’t even get me started on batteries. It takes seven hours to charge the internal batteries the first time around. Whoa. What everyone else is saying: The Flip Ultra is getting a round of reasonably good reviews. USA Today recommended it as a “fun, easy and highly compact video camera to capture baby’s first steps, your European vacation highlights or a family reunion.” CNET gave it three out of five stars, adding that it’s “only worth buying at a reasonable discount off its list price.” Our friends over at Engadget panned the camera because of its image stabilization issues.
Field test: I shot SeaWorld Orlando’s newest rollecoaster, Manta, on both the Mino and the Ultra. I couldn’t have achieved the same angles with a conventional video camera unless it was tethered to me, and that was something the ride attendants weren’t going to go for. (In fact, I had to sneak this camera on the ride … sorry, SeaWorld.) Can you tell which footage was shot on the Mino and which was done with the Ultra?
Give up? The coaster POV shots were done on a Mino, but everything else was shot on the Ultra.
Buy or not? Get one. It’s a useful travel companion.
One of my favorite things about traveling is that I don’t have to worry as much about my physical appearance. You see, I vehemently hate shaving. So, traveling allows me to go from this to this with the occasional detour here. But the video above documents the amazing transformation that German traveler Christoph Rehage underwent as he traversed over 4000km of China by foot. He originally set out to walk from Beijing back to his home in Germany, but his plans changed after several documentation issues. Still, his experience, and this video, are fantastic.
As the days pass and the kilometers add up, Christoph’s physical appearance changes dramatically. You see places and people come and go while the one constant in the video, Christoph himself, becomes barely recognizable.
Travel can transform us in many ways, and Christoph’s trip seems to have made quite an impact. You can read all about his journey at his website.