Rebirth for New Orleans' Roosevelt Hotel

Landmark Roosevelt Hotel, shuttered since in 2005, scheduled to reopen next spring

Having grown up in southwestern Connecticut with the Waldorf-Astoria as an icon in nearby Hew York, it's been strange to think of this grand mid-town Manhattan hotel as being part of the Hilton chain, and I'm find it even odder that there can be a Waldorf-Astoria anyplace but on the block between Park and Lex, and between 49th and 50th Streets. But my own reactions aside, I'm happy that New Orleans' revered Roosevelt Hotel (shown in an old postcard), closed since Hurricane Katrina more than three years ago, is coming back as a "Waldorf=Astoria Collection® Hotel" -- that odd-ball equal sign and trademark registration mark being the company's idea, not mine. Punctuation notwithstanding, the Waldorf-Astoria name carries a great deal of weight in the hospitality business.

The Roosevelt opened in 1893 as the Grunewald Hotel. The Cave at the Grunewald is thought by some people to have been the first nightclub in the US. In 1923, before "rebranding" had a name, it was rebranded as The Roosevelt to honor President Theodore Roosevelt. In 1965, a new owner renamed it The Fairmont, but locals still called it The Roosevelt. The renovation, reported by the Times-Picayune more than a year ago, is nearing realization and will be another important step in the city's long, difficult recovery.

When The Roosevelt reopens, planned for late spring 2009, it will have 505 rooms, including 125 luxury suites. The $135 million renovation will provide the usual bells and whistles: fine-dining and cocktail venues; "an entertainment space guaranteed to rival any other in the Gulf South"; state-of-the-art meeting and convention facilities; a 12,000-square-foot and fitness center; business center; private dining and suite butler service; outdoor pool and courtyard, and a specialty gift shop.

In more than a century of operation, The Roosevelt had its place in local history. Notorious Louisiana Governor Huey P. Long spent so much time in his suite that, according to Louisiana legend, he even built a 90-mile highway directly from the state capitol in Baton Rouge to the hotel. The Roosevelt also is known as having inspired Arthur Haley's 1965 bestseller, Hotel. People who recall that era will be thrilled about the restoration of the hotel, the reopening of the hotel's famed Blue Room and legendary Sazerac Bar.

In the golden era of supper clubs from the 1930s to the 1960s, the Blue Room hosted big-name entertainers, including Tony Bennett, Louis Armstrong, Ethel Merman and Sonny and Cher. New York-born Lou Kelener led the orchestra in the Blue Room from 1945 to 1971. He died in 2000, before Hurricane Katrina devastated his adopted city, but he would surely have been pleased to see "his" Blue Room restored with gleaming chandeliers and polished architectural details. The Sazerac Bar again will serve its signature Sazerac and Ramos Gin Fizz, two cocktails invented in New Orleans and popularized by The Roosevelt.

The Roosevelt is located at Baronne Street near Canal Street just outside the French Quarter. Stay tuned for a phone number and other details.

Beaver Creek's Marvelous Ice Music

Ice music in Beaver Creek's Crystal Grotto is a wondrous thing


A large, two-lobed igloo with stadium seating at the top of Beaver Creek's Centennial Express lift serves as the recital hall for a group of musicians who play on instruments made of ice. It is all the brainchild of Tim Linhart, long-time ice sculptor. He arrived in the Vail Valley in 1989 from Taos, New Mexico, began carving ice and has been doing so ever since. This winter, he has taken ice sculpture to the next level by designing a structure and creating instruments mostly of ice on which what he calls "ice music" can be played.

Over the years, he has sculpted eight playable violins, seven guitars, 15 cellos, a xylophone, an assortment of flutes, violas and his spin on a pipe organ that he calls a Rolandophone. The ice instruments change colors and cast different hues on the ice walls as the musicians play a mixture of pop, sing-along and country.

To create string instruments, Linhart packs a mixture of snow and water onto plastic instrument forms, then puts the top and bottom in a mold and crafts the sidewalls. He attaches the standard violin or guitar nack and regular strings. Percussion instruments are all ice. He and the musicians who play together are captivated by the clear, haunting sounds produced by ice instruments.

Crystal Grotto is the name for the cojoined igloos where ice music is performed this season. Remaining performances are at 1:00 and 3:00 p.m. on February 12, 13, 14, 20, 21, 27 and 28,  March 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 21, 26, 27 and 28, and April 3 and 4. Guests must have a lift ticket or foot pass for one roundtrip chairlift ride.Crystal Grotto tickets may be purchased in advance or (space available) on performance day. Lift tickets are sold at the Beaver Creek Ticket Office. Crystal Grotto tickets are $10 for the 45-minute performance (except the 3:00 Saturday show when children 12 and under are free). When you enter and are offered a foam cushion, take two. And prepare to be totally enchanted.

Mexican Day of the Dead, Colorado-Style, Coming Up

Merry skeletons and plastic flowers contrast with Anglo Halloween

Right after Halloween with its spooky undertones and trick-or-treating comes El Diá de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead celebrated in Mexico, in Mexican-American communities and in parts of Central America. Actually, it is two days (November 1 and 2) and is the time when families celebrate "with" their deceased relatives by visiting cemeteries, straightening out graves, leaving bread and other favorite foods and beverages, replacing faded flowers (usually plastic, because fresh don't last) with new ones and keeping a companionable vigil that includes a merry picnic with their departed loved ones. It is a respectful day but one when happy memories are recalled.

Although the holiday is a melding of indigenous pre-Hispanic and Catholic traditions, the most distinctive iconography is of skeletons in everyday clothing and common settings. Decorating "sugar skulls" is part of the ritual. It is interesting that while Anglo Halloween traditions involve going out and getting stuff (i.e., candy) from other people, the Mexican tradition is to stay with the family, living or not, and give something to the deceased.

My husband and I fortunately happened to be in San Jose del Cabo during the Day of the Dead a few years ago, so of course, we visited the local cemetery. A display on the town plaza explained what the celebration was all about, and vendors of plastic stood set up at the cemetery gates. We walked through the graveyard, watching families perform and sensing that it was wonderful for families to remember the departed joyfully and respectfully.

I'll be right here, north of the border, for the rest of the week, but "Day of the Dead Changes, Grows" in today's Denver Post reminded me that we don't have travel from Colorado. "As it traveled north from its rural Mexican roots, the Day of the Dead has evolved from a simple Memorial Day-type family picnic to honor loved ones, into a lively public celebration of art and culture," wrote reporter Kristen Browning-Blas.

She also provided some background on the celebration and listed local places to see and get a taste of it. I think I'll try to get to the Longmont Museum & Cultural Center (right) and/or CU's Museum of Natural History to check out their displays. Longmont's collaborative exhibition was done with Ciudad Guzmán, its sister city in Mexico, and includes a series of special events, most were last week and earlier this week, but a couple, including a family celebration on November 1, are still to come. Check the museum's calendar for details.

In "Celebrating the Day of the Dead's Delicious Side" in today's San Francisco Chronicle by Gaby Carnacho, who grew up in Tijuana, who wrote, "Brightly colored tissue paper cutouts, or papel picado, decorate cemeteries as well as the homes of the deceased person's family as a signal to the soul that festivities await them on earth. The most significant offerings, though, are the food and beverages that people put on the altars; the deceased's favorite beer, candy and street foods are put on display while those keeping vigil often enjoy more traditional foods."

Maybe I'll be in Mexico or perhaps San Antonio or El Paso sometime in the future, but meanwhile, celebrations and displays right here in Colorado will hold me.

Chris Elliott Takes on Resort Fees

Where airline add-ons have gone, hotel fees have followed

Security surcharges. Fuel surcharges. Checked luggage fees. Inflight food and non-alcholic beverage fees. Surcharges for better seats. GR-R-R-R. About the only charge that has gone away is the fee for using the airplane's headset for inflight entertainment.

Some hotel fees really irk me. My top two are Internet and parking, which are free at most budget and mid-range hotel chains but often carry a hefty that charge in high-priced urban hotels. Of those, the Internet fee really frosts me. In a post called "Hotel Fees That Must Die -- and How to Kill Them," consumer advocate Chris Elliott has taken on the topic of hotel and resort surcharges. He points out that hotel occupancy has limping along through the recession. Too many properties use add-ons (sometimes automatic) to increase revenues. You would think that they would offer freebies as an incentive for guests. Occasionally, a hotel or resort will do so. A resort-style property south of Denver has a great Valentine's package that does just that.

Right now, I'm at the excellent Pines Lodge at Beaver Creek on a last-minute media rate. They had a cancelation on Friday afternoon, so my husband and I decided to stay overnight rather than fight the Saturday traffic on Interstate 70. The WiFi is free, which is the reason I'm posting this now rather than waiting until I return home later today. I don't yet know what the charge will be for mandatory valet parking.

So take Chris Elliott's advice, and question add-on fees, check your bill and complain to the manager if you need too. Hopefully, the lodging industry will get the message.

Final Farewell to Lufthansa Flights LH 480 and 481

Denver-Munich nonstops grounded for good, but Germany still courts Colorado travelers

October 28 was Black Friday for Lufthansa's one-and-a-half-year-old Munich-Denver-Munich nonstops. Denver had given Germany's airline $2 million in incentives to launch the route in March 2007 and offered to make monetary concessions if the airline would continue it. But Lufthansa spokesman Martin Riecken was quoted in the Denver Post as explaining, "It's not a flight that gives us enough revenue and benefits to keep it going." How's that for thanks?

Busy Route Not Enough for Lufthansa

You'd never know from our experience that Denver/Munich routing was not enough of a revenue-producer. My husband and I wanted desperately to fly from Denver to Munich in May 2007 to attend a wedding. First we tried redeeming MileagePlus miles for any class of service on Flights 481 (DEN-MUC) and 480 (MUC-DEN) in a two-week window wrapped around the wedding date. No luck. Then we tried a United-Lufthansa combo with whatever number of plane changes -- in the US, in Frankfurt or elsewhere in Germany. No luck. Then we tried combining flights on other Star Alliance partners. No luck. Then we tried to get affordable tickets on Lufthansa or United. No luck, unless you consider it "lucky" to find a few tickets for about $1,000 each, give or take. We didn't attend the wedding.

Germany Promoted in Denver

It was ironic that yesterday, just three days after Lufthansa wiped this wonderful flight off its timetable, German tourism representatives hosted a media lunch in Denver to promote visitation to the country. They showed enticing photographs of scenery (and infrastructure to see it better, such as this tower on Stuttgart's Killesberg, right), castles, palaces and other sites. They talked about new museums and old holiday traditions. They enthused about art, architecture and museums, and about hip nightlife and high fashion. They praised the ease of getting around via highspeed train or autobahn. It all looked wonderful. I was ready to get on a plane -- but there are now fewer flights from here to there, and I don't envision fares falling.

Schade -- which is German for "too bad" or "what a shame."

Europe is Subject New Lonely Planet Book

Photo-heavy, information-light coffee table book showcases 52 countries

Lonely Planet guidebooks are often thick and always comprehensive softcover books chockful of practical where-to, how-to, what-to information for travelers, particularly budget travelers. A few maps, illustrations and black-and-white photographs were scattered among the text pages, with a four-color photo insert or two to tart the layout up a bit. The books, subtitled "Travel Survival Kit," have become nothing less than bibles for travelers who rely on them for an incredible amount of in-depth information on countries around the globe. There's even a Lonely Planet guide to the non-country of Antarctica, the last, loneliest continent on the planet where visitation is official and scientific, cruise ship icebreaker or of a serious expedition nature, and is totally seasonal.

As noted here, BBC bought Lonely Planet a little over a year ago, and the international broadcasting and media giant lost no time in expanding the Lonely Planet brand into previously unimaginable realms. One of these is a series of hardcover coffee table books that would seem to be perfect adjuncts to a television travel series. The newest is The Europe Book: A Journey Through Every Country on the Continent. It profiles 52 European countries, touching briefly on such topics as landscape, people, the urban scene, cuisine, history and festivals. Enticing four-color photographs grace every page. A bit of the original Lonely Planet spirit survives in the sidebar listing the "essential experiences" for each country -- the kind of insider tidbit that Lonely Planet fans treasure.

The book also includes four themed essays (“Can They Do That In Public - Europe’s Outrageous Landmarks,” “Europe’s Unrecognized Nations,” “The New Europe” and “Revolutionary Ideas: Six That Changed History”), half-a-dozen suggested itineraries called "Great Journeys" and an random timeline of key events in European history and some interesting trivia. Who knew that Armenia was the first European country to adopt Christianity (301 A.D.) or that tiny Liechtenstein is the world's largest exporter of dentures?

Like 1,000 Places to See Before You Die (but bigger in format and with great pictures), The Europe Book invites travelers to tick off which countries they have visited. I have been to fewer than half. That surprised me. It wouldn't have, if I had actually never thought about how many there are now. Of course, now that I am thinking about it, the fragmentation of Europe has greaty increased the number of countries in Europe. The break-up of the Soviet Union, the dismantling of the former Yugoslavia and the splitting of the former Czechoslovakia now mean there are 18 countries where once there were three, a lopsided balance despite the reunification of two Germanys into one. Of the 52, more of two (Russia and Turkey) is in Asia and not in Europe at all, and one (Iceland) is out in the North Atlantic.

The book, subtitled "A Journey Through Every Country on the Continent," must have been a was a geographic and organizational challenge. The editors decided to segment into six regional sections. Most countries get four pages. Some of the biggies (such as England, Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Turkey, Russia ) are allotted six, while smaller city-states and principalities (Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Andorra, San Marino, Vatican City) are covered in two pages.

I have visited nearly all the countries in the sections titled "Western Mediterranean," "Central Europe" and "British Isles & the Low Countries." I find it a bit odd to lump the four British Isles countries and three Benelux countries together in one section, because all they have in common is the North Sea -- except that Ireland doesn't touch it at all, while Germany, Denmark and Norway, which do have North Sea coastlines, are in other chapters. I've been to a few in the "Eastern Mediterranean & the Balkans" (IMO another oddball combo), none in the "Black Sea & Caucasus" and and only two of nine in "Scandinavia & Baltic Europe" -- plus Iceland's Keflavik Airport, but airports don't count. This book tells me that I have many more European nations to check off on my life list, and the gorgeous photographs illustrated why I should visit them.

Thirty-seven writers, mostly well-traveled and credentialed Lonely Planet authors, and numerous photographers contributed to The Europe Book ($40). It is the fourth in a series that also includes The Travel Book ($50), The Africa Book ($40) and The Asia Book ($40). The original LP guidebooks are for people who are planning a trip or are traveling, while this new series is for people who have traveled and want to tap into specific, I've-been-there memories and the general flavor of European countries to remind us all of the continents variety and beauty.

Fort Collins Wins Historic Preservation Honors

National Trust cites Fort Collins, Colorado's ninth honoree

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has selected Fort Collins as one of its 2010 America’s Dozen Distinctive Destinations. This northern Colorado city is the state's eighth honoree since the list was established in 2000. Previous Colorado winners are Boulder, 2000; Silverton, 2001; Georgetown, 2003 (special recognition for the Hotel de Paris, now a museum); Glenwood Springs, CO, 2004; Durango, 2007; and Crested Butte, 2008.

This year, the National Trust gives the public an opportunity to vote for a People's Choice selection. The Dozen Distinctive Destination and contenders for top choice are Bastrop, Texas; Cedar Falls, Iowa; Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania; The Crooked Road: Virginia's Heritage Music Trail; Fort Collins, Colorado; Huntsville, Alabama; Marquette, Michigan; Sitka, Alaska; Provincetown, Massachusetts; Rockland, Maine; Simsbury, Connecticut; and St. Louis, Missouri. Right now, Marquette and Rockland are leading the polling, each with nearly 25 percent of the votes.

Fort Collins was cited for "its leadership in protecting its historic places and promoting a walkable downtown," a characteristic it shares with previous honorees.

Rail Transportation's US Future

President's proposal for rail expansion would alter US travel

I love trains. When I travel abroad, it is my favorite mode of transportation., I love the energetic bustle of big-city railroad stations and the convenience of traveling from center-city to center-city, and I certainly prefer reaching small communities by train to clogging up roadways with a costly rental car. I wish we still had decent, punctual trains in this country, and maybe it will happen in my lifetime. I was cheered by President Obama's State of the Union message last Wednesday that included the intention of awarding $8 billion in stimulus funds for development of light-rail corridors around the country and new high-speed rail in Florida. It makes sense from all perspectives -- employment, traveler convenience, the environmental benefits of mass transit.

A number of US and Canadian cities already have light rail rapid transit -- surface trains, not subways, that unclog roadways. When I changed planes in Phoenix not long ago, I saw that the city's Valley Metro rail line reaches Skyharbor Airport from both east and west. Vancouver's new SkyTrain (upper right) connects the airport with the center city. Light rail lines in Denver, Salt Lake City and Calgary do not currently reach their respective airports but hopefully will in the future. Kansas City voters rejected a north-south light rail line, but the regional transportation district is planning on using diesel-driven trains on existing tracks -- perhaps similar to the Albuquerque-Santa Fe Railrunner (lower right). We'll see.

Elsewhere in the world, a rail link from major airports to the city and from there to national and international train networks is taken for granted. Once again, the US, which pretends to be so enlightened and so advanced, lags far behind. I just hope that Washington a-ginners who were fixating on deconstructing proposed health care/insurance reform don't get their talons into rail transportation improvements too.

Luggage Pilferage

No valuables taken, but petty theft is annoying and (again) shows travelers' vulnerability

Yesterday afternoon, I flew from Houston to Denver. Two bright red TSA-approved locks were on my checked bag’s two biggest zipper compartments when I checked in. When I got home, I saw that the bag sported only one lock.

Is it possible that I didn’t snap one lock completely, and that it opened and fell off in transit? Yes, of course. Is it possible that the small bottle of tequila in a sturdy little cardboard box given to all somehow fell out of the middle of my bag? Unlikely. It could have been either a TSA screener or perhaps a baggage handler, or for all I know, a space alien who likes tequila and used its super powers to find mine.

According to Aero-News, a TSA screener at Newark International reportedly was recently arrested for trying to sell pilfered items on eBay. I’m not saying that my little tequila, given to all convention attendees, will end up in an on-line auction, but I’ll bet it ends up in someone’s drink -- or simply as a straight-from-the-bottle nip for the needy to make a boring job tolerable.

Newsday reported that TSA spokeswoman Lara Uselding had said that 465 TSA officers (0.4 percent of the agency's workers) have been terminated for theft since May 1, 2003. The odds are pretty good that nothing will be swiped from checked bags or from carry-ons during the shoes off/jackets off/laptop out/X-ray/metal detector pre-flight gauntlet passengers endure, but when it happens, it's annoying at best and devastating at worst. When expensive electronics (including laptops and other communication devices with private information) or jewelry is taken, it can be be more than the loss of something as inconsequential as a small bottle of tequila.

Am I going to report it? No. It's not worth the bother. The TSA and/or airline baggage-handling operations seem to be the gift that keeps on taking.

Lake Tahoe: Ski Areas by the Dozen (Plus)

Magnificent alpine lake with concentration of ski areas unsurpassed in North America

Here's the census of ski areas in an arc on the north end of Lake Tahoe and also along Interstate 70: Alpine Meadows, Boreal, Diamond Peak, Donner Ski Ranch, Granlibakken, Homewood, Mt. Rose (within sight of Reno), Northstar-at-Tahoe, Royal Gorge (cross-country), Sugar Bowl and Squaw Valley (host of the 1960 Olympic Winter Games). At and near the south end of the lake: Heavenly, Kirkwood and Sierra-at-Tahoe. Seven of the largest ski/snowboard areas (Alpine, Heavenly, Kirkwood, Mt. Rose, Northstar, Sierra-at-Tahoe and Squaw) market themselves as Ski Lake Tahoe and offer an interchangeable multi-day lift ticket.

In addition to 14 (or more if I'm missing something) places to ski, the Tahoe Basin is scenically stunning and incredibly conplex (two states, five counties with five county seats outside of the basin, one incorporated city and numerous smaller communities and a hefty local, state and federal jurisdictions).

I've just returned from a Society of American Travel Writers confab at Lake Tahoe, and with a full schedule and travel time too, I managed to ski just three days of sliding on snow -- one each at Northstar (on a Saturday following the first heavy snowstorm in weeks -- not recommended, one at Heavenly and one at Kirkwood. Reports to follow.

Travel Writing and Photography Award Winners

Society of American Travelers honors the best in the travel commmunication business

Two of the journalists' organizations that I belong to are the American Society of Journalists & Authors and the Society of American Travel Writers. The former's slogan is "We write what you read." At the SATW convention which has just concluded in Houston, the 2008 travel writing, photography and broadcast awards were announced. I wish I had time to include links to all the winners' websites, but I don't -- so I hope some of you will take the time to search some of the names and publications to find out why my colleagues have been honored.

Lowell Thomas Awards in travel journalism (numbers in parentheses indicate the number of entries in each cagtegory)

Category 1: Grand Award — Lowell Thomas Travel Journalist of the Year (37)
Gold: Christopher P. Baker, freelance writer-photographer
Silver: Jane Wooldridge, Travel Editor, The Miami Herald
Bronze: Sarah Wildman, freelance journalist

Category 2: Newspaper Travel Sections (27)
2A — Newspapers with 500,000 or more circulation
Gold: Los Angeles Times, Catharine Hamm, Travel Editor
Silver: The Houston Chronicle, Harry Shattuck, Travel Editor
Bronze: The Boston Globe, Anne Fitzgerald, Travel Editor
Honorable Mention: Chicago Tribune, Randy Curwen, Travel Editor

2B — Newspapers with 350,000-499,999 circulation
Gold: The Globe and Mail, Toronto, Karan Smith and Julie Traves, Travel Editors
Silver: St. Petersburg Times, Janet K. Keeler, Travel Editor
Bronze: The Miami Herald, Jane Wooldridge, Travel Editor
Honorable Mention: The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Betsy O’Connell, Travel Editor

2C — Newspapers with up to 350,000 circulation
Gold: The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, Millie Ball, Travel Editor
Silver: The Orange County Register, Santa Ana, CA, Gary Warner, Travel Editor
Bronze: Star-Telegram, Fort Worth, Judy Wiley, Travel Editor
Honorable Mention: The Ottawa Citizen, Laura Robin, Travel Editor

Category 3: Magazines
3A — Travel Magazines (15)
Gold: National Geographic Adventure, John Rasmus, Editor-in-Chief
Silver: Budget Travel, Erik Torkells, Editor-in-Chief

Bronze: Travel + Leisure, Nancy Novogrod, Editor-in-Chief

3B — Travel Coverage in Other Magazines (12)
Gold: Brides Magazine, Sherri Eisenberg, Senior Travel Editor
Silver: Departures, Richard David Story, Editor-in-Chief
Bronze: Coastal Living, Kay A. Fuston, Editor-in-Chief

Category 4: Newspaper article on U.S./Canada Travel (99)
Gold: Jane Roy Brown, “After Alice’s Restaurants,” The Boston Globe
Silver: Janet Forman, “Oh, men and their spas,” The Globe and Mail, Toronto
Bronze: Diane Daniel, “Home Exchanges, A bit at a Time,” The New York Times

Category 5: Magazine Article on U.S./Canada Travel (73)
Gold: James Vlahos, “The Arch Hunters,” National Geographic Adventure
Silver: Dana Cowin, “What Defines a Great Food City?” Food & Wine
Bronze: Stephanie Mansfield, “How the Sunset Tower Got Its Cool,” Departures

Category 6: Newspaper Article on Foreign Travel (79)
Gold: William Ecenbarger, “A Small Ship in a Big Jungle,” Chicago Tribune
Silver: Yvonne Horn, “Spanish Wineries’ Star Power,” San Francisco Chronicle
Bronze: Richard Read, “Amsterdam, Dual and Cool,” The Oregonian

Category 7: Magazine Article on Foreign Travel (90)
Gold: Scott Anderson, “Fast Track to Tibet,” National Geographic Adventure
Silver: Laurie Werner, “Asian Beauty,” ForbesLife
Bronze: P.F. Kluge, “America’s Best Kept Secret,” National Geographic Traveler

Category 8: Newspaper Photo Illustration of Travel Article (40)
Gold: Richard Sennott, “Room for the Soul,” Star Tribune, Minneapolis
Silver: Torsten Kjellstrand, “Amsterdam, Dual and Cool,” The Oregonian
Bronze: Michele McDonald, “A Gloriously Gritty Groove,” The Boston Globe

Category 9: Magazine Photo Illustration of Travel Article (66)
Gold: Gordon Wiltsie, “The Vanishing Breed,” National Geographic Adventure
Silver: Tierney Gearon, “Malibu A-Go-Go,” Departures
Bronze: Catherine Karnow, “Authentic Paris,” National Geographic Traveler

Category 10: Special Packages/Projects (44)
Gold: Tom Haines, project director, and Boston Globe staff, “At the Edge of Europe,” The Boston Globe/boston.com
Silver: Terry Tazioli, Travel Editor, and Seattle Times staff,
“Pike Place Market at 100,” The Seattle Times/seattletimes.com
Bronze: Toni Salama and Randy Curwen, “The Next Big Thing,”
Chicago Tribune/chicagotribune.com

Category 11: Article on Marine Travel (48)
Gold: Carl Hoffman, “Take Me to the River,” National Geographic Traveler
Silver: Gayle Keck, “Pirates of the Mediterranean,” The Washington Post
Bronze: Alan Solomon, “How Do We Love Baja? Let Us Count the Whales…,”
Chicago Tribune

Category 12: Article on Adventure Travel (60)
Gold: Aaron Teasdale, “Across Maasai Land,” Adventure Cyclist
Silver: Gary McKechnie, “Prairie Hog,” Hog Tales
Bronze: Matthew Power, “Escape to Mount Kenya,” National Geographic Adventure

Category 13: Travel News/Investigative reporting (26)
Gold: Steve Friedman, “The Long Trail to Jail,” Backpacker
Silver: Christopher Ketcham, “A Death at Outward Bound,” National Geographic Adventure
Bronze: William J. McGee, “Air Security: Why You’re Not as Safe as You Think,” Consumer Reports

Category 14: Service-Oriented Consumer Article (80)
Gold: Jill Schensul, “Ever Ready for Mishap,” The Record (Hackensack, NJ)
Silver: William J. McGee, “The Ultimate Guide to Travel Web Sites,” Condé Nast Traveler
Bronze: Carol Pucci, “The Exchange Game: Pay Attention When It’s Time to Pay,” The Seattle Times

Category 15: Environmental Tourism Article (45)
Gold: John Falk, “Why the Bonobos Need a Radio…and Other (Unlikely) Lessons From the Deepest Congo,” National Geographic Adventure
Silver: Ellen Creager, “This Little Traveler Saved the Planet,” Detroit Free Press

Bronze: Susan Pigg, “The Plane Truth About Flying,” Toronto Star

Category 16: Cultural Tourism Article (92)
Gold: Matthew Polly, “Bangkok Vice: Buddhas, Boxers, and Bar Girls,” Slate
Silver: Gretel Ehrlich, “The Vanishing Breed,” National Geographic Adventure
Bronze: Jerry Shriver, “Finns Call the Shots,” USA Today

Category 17: Personal Comment (121)
Gold: Steve Friedman, “It’s Not About the Hole,” Bicycling
Silver: Silvano Marchetto and Marisa Acocella Marchetto, “Italian Road Trip: So, What Should We Eat?” Bon Appétit
Bronze: Sebastian Junger, “Running Away,” National Geographic Adventure

Category 18: Special-Purpose Travel (118)
Gold: John Falk, “Downward Facing Boyfriend,” National Geographic Adventure
Silver: Paula Bock, “Burma: Healing and Hand Puppets,” The Seattle Times
Bronze: Leigh Ann Henion, “The Longest Yard,” The Washington Post

Category 19: Short Travel Article (70)
Gold: Christopher P. Baker, “ Baracoa,” Cuba Absolutely
Silver: Arthur Golden, “ Stolen Kisses,” National Geographic Traveler
Bronze: Tom Downey, “A Manhattan in Tokyo,” Outside’s Go

Category 20: Travel Books (16)
Gold: Nesreen Khashan and Jim Bowman, editors, “Encounters with the Middle East,”
Travelers’ Tales/Solas House
Silver: Susan Fox Rogers, editor, “Antarctica: Life on the Ice,” Travelers’ Tales/Solas House
Bronze: Anita Alan, author, “Big Sur Inn: The Deetjen Legacy,” Gibbs Smith, Publisher

Category 21: Guidebooks (46)
Gold: Erik Torkells and the editors of Budget Travel, “Secret Hotels,” Stewart, Tabori & Chang
Silver: Andrew Evans, author, “Iceland,” Bradt Travel Guides
Bronze: Debbie Harmsen and Michael Nalepa, editors, “Fodor’s Complete Guide to the National Parks of the West,” Fodor’s Travel Publications

Category 22: Online Travel Journalism Sites (24)
Gold: Boston.com/travel, The Boston Globe, Christine Makris, Senior Producer
Silver: BudgetTravel.com, Budget Travel, Steve Merrill, Online General Manager

Bronze: Southernliving.com/southernbyways, Southern Living, compiled by Annette Thompson, Associate Travel Editor

Category 23: Travel Broadcast — Audio (18)
Gold: Paul Lasley and Elizabeth Harryman, “On Travel — Kansas City,” XM Satellite Radio
Silver: Joseph Rosendo, “Ontario, Canada’s Far North,” Travelscope Radio Network
Bronze: Ron Bernthal, “Lost and Saved,” WJFF Public Radio

Category 24: Travel Broadcast — Video (10)
Gold: Joseph Rosendo, “Colors of Malaysia,” PBS TV stations
Silver: Joseph Rosendo, “Churchill, Manitoba’s Beluga Whales and Polar Bears,” PBS TV stations Bronze: Toni Salama, chicagotribune.com, Hawaii’s Big Island, Galveston, Kemah, Greek cruise and Dubai shorts


Bill Muster Photography Competition


Photographer of the Year

** Gold: Ellen Clark ** Silver Alison Wright ** Bronze: Chad Case

** Single Subject Portfolio ** Gold: Gail Mooney (Buenos Aires) ** Silver: Michael Ventura (Cajun Country) ** Bronze: Donnie Sexton (Life on the Ganges)

** Animals Gold: Bernadette Heath Silver: Blaine Harrington III Bronze: Stuart Dee HM: Rick Browne HM: Steve Rosenberg

** Action Gold: Paul Franklin Silver: Michael De Freitas Bronze: Steve Bly HM: Steve Bly HM: Gary Crallé

** Cultural Gold: Michele Burgess Silver: Yvette Cardozo Bronze: Richard Nowitz HM: Richard Nowitz HM: Bob Willis

** Natural Scenic Gold: Richard Nowitz Silver: Eric Lindberg Bronze: Dennis Cox HM: Blaine Harrington III HM: Mary Love

** People Gold: Richard Nowitz Silver: Blaine Harrington III Bronze: Donald Nausbaum HM: Donald Nausbaum HM: Stuart Dee

Can Moses Save Venice?

Is the $7 billion project to save the coastal city from rising waters working?

Global warming, climate change or whatever you wish to call the syndrome that is causing polar ice to melt and sea levels to rise are of concern to the world's low-lying coastal cities. These concerns are particularly urgent in magnificent Venice every winter with its rains. MOSES (Modulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico) is a massive (and massively controversial) $7 billion engineering project begun in 2003 to construct 79 movable underwater gates designed to regulate the tidal flows in the city's lagoon (right) to prevent flooding and yet allow large cruise and container ships to pass through. Click here to see photos of floods in Venice in 2004.

Venice, founded in the fifth century, rose to be Europe's leading maritime power and center of Renaissance art and architecture, is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Tourist interests and architectural preservationists are pro-MOSES. Environmentalists continue to oppose it because they are concerned with with a closed system of stagnant water with prevented from flushing out the Venice lagoon. Several months ago, contractjournal.com reported that the mile-long rock and concrete system has caused a new coral reef to form and species previously unseen there to find habitat there. These include the endangered giant pen shell (Pinna Nobilis), an endangered bivalve that can grow to about a yard long and the Dustbin Lid jellyfish (Rhizostome Octopus), the largest in the Mediterranean.

Marooned at Machu Picchu

Heavy rains triggered mudslides that cut off Cuzco-Machu Picchu land connections

In the great scheme of recently world catastrophes, Tuesday's mudslides between Cuzco and Machu Picchu are small potatoes. After all, compared with tens of thousands of fatalities, grave injuries, wildspread hunger and a capital city destroyed in Haiti's earthquake two weeks ago, the suspension of train service, the five to 10 deaths (reportedly including one guide and one tourist) and somewhere between 800 and 2,000 stranded tourists are no big deal. Record rains have fallen in this region.

Despite heavy weather, helicopters evacuated hundreds of marooned tourists near the famous Inca ruins at Machu Picchu. Beyond the tourist impact, Preuvian authorities estimate that 10,000 people have been affected by the rain and some 2,000 homes destroyed in and around Machu Picchu.

I've been wanting to see Machu Picchu for years, but I can't say that I'm sorry not to be there right now.

Inter-Island Airline Improvements in Hawaii

In the wake of Aloha's demise, Mokulele Airlines set to fly with larger aircraft

Mokulele Airlines of Hawai’i will begin flying 70-seat Embraer 170 jets on November 19, 2008. The two-class cabin will have large windows, comfortable seating with extra armrest room at the elbow, wider aisles and overhead bins nearly 30 percent larger than standard in most narrow-body aircraft to accommodate large carry-on bags.

Republic Airways Holdings, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, is operating Mokulele Airlines. This airline holding company owns Chautauqua Airlines, Republic Airlines and Shuttle America. I just flew Chautauqua, operating in Texas as a Continental commuter partner, from Houston to Midland-Odessa and from El Paso back to Houston. Previously, Mesa Airlines operated smaller Cessnas for Mokulele.

After all the airline failures I've written about in recent months, I am happy -- really happy -- to report on improved air service, especially in Hawaii, which really depends on reliable air service. The carrier's phone number is 808-426-7070.

Patagonian Luxury Resort Offers February Value Packages

Remota's 4-for-3 and 7-for-4 packages offered during the Southern Hemisphere summer

I am in the Lake Tahoe area right now, reveling in abundant snow. But if I wanted to go to South America, now would be the time. Remota, a specatular luxury resort lodge on the outskirts of Porta Natales near Chile's even more spectacular Torres del Paine National Park, is offering February specials at hard-to-beat prices -- especially considering that this is during the summer season. En route to the national park in 2006, I visited Remota just for a look at this breathtaking place with a philosophy of luxury and comfort against a design backfrop of Zen-like simplicity and some of the best scenery on the planet.

I don't know whether it is a slowdown in the world economy that instigated such a generous, last-minute offer, but guests can get four nights at Remota for the price of three (US $1,548, regularly $1,980 per person, double occupancy) or seven for the price of four ($1,980, regularly $2,988) for lodging, meals and daily excursions. Hurry up, because this value deal is valid for travel during February 2010. The fine print: "subject to availability upon booking" and "some restrictions may apply."

If you've got a lot of frequent flyer miles, now might be the time to try to use them up. LAN Chile Airlines is a partner on American Airlines' OneWorld frequent flyer program. Current roundtip air fares to Punta Arenas start at $1,363 from Los Angeles, $1,468 from New York and $1,486 fom Miami.lus taxes. It's counter-intuitive that fares would be higher from New York than from Miami, but in this age of yield management, LAN probably has more passengers from Florida. If you're traveling that far, check about a stopover in Santiago, Chile's fascinating capital.

In the unlikely event that you want to write to Remota, the address is Ruta 9 Norte, km. 1.5, Huerto 279 / Puerto Natales, Patagonia, Chile. You are more likely to contact them or book online or even more likely, to call their tollfree number, 866-431-0519.

Travel Thumbnail: Cal-Neva Lodge

Tour the retro resort at Lake Tahoe was Rat Pack haunt

The Place: Cal-Neva Resort, Lake Tahoe, California/Nevada

The Story: Cal-Neva at Crystal Bay, a Lake Tahoe North Shore landmark once owed by Frank Sinatra, offers great historic tour -- an amnity few casino-hotels have the history to provide. By Nevada casino standards, it low-key and restrained in appearance, but its history is as wild as anyplace in Las Vegas. The Washoe Indians once had a summer camp on the site, and the first resort, a large log lodge built in 1917 to promote real estate sales, burned to the ground 10 years later and was quickly rebuilt as a self-contained resort west of Reno. The building supplies were already at nearby Tahoe City, and reconstruction took 100 men just 40 days to complete. I'm just sayin'.

Glamour, celebrities, mob ties, suicidal owners, a little jewel of a showroom and an underground tunnel linking the main lodge with cabins on the property are part of the lore that Cynthia Langhof talked about on a historic tour given weekends, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Her mother dove to Tahoe from Idaho n a Model T Ford in 1931. She tells tales of mob connections, intrigue and mysteries. Marilyn Monroe ODed at Cal-Neva less that a week before her final, fatal overdose in Los Angeles. With a string of liaisons, some believe that she knew too much for mob comfort.

The Cal-Neva lies directly on the California-Nevada border. It was Nevada's first licensed casino and remains the oldest continuously operating casino in the US. The Indian Room just off the lobby is wood-paneled, decorated with hides and heads. It straddles the state line, and when federal agents came to inspect it, all the gaming tables were rolled to the Nevada side of the room. It was the resort's show room in the 1930s and '40s, hosted banquets and special events, and has a great dance floor. The huge stone fireplace shows the state line, but it is actually off by a bit.

Frank Sinatra bought the Cal-Neva in 1960, fronting for his Mafioso pal and partner Sam Giancana. The Rat Pack and assorted other celebs performed or visited there in those days. Those who didn't want to be seen could land at the rooftop helipad and sneak into the resort. When Sinatra owned the Cal-Neva, he had a wonderful small showroom built, because he didn't like the way his voice sounded in the Indian Room. When he was watching a show rather than performing, he either sat at a large table against the back wall or a private room one level up. The Nevada Gaming Control Board pulled Sinatra's gaming license after Sam Giancana visited the resort after he had been banned from the casino, and he sold it in 1963. Photographs of headliners of those heady days line the corridor from the casino to the showroom, and wonderful original artwork of world entertainment adorns the side walls of the showroom, used today for concerts, plays and special events.

 

An underground tunnel connects the main lodge with some of the 56 cabins, some of which are still rented out in the summer. Number 5 was Sinatra's. Marilyn Monroe stayed in number 3. The unadorned tunnel has two curiosities, one a faux grave for mob-connected union boss Jimmy Hoffa and the initials of Ava Gardener, reputedly the great love of Sinatra's life, on a retaining wall. Cynthia tells the backstory during the tour. There are, of course, ghost stories, and travelers who seek paranormal experiences visit as well.

Currently, Cal-Neva is for sale. The 219-room resort on almost 14 acres with such a history with Hollywood star and the political elite, especially in the Sinatra era, is owned by Canyon Capital which took over in April through a nonmarketed foreclosure. It is rumored that Brad Pitt and George Clooney were/are interested in buying and restoring it -- perhaps replacing the sore-thumb nine-story tower built in the '60s. Would that be a kick?

Cost: The Tunnel Tour costs $8 per person; reserve by calling 775-298-3160. You can take a look for free on your own, have a drink at the Round Bar under a leaded glass ceiling made with more than 7,000 pieces of German glass, poke your head into the Indian Room or look at the artifacts and memorabilia. Of course, you can play the slots or park at the tables if that's your desire. You can stay there at astonishingly inexpensive winter packages.

Information: Cal Neva Resort, 2 Stateline Road, Crystal Bay, NV 89402; 800-CAL-NEVA.

Lightning Strikes Thrice at Hotel Check-in

Hilton Americas-Houston follows three unacceptable rooms with a winner

I'm not a prima donna. Really, I'm not. But some hotel rooms just won't do. When I checked in to the Hilton Americas Houston for the 2008 Society of American Travel Writers convention, I didn't care whether my room as in the East Tower or the West Tower or the section in the middle. I didn't care whether my room had a king bed or two doubles.

But I did care when I opened the door to my room and saw two key cards on the desk, and soiled towels and used soap in the bathroom. Plus the room smelled of smoke. I had just minutes to get to a meeting, so I called the front desk, explained the situation and asked to for a bellman to pick up my bags and transferr them. I would come down for my new keys when the meeting had ended. I was told that for "security reasons," I had to present myself to be given a new room. Is the Transportation Security Agency involved with hotel check-ins now?, I wondered.

I waited in line at the registration desk, explained the situation again and was given keys to another room on another floor. When I inserted the key card in the door lock, it flashed both red and green. Then I heard voices in "my room." I loudly asked whether anyone was in there. A couple opened the door explaining that they had just been moved to that room because the air conditioner in their original room wasn't working.

Down to the lobby again. A Hilton staffer recognized me still dragging my baggage around and asked about the problem. I explained yet again, then went back to the the desk for my third key to my third room. As I was leaving the lobby, she asked whether everything was all right. I said that I hoped so, for by now, the meeting I was supposed to be at had been going on for 15 minutes. She looked at the little folder that holds key cards and noticed that I had been given what she thought might be a smoking room.

Back we went to the desk. She looked over the shoulder of the desk clerk and old him that "we [the hotel] have to do something for this guest [me]" She offered to comp my first night's stay. I thanked her but said I was with a group and had pre-paid everything months ago. She then upgraded me to an "executive room" on a higher floor. She came up with me to make sure that my key worked (it did), that the room was clean (it was) and that no one was in it (on one was). Much to my further astonishment was that every light in the room was blazing -- in the middle of the afternoon. I know that Houston was enriched by the oil business, but this was totally unnecessary. Guests in executive rooms have access to a lounge where continental breakfast, beverages and snacks are available -- and all the lights are also always on.

I all but missed my meeting, but I have a nice, clean room that I'm not somehow sharing with strangers. It turns out that my angel was event services manager Bridget Moses. When I returned after the convention's opening ceremony, a large bowl of fruit and some juice had been delivered -- with her card and a note of apology. If this happens to you, I hope that you too have a Bridget Moses to make things right.

Big Bend Country is Very Cool & Colorado is Cold Enough for Skiing

I have been in West Texas all week, a prelude to the upcoming Society of American Travel Writers convention in Houston. I signed up for this preconvention trip because I wanted to see Big Bend National Park and raft some of the Rio Grande's most spectacular sections. To non-Texans, West Texas implies that whole southwestern region, especially the triangle south of New Mexico, but Texans know it's really the land west of the Pecos. Our small group has explored the real West Texas as expressed in the landscape and culture of Big Bend Country. We have stayed in a different place every night, eaten really well (but not once on Tex-Mex food) and seen places of unexpected interest and beauty. Internet access and time to post have been sporadic, and I haven't had cell service in days. So 20th century!

I'll post about some of my experiences when I can, but meanwhile, I found out that the ski season has started in Colorado. Arapahoe Basin and Loveland, both snowmaking-eqipped, launched the ski season on October 15, which is about as early as it gets.

TSA "Joker" Seeds Traveler's Bag with White Powder

Expect the worst from the TSA? Here's more validation

Here's an unbelievable report from USA Today: The headline reads, TSA worker accused of slipping powder-filled baggie into flier's bag ... as a joke." The story goes on to report of TSA worked who "jokingly pretended to plant a plastic bag of white powder in the carry-on luggage of a passenger at Philadelphia International Airport" on Jan. 5, according to an earlier report in the Philadelphia Inquirer."

Ha. Ha Ha. Except for the passenger, a 22-year-old University of Michigan student, who for a few scary minutes thought that she had been set up to carry explosives or perhaps heroin through secuity. The Inquirer column is worth reading. The worker reportedly no longer works for the TSA but the tale is enough to further tarnish the reputation of this agency.

Austin-Lehman Adventures Supports National Parks

Glacier National Park, celebrating centennial in 2010, is first beneficiary

“Preserve a Park” is a new conservation and educational initiative by Austin-Lehman Adveventures, an award-winning tour opeator. It will benefit a different national park each year via financial contributions to an organization that supports that park, while featuring an educational experience for guests who book one of the company’s “Preserve a Park” trips.

The first beneficiary is Glacier National Park, celebrating its centennial in 2010. This year, ALA will donate $100 per guest from each Glacier trip to the Glacier National Park Fund, a not-for-profit that supports the ongoing and future preservation of Glacier National Park’s natural beauty and cultural heritage. Austin-Lehman Adventures is offering three six-day five-night trips to Glacier: August 1-6, August 8-13, and August 15-20; price per person is $2,498.

Coupled with adjacent Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada, Glacier is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was the world's designated Peace Park. Glacier National Park was known to Native Americans as the “Backbone of the World.” Today, even though the namesake glaciers themselves are rapidly shrinking, the park preserves more than one million acres of stunning glacier-carved terrain that encompasses old growth forest, alpine lakes, rugged mountains and sweeping meadows of wildflowers. Highlights of park trips include biking, hiking and rafting both less traveled and most famous routes. These include the celebrated Going-to-the-Sun Road, one of North America’s most scenic roads and an 11-year building feat.
 
ALA has built an international reputation for small group active travel to destinations in North, Central and South America, Europe and southern Africa. The company specializes in adult and family multi-sport, hiking, biking vacations that emphasize history, culture, and geography’s natural beauty. Trips are limited to 12 guests (18 on family departures) and feature excellent regional dining, distinctive accommodations and all-inclusive rates and services.
 
I have visited Glacier National Park three times -- always in winter and always on cross-country skis. I've nibbled at the fringes of the huge park both from the west side of the park and from the Izaak Walton Inn on the south side, including traveling there to by train to Amtrak's last flag stop in West Essex, Montana. I've seen a bit of park that way and also not seen it at all, when the snow was swirling. Summer pictures are tantalizing, and I applaud the company for supporting the organization that supports the protection of Glacier and other parks in the future.

Rockslide in Yosemite

Third natural "incident" in a National Park in just over two months

"A large slab of granite cracked loose from a cliff in Yosemite National Park early Wednesday [October 8] and crashed into the Curry Village resort with a thunderous roar, flattening tents and forcing hundreds of campers to run for their lives," reported Steve Rubenstein in a San Francisco Chronicle news story called "Rockslide Threatens Curry Village in Yosemite." The story includes photos and a map of the site.

He wrote about screaming schoolchildren, broken rock showering down, snapped trees, smashed cabin walls and a "plume of dust hundreds of feet in the air." The slide, in which the equivalent of 200 dump-truck loads of rock fell into Curry Village from more than half way up Glacier Point, occurred before 7:00 a.m. Glacier Point perches some 3,200 feet above the valley floor.

"Pandemonium" was the word used to describe the reactions of surprised and frightened park visitors, many awakened by the rocks thundering toward them. A smaller rockslide had occurred the previous day, and some cabins were evacuated then.

Wednesday's rockfall destroyed two of 180 the wooden cabins and five tent of the 427 tent cabins that, along with a hotel, comprise Curry Village. Three park visitors reportedly suffered cuts and other minor injuries. The Park Service ordered a complete evacuation of the area, and 1,005 people left the park.

"The falling rock in both slides came from the mountainside directly above Curry Village, about halfway up the granite wall between the valley floor and Glacier Point. Looking up from the valley floor Wednesday, one could see a large oblong patch of lighter granite where the chunk had broken loose. There was no word on when the rest of the camp would be reopened," Rubenstein continued.

He also quoted Gerald Wieczorek of the U.S. Geological Survey who said that rockslides "can occur as often as a dozen times a year," typically starting in fall. In July 1996, a 162,000-ton slab of granite broke off Glacier Point and fell about a mile east of Curry Village, where a resulting air blast downed over 500 trees, killed on man and injured four others, including one woman who became paralyzed.

I'm afraid I don't remember the 1996 calamity, but this one struck me because of recent incidents in two other national parks. On August 3, I posted an item about the overnight collapse of Wall Arch, the 12th-largest arch in Arches National Park near Moab, Utah. Two weeks later, I wrote about the breaching of a dam in a side canyon in the Grand Canyon National Park after up to 8 inches of rain fell.

I'm not an essentially superstitious person, but I do see that things often come in threes. When two national parks had such high-profile incidents in such a short time, I expected a third sometime in October. It took another seven weeks before the Yosemite rockslide, and I'm hoping that with three out of the way, nature will be kind to our treasured national parks and leave them be for a while.

Obey the Seatbelt Light When It Goes On

Four unbuckled passengers and two flight attendants injured when plane hit turbulence

American Airlines Flight 908 was roughly half an hour out of Miami International Airport from Buenos Aires early this morning when it hit turbulence at 30,000 feet. Even though the seatbelt light was reportedly on, some people were not buckled up. According to reports, two flight attendants and four passengers were taken to the hospital with back and neck injuries, and paramedics treated eight other people on the scene.

At that altitude, flight attendants would still be in the galleys or aisles, but there is not much of an excuse for if the passengers were not to be stapped in, whether walking around the cabin or in their seats. WTVJ, the NBC affiliate, showed footage of passengers and flight attendants being taken to hospitals.

Obviously, the thousands of daily flights where no one is hurt don't make the news as does the single rare flight where there are several injuries. However, this incident is a good reminder to take the "fasten seatbelts" sign seriously and buckle up.

Japan Airlines in Bankruptcy

Flag carrier of the Empire of the Rising Sun sinking under crushing debt load

We're accustomed to news of failed/failing/bankrupt airlines in America and even in Europe, but Asian airlines either have held up better through economic turmoil or Asian nations, unwilling to lose face, have propped up their national carriers. Japan Airlines is now in deep financial doo-doo. Its debt load, reportedly $25.6 billion, proved too much to sustain. The airline has filed for one bankruptcy protection and is facing restructuring including cutting some 16,000 jobs, cutting routes, shifting to more efficient aircraft and reducing retirees' pensions, quite a shock in the context of the nurturing Japanese social and business environment. Government support will keep JAL planes flying during this cataclysmic makeover.

Expect JAL to retire all 37 of its Boeing 747s and 16 MD-90s and replace them with 50 smaller regional jets. This will impact the long-haul routes, cutting some of the 220 airports (59 of them domestic) in 35 countries. Delta, which recently absorbed Northwest Airliner (that originally was called Northwest Orient Airlines with service to the Far East) is courting JAL to the tune of $1 billion (including $500 million in cash) to seduce JAL from American Airlines and the OneWorld frequent flyer alliance. American Airlines and its partners promise $1.4 billion cash to the Japanese airline to stay with OneWorld. The next time I fly Delta or American and am socked with a $25 fee to check a piece of luggage, I'll think about where those dollars are going. American, BTW, just reported a $347 million fourth-quarter loss, so I'm not sure whether their planning to print $1.4 billion or whether they're going to charge even more for passengers' checked baggage.

Sterling Exhibition to Open at Winterthur

Delaware museum showcases the art and craft of eating implements

A lifetime ago, when I was living in New Jersey, a magazine assignment to write about the Brandywine Valley took me to the Winterthur Museum & Country Estate. I was fortunate that my meeting with the curator who would show me around was on a Monday, the day the museum of antiques and Americana was closed to the public. The velvet ropes were down as she and I walked through the empty rooms a former du Pont mansion. Because I was with her, I was allowed to walk into those rooms and look more closely at the silver and porcelain and glassware and needlework and artwork and.....

If I were still living in the Northeast, I would plan on visiting again sometime been November 1 and February 1 to see "Feeding Desire: Design and the Tools of the Table, 1500–2005."
The exhibition showcases of European and American dining through the designs and functions of eating implements over five centuries. I love to look at this kind of domestic treasure.

Created and curated by New York's Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, a branch of the Smithsonian Institution, the show features 300 objects, enhanced by Winterthur’s extensive collection of prints, books and manuscripts. The exhibition is organized along such dining-related themes as “Dining on the Move,” “Tools for Food” and “Dining as Celebration,” the exhibition explores how even familiar objects like utensils can reveal a wealth of information about daily life and societal shifts. Visitors will learn that traveling utensils were used before the 1700s, when hosts began providing dining implements for their guests. The modern equivalent is portable dining gear, such as plastic sets for picnics and stainless steel sets designed for airline dining -- at least before we were forced to use plastic knives when there is any food service at all.

Anne Verplanck, the museum's curator of prints and paintings, has created “biographies” for the most common tabletop tools: the knife, fork, and spoon. These utensils have long defined Western dining. The most beautiful are are aesthetic as well as utilitarian. From sublime and precious to the near-silly, the exhibition features remarkable variations on table tools. Highlights are a Northern Italian traveling set with mother-of-pearl handles from 1590, silver chopsticks from Tiffany and Co., double- and triple-bowled spoons by contemporary designer Andre Zweiacker and traveling flatware by Anne Krohn Graham (above right).

Winterthur is the former home of Henry Francis du Pont (1880-1969), an avid antiques collector and horticulturist. In the early 20th century, he and his father, Henry Algernon du Pont, designed Winterthur in the spirit of 18th- and19th-century European country houses. A visit to Winterthur immerses visitors you in another time and place. You might feel as if you have traveled abroad without crossing an ocean. I did.

Adult admission to the museum, galleries and gardens (lovely and tranquil even in winter) is $20; students and 62-plus, $18; children, $10. The annual Yuletide display, November 22 to January 4 (closed Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day), is extraordinary. Winterthur Museum & Country Estate, Route 52 (5105 Kennett Pike), Winterthur, Delaware 19735; 800-448-3883, 302-888-4600 or 302-888-4907 (TTY).

Skiing Utah: Powder Mountain

"Less is more" at this ski area near Ogden (and that's not me blasting through the powder)

Powder Mountain offers more terrain and more snow with less infrastructure than any other area in Utah. It is a ski and snowboard area, pure and simple, and not a resort with lodging. There's 4,700 acres of inbounds terrain -- 2,800 acres directly lift-served, 1,200 more requiring a shuttle ride back to the lifts and 700 requiring a snowcat ride. Add to that 2,500 acres of guided snowcat skiing/riding terrain, and you have a formidable 7,200 acres to explore. In North America, only the combination of Whistler and Blackcomb offers more acreage. There's not a snowgun anywhere, for Powder Mountain receives 500 inches of cloudlight Utah snow every year. What's all the more remarkable is that Powder Mountain has just four chairlifts (only one a high-speed quad) and three surface tows.

The 5 1/2-mile access road ascends through the woods, first passing shuttle pick-up points for off-piste skiers and riders, and then the Sundown beginner/intermediate area served by a double chairlft and a surface tow. Laid out almost like a separate ski hill, it has a parking lot, a base lodge, a teaching hill, ski school, rental shop and lights for night skiing. The Timberline base has another another parking lot, another day lodge, a yurt from which private lessons and powder tours depart and a ski shop including rentals.What you don't see is a lift.

It is necessary to ski down to the loading area for the Timberline triple, and from there, you can access the Hidden Lake Express, a recent replacement for a classic old double chair that accesses the heart of Powder Mountain's lift-served terrain and culminates at the area's highest point. Powder Mountain's topography is a series of ridges and valleys, and long roads between them. Gentle meanderers lace across the complicated terrain, and groomed cruisers entice intermediate and advanced skiers. But Powder Mountain's abundant black-diamond turf really makes it shine. Outstanding tree skiing, rock-rimmed chutes, headwalls and snowy spillways make it a place for advanced and expert skiers and riders to rip. Especially on non-holiday weekdays, you can have the vast terrain practically to yourself. The terrain is complicated and spread-out that the two-dimensional trail map is helpful, but even better for getting a clearer picture of the lay of the land is to take the free guided tour that takes off from the Timberline base at 10:00 a.m. daily.

The limited on-mountain lodging is not operated by Powder Mountain. Lodging options include the condos and townhomes in the rental program of Wolf Creek at the bottom of the Powder Mountain access road, additional accommodations in the small town of Eden and downtown lodging in Ogden, a very cool little city less than an hour's drive.

Powder Mountain, P.O. Box 1119, Eden, Utah 84310; 891-745-3772.

Times Article Confirms Current Travel Industry Woes

On September 28, I posted an article here on the impact of the current economy crisis and its impact on the airline segment of the travel industry. Today's New York Times Business Section featured a piece called "Travel Industry Shaken by Economic Downturn." The only silver lining for those with any travel budget at all is that seats in premium cabins on some transatlantic carriers are being deeply discounted, as are rooms in some high-end hotels.

Airlines and Haiti Relief Efforts

Relief contributions by commercial air carriers'  and a cruise line -- and a cruel hoax

American Airlines' last commercial flight took off from Port-au-Prince shortly after Tuesday's devastating quake. The carrier immediated scheduled three relief flights for Wednesday and three more for Thursday. Each carried 10,000 pounds of supplies for the airline's 100 employees in Haiti, as well as materials for local hospitals. It has also set aside American is also giving AAdvantage frequent flyers a one-time 250-mile bonus who make a minimum $50 donation to the American Red Cross 500 bonus miles for a $100 donation.The donation must be made online here by February 28.

Spirit Airlines is prepared to add up to 1 billion miles into its frequent flyer program to members who donate $5 or more to the Red Cross, UNICEF or Yele Haiti. Click here to link to the carrier's relief contributions.

The United Airlines Foundation is matching up to a total of US$50,000 to the American Red Cross for monetary donations by United customers and employees through the International Response Fund at united.com. Also, Mileage Plus members and employees can donate miles to the airline's nonprofit relief partners as part of its Charity Miles program. According to the communications department, "United is also working with relief agencies to determine how we can best support air lift humanitarian efforts, including transporting aid workers, food, and water."

Continental Airlines permits its OnePass members to donate miles to relief workers through the American Red Cross and other aid organizations through an existing program  that does not seem to be speficially linked to Haiti relief.

Two EL AL aircraft, one jumbo 747-400 and one 777, flew to Haiti yesterday with 80 tons of supplies and 229 passengers (medical personnel, search-and-rescue teams and a K9 rescue squad). 

Commercial cargo and package carriers like FedEx and UPS are not yet able to land in Haiti, but UPS is said to be donating $1 million to help the people of Haiti through relief agencies. This is just the beginning of the process, and I'm sure that others will participate as well.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. is reportedly ready to continue sailings to its resort at Labadee, a private port of call on the north coast that escaped quake damage. The cruise line will carry humanitarian supplies on regular voyages.

And on the ground (or on the snow), Utah's Brighton Resort is donating $1 from every ticket sold tomorrow (Saturday, January 16) to relief efforts.

Horrible Hoaxes in the Twittersphere

According to a CNN report, "Twitter was buzzing Thursday morning with news that several airlines are flying doctors and nurses to Haiti free of charge to help with relief efforts there in the wake of Tuesday's devastating earthquake....The rumors are false...'[The] hoax on Twitter about American and JetBlue flying doctors and nurses to Haiti for free was just that -- a hoax. We don't know who is responsible, but it's a very low thing to do,' airline spokesman Tim Smith said in e-mails sent Thursday.Twitter users also circulated a rumor that UPS would ship for free any package under 50 lbs. to Haiti. In a blog post Wednesday on UPS's Web site, a spokeswoman debunked the rumor and said that destruction of Haiti's roads and communications networks 'means our own shipping services to Haiti are on hold.'"

Haiti: Hotel Oloffson Appears to Have Survived

Port-au-Prince landmark hotel survived the quake

Back in the early '80s, during a period of relative quiessence in Hait (Papa Doc Duvalier having been succeeded by his more benign son, Baby Doc), the country was taking advantage of a relatively quiet period and was trying to entice foreign tourists to return. Yes, our small group of travel journalists was driven past heartbreaking shantytowns and shameful slums, but also visited places of hope and creativity. We visited the cathedral (now in ruins), repeatedly drove past the Presidential Palace (now collapsed), visited the Centre d'Art and bought some wonderful primitive paintings, bought other handcrafts at the Iron Market and drove up into the mountains past deforested mountainsides to a crafts coop and a rum distillery. And I stayed at the Hotel Oloffson, a labyrinthian frame building bedecked in elaborate fretwork and set in lush private grounds.

In Haiti's heyday, when the rich and famous frequented Haiti, the richest and most famous stayed at the Oloffson and anchored its bar. A cigar-chompoing Connecticut native, Al Seitz, took over the hotel in 1960, and over the years, hosted such big names as Jackie Onassis and Mick Jagger, and Seitz named hotel rooms after them.  Graham Greeen set The Comedians at the Oloffson. After Al Seitz' death in 1982, his widow, the former Suzanne Laury, continued to operate it, and that's when I visited. The Oloffson survived thanks to foreign reporters and international aid workers who needed secure lodging

As I watched television reports of the horrible earthquake that devastated Port-au-Prince two days ago, I also wondered how the Oloffson fared. The hotel has survived decades of a challenging climate, natural disasters, merciless dictatorshops and insurrections, but might have been the cruelest blow. However, it is known that wood-frame buildings withstand quakes and shakes better than poorly built masonry ones. According to a report in USA Today's "Hotel Check-In," the Oloffson seems to have dodged yet another bullet:

"At least one prominent hotel is safe - the Hotel Oloffoson, owned by Richard Morse. According to his tweets today, everyone is safe at the hotel. He tweeted, 'all my guests slept in the driveway last night..people came up from the streets thinking they were bodies.. neighbors helping neighbors.'

Christine Blanchard of New Jersey wrote in to the BBC that she 'heard a lot of people are at the Hotel Oloffson - near the center of Port-au-Prince - because it's one of the few hotels still standing.' She'd written to BBC earlier this morning after staying up all night searching for missing family in Haiti.)"

I know that is is but one small island of good news in a sea of untthinkable tragedy, but in a Molly Brown sort of way, perhaps it's a sign that beleaguered, resilient Haiti "ain't down yet."

P.S. After I wrote the post above, I learned that the hotel was surffered some damage. The New York Times reported  that photographer Teuila Minsky, who was also staying in the Oloffson,said that a wall at the front of the hotel had fallen, killing a passer-by. Hotel owner (or GM) Richard Morse, using Twitter, was described as "a major source of news coming out of the disaster area in the early hours. In a Twitter Post from Jan 12th, he states 'Our guests are sitting out in the driveway.. no serious damage here at the Oloffson but many large buildings nearby have collapsed.'"