International Travel Is a Laughing Matter...

...in the eyes of a clever cartoonist

My friend and travel writer colleague Reed Glenn sent me the link to the New York Times' "Abstract City" and Christoph Niemann's "Red Eye," a spot-on pen-and-ink commentary on long-haul flights.I laughed till I cried as I was scrolling through the whole thing, so you might want to grab a tissue before you look at the whole thing. It gets better page by page. I may be walking a copyright tightrope by posting the opening page of his commentary here, but I'm treating it as if it were a short excerpt used as a quote from a longer article.

Mexico: Swine Flu Fears

Outbreak in Mexico sets off pandemic in cyberspace impacts travel to Mexico

Associated Press headline: "Mexico swine flu deaths spur global epidemic fears." About one thousand cases (and 81 deaths) in Mexico, mostly in Mexico City, the capital, "where authorities closed schools, museums, libraries and theaters in the capital on Friday to try to contain an outbreak that has spurred concerns of a global flu epidemic.The worrisome new virus — which combines genetic material from pigs, birds and humans in a way researchers have not seen before." Eight cases, more or less (but no deaths), in California and Texas.

• People photographed wearing face masks.
• Caution to "avoid hospitals" in Mexico City, since they are breeding grounds for contagions. Caution against handshaking or cheek-to-cheek kissing as a greeting.
• Pasesengers at Mexico City's international airport questioned to try to prevent passengers with flu symptoms from boarding airplanes and spreading the disease.
• Concern at the World Health Organization, which is "convening an expert panel to consider whether to raise the pandemic alert level or issue travel advisories. It might already be too late to contain the outbreak, a prominent U.S. pandemic flu expert said late Friday. Given how quickly flu can spread around the globe, if these are the first signs of a pandemic, then there are probably cases incubating around the world already, said Dr. Michael Osterholm at the University of Minnesota," according the AP report.

For travelers, where's the line between reasonable precautions and unreasonable fear? Everyone has to make his or her own decision, but for my part, I can think of a lot of reasons to avoid the congested and confusing airport in Mexico City if at all possible. I traveled to China in 2003, not long after SARS hit there. And, I attended the Society of American Travel Writers convention in Houston last October, where many of my colleagues came down with similar symptoms (mostly fever, vomiting and diarrhea). I didn't contract SARS in China in '03 or turista in Texas in '08, so I'm probably no yardstick.

Travel to Mexico has already been slammed by the recesssion and by reports of drug-related violence in border cities, far from tourist destinations. Now this. Bottom line, again, is that each traveler has to assess the decision, but there are great values to be had. And, for what it's worth, the American Medical & Health Tourism Conference is going on right now in Monterrey, according to a report on the Mexico Vacation Travels blog site. Click here for the New York Times report on steps Mexico is taking to curtail the spread of swine flu.

Mummies and Melodrama

"Reality" TV strikes again in creating a dreadful television series

I've been captivated by things Egyptian since I visited Egypt last year as part of a Society American Travel Writers Freelance Council meeting that included an audience with Dr. Zahi Hawass, the media-savvy, imperious and very gifted secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities. Dr. Hawass is an aggressive advocate for the protection of ancient Egyptian treasures. He has developed an ego the size of the Great Pyramid at Giza and has a high profile, personally escorting VIPs around the sites, personally announcing every significant discovery, whether or not he made it and appearing on numerous legitimate documentaries.

Against this background, I was looking forward to the History Channel's "Chasing Mummies" series that debuted last night. I have never written a television review-type post, but this misguided show merits a two thumbs down.

The plot was that a television crew was following Dr. Hawass and his team, including a comely intern, during the excavation of an early pyramid at Saqqara near Cairo. Comely intern Zoe, who unexpectedly showed up in place of intern Clare/Claire, but her papers were in order, so she was permitted to stay, often getting in the way. But Zoe is cute so she was invited to take her first look inside the pyramid. After a disjointed exploration, Zoe was improbably permitted, by one of Dr. Hawass's team, to stay in the labyrinthian corridors by herself "for five minutes" to take pictures, which she did with her little point-and-shoot while the chamber was brilliantly lit by television cameras.

Zoe's foot got jammed. Someone turned off the lights and locked the gates, and Zoe became reality TV's equivalent of the silent-film heroine tied to the railroad tracks. If this program were to be believed, only Dr. Hawass, who had to be called from Cairo where he was doing a book signing, had the ability to unlock the gate and turn on the lights. It was contrived, lame and added nothing to the body of knowledge about ancient Egypt.

And then, in the second part, Dr. Hawass and his team traveled to "an oasis near Cairo" to demolish villagers' homes that were built over ancient graves that contained mummies. Curious children watched homes being knocked down, and suddenly, the earth was pocked with holes that presumably led to underground burial chambers. An articulated loader, which was referred to as a bulldozer, broke through the surface of the ground, got stuck and then got unstuck.

Speaking of stuck, I stuck it out through the first episode, but I won't waste my time on another. New York Times television critic Neil Genzlinger didn't think any more of the program than I did. In his review, he called it "an annoying new show." The History Channel's website calls this a "documentary series." They sure have a wry sense of humor! In fact, this entire program was a joke.

Airlines' Food Costs Are Pretty Low

Inflight food costs predictors of lousy inflight fare

No domestic airline spends as much as $9, per passenger, for inflight food, according to Cranky Flier's post today called "What Airlines Spend on Food." The post, which I recommended reading, included a government chart (below) tracking key carriers' per-passenger food expenditures over the last decade.

Of course, nine bucks, which is about what Alaska Airlines used to spend, bought more and/or better food a decade ago than six dollars or less does today. What is unclear from this chart is whether it includes both Coach and the First Class. Free food and adult beverages are still offered in the front of the plane, but in steerage, passengers have to buy food other than perhaps a tiny little bag of free pretzels or peanuts. We have been doing so for nearly a decade, since carriers curtailed than eliminated free meals and phased in food fort purchase.


"United Airlines used to spend $100 million a year on coach-cabin food when serving free meals, but now spends $20 million and brings in $20 million in revenue," according to a Wall Street Journal report last September called "Pie in the Sky? Upgrading Food in Coach." I knew that carriers were spending less and earning more on inflight food, but I had no idea how much.

"Reputation Management" Tarnishes Credibility of Customer Reviews

Some hotels pressure guests to writer favorable online reviews -- sometimes even before they've stayed

"It's not enough to ask guests for a write-up on a popular site such as TripAdvisor or Yelp after they've checked out. Lately, some innkeepers have been pressuring their customers to say positive things online — in extreme cases, even before they've checked in.

"Take what happened to Pam Stucky when she recently made a reservation at a small hotel in Scotland. Before she arrived, the owner sent her an e-mail soliciting a recommendation on TripAdvisor, even though she'd never been to the hotel."

That was the lead consumer advocate Christopher Elliott used in his syndicated "Travel Troubleshooter" column that appeared in today's Denver Post travel section. "called "Some hotels cross the line for a good review" was the title of the column about some properties' practice of "reputation management" of consumer reviews on the Internet. Big Internet sites have policies in place to assure that reviews are legitimate and untainted. TripAdvisor.com's is,  "Property owners are welcome to encourage their guests to submit user reviews upon their return home, but they are not allowed to offer incentives, discounts, upgrades, or special treatment on current or future stays in exchange for reviews."

Neither this site nor my http://www.culinary-colorado.com/ have the rep or the reach of Tripartite.com or Chris Elliott's various online, print and broadcast presence, but fans and foes of specific businesses have tried to sway customers to or from a place. This has happened with my culinary blog more often than this travel blog.

Back in 2008, I posted news of Duy Pham, a classically trained chef who had been with several noteworthy Denver restaurants, who opened Restaurant Fifteen Twentyone in Pueblo, a city known more for its Mexican food and blue-cheese curds than for French bistros. Someone who clearly had it out for him left some nasty, unsubstantiated accusations as comments to my posts, all under the cloak or anonymity. I deleted them, not because I believe any restaurant or other business is immune to criticism, but undocumented, anonymous vituperative comments have no place here. I haven't been in Pueblo in a while, but as far as I can tell, it's still around -- no mean feat in a struggling community and a shaky national economy.

On the flip side, I didn't have much good to write about the food at Boulder's Scotch Corner, a pub with a great location, good booze, abysmal food and questionable service. I try to give any business the benefit of the doubt when I write, because I am mindful of the challenges they all face, but in my post, I took the kitchen to task about such simple-to-rectify issues as toast that was burned on one side and untoasted on the other, square pastry dough placed on a round pot-pie so that it came out with four burned triangles, two salt shakers and no pepper on our table, and no shakers of either sort on others, I suspected that the owners encouraged their loyal customers to leave comments debating my evaluation. If they had trained their kitchen and waitstaff a little better, the pub might still be in business -- although more likely, the high cost of occupying a large space on a visible downtown corner was partly an issue in its demise.

But back to the original topic, we travel writers are always suspected of being unobjective because travel providers court us with generous hospitality. I would like to think that we can be more objective because we have been to more hotels, flown on more airlines, have dined out more, etc. than the overage traveler who could be more susceptible to the offer of an upgrade or some other perk in exchange for a favorable post somewhere.

Elliott cited MeasuredUp.com, a social network site created in 2006 to enable customers to review and rate how how businesses have treated them. It serves as a conduit for complimentary or aggrieved customers to the appropriate individuals or departments in a business and for those businesses to respond. Travel is one of MeasuredUp.com's categories. If you have a comment or complaint, it's another avenue to get the word out, pro or con. And of course, TripAdvisor. Yelp and other social networking sites do welcome legitimate, uninfluenced comments.

Viscape's List of Top Travel Blogs

Travel Babel named as one of Viscape's Top 15 for 2008

Viscape (short for "Visualize Your Escape") has included this blog on its list of the top 15 travel blogs of the year. I'm thrilled to be included on the site describes itself as "a social marketplace for travelers, owners, and real estate professionals to come together to network, exchange ideas, conduct business, meet and organize trips around vacation properties and second homes." Of their selection, they wrote "Viscape really wanted to gear this to individuals sharing their passions and travel experiences, but some of the 'big dogs' in travel blogging can’t be ignored. (Ah..hem… National Geographic being the biggest)! Happy reading and happy travels!"

Here's the list of their 15 selected travel blogs and Viscape's comments on why they selected these:

1. National Geographic Intelligent Travel - "... they use those already extensive resources to create an entertaining and very informative blog about the known and unknown places of the world."
2. Traveling Mammas - "...great tips on great (and not so great) places to visit with children and how to have the best family vacations [by] four ladies [who] are a true traveling inspiration!"
3. Brooke vs. the World - "Brooke is a 25-year-old traveler from central Illinois on an extended journey to see the world....she made a promise to spend a large part of her life experiencing cultures other than her own."
4. Everything-everywhere - "[Blogger] Gary Arndt has... one goal in mind: see everything there is to behold....See what he sees through both words and photographs."
5. Travel Babel - "Claire Walter is a travel writer and began blogging in 2006. Now, she shares with her readers the latest news and trends of the travel industry."
6. Olga the Traveling Bra - "Want a good laugh, but still be informed?...Specializing in travel adventures that won’t disappoint!"
7. Killing Batteries - "Leif Petterson’s blogs are more than just fun and educational to read; they’re hilarious as well...."
8. The Perrin Post - "Travel tips from Conde Naste Traveler Magazine’s Wendy Perrin.... consumer news editor. She writes a practical advice column...[and] features on a wide variety of travel topics."
9. The Lost Girls - "Three twenty-something New Yorkers who ditched their media jobs to embark on a yearlong, round-the-world journey in search of adventure and inspiration."
10. LA times Daily Travel Deals Blog - "Hand-picked advice about travel deals and steals from some of the most comprehensive globe trotters on this side of the equator!"
11. Gas.tron.o.my - "If trying new food dishes is one of the sole reasons for visiting new places, then you should be reading Gas.tron.o.my...."
12. Travel Betty - "All about fearless travel for women! ...Travel From pampering to roughing it, [Travel Betty is] an experience collector [who] desires to be the old woman with the good stories. To her, travel is freedom."
13. Candy from Strangers - "Join the ever-lasting search for the best piece of chocolate or perhaps lollipop. Malena, a candy lover (like us) travels all around the world searching for the next best piece of candy...."
14. Delicious Baby - "...Take advice from Debbie, someone who can help make travel with your kids exciting (she has two delicious children of her own) and more enjoyable for everyone."
15. Viscape - "Are you visualizing your escape this minute? Well, Viscape can help you find the perfect place to stay or go on your next vacation. Read all about the latest trends in the real estate and the travel markets."

America's Healthiest Airports

What makes an airport healthy? Health magazine has some answers and has published a list

According to Health magazine, it seems to be a combination of factors that contribute to physical health and mental health by offering "nutritious food, special relaxation zones, walking paths, the latest safety technology, and a whole lot more." Other pluses: noise reduction, children's play areas and environmental stewardship. The opportunity to move around, to eat food that's not bad for you and to be in a stress-reducing place contribute greatly to an airport's health factor.

In a piece called "America's Healthiest Airports," the magazine selected the America's top ten -- and the links I have used are to the magazine's evaluations and descriptions, not to the airports' own websites:

1. Phoenix Sky Harbor
2. Baltimore Washington International Airport
3. O'Hare International (Chicago)
4. Detroit Metropolitan
5. Denver International (right)
6. Washington National
7. Dallas/Fort Worth International
8. Logan International (Boston)
9. Portland International (Oregon)
10. Philadelphia International

Of course, living in Colorado, I am more familiar with DIA than any other airport. Recently opened in the main terminal is the Vertical Mile Market (right), bright and inviting and offering some not-so-great-for-you snack foods but also far more healthy options than the newsstands. You'd never know from the food-court lines at various fast-fooderies that DIA does have healthy options, but they do exist.

The B Gates (aka, Concourse B), offer the most healthy options (be sure to choose wisely) including Cantina Grill Express, Itza Wrap! Itza Bowl!, Jamba Juice, Que Bueno! Mexican Grille, TCBY Yogurt, and Wolfgang Puck Express. TCBY also is in the main terminal and at the C Gates. For those who like to walk, the B Gates are also along DIA's longest concourse, so once through security, passengers can take a nice long hike there. Another walking opportunity is to use the skybridge rather than the train to reach the A Gates and to walk from the main terminal to A instead of using the moving walkways to approach security.

Results of Tavel Magazine Readers' Poll on Skiing

Results of Condé Nast Traveler's 13th Annual Ski Poll announced

A ski poll is nothing at all like a ski pole. The former is a travel magazine's annual survey that ranks "the best places to ski and stay in North America" An "unprecented" 32,633 Condé Nast Traveler readers who took part in this year's survey. Frankly, I always take these reader polls with a grain of salt. Big Western resorts always "win" because more people visitthem. The big, fancy hotels generally rank high, not necessarily because everyone who selected them has stayed there, but because many people recognize a name-brand luxury chain and vote for it. The results are interesting nonetheless.

The magazine's press release explained: "Readers were asked to evaluate resort towns on the following criteria: Terrain and Conditions; Lifts and Lines; Town Ambience; Dining; and Après-ski/Activities. The ski hotels were rated based on: Location; Rooms; Service; Dining and Food; and Design. The awards appear in the December issue (on newsstands November 25) and are derived from the Condé Nast Traveler Readers Choice Survey." Whistler Blackcomb, BC, was voted Best Ski Resort Town, with an overall score of 90.7 and top scores in Après-Ski/Activities and Local Dining. Other top scorers in specific categories are:

• Top Terrain: Big White, BC (95.3)
• Top Lifts and Lines: Deer Valley, UT (92.1)
• Top Aprés-ski/Activities: Whistler/Blackcomb, BC (93.2)
• Top Local Dining: Whistler/Blackcomb, BC (90.3)
• Top Local Ambience: Jackson Hole, WY (94.0)

The Top 10 Ski Resorts are the usual suspects:

1. Whistler Blackcomb, BC

2. Telluride, CO

3. Deer Valley, UT

4. Aspen, CO

5. Jackson Hole, WY

6. Sun Valley, ID

7. Vail, CO

8. Beaver Creek, CO

9. Park City, UT

10. Sun Peaks, BC

Ranked as the Best Ski Hotel for 2008 is the Post Hotel & Spa in Lake Louise, AB, with an overall score of 93.3 and the top score for Food (94.9). There's something funny about the Pan Pacific Mountainside leading in three categories but not appearing at all on the overall top-10 list. Make of that what you will. Both are in Whistler/Blackcomb. Other category leaders are:

• Top Location: Pan Pacific Whistler Mountainside, Whistler/Blackcomb, BC (100)
• Top Rooms: Pan Pacific Whistler Mountainside, Whistler/Blackcomb, BC (96.1)
• Top Service: Four Seasons Resort, Jackson Hole, WY (95.1)
• Top Food: Post Hotel & Spa, Lake Louise, AB (94.9)
• Top Design: Pan Pacific Whistler Mountainside, Whistler/Blackcomb, BC (96.1)

According to the poll, the Top 10 Ski Hotels overall are as follows:

1. Post Hotel & Spa, Lake Louise, AB

2. Pan Pacific Whistler Village Centre, Whistler/Blackcomb, BC

3. Four Seasons Resort, Jackson Hole, WY

4. Stein Eriksen Lodge, Deer Valley, UT

5. Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch, Beaver Creek, CO

6. Four Seasons Resort, Whistler/Blackcomb, BC

7. Little Nell Hotel, Aspen, CO

8. Lodge & Spa at Cordillera, Vail Valley (Edwards), CO

9. Sundance Resort, Sundance, UT

10. St. Regis Resort, Aspen, CO

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

News Flash: NY Times Travels to Colorado Wine Country

Colorado wine country in prestigious newspaper -- including some factual slippage

In a New York Times travel feature called "Biking Colorado's Wine Country," New York-based wine writer Stefani Jackenthal explores the Palisade region on two wheels. She and a friend spent three days cycling, sipping, dining and B&Bing. I love it when the the prestigious Times focuses attention on Colorado, but why, oh, why does the self-proclaimed "newspaper of record" always get something wrong? The last time was the misleading "36 Hours in Denver" feature with so many off-the-mark facts and suggestions that I blogged it and, more importantly, the Times' mailbox was loaded with objections and corrections from indignant Coloradans.

The wine country piece, which will appear in Sunday's Travel Section but is already available online and in Friday papers, is also somewhat off the mark. Jackenthal wrote, "The first contemporary Colorado winery opened in 1968, but it was slow growing; by 1990, there were only four wineries. Eventually, however, the industry took root. Today there are 72 recognized Colorado wineries, according to the Colorado Wines trade group, with more on the way." Ivancie Winery indeed opened 1968 using non-Colorado grapes but was fairly short-lived. Wineries and vineyards hiccuped into being, and it was two decades before Colorado wineries really were producing wines from Colorado grapes. The trade group is called the Colorado Wine Industry Development Board, more of a mouthful than Colorado Wines but it's the correct name.

The town of Palisade is described as being "surrounded by the Book Cliffs mountain range and Grand Mesa." Palisade isn't surrounded by those two geological features. The Grand Mesa is to the southeast. The Book Cliffs are on the other side of the Colorado River to the north. That leaves the south and west, which are drier than the Mesa and flatter than both. The Book Cliffs are not a mountain range but rather a 60-mile-long escarpment of exposed, eroded sedimentary rock. Wikipedia currently calls them a "mountain range," which is probably where she found the inaccurate description.

Halka Chronic's geologically definitive Roadside Geology of Colorado desribes the Book Cliffs as "towering palisades of Mancos shale. This gray shale, yellow where it is leached, contains types of clay that swell when wet and shrink when dry. Such action brings about a loose soil that is so constantly eroding that it won't support much in the way of vegetation. Where it is not protected by the Mesaverde caprock, the Mancos shale erodes into hump-backed gray and yellow badlands."

But then again, Jackenthal visited several Colorado wineries, compared their wines to European ones and generally enthused about what she found. So who am I to worry that she's weak on Colorado geology and that she implies a non-existent continuum between Ivancie's winery, the real start of the modern Colorado wine industry two decades later and its increasing maturation 20 years after that.

Department of Homeland Security Subpoenas Travel Bloggers

First Ammendment rights versus security concerns

Chris Elliott of elliott.org and Steven Frischling of FlyingWithFish.com got hold of and published Transportation Security directives following the failed terrorist incident on a Detroit-bound plane. You know the story. I don't need to recap it here. The Department of Homeland Security wants to know how these two bloggers obtained these confidential documents and have subpoenaed them to find out. No one is diminishing the need for vigilence and security when it comes to air travel, but IMO, Homeland Security is barking up the wrong tree when their concern is with who leaked these documents rather than paying full attention to plugging the holes in the security system.

In the old world of traditional news, reporters, their editor bosses and their publisher bosses stood firm to protect their First Ammendment rights (that's the Freedom of the Press one). Think Watergate. Now independent bloggers in many cases have become watchdogs since the mainstream media is crumbling and/or becoming a vehicle for info-tainment and so-called "reality TV." For journalists, it doesn't get more real than the need to protect sources and maintain freedom to publish -- no less online than in print or broadcast. They don't have powerful corporations and squadrons of lawyers behind them. They should have all of us behind them. When they break news like this that affects us, they are on our side as travelers (and as travel journalists). Let's be on their side.

Read Chris Elliott's report of the subpoena here, Steve Frischling's here and travel writer/blogger (and until recently USA Today travel reporter) Chris Gray Faust's commentary here.

"New York Times" Discovers Denver; Mile High City Will Survive

Know-it-all newspaper doesn't...

The illustrious New York Times assigned Eric Wilson, who usually seems to report on shopping, to write "36 Hours in Denver." He got a lot right but also a fair amount falls under the "not exactly" category.

Wilson wrote about "the imposingly gray state Capitol, a dead ringer for the one in Washington, only made of sound Colorado granite." Dead ringer? Not exactly. Consider the vastly different sizes, the significantly different overall proportions and the very different dome shape and scale. Perhaps these buildings look alike to someone who pretends that the US Capitol (above left) and the Colorado Capitol (right) have identical columns and pay no mind to our state capitol's gleaming gold dome, its lack of massive wings and its absence of a pair of grand staircases such as those that grace the US Capitol.

Special note to Eric Wilson and other New Yorkers: The mere presence of a dome does not automatically create a US Capitol clone. Even the New York State Capitol in Albany has one, but city people don't normally venture very far upstate, let alone, evidently, visit our state.

Regarding food, Wilson writes, "There’s no getting around Denver’s culinary specialty, red meat, the starring attraction at Old West-themed barbecue joints all over town." Even without pointing out what an out-of-date cliche that is, his citation of Buckhorn Exchange and The Fort bear noting. At 115 years old, the Buckhorn Exchange, Denver's oldest restaurant, and The Fort, arguably its most distinctive and most Western, are very worthwhile stops for city slickers from New York, even if only for their artifacts.

Wilson described The Fort as "what appears to be a 1960s rendition of the Alamo." It may appear that way to him, but in fact, The Fort is a smaller-scale replica of and tribute to Bent's Fort along the Santa Fe Trail -- in southeastern Colorado, not in Texas and about 670 miles apart. The Fort is revered for its own role in honoring and even preserving Western history in general and Colorado history in particular. The food is very good, the wine list very sophisticated and the ambiance unique. But "barbecue joints"? Not exactly.

Wilson recommends a visit to Rockmount Ranch Wear for authentic Western shirts but neglects to mention that founder Jack Weil still comes to work every day at the age of 107. In fact, he was alive in 1908, the last time Denver hosted a political convention -- but it was the Republicans who met in Colorado's capital a century ago. This might be the most interesting single factoid about Rockmount.

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Note: Jack Weil died on August 14, 2008, having gone to work almost until the end. He was still doing that when Wilson researched his story and when the Times published it.

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According to Wilson it was "Larimer Square in LoDo, where gold was first discovered in Colorado in the 1850s." Again, not exactly. If he had visited Inspiration Point Park, several miles northwest of LoDo at Sheridan Boulevard and 50th Avenue, he might have seen a historic plaque inscribed, "One mile north of this point Gold was discovered on June 22, 1850, by a party of California-bound Cherokees. The discovery was made by Louis Ralston, whose name was given to the creek, (a branch of Clear Creek). Reports of the find brought the prospecting parties of 1858 and produced the permanent settlement of Colorado. Erected by the State Historical Society of Colorado from the Mrs. J.N. Hall Foundation and by the American Trails Association and Citizens of Denver. 1941."

As far as nightlife is concerned, he wrote about drinks at Rioja, which is actually far better known for its food, and added that "Within a three-block radius, there’s also a wine bar, Crú; a Champagne bar, Corridor 44; and a nightclub called Open Bar." In fact, Rioja and the three bars/clubs he listed are all on the same block -- the 1400 block of Larimer.

Wilson, the New York shopping maven, inexplicably sends visitors to the tacky Mile High Flea Market. He didn't mention that the flea market is a dozen miles or so from downtown Denver, that it is only open Friday through Sunday and that there is an admission charge -- modest to be sure, but something the "newspaper of record" normally would note.

As part of his practical travel tips, Wilson noted, "A cab from the airport to most downtown hotels is $47." Well, that's a New Yorker's view of the world if ever there was one. Except visitors with big expense accounts or big bank accounts, or parties of more than one or two, savvy travelers heading to a downtown hotel would take RTD's SkyRide from the airport to the Market Street station for just 9 bucks.

Philadephia Offers New High-Tech, Self-Guided Tour

With Ben Franklin as a guide, visitors can't go wrong in the cradle of American liberty

July 4, American Independence Day, would seem to have been the perfect date for the introduction of a new self-paced GPS Ranger tour of Philadelphia's Independence National Historical Park. But July 14, Bastille Day, isn't a bad choice either, because the French got their uppity ideas about removing themselves from under a royal yoke from the new United States. Also, Benjamin Franklin, portrayed by Philadelphia's Ralph Archibald, who hosts the tour, was a key to striking an alliance between the nascent United States of America and France. But more to the point, the 14th worked better than the Fourth of the mayor of Philadelphia, who is expected at the debut of the new tour.

The GPS Ranger is a device that "knows" the user's location based on GPS (Global Positioning System) technology. See what I mean about high-tech? This patent-pending, handheld computer then delivers the tour, including appropriate video, audio, musical soundtrack and historical photographs, to visitors. It is to those museum audio tours what high-def color television is to AM radio. However, everything happens automatically. There are no buttons to push to tell the device the visitor's exact location. I haven't used it myself, but it is said to be both entertaining and educational.

The state-of-the-art Independence Visitor Center rents the device for $15.95, which is a good deal because it can be shared by several visitors and covers the historic highlights around what has been called Philadelphia’s Most Historic Square Mile, including the Liberty Bell, National Constitution Center, Declaration House, Washington Square containing a burial ground of fallen Revolutionary War soldiers, the “Moon Tree” grown from seeds that on board a moon flight in 1971, City Tavern, Christ Church Burial Ground with the graves of five signers of the Declaration of Independence including Franklin and Elfreth’s Alley, the oldest continuously inhabited residential street in the country, dating back to the early 1700s.

Tour de France is About Sport & Scenery

Cable telecast showcases elite cyclists and doubles as travelogue around France

My husband and I spend three weeks in France every July -- all courtesy of global television. The 95th Tour de France is again a broadcast tour de force -- a three-week telethon around France. This year's Tour began yesterday (Saturday) July 5 in Brittany and will conclude in Paris on Sunday, July 27. The 21 stages will cover 3,500 kilometers past farmland, forests, vineyards, villages, provincial cities, castles, cathedrals, chateaux, coastlines and most thrilling of all, the soaring Alps and Pyrenees.

No matter that the incomparable Lance Armstrong has retired, what doping scandals have hit pro cycling or which teams are in and out, the travelogue part is a thrill. Versus, the current name for the cable channel that used to be OLN, covers the major stage races in Europe and the US, but none is so captivating to travelers as the Tour de France coverage. We watched the Tour of California (lots of rain and lots of transmission difficulties) and the Vuelta d'Espana and the Giro d'Italia, and none showcased the scenery as well as the Tour de France. Regardless of who wins, we will have been on our annual (vicarious) trip to France and enjoyed every bit of the journey.

Help Wanted in National Parks & Other Public Lands

Celebrate National Public Lands Day by visiting a park -- or lending a hand

Our Neighborhood National Park at the Change of Seasons

We are very lucky to have Rocky Mountain National Park a little more than an hour from our door -- and we never take it for granted. Today, my husband, a friend and I hiked to one of our favorite destinations, Cub Lake, walking first in sunshine, then through a stiff breeze that brought clouds in from the west, through some rain and finally in sunshine again.

This woolly worm crossed our trail. According to legend, the thinner the brownish red bands, the harsher the winter will be. If the woolly worm is mostly brownish red in the middle, winter will be mild. However, the legend doesn't indicated what a yellow band in the middle foretells.

The wind drove Cub Lake's lily pads toward one end. It drove me back down the trail quickly. After a quick look at a familiar lake and the sight of clouds moving in, I had no inclination to linger.

Near the trailhead, the elk emerged from the trees in Hollowell Park. It's truly fall when these magnificent animals appear.

What We All Can Do to Help....

In addition to visiting our national parks and periodically reminding our representatives in Congress how important the parks are, we can volunteer to help them. National Public Lands Day, Saturday, September 26, is a two-pronged day of celebration of and service to the country’s vast and glorious public lands. The National Park Service is waiving admission charges at all 391 national parks, national monuments and historic sites and properties that it manages.

In addition to National Parks, Americans and visitors to our country also enjoy lands administered by the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management lands, state and local park departments and recreational corridors under various jurisdictions. In 2008, 120,000 volunteers built trails and bridges, removed trash and invasive plants, and planted more than 1.6 million trees. Click here to find one of the thousands of sites around the country that needs your help next Saturday. Expect to get a free lunch, gratitude and a whole lot of satisfaction.

...And What We Can All Watch on Television

And then, between Sunday, September 27 and Friday, October 2, tune in to your local public broadcasting station to see "The National Parks: America's Best Idea," a six-episode Ken Burns documentary that will remind us all what the crown jewels of our public lands offer to us.

Of the 319 units within the national park system, 58 are full-fledged national parks, and some of us are fortunate to live within easy-access distance of at least one of them. Film maker Ken Burns selected 10 don't-miss parks, which he wrote about in today's USA Weekend. In "10 National Parks You Don't Want to Miss," he wrote his reasons for selecting Yosemite, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Denali, Glacier, Great Smokey Mountains, Acadia, Everglades, Zion and Shenandoah.

Zurich Profiled in New York Times

Just yesterday, a CNN Snapshot collection inspired a post that was, in effect, an ode to Switzerland. This week's New York Times travel section's popular getaway feature is "36 Hours in Zurich," spotlighting Zurich, not Switzerland's capital (that would be Bern) but its largest city.

Swiss Snapshots Online

CNN Travel posted 25 great photos of Switzerland on its Snapshot series. I'm guessing the editors had a hard time narrowing the submissions down, because it's difficult not to take a great picture in Switzerland. Many of the historic main cities -- Zurich, Geneva, Lausanne and Lucerne -- are set on lovely lakes. The mountains are jaw-droppingly beauitful year-round, when flowers fill the meadows and when snow covers them under a deep blanket of white. Picturesque towns and villages tucked into mountain valleys pose alluringly for photographs too, and when the Swiss put on traditional clothes, which can vary from valley to valley, and perhaps pull out their haunting Alphorns (like the Swiss Tourism image above, with the Matterhorn in the background) , the memory remains magical. I love visiting Switzerland, and I photos of this enchanting Alpine land always bring up powerful memories and a wish to return. I hope you enjoy the CNN Snapshot gallery as much as I did.

"Confessions of a Travel Writer"

Travel Channel premiere of a program that's a bit about my life

Many of my travel writer colleagues are totally fabulous: smart, curious, adaptable, genuinely nice. But some are less so: demanding, complaining, self-centered, condescending. And a few are particularly unpleasant to travel with. "Confessions of a Travel Writer," which was shown on the Travel Channel on August 10 but which I just watched, alluded to both. Fortunately, the show didn't feature the worst of the travel writer species or I'd be embarrassed by association.

Cameras followed five travel writers hosted by the Chilean Tourist Office on a one-week press trip last February (I think) to Santiago, San Antonio Valley wine country, Valparaiso and Patagonia (including the totally spectacular Torres del Paine National Park). And I finally watched, thanks to the magic of DVR. Charles Runnette hosted the show, with Shira Lazar, Chantal Martineau, Jimmy Im and Andrew Evans comprising the rest of the guests. Some of them represented publications that I thought did not accept "sponsored trips" -- but that's a topic unto itself. I could totally identify with it: a packed-full itinerary, private van transportation (and flights to/from Patagonia) between stops and lavish hosted meals that everyone seems to be hungry for.

On camera, Runnette sported the been-everywhere-seen-everything shaggy traveler look. He complained on camera about trivial inconveniences such getting the worst room in a Valparaiso hotel, about sitting in the last row on the flight to Punta Arenas, about penguin poop at the Isla Magdalena penguin rookery and about mosquitoes elsewhere in Patagonia. I can testify that press trips rarely give guests much of a chance to spend much time in their rooms other than take stuff out of their bag(s) and put it back in, shower and sleep. Runnette was enthusastic about a couple of big soaking tubs, but I've rarely had time to fill, let alone soak, in one of them on a press trip.

What the TV show failed to convey is the real work involved in gaining some insights and getting an interesting story despite the grueling schedule and the fact that even a group as small as five has different interests. Plus the host's desire to show off very specific things. The Society of American Travel Writers' 2006 convention was in Santiago. About half of us stayed at the same hotel that this press group did and the rest in a different high-rise hotel distant from the historic town center. Many of us ate at one of the Bellavista restaurants that this group did upon arrival. Many of us went to Valparaiso fof a day. And a few of us lucky ones selected a post-convention trip to Patagonia, including Torres del Paine National Park. Unlike a press trip, however, which is hosted, members pay to attend SATW conventions -- and in some cases, pay more than other groups but often get more for our meeting money. That said, we had slightly different versions of many of the experiences that this group did.

Like most reality shows, "Confessions of a Travel Writer" was not really real. All five of the guests were rather young, trim and telegenic. In truth, many travel writers have many decades on their odometers and aren't nearly as telegenic as this quintet. The women clearly were not members of the Patagonia/North Face/REI tribe. They wore the New York version of active outdoorwear, city-style makeup and glowing smiles. But even five people can be a microcosm of the travel writer experience. Charles and Shira hung together a lot. Jimmy misplaced his notebook in Valparaiso. Andrew was interested in photographing things that did not necessarily captivate the others -- especially Charles. But on balance, they seemed to get along. And that, on any press trip, is sometimes an accomplishment.

In an interview with WorldHum.com, which is owned by or affiliated with The Travel Channel, Runnette described the tightrope that we travel writers walk. He told interviewer Michael Yessis, "Any job is difficult to summarize in 43 minutes on TV, and, frankly, this show only scratches the surface of what it takes to be a travel writer. The funny thing about this job is that when you tell anyone you’re a travel writer, nine times out of 10 the first thing out of their mouth is: 'That’s my dream job.' I would say this show lays waste to that popular myth. Yes, it’s better than many jobs, but after watching this show viewers will understand the down side of travel writing. Dealing with morons, bad pay, long days and nights. And, frankly, it can be lonely at times."

The program was promoted as a "premiere," but according to a Facebook entry, it is a pilot -- so there may be others. If there are, I'll be watching.

Hotel Review Sites: Useful or Misleading?

Thoughts about hired reporters vs. "volunteers" who post about travel

A few months ago, I needed a last-minute hotel/motel room in Santa Monica. I foolishly booked online without doing due diligence and found myself trapped in the Pacific Sands Motel, which I have described to friends as the "worst motel in the country." I blogged about here. Had I read the traveler-generated reviews on, say, TripAdvisor.com before booking, I might have suspected that it is a pit. But then again, when I looked later, I saw some positive write-ups that might not have deterred me. I've always suspected that some of the good reviews of bad places (and defensive comments to negative reviews) were plants.

Pauline Frommer, whose budget travel genes are as pure as Prince Charles's to the English throne, recently addressed that very topic, "Some marketing folks spend their time posting bogus reviews for the hotels that hire them. The practice of 'buzz marketing' has now become so widespread that TripAdvisor has recently started posting warnings on reviews it thinks may be fake. (I doubt very much they’ll be able to catch more than a small fraction of the fake reviews.)"

She went on to describe Oyster.com, which focuses only on hotels and, more significantly, "sends out a small army of young journalists (right) to write reviews....[who] post numerous pictures, crawl around on the floor looking for scuff marks and cigarette burns (or at least they say they do in their posts) and most importantly, compare and contrast the properties in an informed way."

Frommer praises their energy and accepts their objectivity, but she cautions that prices and price categories are the new site's major weakness. For instance, in examining the listings and reviews in New York, with which she is up-to-date familiar, she finds several properties misplaced, pricewise, and also believes that the averages were calculated in January and February, "the two cheapest months of the year." She added, "The reviewers also seem to be so focused on what’s going on in the hotel that they tend to ignore a key factor in picking where to stay: location. The amenities and charms of particular neighborhoods over others are glossed over lightly on the site." That is directly to contrary to the dreadful Pacific Sands Motel across from the Santa Monica pier, whose location for many people trumps its abundant flaws.

From where I sit in a fly-over state, a glaring flaw that still currently exists is its extreme geographic limitation: currently Aruba, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Las Vegas ("coming soon"), Miami and New York. Three Caribbean destinations and three mainland cities. That's it.

My travel plans include none of the above, and when I go to New York, my favorite and most economical accommodation is the Hotel Fold-Out Couch at a friend's place. Still, Pauline Frommer's recommendation, even with caveats, carries considerable weight, so I share it here.

Frontier's Larry the Lynx Commercial Wins an Emmy

There nust be something about airliners' tails....

Back in airlines' bright, shiny and profitable days ( i.e., the '70s) and when they sought to attract the traveling businessman with slightly provacative commercials, Continental Airlines ran a television commercial that claimed,

"We really move our tails for you.

We make your every wish come true.

Fly Continental Airlines.

We really move our tails for you."

The follow-up described Continental planes, in their former livery (right), as "proud birds with golden tails." Ah, the fantasy of shapely young stewardesses aiming to please.

Fast-forward to the 21st century, when more overtly sexy commercials fill the airwaves (the current Cadillac commercial presented ad nauseum during the Tour de France), but even the most clueless creative department won't pretend that air travel today is sexy.

An ad campaign for Denver-based Frontier Airlines, which is about to become part of the Republic Airways group (but hopefully will retain its own identity), has been running an ad campaign that is cute, clever and memorable. Talking animals on the tails of Frontier planes extol the virtues of Frontier, and one of them is now a regional Emmy winner.

The honored ad features Larry the Lynx (right) and Jack the Rabbit, two of the "spokesanimals" adorning the tails of Frontier's planes, who explain that the airline has switched to leather seats. Larry adds that Frontier doesn't have a cow its planes, because "It would be creepy." Click here to see the Emmy-winning commercial.