A Gift from the Cyber-Magi: Free Airport WiF

Google enables free WiFi at 47 new airports for the holidays

We frequent Denver International Airport users have long been spoiled with free WiFi in the main terminal and on all three concourses. E-mail addicts and chronic web surfers like me are shocked and/or disappointed when we are waiting for flights or delayed elsewhere and have toactually pay for WiFi access. From November 16 through January 15, 47 other airports across the country will have free WiFi -- some for the first time. The peak holiday travel season (and peak travel-delay season) is wrapped into this two-month offer, which I think of as a gift, so boot up that laptop and enjoy.

Austin (AUS)
Baltimore (BWI)
Billings (BIL)
Boston Logan (BOS)
Bozeman (BZN)
Buffalo, NY (BUF)
Burbank (BUR)
Central Wisconsin (CWA)
Charlotte, NC (CLT)
Des Moines (DSM)
El Paso (ELP)
Fort Lauderdale (FLL)
Fort Myers (RSW)
Greensboro (GSO)
Houston Hobby (HOU)
Houston International (IAH)
Indianapolis (IND)
Jacksonville (JAX)
Kalamazoo (AZO)
Las Vegas (LAS)
Louisville (SDF)
Madison (MSN)
Memphis (MEM)
Miami (MIA)
Milwaukee (MKE)
Monterey (MRY)
Nashville (BNA)
Newport News (PHF)
Norfolk (ORF)
Oklahoma City (OKC)
Omaha (OMA)
Orlando (MCO)
Panama City, FL (PFN)
Pittsburgh (PIT)
Portland, ME (PWM)
Sacramento (SMF)
San Antonio (SAT)
San Diego (SAN)
San Jose (SJC)
Seattle (SEA)
South Bend (SBN)
Spokane (GEG)
St. Louis (STL)
State College, PA (SCE)
Toledo (TOL)
Traverse City (TVC)
West Palm Beach (PBI)

Google is supporting this program. An additional bonus is that, if you donute to any of the participating non-profits via Google CheckOut vi participating WiF networks, Google will match the gifts up to a maximum of $250,000.

The Broadmoor: Five Stars for the Fiftieth Time

Colorado's top-of-the-heap Broadmoor offers off-season values; book now!

It is no surprise at all that The Broadmoor, a pink palace on the southwest edge of Colorado Springs, has been awarded the top Five Star rating from the Mobil / Forbes Travel Guide (formerly Mobil Five-Star Award by Mobil Travel Guide). The Broadmoor always wins the highest honor. What is noteworthy that the resort has achieved this honor for a record 50th consecutive year -- the only property to do so. It also has the distinction in 2010 of becoming a triple Five Star winner, with the Penrose Room receiving the highest restaurant designation and The Spa at Broadmoor similarly recognized. It is the only Colorado property to be so honored so often and for so long.

The Mobil Travel Guide originated the prestigious star rating system in the U.S. Think of it as the equivalent of Michelin's stars in Europe. Michelin wanted to sell tires, and similarly, Mobil wanted to sell gasoline. The original Mobil guide is now the Forbes Travel Guide, but its awards are as prestigious as ever. Since 1958, the Mobil Travel Guide’s rigorous ratings process has been based on more than 750 standardized criteria for hotels that begins with a facility inspection considering every aspect of the property, including its overall cleanliness, condition, and location. To achieve Four and Five Star Status, hotels and resort properties must meet or exceed bar-setting service standards as determined byt an unannounced, undercover service evaluation conducted by the Travel Guide’s expert inspectors.

The Broadmoor, which opened in 1918, is quite a spread. It has 744 rooms and suites including 44 cottage bedrooms; 185,000 square feet of flexible event space; a world-class spa; three championship golf courses; a tennis club; 25 retail shops; 18 on property eateries, restaurants and lounges; a full children's program, and more. The Penrose Room, a classic fine-dining restaurant since 1961, is Colorado’s only Forbes Travel Guide Five Star/AAA Five-Diamond Restaurant, making it the most celebrated restaurant in Colorado history in the most celebrated hotel. The Spa at Broadmoor provides 43,000 square feet of sybaritic luxury: spa, salon and fitness center using cutting-edge products and treatments in a setting old-world charm and European elegance. It's hard not to rave about the The Broadmoor, which is simply the best.

The Best for Less

The Broadmoor opened at the end of World War I but rode out the Great Depression, World War II and changes in the way people travel without ever losing its edge. In light of the current economic downturn, the resort is offering Five Star luxury at affordable prices, starting at $80 per person, per night in a standard hotel room between November 15 and February 28. It includes complimentary access to the resort's own movie theater, a complimentary Serenity shower or tub soak with any spa service, 15% discount on select retail shops and a 10% discount at Charles Court, the award-winning Penrose Room or Tavern. During the holidays, The Broadmoor is decked out in an over-the-top (but exceedingly tasteful) display of lights and decorations.

The Broadmoor is at One Lake Avenue, Colorado Springs; 866-837-9520 or 719-577-5775.

Passenger's Tale of Personal Tragedy and Airline's Callousness

A father's fatal fall. A canceled flight. An airline's brutal heartlessness. Shakespearean tragedy.

Just yesterday, I vowed to find renewed joy in travel. This morning, I received an Email with the following Email from a reader in southern California that is causing me to defer my quest for good travel news. I do not know her but did look her up on the Internet, and it turns out that she is in public relations specialist (hence the logical, well-written missive) and one of her specialties is social justice. There was nothing that even hinted of justice about the way US Airways treated her last year in the wake of a family tragedy -- and that was before the huge run-up of air fares and the plague of surcharges:

"The story:

"A husband and wife booked a flight on US Airways for October 2007 to join
the husband's parents on a vacation at a cost of $1,008. Then, the wife's
father suffered an out-of-town fall and broke his neck. He went into
intensive care, was med flighted home, and eventually died on October 15.
During this ordeal, the wife cancelled her and her husband's flight, and asked
US Airways for a refund.

"She was denied, but the agent advised her to write to the refunds
department. She did so, including with her letter a copy of her father's
death certificate and also sharing that she had missed a great deal of work
during the 2 months of her dad's hospitalization, her family had expended
$10,000 on the medvac flight to get her father home, and she and her husband
were not going to be able to reuse their tickets anytime in the next year; the
vacation opportunity was over, and the lost income plus the $10,000 hit her
family had suffered precluded any travel plans for quite awhile.

"US Airways denied the refund, merely repeating boilerplate stating that
the husband and wife had a year from the date of booking (not the travel date,
mind you) to reuse the tickets, after of course paying a $100 per-ticket change
fee. The wife then wrote directly to Doug Parker, CEO of US Airways
and cc'd president Scott Kirby to plead her case. The result was the same
answer, again from a customer relations rep. The wife then filed a
complaint with the Better Business Bureau, but the file was closed after
BBB contacted US Airways and was unable to receive a reply from
them.

"To add insult to injury, last week US Airways emailed the wife saying 'Our
records indicate that 14,954 miles [in your Dividends Miles account] were
forfeited because your last activity date was more than 18 months ago.'
Apparently, buying $1,000 worth of tickets and then being denied a refund when
the tickets couldn't be used, doesn't qualify as activity worthy of keeping
one's status as a dividend miles member.

"Here's a great quote from US Airways Passenger Refunds Representative
Samantha Gartung's letter to the wife: 'US Airways embraces an optimistic
outlook regarding passengers who are unable to travel due to unfortunate
circumstances. We remain confident that you will be able to utilize
the ticket for your travel enjoyment.'

"Isn't it comforting to have an airline express confidence that you can
spend money with them?

"Oh, and yes, the wife is me."

The writer asked me (and probably other travel writers and bloggers as well) to help get the word out. I don't know her, and I haven't checked on what US Airways' side of the story might be -- if, indeed, they even have a valid side, under the circumstances. I hope that her efforts to cast a wide net will result in the kind of publicity that will indeed persuade or pressure the airline to restore those frequent flyer miles and perhaps even refund the $1,008 for the flights she and her husband did not take.

Travel Insurance

Like most of us, the couple probably did not have travel insurance -- and if they did, it might not have included compensation for trip cancellation due to a serious accident/illness of an immediate family member. We never know what coverage we might need until an incident has occurred. But in addition to wishing her success in her battle against US Airways, I'll take this as a cue at least to explore buying travel insurance. I'll bet the with 20/20 hindsight, she wishes she had some. SquareMouth, a website comparing travel insurance, has been recommended by a number of respected travel publications.

Berlin Wall Sections: A Fragment Here, A Fragment There

November 9, 2009, marks the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Wall

With so much strife on the planet, the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall gives hope and celebration. After all, not long before the Wall came down in 1989, it seemed as if it would be there forever. I passed through Checkpoint Charlie on a one-day visit to East Berlin on my first trip to Europe a lifetime ago, and it was one East German guard's later opening of one checkpoint that opened the floodgate and changed modern German history.

As passed through the checkpoint into East Berlin, knowing that I could leave in a few hours, I realized that I had taken the freedom of movement for granted. It was eerie to walk down East Berlin's empty streets, past rubble and weed-choked vacant lots still left from World War II. I have not been to Berlin since, though I hope to visit next year during a planned trip to Germany, and I know that the gleaming, modern creative city bears only the slightest resemblance to the one I wandered around.

Berlin has a lot to celebrate, and celebrate it will. The Festival of Freedom starts this evening at 5:00 p.m., local time at the Brandenburg Gate, and an open air exhibition called "Peaceful Revolution" continues through October 2010.

I have seen segments of the Wall in Rapid City, South Dakota (above), and Portland, Maine (and probably elsewhere as well), but I didn't realize how many portions of the Wall have been erected as memorials. Click here for the list. Interestingly, there are 36 in the Americas (four in New York City alone) but only 13 in Europe -- just two in Germany itself. In Berlin, a line of cobblestones follows the original footprint of the Wall. News footage of the fall of the Wall was telecast over the weekend, and I think Berlin is commemorating the event, but I wonder how many other places with segments have organized something. Do you know?

Help Me Rediscover the Joy of Travel

Have my posts become too whiny -- or has travel simply become a chore rather than a joy?

I like to travel. I really do. Or at least I used to. You'd never know it from my recent posts on this blog though. I seem to be on a roll writing about things that I find annoying: Rising air fares and declining airline service. Airline surcharges and costly hotel "extras" (not just the mini-bar but WiFi, parking, usurious telephone charges, etc.). The Transportation Security Agency's policies that affront travelers. Highway delays. Hotels that waste electricity and water in the name of "luxury." Or, on the other end of the scale, accommodations have been allowed to go to seed.

Believe it or not, I have exercised some self-restraint. I really haven't written the price of gas that has skyrocketed the cost of a road trip. Nor did I regale you with the tale of the speeding motorcyclist who broadsided my car while I was on Colorado's Western Slope ( biker landed in the hospital; I'm OK, and I have a new car).

Other blogs and websites (The Cranky Flier, Christopher Elliott's ombudsman-ish site called simply Elliott, Frugal Travel Guy, Upgrade: Travel Better among others) keep the traveler (aka, the customer) in mind.

Commuting Doctor Repeatedly Delayed

Whenever I think I've been too grouchy, along comes another example of why travel has become so frustrating and joyless -- and in the following case, that puts my inconveniences into perspective. Al Lewis, whose syndicated column appears in the Denver Post, wrote about Dr. Joel Schwartz, an obstetrician specializing in high-risk pregnancies, who flies once a week from Denver to Las Vegas. "If he's not in the office on time, he has a packed waiting room. His partners must pick up his caseload. And his anxious patients may end up with a doctor they do not know.

"Schwartz, who commutes from Denver to Las Vegas every week, doesn't like
to roll the dice when it comes to air travel. After Denver- based Frontier
Airlines filed bankruptcy earlier this year, he said he bought five months'
worth of tickets on United Airlines. His first United flight was canceled. His
second was nearly two hours late.

"A consummate traveler, he said he found the airline's employees unusually
grumpy. When he called customer support, he said he could only reach people in
exotic locales who seemed scantly empowered to help him. So Schwartz bought
backup tickets on Southwest Airlines to ensure he'd be on time for his patients
each week.

Schwartz said once he's burned through his nonrefundable United
tickets, he's going back to Frontier or Southwest, or anywhere else....

"'You would have to cut my arm off before I'd ever go back to United,'" he
said. At this point, it's hard to say what might be worse. United's service? Or
a one-armed obstetrician who can't always get to his Las Vegas office on
time?"

Dr. Schwartz has clearly had it with United, and so, according to Lewis, have pilots. "They [the pilots' union] are demanding that CEO Glenn Tilton resign. They are hanging out their dirty cabin blankets on a website called Glenn Tilton Must Go. As airlines drown in rising jet fuel bills, the pilots union says Tilton's performance is among the worst....Tilton is a former oilman who took Texaco through bankruptcy and helped merge it with Chevron Corp. before joining United in September 2002. He and his crew earned tens of millions taking United through Chapter 11, hacking away at airline workers and their benefits. Along the way, they leased a shiny new headquarters on Chicago's Wacker Drive. Then they sharpened their knives again to get through an unprecedented spike in fuel prices."

It is difficult to adopt an upbeat attitude toward travel providers that not only take advantage of customers by cutting costs and downsizing their workforces but are enriching themselves in the prcoess.

Blogger Reports Bizarre TSA Agent's Treatment of Disabled Passenger

Dr. Schwartz, even if delayed, certainly can fend for himself at the airport. Denver blogger James, Future Gringo, with a pass to accompany his mother to her gate at Denver International Airport, witnessed a TSA's downright bizarre action when clearing a developmentally disabled passenger through security.

He reported, "This agent was visually inspecting the wheelchair and probing around some cushions as expected, but then she did something that I would never expect: She took an ETD (Explosive Trace Detection) Swab, and repeatedly rubbed the child’s face with the swab. She did this a few times with the swab attached to the plastic forceps. I don’t recall her putting the swab IN the machine, but after finishing she gently caressed the child’s face a few times with her hand - which I thought was equally as strange." Strange indeed.

James also commented, "Now this TSA officer was not being forceful or rude, and was actually quite gentle and friendly with the child. However the act of rubbing a child’s face with a substance bothered me. A fully able bodied person would never consent to having their FACE rubbed with a dabber or swabber. A person in a wheelchair who is cognizant and articulate would not allow this. Why should a wheelchair bound child who can’t speak for themself be subjected to this? Granted this only lasted about 15 seconds, but I didn’t think it was right or appropriate on the part of the TSA."

Prices, airline policies, arbitrary TSA procedures and all the rest nothwithstanding, I'll try to be more positive, because I like to travel. I really do.

Nottoway Plantation: 150-Year-Old Louisiana Jewel

Newly restored antebellum mansion is glorious to visit -- for a tour or for the night

In 1859, shortly before the War Between the States, John Hampden Randolph, his wife, Emily Jane Liddell Randolph, and their 11 children moved into the newly completed Nottoway Plantation in the heart of Louisiana's Plantation Country. Unlike many of the great houses built with cotton and sugarcane, Nottoway was not seriously damaged during the war even though both Union and Confederate troops camped on the grounds, and it was fired on and still bears a few bullet scars.

At 53,000 square feet, Nottoway is the largest remaining antebellum mansion in the southern United States. It was built with 64 rooms on three floors, six interior staircases, three "modern" bathrooms with flush toilets and hot and cold running water, gas lights, 22 massive square columns, 165 doors and 200 windows. Construction of this gracious and grandiose mansion is estimated to have cost $80,000.

The plantation house is open for public tours. For years, it was on the regular motorcoach day tour itinerary from New Orleans. Groups -- many on convention spouse programs -- would drive up, tour the mansion, have lunch in a large dedicaed pavilion and leave. After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the convention business took a hit -- and so did Nottoway Plantation. Paul Ramsay, an Australian entrepreneur, purchased the property and financed the restoration of the mansion, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. I've tried to find out how much the restoration cost but haven't been successful.

Most of the furniture is not original, but all reflects accuracy to the period.

When you see the 4,200 linear feet of extraordinary plaster friezework and scroll ornaments in the public rooms, it is difficult to envision it as a combination of mud, clay, horsehair and Spanish moss under the confectionary paint.The all-white ballroom is sparsely furnished, because people did have to have room to dance.

I like to see formal dining rooms with all the accoutrements of gracious 19th-century dining, from celery glasses toknife rests.

Each hand-painted plate (from France, I believe) has a different design in the center.

The second-floor veranda overlooks the levee that separates Nottoway from the Mississippi. Rock on!

Below is not a room on the manor-house tour. It was my room for the night that I spent at Nottoway, which now also operates as a bed-and-breakfast inn. My gorgeous antique-filled room in one of the wings, not in the mansion itself, was one of the simpler ones. The home also houses a new fine-dining establishment called The Mansion Restaurant.

I have to say that it was hard to tear myself away the next morning.

Nottoway Historic Inn, as the B&B is now called, has an extraordinary special through November 30: $150 per night for two, including a welcome beverage, tour and a full breakfast. 31025 Louisiana Highway 1 (off The Great River Road), White Castle, LA 70788. Reserve online or by calling 866-LASouth (866-527-6884) or 225-545-2730 (Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Central Time).

Flooding in Grand Canyon Area Forces Evacuations

Havasupai community and visitors most impacted by up to 8 inches of rain and a breached dam

It's been a tough week for the natural wonders of the West. A few days ago, as reported here, the 12th-largest arch in Arches National Park collapsed. Today (August 17), rains caused floods that breached an earthen dam Sunday in a side canyon of the Grand Canyon -- but outside of the boundaries of Grand Canyon National Park. Helicopters rescued scores of Supai village residents, visitors and campers. Up to eight inches of rain have fallen in the Grand Canyon area since Friday. The Supai village, traditional home to the Havasupai people, is located high in Havasu Canyon, a side canyon.

Gerry Blair, of the Coconino County Sheriff's Department, told Associated Press reporter Amanda Lee Myers that the breached dam was "only one factor in the flooding." The sheer volume of water itself caused flooding, and a flash flood warning has remained in effect. Blair said that search-and-rescue teams were staying in the village overnight, because not all of the 400 residents initially were evacuated. Helicopter operation had to stop when darkness fell.

AP also reported that Grand Canyon National Park spokeswoman Maureen Oltrogge confirmed to Myers that some hiking trails were washed out, footbridges were damaged, and trees were uprooted. Among those airlifted out by helicopter were 16 people (Park Service photo, above right) who were rafting the Grand Canyon on a private permit. They were all uninjured but had been stranded on a ledge where Havasu Creek joins the Colorado River after flood waters washed their rafts downriver. Rescuers escorted visitors out of the Supai Campground, about 75 west of the Grand Canyon Village, the park's leading tourist area on the South Rim.