Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Free Zip Line in San Francisco
My ailing, ancient laptop and I are in the Bay Area right now, so my posts are sparse and image-free. Yesterday, I enjoyed a single-line ZipLine ride over Justin Herman Square on the Embarcadero, courtesy of Tourism British Columbia, which brought the setup that you might have seen during the Olympics from Vancouver to San Francisco. If you are around here, it's in place until April 18, so head on down and take a free ride. My laptop's pathetic situation makes a click-on-a-word link a challenge, so if you want to see a photo and read more, go to http://www.urbandaddy.com/sfo/leisure/9450/Urban_Zipline_Zip_Lining_Along_the_Embarcadero_San_Francisco_SFO_Event
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Oh, What a Beautiful Winter!
With Western resorts are wallowing in snow, skiers and riders don't "need no stinkin' palm trees"
Never mind Santa Claus. Praise the snow gods who showered Western skier
s and snowboarders with the best gift of all: snow, prodigious quantities of snow, especially in the southwest. In Colorado, Purgatory at Durango Mountain Resort got 19 inches on Wednesday and more than 36 inches over a three-day period. Wolf Creek saw 29 inches over two days. Telluride received a record 21 inches of white gold.
Nearby in crow-flight miles but a long way by road, Silverton Mountain snared 40 inches, bringing the season's total to nearly 200 inches. Avalanche hazards forced road closures -- a blessing, in a sense, because it gives the area time for snow control before it is expected to reopen on Saturday, December 27.
s and snowboarders with the best gift of all: snow, prodigious quantities of snow, especially in the southwest. In Colorado, Purgatory at Durango Mountain Resort got 19 inches on Wednesday and more than 36 inches over a three-day period. Wolf Creek saw 29 inches over two days. Telluride received a record 21 inches of white gold.Nearby in crow-flight miles but a long way by road, Silverton Mountain snared 40 inches, bringing the season's total to nearly 200 inches. Avalanche hazards forced road closures -- a blessing, in a sense, because it gives the area time for snow control before it is expected to reopen on Saturday, December 27.
Taos Ski Valley is New Mexico's new-snow leader, with 9 inches. Snow totals are more impressive farther north and farther west, not just in Colorado. In Utah, new ranged from a "modest" 12 inches at Sundance to 28 inches in Deer Valley. Jackson Hole, Wyoming (lower photo, right, on Christmas morning) and Montana's Whitefish Mountain (formerly The Big Mountain) were each blanketed with 17 inches in 24 hours. Sun Valley
, Idaho, got "only" 7 inches overnight, but the 48-hour total measured to 22 inches. Similarly, Schweitzer, Idaho's most recent 2 inches was the literal icing on the cake that saw 28 inches in the last 72 hours, most of it in one phenomenal 24-hour, 25-inch dump. California's Lake Tahoe resorts, like Heavenly (right), have been digging out, packing down and wallowing in the two feet of snow that fell on Christmas Day.
All that snow does mean avalanches are a real hazard, so this is a time to stick to resort skiing and riding. Save the backcountry until conditions are more stable. And, if you're driving, make sure your car is adequate snow tires, possibly chains, emergency gear and a level-headed driver.
For my part, I'm planning to head to Snowmass tomorrow. I'll report.
, Idaho, got "only" 7 inches overnight, but the 48-hour total measured to 22 inches. Similarly, Schweitzer, Idaho's most recent 2 inches was the literal icing on the cake that saw 28 inches in the last 72 hours, most of it in one phenomenal 24-hour, 25-inch dump. California's Lake Tahoe resorts, like Heavenly (right), have been digging out, packing down and wallowing in the two feet of snow that fell on Christmas Day.All that snow does mean avalanches are a real hazard, so this is a time to stick to resort skiing and riding. Save the backcountry until conditions are more stable. And, if you're driving, make sure your car is adequate snow tires, possibly chains, emergency gear and a level-headed driver.
For my part, I'm planning to head to Snowmass tomorrow. I'll report.
Frontier Airlines Name and Image Continuing
Merger with Midwest under Republic Airways Holdings had left the future of Frontier in doubt
The suspense is over. Even though Milwuakee was the main announcement venue for Republic Airways Holdings' decision on what the merged Frontier/Midwest airline's name would be, Denver-rooted Frontier Airlines prevailed. “This decision was an emotional one for everyone involved,” said Republic's president and CEO Bryan Bedford. In a diplomatically worded address, he added, “While the research showed that customers preferred the Frontier brand, they also expressed a strong loyalty to both brands based on affordability, convenience, destinations and delivery of a differentiated experience. As we work to integrate these two brands into a unified Frontier Airlines, you can expect to see a lot of influence from the Midwest brand. This will include the introduction of the iconic Midwest Airlines chocolate chip cookie on all Frontier flights this summer.”
This seems to be a win-win situation, especially for Frontier's Colorado loyalists: the name, the popular spokesanimals, 10 new destinations out of the Denver hub and five new destinations from Milwaukee -- and chocolate chip cookies.
The suspense is over. Even though Milwuakee was the main announcement venue for Republic Airways Holdings' decision on what the merged Frontier/Midwest airline's name would be, Denver-rooted Frontier Airlines prevailed. “This decision was an emotional one for everyone involved,” said Republic's president and CEO Bryan Bedford. In a diplomatically worded address, he added, “While the research showed that customers preferred the Frontier brand, they also expressed a strong loyalty to both brands based on affordability, convenience, destinations and delivery of a differentiated experience. As we work to integrate these two brands into a unified Frontier Airlines, you can expect to see a lot of influence from the Midwest brand. This will include the introduction of the iconic Midwest Airlines chocolate chip cookie on all Frontier flights this summer.”
This seems to be a win-win situation, especially for Frontier's Colorado loyalists: the name, the popular spokesanimals, 10 new destinations out of the Denver hub and five new destinations from Milwaukee -- and chocolate chip cookies.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Tequila Train Might Expand Operating Days
Popular weekend excursion train from Guadalajara considering adding more days
I rarely write news by conjecture, but I am so happy to report something upbeat from Mexico that I have to pass on news that the Tequila Express, which currently operates on weekend and which I wrote about here, might add a couple of days each week and continue its route all the way to the town of Tequila itself. Here's what my colleague and Mexico tourism watcher Jimm Budd reported today:
"Negotiations are underway to have the Tequila Express operate on Thursdays and Mondays as well as Friday, Saturdays and Sundays. And, if this were to come to pass, the train would actually go to Tequila (the town) for a visit to Cuervo Centro, the Tequila Cuervo visitor center.
"Currently the train goes to Amatitlán, where Herradura (Horseshoe) Tequila is distilled. The train is operated by the Guadalajara Chamber of Commerce, which hopes this way to keep visitors in Guadalajara one more night. The Tequila Express features all the tequila (or beer or soft drinks) a passenger can consume. Mariachis stroll through the cars. On arrival, there is a tour of the distillery followed by lunch, a show, and more free booze on the trip back."
I rarely write news by conjecture, but I am so happy to report something upbeat from Mexico that I have to pass on news that the Tequila Express, which currently operates on weekend and which I wrote about here, might add a couple of days each week and continue its route all the way to the town of Tequila itself. Here's what my colleague and Mexico tourism watcher Jimm Budd reported today:
"Negotiations are underway to have the Tequila Express operate on Thursdays and Mondays as well as Friday, Saturdays and Sundays. And, if this were to come to pass, the train would actually go to Tequila (the town) for a visit to Cuervo Centro, the Tequila Cuervo visitor center.
"Currently the train goes to Amatitlán, where Herradura (Horseshoe) Tequila is distilled. The train is operated by the Guadalajara Chamber of Commerce, which hopes this way to keep visitors in Guadalajara one more night. The Tequila Express features all the tequila (or beer or soft drinks) a passenger can consume. Mariachis stroll through the cars. On arrival, there is a tour of the distillery followed by lunch, a show, and more free booze on the trip back."
Sunday, February 20, 2011
"Reputation Management" Tarnishes Credibility of Customer Reviews
Some hotels pressure guests to writer favorable online reviews -- sometimes even before they've stayed
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.
"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.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."
"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."
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."
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."
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