It's State Fair time all over the country, and Alaska is no exception.

While the Alaska State Fair offers many of the same rides, cuisine and 4H projects you'll find elsewhere in the US, there are a few exhibits and contests that carry a bit more weight. These involve Alaska's giant produce, which grow to record size under our endless summer daylight. Sure, the growing season is short, but our months of midnight sun make up for that.

Bypass the deep-fried Twinkies and check out the healthy stuff: cabbages the size of bean bag chairs, zucchini as thick as baseball bats, pumpkins resting like large boulders.

This year, the winning cabbage in the Great Cabbage Weigh-Off came in at 105.6 pounds (the record is 127 pounds). Though it didn't break any records, other produce broke the scales. A pumpkin came in at 1101 pounds (!), while the winning turnip weighs 21 pounds.

Texas residents will have even easier access to the sun, sand and fun this summer with the addition of new non-stop flights to Barbados courtesy of American Airlines. This new nonstop, three times per week service from the airline's Dallas- Fort Worth (DFW) hub begins Dec. 16. Currently the airline provides daily nonstop service from New York-JFK and Miami International Airports.

The flights will run on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.

"These new flights will provide our customers from the Central and Western regions of the U.S. easier and more convenient access to Barbados," said said David M. Rice, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Barbados Tourism Authority.

Currently available for purchase, the flight will be operated with Boeing 757 aircraft with 22 seats in Business Class and 166 in the Coach cabin. December coach fares begin at $314.

Photo courtesy of Barbados.org

We're beginning to sympathize with the JetBlue flight attendant who made the dramatic exit via emergency slide after hearing this latest news from the flight deck. A legal battle is pending after a Compass Airlines flight attendant admitted publicly that she qualified for food stamps.

Kristen Arianejad was terminated on August 25 after being featured in a local television program and admitting she was approved for food stamps to supplement her wages.

Arianejad is being represented by the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA).

"Poverty is not a crime and it is despicable that Compass Airlines would fire an employee for speaking the truth," said Patricia Friend, AFA-CWA International President. "Unfortunately, there are flight attendants across the country who have to rely on federal and state assistance to make ends meet.

Instead of paying hardworking flight attendants a living wage, airline management would rather shame them and make them fear for their jobs. We call on Compass to immediately reinstate Kirsten Arianejad."

Compass flight attendants have a starting salary of between $13,842 ($1,153.50/month) and $15,453 ($1,287.75/month). Individuals living in Arizona, Arianejad's state of residence, can have a maximum income of $1,671 to qualify for food stamps.

Compass Airlines is headquartered in the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and often conducts regional flights on behalf of Delta.

Image courtesy of AVStop.com.

It's pretty common in the travel world to see alliances between airlines and hotels when it comes to earning miles and points; a few points exchanged here and there among giants is an easy way to keep brand loyalty and momentum among the masses.

Normal earnings, however, are almost always limited to redeemable miles -- that is, mileage earned won't count towards elite status or any tiered thresholds that the airline or hotel measures you against over the course of the year.

With this new promotion between Delta and Hilton, however, that's different. Now, any stay at a Hilton property will earn the traveler upwards of 1000 Elite Qualifying Miles (EQM), which means that you can earn part of your elite status on Delta without even flying. While these miles are only limited to 10k over the promotion period, this could be a good way to top up a few extra miles to reach 25k or 50k miles before year's end -- and you can do it without suffering the loss of leg room.

Sign up for the promo over at Hilton and don't forget to make Delta your earnings partner.

[via Gary at View from the Wing]
[flickr photo via ..colb..]

Wisconsin has just cracked down on smokers from out of state. It's only the second state with a smoking ban that applies to every hotel room in the state. This differs from most smoking bans, like the one in Kansas, in which the properties can allow smoking in a certain percentage of guestrooms. Michigan is the only other state with a hotel smoking ban this severe.

The hotel business in Wisconsin wasn't thrilled about the legislation and did push against it. The greatest challenge, however, seems to be convincing the guests that it's not a scam – that the ban is actually the law. It's a lesson worth learning, for guests, because the consequences are severe. Notes USA Today:

Wisconsin's roughly 2,000 hotels post signs declaring their building a non-smoking facility. They're also requiring guests to initial a statement promising to comply or face paying a fee. Hotels are charging penalty fees anywhere from $100 to $300, she said.

[photo by ell brown via Flickr]

On August 15th two hikers making their way through the Columbia Icefields of Canada discovered the body of American William Holland, who had been missing for more than 21 years. The 38-year old Holland had traveled to Canada back in April of 1989 to take on a challenging climbing route known as "Slipstream." That route goes up a frozen waterfall on the 11,338-foot tall Snow Dome. Apparently, Holland slipped while making that climb, and fell more than 1000 feet to his death.

All previous attempts to discover what happened to the Maine native proved fruitless, as ice covered his remains, keeping him hidden until now. But with glaciers melting all over the globe, it seems that they have retreated enough in the Columbia Icefields to reveal Holland's body at last.

According to a rescue specialist who helped with the recovery, the body was fully exposed and didn't even need to be chipped from the ice. It was also said to be fairly well preserved and in an almost mummified state. Holland's gear and clothing were also in nearly perfect condition as well thank to him being encased in ice for 21 years. He was still wearing his spiked boots and had a loop of climbing rope slung over his shoulder.

After 21 years of not knowing what happened to Holland, the discovery brings a measure of closure to his family.

[Photo credit: Qyd via WikiMedia]

One of my all-time favorite things in the whole world is riding second class buses in foreign countries. Though I could probably now afford to travel on a bigger budget than in my early 20s, I prefer the experiences of public transportation. It's not just mingling with locals and experiencing eight hours bouncing on a bus with no shocks; I also love the sheer gaudiness of it all: the loud music or TV, bright lights, livestock, crowds - all of it delights me endlessly. And another thing I love about these buses? The decorations. Whether it's idols and fringe in India, Mary figurines in Mexico or incense sticks in China, care is always taken to make sure the buses are decked out to the gods' satisfaction. These buses, shot by Flickr user andreakw in Bhutan, also seem to be appeasing the wary traveler. Who doesn't feel safe traveling on a bus painted with cheerful rainbows?

Have any travel photos that remind of you a few of your favorite things? Upload them to Gadling's Flickr pool, and we just might select one for our Photo of the Day feature.

Interested in selling your Facebook soul for $50 off of your next flight? I am! The marketing folks over at Cheapflights and Vayama launched a campaign soliciting "likes" and shares late last month, in an effort to spread the word about their fare booking site across the web.

All that you have to do to earn $50 worth of credit redeemable from September 8 through October 5 is navigate over to their Facebook page, like the promotion and share it with your friends.

For the increased exposure that they get on the web, you'll receive a $50 credit towards any purchased flight through the month of September -- and from what we can tell, that applies to any flight that they pull up through their GDS.

This means that straight off the shelf, that $200 fare from Chicago to New York that you buy on American Airlines should be $150 after applying this voucher. Not bad for a small slice of your Facebook feed.

Who says money can't buy friends?

[photo via Egil Fujikawa Nes on flickr]

Utah ski resort The Canyons is giving someone the opportunity of a lifetime, the chance to ski all season long, and get paid for it in the process. In return, all you have to do is hit the slopes on a daily basis, blog about the experience a few times a week and attend special events at the resort.

Applications are being accepted for the Ultimate Mountain Gig and all you have to do to apply for the job is tell the resort "how you mountain," that is to say, how you embrace the skiing lifestyle and can inspire others to do the same. To enter you'll need to submit a 2-minute long video and a written report explaining how you'll approach the job. You'll also have to be 21-years of age or older, and eligible to work in the U.S. All the details can be found by clicking here.

The lucky person who is given the job will receive a full season pass to the Canyons, suite lodging for the entire season at the Waldorf Astoria, and a $40,000 salary for four months of work. They'll also get a camera, video camera, and laptop to assist in their day to day duties, a complete set of ski or snowboard gear, access to the spa, ski school and avalanche rescue training, and VIP credentials to all of the resorts events, amongst other things.

The job begins on January 1 of 2011, so get your resume together, and start packing for Utah.

[Photo credit: The Canyons]

Flight attendant complaints about compensation are not unusual, but they've certainly gained momentum with the recent admission of food stamp use by one. Sure, it's a low-paying gig – the average income of $35,000 isn't what newbies to the friendly skies are pulling down. Some make less than $20,000 a year, which is tough in just about any part of the country. The work isn't easy, especially for the thin comp. So, it does make me wonder why more haven't quit and picked up easier jobs for the same pay.

Maybe it makes more sense to become a greeter at Wal-Mart? If the pay is comparable and the life isn't as hard, why not?

Based on federal minimum wage of $7.25 and the 70-hour work week I've heard flight attendants claim, that comes to $507.50 a week and $25,375 a year. This assumes two weeks off unpaid (for mental health) and no overtime, since the work may have to be split across two Wal-Mart locations, because of shift availability.

How do the two gigs stack up? Well, becoming a greeter might just be the perfect alternative to pushing the beverage cart.