When I took my cat Pistol on the airplane for the first time (right), it was a pretty crazy experience. From clutching her fearfully through the metal detector to meeting all the kids in the airport lounge, we had a fine -- if somewhat stressful -- time. Pistol did an outstanding job, and managed to remain adorable throughout the process.

It's Friday, so I decided to focus my energy on writing about what really matters: traveling cats in their cases. Here are the top ten I found.


Top 10 Traveling Cat Photos!


1. Stitch, by ASurroca

Stitch looks a little less than thrilled about the prospect of travel.

One of the most magical moments of any trip is the final one: the moment you return home. Remember Gracie (above)? She was the dog who could not contain her joy after seeing her owner get home from Afghanistan. She's the perfect example of the feeling we get from our pets and family members when we get home.

We asked our Gadling Facebook fans (become one now!) what they love most about getting back after traveling, and got a variety of wonderful, heart-warming responses. Here are ten of our favorites. All are great things to think about when you're feeling blue on the way home from an amazing trip.

Ten things Gadling readers love about returning home

1. "Sleeping in my own bed." -- Susan
2. "The dogs! My puppies HATE when we leave them." -- Jody
3. "The reassurance that my alarm clocks are going to work and wake me up on time." -- Darlene
4. "I love having a cup of coffee on my roof deck and taking a look out at NYC! Am on a trip in Ecuador now and when I get back, it will be the first thing I do!" -- Laura
5. "My hairdryer!" -- Joy
6. "When my two cats forgive me for having been gone and start cuddling again." -- Diana
7. "Pillow." -- Norma
8. "My own shower." -- Holly
9. "I like to make my own dang coffee, just the way I like it." - ... okay, that was us.
10. "We all separate to indulge in our own space. After a week together, usually had enough of each other for a few days, then we'll like each other again. Never stop loving each other." -- Denise

Click here to participate in the conversation and add your own favorites!

At the northern end of Riviera Nayarit is the town of San Blas, a picturesque, authentic Mexican community with a fascinating history and a beautiful fort. Visitors love San Blas for its quiet and surf-ready beaches, La Tovara Wildlife Refuge (which you can boat through on a panga to see crocodiles, turtles and endless birds and mangroves), birdwatching, lychee season, exceptional street food and, last but not least, Chef Betty.

Chef Betty runs El Delphin, the restaurant at Hotel Garza Canela, which her family owns. However, her story is not as simple as you might think.

Gallery: El Delphin and Hotel Garza Canela

Ladies and Gentlemen, Ford and Gadling have teamed up to bring you $200 toward whatever REI adventures, gear and clothing you fancy!

The giveaway is in celebration of the new, reinvented 2011 Ford Explorer (above). This vehicle not only has the right name for a traveler ("explorer"), but it includes an all-new Advanced Terrain Management System with special modes for mud, snow and sand. Other features include industry-first rear inflatable seat belts, Trinity front impact structure, AdvanceTrac with RSC (Roll Stability Control) and Curve Control functionality, and it aims to raise your expectations about SUV fuel efficiency with a 20 percent miles-per-gallon improvement from their 2010 model. The vehicle has the tagline "Redefining what it means to be an SUV," and you can read lots more about it on the 2011 Ford Explorer website or become a fan on the Ford Explorer Facebook page, where you can find videos, executive interviews and more.

And now, the giveaway: this $200 REI gift card can totally stock your adventure vehicle with gear for all terrains, including boots, snowshoes, paddles, skis, camping equipment, backpacks and state-of-the-art electronics. They also have attractive, comfortable apparel for men, women and kids (for the less outdoorsy).

In addition to the $200 gift card, you can have an adventure tip that you wrote featured on the Ford Explorer Facebook page.

How to win:

The airport can be a depressing, frustrating, even infuriating place. I was staring blankly at the plastic-wrapped apples at JFK, bored out of my gourd, when I decided to try and get some perspective, so I tweeted a question about what people like about the airport. I didn't hear anything for hours, then I got a few chirps about people-watching.

I knew that some people must like the airport, or at least have found things to like about it so as not to go through every queue in anguish. I found that group of folks on the Gadling Facebook page. Here are Ten things Gadling readers love about airports (we're at 43 comments and counting):

1. "The fact that it means you're going somewhere." -- Carrie
2. "The excitement of where people are going and the destinations/locations!" -- Shane
3. "When I arrive after a long, amazing trip and my partner is there to greet me with a hug and a kiss." -- Lisa
4. "Good public art." -- Catherine
5. "First class lounges" -- Frank
6. "The sense of being in-between" -- Jay
7. "The shops & grocery store in Frankfurt airport." -- Jessica
8. "The exit door" -- Wendy
9. "The opportunity to be a blessing to some who are not having a blessed day there, particularly our soldiers." -- Dean
10. "The fact that i could go anywhere! and the duty free naturally :p" -- Maia

So, maybe have a re-read over that list before your next journey. To see more and to participate in the conversation on Gadling's Facebook page, click here.

[Photo by Uggboy via Flickr.]

When Kathy Parker headed through TSA at Philadelphia International Airport for a regular business trip to North Carolina, she had no idea about the ordeal she was in for.

After being selected for a more in-depth search on one of the tables -- out in the open where everyone can see -- they went through her stuff, including her more personal items like receipts and diet pills (and they asked if they worked), and she was subjected to questions about the checks in her purse (they were made out to her husband). Basically, it seems that the TSA agents suspected she was in a "divorce situation," reports Philly.com, and thought she was emptying her husband's bank account.

Wait, the same TSA people who never notice my tube of toothpaste?

We certainly spend plenty of time irritated by the TSA's lack of common sense and/or courtesy, but at what point do they truly cross the line? Is this kind of investigating any of their business?

TSA spokeswoman Ann Davis said, ""If the search is complete, and shows individuals not to be a threat to the aircraft or fellow passengers, they are free to go." Wait, what? I think embezzlement and or possibly stealing from your husband (which she wasn't) falls pretty far outside those parameters. Davis says she was "probably" held because her "behavior escalated." If you were holding me hostage and reading my receipts, you can bet my "behavior" would "escalate," too.

Vic Walczak, legal director of the Pennsylvania ACLU, is on Parker's side, thank goodness, calling the incident "'preposterous' and a violation of the Fourth Amendment, which protects people from unreasonable searches."

The TSA is not the FBI, and in this blogger's opinion, the agents in question should be disciplined. This is a case of bullying and abuse of power, and at the very least a case of bored workers acting recklessly with someone else's well-being in their hands. What do you think?


[via Philly.com]

[Photo by Mobile Edge Laptop Cases]

We've all heard it a million times: don't drink too much when you're traveling. It's dangerous. However, that "danger" is so amorphous and non-specific, it's hard to determine what the warnings really mean. Here are ten dumb things you're likely to do if you drink and travel. You can take this as a warning, or, if you happen to be drunk and traveling right now ... as a checklist.

Don't ask me how I know these things.

1. Not remember anything.

Whoops. Isn't the whole point of traveling to experience things and make memories? If you had an amazing travel experience but you were so drunk you can't remember it very well, it practically didn't happen. When someone asks if you had a good time on your trip to Cabo and you say "I think so ..." ... you have failed.

2. Drunk dial or text -- for quite a hefty roaming price.

Telephone calls can be a dollar, two dollars or more per minute from foreign locations. Text messages: also spendy. Drunk dialing is all fun and games when it's included in your plan, but that twenty minute message you leave before falling asleep on the phone while traveling in Bora Bora can cost darn near as much as your flight. Be careful.

The Millennium Hotel in downtown Minneapolis, which is walkable to Target Field, has unveiled a Baseball Fever Package for die-hard Twins fans who want to stay downtown (even if they just live over in Wayzata).

The package, which includes:

• Standard accommodations for two
• Convenient complimentary parking in the hotel's attached parking ramp
• 2 Minnesota Twins t-shirts, 2 Minnesota Twins koozies and a box of Cracker Jacks
• Two complimentary beverage vouchers for Martini's lounge
• Early check-in and late check-out to relish in victory

... starts at just $154 per night and is valid on any Twins home game days. This is a great way to check out the new Target Field stadium if you haven't, or just to romance your nearest and dearest baseball fan.

Biased? Me? Never. I'm hoping other cities with great teams have hotels which will follow suit! Visit Millennium Hotel Minneapolis and use the code TWINSFAN to book.

[Photo by Annie Scott.]

Coebergh Redhead Festival is an event in Breda, Holland, which originated in 2005 and is now a worldwide annual phenomenon. Thousands of natural -- or so they claim -- redheads from all over the globe (over 36 countries in 2009) will gather in Breda's Big Square, Grote Markt, for photoshoots, musical performances, a fashion show, lectures about the origins and significance of red hair and more.

The Coebergh (a popular women's drink) Redhead Festival or "Redhead Day" was originally conceived by artist Bart Rouwenhorst, and art features heavily in the festivities, which include a "red" exhibition in nearby Grote Kerk with a giant, red Rapunzel braid as the central work.

Sunday, September 5, 2010 is the big day. If you want to go to Breda, the nearest airports are Rotterdam and Eindhoven, but you can also fly into Amsterdam Schiphol or Brussels Zaventem (they're equidistant from Breda) and take the train. You can find a hotel here at the Breda Tourist Office.

To participate in Sunday's (and the preceding Saturday's) exciting activities for the fair of skin and red of hair, just register on the website by clicking here. It's free of charge, and what could be more fun than to walk in a gingery sea of your own kind?

[Photo by e3000 via Flickr.]

So. In a fight -- not an an airplane -- who do you think would win: aisle seat people or window seat people?

We asked this question on Facebook and our readers have given us a variety of astute, well-thought-out responses:

"Window seat people -- we'd be better rested for the fight," said Liz.

"Window people because as you can see above, the aisle folks don't comprehend things properly," said Andre, another window-supporter.

"Aisle seat people!! We have more room to move so are warmed up for the fight!!! Window people are all balled up and sleepy," said Linda, with an excellent point for the aisle-seaters.

Then things started to get personal.

"And what's with all of this noise from the aisle introverts about beating us up and kicking us. You can't stand properly because you're legs have been hit umpteen times from the drinks cart," Andre commented. "Window seat people, because we have something to back us up," said Mike. "WHY ARE WE FIGHTING???...? How terrible would it be if EVERYONE wanted the SAME," said Susan, clearly the all-caps voice of reason.

Shari chimed in with some psychological profiles: "[Window seat people] plan in advance, know their objectives and have a definite winning attitude." "[Aisle seat people] always want to talk, talk and open up the overhead and mess with getting items constantly beneath the seat.... Also, they grumble when we give our cup over to them when the flight attendant is picking up the extras before we begin our descent."

What do you think? Participate in the discussion here on Facebook.



[Photo by Hoysameg via Flickr.]