Gadling

On Thanksgiving Day in 2006, Patrick Powers was at the beach in Orange County, California feeling thankful for the weather that allowed him to surf. The movement of the surfer embodies a surefooted pleasure and determination as the water arcs above his head. Very well done!

Here's hoping your Thanksgiving brings you a sure footed pleasure whether you're catching waves somewhere or sitting in a easy chair waiting for your food to digest.

If you have a shot to share, send it our way at Gadling's Flickr photo pool. It might be chosen for a Photo of the Day. Powers' photo is one of the four in our pool tagged "thankful." It also appeared under "thanks."

Starting this afternoon and on into tonight the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade character balloons will be inflated at Central Park West and Columbus Avenue on 77th and 81st Streets. The public is able to watch the process between 3:00 and 10:00 p.m. From what I've read, arrive closer to the end to get the balloons' full effects.

The balloons, that take trained volunteers to safely maneuver them along the parade route without injuring parade goers or damaging buildings, have been a Thanksgiving Day Parade tradition since 1927. Here are 10 balloon history facts from the parade history page of the Macy's website and at the website of The Band of Blue.

Also, I found a detailed video of the balloons being inflated. The video gives a clear idea about just how big these balloons are and the hubbub that is involved in the process of making them parade worthy. My favorite spot is of the police officer getting another officer to take her picture in front of one of them.

When passengers show bad behavior at the airport, everyone notices. Bad airport behavior is one place Hollywood gets it right, even when scenes are a bit outlandish.

Here are two scenes that show just what can happen when a passenger is vexed beyond sanity--either due to traveling with a family member or the actions of another passenger coupled with airline staff reactions.

Perhaps you'll see an element of yourself or someone you know in one of these scenerios. If you happen to have one of these moments when traveling for the holidays, try to keep a sense of humor. It can help.

Along with a sense of humor, there are a few tips to keep in mind to help you not go bonkers. If you do go bonkers, check in with Gadling, we'd love to tell your tale. Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving!

One of the best features of the MSC cruise I took with my 17 year-old-daughter and 7-year-old son this summer from Venice to a Greece was the kid's club. It wasn't that I wanted a place to dump my son--we took him on every shore excursion, but when we were on the ship, it gave him a chance to play with other kids and use up energy. He has a lot of energy.

For anyone taking a cruise with a child--or a teen for that matter, look to see what the options are for his or her age group. Also, make sure that before you get your mind set on a particular cruise that your child is age appropriate for that cruise.

Look at the shore excursion options if you're interested in those to see what age a child has to be in order to go. Some trips have age requirements due to safety factors. If excursions are mostly for adult passengers, maybe you ought to reconsider your choice.

There's a handy press release guide at CruiseCompete.com that highlights cruise line offerings for the younger crowd--even infants. When planning a cruise vacation with a child this can be a handy place to start. As you read through each listing, you'll notice specifics like what ages are programs geared towards and what services are offered for babies. Some cruises don't have any specific programs for kids, while others are a kid's paradise.

Checking out options is a great way to visualize a cruise in the first place. That's what happened to me. I imagined my son on the cruise and then we had to go.

Hank Leukart, while savoring blueberry pie and a cup of chai at the University of Zoka in Seattle proclaimed it the best coffee shop in the world. As what happens when one proclaims something the best in the world, he immediately began to wonder if he overshot by his gushing. What does he know anyway? After all, had he been in every coffee shop in the world? Of course not, but he has been to a few.

In his essay, "searching for the best coffee shop: a lifelong quest for caffeine nirvana" on his blog without baggage, Leukart extols on the virtues of several coffee shops in various parts of the world. Read his essay and you'll have visited through his eyes several coffee shops that range from Afro Cafe in Cape Town, South Africa to Latte Da in Lee Vining near the east entrance of Yosemite.

To make it to the best coffee shop list,according to Leukart, there are seven attributes a great coffee shop must have:

1. great coffee
2. great tea/Chai,
3. comfortable seats for relaxing and intermingling
4. a full menu of good food
5. free Internet access
6. laptop outlets
7. an unlocked bathroom

My current favorite coffee shop is the Crimson Cup in the Clintonville section of Columbus, Ohio. It doesn't have a full menu, but it has all the other attributes. Although there isn't a full menu, the eats are fresh baked and awesome, particularly the offerings from Pattycake Bakery that specializes in vegan treats.

For anyone in need of a caffeine fix, check out the side bar that accompanies Leukart's article. He has several suggestions.

By the way, Leukart doesn't drink coffee. He's a fan of chai. I love chai, but have yet to find a coffee shop that serves it unsweetened.

Haunting, thought provoking and gorgeous are some of the adjectives that come to mind when looking through the photographs of Ed Alior at CNNTravel. Alior has retraced the route that William Least Heat-Moon made famous when he traveled along the back roads of the U.S. and wrote about it in his book "Blue Highways." Alior's photographs attest to how things can change over the years and what has remained the same.

Along with presenting ten of Alior's lush photographs of back-road scenery, CNN's feature, "Back-road adventurer on America's 'Blue Highways'" includes an interview with Heat-Moon.

In the interview, Heat-Moon talks about how he has seen the U.S. back-roads' landscape change over the years, both for the good and the bad. There's a tone of melancholy for what has changed--most noticeably the Mom and Pop establishments that have given way to hard times or the competition of chain restaurants.

Heat-Moon has also noticed the sprawl of cities into suburbia and on out into rural areas. As he puts it, a "'quarter of a century ago, towns that still had limits -- discernible edges -- now can look like they're getting swallowed by an inoperable cancer. . .'"

The repercussions, he feels, have altered the genuineness of place and that we haven't done much as a country to see what all this sprawl has cost us. On the other hand, he does point out positive change. It's change that is heart-warming.

As Heat-Moon traveled in the last ten years, he's noticed that there's more racial harmony and the racial slurs he used to hear pepper conversations are not being said.

Read the rest of the interview here. I was particularly interested in his take on how travel has been altered. One thing Heat-Moon has found, if you're looking for a cheap place to stay off the beaten path these days, lots of luck.

Thanks to Jaunted for pointing me in the direction of this read.

Here's an unusual piece of American history that illustrates the power of philanthropy and what happens when money is used for the purpose it was intended. Imagine what James Smithson must think if he can view Smithsonian Castle and all the other buildings that line the Mall in Washington D.C.? Possibly, he's pleased as punch.

Smithson, an illegitimate Englishman who died in 1829, left between $50 to $100 million dollars to the United States, a country he had never visited. His desire was for his money to be used "'for the increase and diffusion of knowledge.'"

If the slew of buildings that includes the Air and Space Museum, the American History Museum, and the African Art Museum isn't an indication of what can happen when one person's generosity is put to good use, I don't know what is. Of course, Smithson's money wasn't enough to create all of the Smithsonian's building, but still, consider what what can happen when there's a mighty good idea that has a healthy start.

In this article that first appeared in the Washington Post, Moira E. McLaughlin covers a bit of the history of Smithson's gift that consisted of 105 bags of gold. She also points out the significance of Smithsonian Castle, the Smithsonian's first building that is now used for the Smithsonian's administrative offices and information center. According to McLaughlin, the information center is a perfect place to begin a visit to the Smithsonian. It can help you orient the rest of your time there.

I've been to the Smithsonian several times and have never visited The Castle. Next time I'm in D.C., this is my first stop. In case no one has thanked you properly James Smithson,THANKS a million times over. Your gift was truly splendid.

If the style of the building looks familiar, it's because its architect, James Renwick, Jr. also designed St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City.

When the five people who ranged from an R& B singer moving to NYC to seek her fortune-- to a young man trying to get to Hartford, Connecticut and his sick grandmother as quickly as possible, sidled up to the Greyhound ticket counter in Port Authority bus terminal in Manhattan, they weren't itching for a fight. What they wanted was some compensation for their Greyhound induced travel woes.

See, the bus they had taken from Cleveland had arrived two hours late. It's not unusual for a bus to be late. Traffic, weather and a bus breakdown can occur. Their bus's lateness was due to driver error. The driver, after a scheduled rest stop, had headed the bus back towards Cleveland for more than 70 miles.

What made this snafu feel worse is that they would have arrived earlier than the scheduled arrival time if it wasn't for the driver's mistake. If you've ever been on a road trip that has been lengthened by the wrong way, perhaps you'll recall that jumpy nervous twitch that ensues--the kind of feeling where any moment you could LOSE YOUR MIND.

As written in the previous post, Gadling knows these details because Gadling was there. Here's the rest of the story. What happens when a passenger does complain? Airlines take notice.

If you've ever seen a lava flow, you know that once the stuff cools and hardens, it's hard to move. In the Congo, this has created a big problem at the airport in Goma. Back in 2002, when the Nyiragongo Volcano erupted, lava flowed onto the runway, thus shortening it. A shorter runway does not sound good. It's not.

Today, this was proved true once more when an airplane flying from Kinshasa to Goma overshot the runway and landed on the lava instead. Ouch! According to the report, 20 people out of the 117 on board were injured.

This is not the first time that lava has created issues at the Goma airport. The last time was in 2007 when a cargo plane caught on fire after it hit the lava. This incidence caused 7 deaths.

As unusual as it is to hit lava on a runway, it's probably more unusual for a plane to hit a bush pig. The plane hits a bush pig incident happened a week ago on in Zimbabwe. When this pig made it's last oink, high drama ensued which included a couple of injuries that were caused when passengers fell into a ditch at the side of the runway.

As for the lava on the runway woes, hopefully this latest incident in Goma will help provide incentive to remove the rest of it.

When it comes to bush pigs on runways, pilots in Zimbabwe--and I guess elsewhere where bush pigs roam--are probably keeping their eyes on the lookout.

The photo taken by Julien Harneis from a helicopter shows the lava flow around Goma.

In northwestern Ohio where the land is flat, flat, flat and family farms dot the landscape in a scene of bucolic sedateness, the Midwest turns wild west on Saturday nights from October through May. Off State Rte 29, between the Indiana border and Celina, a town with a population of 10,000, is Mack Arena, a non-descriptive rectangular building that one might blow right pass without noticing. Only the white corral-style fencing around one end of the building says animals. Looks can be deceiving. Inside, excitement and a dose of danger crackles. Who knew?

The clues to the wildness inside the industrial corrugate structure start at the dirt parking lot where a pungent odor of animals and leather waft over the assortment of pickup trucks, trailers and cars that gather here every Saturday evening. The announcer's voice can be heard over the crowd's din of shouts of encouragement and awe.

The yellow sign near the door touting, "Beware of Bull" is more of a welcome mat than a warning, however.

That's what Gadling found out a few weeks ago when we came upon the bull riding as an unexpected pleasure of Saturday night's entertainment--just two hours from Columbus. The allure of the wild west in the Midwest pulled our station wagon into the mix of vehicles.