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.

Continue reading Greyhound customer service delivers after bus heads wrong way for more than 70 miles

Greyhound customer service delivers after bus heads wrong way for more than 70 miles originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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.

Another plane mishap in Africa. This time lava is the problem originally appeared on Gadling on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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.

Continue reading Midwest turns Wild West : Bull riding for the whole family

Midwest turns Wild West : Bull riding for the whole family originally appeared on Gadling on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This juxtaposition of images in Andrey Dorokhov's shot taken in Glasgow, Scotland is one that attests to the importance of having a terrific eye--and being at the right angle at the right moment. The interplay between light and shadow also adds interest and texture. The woman's gaze may stay steady forever--just like the statue will hold its stance. But how long will the bird be a willing subject?

If you've captured a juxtaposition of images or any other subject of interest, send your image our way at Gadling's Flickr photo pool. It might be chosen as a Photo of the Day.

Photo of the Day (11-17-09) originally appeared on Gadling on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Earlier this week, a pig on an airport runway in Zimbabwe wrecked a plane and panicked passengers as the plane was taking off. On Wednesday, it wasn't a pig that created a travel brouhaha. It was a low flying pelican--plus a cell phone.

Evidently, as the pelican made a low flying move in front of a million dollar sports car--a Bugatti Veyron, the man driving this expensive beauty became startled and dropped his cell phone.

Quick quiz:

What shouldn't you do if you drop your cell phone in your car?

Answer:

Don't do what this guy did. He bent down to pick up the phone.

Bad move.

If you've ever bent down to pick up anything when you drive, you know how easy it is for the car to swerve.

That's just what happened in this case. The man swerved the car right off the frontage road of Interstate 45 near Galveston, Texas and into a salt marsh. Luckily, the salt marsh wasn't so deep that the car disappeared entirely.

When the police showed up, it was easy to spot the car's silver grey shine where it waited for rescue 20 feet from shore---at least the part that wasn't under the briny water.

After the incident, along with gaining notoriety for being the owner of a salted, wet million dollar car, the man did get a call from California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. [msnbc]

Low flying pelican and cell phone vs million dollar car: car loses originally appeared on Gadling on Sat, 14 Nov 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Happy Friday the 13th! Tributed to being an unlucky day thanks to wives tales, religion and mythology, this is a day when people might think about altering their travel plans. The thought is, why push your luck? Franklin D. Roosevelt was one such person. He never traveled on the 13th. He even died on April 12, 1945. That, my friends, was on a Thursday. That is kind of strange, no?

In honor of a day that's associated with strangeness, here is Gadling's list of 13 top stranger than strange sites from around the world. They are not in any order of strangeness. You decide which one ought to be number one. All of them are places we've either been to, written about or both.

Even though this is photo is of a Friday the 13th in February, it fits the theme.

Continue reading Gadling's 13 stranger than strange sites for Friday the 13th

Gadling's 13 stranger than strange sites for Friday the 13th originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

On the other end of the badass animal spectrum that Annie described on Monday for is the cow. The happy guy in this bucolic scene was snapped by Bernard-SD in Big Sur, California. If cows in Ohio, where I live, could see where this one munches, they'd be jealous. What a view!

If you have a shot to share, send it our way at Gadling's Flickr photo pool. It might be picked as a Photo of the Day.

Photo of the Day (11-11-09) originally appeared on Gadling on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Jason Barger already knew a fair amount about people before he headed off his 7-day, 7-airport travel spree to do nothing but watch them interact. He'd spent many a spring break leading adolescents and adults on house-building ventures in Mexico, a trip that took him through various airports with a band of travelers of all ages, for example.

Wanting more fodder to further develop his ideas about airport behavior and what it says about humanity, he decided to airport hop logging thousands of miles and observations as he zig zagged across the U.S. While he watched people either shine with behavior that would make Mom proud --or in such a way that if they were a piece of luggage no one would claim them, Barger honed his ideas about how the airport is a perfect metaphor for modern day life.

The result was Step Back from the Baggage Claim, a book that Barger hopes people will leave on a bench somewhere for someone else to pick up once they're done reading it. The result of passing the book along will be that people will think about how they interact as they move through their day.

Ever since I read Barger's book, I've made my own observations about airport interactions. It does seem he's onto something. Over the past months since his book came out, gaining steam through venues like the Washington Post and ABC News, I've kept up with Barger's efforts. Yesterday, there was a post on his new video.

Today is a Talking Travel interview with questions Barger answered through e-mail in between a trip to the Dominican Republic to help with a house-building effort there. If you are looking for a tasty bite to eat that's not expensive while passing through an airport, Barger has a suggestion.

With Thanksgiving travel rapidly approaching, listening to Barger's advice to step back from the baggage claim is not a bad idea.

Continue reading Talking Travel with Step Back from the Baggage Claim, Jason Barger

Talking Travel with Step Back from the Baggage Claim, Jason Barger originally appeared on Gadling on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It wasn't a wolf's huffing and puffing that led to the demise of a pig on the runway at the Harare International Airport in Zimbabwe last Tuesday. Nope, it was a MA60 60-seater attempting to take off. The wild bush pig may or may not have seen the Air Zimbabwe plane coming. But, come it did.

Poor pig. Poor plane. Poor passengers--and poor flight attendant who had to yell, "'Evacuate!'" after the damaged plane ended up off the runway with dust and smoke filling the cabin.

That's not the worst of it.

Continue reading Plane hits pig on runway and passengers panic

Plane hits pig on runway and passengers panic originally appeared on Gadling on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Back in April, Gadling reviewed Step Back from the Baggage Claim, a book Jason Barger wrote about human behavior based on a seven- day trip he took to seven airports without leaving any of them.

For the entire week he observed how people conduct themselves in airports and on planes--places he sees as metaphors for life.

This video, just released yesterday, encapsulates what Barger was looking for when he went airport hopping and what he hopes might occur because of his experiences and the book he wrote as a result of them.

Yes, dear Gadling readers, according to Barger, if we learn to behave at the airport, we might change the world.

Along with Barger's message, this video captures airport bustle and interactions in a nutshell.

Stay tuned tomorrow for an interview with Barger. All airports are not created equal.

Step Back from the Baggage Claim: Good airport behavior could change the world originally appeared on Gadling on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If you want to find out which are the best state parks from the point of view of the director of each state park system, check out The Best of the Best State Parks at About.com

Darren Smith sent out a request to each director for his or her top choice. Because many directors turned in more than one offering, Smith included all suggestions. As he points out, a park that's best for birdwatching may not be best for skiing. What's "best," therefore, is subjective. In the case of a best of the best list, the more the merrier.

Subjective or not, what makes these state parks standouts, according to Smith, are their natural beauty and natural resources, as well as, in some cases, their cultural and historical significance. They are also perfect for spotting the wildlife that is native to each state.

What intrigued me about Smith's list of state parks is that there are many that are often overshadowed by the national parks and monuments that happen to be in that state as well. New Mexico is one such state.

Continue reading Top state parks in each state offer options for seeing native wildlife

Top state parks in each state offer options for seeing native wildlife originally appeared on Gadling on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This is a what NOT to do story if you're ever in a Pilatus PC-7 Mk II. Do not, I repeat, do not, use the black and yellow handle located between your legs to steady yourself. Not even if you're pretending to be Tom Cruise in the movie Top Gun. Pull on that handle and you'll find yourself out of the plane before you can say, "Ooops, I shouldn't have done that."

That handle is what the pilots and passengers can use to activate the ejector seat in order to shoot out from the plane in case of an emergency.

In the case of this recent mishap, the passenger was on a joy ride with an expert pilot of South Africa's Silver Falcons air display team when he pulled the lever during one of the maneuvers.

And whoosh!, there he went--the two rockets attached to the back of his chair catapulting him right out of the plane 100m up into the wide open sky.

Luckily, the ejector seat is designed to release a parachute so the man safely floated back to solid ground near the Langebaanweg airfield not far from Cape Town, South Africa.

If one could be assured that you'd land as safely as this guy did, you have to admit this does sound like it would be a blast in more ways than one.

I wonder if pilots will now post a sign in front of the passenger seat saying, "DO NOT pull the yellow and black lever. DON"T EVEN TOUCH IT. Ever." [news.com.au]

*The Pilatus PC-7 in the photo is from the Royal Netherlands Air Force

Man accidently ejects himself from plane originally appeared on Gadling on Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Greyhound bus drivers

Now, how many of you heard about the Greyhound bus driver who headed the wrong way for more than an hour last week? Yep, last Saturday morning at about 7:14 a.m on October 31st, that's exactly what happened--a bus driver went the wrong way for more than 70 miles.

Here's an exclusive Gadling report that has yet to show up anywhere. Gadling knows because Gadling was there.

Continue reading Greyhound bus driver heads wrong way: Where's a GPS when you need one?

Greyhound bus driver heads wrong way: Where's a GPS when you need one? originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Too bad Pamela Root, the latest woman to be kicked off a plane with her child because of her child's behavior, didn't have Lisa Belkin's method of calming down a screaming toddler. Not the whole method though, just part of it. The whole version is gross. And yes, it is funny--very funny. But it is gross, very gross as well. It's also a cautionary tale of sorts regarding those handy barf bags tucked into an airplane's seat back pockets.

Belkin, who writes for the Motherlode blog in the New York Times, recounts her own trapped-on-a plane-with-an-unruly toddler story. In Belkin's case, it was her own toddler who would not be consoled. Well aware of the looks of horror and sympathy being directed her way by the other passengers, and the not so friendly skies look of the flight attendant who was closest to her, Belkin feared being jettisoned off the plane.

In a flash of brilliance, Belkin pulled the barf bag out of a seat pocket, drew a face on it, slipped her hand inside and turned her hand into a puppet show. Her child stopped crying immediately, pleased as punch.

Belkin, figuring that if one puppet was a hit, two might be Oscar winning material, thrust her other hand into another barf bag. Unfortunately, someone already had found a use for the barf bag-- the use for which it was meant.

Yep. There was Belkin, her hand in a barf bag covered with vomit, and her puppet show at a screeching halt. Fortunately, her husband, who had not been very useful up to that point, was there to help out while Belkin bounded for the restroom lickety split for a sanitation session in the lavatory before the plane took off.

After reading Belkin's story, I'm thankful that when I used a barf bag this summer to hold my son's Lego airplane pieces from the toy I bought at the Detroit airport, I didn't have a mess to clean up. Vomit on Legos? Gaad.

I bought the toy as a way to keep him occupied on our way to Venice via Amsterdam. Fortunately, he's at the age where the in-flight movies do the trick just fine.

Method for quieting child on plane: Works better without the vomit originally appeared on Gadling on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A close-up view of a building's features is one way to show it off its beauty This Buddhist temple's door is a perfect example. LadyExpat, who took this photo in Daejeon, South Korea, moved in for an intimate look so that the textures and nuances of the blue paint, the worn wood and the metal are a study of contrasts. Plus, think of the story they tell of the people who have passed through these doors over the years.

If you have a photo of contrasts and textures you'd love to show off, send it our way at Gadling's Flickr photo pool. It may be chosen as a Photo of the Day.

Photo of the Day (11-4-09) originally appeared on Gadling on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In five to six years, Shanghai will have joined Tokyo, Hong Kong and Paris as a city out of the U.S. with a Disney theme park. China may or may not need a Disney theme park, but Disney's aim is that the Shanghai location will help create a mighty want for Disney products among the country's population.

With 1.5 billion people in China, Disney is hoping that the big bucks it will cost to dazzle the multitudes will pay off in other avenues. As anyone who has ever been to a Disney property knows, the theme park is not just a way to be wowed for a day or two; it's a gateway into other Disney habits. The hope is that the wow moments are enough to make you crave more.

Continue reading Shanghai to get a Disney theme park: Does it need one?

Shanghai to get a Disney theme park: Does it need one? originally appeared on Gadling on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Earlier today Mike wondered what Bob Dylan's voice would be like in a GPS system. Here's another voice idea. Greg Phelps, the art car aficionado who tells me about car oddities from time to time, told me about this one. Homer Simpson's voice can be downloaded to a portable TomTom GPS device.

Along with giving directions, Homer makes side comments to ramp up the amusement value. Homer pipes out with lines that carry the hope for food stops, as well as, lines like "You've reached your destination. You can hold your head up high because you're a genius."

In addition to helping you get where you want to go, I can see how Homer's voice would be fun to have as a companion in a traffic jam. I once gave my husband a bottle opener with Homer Simpson's voice that was triggered by popping the cap off. I didn't know there could be something better than that bottle opener.

Homer Simpson's voice on GPS tells you where to go and more originally appeared on Gadling on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Perhaps one of the worst travel experiences is being lost and on foot in a city without a decent map or a sense of direction. This is particularly horrendous when one has walked and walked and walked only to discover the same buildings and streets that one saw hours ago. A shoe GPS system might be the answer to such foot torture and travel woes.

This shoe + GPS is an idea that has a design already. If these shoes are ever made, Footwear with GPS will be shoes equipped with a GPS unit and transponder.

After reading the description and looking at the diagram of this shoe at Funny Patents and Inventions, I'm not exactly sure how this system works, but it does seem that even if you don't know where you're going, this shoe could be helpful for determining where you are.

I wonder how the system fares in rain? Could you get shocked if you happen to slog through a puddle? Also, I wonder if you could have a bit of fun with someone and program one shoe to point a person in one direction and the other to point the opposite way?

This Footwear with GPS system idea reminds me of the saying, "Wherever you go, there you are." Perhaps that could be a slogan for an ad campaign.

GPS Footwear: Program your shoes and start walking? originally appeared on Gadling on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

While Catherine has Halloween costume ideas that reflect different types of travelers--(there are more ideas coming throughout today), and Heather previously posted on how to dress up like an awesome flight attendant, here are other costume ideas. These wander into the unusual--possibly the obscure.

Each are based on travel and incorporate souvenirs you may have brought home with you, particularly if you have problems passing up purchases. All were thought of at the last minute for a past Halloween and were worn at a party.

As a note, you may have to explain what you are, although the responses to each were positive.

Also, as you travel this year, think of costume ideas as you go. In this picture I see items that might come in handy. Read on.

Costume 1: A Homonym

Continue reading Last minute oddball Halloween costumes that reflect your travels

Last minute oddball Halloween costumes that reflect your travels originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Even though Edgar Allan Poe's funeral do-over in Baltimore was a couple weeks ago, there are several locations where it's not too late to pay tribute to this literary master of horror. Poe, a traveler himself, moved between Boston, Charlottesville and Richmond, Virginia and Baltimore, plus a few towns in between. Because several of the Poe-related landmarks still exist, it's possible to follow his trail from his birth to his death.

Given that this is the 200th year of his birth, why not pay Poe tribute by heading to one of these locations for a Halloween weekend remembrance?

Bring a copy of his short stories or poems with you to add to the ambiance. Make sure "The Raven" and "The Fall of the House of Usher" are among them: some of the stops are where they were written.

Continue reading Edgar Allan Poe travel for Halloween weekend

Edgar Allan Poe travel for Halloween weekend originally appeared on Gadling on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.