• Aquariums might not at first strike you as particularly wild, but the underwater world certainly is, and this guide breaks down America's most family-friendly aquariums. [via Peter Greenberg]
• After watching Ken Burns's "America's Best Idea," we should all be grateful for the beautiful wilderness of America's national parks. [via The Traveler's Notebook]
• Whale watching is a worldwide pastime, and while whales may not be as endangered as they used to be, we still need to proceed with caution. [via Wall Street Journal]
• Once you escape the hustle and bustle of Honolulu, Hawaii can be an awfully wild place. Check out these endangered island sights before it's too late. [via Honolulu Magazine]
• It's important to consider animal welfare when we're out enjoying America's wilderness. Here are some good animal-friendly travel tips to get you in a more compassionate traveler. [via Intelligent Travel]

More Gadlinks HERE.

Gadlinks for Monday 11.9.09 originally appeared on Gadling on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Bowermaster's Adventures -- The Charles Darwin Research Center

Bowermaster's Adventures -- The Charles Darwin Research Center originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Ship graveyards from around the world originally appeared on Gadling on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

2010 Adventure Travel World Summit goes to Scotland originally appeared on Gadling on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Each time I read through posts for Gadling Take Five, I look for those that may have been missed by readers. I also look for posts that may fit together in some sort of cosmic theme. It's often hard to choose five. While browsing the offerings this week, it seems this was a week of great ideas. This week I found a gold mine.

Here are ten great ideas:

• When Alison was at Litquake in San Francisco she discovered The Bookmobile, a former actual Bookmobile that has been turned into an experiential gathering place for readers, if you will. If you see the Bookmobile somewhere along the Lincoln Highway this year, step inside. You might encounter a famous author driving it. The material being gathered during the Bookmobile's journey will be turned into a documentary.
• A good idea worth considering is reducing the number of traffic signs. Although Aaron is a swell driver, he's given some thought to how he might be better at it if there were fewer signs to distract him. There is research to prove him right. Fewer signs have been shown to decrease accidents.
• As world travelers, we're often introduced to problems we wouldn't have been otherwise. In Tibet, blindness is a problem. In Sean's post on the Planeterra Foundation, you can read more about the organization's wonderful idea to tackle blindness and how you might get involved.
• Kraig, who knows a thing or two about adventure travel, highlights the reasons why hiking the Continental Divide Trail is a good idea. In the case of hiking this trail, Kraig suggests a good idea is to plan for extremes. For example, on one section there's a lack of water. On another, you'll be on the look out for grizzles.
• Here are two airlines with great ideas. KLM is giving away personalized luggage tags. Scott tells you how to get them. Virgin America is considering testing out this good idea. Those without carry-ons can board first. Alison did think about how this good idea might not be so good after all.
• If you're on a long flight, Tom has come up with great ideas for how to be more productive. Since one of my favorite things to do on a plane is zone out, Tom's tips are extra handy.
• For anyone looking for where to have a destination wedding. Look no further than St. Maarten. Katie has the scoop on why having a wedding on this island is a great idea. It's free.
• You probably came across Annie's post on 10 things not to forget to pack when you go on a trip. Pajamas is one of them, something I consistently forget.
• Here's a good idea that might be a bit weird. I found out about GoGirl, a device that helps women pee like men.
• And here's a shout out to Heather's grand idea even though it's already found great press. It's such a great idea, I had to include it. Heather has turned Laviator into a household word. I still have yet to become a Laviator. It's probably because of my tendency to zone out on a plane. One of these days, though--one of these days.

Gadling Take Five: Oct. 17--Oct. 23 originally appeared on Gadling on Sat, 24 Oct 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The FTC rule requires disclosure only by bloggers - traditional media outlets will not be affected, despite the fact that they receive plenty of swag ... and that we (the bloggers) learned it from them. If the goal is to help the consumer make an informed decision, this rule will only "help" blog readers and leave consumers of traditional media exposed.

Beyond the question of fairness, though, there's a greater issue: practicality. Especially in the travel space, the trips and gear provided by hotels, restaurants, manufacturers and their publicists is a vital part of how we can provide more than mere reblogs of "man pukes on a plane." Original travel content comes at a cost. Travel writers need to be out on the road to be effective, and even 12 months of discount travel can add up quickly. For readers interested in luxury and upscale experiences (and there are many here and at Luxist, where I also write), it would be impossible for impoverished bloggers to deliver first-hand accounts of these destinations.

It can be tough to understand the role that comp'ed travel can play in an operation such as Gadlings - or that of any other publication that covers travel. So, to help clarify the issues involved, here are 10 factors that help make sponsored press trips effective.

Continue reading Free press travel: necessary ... and certainly not an evil

Free press travel: necessary ... and certainly not an evil originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If you missed Woodstock forty years ago, or feel that counterculture may have passed you by, the West Fest: 40th Anniversary of Woodstock festival is a place to catch up.

At Golden Gate Park in San Francisco this Sunday, Oct. 25th, counter culture is using its voice again--big time.

From 9 a.m to 6 p.m, hundreds of San Francisco-based musicians, Beat Generation poets, anti-war speakers, members of the Free Speech Movement, members of the Green Movement and others are joining forces to celebrate California's trend-setting role in the counterculture movement.

As part of the venue, 3,000 musicians will play Jimmy Hendrix's "Purple Haze" at the same time in an effort to break the world record for the largest guitar ensemble.

Several of the musicians are from groups that might sound familiar, i.e., Starship, Jefferson Airplane, The Doors, Greg Allman's Band, and the Byrds. To be clear--this doesn't mean these bands will appear, but people who are from these groups will be performing.

As the West Fest page of the Woodstock Story website points out, the San Francisco area is where the Free Speech Movement, Free Love Movement, Farm Workers Movement, Women's Movement, Gay Rights Movement, and the Sexual Revolution first took hold.

Whether you're a counterculture type or not, West Fest sounds like an event not to miss if you're within shouting distance of San Francisco. Couldn't you use a bit of peace, love and good cheer?

As a plus, unlike 40 years ago, the weather on Sunday in San Francisco is supposed to be sublime. How does mostly sunny and a high of 75 degrees sound?

During three days of the four-day Woodstock concert, it mostly rained.

If you're looking for a budget-friendly place to stay in San Francisco, check out The Good Hotel.

West Fest: 40th Anniversary of Woodstock is FREE! originally appeared on Gadling on Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yellowstone to limit snowmobile access originally appeared on Gadling on Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading The Catch-22 of Adventure Travel and the Environment

The Catch-22 of Adventure Travel and the Environment originally appeared on Gadling on Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Gallery: World Monuments Fund 2010 Endangered List

World Monuments Fund announces list of endangered treasures originally appeared on Gadling on Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Climb a mountain for charity in 2010

Climb a mountain for charity in 2010 originally appeared on Gadling on Mon, 12 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Furnace 508 endurance cycling race starts tomorrow originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Paraplegic climber summits Kilimanjaro!

Paraplegic climber summits Kilimanjaro! originally appeared on Gadling on Thu, 01 Oct 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Those of you living in southern states, granted, may not feel the need to disappear when the December winds start to blow. I hear it all around me in New York every winter: it's cold, it's wet, it's awful. Frankly, I dig winter, but I realize I'm in the minority, especially when the temperatures hit rock bottom. And New York's got nothin' on the likes of Wisconsin, Minnesota and Maine. Well, if you yearn for a warm place when the frigid temperatures hit, Holiday Project 2009 will make you warm on the outside and on the inside.

For nine days, you can soak up the sun in Costa Rica with Tropical Adventures. Raft down a river, feel unfettered freedom on a zip line and make a difference in a local community. This new program costs $1,595 (for adults, $985 for kids) and includes all on-the-ground transportation, two nights at a hotel in San Jose, four nights with a host family in Puerto Viejo and two nights on the indigenous reservation. You'll mingle with local children and seniors at three holiday parties and take three adventure tours. It's a packed itinerary that includes thrills and a chance to make the world a better place.

So, when you start to plan your winter escape, maybe you can mix in a bit of holiday goodwill. The trip runs from December 19 - 27, 2009, and you have to book by November 30.

Make a difference in December (in warm Costa Rica) originally appeared on Gadling on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Paraplegic Athlete Climbing Kilimanjaro

Paraplegic Athlete Climbing Kilimanjaro originally appeared on Gadling on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

China closes Tibet once again originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 25 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Cyclist circles the globe in 174 days originally appeared on Gadling on Thu, 24 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Connie Schultz is a bit disgusted with three Hyatt hotels in the Boston area. As she wrote in her column in Sunday's The Plain Dealer, the management of these hotels recently had longtime housekeepers train a fresh crop of housekeepers who had been imported from Georgia.

The longtime housekeepers, one who had been with the company for 22 years, thought they were training staff to fill in for vacation leave hours. They thought this because that's what management told them.

Boy, were those housekeepers duped. They were let go as soon as the new employees were trained. In all, 100 workers were given the heave ho. Those who were brought up from Georgia are cleaning rooms for almost half the salary of the longtime employees, plus they don't receive benefits. The longtime housekeepers did.

Schultz isn't the only one who is disgruntled with the management who has tossed out loyalty in the name of the bottom dollar. The mayor of Boston is calling the move "crude business" and hundreds turned out to protest outside the Hyatt Regency Boston last Thursday. This Boston Globe article that outlines the controversy also states that there is talk that people should boycott the Hyatt hotels that practice such dirty business.

Along with not knowing much about fair play, it seems that the management of those Hyatt hotels should consider this: If part of what one pays for at a higher end hotel is great service, cutting corners on salaries of those people who clean drinking glasses and the toilets may not be the best plan. Remember those hotel drinking glass horror stories that came out two years ago?

Hyatt hotels in Boston outsource housekeepers in a dirty deal originally appeared on Gadling on Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Over at the United Nations' blog UN Dispatch, Allana Shaikh argues that One Laptop Per Child (OLPC), the non-profit program aimed at getting low-cost laptops into the hands of children in the developing world, is largely a failure. According to Shaikh, the problems with the ambitious program are manifold:

1. Laptop orders took much longer than expected to arrive in the developing world. Thousands of orders simply vanished.
2. OLPC doesn't offer training to teachers on how to incorporate the machines into their classrooms. Neither is there any technical support for the laptops.
3. Although children report liking the laptops, the computers don't appear to help them learn.
4. The laptops are supposed to cost $100 each. The price has yet to drop that far.

Read Shaikh's whole piece here. She also points to a very good article by Philanthropy Action editor-in-chief Timothy Ogden called "Computer Error?" Ogden argues that treating parasitic worm infections in children, a relatively inexpensive undertaking, would improve their classroom achievement much more than new laptops.

Continue reading So is One Laptop Per Child working or not?

So is One Laptop Per Child working or not? originally appeared on Gadling on Tue, 22 Sep 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• I love traveling to remote places in the world. Here's just a sneak peek at a few of Earth's final frontiers. [via Open Travel]
  
• Even grown adults (such as myself) can't get enough of Harry Potter, so to quench that thirst a bit Universal Studios in Orlando is opening a Harry Potter Theme Park next spring complete with a Hogwarts School, Hog's Head Pub, and more. Hooray! [via Faster Times]
• Maybe it's because my cousins are on a safari of their own that I happened upon this. Check out these 6 ways to see endangered species without endangering them anymore. [via Treehugger]
• And finally, if you're brave enough and have the stomach enough, then give these weird foods from around the world a try. [via BootsNAll]

Gadlinks for Friday 9.18.09 originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 18 Sep 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.