Tag Archives: travel news

travel tunes, leisure dives and carmageddon – this week's travel round-up

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summer tunes

summertime makes many think of car windows rolled down and tunes turned up while crusin’ around. whether you are driving around town, road-tripping to your next getaway or driving a rental in a travel destination – nothing beats summer music. in summertime, it always seems there comes a perfect playlist of your fave songs that will make you reminisce about those sweet summer days and nights for the rest of the year and beyond. read the travel top 40+ is… to find out what popular travel bloggers favorite tunes are that carry them back to the places they love.

my song of the summer so far is party rock anthem – check it out!

[youtube=http://youtu.be/pIOOwhmkoLo]

on another note, you know how LOLA loves that gangsta rap (i <3 u flo rida!) so when i came across Killing Batteries blog entry on the ‘world’s first gangsta travel rap album’ you know i instantly was crushin’.

gangsta rap + travel =  it’s too good to be true.

World’s first gangsta travel rap album – by Killing Batteries/Leif Pettersen

The three or four people closely following my career and composing various unauthorized biographies about me peed themselves a little recently when I quietly launched a new side project: a gangsta rapper alter ego known as ‘Righteous Culo’.

Unfortunately, I immediately lost focus and creative direction. I’m told this is common in rap, what with the distractions of groupies, booze, being a pimp and producing family comedies on TBS.

Well, I’m happy to announce that those dark, wayward days are over and Righteous Culo’s debut album is in full production. I followed the advice given to all fledgling writers and decided to drop dope rhymes about what I know. The result? The world’s first gangsta travel rap album:

“Where’s the Hostel, Motherf*cker?”

Dr. Dre begged me not to go into too much detail, but I so truly love my fans that I can’t resist posting the track list as an appetite-whetter:

1.    “Extra Spicy Kebab, S’il Vous Plaît”
2.    “I Got Bed Bugs at Yo Mama’s House”
3.    “WTF TSA?”
4.    “I’ll Put My Chaco in Yo Ass!”
5.    “Walk This Way – Or You’ll Miss the Bus, Yo”
6.    “Baby, I Don’t ‘Like’ You That Way”
7.    “It Was a Good Day to Do Laundry”
8.    “Hablas Englisho?” – Featuring Bill Bryson
9.    “A Month in Amsterdam – Parents Just Don’t Understand”
10.  “Nuthin’ But a G-String”
11.   “$25 Wi-Fi? – TripAdviser Ass Whuppin”
12.  “Dat Ain’t No Girl! (Bangkok Blues)”

Aight, I gotta go meet with my eyebrow stylist and my limp choreographer. World peace out.

planking, owling & the leisure dive

while planking is still growing in popularity and injuries (see video below via matadornetwork.com) and, even still, other types of stunts such as “owling” have started trending (see blurb below via slacktory.com), i felt like “leisure dives” was really more LOLA’S speed. pool scene + cocktail = less risk of injury yet still silly nonsense! read planking the plunge for the full story on leisure diving by thrillist.com

Planking can be dangerous, even at home

…especially when you don’t lock the oven door. digg

If you’re not familiar with the game, the Wikipedia article on planking is pretty informative. It’s been described as “lazy parkour,” but has also been responsible for at least one death. This girl, I think, lands somewhere in the middle.

rooftop owling

Owling...WHO WHO would do this really?

“Owling is the new planking,” says BuzzFeed. “Owling is essentially just squatting,” admits BuzzFeed.

“We’re actually going to do this and make this a thing,” says Reddit. “We are the quirkiest quirks that ever quirked.” So far there are 50 Reddit posts about owling. Owling was invented 14 hours ago.

the 411 on carmageddon

what is carmageddon? a name that Los Angeleans have dubbed the construction project that closed the 405 Freeway this weekend – a road that carries more than 280,000 cars per day across L.A. the city closed a 10-mile section of Interstate 405, starting at 7 p.m. Friday and plans to reopen it at 6 a.m. Monday.

it has been quite the buzz over the past several days and interestingly enough has NOT been as catastrophic as it was first thought to be.  here’s a video depicting the peace & quiet that was the side effect of carmageddon/karmageddon via Mashable by Ross Ching.

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/26433049]

more interesting, however, is carmageddon provoked JetBlue to offer a $4 fare to fly from Burbank to Long Beach (12 minute flight and shortest in JetBlue’s history). who couldn’t love that cheeky JetBlue??

but what’s even more fun…the biking group Wolfpack Hustle challenged JetBlue to a race to see who could get 38 miles door to door faster – man on a bike or man on a plane? and, of course, JetBlue took them up on the challenge.  who won? read it’s a bird, it’s a JetBlue plane, it’s (huh?) cyclists Wolfpack Hustle!

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and for another type of flying: planking

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what’s the deal with planking?

i literally asked Google this question when suddenly planking became a trend in the travel space this week. i might be a little behind on this one but it’s definitely an interesting fad.

Planking (according to wikipedia) may refer to:

read…we are dealing with the 2nd bullet here people!

passengers planking on planes!

please place your larger article in the overhead bin?

Airport, Planking Mad

see gate agent for oversized luggage

JET ENGINE PLANK, Planking Mad

ready for plank off

maybe this is how i’ll have my “Fourth of July FUN” this weekend…planking anyone?

**pictures from @Heather_Poole & plankingmad.com

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carry on your chains & whips – get your bag of complimentary chips?

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what goes better than apple pie & chevrolet this 4th of July? this is for or those traveling by plane this holiday weekend…in case your inquiring minds wanted to know:

TRIP TIPS – carry on or check it when flying the fetish skies

The San Francisco Chronicle recently got confirmation from TSA officials that there are more items specifically allowed in carry-on luggage than you might expect. Among them are whips, chains, handcuffs, vibrators, and other personal “toys” that don’t exceed certain measurements—in other words, they’re OK to go as long they don’t become “club-like.”

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Have toys, will travel

have toys, will travel

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for more on Sex toys and the security checkpoint By Harriet Baskas, msnbc.com contributor:

The TSA’s website has a detailed list of items such as certain sports equipment, firearms, explosives and other potentially dangerous objects prohibited in a carry-on bag.

If you’re wondering whether or not that vibrator, sex toy or other X-rated object will make it through the airport security checkpoint, however, you’re pretty much on your own.

“Our list, while as complete as possible, leaves discretion in the hands of our trained work force to identify items that could constitute a threat to passengers and aviation security,” said TSA spokesperson Nico Melendez. “TSA recommends removing batteries from items that may inadvertently activate during the screening process.”

So how do you know what sort of sex paraphernalia is OK to carry-on?

A “same as” approach may help.

“Look on the TSA list. Where it says ‘fluids,’ think ‘lubricants.’ Where it says ‘electronic devices,’ think ‘massagers,’” said Brian Alexander, an msnbc.com contributor and author of “America Unzipped: The Search for Sex and Satisfaction.”

While vibrators, whips, chains and manacles are OK in carry-on luggage, according to a recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle, some X-rated objects, such as anatomically correct cylinders “a foot or so in length,” should be packed in checked luggage because they fall in the TSA category that prohibits putting items like billy clubs and brass knuckles in carry-on bags.

Once you’ve determined whether or not your sex toy can fly, taking it along depends on how comfortable you are “with the possibility that a TSA guy might go rooting through your carry-on,” said Alexander. “The fact is they see lots of toys already because many people travel with vibrators.”

Sex toy or not, if you’re worried that any item in your carry-on might create an uncomfortable situation at the security checkpoint, you always have the right to request a private screening.

If you do find yourself pulled aside for questioning, Alexander’s advice is to hold your head high. “You have every right to travel with personal products. You do not need to explain how anything works or answer any ‘why’ questions. If somebody smirks or makes fun, report them. We have a right to expect that people empowered to go through our personal things treat everybody with respect no matter what they see.”

**picture from SF Gate

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TRAVEL TAWK – it's 4th of July weekend & the summer heat is ON! strange things are happening…tweeting turtles, TSA vs. sex toys + planking in precarious places

JFKTurtles
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JFKTurtles: We’ve had a busy Wednesday. Note to selves: don’t try to play frogger on the tarmac.

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YES – you read that right – TWEETING TURTLES in heat are making travel news! it’s mating season and love is in the air (or, err, on the tarmac). their rash behavior on wednesday is explained to the press in these tweets:

@JFKTurtles “When you are gearing up for the moment, you don’t really think about your personal safety. You know?” to @nymag

@JFKTurtles “We take humpday to heart.” to @thedailybeast

it all started with a JetBlue tweet (see below) that led the turtles to opening their own twitter account and tweeting back.

read on to learn more on why the turtles are in the travel news and follow the funny tweeting turtles on twitter (try saying that 5 times) for a laugh!

JetBlue Tweets About JFK Turtles

Turtles crossing runway cause New York flight delays

VIA (Reuters Life!) – Flights at John F. Kennedy International Airport were delayed shortly on Wednesday when about 150 diamondback terrapin turtles were spotted crossing a runway, authorities said.

The reptiles were trying to get to the other side of the runway to lay eggs on the sandy shores of the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, which borders the airport.

Ron Marsico, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which oversees operation of the region’s airports, pilots from Jet Blue and other airlines halted their flights to let the expectant reptiles pass.

“Flight delays attributed to turtles were minor, about 15 minutes or so,” he said.

Port Authority staff rushed out to the tarmac where, between takeoffs and landings, they scooped up the turtles and helped them on their way.

Naturalists said the 185-acre Jamaica Bay may be the diamondback’s most popular breeding ground in North America.

“It happens every year at about this time. It’s the great migration, and this is the peak of the season,” he said.

Flights were rerouted to another runway, as waves of turtles pressed on with their march to the bay.

“At one point, we decided to heed Mother Nature and use other runways. This is not impacting flights,” Marsico said.

(Reporting by Barbara Goldberg; Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst and Patricia Reaney)

some other funny turtle tweets to date:

Turtles Block JFK Runway

JFK Turtles Launch Twitter Account

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breaking travel fashion news gals…

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(pictures taken by  jill tarlow (top) and jessica villardi (bottom) found on overhead bin – msnbc.com)

in travel news this week – this guy has been flying around in ladies lingerie and it got me to thinking…

YES, brilliant! that’s it! this is how we can pack a little lighter and maximize our pool/beach time on our warm weather getaways. no need to change out of your suits gals. you can now go from poolside to the TSA line. feel free to fly the friendly skies in your one-piece, bikini or tankini! apparently, if IT’S covered you can fly. to read more of the story see the overhead bin.

TRIP TIP –

double knot your ties – indecent exposure could get you arrested!

happy travels! lola

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