The Anderson-Abruzzo International Balloon Museum celebrates th history of ballooning. The location of the museum, Albuquerque, NM otherwise known as the “Balloon Capital of the World.” There is nothing more picturesque than to see the mass release of balloons into the air of the many shapes colors and sizes. The museum will offer great insight in to the questions that so many most likely had but were afraid to ask, myself included

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (AP) One look at the autumn sky here, dotted each morning with colorful hot-air balloons, shows why the city has come to be known as the “Balloon Capital of the World.” That reputation will only grow next month with the opening of a unique museum devoted to the rich history of this most graceful form of flight. The Anderson-Abruzzo International Balloon Museum is scheduled to open October 1, coinciding with Albuquerque’s annual Balloon Fiesta, which starts the day before and draws people from around the world.

“For people who aren’t balloonists … there’s a sense of wonder about how these things get up in the air. And who are these people that wake up so early in the morning to do this?” said Marilee Schmit Nason, curator of collections for the new museum. “Our museum will answer those questions and the questions people never knew to ask.”

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This story had to be told. First Shark attacks on the beach, now dolphins armed with Toxic Darts are to be feared when we are swimming?

From the Guardian:

It may be the oddest tale to emerge from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Armed dolphins, trained by the US military to shoot terrorists and pinpoint spies underwater, may be missing in the Gulf of Mexico.

Experts who have studied the US navy’s cetacean training exercises claim the 36 mammals could be carrying ‘toxic dart’ guns. Divers and surfers risk attack, they claim, from a species considered to be among the planet’s smartest. The US navy admits it has been training dolphins for military purposes, but has refused to confirm that any are missing.

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In the aftermath of Hurricane Rita, Commercial airlines resumed service Sunday at Houston airports that were shut down Friday before Hurricane Rita landed.

Houston’s main airports, Bush Intercontinental and Hobby, were not significantly damaged as the storm shifted east and skirted the city, airline officials said.

Southwest Airlines Co. and Continental Airlines Inc. said they resumed flights from Dallas to Houston on Sunday morning.

Many Continental flights into Houston Sunday were sold out and only a few seats remained Monday, a reservations agent said. The Houston-based airline planned to operate 249 departures from Houston on Sunday. Sister carriers Continental Express and Continental Connection expected to resume Houston flights Monday.

Southwest also planned to resume service to New Orleans’ Louis Armstrong Airport and to Corpus Christi later Sunday morning, said spokeswoman Edna Ruano.

Southwest also planned to resume service to New Orleans’ Louis Armstrong Airport and to Corpus Christi later Sunday morning, said spokeswoman Edna Ruano.

American Airlines and American Eagle, both units of Fort Worth-based AMR Corp., scheduled their first flights into Houston since late Thursday for shortly after noon on Sunday, spokesman Billy Sanez said.

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The New York Times reports that the dramatic landing in Los Angeles last week was the 7th time that their had landing gear issues. This has to be disconcerting for JetBlue that their fleet is primarily composed of the A320 aircraft.

 

The National Transportation Safety Board sent the plane’s “black boxes” to Washington for analysis and was preparing to send the front landing gear as well, said Howard Plagens, a senior air safety investigator.

Mr. Plagens said the gear was last serviced on Tuesday, in New York, where technicians replaced a sensor that measures distance to the ground.

JetBlue contracts out its major maintenance work, with 60 percent going to Air Canada and 40 percent to TACA, the Salvadoran airline.

Among the earlier problems was an incident in February 1999, when an A320 operated by America West Airlines landed at Port Columbus International Airport, in Columbus, Ohio, with the landing gear twisted.

By the time of the incident, Airbus had advised A320 owners to replace a part in the landing gear control, but America West had not yet done so. After that incident, French and American authorities made the replacement mandatory. But the problems have continued.

During the winter months, Vail is the place for the glitterati, where Kate Moss and Tom Cruise rub shoulders, as Donald Trump and Martha Stewart make deals in the chalets. However, there are many things to do in this mountain side city, beyond pounding down the slopes dodging snowboarders.

The Los Angeles Times has 5 things to do in Vail in the off season:

1 Shop. The village teems with galleries, jewelry shops and specialty stores such as the Swedish Clog Cabin and Scotch of the Rockies, which features dog-themed gifts and jewelry. On the final weekend in October, the Vail Ski and Snowboard Club holds its annual Ski Swap sale of new and used equipment from individuals and vendors looking to pare down last year’s inventory.

2 Park it. No cars are allowed in the center of quaint Bavarian-style Vail, but there’s free parking in a massive garage. Detractors call the village more a theme park than a civic center, but hey, parking at Disneyland costs $10.

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In a USA Today article due to the rising cost of fuel, financially strapped airlines and steady consumer demand translates to higher airfares this holiday season. For those who procrastinate or look for the last minute bargain flights may be on the outside looking in.

The trend for leisure fares has been upward all summer (averaging 16% more than a year ago), and it’s continuing through the fall,” says Bob Harrell of New York-based Harrell Associates, which tracks airline pricing.

Since both Christmas and New Year’s Day fall on a weekend this year, travel will probably be compressed over a shorter time frame, making deals less likely. And while airlines typically trumpet deep discounts for travel on Thanksgiving or Christmas day, availability is highly restricted, notes Harrell.

Those in the industry state that popular destinations like Hawaii, Florida and the Caribbean could be paying double of what the fares cost today.

Vacationers with more time — and with a hankering for such popular holiday destinations as Hawaii, Florida and the Caribbean — “are probably going to be paying double or triple the lowest sale fare,” says Tom Parsons of Bestfares.com.

Get a benchmark air fares through such sources as
FareReport.com
Cheapflights.com
Expedia.com’s Fare Compare
Travelocity.com
CheapSeats.com
Don’t forget to contact low-cost carriers like Southwest

For the full story and tips for scoring the best holiday airfare

Officials in the Florida Keys urged tourists to wait until today to travel to the area after it was sideswiped by Hurricane Rita. They seemed to have dodged the worse of the storm and had less than anticipated damage as compared to when Hurricane Rita came ashore in Port Arthur, TX.

Officials in the Florida Keys urged tourists to wait until today to travel to the area after it was sideswiped by Hurricane Rita on Tuesday. Still, they were breathing a collective sigh of relief after the latest hurricane — the third to hit the Keys this season — did less damage than anticipated.

“We seem to be in very good shape,” said spokesman Andy Newman. “There is no major structural damage. They’re busy moving some sand around and digging out seaweed.”

The Key West airport reopened Thursday; cruise ships return Sunday. For updates: 800-352-5397; www.fla-keys.com.

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The recent hurricanes that have affected the Gulf Coast and Florida have been responsible for many bad things. Loss of life, property damage, increased gasoline prices to name a few. It has affected the airline and shipping industry as well. However, for the hotel industry is has created a boon.

ORLANDO (AP) — Hurricane Katrina may be blamed for rising gas prices, squeezing airlines’ bottom lines and agriculture shipping delays, but it has been a boon for one industry: the nation’s hotel sector.

The lodging industry’s leading research firm on Thursday raised revenue growth estimates for the year by more than a half-percent as a result of Katrina, adding to what already was expected to be the sector’s best year since 2000 when the industry profited $22.5 billion on $113.7 billion revenue.

Tennessee-based Smith Travel Research raised its 2005 revenue per-available-room growth estimate to 8.2% from 7.6%, citing demand from emergency workers and evacuees forced from their homes by Katrina.

“We expect total industry profit to near the 2000 numbers,” said Jan Freitag, a director of Smith Travel Research. “In terms of total revenue that the industry will generate, we certainly will have the best year that we’ve ever seen.”

According to the experts many of the indicators were already in place even prior to this years hurricane season that has displaced so many people and created the demand for rescue worker and media lodging.

A combination of a slowdown in hotel construction, with less new rooms coming on-line, along with an increase in business travel, which dropped significantly after the Sept. 11 attacks, already had positioned 2005 to be the best year for the hotel industry in five years.

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Like with all insurance policies, its better to have and not need than need and not have. Travel insurance policies are no different.

“Because it’s based on the unexpected, it’s like carrying house insurance,” she said. “You don’t ever think anything is going to happen, but if it does, you want to be prepared.”

For anyone who has been put into the terrible situation of “losing it all to an unforeseen event or illness would be disappointing — not to mention expensive”, travel insurance is the answer.

A travel insurance policy can be a saving grace when something unexpected crops up.

“We try to advise everyone to take travel insurance,” said Cheryl Hudak, vice president of the American Society of Travel Agents and owner of Travel Dimensions in Boardman, Ohio.

“Because it’s based on the unexpected, it’s like carrying house insurance,” she said. “You don’t ever think anything is going to happen, but if it does, you want to be prepared.”

Travel insurance can cover a range of situations, from trip cancellation or delay to medical evacuation. You can buy supplemental medical insurance, baggage insurance and policies that cover money lost if a travel vendor defaults.

With all the choices, how do you decide what kind of protection you might need?

And as they say … Always read the fine print

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