Intelligent Travel

Tour Guide: Biking the Underground Railroad

For history buffs out there (you know who you are), the Adventure Cycling Association has a great tour that combines U.S. history lessons with plenty of exercise.

The 48-day, 2,100-mile Undergound Railroad tour takes 14 cyclists from Mobile, Alabama, through the Deep South and the Tennessee River Valley, across the Ohio River, and up through Buffalo, New York, all the way to Owen Sound, Ontario, just like escaped slaves would have done in the 19th century (minus the bicycle, of course). Along the way, cyclists will stop at historic sites, share cooking responsibilities, and camp.

The Adventure Cycling Association is partners with the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Minority Health, which helped create the UGRR route. To get an idea of what the tour is like, check out Joan and Mike's entry on the Review the Ride Registry, who also have a very detailed blog with lots of photos from last year's trip.

The Association has heaps of other multiweek tours, like the brand-new, 79-day Great Western Loop, as well as shorter trips, like the 7-day Cycle Montana route.

For more information about the group's self-contained bicycling trips (you carry your own stuff) and supported tours (they transport your luggage for you), check out their website.

Photo: Adventure Cycling Association/Dennis Coello

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Fields of Green

We blogged last week about D.C.'s new baseball stadium, Nationals Park, the first LEED-certified ballfield in the country. Well, this weekend I had a chance to check out the park myself, heading over to the Navy Yard section of town for Saturday night's exhibition game. And let me tell you, I was impressed. It's not just the idea of being one of the first people to see the park, but the, ahem, intelligence with which it was designed.

From the way the concession stands are set up in the outer circle of the concourse, so you can still watch the game as you walk around, to the huge, huge High-def scoreboard (which was mesmerizing) you could tell that despite the 22-month turnaround, quite a bit of thought had gone into the building process. But even better are earth-friendly touches that abound. Recycling containers are everywhere.  There's not a lot of parking, so it pushes people to opt instead for mass transit, or even better, to use the free bike valet. Beer is poured in biodegradable cups made from corn, and when you're done with a few rounds, you can head to the low-flush toilets. And though the lines for the locally-sourced food were long, having a Ben's Chili Dog at a ballgame was certainly worth the wait.

Fortunately for fans everywhere, Major League Baseball is working to bring these green innovations to stadiums across the country. Teaming up with the Natural Resources Defense Council, several parks began implementing greener practices in the past few years. Fortune reports that the Seattle Mariners recycle paper, plastic containers, and food waste; the Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox are installing solar panels to cut energy costs; and the Pittsburgh Pirates are using corn-cups, 100% recycled toilet paper, and are sending their scouts out in hybrid cars.

We're glad that MLB is stepping up to the plate for sustainable practices, as it's certainly something that we can root, root, root for.

Photo: Janelle Nanos

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Global Eye: Coney Island, New York

Photographer: Jenene Chesbrough, Brooklyn, New York

Getting the shot: This shot was taken on opening day of Astroland/Coney Island 2006. Every year my friends and I bike down to hang out, put our feet in the sand, ride the Cyclone, and eat some Nathan's Famous cheese fries. There were organ grinders and lots of Coney Island regulars hanging in front of the Sideshow when all of a sudden The Potani Sisters ran by in matching outfits... and I grabbed this shot. I realized afterwards they were shooting a silent video (I think) and that's why there was a gorilla there that day as well! This picture really captures the spirit of a disappearing Coney Island. Lots of changes are in place now, and this year looks like it will be the last year of Astroland and maybe the Sideshow too. I hope the freaks and fun stay in Coney and that this new wave of "improvements" retains some of the original flavor.

The Details: I was shooting film with my Seagull TLR medium format camera (a cheap version of the old Rolleiflex twin lens Diane Arbus used). 

Taste more of New York’s authentic flavor with the April issue of Traveler, on newsstands now, and right here at IT, where we’ve got the Big Apple for brains this month. Think you captured a “New York moment” on film (or, ahem, memory card)? Add it to our Flickr pool.

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Let's Play Ball!

 
Baseball season is almost here (which means it's getting warmer, too!), and our hometown Washington Nationals just got a brand new ballpark. But this year, in addition to serving traditional hotdogs and Miller Lite, Nationals Park is adding a bit of local flavor to its menu.

The 41,222-seat stadium, which officially opens March 30, will feature 11 local independent businesses, including favorites Ben's Chili Bowl, Noah's Pretzels (which will serve its pretzels in the shape of a "W"), Boardwalk Fries, and Dinger ice-cream sandwiches from Gifford's Ice Cream & Candy. Fans might even be able to ditch big-name beer for local brew from Capitol City Brewing Co. (negotiations have not yet been settled).

"Our offerings are going to be hard to rival," Nationals spokeswoman Chartese Burnett told the Washington Post. "I'm a vegetarian, and to be able to get sushi and veggie burgers at a ballpark? Come on. We'll have something for everyone."

Making the Most (and a Moose) in Jackson Hole

Contributing Writer Cathy Healy knows a thing or two about traveling, but even she had to learn that there's more than one way to enjoy Jackson Hole.

TETON VILLAGE, Wyo. – Arggggggggg! I’m a fair-weather skier and this is the fairest of days. The sky is blue and the powder is deep. My family is all over the mountain, but there is nowhere for me to ski!

Jackson offers only one easy green molehill of a slope that takes five minutes to come down—and that's after a ten-minute wait in line. The next step up is a double blue peak that's an Everest to me, given that I’ve only been on skis once in the past five years. So I had a choice: I could eat worms or I could enjoy what Jackson Hole Mountain Resort does offer. I ate worms. How’s that for stupid?

So here’s the lesson learned: Even on a family vacation, you’ve got to plan for yourself, too.

Next year, I plan to make the most of Jackson’s unique location. From the ski mountain, you can wander to Grand Teton National Park and over to Yellowstone National Park. So I’m going to sign up for wildlife tours in Yellowstone to catch a sight of wolves, or maybe take a cross-country ski tour of the Tetons, where if you're lucky, you might see moose tracks.

Or, maybe you’ll just think it’s a moose.

A Bloody Good Shakespeare Marathon

Shakespeare aficionados will be happy to learn that the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is performing all eight of the bard’s history-themed plays over the next few months. The plays—which span over 100 years of history—include Richard II, Henry IV Parts I and II, Henry V, Henry VI Parts I, II and III, and Richard III.  They will be performed at the RSC’s Stratford-upon-Avon home until March 16, and then the company will make its way to the London Roundhouse, where performances will take place from April 1 to May 25.

The 30 actors bringing this performance marathon to life have been preparing for two and a half years. And Michael Boyd, RSC’s artistic director, believes that this is the first time the Shakespeare "history cycle" has been staged by one company of actors.

Globespotters takes us behind the scenes of this mega production by breaking down the following facts:

Across the 8 productions 34 actors play 264 parts, each part is understudied, which means a total of 528 parts have been rehearsed. Each actor plays and understudies around 15 parts each. Between them they have learned roughly 210,000 words. 800 costumes are required and over 40 wigs and hairpieces. In all over fifteen liters of stage blood is needed – it’s made from glucose and ice-cream colouring.

Wow is all we have to say.

For more information on these performances, check out the Royal Shakespeare Company’s website.

Photo: Tasha Rhoads via Flickr

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Birds and Birdies on the Green

Picture a wide grassy expanse filled with hills and valleys, with a sampling of sandy spots and a few little nooks perfect for birdies to land in. It sounds like a pretty perfect bird sanctuary...or a pretty sweet golf course.

Combining the two made sense to the group Audubon International, which has been working to make golf courses into animal habitats. Since starting the program in 1991, they've worked with the United States Golf Association to designate over 655 courses (PDF) as safe spaces for golfers and birds to mingle.

Audubon International's education and certification program aims to "protect our environment and preserve the natural heritage of the game of golf." Their plan works to "enhance the valuable natural areas and wildlife habitats that golf courses provide, improve efficiency, and minimize potentially harmful impacts of golf operations." All of which seems pretty smart to us, especially considering one recent "harmful impact" to a unassuming hawk.

Been There: Becoming a Fan

I'm just back from a blissful trip to Baja Mexico, where I got to check off many of items on the Cabo must-see list: getting a glimpse of gray whales, soaking up some sun, and exploring the many deserted beaches along the Pacific coast. But one of my favorite nights was spent in the bleachers in San Jose del Cabo, the smaller, artsy town to the east of Cabo San Lucas, where my boyfriend, Tim (a soccer obsessee), and I took in a local semi-pro game. We watched as the blue-and-white clad Los Cabos Delfines home team took on Guadaljara Chivas, a national favorite with a huge fan base, clearly represented by the blue-and-red bedecked fans crowding the stadium. (For the record, that would be the Dolphins vs. the Goats for those of you heavily into mascots, and you can see pics from the game here).

Tucked in between Mexican families banging their inflated clackers, we stepped outside of our tourist identities for a while and became simply fans. I have to admit I spent as much time taking in the crowd as I did the game (though I was usually called back to attention when the crowds chanted "Burro!" at the goalies). It felt foreign yet familiar at the same time—particularly when a man showed up as the sun was setting to begin selling light sabres to kids in the crowd.

When Tim studied abroad in Europe, he always tried to take in a soccer game in whatever city he visited, usually buying the scarf of the home team to help him blend in with the locals (which often have a tendency of getting rowdy with fans from opposing teams). And for a long time I attributed his soccer stops merely to his tenacity as a fan. But as I watched the crowd leap to their feet as the Delfines won the game, I realized that it's a tremendous way to get a glimpse of authentic culture. From the food at the concession stands to the chatter of the crowds, it's a quick way to feel like you belong, no matter where you are.

Do you plan your trips around baseball season? Run marathons on different continents? How do sports factor into your travels? Let us know in the comments below.

Photos: Above, Delfines de Los Cabos Futbol Club; below, Janelle Nanos

Nose to Bottlenose

Senior Editor Norie Quintos likes going nose to bottlenose with dolphins...

The Baltimore aquarium's new Dolphin Encounter program, which takes you backstage with the trainer and the marine mammals, is a close encounter of the interspecies kind. The 2 1/2 hour program includes reserved seating at the dolphin show and a short educational seminar. But the highlight is a play session at the edge of the pool with the high-diving creatures. It's hard not to anthropomorphize these clearly intelligent beings (They like playing catch! They're so happy!). I grew up watching Flipper reruns, see, and entertained dreams about become a marine biologist. But fulfilling one's fantasy doesn't come cheap. The program costs $195 and reservations are required. I'm not going to enter into a debate on the ethics surrounding the use of captive animals; suffice it to say that the aquarium follows best practices in the care and keeping of its charges, and focuses on education.

Read More: Learn about what's happening in dolphin's brains (and other animals as well), in the cover feature of National Geographic Magazine, "Animal Minds," in this month's issue.

Photo: Courtesy National Aquarium in Baltimore

Cause a Scene

One man was tying his shoe. Another was looking at a map. They were just a few of the more than 200 "undercover agents" for the group Improv Everywhere to freeze in place on the Main Concourse at Grand Central Terminal. The result was a human art installation: Frozen Grand Central.

For five full minutes on January 31, 2008, a historic transit hub trafficked by more than half a million people each day became a hall of statues. Instead of looking at the cerulean and gold leaf ceiling or Tennessee marble floors, visitors to the station unwittingly became part of a grand social experiment.

Causing scenes since 2001, the Improv Everywhere team may seem like mere pranksters. But their "missions" are also attempts to make people "stop to notice the world around them." 

Anyone can sign up to particpate in one of their larger or more missions such as the annual No Pants! Subway Ride, by joining their mailing list.

Whether you're participating in the mission or happen to be an innocent bystander, this can be a fantastic way to experience a city. Plus, they've gone global, and local improv groups are sprouting up from Houston to Helsinki.

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World Cities Vie for Monopoly's Boardwalk

Monopoly is spurring a debate even more impassioned than the one over who gets dibs on the sweet metal dog token, and this one’s brewing on a global scale. Reigning as the world’s most popular branded board game (or so says the Guinness World Records), Monopoly recently unveiled plans for a new edition of the game, called Here & Now: The World Edition, which pits 68 world cities from six continents against each other in a worldwide online vote to determine which cities deserve the game board’s coveted property spaces.

The contest began Jan. 21, and voters have until Feb 28 to cast their ballots for up to 10 cities daily. The top 20 cities will nab property space in rank order from highest to lowest property value. Among the U.S. cities included on Monopoly’s short-list of global cities are Washington, D.C., New York City, Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles. Unsurprisingly, Paris, London, and New York are currently vying for the top spots.

But the truly exciting news—drumroll, please—are the two “wild card” spots open for write-in votes. Beginning Feb. 29, the top 20 most nominated write-in cities will square off for the two low-rent property group spaces traditionally reserved for Baltic and Mediterranean Avenues.

No word on whether the token game pieces will transcend the cultures, or, more realistically, if they will scream of capitalistic symbols. But, then again, that’s what a true monopoly is all about anyway, right?

Who are you voting for?

Image: Hasbro, Inc.

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White Winter Wonderland

Looking for a true winter getaway? Art aficionado Anna Heineman recently traveled north to Ironwood, Michigan, for a weekend of snow, skis, and soup.

For a cozy and romantic adventure, take a trek north to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. In Ironwood, you'll find 600 acres of cross-country ski trails, where you can wind among the birch trees, pines and hemlocks, and glide over rolling hills and along rivers. The trails support classic and skate cross-country skiers, as well as those with novice and advanced skills. 

Lodging ranges from the luxurious Hilltop House, which is has a knotty-pine interior and 18-foot ceilings, to rustic cabins with no electricity. The three-bedroom Hilltop House holds a family or a group of friends comfortably. Cook dinner in the enormous kitchen, or take a Jacuzzi soak after a loop or two around the trails.

Locals for Hire

Carousing through town with bona fide locals in a new city, you can’t help but feel intrinsically cool. Tourist? Hardly. You’re just kicking it with friends.

And for those of us who don’t happen to have friends conveniently scattered throughout the globe, Like-A-Local.com promises that hiring a local to be your friend will elevate you to that high-and-mighty feeling just the same.

The Amsterdam-based company’s roster of friendly locals—located in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Barcelona, Lisbon, Madrid, and Stockholm—is rife with regular folk who (for a small fee) want to host you on their houseboat in Rotterdam, picnic with you at Barcelona’s Collserola Park, or show you insiders highlights of their hometown, like authentic Belgium pubs in Antwerp. On deck for expansion are more than a dozen more global hot spots, from New York to Istanbul.

To pick your local buddy, browse Like-A-Local.com’s directory of offerings, split into sections on unique lodging experiences (Live!), authentic experiences (Go!), and tastes of local cuisine (Eat!).

Sure, hiring a local might remind you a bit too much of when your mom paid the neighbor kid to tutor you (read: be your friend)—and yes, there goes the serendipitous romance of your travel tale—but let’s face it: Meeting locals through happenstance is tough (and can be near impossible with a language barrier).

Thanks, Gadling, for the tip!

Photo: Like-A-Local.com

Skating Rinks Around Europe

The City Park Ice Rink in Budapest

Nothing gets us IT staffers in the holiday spirit like a few spins around the ice rink. And while I'm certainly no Michelle Kwan, skating is one of those seasonal sports that always brings back a sense of childhood. I used to go with my grandfather when I was a kid, and even though I used double-bladed skates, I could still barely keep up with him. This year, I have plans to check out the outdoor rink in the Sculpture Garden at the National Gallery of Art. But if you're traveling abroad this holiday season, the Telegraph has a great roundup of where you can strap on your skates. Here are a few of our favorites:

Budapest: Skate in the shadow of the Vajdahunyad Castle as long as you like, as there are no appointed sessions. The rink is credited with playing a huge role in the advancement of Hungarian ice sports.

Cambridge: Opening for the first time this year, the outdoor rink in Cambridge will offer night skating sessions and is open seven days a week. And watch out not only for renegade skaters but bumper cars on ice! The 10 joystick-controlled devices glide across the rink and spin 360 degrees.

Vienna: A 400 meter "dream pathway" which connects two ice rinks, creates a fairy-tale like effect in front of City Hall. It's no wonder the locals call it the "Viennese Ice Dream." Curling sessions are also available.

Photos: Budapest, Wikipedia; Ice Bumpers, cambridgeonice.co.uk; Vienna, Viennese Ice Dream 2008.

All Aboard!

In all honesty, more often than not it’s the trivial details that impress us most here at IT. So when we heard about the Grand Canyon Railway’s giddiness-inducing plan to host a pajama-wearing, hot-cocoa-drinking trip with its Polar Express train rides, it was almost more than our inner kids could handle.

Based on the popular holiday book by Chris Van Allsburg, the Polar Express evening train rides depart from Williams, Arizona, en route to “North Pole City." As the train journeys through the wilderness landscape, pj-clad children snack on cookies and cocoa while listening to a storyteller read the classic tale. And to top off the wholesome good time, once the group arrives at the Grand Canyon, Santa boards to deliver a token gift to each child.

You can find Polar Express-themed train rides around the country, and let us know in the comments section if you know of any more worth mentioning.

Photo: Grand Canyon Railway

Green Skiing

This year's ski season isn't as focused on the white stuff, as it seems everyone on the slopes is now thinking green. The New York Times reports that "snow guns are using oil-free air compressors, mountaintop restaurants are being powered by solar panels, and carbon offsets can be purchased as part of your lift ticket." In their roundup of some mountains that are starting eco-initiatives, here are a few that we thought stood out:

With surprisingly little fanfare, Jiminy Peak, a small resort in Hancock, Mass., recently flipped the switch on a 1.5-megawatt wind turbine that reaches 386 feet into the air — making it, Jiminy Peak says, the first mountain resort in North America to install a wind turbine to generate power. The wind turbine will meet 33 percent of its electrical demand, the resort says.

[W]ith the 2002 Winter Olympics under its belt, Park City Mountain Resort is now training its sights on the environment. Its heated walkway at the base plaza [was installed] with a new boiler snow-melt system that is 98 percent more energy efficient. Also, to offset the walkway's carbon output, the resort is considering planting more trees.

[I]n Jackson Hole, the new Hotel Terra Jackson Hole might make other ski lodges green with envy. The 72-room, eco-boutique hotel is set to open [Feb. 1] with energy-efficient windows, custom mattresses fashioned from organic cotton, chemical-free cleaning products, and a rooftop hot tub where you can sip fair-trade coffee.

We also got word that Kirkwood Mountain Resort in California's Lake Tahoe region (which didn't make the Times' list) has overhauled their energy consumption at the lodge by replacing light switches with motion sensors, adding high-energy efficiency snow guns, and even creating a carpooling program to help shuttle lodge employees and skiiers to the resort. In all, they say they plan to save enough energy to power 300 homes and take 1,000 cars off the road.

Now, all you have to do is strap your green skis or snowboards onto your hybrid, and you'll be on your way to having a sustainable day on the slopes.

Photo: Jiminy Peak

Green Sporting Goods to Go

We applaud those who choose to walk or ride bikes over driving emissions-emitting cars, but no one can argue that riding sustainable bikes is even better. Recently the Washington Post reported more and more sports equipment companies are experimenting with sustainable material—from bamboo to organic cotton to hemp fiberglass—often making balls, boards, and bikes more durable than leading brands.

In 1996, bike designer Craig Calfee (Calfee Design) introduced a line of bamboo-made bikes, and told the Post that bamboo is “tougher than carbon fiber in terms of impact resistance.” Bamboo absorbs road vibrations well, which, the Post reported, allows cyclists to ride longer without getting tired. (Calfee also recently launched the Bamboo Bike Project, a project that aims to build better bikes for poor Africans living in rural areas.)

Other eco-responsible sporting goods companies are surfacing as well. Darryl Hatheway, co-founder of the Washington chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, has eight Surftech boards that “stand up to bangs and scrapes,” unlike normal polyester resin boards. Although the Surftech boards cost 10-20 percent more than polyester resin boards, Hatheway says these eco-friendly boards last “ten times longer.”

A Japanese Spa for Winos

For every swimmer who can relate to the unpleasantness of swallowing a mouthful of chlorine water, a hot springs spa in Hakone, Japan, has devised a unique solution: the headline-grabbing new Beaujolais Nouveau wine spa, complete with a 3.6-meter-tall wine bottle that sporadically pours the recently released trendy red into a pool filled with wine-loving spa-goers.

The wine spa is just Yunessun Spa Resort’s latest in a line of unorthodox offerings. You can steep in coffee and green tea baths, lounge in a pool of sake, or relax in spa designed to re-create the feel of a steaming bowl of Ramen noodles. Fortunately, Yunessun has a few more traditional spas as well, like an ancient Roman bath and a Turkish hammam.

Cabaraoke: Rocking Out On The Road

For those with the desire to take the karaoke party beyond the bar and onto the road, one Kansas City cab driver has the answer for you: cabaraoke. The force behind this movement is the Yellow Cab driver called Papa Bear, who, for a standard cab fee, gives you a ride and a full-on karaoke session with over 300 songs to choose from. In addition to being equipped with TV screens continuously reeling song lyrics, Papa Bear’s cab contains video cameras to capture customers' performances. The footage from these cameras is uploaded onto Papa Bear’s website as well as onto YouTube, where you can find guys in button-down shirts belting “Sweet Caroline” or twenty-something females singing “Pour Some Sugar on Me” with alarming sincerity. (Esquire has even taken the time to rate them, American Idol-style.) Here's one of the most viewed clips, a singer belting out "I'm So Excited."

Although cabaraoke is exclusive to Kansas City, Papa Bear hopes to expand the business. “My goal is to spread this to cabs in every major city,” he told The Pitch in an interview last month. “I’m hoping to design and develop a cabaraoke machine that is simple for any driver to use, even with no technical knowledge and even if the cabbie doesn’t speak English.”

Best of luck, Papa Bear!

You're Now Free to Date Throughout the Cabin

With all the commotion about what is (or isn't) happening in the new Airbus 380's private sleeping rooms, IT thought it might take a look at some more innocent in-flight activities. Take, for example, the new dating service featured by SkyEurope. SkyDate, which will fly from London to Prague on November 28th, hopes to hook up travelers at 36,000 feet by arranging onboard speed dating: each guest is guaranteed to meet at least ten other travelers and engage them in conversation for five minutes each. When the flight arrives, the passengers are then brought to a four-star hotel and taken on a tour of the city, where they'll get to continue the conversation. They'll return home the next day, and a few days later will get a letter letting them know who's interested in them.

The service is aimed for those between 25 and 40 years old, and it had it's maiden voyage in June of this year. So far, it's taking off — SkyDate is launching similar trips from Brussels, Amsterdam, Lisbon and Barcelona to Vienna and Milan to Prague throughout the month. We're waiting to see if skydating will outpace the mile-high club as a new form of in-flight entertainment.

Beware Flying Pumpkins

Dry your eyes, Halloween-lovers. Another year’s ghoulish day may have come and passed, but pumpkin enthusiasts can still get their kicks this weekend at the holiday’s last hurrah: the World Championship of Punkin Chunkin. The annual festival draws thousands of folks to Nassau, Delaware, to see who can hurl a pumpkin through the air the farthest.

According to IT friend-of-a-friend Chris Moore, a local who’s been to the zany festival “more times than he cares to admit”:

The contestants are insanely competitive; the objective of the event is two-fold:  Drink as much as humanly possible, and see how far you can launch a pumpkin . . . . There really is nothing else like it on Earth.

Biking (and eating) Providence

Many people visit Providence, Rhode Island, to tour the local colleges or make a pit stop on their way to Boston. But for those who live there, P-town is a diverse, laid-back city full of restaurants with character, Victorian architecture, peaceful hiking trails, and aspiring artists. Plus, it also happens to be an extremely pedestrian- and bike-friendly place. Here's a bike tour that gives you a real feel for the Renaissance City.

Start your morning by bicycling through Swan Point Cemetery, 200 acres of trees, flowers and headstones dating back to the 1840s. Look through the trees on the eastern edge to catch glimpses of the Seekonk River. Science fiction guru H.P. Lovecraft, one of Providence's strangest sons, is buried here.

After working up an appetite, bike north on tree-lined Blackstone Boulevard and make a left on North Avenue, then another left down Hope Street and head to Seven Stars Bakery (820 Hope Street) for locally roasted coffee, a super-moist ginger muffin or warm sticky roll, handmade daily with organic flour.

Pop in at Frog and Toad (795 Hope Street) for Danish paper-cut mobiles, bird feeders carved from colored gourds, handmade notebooks, unique totes, and cute cards.

IT's Directorial Debut

Here at National Geographic Traveler, going to lunch at the cafeteria can mean sitting next to a filmmaker just back from the Serengeti who's more than willing to regale us with their travel tales. But, while we're always up for a good story, we can get a little bit jealous from time to time. That's why we were pleased to see that the NG website now features a new Wildlife Filmmaker program, which lets us act on our directorial ambitions. You can edit clips and add music, sound effects, and captions to make short documentary films. As a result, we may have spent a little too much time "working" on our films this morning...

Send us your own filmmaker efforts and we'll have our readers vote on which one ranks best!

Tokyo Airport Fights Jetlag with Armor

Tokyo’s Narita International Airport is finding unique ways for passengers to kill time between flights: How about trying on some Japanese body armor or a handmade kimono? Attendants will dress you and take your picture, all for free. All we can say is: Where's the runway?

Jetlagged IT staffer Emily Haile dons a kimono and warrior hat on a layover between Bangkok and D.C.

Calling All Photogs!

Atlanta-based students Shane Zucker and Steven Peterman—arty adventurers after our own camera-toting hearts—are calling all photographers (amateurs, pros, and everyone in between) to join their interactive adventure-themed photo contest. Zucker and Peterman want people nationwide to sign up to document their explorations—having “a good time doing something that you wouldn’t normally do”—between now and November 1.

The guys are sending disposable cameras to anyone who wants to participate, and cameras are due back by December 1. The art show, "A Million Little Pictures, Vol. 3," is set to happen sometime in December in the city that drums up the most photo entries.

Tour de France

First Portland, then Madison, and now Paris? The City of Light has recently adopted a free bike system called Velibs, the name combining velo, meaning "bicycle" and liberte, for "freedom." After just 40 days more than 2 million journeys were made.

According to "Free Wheeling: Paris's New Bike System," in The Washington Post, the French have "have taken to their new mode of public transport like canards to water."

Paris is surprisingly cycle-friendly, and bicycling is statistically the second-least-dangerous way to get around the city (after riding a bus). Most large roads have bike lanes, and since the introduction of the Velibs, many cyclists have noted that drivers have become more conscious of their presence.

Here's how it works: Velibs can be picked up and dropped off at any of a thousand stations around the capital. Users insert credit cards into a machine to sign up for a day (one euro, or about $1.40), a week (five euros) or a year (29 euros). A fee of $205 is taken from your account if the bike is not returned. (Caveat: At this point, only smart-chip Visa cards and American Express cards are accepted.)

Next Up: The Personal Blimp

Looking for the perfect way to study the forest canopy of the Ecuadorian jungle? How about creeping along noiselessly at tree level? In an adventure that seems straight out of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, the longtime dream of two pilots in Amherst, Massachusetts, is finally becoming a reality.

A self-described “dot com computer geek” for more than 20 years, Dan Nachbar wanted a change of pace. So the veteran pilot and his engineering buddy Mike Kuehlmuss dedicated themselves to finding a way to combine the stunning views provided by small aircraft—without all the the noise. The result: The Personal Blimp, and, if all goes well with the FAA, you can have one too!

Currently, the FAA classifies Nachbar's blimp as "experimental," but the good news about this designation is that they're pretty laissez-faire, he says. “You can basically build what you want to build and fly it.”

And he does, taking his wife, kids, and investors for rides in the two-seat, two ton, 102-foot craft.

IT to Host Carnival of Cities

Our bidding process was hardly as competitive as the IOC's, but IT's still pretty psyched to be hosting the Carnival of Cities next Monday. Our theme is...(drum roll)...sustainable cities. Has your blog posted a recent story about a low carbon-emitting city? Have you read a post on someone else's blog that sang the praises for green urban practices? IT's Sustainable edition of Carnival of Cities will be a collection of great blog posts for us city-loving, eco-conscious folk. So, hurry up and send along your ideas. Please submit all nominations using this form; and to ensure IT has time to set up for the Carnival, please submit all nominations by noon on Sunday, September 23.

See you for the festivities next Monday!

Manhattan's Old World Spa Treatment

Tired of expensive, trendy spa treatments and ready for some old world pampering? New York City’s Russian Turkish Baths has been providing an authentic escape on East 10th Street for well over 100 years. As IT discovered firsthand, this experience is not for the faint of heart. Check your inhibitions at the locker room, along with your clothing, and line up with people of all shapes and sizes for your bathrobe, slippers, towel, soap, and razor, all included with the $30 admission price, good for the entire day. 

The baths are coed (shorts or bathing suit required) with the exception of Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. (women only) and Sundays from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. (men only). While celebrities have been sighted here—Uma Thurman and Russell Simmons among them—the baths are a perfect place to disappear. Descend into a dimly-lit cluster of baths that include a cherry-wood Swedish steam room, eucalyptus or lavender-scented Turkish steam room, Russian sauna, and ice-cold pool.

Taking Tree-Hugging to New Heights

IT loves it when our favorite childhood activities are validated as adult-appropriate “sports,” so we were especially pumped to hear that tree climbing is quickly becoming the next great outdoor activity.

The Christian Science Monitor reports that these “tree people” are no longer just arborists collecting research in the leafy canopy; rock climbers, adventure seekers, and even nostalgic adults have all turned to tree climbing to get back to their fun-loving roots—literally.

Using harnesses, carabiners, ropes, and helmets, enthusiasts can tackle greater challenges than the average backyard oak tree. Although the Mount Everest of trees has yet to be declared, there are plenty of options for getting some serious height: California redwoods, for instance, can grow to be more than 360 feet tall.

Climbers subscribe to a Lorax lifestyle (our first and favorite environmentalist) and only use equipment that won’t harm the tree. Spikes are forbidden, as the punctures they leave can lead to a tree's death.

Free Sail in Seattle

If you happen to be in Seattle on a Sunday afternoon, you can take a free ride in a historic wooden boat like the Puffin, a tiny steam-powered launch built in 1906. The Center for Wooden Boats restored this antique craft, along with several traditional wooden sailboats, rowboats, pedal boats and canoes that you can rent on other days of the week as well. You can meet their artist-in-residence, a master Haida carver, and help him carve a traditional cedar dugout canoe on Sundays between 1 and 4 p.m. The Center is located at the extreme south end of Lake Union about five minutes north of downtown Seattle by car. (FYI: I came upon the Center for Wooden Boats when I was reading about the Cornstalk Institute and the  Festival of the Great Unknowns music jamboree in Albuquerque. Thanks Gadling!)

Into the Wild in Alexandria

Every Washingtonian needs a way to unwind. (There’s a war on after all, and our fair city is its nerve center, conducting the chess moves from afar.) My newest favorite method is to rent a kayak with friends or kids on a weekend afternoon, and paddle—guilt- and carbon-emissions-free—the quiet tidal backwaters of the Potomac River. Just south of town, in Alexandria, the Belle Haven Marina rents kayaks—no experience necessary.

Super Saunas

Every once in a while, we here at IT let National Geographic Traveler's researchers loose on a factoid frenzy, and allow them to share some of the wonderful wackiness they discover while fact-checking articles for the magazine. So far you've had the pleasure of such geek-out posts from both Marilyn Terrell and Jessie Johnston, but the third of our mystery-solving musketeers, Ingrid Ahlgren, has to date never stepped up to this particular blogging plate. That's all about to change. Today, Ingrid goes to bat with a blog about saunas, inspired by a fact-checking frisson she experienced when working on a story about Helsinki:

When I studied abroad in Stockholm during college, I loved going to the saunas. They seemed to be everywhere: hotels, homes, public swimming pools, even the dorms at Stockholm University.