Maps: The Most Popular Holiday Gifts and Sweet Treats Across the USA
Posted on 12/16/2020, 1:00 PM
It may say something about the slow job market that the folks at the career site Zippia seem to have enough time on their hands to do deep dives into Google search holiday data. But I'm thankful they did, because they came up with a pair of fascinating maps, each of which gives a profile of the American personality, state-by-state. One map (it's at the bottom of this post, but click here to see a ...
If My Toddler Refuses to Wear a Mask on a Flight, What Can I Do?
Posted on 12/15/2020, 2:00 PM
A few days ago, a video—of desperate parents trying to wrangle an overtired two-year-old—went viral. That's a pretty common scenario for a viral video, but in this case, the tot was objecting to wearing a mask on a United flight, and the crew was objecting to the child flying without one. Because the child refused to comply with the airline's mask policy, the family was booted off the plane—and th...
Lie-Flat Sleeping Options Being Tested in Economy Class
Posted on 12/14/2020, 1:00 PM
There's a moment in the film Crazy Rich Asians when it becomes clear that the modern-day Cinderella heroine has actually met a Prince Charming. Rachel, at the airport about to fly to Singapore, is laden with food for the trip, when Nick, her boyfriend, leads her not into economy class but into a super-glam private cabin where, soon, you see them cuddled in bed. You could feel the audience swoon, no...
Will Vaccinations Be Required to Cruise?
Posted on 12/14/2020, 5:00 AM
At a December 9 meeting with the Travel Leaders group, a multinational network of travel agents, Norwegian Cruise Line CEO Frank Del Rio announced that the company is looking into a possible vaccine requirement for passengers. "It’s too early to tell whether we have the legal standing to mandate that you take a vaccine to come on board—lawyers are looking at it as we speak," said Del Rio, accordin...
Locals from Great World Cities Name the Dishes They Say Represent Them Best
Posted on 12/09/2020, 10:00 AM
Every week or so, you read about a new survey or scientific study that proves something everyone probably already knew. I'm thinking of such headlines as "Cats Like People!" or "Four Ways Eating Sugar Makes You Fat" (my offhand guess: eating it, drinking it, licking it, and, um, eating it). I believe the German word for this phenomenon is NoDuh-enfraude. Just this week, the esteemed Time Out magaz...
Half Off Colorado Ski Vacations Just Announced
Posted on 12/07/2020, 3:00 PM
Skiing is innately socially distanced. After all, it's done in the open air—and this year, ski resorts around the United States are creating new protocols, such as limits on the numbers of passengers on each lift, designed to keep people even safer. We're expecting better deals on lift tickets this season than we've seen in years, and foremost among the discounts so far is an offer from the 11 Gem...
The Best and Worst International Cities for Relocation? A Global Survey Names Them
Posted on 12/03/2020, 2:00 PM
There's nothing quite as sexy, it seems, as packing up and moving somewhere foreign for a spell. That may be why my recent post about countries that are popular in searches by would-be digital nomads went viral. But as any traveler can tell you, not all destinations are equally enjoyable. That seems triply true for places where one might potentially move. Considerations like cost of living and qua...
Live and Work in Paradise! Hawaii Has a New Program for You
Posted on 12/01/2020, 2:00 PM
As I have written recently, more and more destinations are pursuing digital nomads to replace the tourists that once filled lodgings. Barbados has a new visa program that allows visitors to work remotely legally for up to a year, and Bermuda, Estonia, and several other countries have launched similar initiatives. But beyond the welcome mat of legal paperwork, no place was throwing in added incenti...
Immunity Passports Could Be Just Around the Corner
Posted on 12/01/2020, 1:00 PM
Since the onset of the pandemic, rumors of new forms of health identification or "immunity passports" have emerged periodically. But now it looks like a multinational trade organization and at least one major world government are on the verge of making such authorizations a reality. Let's start with the multinational attempt first. Last week the International Air Transport Association (IATA) annou...
Grand Canyon Rafting Trips Are Already Filling Up for 2022
Posted on 11/25/2020, 3:00 PM
Imagine owning a business that, year after year, mostly sells out its products just minutes after they're released to the public. And this is for something that won't be used until two-plus years after the date of sale. That business is Western River Expeditions and it has the good fortune of being a well-respected purveyor of a true "bucket list" experience: rafting trips through the Grand Canyon...
