Results tagged “travel”

The largest mass of sand dunes in California just became more accessible with the opening of a new road today. The Bureau of Land Management opened the newly constructed Wash Road in the Imperial Sand Dunes near the southeastern corner of the state. The 15 MPH corridor, which leads to camp sites, parallels a road on a Union Pacific Railroad right-of-way no longer accessible to the public.

       

One of the perks of visiting two of the outer islands in Channel Islands National Park is a trip to Painted Cave along the northwest coastline of Santa Cruz Island. The park's main transit vendor, Island Packers, makes a point of doing frequent stops during travels because the park is not just land based, but also miles of protected water in the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. Whales, dolphins and other sea life are often spotted, but one of the most popular attractions from a boaters perspective is Painted Cave.

The Daily News reports that a local nonprofit is seeking help from Southern Californians who have a taste for adventure: "Iemanya Oceanica is organizing a shark-tagging research expedition to Baja California next month and is seeking up to 20 scuba divers/snorkelers from Southern California to help." If you go, you'll be looking for Whale Sharks, which are described as "the largest living fish species on the planet, which can "grow up to 40 feet long, weigh up to 15 tons and live up to 70 years." But, phew: "Although they have very large mouths, they are harmless, feeding solely on plankton, which are microscopic marine"

Now that officials have been forced to raise fees at state parks in order to save some of them, a thrifty blogger at the Orange County Register's OC Deals blog makes a good observation. Looking into beachfront family campsites with hookups at Bolsa Chica State Beach, Doheny and San Clemente is running $60 to $65. "I recently bought a new tent and cot to go back to nature, and save money on vacations by camping, instead of staying in hotels. But the world’s gone topsy-turvy, folks. You can rent a room this week in the fancy Wyndham hotel in New Orleans for $58 a night, but you can’t camp in a state campground on the beach for that! Incredible." Still, we rather camp.

They say Los Angeles is best compared to Paris. Well, both cities share rankings in a report released yesterday showing the busiest airports in the world: Paris at 5th, Los Angeles, formerly at 3rd and 5th in recent years, now at 6th. At its peak in 2000, Los Angeles served 68 million passengers. In 2008, 59.5 million travelers.

In an era when traveling by air has become less and less comfortable physically, and sometimes financially, passengers might take it upon themselves to do whatever they can to make themselves feel at home while on board. Maybe that was what was going through the mind of a US Airways passenger who opted to strip down to his birthday suit during a flight from North Carolina to Los Angeles last night. His actions "caused a diversion in more than one way," explains abc7.com, who were sent photos of the naked air traveler by a fellow passenger. Rather than fly all the way to L.A., however, "the flight had to be diverted to Albuquerque," when the 50-year-old stripped-down passenger "was restrained by two off-duty law enforcement officers, who happened to be onboard," then "was taken into custody by airport police, who called the FBI." For the passenger, whose name has not been released, his trip ended in New Mexico, while the flight he'd been on resumed its course and landed in Los Angeles.

Popular low-cost carrier JetBlue debuts their new service to LAX this morning, as they are scheduled to land their inaugural flight from New York's JFK at 10:45. It's been a bit of a wait, however, for the airline to begin service from our major airport; today's launch comes after "a yearlong delay," caused by a period of soaring fuel prices that made cross-country air travel costly, reports the Daily Breeze.

In the final phase of a federal security transportation initiative, our borders are tightening even more beginning Monday. Those traveling by land or sea, will have to present a Passport or the newish Passport Cards when re-entering the states from Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean and Bermuda. Similar rules have already been in effect for air travel after September 11th prompted the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. What if you mess up and don't have either after a weekend of debauchery across neighboring international lines? We will not deny entry to noncompliant travelers," a spokeswoman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection told the Chicago Tribune. However, those travelers will probably be put into secondary inspection as officers verify their identity.

John Silva was last seen jumping off a boat into the water to cool off yesterday afternoon. But soon after entering the water without a life jacket, the 42-year-old El Monte resident began to struggle to stay afloat, prompting a friend to dive in for an attempted rescue. However, Silver went underwater before he could be reached and is presume drowned after a two-hour searched, to be continued tomorrow, provided no results.

                     

Los Angeles' central rail transit hub is a modest 70 years old; a baby compared to many train depots in other major cities. Union Station was designed by John B. and Donald D. Parkinson, and "opened in 1939, with a dedication ceremony featuring both the mayor of Los Angeles and the governor of California, amidst three days of pageants, parades and other celebrations," according to our very own LAistory entry on the "last of the great train stations built in this country."

Who the hell is Allegiant Air? Whoever they are, they are making Southwest look expensive. In the latest of airfare wars, this company is offering $18 roundtrips between Los Angeles and Monterey. And all on larger jets that seat 130-150 people--no scary puddlejumpers, according to a travel tipster. So where's the catch? They only offer flights on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays and this blogger found that despite the low advertised prices, all the add-ons and convenience fees add up to quite the bill. For fun, we test booked a flight in May for 2 adults: the total price, when all was said and done, was $110.40 to $140.40, depending if you chose "priority boarding" or not. Check what you're in for before you hit that "confirm purchase button." If you do make a trip up to the beautiful area, the airport is only a few minutes away from downtown Monterey, 15 minutes from Carmel and 45 minutes from Big Sur and Santa Cruz. Check out our recent road trip to there. (Via the BlogMonterey, the Monterey County Convention and Visitors Bureau's blog)

As of yesterday morning, only 20 cases of Swine Flu have been reported in the US, with 7 of those cases in California. However, there have been no cases logged in either Los Angeles or Orange counties, and local officials want to get the word out that they are working to prevent the infection from spreading.

The data from the FAA has been released showing that there have were 944 bird strikes at LAX between 1990 and 2008. Most all of those incident resulted in little or no damage, according to the LA Times.

                     

As summer approaches, the snow pack melts and the rivers fill. So there's no better time to start planning a weekend trip to Central California realistically doable from a Friday afternoon through Sunday evening.

Forget worrying about what you've packed in that suitcase you have to shell out a few extra bucks for; if you've packed on too many pounds and want to fly on United, you could be headed for shelling out a second seat's worth. The airline is now enforcing a policy that stipulates that "passengers who are unable to fit into a single seat; are unable to properly fasten their safety belt [using a single seatbelt extender; and/or] are unable to put the seat's armrests down, will be denied boarding unless they purchase an extra seat," according to cbs2.

Last year "staycation" was a buzzword for many, as people's budgets tightened and plans to travel were curtailed by gas prices and soaring airfares. As summer looms, many travel industry professionals believe this year it will be another year of folks opting to spend their vacations at home. Today's Daily News takes a look at the phenomenon, and finds that for the time being, "staycations" are here to stay.

It all started with a blogger: Last week news broke that budget airline JetBlue was thinking of pulling out of Long Beach Airport (LGB) after their CEO said as much to the blogger behind Crankyflier.com. Although formal meetings are on the books for LGB's Director, Mario Rodriguez, and JetBlue CEO Dave Barger back east later this month, the pair wound up having an impromptu lunch at In-N-Out Burger on Thursday.

Disney Cruise Line and the Port of Los Angeles announced today that in 2011, Disney's "Wonder" will be setting sail from our shore. The vessel is one of a trio of ships currently offering family-friendly cruises from Port Canaveral, Florida; no itinerary has been announced, but the Mexican Riviera is the rumored destination. Bringing another cruise ship to LA is a revenue booster for the city: "It will bring about 250,000 passengers through the Port of Los Angeles, create about 2,600 new jobs, and yield for L.A. and the state of California $7 million in state and local taxes," boasts L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Disney's "Wonder" has 875 staterooms and a crew size of 945, per their official site. It's smaller than Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas, who made the move from Florida last month and is now sailing from San Pedro.

              

On a whim, we decided to check out Catalina Island's city of Avalon one afternoon this past weekend. It was a first for us (okay, for me) and upon returning to the mainland and talking to others, we found that Angelenos really don't take advantage of the resort island and all that it has to offer including hiking, bed and breakfasts, seeing historical sites (hey, the Cubs did spring training here back in the day!), parasaiing, scuba diving, whale watching, beach going, relaxation, etc. In fact, many natives to Southern California we spoke to admitted they had never been to the 76 square mile sized island.

                                 

"If you build it, they will come," right? Or, in the case of Royal Caribbean's fifth of five in its Voyager Class of cruise ships, Mariner of the Seas, if you make the port accommodate it, they will come. And come they did.

"I think President Obama would like to be known as the high-speed rail president, and I think he can be," said Department of Transportation head, Ray LaHood this morning to National Public Radio in a report about stimulus funding and high speed rail. $8 billion is dedicated to the HSR vision and the radio program took note of California:

                     

One weekend, the Pacific Coast Highway and two California must-sees.

Starting today, foreign visitors to the United States are going to have to register for their arrival before they get here. According to the BBC News, visitors to the US "will need to fill in an electronic form at least 72 hours before they travel," and "those who have not registered risk being detained and sent back home." These "electronic applications - known as Esta (Electronic System for Travel Authorisation) - have to be approved by the US Department of Homeland Security."

Southwest Flight 688 on its way to Los Angeles was taxiing at Chicago's Midway Airport around 9 a.m. yesterday morning when it's right main gear got stuck in the snow on the shoulder of the taxiway. As the day went on, temperatures in Chicago warmed up drastically causing dense fog to cover the region. And then what happened? All flights at Midway were canceled shortly after 6 p.m. ending in 80 canceled flights. Over at the city's main airport, around 400 flights were canceled. If all this trouble has you stuck somewhere out there, The Travel Doctor keeps his list of airports with free Wi-Fi updated.

Officials say that the 2.35 million passengers expected to go through LAX this holiday season is considerably less than years past. 14% less, in fact. But that doesn't mean there will be crazy busy days and one of those include today (the other days are Friday, December 26 & Friday, January 2. Last Friday was also one). So if you're going, arrive early, they say, especially between the times of 6 a.m. to 9 a.m./11 a.m. to 2 p.m./7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Then again, the weather out there is frightful, so delays, delays, delays could be the travel industry's mantra today.

If you've ever wanted to adopt your own entourage and get world-class A-list treatment, apparently Los Angeles International Airport is the place to go. So throw on your best pair of sweats, grab your $1000 handbag, and slip on those shades! Of course, you might want to enlist your own security detail, because yesterday "the Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday decided against any new regulations to control paparazzi at [LAX]" reports the Daily News.

With gas prices dropping, it seems likely that people will ramp up their holiday travel plans in an effort to reconnect with far-away family and friends (or a tropical island and a Mai Tai). While we are disappointed to see more cars on the road as we move farther and farther away from $4/gallon, December will surely be about planes, trains, and automobiles, hotels and relative's homes, airports and truck stops.

This year, it has changed, the Associated Press finds: "Nearly 1 million Mexican migrants living in the U.S. are expected to head home for the holidays, but relatively few are returning loaded down with gifts and cash this year. Many are simply moving back after losing their jobs in the U.S. economic crisis, a disappointing turn for an annual journey that has become a cherished tradition in towns and villages across Mexico. In many impoverished hamlets, migrants are usually welcomed home with lavish festivities. Townspeople admire their new vehicles bought with U.S.-earned dollars, and children scramble to see what is inside boxes as if Santa Claus had just arrived."

Donna Wares is a travel writer, a former editor at the LA Times and most recently, a neighborhood blogger in Seal Beach. Her enthusiasm for California is evident in her projects and it was thanks to her book that we participated in Santa Barbara Car Free. With a long weekend ahead and many people sticking around instead of traveling, we decided to ask Wares her suggestions on what to do. Holiday weekend or not, these tips will work for those looking to explore the Los Angeles region any day.