Jaunted - halloween

'We're Not Working with Anybody, Ever, Anymore!'

Jennifer Kester — 2009-11-23T08:48:12-05:00

Chasing Racers is back, with a brand-new Amazing Race 15 mashup. This map will update the morning after every new episode. Send along tips, rumors, gossip, locations and spoilers to our map editors; become a member and comment on the stories below and add to the Jaunted-Flickr photo pool to get in on the fray.

Remember to zoom in, out and around on the map—with so much happening in each episode, it's easy to miss a map point.

In the last episode of The Amazing Race, the competition started getting fierce. The Globetrotters and the hot guys fought over a taxi and as they neared the pit stop, Flight Time and Dan fell on a muddy boardwalk and each one pointed fingers at the other for playing dirty. The beautiful blonds also foiled the Americas by promising to have their cabbie send them taxi, which they didn't do. Despite all of the underhandedness, it was Pinky and the Brain who were eliminated, mostly because Pinky had no idea what a candelabra was.

Four teams remain. What other lowdown tricks will the racers do to make it to the final three? Will they go too far to win?

Find out after the jump.

Photographer Retraces William Least Heat-Moon's Blue Highways

Victor Ozols — 2009-11-21T15:19:18-05:00

Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon is probably my favorite travel book of all time, so I was pleased to see it resurface in the news last week, more than 30 years after its publication. CNN.com has an enjoyable interview with the author and a slide show of photographs from the route he took on his classic journey of discovery. For those who aren't familiar, in 1978, William Least Heat-Moon lost his teaching job and his wife left him, so he decided to outfit his van and start driving across the country, avoiding interstates and sticking to the lesser-traveled roads that were colored blue on the old Rand McNally maps. His three month tour produced a terrific book, and one that reveals many great insights into traveling and life in general.

New York: Discover President Obama's Lost Years on a Tour of His New York Haunts

Victor Ozols — 2009-11-21T14:07:58-05:00

President Obama is most closely associated with the city of Chicago, but he spent five years in New York as a student and community organizer, and a local actor has created a walking tour that shines a light on what he calls Obama's "lost years" here. The AP introduces us to Jeremiah Miller, whose two-hour "Obama's New York" tour takes visitors to some of the places the 44th president spent time during his 1981-1985 stint in the city.

New York: New York Pedicabs Go Legit, Lose Outlaw Status

Victor Ozols — 2009-11-21T13:25:54-05:00

I've never taken a pedicab in my life, but it seems I'm in the minority, as the number of the pedal-powered bicycle taxis has risen dramatically since their introduction to New York in 1995. Pedicabs have become so popular, in fact, that they're now regulated by the city, which requires vehicles to be insured, inspected, and fitted with seat belts, headlights, and hydraulic brakes. A story in The New York Times explains that the new regulations legitimize an industry that began as something of a fringe group, attracting actors, artists, and various downtown weirdos to a unique profession that could net them up to $1,000 a week and help them stay skinny and hot.

Los Angeles: Leapin' Lizards! Cali Man Busted Smuggling Aussie Reptiles in Money Belt

Victor Ozols — 2009-11-21T12:21:07-05:00

Things travelers should put in a money belt: Passport, tickets, cash, emergency contact information. Things travelers should not put in a money belt: lizards. It may seem rather obvious to most readers of this blog, but there's one guy in California who somehow never picked up this basic tenet of travel wisdom. As the LA Times points out, 40-year-old Michael Plank was arrested by U.S. Customs agents at Los Angeles International Airport this week when he was found to have 15 lizards stuffed in a money belt. Plank was on his way back from Australia and apparently decided to bring 11 skinks, two monitor lizards, and two geckos with him to his LA home, where they'd be worth around $8,500.

Would You Fake Sick In Order To Score A Better Seat On The Plane?

JetSetCD — 2009-11-20T17:59:30-05:00

FAME:
	Five Ways To Score Better Airline Seats For Holiday Travel
	You can get more than just flights with your frequently flyer miles
	The first glance at Virgin America's 'Fly Girls' TV show Also: Everything about Thanksgiving Travel
LAME:
	What Not To Do In Venice: 5 Tourist Mistakes To Avoid
	FAA Glitch Grounds and Delays Flights
	Has Anybody Flown Aeroflot Lately? Also: Demon Statues in an Airport. For real.

Fort Lauderdale: Fort Lauderdale Airport Is The New Bunker Hill

markj — 2009-11-20T17:09:33-05:00

When the Colonials learned that British forces were planning to send troops out of the city to the surrounding unoccupied hills, they acted. The colonials set up shop at the top of Bunker & Breed's Hill and picked off the redcoats sending them retreating towards Cambridge. Seems to us that FLL is the new Bunker Hill, though we will leave it to you to determine which airline wears what uniform.

By now we all know how Virgin America launched their 10th destination earlier this week at FLL and we have the photo gallery to prove it. However, what really struck us about our jaunt to meet them in FLL was the obvious jockeying for position that was going on there between JetBlue and Virgin America.

The feud deepens, after the jump.