Jaunted

Travel Contests / Travel Photography / Lomography / Virginia Travel / Valentine's Day Travel / → All Tags

Virginia is for Lovers and Lomographers: Win a Trip with a Single Photo

Raise your hand if you occasionally get a little nostalgic for actual film cameras and the days of tangible prints. See, that's the thing about the internet though, is we can't see you raising your hand or physically join in because while we love us some iPhoneography and DSLR fun, every so often we're still reaching for our throwback Lomography camera. And apparently so is the entire state of Virginia, since their freshest tourism endeavor involves pitting real photos from Lomo cameras against each other for chances to win all-expenses-paid, experiential trips to the state that is famously "for Lovers."

Contest

Here's the deal: the Lomographic Society has turned out a "Virginia is for Lovers" special edition of their newish 35mm La Sardina camera, and to celebrate, anyone with a Lomo camera is welcome to submit a photo to the contests to win a Virginia trip. There'll be a contest every month, starting now through December 2012, and each has a specific theme for your photo. Right now, it's "Love Surrounds: Show us the people that mean the most to you."

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Movie Travel / Theatre Travel / Beer Travel / Alamo Drafthouse Cinema / Virginia Travel / → All Tags

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema to Bring Their Brews and Views from Texas to Washington DC

The much beloved Alamo Drafthouse Cinema has announced they are expanding their operations next year with a new location on the outskirts of Washington, DC, in Ashburn, VA.

The Alamo Drafthouse isn't your run-of-the-mill movie theater. They serve up gourmet food and drinks every night (there is a bar in every lobby) and host fun pop culture-themed events, like the Dazed and Confused Feast taking place tonight at their Houston location.

Construction on the 34,000 sq. foot theater in Ashburn in a planned community called One Loudoun will begin this spring, with hopes to open in the spring of 2013.

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How To Get Tickets To / Christmas Travel / Historical Travel / Washington DC Travel / Holiday Travel / Events / → All Tags

Didn't Score National Tree Lighting Tickets? Try Touring Mount Vernon by Candlelight

If driving through snowstorms to crowded malls isn't exactly your idea of holiday cheer, we have a better way to get into the spirit of the season. For those lucky enough to find themselves in Washington D.C. this month, take a ride down to George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate for the popular Mount Vernon by Candlelight Tour.

Each night, "Mrs. Washington" welcomes visitors for candlelit tours of the grounds, fireside Christmas caroling, hot cider and ginger cookies. The tour, which is guided by characters from the Washingtons' time, includes the first and second floors of the home authentically decorated for Christmas. Mount Vernon's modern buildings will also be open for live musical performances and shopping until 9 p.m.

The tour continues on December 11 & 12 and December 18 & 19. Adults tickets are $20 while children 11 and under get in for $14. Tickets are still available at Mount Vernon's Ford Orientation Center or at MountVernon.org.

[Photo: DayLife]

Theme Parks / Roller Coasters / Amusement Parks / Busch Gardens / → All Tags

Busch Gardens Gearing Up for $2 Million Revamp, Including New Coaster

The theme park season is starting to wind down, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Now that the roller coasters have shut things off for the season, there’s plenty of time to start planning for the next big thing. One theme park with an eye on the future is Busch Gardens Williamsburg, as they just announced that they’ll be investing some serious cash into their park over the next two years.

Beginning this year, the park is going to up the ante on its Christmas Town attraction. The holiday celebration will be focused on their idea of an Italian Christmas—we’re hoping for something a little more authentic than Olive Garden’s idea of what Italy is like. Expect decorations, golden colors, traditional fare, and a warm and fuzzy feeling during your walk back to the minivan.

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Volunteer Travel / Road Trips / Green Travel / Student Travel / → All Tags

Join Pick Up America As They Tour the USA, Collecting Trash Along the Way

Looking for something to do this summer? Why not join a group of recent college grads who are traveling across the country picking up trash and inspiring others to join the movement toward zero waste?

Pick Up America is currently in their third month of a year-and-a-half long hike across the country where they are picking up trash on the side of the road. As of June 26, 2010, the "Pick Up Artists" had already traveled 338.4 miles and removed 37,048 pounds of litter with 182 volunteers. The group is currently working their way across Virginia and they want your help!

You can join the Pick Up Artists for up to a month this summer as they move west across the country. The group is also looking for locals to come out and help them pick up trash along the road as they pass through your part of the country. To get more information about where and when they are going to be near you, e-mail pickupamerica@gmail.com. To apply to be for the TRASH-ternship Program in which you can travel with the group and put your skills to work on special projects, submit this application. If you're interested in donating to Pick Up America, check out their page on PayPal.

Related Stories:
· Official Site [Pick Up America]
· How to help [Pick Up America]
· Volunteer Travel Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Pick Up America]

United Airlines / United / Ashley Olsen / Celebrity Travel / Airplane Hell / Travel Hell / → All Tags

Ashley Olsen's Life at Risk During United Airlines Cockpit Fire

Airplanes make unscheduled emergency landings every now and then, but we usually don’t even mention them since they are somewhat routine. Pilots are professionals who are trained in safety and prepared for all kinds of situations, but a recent incident really caught our attention because it involved both flames and celebrities.

Recently, a United Airlines flight was scheduled from New York to Los Angeles when it was forced to divert to Washington-Dulles due to a cockpit fire.

The flight crew was all over the in-flight fire immediately, using fire extinguishers to get things under control while returning the airplane safely to the ground. The captain actually had to discharge two different fire extinguishers as the fire continued after the first extinguisher was used. We’re really happy that everyone made it home safely, but we’re especially glad that all the celebrity cargo made it back to their mansions as well.

So who's life was at risk?...

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Strange Scuba Spots / Virginia Travel / Scuba / Scuba Dives / Active Travel / → All Tags

Drive an Underwater School Bus at this Virginia Scuba Spot

The weather is getting warmer, and if there’s no room in the budget for a tropical vacation this year, you can always hit up one of our strange scuba spots. Lake Rawlings in Southern Virginia offers a full-service scuba solution—including non-strange diving trips—but they also have a spring-fed lake with crystal clear water. Visibility usually runs between 30 and 60 feet, but in the winter when the algae finally kicks the bucket, it can often exceed 100 feet.

There’s plenty of fish in the lake including large-mouth bass, and there’s even some freshwater clams that call the lake home sweet home. However, this underwater life isn’t worth a trip to the lake. It’s all the sunken junk that makes the lake famous.

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Prime-Plane-Spotting-Map / Plane Spotting / Washington DC Travel / DCA / Airports / → All Tags

The Best Plane Spotting Happens Just Outside Of DC's Restricted Airspace

Lately in our series of stories on the best places to plane spot, we've focused on warm weather destinations, but some of us won't be taking tropical trips this winter and maybe still want to check out a little aviation action on our home turf. So we turn to Washington DC's Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA), located in Arlington, Virginia, but still within sight of the Capitol and the Washington Monument.

DCA is a plane spotters dream; it has a park with scenic views to the city, over the water, and onto the airport right at the end of the runway. This is Gravelly Point Park, and those biking the paths or picnicking on the grass are usually all here for the same reason: a little outdoors activity on a nice day, with the additional benefit of watching the mostly domestic flights zoom a few hundred feet above them and then make a left turn to avoid restricted airspace over DC.

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2009-Halloween-Theme-Park-Map / 2009 Halloween Theme Park Scare Guide / Halloween Travel / Scary Travel / Theme Parks / → All Tags

2009 Halloween Theme Park Scare Guide: Busch Gardens Williamsburg Howl-O-Scream

For those in our nation’s capital looking to celebrate Halloween without Obama and Palin masks, there’s always the option of taking a ride down I-95 to Williamsburg, Virginia. Busch Gardens Williamsburg has been doing the scary theme park for over ten years now, and this year’s Howl-O-Scream looks to do more damage than even their roller coasters.

Like some of the parks we’ve featured before, Busch Gardens transforms the park into a scary land featuring costumed characters lurking behind every corner. There’s six different haunted houses to terrify and torture, especially when a few of them are more maze than haunted house. Good luck if you’re trying to get out. If you’d rather have a chance to escape, you can always run through one of the park’s nine scare zones.

If you need to take a breather there’s plenty of scary shows to entertain you. Sit back and relax, or try to, and take in the scene. There’s one for your little pumpkin as well—starring Elmo—but we won’t tell anyone if you need to watch that one instead.

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Celeb Travel / Road Trips / Chris Brown / Crimes / → All Tags

Chris Brown Becomes Roadside Attraction During His Community Service

Yesterday, we may have peeked in on Rihanna at the airport, leaving New York after a summer of roller coaster riding and performing at Madison Square Garden. Meanwhile, her ex and convicted domestic abuser Chris Brown has been enjoying a little vacation of his own; a road trip of sorts.

As his sentencing for beating up Rihanna many months ago, Brown must serve 180 days of community service. He just recently began his work near his home in Virginia, and they've assigned him to the roadside clean-up crew. Although he may not be in the same spot every day, since they can have him "washing government cars, picking up trash and cleaning up graffiti," so long as he's still a roadside attraction, he'll be a popular stop for Virginia road trippers.

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Virginia Travel / Tourism Board Travel / Travel News / Tourism Marketing / → All Tags

'Virginia Is For Lovers' Celebrates 40th Anniversary With Free Trips

Although we’ve never understood what was so lovable about the state, apparently Virginia's motto is something to swoon over. The slogan Virginia is for Lovers is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, which easily makes it the country’s longest running state tourism tagline. It’s so successful that it has the chance to gain a spot on the Madison Avenue Advertising Walk of Fame.

Besides critical acclaim, the slogan also helps attract a lot of cash into the state. Somehow they can quantify the lovers line, as they report that tourism brings in $19 billion per year. It also supports over 200,000 jobs and gets state and local communities some nice stuff with over a billion dollars in tax revenue. We need to figure out how to get a slice of all this tourism cash action; how does "Jaunted is For Lovers" grab you?

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Roller Coasters / Nascar / Theme Parks / Amusement Parks / → All Tags

Dale Earnhardt To Rise Again In Roller Coaster Form

Over the last few weeks, little tidbits of information have been trickling in regarding a new coaster set to hit the scene at Kings Dominion, outside of Richmond, Virginia. Finally the cat is out of the bag, and the park is looking to cozy up to the NASCAR crowd with their brand new Dale Earnhardt-themed coaster. Park officials are hoping to give visitors a taste of racecar speed as the new ride will hit 92 mph as it twists and turns along its steel track.

The Intimidator 305, as it will be known, is already being promoted as the tallest and fastest gravity-driven coaster on the country’s east coast (even though they're wrong, that title will stay with the 456-foot, 128-mph Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure in NJ). With a height of 305 feet and almost a mile of track, this is definitely going to be on the must-do list in 2010 for coaster crazies. We just need to get over the fact that the first drop sends riders barreling towards the earth at an 85-degree angle.

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