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Please Do Not Pee on Fellow Passengers

You'd think we wouldn't have to say this, but after an incident yesterday onboard a cross-country flight, we have to: please don't pee on fellow airplane passengers. Not only is it gross and rude and borderline criminal, but it also ruins a flight for the rest of the passengers onboard and makes the situation very difficult for flight attendants. This is officially an amendment to our just-published list of The Top Ten Gross Things Flight Attendants Have Seen Passengers Do on Airplanes, assuming the FAs saw it happen.

As the story goes, the JetBlue red-eye from Portland, OR to New York-JFK yesterday has a family with an 11-year-old girl who wouldn't shut up, or was a disturbance in some way. A drunk 18-year-old boy got up, confronted the girl at her row, exposed himself and peed on her. The NY Post continues:

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Train Stations That Still Got It: Portland, Oregon's Union Station

In yet another argument for improving the rail network of the USA, we turn to the impressive Union Station in the Chinatown section of Portland, Oregon. Even if you aren't arriving by the Amtrak Cascades, Coast Starlight or Empire Builder trains and you flew in to this here town, the station is worth a visit for its historical and architectural significance (not to mention that sweet Romanesque clock tower).

As you can see in the above image, the stations is undergoing something of a refurbishment. Sadly, this won't be to add more train services—oh how we'd love to see some hi-speed trains making stops here—but to add housing in places where railroad track used to be.

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Talk About an Airport That Knows Its Demographic...

What's the first thing you think about when you think Portland, Oregon? Is it Mt. Hood? Maybe it's clean, crisp Pacific Northwest air or coffee snobs. For many however, Portland is a bicycling haven, a dreamworld where bike lanes are spacious and chatting up a stranger with talk of U-locks isn't lame at all.

From the moment a travelers arrives at Portland International Airport—more popularly referred to by its airport code PDX—the biped influence is immediate. Signs lead arriving passengers down to baggage claim, to the oversized luggage claim area and finally out to a sea of airport bike racks, complete with a bike assembly area.

This surprise amenity isn't necessarily just for Portland locals, who've traced elsewhere with their bikes. It's for tourists too, who head out this way with their trusty 10-speeds to test the environment.

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Always Choose a Window Seat When Flying to Portland, Oregon

Mt. Hood

The more you travel, the more possibility there is that you'll learn something (or many things) new every day. Our latest little discovery? No matter which side of the plane you're sitting on during a flight to Portland, Oregon, entering from the east, you're going to have awesome views. Just make sure you score a window seat, or else risk straining your neck and camera above a stranger seatmate.

Specifically, the two great views while on the descent into PDX are of Mt. Hood (on the left) and Mt. Rainier (on the right). Both are volcanoes, and both are active though Mt. Hood is very much less so. Pick your seat based on which one holds more interest for you: Mt. Hood that towers over Portland, or Mt. Rainier which, though further away, holds the greatest danger. Cloudy day? No problem; these massive wonders of geologic insanity easily tower above the clouds.

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Five Golf Courses Easily Accessible to Both Fairways and Runways

If you’re looking for something to do between flights—and you always travel with your clubs—there might be a place convenient to both the fairways and the runways. Check out our picks for some of the best golf courses that are like only 10 miles from the airport or less:

· Colwood National Golf Club - PDX
There’s four courses that are within a short cab ride from Portland International Airport, but the easiest to access is Colwood National Golf Club. It’s so close to the airport—as well as the Air National Guard Station—that there are places where you can see the planes taxi and take off.

It’s a full 18-hole course, and this summer playing all the holes will set you back around $30. There are a lot of red-eye flights out of PDX back to the east coast—and beyond—so we recommend hitting up one of their twilight specials before heading to the airport. On Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays it's just $9 to play 8-holes as long as you begin after 3:00pm.

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A Biofuel Revolution is Coming, and Alaska Airlines Wants to Lead It

We've covered the ongoing development of solar-powered airplanes, which look almost space-age as they fly silently through the sky. But if sustainable aviation fuel is going to come from anywhere in the near future, it won't be from solar but from biofuel. Continental ran a biofuel-powered test flight last January out of Houston and flew around the Gulf of Mexico, and now Alaska Airlines is investigating whether biofuels can be used more broadly. The airline is teaming up with Boeing and Washington State University to run a pilot biofuel program across three Northwest airports.

PDX, SeaTac, and Spokane will see whether they can become part of their own little biofuel sub-industry, where nearby algae, agriculture, and wood byproducts are converted into something that can keep airplanes in the air. The details are a little sketchy but the idea—local, non-fossil fuel materials—seems pretty straightforward.

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Alaska Launches Daily "Nerd Bird" Between San Jose And Austin

Silicon Valley commuters were positively inconsolable earlier this summer when American Airlines put an end to their "nerd bird" flights, the route between San Jose and Austin. Happy times will soon be here again, though, because Alaska Airlines has committed to picking up the slack:

Alaska Airlines today will inaugurate nonstop service between San Jose, Calif., and Austin, Texas, officially resurrecting the popular "nerd bird" route. The flight will originate in Portland, Ore., and the airline will add another daily flight between the three cities starting March 14, 2010. "This route is a natural extension of our network and provides a vital link between these high-tech hubs," said Steve Jarvis, Alaska Airlines' vice president of marketing, sales and customer experience.

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2007 Awards: Best Domestic Airport

We've spent a lot of time this year digging up airports with free WiFi. And though lots of smaller airports have wireless--and don't get clogged with too many flights--we have to give this year's award to a major airport that's just great: PDX.

Portland International goes so far to let you set up a VPN so you can handle secure data. The airport also has plenty of plugs and seats around; you won't have to set up shop on a dingy patch of floor. Add in the fact that we have fond childhood memories of PDX and that it's so close to great skiing and you've got a winner.

[Photo: web_guy94301]

Ski-Areas-Near-Airports / Skiing / Ski Travel / Ski Resorts / Winter Travel / PDX / → All Tags

Easy-to-Reach Skiing: Timberline Lodge

We really like skiing and boarding. But that doesn't mean we want to spend our whole vacation just getting to the mountain. Our Ski Areas Near Airports Map will help you maximize your time on the slopes.

If you don't dawdle around, you could be at Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood within two hours of unlatching your airplane seat belt at PDX. It'll take some luck at the luggage carousel, but when you're this close to such terrific skiing, even a slight delay pushing you over the 120 minute mark won't sting too badly.

Take the scenic Highway 26 out of Portland to reach the Timberline, famed for its appearance in The Shining. You'll have access to a vast swath of high-altitude terrain, and starting Saturday, December 8, a new, 220-acre expansion will open below the Lodge.

With the new Still Creek Basin, you can conceivably shred 3,690 vertical feet without stopping--though we'd like to see you try it. Skiing is daylight-hours-only until this Friday, when night riding opens, and the terrain park is already up-and-running for you daredevils.

Related Stories:
· Timberline Lodge [Official Site]
· Timberline Lodge [Jaunted]
· PDX: Childhood Memories [Jaunted]
· Skiing coverage [Jaunted]

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Best US Airports for WiFi

Contribute your airport wireless report by leaving it in comments, uploading your airport photo to Jaunted Flickr Photo Pool, or via email, and we will add it to our U.S. Airport Wireless map.

In this summer-turned-fall of airport delays, one thing can help turn a trip from maddening hassle to sufferable necessity: Airport WiFi. If you're going to get stuck in a terminal far from home and far from where you're going, at least you can get online and get some work done (or update your Facebook page). At least, that's our dream.

Some airports claim free WiFi, but it is super tempermental and only exists in one terminal (JFK we are looking at you), some airports hang "We Have WiFi" banners throughout the terminals but in reality they offer a couple hours of access for $9.99, and worst of all, if you are hoping to gain coveted access to a sparse power outlet, they make you sit your ass on the, cold, hard, unforgiving airport floor while you access the web.

Lots of airports still don't even offer WiFi to travelers passing through, and we can't figure out why. In our view, it's another utility that should be provided for free, just like bathrooms and A/C. And more importantly, we find that an airport with reliable, free WiFi gets us planning our trip around such signal-strong airports.

But there's hope. Some large US airports are leading the way, while the real innovation is going on at the country's small airfields. Maybe it's due to less red tape, or maybe they just want to get noticed, but regional and less-used airports usually have the best WiFi.

After the jump we name the Best US airports for WiFi.

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WiFi Wednesday: Childhood Memories Edition

Years ago, back when all the women were strong, all the men were good-looking, and all the children were above average** we didn't worry about things like Airport WiFi. We'd gear up for summer vacation and head west to Mt. Hood with a smile, a good book and a snowboard.

And though the good times have flown away like they always do, Portland International Airport remains, waiting patiently for us to come back for another season. This time, though, when we'll undoubtedly be carrying a bunch of electronics, she'll welcome us with open arms.

PDX has free WiFi in 70 percent of its facilities--including some spots outside of secured areas, which we like. You can even get online using a VPN if secure data transmission is your thing. As for us, we'll just use the signal to look up videos from our old summer camp.

[Photo: goodbyefeet]

Related Stories:
· Airport WiFi coverage [Jaunted]