Gadling

It wasn't until I saw this video that I remembered the whirring sound that the pulleys of a zipline make as they zip along the cables, whizzing people from tree to tree.

Although the quality is a bit grainy, the essence of the Hocking Hills Canopy Tour are captured here in just a few minutes. I posted about my personal experience a couple of days ago, but the video is a way to bring you along for the ride.

The people who filmed this, and posted it on YouTube, held a camera at such an angle that it feels as if the viewer is on the trip as well. There's also footage of one of the rope bridges you walk across during the tour. After the last zipline, there's a rappel down from the last platform to the ground. That part is also included. Plus, there's a mix of music and conversation. Nice touch.

Here's an idea for anyone who wants to travel alone, but hates to travel alone when it comes to meal time. These odd thoughts came cavorting through my mind after seeing this story on a Today Show segment. Imagine the scene:

There you are all by yourself while others are paired up or in groups. You are sitting waiting for dinner, maybe reading but feeling a bit dissatisfied. Perhaps you feel like a target to unwanted advances. You wish you had a detractor. Something that lets you know that you are not alone--or at least, if you are alone, you have a way to feel differently. Or perhaps you are a bit shy and wish you had a conversation starter, something that would break the ice when talking with strangers. And if a creepy guy is lurking about, something that would send a signal "hands off."

A fake baby might be the answer.

According to the segment, the fake babies look and feel real. That downy soft hair. The weight of them. The way they appear in a baby carrier.

In her New York Times travel column "Motherlode," Lisa Belkin recently wrote about flying with children. She titled it, "The Less-Than-Friendly-Skies."

As a person who once traveled with babies and young kids (according to her bio, her children are now teenagers) Belkin has sympathy for people who travel with children and mentions those who have problems with children on planes as "crotchety."

It's not that she isn't sympathetic to the plight of those who don't have kids with them who are on an airplane with folks who have brought their kids along, but she tends to feel more for the parents who have the kids--and the kids. She recalls the days back when airlines gave kids pilot wings and flight attendants had the time and energy to treat kids like special passengers instead of more work.

Belkin cites a survey at airfarewatchdog.com where people vote according to their travel preference when it comes to money and kids. How much money would you pay extra for a flight that doesn't allow kids on board?

At this point, only 38% would not pay more for a ticket. The higher the dollar amount, the lower the percentage would pay the extra cash. 20% would pay $10 more, but only 9% would pay more than $40. (For survey, click here.)

And who would those people be? Belkin thinks it's parents with young kids who would like to take a flight where they could actually have time to read a magazine.

Each week, when I pick out posts for Gadling's Take FIVE, I look for posts that fit together in some way. These week, I've noticed a numbers theme.

• In David's post on America's most scenic train route, he noted that the journey between New York City and Montreal takes 11 hours and there are 90 seats left for the period between October 2 and November 11.
• Abha found out that only 8 people in the Cameroon speak Busuu and that the human voice only travels 200 meters. You can read about this and more in her post on a website that helps you learn new languages.
• When a man smuggles 200 canaries in 4 cages in 1 suitcase, there is trouble in international travel. Josh pointed out what that might be. Dead birds, 60 of them, for one thing.
• Anna gave a heads up about 10 travel websites to tune into. Add Gadling, and that's 11.
• Jerry is also in the numbers game. He spent 16 hours in China's Wild West and is writing about it in a feature series.
• In Mexico there are 5000 condoms, 1 inflatable banana and 1 missing truck. Scott posted about why it would be a good thing if all were found.
• And I've started watching the Amazing Race and posting recaps on that. This is season 13.

If you're counting, you'll notice 7 this week instead of 5.

Back in June, when I zipped from sycamore to oak trees along the highwire cable lines of the Hocking Hills Canopy Tours in the Hocking Hills region of Ohio, I thought, I bet this is gorgeous in the fall.

Now that yellows and reds are just beginning to show their colors, I'd say trees will be in their autumn glory in a week or two. Cold has arrived at night to hasten the palate switch. Meg's posts about fall foliage tour options, reminded me of this one.

I blogged about this tour before I took it, and am not surprised that it has remained so popular that the season has been extended through November--although the hours will change.

As a person with first-hand experience, I can vouch for the thrill of heading off on a wire from one tree to another. My favorite parts were the sections where I was zipping through the air, far from the platform I had left, high above the ground, and the platform where I was heading had yet to come into view. There is a moment where you can't see where you are exactly because of the leaves. Then, the next platform comes into view like a surprise of "oh, there you are."

Here's a sordid, wacky tale, and one that's hard to believe, except that the person who is accused of gross behavior has admitted to part of the accusation.

Here is the scoop from what I read in this CBStv.com story. A male JetBlue flight attendant has been accused by a female passenger of sexual harassment.

She said:

• he said he would make sure no one sat next to her so she could be all his.
• he said that he wanted her.
• he said that she wanted him.
• he kept grabbing himself.
• he tossed his open cell phone on her tray to show her naked pictures of himself .
• he made vulgar comments to her through the bathroom door when she fled there to escape his advances.
• he grabbed her derriere when she was heading back to her seat.

He said that:

• he DID show her naked pictures of himself on his cell phone.
• he DID MAKE sexual advances,

He said he DID NOT

• grab her butt.
• act in a harassing manner.

A bit windy isn't it? This shot by Lola Akinmade in Spain captures the image of the flying coat perfectly. It almost looks like there are imaginary wires pulling it upwards. Can't you feel the struggle to walk as the wind presses against this man's face and whips through his hair? The stillness of the background in contrast to the man's movement adds to the action. This is a right place at the right moment kind of shot--a perfect click of the shutter.

If you've taken some pictures with contrast, or just about anything of interest, send it our way at Gadling's Flickr photo pool for consideration as a Photo of the Day pick.

From what I've been reading, despite the talk of how airfares are increasing, it's wise to keep checking for the travel deals. They can be found.

According to this AOL Money and Finance article, depending on where you are heading, you can find a reasonable rate. Heading to Europe, for example, may score a bargain because there has been an increase in flights which means more seats to fill which means cheaper fares. Last month I checked out ticket prices from Columbus, Ohio to Copenhagen, Denmark and found a fare on Northwest just over $700. Not cheap, but cheaper than I expected.

A friend of mine flew from Boston to Columbus the end of August and paid a little over $200--another surprise. Some cities are bargain destinations: San Antonio, Dallas, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Phoenix, for example.

Here is a place I wish I had known about earlier. December before last my family and I were in Orlando, Florida doing the Disney World thing. If I would have known about Eatonville, writer Zora Neale Hurston's hometown, I would have felt compelled to go and see the murals at the town's oldest church. They tell a bit of the story of the United States' racial fabric.

Eatonville, the first black-town to have incorporated in the United States, is six miles north of Orlando. For the most part, driving through Eatonville sounds like it would be similar to driving through many small towns in the United States--towns without any particular markings that make them unique except to the people who live there.

When Ernest Hemingway lived in his house in Key West, Florida, penning For Whom the Bell Tolls and To Have and Have Not, his cat Snowball must already have been busy procreating. Although Snowball is no longer with us--he was given to Hemingway in 1935--his six-toed offspring still live at the house, along with their other cat buds. In all, there are 60 or more.

The cats have been part of the house's ambiance much to the dismay of folks who don't appreciate a slew of cats wandering about Key West wherever they please. There was a move to have the cats removed.

According to this Jaunted post, the five-year negotiation about what should happen to the cats is over, and the cats can stay. A fence around the Ernest Hemingway House and Museum was found to be a solution.

Jaunted wondered why it took five-years to make a decision. I'd say perhaps there was a love-hate relationship with those cats.

The tourists who have visited the house seemed to enjoy the felines since they are a living connection to Hemingway. Plus, this literary cat haven helps take care of Key West's cat population.

When I read about the cats, I was reminded about traveling in Venice, Italy one summer. I have never seen so many cats in one city in my life.

Here's the link to the museum's page on the cats. Browse through the names. I'm particularly fond of Spencer Tracy's photo which you see here. He may look a bit like Snowball is my thinking--a slimmer version, perhaps.