Taking off Travel blog

Will there be airport parking - or should that be spaceport parking - problems in space? Just as the early inventors of the car would have found it hard to imagine the chaos that affects our roads at rush hour and the need to pre book off airport parking just to be able to make a flight, we may find it hard to imagine that one day similar problems may affect space. But with recent developments, it has to be a possibility.

Virgin Galactic's SpaceShip Two

Virgin Galactic’s Space Ship Two (surely it could have a more interesting name) is being unveiled this week in the Mojave Desert after five years of top secret development work. It’s the world’s first commercial space craft, bringing us one step nearer to the future envisaged by Star Trek and similar TV programs. Like much of what used to be science fiction, scientific developments have put mass space travel within reach - quite close reach, as Virgin Galactic is planning to run two test flights next year and take the ship to maximum altitude in 2011. Read more »

A Near Miss

A few years ago I had a near miss - in more ways than one. Though not quite a brush with death, it was an uncomfortable experience which could have ruined our travel plans. To set the scene, it was a summer’s day in the UK and my husband, baby daughter and I were heading down the motorway to visit some relatives before going to our London hotel. We were planning to get there early, enjoy the pool, have a leisurely meal and then catch a plane to the Caribbean the next morning. Things didn’t go quite according to plan.

Narrow Escape

As we were driving along, a truck came hurtling towards us. Ordinarily, that wouldn’t have been a problem, but as it went past it caught a piece of wood with a tire and that piece of wood headed straight for our windshield. Read more »

Many of us try to capture takeoffs and landings as we travel. I often find the plane wing is in the middle of my shot, but there are still some amazing images around. Here are some, courtesy of some great people on Flickr.

Yul Montreal Airport - photo by Caribb

It’s always interesting to see the layout of an airport as you come in to land. It’s perhaps the only time you can appreciate how huge it is.

The Alps - photo by Miguel Angel

I’ve driven through the Alps a few times, but haven’t flown over them, so I enjoyed this bird’s eye view.

Read more »

It’s been just over a year since I officially became a travel blogger here on the Taking Off Travel Blog, the travel blog belonging to off airport parking firm, Park Ride Fly USA. Sure, I’d blogged about travel before and had written travel articles too, but it wasn’t a regular occupation as it is now.

During the year, I have kept an eye on popular posts and comments, thanks to a couple of great analytics tools, and have learned a few things about what the Taking Off Travel Blog readers like.

It Never Hurts To Rant

You might think that when blogging for an organization you would need to keep things meek and mild to avoid offending anyone. But here on TOTB, it’s clear that readers appreciate it when you take a position on an issue of interest. My evidence: Three Travel Trends That Tick Me Off, a post I wrote when I was feeling particularly annoyed about one travel experience.

Keep It Topical

If you can manage to keep your travel blog topical - sometimes a challenge when you update twice a week - then more people will be interested in what you say. My evidence: Would You Work For Free To Save Your Company?, a post on one of British Airways’ schemes to stop money from sliding down the drain. Didn’t quite work, did it? Read more »

Ah - the glory days of travel: excitement, romance and luxury. The first time I stepped onto a plane, the experience was alluring. Seating felt roomy (I was young), there was food on little trays, and the cabin crew visibly loved their jobs - or put on a good show of doing so. Not any more. Here are three (plus one) things that take the shine off air travel.

Mealtime Woes

On most flights these days, you don’t get a meal unless you are flying long haul. Perhaps that’s good for our waistlines in a more health conscious era, but there are some flights where you could do with a bit of sustenance. I’ve spent a lot of time on AA flights this year. Sure there are food choices available, but the range of sandwiches, cheese and crackers, chips and cookies available is not exactly inspiring. As a semi-vegetarian, I’d love to have more choice on board. Since it’s not there, I have to prowl the airport looking for something decent or starve. Let’s not talk about the prices - this is a money spinner, pure and simple, and it increases the feeling that you’ve been had. Read more »