Starling Travel

I saw this advertisement for Greyhound yesterday and it sounded like traveling on a bus might be better than it used to be.

It reads:

The future of bus travel has arrived. Well ahead of schedule.

Introducing the brand-new, redesigned Greyhound bus. Learn more about the specific amenities our newly redesigned motorcoach has to offer.

New Amenities: Wi-Fi, outlets, legroom, safety and eco-friendly.

Being able to be online while traveling might make riding the bus better than flying or driving it myself, so I thought I would check the prices.

To ride from Salt Lake City to Las Vegas, it would cost me $107 and take me 8 hours (which is three hours longer than driving it myself). For comparison, I checked Expedia to see how much it would cost me to fly from Salt Lake City to Las Vegas and it was $133 and take me only an hour and a half.

Why would anyone take the bus when flying costs only thirty bucks more?

I thought that maybe there would be better savings if I tried comparing a bus ride and flight from Salt Lake City to New York. There IS a better savings ($100 VS. $278), but the difference in travel time is 53 hours VS. 8 hours. Is it worth $178 to save 2 DAYS of travel time? To me, it is, so I wonder how Greyhound stays in business. They can barely compete on pricing and lose EVERY time when they compete on travel time.

The future of bus travel? Sorry, Greyhound. Wi-fi and electrical outlets just can’t compete with saving TWO DAYS of travel time. In fact, the future of bus travel looks a lot like the past…

Ad via: vintage_ads: Greyhound 1948

This is one of my favorite moments in Galveston. After eating at The Spot, I saved my waffle fries and taco salad bowl to feed to the seagulls. Watch as they take the fries right out of my hands.

I love how the seagulls can just hover right next to me, waiting for me to throw the next morsel. When that gull actually took the food right out of my hand, I laughed out loud with joy.

What a beautiful moment!

While we were in Galveston, I took a quick video of the ocean at the seawall.

The seawall was built after the hurricane of 1900. That hurricane devastated the island and is still the deadliest natural disaster to strike the United States. Rather than leave the island uninhabited, they built the seawall and raised Galveston by as much as seventeen feet in some areas. The seawall has protected Galveston ever since.

Last year, when Hurricane Ike hit, the seawall held, but the winds and water snuck in through the bay on the other side of the island and drown the island with eight feet of water. Everywhere we visited, each shop, restaurant and museum had a mark on their wall where the water level was. They all had small photo albums that they pressed into my hands to show the damage. It was like they were proud of what Ike had done to them and they survived it all.

For more information:

• 1900 Galveston hurricane – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• Hurricane Ike – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• Hurricane Ike Slideshow: Galveston Bookshop

Last year, my sister, Stacey, wanted to go to Disneyland for Christmas. After a HORRIBLE flight delayed by a snow storm, we arrived in California the day after Christmas and enjoyed the park all dressed up for the holidays.

Here is a video showing what it’s like:

Considering how much a fan of the Haunted Mansion I am, you might think that I hate what they do to the ride for Christmas, but I loved it. Here of some photos of the Christmas decorations:

What I loved most of all, however, is the parade and fireworks every evening. They had SNOW! I know it sounds crazy that they would be able to produce a gentle snow fall every evening in southern California, but they did. I don’t know what the snow flakes were made of, but they felt just as cool and fluffy as the snow that delayed our flight in Salt Lake City for so long.

When my sister suggested that we fly to Disneyland for Christmas, I thought she was crazy. I just went along for a family trip that we could laugh at and remember. Now, it’s a year later and I’m sad that I will miss Christmas in Disneyland this year.

I was enjoying the prosh sounds of Mod Scene. I imagined that at any moment Michael Caine could walk up to me and ask for a shag. Then this song came on: Air Travel by Chris Farlowe.

It was a song extolling the convenience and joys of air travel. As far as I could tell, it wasn’t being ironic.

Here are the lyrics:

(Chorus)
Air travel (air travel) it’s the thing of the day
Air travel (air travel) it’s doin’ fine
So come on everybody now let’s get on board
We`re gonna take a trip around the world

(Chorus)

Can you imagine it? A time when people ENJOYED flying in an airplane? No strip searches at security. No elbows and shoulders crowding you for hours. I imagine it to look a lot like this:

Ad via: vintage_ads: United Airlines

• Check out http://nzod.com/cafepasqual when you're in New Mexico on your RV road trip /via @wilfernandez #
• Posted my pics from my Osaka/Kyoto trip from this weekend: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cheapyd/sets/72157622953621302/ /via @CheapyD #

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Did you know that Disney had a YouTube channel about their amusement parks and cruises? I had no idea, but I’ve spent the last hour or two enjoying it!

• YouTube – DisneyParks’s Channel

Here are my favorites:

The 40th Anniversary of the Haunted Mansion: I love the Haunted Mansion, so seeing this video with it’s history made me happy today.

A Model Day at the Magic Kingdom: This GORGEOUS tilt-shift video makes Disneyland look like a scale model. Watch it in full screen mode so that you don’t miss a thing. LOVELY!

Barack Obama Joins Hall of Presidents: I had no idea that Disney World had a Hall of Presidents. Just seeing this video makes me want to go to Florida NOW!

Of course, you’ll NEVER see something like this on Disney Park’s YouTube channel. Here is a snippet of Be Our Guest, in which a dancer topples his cart. Keep an eye open on the right side of the screen at the 0:36 mark.

• RT @feliciaday: How to beat jet lag: Don't eat – The Globe and Mail http://bit.ly/4KL2u0 (via @seanbonner) #

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This advertisement for Delta Royal Service Flights seems surreal to me.

It reads:

Extra hands assure extra luxuries on Delta Royal Service Flights.

Not two, but three alert stewardesses assure you of every attention in the brief span of a Delta Royal Service Flight. So linger over your luncheon or dinner with its complimentary champagne and choice of entree (tenderloin steak to order, Rock Cornish hen or seafood on appropriate days). There’s also music by Muzak, fast baggage handling, and beverage service for the discerning passengers who specify these luxurious flights.

I have to admit that every flight I’ve been on has had at least two and usually three flight attendants, but the idea of tenderloin steak served with champagne on an airplane is completely foreign to me. I’ve heard that air travel used to be something one dressed up for, but I’m not old enough to have ever seen it.

Personally, I like my flight the way it is. I don’t want to be fed on an airplane unless they hold me hostage for eight hours on the tarmac. I don’t even want an in-flight movie. What I’d really like is free Internet connectivity and three more inches of personal space. If I have to wear a pink Jackie O suit and pearls to get it, I’d be willing to do it.

Advert via: vintage_ads: Оригинал   (733×1024)

I love these comparisons of travel posters.

• Flavorwire » Vintage Travel Posters vs. Today’s Versions

It’s interesting to see what the old posters looked like compared to how they are advertising travel today.

Via: Vintage travel posters – Found in Mom’s Basement