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The mountain offers a number of trails. You can start at the base of the mountain and walk up to the top, which has an elevation of 1,282 feet. Or you can drive up to about the 900 foot level of the mountain, park your car and walk up to the top from there.

Today, the snow acted more like sand at the beach, creating some resistance, which made for a great workout hiking and climbing around the mountain. You did have to be careful of your footing in some places as there are some steep and rocky parts to some of the trails.

There a lot of people out on the trails, some with children, other with their dogs. Dogs are permitted, but they must be on a leash at all times.

Sugarloaf Mountain is not a public park . The grounds are private property and the property closes at sunset. Upon entering the park, the owners post the actual time they will close things down, so it is best to take note of the time if you are going there late in the day.

If you are looking for good trails to hike but don’t want to venture far from DC, Sugarloaf Mountain is a great place to go.

Image: Copyright – Air France

Air France plans to deploy the aircraft this fall on the daily Paris Charles de Gaulle-New York City JFK route.  The aircraft can accommodate 538 passengers with the following mix of layouts: 80 business class seats  and 106 economy class seats on the upper deck and 343 economy seats on the lower deck.

Air France a 12 Airbus A380′s on order with aircraft scheduled for delivery in 2009 and in to 2010.

Source: Video Courtesy of KOMO News in Seattle.

Taxi tests were conducted on N787BA.  Video does not have any sound.

6 July 2009

Ryanair has been a leader in the low cost carriers (lcc’s) in terms of being will to challenge how things are done.  Ryanair is already schedule to get rid of manned luggage check-in counters, making the passenger do their own luggage check-in.  Ryanair was one of the first carriers to introduce luggage check-in and now they are looking to change aircraft seating.

Now, if this idea of essentially a stool like seat is approved from the aviation authorities, aircraft passenger capacity could increase by about 30% according to the Daily Mail article.  My guess is that there would be no tray table, no means to conduct any work during the course of the flight and probably no cup hold or means to store anything under the seat in front of you.  To me, this is a stone throw away from how slaves were transported back in the 1700′s and guess what, we get to pay for the privilege.

With Ryanair’s model, you are paying to essentially be uncomfortable and crammed in to an airline.  You get to pay for the privilege to have luggage on board.  I am still waiting to see if Ryanair is going to start charing for use of the toilet in-flight.  But if you want a discount fair and are willing to go with what Ryanair has to offer…. more power to you.  As for me, I will pass.

Reference: Smith, Graham, “Ryanair to make passengers to STAND UP during flights,” The Daily Mail (London), 6 July 2009.

6 July 2009

According to the Tribune article, United’s financial future will come in to question around Winter 2010 as the airline will need to raise it’s cash reserves to meet creditors unrestricted cash requirements.  The article goes on to mention that one of the few breaks the airline has had go its way is the hedges the airline has had in place for 2009.  But in my opinion, unless we see an a recovery in the economy where we see businesses booking flights and people have the confidence with their job where they feel that they can book a vacation, United looks to have some turbulance on the horizion.  I do not see a Government bail out in the forecast and I am not sure that the Government will stomach a merger either.

If United does survive, I would expect to see a their frequent flier program heavily paired down.  I would also expect to see more fees at check-in and for services during the flight.  I just hope United does not go the route of Ryanair where we go from having proper seats to stools so that they can cram more passengers on board.  Time will tell if United survives and in what form.

Reference: Johnnson, Julie, “Cash squeeze may put United Airlines in a bind,” The Chicago Tribune, 5 July 2009

6 July 2009

In the 80′s, it was the tape player Sony Walkman with which one would travel with.  They were bulky and tapes, well, they don’t pack very well.  Oh, and let’s not forget about the time it took to make a mixed tape back in those days.  Most Walkmans would play about 4 to 6 hours on new batteries.  But that was pretty much as long as you never fast forwarded or reversed the tape.

Then in the 90′s we go the Sony DiscMan.  Better than a Walkman, but just as bulky.  CD, while thinner, didn’t travel as well as the jewl cases, I found, constantly cracked.

But, these day’s, the iPod packs more than any other portable entertainment technology.  The newer versions allow you to store video and games.  It has become part of my travel routine to purchase new songs and video content for my iPod just for a trip. Even better is thea ability to rent videos to view on your iPod.  This is a terrific advance as many airplanes that fly transcontinental in the US do not have night light entertainment systems.  Another plus is that if you are stuck at the airport, your  iPod can fill in the gaps.

On all my trips, I have had my iPod playing, providing my own background music.  When ever a listen to certain songs after a trip, they take me back in time and my mind replays what I was experiencing at the time.  Often, the song lists I put together for a trip, give a trip a certain pace, especially if I know that I am going to be traveling on any high speed trains, I tend to put appropriatly paces songs on for such adventures.

The battery life is great on iPods, at least for the first 6 months.  For a heavy user like me, I have noticed a nose dive in battery life after about 6 to 9 months.  This was more significant with the 2nd and 3rd generation iPods.  To help prolong battery life, I purchased a rechargable external battery supply that helps provide an additional 10 hours of battery life.  This comes in really handy on long flighs.

Honestly, I can’t imaging traveling with out my iPods and it lessens the feeling of being alone on trips when traveling alone.

5 July 2009

Heathrow Express runs trains every 15 minutes during peak time periods.  Service is available from LHR Terminals 5 and a master station for Terminal 1, 2 & 3.  A free shuttle service is available from Terminals 1, 2, & 3 to Terminal 4.

Heathrow Express service from Central London is from Paddington Station, which is linked with the London Underground by the District, Circle, Bakerloo and Hammershith & City lines.  If you are using the District and Circle Line service to reach Paddingonton, be ready to lug you luggage up and down some stairs.

So, whether you are traveling to London for a vacation or for business, I would highly recommend that you use Heathrow Express to travel between Central London and Heathrow International Airport.

You can purchase your tickets in advance online at : https://www.heathrowexpress.com/

To see what is currently on thier menu, check out Pret A Manger’s web site at http://www.pret.com/our_food/

To find a Pret A Manger, you can search by postal code, by street or by place via Prat A Manger’s web site at http://www.pret.com/find_a_pret/

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.