If like me you dream of a trip to the Arctic or Antarctic, check out this excellent photo travelogue.

… 5 weeks of adventures on board the “Marion Dufresne“, …

Located at the extreme south of the Indian Ocean, about equidistant between Africa, Antarctica, and Australia, we will visit the archipelagoes of Crozet and Kerguelen, as well as the islands Saint Paul and Amsterdam, which are only accessible by sea.

Every 3 months, the Marion Dufresne is the unique ship which supplies these remote islands, and ensures the rotation of the personnel of the scientific bases.

The very majestic albatross, the gigantic sea elephant, the playing otaries and the immense colonies of king penguins will be part of this travelog … one of the most remote location on earth.

Travelog of my trip to the French Southern and Antarctic Lands

Thanks George.

After 10-years without a vehicle, I suddenly had the urge today to get wheels.

Seems an old, cheap, easy-to-repair VW camper van would be ideal.

Anne is checking on insurance prices.

Former truck driver Barry Stiefel of San Francisco, California had a week’s vacation time at his office job and decided he wanted to use that week to visit all 50 states, Alaska and Hawaii too.

… Total cost for the trip, plane tickets to Alaska and Hawaii included: “about $2,750, or about $55 per state.”

Visit 50 States on a Week’s Vacation – Gadling

Brian picked … eight wonders:

1. Pyramids
2. Petra
3. Taj Mahal
4. Machu Picchu
5. Great Wall
6. Stonehenge
7. Acropolis
8. Angkor Wat

My own choices:

1. Angkor Wat
2. Machu Picchu
3. Pyramids
4. Petra
5. Great Wall
6. Taj Mahal
7. Easter Island Statues

I’ve visited all except for Easter Island.

Vote for yourself.

First in New Zealand, later on some high ropes courses, I’ve been terrified by the adult versions of the old children’s swing.

Here’s a run-down of the three biggest:

Essentially, you strap into a chest harness and step off a gorge. Initially, you plummet straight down for 160 feet, but then the ropes catch a line that spans the gorge. Immediately, the rope becomes taught and catches you, allowing you to you swing back and forth, like a pendulum. Nothing in my experience has ever shifted from terror to joy so quickly. I had always thought the Zambezi Gorge Swing was the world’s highest swing, but it’s not. I think it’s the third highest.

World’s Highest Swings – Gadling

Zambezi Gorge Swing – photos