Americans arrested: Five Americans have been arrested recently in Turks and Caicos in separate incidents because they’ve left firearm ammunition in their luggage, purportedly by accident. The sentence for such an offense can be as much as 12 years. One of the American tourists said he did check his luggage before leaving, but come on! Clearly, you have to check it better than that.
New Amtrak service: There is now train service between St. Paul, Minnesota and Chicago with stops in Milwaukee and Winona. Here’s to more train service throughout the U.S.!
Georgia’s first national park?: Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park near Macon might just become the state’s first national park. It’s a prehistoric site with a 17,000-year history. There are seven giant mounds in the park, and many artifacts have been found. As confusing as it may seem, its current “national historical park” status doesn’t provide as many protections as “national park” status. I’m rooting for this fascinating place and hope to visit it one day!
Lawsuit over an airport name change: What once was the Metropolitan Oakland International Airport is now the San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport. But the city of San Francisco is suing over this, saying the new name violates San Francisco’s trademark rights and confuses people. The three-letter code name for the airport remains the same, but I have to admit it does sound like a recipe for confusion.
Did you know Paris had the original High Line?: New York City’s High Line, the elevated park created on what was once a rail line, was modeled after a similar park in Paris. Even though I’ve been to Paris many times, I was today years old when I learned of this. Paris’s park is called Promenade Plantée and has been around since the late 1980s. It runs between Opéra Bastille and Bois de Vincennes on what was once the Vincennes train line. I will check this out the next time I’m in the city of light and love.
Paris Metro pass on Apple Wallet: You can now add a Navigo pass, a refillable card that provides access to the Paris Metro, to your Apple Wallet. Nice and convenient!
Better meals on Alaska Airlines?: The airline is now offering at least one hot meal option in economy on flights that are more than 1,100 miles (except for redeyes). These meals are only available for pre-order and cost $8-$11.50.
California’s Highway 1 to Big Sur reopens: After a rockslide in March damaged the highway, the scenic road has been reopened. Not all of it has been fully repaired, but a temporary signal system now prevents traffic on the damaged portion.
Deadly turbulence: On May 20, a Singapore Airlines flight from London to Singapore experienced severe turbulence that caused it to drop from 37,000 to 31,000 feet in a matter of minutes. This resulted in the death of one passenger and injured 30 more. The man who died is believed to have succumbed to a heart attack rather than an injury, but it’s quite scary, of course. The aircraft was a Boeing 777-300ER, so a large plane. And the incident happened over Myanmar, causing the flight to be diverted to Bangkok.
Melanie Votaw is the Publisher and Executive Travel Writer of LuxuryWeb Magazine. She has visited more than 50 countries on 6 continents and written for such magazines as Executive Travel, Just Luxe, Business Insider, South China Morning Post, Travel Mindset, and more. She is a member of the International Food, Wine & Travel Writers Association, New York Travel Writers Association, and International Travel Writers Alliance. Melanie's photography has won awards, and she has also written 43 nonfiction books as either the author or ghostwriter.
When I heard of the so-called forgotten ammunition, all I could do is shake my head. C’mon. How do you forget that you have ammunition in your luggage?
And ditto about Paris! I didn’t know wither.