The subject of Jim and Patty Doyles’ late-night photography session was supposed to be May’s lunar eclipse. Because, as the world was told, this wasn’t just the earth casting its shadow on the moon, it was a total eclipse of a blood moon. Well in advance of the start time in Connecticut, where the Doyles live, they were setting up their equipment. “I had the tripod set and was getting the light just right when I saw something flicker,” Mr. Doyle said. On impulse, he clicked the shutter, capturing an airliner, perfectly silhouetted against the moon’s still pale yellow orb.  “As soon as I got… Read More…

And like that, travel is booming again. No one is more surprised than me. During the height of the pandemic, I predicted it would be close to a decade before people felt comfortable packing themselves into crowded planes, trains and cruise ships. But no, with a few notable exceptions like some Asian countries, where Covid-related restrictions are still in place, and the ongoing war in Ukraine, nearly everywhere else around the world travel is rebounding, according to the United Nations World Tourism Agency. The onus is on us then, to be better travelers than we were in the past. This is not so difficult, once… Read More…

Would-be summer travelers to Europe will likely have to keep their plans on hold as the European Union considers a ban on international travelers from the United States, Brazil and Russia. Composed of 27 European countries from Ireland in the west to Romania in the east, the EU was scheduled to re-open its borders to international visitors next week on the first of July. New and seemingly unabated coronavirus infections in the US, Brazil and Russia appear to be prompting EU decision-makers to consider anew the risk of importing infections into Europe.  In a sign of how much has changed over the past few months,… Read More…

To the delight of many, the White Storks have returned to Puerto de la Santa Maria and few are happier about it than Francisco Prainz. I saw the birds and met the man who is documenting their annual fair weather residence here while riding my bike on a sunny afternoon. A dozen of the storks were clucking loudly and stomping around their enormous nests atop the city’s 15th Century Priory Church and I joined several others who were gawking at them. White Storks, I have learned, have quite a big fan base according to the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology. “In Europe it brings newborns, in Mesopotamia it… Read More…

Note to readers: Many photos and all the videos in this post graciously provided by aviation vlogger and pilot Pedro Saldarriaga. Follow him on YouTube. It was a quick trip to Florida to take care of some business. I would be there and gone in just 24-hours so all I really needed was a clean, inexpensive room. But as my cursor hovered over the selections on the Airbnb website, how could I say no to the Man Cave, located, the listing said, “in my airplane hangar.” Click, and it was mine for the night. Like every other internet-age disruptor, Airbnb has its downsides, but where… Read More…

Breitling, the Swiss watch company that has taken heat for using scantily-clad women in advertisements and store displays, announced over the weekend that the practice will end. The company’s new chief executive, Georges Kern, told the German newspaper SonntagsZeitung that those themes are “no longer suitable and do not reflect values of today’s society.” Kern, whose college degree was in political science, knows the direction the wind is blowing. It was just one year ago at a Breitling store party in Manhattan that the company arranged for models to be in attendance, posing as pilots in caps, epaulets and stiletto heels but notably missing their pants. The year before, astronauts Mark and Scott Kelly and… Read More…

Before the Wright Brothers mastered the air they were accomplished bike builders and competitive cyclists. All this was brought to my attention this Spring when on assignment for Air & Space magazine, I traveled for seven days by bike exploring the history of aviation in and around Dayton, the Wright’s hometown. You can read the full story here. Now, little more than a century later, we barely think twice about getting on an airplane on one side of the world and arriving on the other. The same cannot be said about biking in the sky. That is why I have a clear recollection of the… Read More…

There’s something very strange about the news out of Nairobi in which four British men were arrested after taking photos of airplanes at the city’s in-town airport. According to a BBC report, the self-described plane spotters said they had permission to take photos of airplanes at Wilson Airport, but the sight of them with their cameras caused concern among some folk who noticed them, “from the airport bar,” and I’m quoting directly from the BBC report. After the men were picked up, they were taken to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on the far side of the city and incarcerated there for nine days. Stephen Gibson,… Read More…

Pop singer Meghan Trainor’s momma may have told her “not to worry about your size” as she sings in her adorable hit, All About That Bass, but when it comes to your travel suitcase, size and weight definitely do matter. Airline bag fees and tougher security at transportation hubs are the two most obvious reasons to pack light. But there are other incentives. To experience a destination like a local means getting out of the cab and onto the bus, bike or sidewalk and who wants to haul a heavy bag up the steps of the subway or down the cobblestone streets? So if you wanna… Read More…

Its no secret; Australia is a country infested with things that will kill you. Or as humorist and Australiaphile Bill Bryson put it in his brilliant book, In a Sunburned Country, “If you are not stung or pronged to death in some unexpected manner, you may be fatally chomped by sharks or crocodiles,”. Even so, I was not prepared for just how much the residents of Darwin on Australia’s north coast would take pride in that dubious reputation. In a twist on the adage, “What doesn’t kill you makes you strong,” Darwin’s tourist-attracting theme seems to be, “If it can kill you, you can see it here up… Read More…