From the monthly archives:

April 2010

Never A Dull Moment: These 3 Unique Events Will Give You Lots Of Tales To Tell

by Alan Rider
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Even if this is your first visit to XTRORD.com, it won’t take long for you to figure out that this isn’t your typical “travel” website. No stale tales of traditional vacation destinations or generic activities like cruising. No “hot tips” about new low airfares to Europe or last-minute discounts to some mega-resort in the Caribbean. Mainly because that stuff bores me to tears.
Instead, you’ll find these pages filled with reports of truly extraordinary experiences you never knew existed. The kind of once-in-a-lifetime adventures that will give you great stories to tell for years to come.
Which brings me to a handful of upcoming events that seem [...]

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The BIG Picture: Website Offers Easy Way To Create 360-Degree Scrollable Panoramic Photos

by Alan Rider
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As someone who’s had more than his fair share of truly extraordinary experiences, I can tell you virtually all of them share one recurring problem. Namely that they’re filled with amazing moments that typical digital photos just can’t do justice.
Which is why I found myself intrigued by the free browser-based digital photo app just introduced by the folks at Dermandar.com. While it’s still a work in progress, the website makes it ridiculously easy for even the least tech-savvy traveler to create surprisingly high-quality, full-screen scrollable panoramic images without the need for special cameras, tripods, or software.
Just shoot a series of pics with any digital camera—even the one in [...]

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Adventures In Aviation: Zeppelin Flights

by Alan Rider
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In a world where many people have come to view flying as an ordeal to be endured, there are still lots of us for whom the act of leaving terra firma behind remains an adventure to be savored. If you’re one of us, you owe it to yourself to book a seat on the first zeppelin to take to the skies above the U.S. in more than 70 years.
The company responsible for the zeppelin’s return to America, Airship Ventures, offers one- and two-hour flight-seeing tours around San Francisco Bay in the 246-foot helium-filled Eureka, as well as occasional cross-country flights as they reposition the zeppelin for tours in [...]

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Pony Express Redux: How You Can Saddle Up To Ride Horseback In The Hoofprints Of History

by Alan Rider
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Hoof-beats ring out in the night as the trail-hardened Pony Express rider approaches the lonely Nevada waystation. In one fluid movement he leaps off his tired mount, grabs the mail pouch stuffed with urgent letters from points east, vaults aboard his fresh horse and is off again at a gallop before the cloud of dust he’s stirred up even has a chance to settle.
In the 150 years since the first horse and rider left St. Joseph, Missouri on April 3, 1860, the Central Overland & Pike’s Peak Express Company—better known as the Pony Express—has become an undeniable legend of the Old West. What few people realize, however, is [...]

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Cool Camps (Part 2): Why Let Kids Have All The Fun?

by Alan Rider
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If you read Part 1 of this series, which featured seven way-cool summer camps for kids, you may have come away wishing there were a way us grown-ups could get in on the fun. At least I know I did.

Which lead me to put together this list of adult-only “camps” that’ll give the tweens and teens in your life just as many reasons to be jealous:
Hollywood TV Star Fantasy Camp
Get ready for your close-up as you play your part in this “made-for-TV” crime drama.
Tritone Jazz Fantasy Camp
Five days of jamming in laid back settings ranging from small combos to big bands.
Camp Winnarainbow
Run away to join the [...]

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