Via a link from The Window Seat, a comprehensive USA Today article that would be interesting for any other travelmongers out there who are concerned with the future of travel and how the two U.S. presidential candidates differ on the issues:

USA TODAY online, October 28, 2008: Evaluating McCain and Obama on travel issues

The intro:

The pollsters say there are still quite a few undecided voters out there, so if two wars and an economic crisis aren’t enough to sway your opinion, maybe it’s time to evaluate both candidates’ views on travel and aviation.

It’s easy to argue that how a president addresses the nation’s economic woes directly affects the travel industry. As do a host of other campaign topics—national security, energy, global warming, employment, taxation and dozens more. But what follows is a rundown of specific travel and aviation issues, with the stated positions and track records of both Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama.

Being a bit of a rail fan, it’s interesting to note that VP candidate Joe Biden (who was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania) is an outspoken supporter of Amtrak. I’d love to see train travel become a more viable transportation option in all of North America, the way it is in Europe. Canada doesn’t have the population density across the country to compete with air travel for the same routes, but the U.S. does.

As with any large city, New York has different sides and I like to explore them all. From the gritty urban landscape to the oases of green spaces to the tight-knit communities and neighbourhoods, I think of large cities in the developed world as having more in common than those cities compared with the small towns within the same political border. For example, the city of Quesnel, BC (pop. 10,000) has more in common with the small towns of Australia than it does with Vancouver, 7.5 hours to the south. Unlike in Quesnel, people in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, and Calgary are accustomed to seeing homeless people, paying for parking, and expecting to never see again the umbrella left behind in a coffee shop two days before. Such are the urban realities.

In terms of size, New York City, comprised of five boroughs, has 8.3 million people compared to 5.55 million in the Greater Toronto Area, comprised of six former municipalities. Both are the most populated cities in the country. In the USA and Canada, this is as urban as it gets.

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As seen in the Upper Eastside, New York City.

More doggie photos from NYC:

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I had such a great time in White Plains last Saturday night/Sunday morning that I thought it deserved a mention before I get too absorbed in my editing projects again. I’ve driven upstate from New York City through Westchester County on a number of occasions using different routes, and each time I thought to myself that I’d like to actually stop to explore the region along the Hudson and also along the eastern shore and not just barrel through it like I usually do. But in the last couple of years I’ve been working office hours and the weekend road trips never seem to leave much time for stopping — I’m usually on a flying mission of some kind.

The brilliant weather forecast last weekend was what convinced me to take one last trip to Rhinebeck before the end of the flying season this weekend. I could’ve gone this weekend, but I had a feeling the weather might worsen if I waited one more week. Like anything dependent on weather, picking a flying time is a gamble.

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While Birds was hunched over a computer monitor at home working (Columbus Day isn’t a statutory holiday in the USA), Fleecie and I spent some time around Central Park yesterday and stalked animals and butterflies from the human side of the fencing. The sky was a bit overcast, but the temperature was just right for strolling around the Reservoir and pointing the camera at spots of autumn colour.

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It wasn’t my original plan, but I left Toronto in the middle of the night on Friday and arrived later than expected in New York City Saturday morning, pushing everything forward including brunch. Then it took me an eternity to get out of New York City, I got caught in gridlock on the I-87 going north, and seriously didn’t think I would make it to Rhinebeck before they closed up everything.

I very nearly turned around to go back to New York City, because Rhinebeck is a four-hour round trip journey — all for naught if I couldn’t fly. I sat in traffic still more than an hour away, trying to decide whether to return or push on.

But I decided to keep going, crossed the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge and with great relief saw the biplane in the sky… I knew I still had a chance to make it.

The good people at Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome got me a seat (in the back, just where I like to sit), I put my gear on, and entered a whole new world above the treetops — a glorious world of wings, wires, whistling wind.

Nothing makes my spirit soar like flying.

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(my license plate before I registered my car in Ontario)

I’m hitting the road again this weekend, which is detailed in the Where section of this website for everyone with the relevant password. I was supposed to leave in the morning, but due to some mechanical problems in another vehicle I’m going to take some passengers with me and leave late tonight.

Of course, the felines will be looked after by a capable guardian, whose info can also be found in the ‘Where’ section.

Blogging will be by mobile phone.

Safe travels to anyone else also on a journey this weekend. Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!

NEWS FLASH: Air Canada Removes Second-Checked Bag Fee
By: Genevieve Brown of Travelocity’s travel blog, The Window Seat
September 18, 2008

Oh Canada! Yay for your national airline! Air Canada announced today they would remove the second-checked bag fee of $25.

Read the whole article here.

Air Canada has also removed the fuel surcharge by factoring all fuel into the listed fare price, and I just got a broadcast email from WestJet saying they’ve done the same. However, Air Canada also announced last month that they are reducing fall and winter capacities and routes, so depending on where you live or where you plan to fly, the reduction in available air travel options may affect you more than these current announcements.

What’s a county fair without cotton candy and ice cream?*

My LANDS, I have an electronic mound of terrific photos from the weekend but — at the risk of sounding boringly repetitive — there is little time for the workflow process to get them online. So I leave you with two of my favourites, featuring my favourite upstate New York munchkins, the super-cute kidlets of Toyfoto. Read her entry here.

And I must point you to several photos she took [1 2 3] which I absolutely adore: me reading a book called “Tub-Boo-Boo” that requires a solid pair of lungs and a BFA in Theatre. You don’t read this book, you perform it!

* A rhetorical question, because the answer would be really sad.

And Pennsylvania, too — thanks, Helma! (And Kitti!)

View Larger On Black

As you can see, the coin toss (in my mind, anyway) on Saturday was in favour of flying over little Rhinebeck rather than spectating the big airshow over Toronto.

This photo shows why I drive 7 hours or more in one stretch on a weekend — to fly in one of these. For those who prefer to stay on the ground, the only experience I can compare it to is riding on a vintage motorcycle along a country road… if you’re into that sort of thing.

Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome
Dutchess Country, NY

My route:

You know, if I ever want a completely different job — away from a computer — I’d make a pretty good long-haul truck driver. I started for home at 7:30pm, drove 700 kms (435 miles) and arrived about 1:40am after two brief stops for fuel and the washroom. That’s around six hours of driving, for an average speed of 72.5 miles per hour (including the stop times) along mostly freeway. I drove a total of 1,458 kms or 906 miles, which is actually below my average for a weekend road trip (avg 1,000+ miles).