Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, was the center of the famous battle sharing its name, The Battle of Gettysburg. The battle fought from July 1st - 3rd, 1863 had the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War. A quiet, peaceful town today, it is full of historical places to visit. Here are some pictures taken in late November with the holiday decorations.
Standing anywhere close to the Ground Zero waterfalls, you can hear the massive amount of water cascading 30 feet down from street level…
This picture of the 9/11 Memorial and Museum was taken across the street from Ground Zero in New York City. It shows the progress of a very…
Ground Zero in New York City has changed noticably since my visit in 2010, and even more so since 2008. Here are some pictures of the surrounding area and buildings that are being built, taken at the end of November.
Located on the first floor of the West Street Building at 90 West Street, the 9/11 Memorial Visitor Center provides an overview of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center.
"Harley-Davidson Firefighter Special Edition Ultra Classic Electra Glide Motorcycle. Firefighter Ed Martin from Vancouver, Washington, purchased a Harley-Davidson special edition motorcycle and transformed it into a tribute bike. Pictured on this motorcycle are his own portrait and that of New York City firefighter and 9/11 responder, Joe Torillo."
Last September, the 9/11 Memorial in New York City opened to the public. A limited number of free timed-entry tickets are given out at the 9/11 Memorial Preview Site each day. While the museum is still under construction, visiting the memorial is worth it. When day turns into night, the memorial’s appearance changes into a breathtaking reminder of the tragedy words cannot describe. Here are pictures of the memorial taken at the end of last November.
This picture of the Atlas V 541 rocket with the Mars Curiosity Rover inside was taken at Launch Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force…
Launch Complex 34, another stop on the Mars Curiosity NASA Tweetup tour, was a somber reminder of the risks of space travel. On Friday, January 27th, 1967 at 1832, a cabin fire during a launch pad test of Apollo 1 killed all three crew members: Command Pilot Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Senior Pilot Edward H. White, and Pilot Roger B. Chaffee.
Apollo 7 was launched from here on October 11, 1968. LC-34 was decommissioned and the umbilical tower and service structure razed leaving only the launch platform.
Today was the first day airlines and travel agents had to include government taxes and fees into the advertised price of air travel. There is a mixed reaction about this change, from customers to actual airlines.
Before this change, airlines would display the base price and you wouldn’t really get to see the final price until you were ready to buy. For a multi-segment flight, trying to figure out what these taxes really were was a bit of a challenge. International travel would result in a pretty hefty cost being tacked on! Now the consumer can, without much effort, truly pick the lowest price, with taxes and fees included. A lazy consumer’s delight!
Sure, some people are against the taxes being hidden in the pricing. Just like gasoline, some will pick the lowest price and just pay it. They won’t take the time to understand who takes what part of the price they pay. This may allow taxes to increase silently and airlines incorrectly blamed for charging more when they aren’t. Does that really matter? Not really. There is an added cost to a lot of things we buy. Airline tickets, gasoline, and electronics (waste disposal fees) are just a few. Sometimes these are broken down for the consumer, and sometimes they aren’t.
