Rainbows are the stuff of childhood drawings and goopy romance. They're everywhere and they're corny. The thing is, they're also pretty awesome. They pop up in unexpected places and can't help but delight most viewers. This image of a rainbow in the Haute-Savoie region of France, snapped by Moody75, allows its multicolored arc to reign supreme over a vast and apparently well-tended string of countryside hamlets. France's alpine department of Haute-Savoie is no stranger to dramatic scenery. It shares Mont Blanc with the Italian region of Aosta.

Got an image of a rainbow lying around? Or perhaps another figment of childhood fantasy with adult appeal? Add it to the Gadling Flickr pool. If we fall in love with it we just might feature it as a Photo of the Day.

Suit up, strap in, and get ready for this week's Travel Talk! We're going white water rafting down California's mighty Tuolumne River on an action packed 2-day adventure. We'll show you what it takes to navigate Class IV+ rapids and teach you all of the vocabulary that you'll need in order to stay dry.

In this episode's couch talk, we'll delve into a little bit of the history behind America's National Park System; what the first established park was, what the most frequently visited park is, and what terms the NPS uses to classify our many protected lands.

Think you're ready? Click the link below to watch.

She was very blond and very thin--probably pushing fifty but still sexy in a silver, sleeveless, summer dress that cut off mid-thigh. I had met her back in the line at Managua when they first announced that our flight was delayed . . . for six hours. We groaned in harmony and commiserated: I just wanted to sleep in my own bed that night--she had to make a meeting in Detroit.

He was maybe twenty-five: scruffy from a week of not shaving and deeply tanned from the August sun. His black-brown surfer hair was pushed behind his ears and his board shorts hung low, showing an inch-wide band of boxer briefs. He piped in his own frustrations with a vague accent--half-Latino, I guessed. We were three strangers trapped in a Latin American airport, consoling one another with testimonials of just how much the airline sucked.

Armed with ten-dollar food vouchers, we hunted lunch in a Managua food court. I got mine to go but the two of them found a table and offered to watch one another's bags. Isn't it funny how only after a bit of conversation we'll gladly entrust our stuff with a person who only minutes ago was a perfect stranger?

We eventually made it onto the plane, then sat on the runway for another hour before taking off. At the ding of the seat belt sign, that blonde woman was up again, hovering down the aisle and leaning over his seat, spilling her neckline wide open and flashing her white teeth inside a moving frame of soft pink lipstick. Every ninety seconds or so, she tossed back a burst of long and shiny hair before letting loose with laughter that was as much lighthearted as it was rehearsed. The surfer guy mumbled back his approval, like a hunkier version of Charlie Brown's unseen teacher.

There once was a man from Nantucket, whose dreams were a list for the bucket. He saved and he saved and plans he made, until it came time to toss his budget. How much did he save? $25,900. Where did he go? He left Nantucket... and headed straight down the Atlantic to Little Palm Island.

The little island that could just off the coast of the Florida Keys put together a "Carpe Diem" getaway that recognizes the empowerment of bucket lists, and offers travelers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that includes:

• Five nights in the Island Grand Suite
• Roundtrip private jet service to Marathon airport
• Sky Diving trip where guests will make a tandem skydive from two miles high over the incredible Florida Keys
• Four-hour Shark Fishing adventure where guests will primarily target lemon, blacktip, spinner and bull sharks of up to eight feet.
• In-water Madrugada massage where guests wade through the Caribbean waters to a private area where they receive a customized massage surrounded by the ocean.
• Private Island picnic where guests will be flown on a Cessna 206 Amphibious Seaplane to a private island for the ultimate three hour getaway.
• One Day SCUBA Resort Course where guests will experience a two-hour pool-side lesson with a certified SCUBA instructor followed by an underwater exploration of Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary with the instructor guiding the way.
• Private Chef's Table dinner where Chef Luis Pous attends personally to the couple, preparing and presenting a five-course tasting menu paired with the chef's selection of wine
• Full gourmet breakfast, up to three courses for lunch, up to four courses for dinner and non alcoholic beverages daily.

This "Carpe Diem" package is priced starting at $25,900, double occupancy, from now until December 20, 2010 and is inclusive of tax and service.

Want more? Get your daily dose of pampering right here.

A reader asked an interesting question on our Facebook page - what does the TSA do with all our knives, tools and corkscrews after they confiscate them at the checkpoint? We did a bit of homework and found out that the final destination is different for each state.

In Illinois for example, the TSA delivers all their loot to the state surplus facility, where it is put it up for sale on their auction site. Think Ebay, but with bigger stuff and fewer silly fees for sellers. Small items like knives, kitchenware and tools are sold in bulk, which means you can't go online to buy a single Swiss Army Knife - you need to settle for 90lbs of them, or 80lbs of assorted corkscrews.

In some other states with lower amounts of confiscated items, the knives are destroyed. In all states, guns are given to local police agencies.

So, unless you want your $100 Swiss Army Knife to end up at the bottom of a bulk lot of knives being sold for $50, leave it at home or keep it in your checked luggage.

Remember, the TSA checkpoint does not provide mailing envelopes for sending items home, so once they find a restricted item, you'll need to surrender it or leave the checkpoint and find a way to get it sent home. Also, if you show up with an illegal item, you will lose it and will most likely need to answer to an airport police officer.

Gallery: TSA Confiscated items from the security checkpoint

Two St. Petersburg, FL men were arrested last night when hotel security guards at the Renaissance Vinoy hotel watched them enter the grounds and "befoul the pool with feces."

When local police officers arrived on scene, the two were enjoying the hot tub, clearly relaxing after their hard work of messing up the pool experience for the paying hotel guests.

The two men, Michael Cline, 19 and Andrew Harris, 18 deny the charges, but I'm sure the hotel security tapes will be a quick way to determine their guilt or innocence.

The two face charges of commercial burglary and remain in jail in lieu of a $10,000 bail. The men face the upgraded charges because of the cost of cleaning the pool.

Update: the hotel has issued the following statement:

The pool at the Renaissance Vinoy Resort & Golf Club is open.

In response to the incident that took place the evening of August 18, the pool was temporarily closed. We immediately put the hotel's intensive chlorine shock treatment into place, an existing procedure and protocol to thoroughly clean the pool after being contaminated. This is in compliance with the Pinellas County regulations.

The health and safety of our guests are our top priorities. While the pool was closed, guests were provided with complimentary transportation to our private pool at the Vinoy Golf Club or the nearby North Shore Community Pool. To thank guests for their patience, we also provided a complimentary beverage.

When Kathy Parker headed through TSA at Philadelphia International Airport for a regular business trip to North Carolina, she had no idea about the ordeal she was in for.

After being selected for a more in-depth search on one of the tables -- out in the open where everyone can see -- they went through her stuff, including her more personal items like receipts and diet pills (and they asked if they worked), and she was subjected to questions about the checks in her purse (they were made out to her husband). Basically, it seems that the TSA agents suspected she was in a "divorce situation," reports Philly.com, and thought she was emptying her husband's bank account.

Wait, the same TSA people who never notice my tube of toothpaste?

We certainly spend plenty of time irritated by the TSA's lack of common sense and/or courtesy, but at what point do they truly cross the line? Is this kind of investigating any of their business?

TSA spokeswoman Ann Davis said, ""If the search is complete, and shows individuals not to be a threat to the aircraft or fellow passengers, they are free to go." Wait, what? I think embezzlement and or possibly stealing from your husband (which she wasn't) falls pretty far outside those parameters. Davis says she was "probably" held because her "behavior escalated." If you were holding me hostage and reading my receipts, you can bet my "behavior" would "escalate," too.

Vic Walczak, legal director of the Pennsylvania ACLU, is on Parker's side, thank goodness, calling the incident "'preposterous' and a violation of the Fourth Amendment, which protects people from unreasonable searches."

The TSA is not the FBI, and in this blogger's opinion, the agents in question should be disciplined. This is a case of bullying and abuse of power, and at the very least a case of bored workers acting recklessly with someone else's well-being in their hands. What do you think?


[via Philly.com]

[Photo by Mobile Edge Laptop Cases]

It's going to get a little crazy in Chicago, at least as far as the Hilton is concerned. According to Chicago Breaking News service, Hilton Hotels workers in Chicago voted Thursday night in favor of a strike at the Chicago Hilton, Hilton O'Hare, the Palmer House Hilton and the Drake, a downtown Chicago hotel legend.

The unions - Unite Here Local 1 and Local 450 - told the Chicago news service that 96 percent of its members voted in favor of a strike. If this strike takes place, this would make the third group of hotel workers in nine months to rally against 'unfair' contract negotiations between Chicago hotels and the union.

Union contracts covering 6,500 workers at 31 hotels in downtown Chicago expired Aug. 31.

It's been a long week, take a few minutes to enjoy some cuteness. Sloths may not typically come to mind as a cute animal, but I'm sure after you watch this video, you'll come around. I first saw a sloth at the New York Times Travel Show (part of a Busch Gardens exhibition) and immediately fell in love with their cuddly, sleepy, smiley oddness. This video was taken at the Aviarios Del Caribe sloth sanctuary in Costa Rica, home to over 100 sloths and managed by sloth "whisperer" Judy Arroyo, who probably never complains about a long day at the office.

Visit the sloths up close in Costa Rica near San Jose; the $25 tour includes a canoe ride through the Estrella River Delta and optional jungle walks. There's even a hotel on site if you want to sleep with the sloths (you'd think with all the sleeping sloths do, there'd be a pillow menu)! If you want to help support the sloth cause further, there's an adoption and volunteer program.

Need more animals to get you through Friday? Enjoy Lonely Planet editor and Gadling favorite Robert Reid's take on animals who travel; I'll nominate the sloth for "slow travel."

Whether you like jazz or opera, historic sites or popular entertainment, the visual arts or dance, there's something to satisfy every taste in St. Louis, Missouri. Centrally located, yet exotic in its quirkiness, this city on the Mississippi occupies a unique spot in our nation's history as the Gateway to the West. The graciousness of the south meets the hustle-bustle of the north in "the Lou." It's a family-friendly town where kids and adults never run out of places to go and things to do.

Here are ten things to do in St. Louis that will make you feel like a local.

Walk through the belly of a whale in the City Museum.
Housed in the 600,000 square-foot former International Shoe Company (701 North 15th Street), the City Museum defies categorization. Dress comfortably in closed toe shoes so you can climb, slide, and explore.

Built with such recycled materials as a shoe factory's conveyor belt, this stunning feast-for-the-eyes includes a museum-within-a-museum of architectural wonders, an art area where you can try your hand at being creative, and hands on circus entertainment. Need a pedicure? Visit the World Aquarium on the second floor and let the doctor fish (Garra rufa) nibble away your dead skin.


Eat "concrete."
Under the green and yellow awning at Ted Drewes (two locations: 4224 S. Grand Blvd. or 6726 Chippewa St.) you'll discover a "concrete," a milkshake so thick you can turn it upside down. It's the granddaddy of thick, frozen desserts. Don't panic if you arrive to find a policeman directing the traffic overflow; the lines move quickly. Try the hometown favorite Terramizzou, a blend of frozen custard, chocolate, and pistachio nuts. ("Mizzou" is a nickname for University of Missouri.)