To mark the 40th anniversary of the state’s “Virginia is for Lovers” marketing campaign, Virginia tourism officials are giving away 40 trips in 40 weeks.

Each has a different theme. And as far as I can tell even the grand prize options don’t include airfare.  But if you live out that way or win a prize and can get over there, it seems like a lot of fun and definitely worth sending in an entry.

For Stuck at the Airport fans, note that the first week’s prize, which will be given away on February 20^th, 2009, has an aviation theme.   Activities center around Dulles International Airport in Chantilly, Va.

The prize package includes two night’s lodging at a Hyatt Place hotel, a ride in a Biplane, and a private tour of the National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, just down the road from Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD).

(The Spirit of St. Louis, the plane Charles Lindbergh flew across the Atlantic in 1927, is one of the aviation treasures on  display at the museum. Courtesy: Smithsonian Institution.)

I’m holding out for Trip #27: it includes a chance to be a judge at the Chincoteague’s annual Oyster Festival – and hopefully lots of oysters.

Enter the Virginia is for Lovers sweepstakes here.

Tags: Airline history, Washington Dulles Interntational Airport, aviation history
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Last week, custom agents, or rather a Customs and Border protection dog, at Washington Dulles International Airport smelled something fishy in the suitcase belonging to a man arriving from Africa.

As reported in the Washington Business Journal and loads of other places, it wasn’t fish inside that suitcase. The man had three dead monkeys, 10 pounds of deer meat and 10 pounds of dried beef in there.

The meat products were seized, but the traveler wasn’t fined. Turns out that he, like other travelers, just didn’t know that you can’t bring any meat products into the U.S. from other countries.

What else won’t pass muster? Fruits, vegetables, plants, soil, products made from animal or plant materials – and the items in a new display at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The airport’s art program has partnered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to set up this temporary exhibit in Concourse E.

(Photo courtesy Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport)

Airport officials say, except for a few pieces of coral and tortoise-shell jewelry on loan from the Federal Repository in Denver, everything in the 13 exhibit cases was seized at ATL.

Here’s a sampling of what’s on display: a complete polar bear skin, a stuffed hyena, a blowgun from South America decorated with rare macaw feathers, giant mounted spiders, hiking boots made from elephant hide, beauty products made from caviar, and much, much more!

Tags: Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Dulles International Airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Washington Dulles Interntational Airport
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Yesterday was “New Runway Day” at three major U.S. airports. Washington Dulles International Airport, Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport and my hometown Seattle-Tacoma International Airport all cut the ribbon on new runways.

What do these high-ticket investments in airport infrastructure mean for air travelers? Ideally, improved safety, reduced delays, and space for an extra 330,000 take-offs and landings each year.

We’ll see….

(Courtesy: Port of Seattle)

Of course, who cares if more planes can take-off and land unless you can actually get a seat on one of those planes?

So I was pleased to have a chance to stop by the world headquarters of Yapta this week to check out their poker table and learn about their new service that sends travelers e-mail alerts when frequent-flier award seats become available. As someone who recently spent way too many hours trying to figure out how to “spend” a chunk of expiring miles, I totally get the usefulness of this feature.

You can read about Yapta’s free frequent-flier award search service and a few related tools in a recent New York Times article. Or just sign up, snag a seat, and go try out one of those new runways.

(Photo: Daniel Schwen)

Tags: Chicago O'Hare Airport, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Washington Dulles Interntational Airport
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