Top 10 Lists

On CNN and USAToday, they have people employed as travel writers to maintain a section, and they sometimes get caught up in the "slow news day" syndrome. Whenever that happens, you can bet they'll be reporting about some new Top 10 list for travel. Top 10 places to roller skate with a kangaroo, that sort of thing. Today I noticed Budget Travel has a 2009 Top 10 destination section. Included are places like Austin Texas (huh?). Don't get me wrong, I'm from Dallas originally and Austin is a cool little city and has some great blues clubs and barbecue. But Top 10 destination material might just raise an eyebrow or three. They mentioned the US Dollar goes further in Hungary and Iceland than it used to. Yep. I'm sure that's true, but it costs a wee dollar or two to get there, so the savings could be counter-balanced by flight expenditure. But I'm not complaining, at least those sound more like Top 10 travel site material than lil' old Austin TX. Washington DC made the list, which is sensible with the plethora of sightseeing opportunities, museums, etc. So did Hawaii, which I've touted in previous blogs as having more bargains than usual and of course "no passport required." Other places making the list were Berlin Germany, since it's the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall coming down, Vancouver Canada which will play host to the 2010 winter Olympics, and just about anywhere in Mexico. Overall, not a bad list, and of course Mann Travels can help you get to these or any other destinations of choice.

NKOB. No, I didn't mis-spell "knob", it's a rumor that surfaced on USAToday's travel section, about a New Kids On The Block theme cruise to the Bahamas in May. No details are out yet, but that sure seems like a stretch to me. I thought they were trying to keep people from jumping overboard these days, not encourage it....

A Pennsylvania couple is behind bars after police say they failed to call their bank, when a computer glitch accidentally put an extra $175,000 in their account. Authorities say 50-year-old Randy Pratt and 36-year-old Melissa Pratt instead withdrew the money, quit their jobs and moved to Florida. They were buying a house in the Orlando area when the mistake was discovered and traced. The two were arraigned and jailed Tuesday, on theft and other charges. Bail was set at $100,000. Seems the Pratts made a deposit last summer, a check for $1,772.50 which showed up in their FNB Bank account as $177,250 due to a typing error. Police say Mrs. Pratt indicated to them that her husband, a roofing installer, often got large checks for his work, and she simply wasn't aware of any error. Yeah, I'm thinking she might have noticed if the memo section of the check said something like "for services rendered, to put a roof over the entire state of Delaware."

You talkin' to me? You talkin' to ME?? A 26-year-old man and his father were arrested by an off-duty Muncie Indiana police officer, after the man cut in line at Wal-Mart. The police report said Edward R. Pluhar Jr., of Frankfort, cut to the front of the line at the Wal-Mart service desk on Sunday. What he didn't know was that in line ahead of him was off-duty Officer Chris Kirby. Kirby asked Mr. Pluhar to wait his turn, and he refused. Then Pluhar's father, 61-year-old Edward R. Pluhar Sr., asked Kirby if he wanted to step outside. That's when Kirby identified himself as a police officer, and explained that offering to fight could bring the men up on charges. Apparently the Wal-Mart employees kept serving the Pluhars, just trying to get them out of the way quickly, and when Kirby went out to the parking lot after his transaction, the Pluhar gents followed him into the parking lot, where they scuffled. Other officers arrived on the scene and the Pluhars were both arrested. It's one thing to be rude. It's quite another to knowingly assault a police officer to prove your manhood. I hope they were at least able to swap out that George Foreman grill so the trip wasn't a complete waste!

Interesting Divorce Court ruling from the Palm Beach Post in Florida....By a 2-1 vote, a Florida appeals court ruled that Andrew Craissati could stop paying alimony to his ex-wife. The couple's agreement called for alimony only until the wife either remarried, or was "cohabiting" with another person for at least three months. The fast-thinking Mr. Craissati pointed out to a judge that his ex-wife, recently convicted of a serious DUI offense, is now "cohabiting" with a cellmate in prison. At 3 months and 1 day, the Court ruled in his favor. Now there's a Perry Mason moment if I ever heard one!