The latest addition to my coffee table is The Best In Tent Camping: Arizona. Regular readers of this site may think this a strange purchase for me but I'm friends with one of the two authors, Kirstin Olmon. Her and her partner Kelly Phillips got what I'd consider a dream (but unfortunately temporary) job: travel around, camp, and write about it. Being I've camped and gone on numerous hiking trips with Kristin before I certainly trust her judgement -- I pre-ordered the book the moment I heard it was available.

The Best In Tent Camping: Arizona is a beautifully put together book with clear campground maps, a detailed rating system and most importantly, personal snippets of their travels and detailed descriptions of the grounds and surrounding areas. Pertinent history and description of the foliage and environment flesh out each entry. Each site gets about three pages of material and there's fifty campgrounds covered.

Here's how detailed it gets: a short excerpt from their notes on the Los Burros Campground in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest:

The three large, open sites closet to the fence best accommodate campers with horses, and two small corrals stand between sites 11 and 12. These sites have great views, if little shade. Spacious site 10 is marked for a host, but Los Burros is not currently hosted. The road forms a rough loop, with sites 8 and 9 and the trailhead at the end. Inside the loop, sites 4 and 7 are a bit overgrown but also have a view, and a nice oak partially shades site 4. The rest of the sites lie inside the tree line and are well shaded. Sites 5 and 6 have sizable tent areas, and site 2 is set back from the rest with some undergrowth for privacy. All have steel fire rings with flip-up grills and metal picnic tables, and there's a vault toilet between site 6 and the trailhead. Parking is at the sites, but trailhead parking on a busy day may encroach on site 8.

From the Tuweep/Toroweap Campground in Grand Canyon National Park:

There is nothing like entering Grand Canyon National Park at the South or North Rim. There's no entrance station, and (you may be pleasantly surprised to learn) no $25 fee. You can stop at the tiny Tuweep Ranger Station to pick up hiking information or an area brochure, but if you require backcountry permits, it's best to get them in advance. The ranger who lives here year-round also has patrol duties and may not be available. The campground is only 5.4 miles past the station, but it's the most difficult stretch of road. Here the slickrock is exposed, and large, sometimes sharp, rocks are waiting to eat your tires. Once you turn left into the campground, hop out and check your vehicle, celebrate your achievement, and check for loose bolts!

Well detailed for a camping guide and at times edges upon reading like a travelogue. It's all over the state: from the KP Cienega campground off El Camino del Diablo in the San Francisco Mountains to the Alamo Canyon Primitive Campground near the Mexican border through the Grand Canyon to spots within a overnight-trip range of Phoenix and Flagstaff, The Best In Tent Camping: Arizona is two thumbs up from me.

Now I need to book my next trip back to Arizona.

I used to be a frequent flier mile junkie with Northwest WorldPerks. I played all the games, signed up for the promotions, did the dining rewards stuff, blew time on the surveys, looked at a bunch of ads, continually transfered all my hotel points and most importantly, I paid every single thing I could using my WorldPerks Visa. Over the years, I used that card for everything except for my mortgage. I never carried a balance. I used it like a check card.

The miles racked up. I used to fly for free regularly. When I didn't fly for free, I knew how to book cheap flights and play the system well enough to get bumped to other flights -- thereby getting more free travel.

I liked my situation but a lot has changed with the recent years of problems with Northwest and its unions, the noticeable tightening up of mile promotions across the board, the increased difficulty in booking decent reward flights (I regret flying through Newark a few weeks ago) and the fears of what may happen with Northwest and Delta's planned merger. Suddenly these games and the $55 Worldperks Visa annual fee didn't make much sense anymore.

I transferred my rewards from most of the third-party miles programs I've been involved with into miles and closed those accounts. I put the renewal date of my WorldPerks Visa in my calendar so I know to cancel before November. Then today, Bill linked me to the last straw on the camel's back:

The airline will also add a $15 fee to the first bag, a charge that will go into effect July 10. Northwest charges $25 for a second bag and $100 for a third. Checked bags have been a no-charge service for years, but in recent months other airlines have begun charging for even the first checked bag.

A service fee for WorldPerks Award tickets will be in effect September 15 with a charge of $25 for domestic tickets, $50 for Trans-Atlantic tickets and $100 for Trans-Pacific tickets. And a ticket change fee will increase from $100 to $150 starting July 9 for domestic flights and international flight ticket changes will increase by an additional $50 to $150 per ticket.

Two big problems for me here: I'm used to packing with only a carry-on, even if I'm away for two weeks. Now with every other passenger trying to fit everything in one bag, I'm guessing Northwest will need to tighten up their rules as to what flies as a carry-on. On recent full flights I've been on, every overhead compartment was filled and many people were packing what they could under the seats in front of them. That problem will get worse. The other issue is paying for award flights. It's a small price in comparison to a full fare but with everything else added up it's not worth it anymore.

It looks like I'll be taking my last reward flight for awhile sometime before September 15 and I'll be canceling my WorldPerks Visa around then.

My only other credit card is a Target REDcard, where I get a 10% coupon for Target after every thousand bucks or so I spend on it. It's free. It's not a bad deal, but I'm shopping around if there's a better card I should stick to. Does anyone have any good ideas?

This is just my story as a consumer. Over all of this, the real story today is that Northwest Airlines cut 2,500 jobs.

There's something appealing about going to a theater that's been repeatedly received horrible reviews online. Complaints of sticky floors, needing plastic bags for seats and poor service -- you have to admit it's worth checking out.

Courtney, her mother and I decided to see a matinee showing of Sex and the City at the Sunnyside Center Cinema in Queens.

The theater is run down and dirty and most all of the staff was busy playing with their Sidekicks to notice us. Various cardboard boxes littered the floors and hallways containing concession items and un-popped popcorn. The video games in the tight corridors seemed gummed up and gross. Our film was in the basement where the floors were littered with stuck gum and candy and the size was almost comparable to an expensive home theater. The seats in front of us had major holes in them but to be honest, the popcorn was good and they didn't screw up the film. Not that it needed it.

Rex joked with me that if it is the worst cinema in Queens, it must be the worst cinema in New York (then possibly the worst cinema in the U.S.). It wasn't horrible.

42-17 Queens Blvd
Sunnyside, NY 11104
718-361-6867

Ed Kohler has written about power outlets at airports and I'm happy to see that Radisson has sponsored a free charging station at MSP. I hope this catches on.

Ed and I went down to the Linden Hills Co-op, where Twin Cities ZENN is located to test drive a ZENN.

The ZENN is a fully electric car that's powered solely on batteries and charged with a normal power outlet. They're manufactured in Québec and sold all over the United States and the world but they're illegal for use on most roads in Canada for the time being. (British Columbia just recently created law to allow them.)

Even though I had seen a video of a ZENN before driving it, when I turned the key I felt like the car hadn't turned on yet and I cranked on the key an extra time. When it's not moving it's completely silent. When driving, I'm not sure if I'd say it's a "zero noise" vehicle as it sounds like a small golf cart. Comparatively very quiet though.

It's governed to a maximum of 25 M.P.H. to fit as a neighborhood electric vehicle. It's meant for city driving. There is a law going through that if passed would change the limit to 35 M.P.H. The ZENN can run 35 M.P.H. with a software change.

I thought the speed would be very limiting but our trip had no problems. I was surprised that it had no problems accelerating as well. The only issue was being slower than other drivers on Lake Street near Uptown but it wasn't a problem for me. Something I could get used to pretty quickly. It's faster than most bikers who sometimes slow up that right lane of traffic too.

Ed posted a video of a stretch of Lake Street where I was going 25 M.P.H.:

We had a fun trip going around Minneapolis where I honked frequently. The horn seemed to be significantly louder than most car horns. Contrasting that with the fact the car barely made any noise seemed to take a lot of people off guard. That is, the people that weren't already staring at us already -- it turned a lot of heads.

Ed and I said that if we didn't work in the suburbs it'd be a smart choice. They're priced well and there's barely any regular maintenance. No oil changes and no gasoline to buy. Just a battery replacement every few years or so and paying for the minimal costs of electricity to charge it. The ZENN takes about 8 hours for a full charge and 4 hours for an 80% charge. The range of the ZENN is about 35 miles on a full charge, plenty for a in city commute.

We had a fun time and took a bunch of photos. If your normal commute is within the city, I think it's definitely worth taking one of these for a test drive.

Twin Cities ZENN
2813 W 43rd St
Minneapolis, MN 55410
612-279-2467

More photos on Flickr.

My old pal Seth who was stationed overseas for a few years in Kosovo and Iraq came home with the drive to learn how to fly. After instruction with Will Outlaw, a great local flight instructor whom I've flown with before, Seth is now a full private pilot.

Now that the weather is starting to pull out of winter, we took a quick trip from Crystal Airport down to Winona. Glad to have someone else to fly with and it's good to get back up in the air again. I hadn't flown in a few months.

Got a couple shots including Red Wing, Afton Alps and Minneapolis. See my slideshow or the individual photos on Flickr.

I took a pizza tour of Louisville with my friend Sarah. You're probably thinking that Louisville isn't a place you'd go to find great pizza. Well, you're probably right. But even with that being said, there are a few good nooks and a couple local chains that will do well if you're in the Louisville area.

First off, I should mention that the Papa John's franchise is based in Louisville and the first Papa John's started in part of a pub on the other side of the river in Jeffersonville, IN. As well, Yum! Brands, which Pizza Hut is a subsidiary of is also based out of Louisville. There is no shortage of those two chains in the area. I didn't visit either of them. I did take a 5-day, 5-pizza trip around that seemed to progress rather well to some of the best pizza I've eaten in Louisville.

Our first pizza was at The Bodega at Felice. They're not a pizza place but a "market, delicatessen and coffee bar." Pizza was on the menu though as a speciality and I couldn't resist getting their Artichoke and Feta Pizza. It came unexpectedly without mozzarella and was just warm enough, but not hot. A light lunch-time treat but not a pizza I'd go out and seek regularly. Satisfying and the ingredients tasted fresh. Again, The Bodega is geared to be a coffee bar and market and doesn't specialize in pizza. I almost picked up some Ale-8-One at their market on my way out and Sarah got a very nice free refill of her iced coffee for the road. Great service.

The Bodega at Felice
829 E Market Street
Suite D
Louisville, KY 40206
502-569-4100

The second pizza was at Bearno's Pizza. A local chain of about fifteen locations, we visited their location in Fern Creek. Service was friendly and fast once our waitress saw that we snuck in. We ordered water and I haven't seen water served in such large cups with two lemon slices. We saw their pizza buffet and decided to pass on it and get our own. Our pizza was filling and what you'd expect for an inexpensive and campy pizza parlor. Not much to report honestly other than the pizza worked out well and I'd go back.

Bearno's Pizza
6101 Bardstown Rd
Louisville, KY 40291
502-231-2222

Our third pizza was at another local chain, Tony Boombozz. Their Highlands location on the corner of Bardstown and Eastern was geared mostly for delivery but had a few tables to sit for the starving. That applied to us. The menu at Boombozz was a bit unexpected: not very traditional and more of a Californian style. Our plates were simply small pizza pans and our eating utensils were in a plastic bag with a napkin and a packet of sugar and salt, reminding me that they are really geared for take-out and delivery at that location. When our Feta and Artichoke Pizza (yes, again) arrived, it seemed perfect! There was a perfection to it's roundness and thickness to its crust that was pretty surprising. Even the evenness of the ingredients seemed calculated and the slices seemed to be cut perfectly. Despite it being served on a piece of corrugate, Boombozz was the best pizza I had had in Louisville so far. A fantastic balance of ingredients and flavors. Great crust too. Even though we were full after eating most of it, we were both tempted to finish the pizza off because it was quite good. We played smart and took our extra two slices home and they reheated quite well.

Tony Boombozz
1448 Bardstown Rd
Louisville, KY 40204
502-458-8889

Our forth pizza, on New Year's Eve, was at Za's Pizza Pub. First off, Za's has by far the best beer selection that I could have imagined in Louisville. A number of great beers on tap and a comparatively long list of bottles. They recently replaced their Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter tap (seriously, it was in their menu, in print!) with Köstritzer Schwarzbier (holy shit, as I found out, even better!). I'll have that, thanks. Sarah and I had their Six Cheese ZA, just to see what would happen. Well, we got a pizza with an obnoxious amount of cheese. It was good, but I guess we got what we asked for: too much cheese. Granted, the parmesan was there to "turn five into six" as Sarah joked, but even then it was cheese overload. I'm a hack pizza turophile though so I didn't have any problem with it. Atmosphere in Za's was very comfortable and a place I'd go simply to drink at the bar. I really enjoyed the pizza a lot but they win the drink menu prize for sure.

Za's Pizza Pub
1573 Bardstown Road
Louisville, KY 40205
502-434-4344

We ended up on my last day at Wick's Pizza Parlor. They have four locations in the area and we visited their Highlands location. They have large murals on the walls showing a scene from Churchill Downs and Thunder over Louisville, a local fireworks and air display. Some of the staff had tie-dye shirts with the Wick's logo on the back. People coming in and out seemed to know each other more often than not. We got their Pepperoni Pizza and it was tasty but a tad bit heavy on the cheese. I realized that it must be the style around here! (I didn't mind, but if you grew up in Chicago I don't think Louisville would be your place to dine out for pizza.) We ordered hard ciders and without specifying a size they came in really large glasses. Satisfying and very tasty. Service was very fast.

Wick's Pizza
975 Baxter Avenue
Louisville, KY 40204
502-458-1828

One place that I am aware of that I missed is Chubby Ray's, but I'm generally not a big sports bar fan anyway. Overall a great pizza tour and it worked out as a great compliment to touring around area distilleries, downtown Louisville, cafés and other sights on my trip.

I'm wandering around Kentucky for a few days. Yesterday morning visited the Bourbon Heritage Center at Heaven Hill Distilleries. Got to visit barrels and taste a few bourbons. Great way to start off the day.

A couple hours later we visited The Colonel.

As Julio Ojeda-Zapata posted last night and wrote in today's Pioneer Press, Google Street View launches today in the Twin Cities. If you're not familiar, you can now look at an address from the street. For example, here's my house. Notice my poor lawn care but my lawn gnome is hanging out!

This lead me to wonder, when were all these photos taken? The State Theater is advertising shows for very early August 2007, right after the 35W bridge collapse on August 1st. You can drive under the 35W Bridge and you can actually drive on it too, seeing some of the construction equipment. Here's a shot of the skyline from the bridge with a portable toilet in the foreground. This is probably only days before it collapsed. Rows of news vans line Main Street SE after the collapse.

You can drive through the Lowry Tunnel and you can see storm damage in Acacia Park Cemetery. Take a stroll up US52 over the Lafayette Bridge into Saint Paul. If you keep clicking the NW arrow you can chase a light rail train in reverse. There's some workers rebuilding East Lake Street.

For more in Saint Paul, check out the state capitol but you can't see the forbidden-to-photograph oven at Punch Pizza.

Surprisingly, a lot of Highland Park isn't available for Street View as well as White Bear Lake. But you can visit St. Olaf College down in Northfield. Here's a guy that looks like he just left Sex World. Heh.

They have my office to see too. One of the owners parked his Mazda 6 out front and my manager's VW Bug is in the lot. Who knows where my car is!

Find anything interesting strolling around Street View in the Twin Cities? Please comment! Remember when linking Google Maps, click on the "Link to this page" link to get the proper URL.

The last stop on my Washington, DC pizza tour was Ella's Pizza with Kim. A couple blocks from Matchbox and right near the Smithsonian Portrait Gallery that I visited a couple days previous.

Their menu are mostly Neapolitan-style and specialty individual pizzas. I decided to try their Quattro Formaggi and it was fantastic. Crust was a bit enough but just crispy enough and burnt just the right amount. Wood fired pizza many times can be victim to too much burnt crust and my pizza at Ella's was just perfect in that regard.

The cheeses were tasty and just the right amount for a cheese pizza. A bit gooey, but that's what you get in Quattro Formaggi. Kim got their Bosco Pizza which she enjoyed.

The space was nice, just roomy enough and our service was friendly. I bet this place gets really packed if there's an event at the Verizon Center though. Their dessert menu was great but we didn't partake, deciding to get tea at Teaism a couple blocks away instead.

I'll definitely be back. If I was in Penn Quarter and had to choose between Ella's and Matchbox, I'd pick Ella's hands down. It was oh so tasty -- one of my favorite pizzas in DC.

Ella's Pizza
901 F Street NW
Washington, DC 20004
202-638-3434