United Airlines launches Three Perfect Days contest -- win a free vacation!

Good with a video camera and a Final Cut Pro? United Airlines might have the perfect opportunity for you to win your dream vacation.

Yesterday they launched a new promotion on Facebook soliciting video entries for their "Three Perfect Days" contest. All that you have to do to enter is make a short video explaining what you would do with three perfect days of vacation and post it to their site. The submission that gets the most "likes" wins two free round trip tickets, a digital camera and a $2,500 Visa debit card (you could use it to pay off the taxes!) at its complete disposal. You've got until March 1st to come up with the most "likeable" video on the web.

Having sumbitted a few entries and reviewed a few more ourselves at Gadling Labs, permit us to give you a tip before inking the celluloid: people who vote in these contests dig two things:

1. The best cinematogrphy ever known to man
2. Hotties

Aim to have one of the two concepts in your entry and you're guaranteed a shot. Have both and you'll take home the gold.

British tour company criticized for offering 'Hilter tour' around Germany

Filed under: Europe, Germany, News
Would you spend $3100 to tour sites only associated with Nazi leader Adolf Hilter? One British tour group put together a trip that does just that, and is under fire by critics over the distasteful offering.

The tour takes 30 tourists on a luxury $3100 trip through Germany to visit sites associated with Hitler, according to a report in The Australian. The articles says the eight-day trip in June - titled "Face of Evil: The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" - has been sanctioned by German authorities.

The tour includes more than just visiting a few concentration camps, which is common on many other tour groups through Germany. The concentration camps, which for many are a must-see when in Germany, are a significant part of history. But can you say the same for Hitler's lakeside villa where he planned the Sachsenhausen concentration camp? That's one stop on the Hitler tour, along with the spot where Hitler committed suicide.

Tour leaders say the trip is for those with a true interest in the history of the Holocaust era and will prevent any Neo-Nazi members from taking the tour; critics say the trip is a "perverse pilgrimage" to honor Hitler.

Elvis' favorite roller coaster Zippin Pippin comes to Green Bay

Filed under: Theme Parks

Green Bay Wisconsin's Bay Beach Amusement Park will soon be home to a classic wooden roller coaster known as the Zippin Pippin. The remains of the defunct ride were purchased from a Memphis, Tennessee park last year. It was known to be Elvis Pressley's favorite roller coaster as he often rented out the park so that he could ride it without being bothered by fans. Reports are that Pressley rode Zippin Pippin eight days before he died. To support the ride's history, Bay Beach Amusement Park is working on adding Elvis' favorite food, peanut butter and banana sandwiches.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Bay Beach Amusement park is aiming for the ride to open when the park opens on May 7th. Even with the harsh Wisconsin weather, recent construction photos show that Zippin Pippin's track work is nearly complete. It appears that the park should be able to hit their target date. Bay Beach Amusement park is the ninth oldest operating amusement park in the U.S. according to ZippinPippin.org. The park is already home to historic amusement park rides, so this classic wooden coaster with an interesting claim to fame should be right at home.

Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail: The Gear

Filed under: Climbing, Hiking, North America, United States


On a long-distance hike like the Pacific Crest Trail, what you carry on your back is everything.

This summer, my girlfriend Katie and I walked the 2,663-mile Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada. The journey took us across the Mojave desert, over the remote, snowy Sierra Nevada mountains, and through a spectacular and constantly changing wilderness landscape.

We found that three carefully chosen big-ticket gear items -- our backpacks, sleeping bags, and tent -- went a long way toward making our journey possible. In this video, we talk about "the big three," give tips for selecting and caring for gear, and explain why the right gear is crucial to a successful long-distance hike.

Cheap Cruise Watch- Norwegian Upgrades (almost) everybody

It's what the cruise industry calls "wave season", the time of the year when people stop dreaming of a White Christmas and instead have nightmares about getting stuck in snow and ice. Thoughts turn to warmer weather and cruise vacations come to mind. We have been talking a lot about how to get a good deal lately. Today we have one for you.

Cheap prices are good. Cheap prices and you get more for your money are better.

Norwegian Cruise Line has a "Free Upgrades For All" promotion that applies to the new Norwegian Epic going on now through January 16, 2011 where we can book and get up to a 4 category upgrade at no additional charge. That's nothing really all that exciting but with this promotion, you can book an ocean-view cabin (with a window) and get a balcony cabin at no additional charge. Book a balcony and get a mini-suite too. That's different and unique to Norwegian.

They're also throwing in a coupon book "worth over $400" but don't get too excited about that part. Many of the coupons you probably won't use but they do add up and some you will. The big attraction here is booking an ocean-view and getting a balcony or booking a balcony and getting a mini-suite on their newest ship. That's the kind of value we want you to get. It's available on all 2011 sailings and its pretty easy to do.

Like most cruise deals this can be a little tricky to book so pay attention if you visit the NCL website. For Balcony upgrades, you'll see a Balcony Stateroom with the same price as an Ocean-view Stateroom. For sailings with Mini-Suite Upgrades, you'll see a Mini-Suite listed at the same price as a Balcony. A few restrictions apply and it is always a good idea to read the fine print.

Get with your travel expert to be sure you get it right.

Flickr photo by Cruise News Weekly