Travel Week in Review: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
Of course, this week’s travel content column has nothing to do with game shows – or with Steve Martin, John Candy, shower rings, and the F-word.
Without further ado, I present the Travel Features for the week ending June 12:
Planes
Luke Knipe, in his first submission to AC, tells us about the possible amenities on board the new Airbus A380: Five Things to Do Aboard the World’s Largest Airliner. Balancing detail with brevity – and tightness with turn of phrase – Luke gives us a glimpse of which amenities travelers might see as the jet makes its commercial debut later this year. From showers and beds to gambling and bars, he whets our appetite for more information and tips us off with some quotes from airline execs. Luke’s content is a shining (or perhaps soaring?) example of what I like to call “popular reference”: fact-based content that is well-written, neatly organized, informative, and easy-to-read without being elementary. When I scour the links of AC looking for my favorite content producers, articles like Luke’s are right up my runway.
Trains
From thick-ass planes to rumbling trains, we now take a (too) brief look at Boston’s T system for tourists with Colleen O’Neil, a graduate of Emerson College and thus an obvious Bostonian. In A Tourist Guide to Using Public Transportation in Boston, Colleen reviews which trains stop at which tourist destinations. While it’s undoubtedly a handy guide for travelers who realize that driving in Boston is a nightmare, it would be even better if Colleen gave us a suggested route to cover all these historic monuments or some other sense of orientation besides just the list. That said, we can see from her first few paragraphs that she’s comfortable as a writer. This is just her second submission to AC, and I look forward to reading more about Boston through the eyes of a local (and seeing some pictures, too).
Automobiles
Colin Campbell tackles a common reference question about numbering on our national freeway network with The Organization of the Interstate Highway System. Although I already knew the ins and outs of road numbering (because I’m a map-studying dork), I think he selected a solid topic and covers it fairly comprehensively, explaining how numbering is based on direction and how those pesky beltways and spurs are classified. Overall, I think Colin’s description was understandable, but I’m not sure all readers would agree. It does feel a little rushed in parts as he scuttles to point out the details, and by the end of the article, he starts to lose focus, drifting into trivia and ending abruptly. You might even say that he drove quite fast and slammed on the brakes. Still, I think readers will get something out of the ride.
That’s it for this week! Until next time, keep reading and keep writing.
