UPI NewsTrack Quirks in the News

Check-in, flight, destination all wrong

CARDIFF, Wales, July 22 (UPI) -- A Welsh family racked up some frequent flier miles when they traveled 2,000 miles out of their way after receiving boarding passes for the wrong flight.

Instead of snoozing while traveling to the Canary Islands, Charlie Coray, his wife, Tania, and their 9-year-old daughter, Phoebe, awoke to hear a flight attendant said, "Welcome to Turkey," The Times of London reported.

"It was unbelievable. I know they send luggage to the wrong places but not people," said Tania Coray.

Charlie Coray said they arrived at the Cardiff International Airport very early in the morning and were directed to a check-in counter that was handling more than one flight.

"We were half-asleep," he said. "When we were called to the gate we gave them our boarding passes, got on the plane and fell asleep."

The family accepted their travel agent's offer of a vacation in Ibiza, an island near Spain, because they could not get a flight to Lanzarote on the Canary Islands. A spokesman for the handling agents said the staff member who allowed them to board the wrong flight was suspended.

Python under bed a real eye-opener

MONTREAL, July 22 (UPI) -- A Canadian woman in Montreal didn't get much sleep after reaching beneath her bed to find a 3-foot python slithering around.

The unidentified 31-year-old woman told police she had just gone to bed Sunday night when she heard unusual noises under her bed, CTV News reported Tuesday. When she reached her hand below the bed, the felt the snake moving and bolted to the phone, the report said.

Police captured the snake without incident and took it to the Berger Blanc animal shelter, where it was determined to be a non-venomous ball python, the report said.

Monday, police said they had reason to believe the snake was a pet owned by an upstairs tenant in the woman's low-rise apartment, the report said.

Mark Ostroff of the retail Reptile Amazone store told the broadcaster such snakes are legal in Quebec, and usually escape from uncovered aquariums when they're hungry. He said while not venomous, ball pythons can inflict a nasty bite if they feel threatened.

Man plans to see the U.S. in the slow lane

DEERFIELD, N.H., July 22 (UPI) -- A New Hampshire man plans a cross-country trip in the slow lane, driving a homemade recreational vehicle pulled by three horses.

Bob Skelding is making the final preparations for his journey and is scheduled to leave his home in Deerfield Saturday, WMUR-TV, Manchester, reported.

"I'm not going nowhere," he said. "I'm not trying to make the West Coast at such and such a time or the East Coast. I'm not supporting a cause. I'm just going out and seeing everybody and having a good time."

Skelding, whose marriage ended recently, is taking only one companion, his 17-year-old poodle, Clementine.

He expects to travel about 10 miles a day in the horse-drawn vehicle. He decided on the trip in February and put together a portable home that includes a hot-water shower and a small kitchen.

"It's like opening up a Christmas gift every day," he said. "If you knew what was behind every corner, life wouldn't be fun. It would be boring."

UPS tells Brown to take it down

GILBERT, Ariz., July 22 (UPI) -- An Arizona legislative candidate has received notice from United Parcel Service saying his campaign logo is too similar to that of the package delivery company.

The cease-and-desist letter to Gilbert, Ariz., Republican Bob Brown alleges that his campaign -- including lawn signs and a Web site -- infringed upon the company's image, The Arizona Republic reported Monday.

"They were concerned about the logo and I didn't think they would be," said Brown, a candidate for Arizona's House of Representatives. "I didn't think it was a big problem and they apparently felt differently."

Brown has reportedly already taken down the logo from his Web site but not the lawn signs. He said his understanding was that UPS was mostly concerned about the Web site, the Republic said. But he would also comply with the lawn signs if necessary.

"If they're serious about that, I probably would," Brown told the Republic. "I'm not going to fight them."