To tide you over until Amazing Race 13 begins on September 28, tune into The Travel Channel. Starting September 3 at 8 p.m. EST, season 12 will be shown.

Although the winners from season 12 are known-- Rachel and T.K., the couple who had smart ideas about how to use the dough (although with the abysmal showing of the current market and housing crisis, I wonder how that went?) there are travel tidbits about each of the countries the contestants visited and host Phil Keoghan's commentaries.

My favorite episode was the Burkina Faso leg, particularly when most teams didn't know how to say the capital Ouagadougou when they found out where they were heading. The camel milking made for the best TV. Plus, of all the locations, this was probably the one that was the most obscure to many of the folks who tuned in to watch.

Here's a review of that episode on TV Squad to refresh your memory or to catch you up to the crazy antics that can happen as teams of two people race around the world on a chase for a million dollars.

Jason Hughes, at TV Squad wonders if The Travel Channel's airing of the show may mean that CBS is thinking about pulling the plug since it is only picked up season by season. In that case, The Travel Channel could take it over. I hope it will stay on CBS so people can see it without cable.

Joy! Rapture! A bit of excitement is heading to Sunday night TV on September 28 at 8 PM on CBS. Yes, folks. The Amazing Race returns. This round is season 13.

The cast has been revealed and is now up at the Amazing Race website. Thanks to Jaunted for giving me the heads up when I received my daily Jaunted missive yesterday.

There's a link in the Jaunted post to the L.A. Times travel blog, "Daily Travel and Deal." Here, editor Maret Orliss, senior programming manager for Los Angeles Times Events presents her impressions of each couple after chatting with them in person.

As usual, there are the team combos that we've come to know and count on for good TV:

• The blondes
• The parent/child where someone wants to bond more with the other
• The incredibly competent couple who gets along so well that you're left wondering what the hell is wrong with your own life
• The couple whose non-stop squabbling is something you recognize, or if you're lucky, leaves you feeling like the couple in the above example.
• The older couple who is too sweet for words and have a snowball's chance in hell of ever winning
• The sibling pair who think that each of them are the best thing since sliced bread
• The pair who is sure they will win because of they are so much better qualified than any others. Duh.

I'll miss seeing two of the couples from last season when I tune in. They are:

Perhaps watching the Olympics has inspired you to congratulate the athletes in your life--or someone else with a spiffy accomplishment. Here's an idea that has an Olympics and Chinese-flavored twist.

You could give the person a bouquet of flowers with Chinese symbolism. Jim Wells wrote a post on Flora2000's blog that outlines just what you need.

• You've probably noticed that the bouquets handed out during the medal ceremonies are red. Red is the color of good luck. Pink and yellow represent happiness.
• The presenters also offer the bouquets with both hands which is the Chinese tradition.
• If there is a congratulation note, it's never written in red ink.
• Also, eight is a lucky number, so eight flowers would be terrific.
• Don't give only four though, because four is unlucky.
• Although yellow is a color for happiness, don't give a yellow chrysanthemum--or a white one. Those are only used for funerals.

Jim's recommendation for a perfect bouquet is one made of white and pink Oriental lilies and red roses. To be ultra classy, he says to give flowers from Europe. They are quite popular in China these days.

(At the time Jim wrote his post, Michael Phelps only had 5 gold medals. Weren't those races something to watch?)

First of all, the water park Zoombezi Bay and Disney have nothing to do with each other, but there is a common element in their stories--their businesses have done swimmingly well this summer.

Zoombezi Bay, a new addition to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium opened on Memorial Day. When I was talking with the associate director last Thursday, he said that they are fiscally ahead of where they had hoped to be and have plans to increase offerings next year. Attendance has been terrific despite their worries that gas prices and the sluggish economy (in Ohio it's a bit of the pits) may adversely affect the numbers. On the contrary. The thought is that perhaps the "stay-vacation" trend may have swung in the water park's favor. The weather has also cooperated ever since June's rainfest ended.

According to this article published in the L.A. Times, Disney resorts and theme parks have not been adversely affected by the economy either. Although, there has been a slight dip in Disneyland's revenue because of an attendance drop, the numbers have not been as bad as feared. Disney World execs were worried that the number of flights being cut to Orlando would equal a lower attendance, but this had not occurred.

Perhaps Zoombezi Bay and Disney attractions hold what attracts many vacationers. You don't have to play guesswork when figuring out what you'll get when you hand over your hard-earned dollars. When the sun is shining, you are usually guaranteed a good time, and in the summer, the sun usually shines. Zoombezi Bay has the added bonus of being new.

(The photo of Zoombezi Bay is from Trip Advisor. Erinslone, the person who posted it, loved the park. Three other commenters were disappointed and frustrated because when they were there the park was incredibly busy. The associate director said more space is being added. I was there Thursday late afternoon and there was plenty of chairs available. My husband was there all day yesterday with our son and neighbor friends. They had a great time.)

Are you handy with the camcorder, good at setting up shots and taking quality video? Were you the founding member and president of the A/V club in high school? Do people always think that you're the center of attention at parties? Then you might be a great candidate for Southwest's new Blog-o-spondent position to which they just started recruiting.

Over the past few months, the airline took one of their lucky employees through a whirlwind tour of the company as she video blogged the entire experience. Now, they're looking for a Southwest fan to hand off the reins. The lucky person will be assigned a year's worth of excitement as he or she jetsets around the country, video blogging on the entire airline, experience and any excitement that's going on in the Southwest community.

Obviously the airline is going to pick someone that's quirky, loves flying and is great on video, so try to emulate those traits if you don't have them and put together a one minute video application.

Think you've got what it takes? Take a look at the trailer and head over to Nuts About Southwest for details on the contest.

Scouring through what the blogosphere is saying about the Olympics, I came across a blog written by a 12-year old in Beijing. His name is David and he is National Geographic Kid's correspondent for the Olympics.

He's an American child who has been living in China since he was two; he moved to Beijing last year from Suzhou.

The blog is straightforward and has that wonderful child-innocence about it. He writes clearly and does a great job being informative. His posts so far break the Olympics down to basics where he talks about things like: The different cities where the games are being held and why, the mascots, and getting around in the city during the games.

What makes his posts interesting is what he chooses to share, and of course, that they are written from the perspective of a child thrilled to be at the Games. Certainly a novelty in the blogosphere and worth keeping a tab on.

Over at Intelligent Travel, editor, Janelle Nanos is heading to Colorado this weekend, specifically to Denver (for Friday evening) and Boulder (for the rest of the weekend). She's looking for suggestions for what she might do and where she might eat. Hiking is one of the things Janelle is interested in doing.

As a person who as been both to Denver and Boulder, I have my ideas, although I haven't done any hiking at either place. I have one suggestion for Boulder for a thing to do, and one idea for a place to eat. I have more, but for now, I'm highlighting two. ,.,Both are worthy of a post on their own, and I've gushed about them to friends and relatives.

A friend told me about Banjo Billy 's Bus Tour when she heard I was heading to Boulder. This tour was about the best one I've ever taken and I am so fond of tours.

The bus is a restructured school bus that looks a bit like a shack. The seats are horse saddles or living room couches and recliners. The tour takes in the lore of Boulder, like who was murdered in which building, and where the ghosts hang out--that sort of thing. As well as teaching much about Boulder lore and history, it's a hoot--very funny. My daughter and son loved it too.

For a place to eat, Boulder Dushanbe Tea House is exquisite. My daughter and I ate out on the patio. I can't remember exactly what we ate, but the the food and atmosphere were fabulous. We had the loveliest drinks. Both of them involved hibiscus. Mine was the version with alcohol.

Those are my two ideas. If you have others let us know, but most importantly, let Janelle know by going to Intelligent Travel and posting a comment on her post. Thanks!

"All news out of Africa is bad," says Paul Theroux in the opening of his 2003 book Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Cape Town, and while it's just the first sentence in a sweeping narrative that encounters misery and hope in equal measure, he has a point.

It is still difficult for Africa to elbow its way into the world's headlines without dragging some kind of disaster story along with it: Famine, AIDS, political violence, civil war.

It is always nice to encounter writing -- book length or journalism -- that finds other things to say about the Greenest Continent, writing that at the very least attempts to go beyond a fatalistic approach to Africa so often driven by major media outfits and pack journalism. Writing, in other words, that searches for, and ultimately finds, some context.

Theroux's book is one example, and the travel books of Jeffrey Tayler are another. The subtle novels of Alexander McCall Smith come to mind.

African narratives in daily journalism are harder to find, put they are out there (one that immediately springs to mind is Boston Globe travel writer Tom Haines' brilliant dispatch from Sudan a few years back).

The work of author and adventurer Jon Bowermaster, a frequent contributor to National Geographic and National Geographic Adventure, is a part of this second group.

Bowermaster is currently writing a series of dispatches as he makes his way along the coast of Northwest Africa.

I like them because they read like vignettes, each one a picture with a few characters at their center: Shopkeepers in Casablanca, fisherman in Dakar. And he's touching on issues that do not usually make it to newspaper front pages: Overfishing in Senegal, the region's desertification, the questionable legacy of Thor Heyerdahl in the Canary Islands.

In many of these dispatches you will hear the voices of Africans, a nice reminder that this troubled continent still has a lot to say.

Give them a read.

Every time John Ur covers a state via its cinematic hot spots in his series "Cinematic Road Trip" for Intelligent Travel, I look to see which movies I've seen and what spots I know. It's always a pleasure.

This week Ur hit Ohio. Ohio, as he found, is diverse. He did skip over Columbus. I'll have to think about a movie that may have been filmed there. Columbus is not dull, but can slide under ones radar. Cleveland, however is not easy to miss. Christmas Story, one of Cleveland's most well known films is one of my favorites and one that Ur covers.

Ur also hits Cincinnati. I am partial to Cincinnati since I grew up going here as a child and I know it well. However, I wasn't aware that parts of Traffic was filmed here. Or perhaps I noticed this and forgot.

I do know of a couple Ohio locations on the silver screen that Ur missed. One can't include everything, so this is no slight on Ur. He always does a fine job.

One movie is The Shawshank Redemption. The prison outside of Mansfield, the abandoned Ohio State Reformatory was one of the main locations. A friend of mine's father was one of the extras.

Another film with Ohio scenes is Rain Man. One of Cincinnati's most spectacular buildings, at least it's my favorite, is Union Terminal. Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise spent some time here while looking for alternative transportation to California. The murals you see in the background as they walked through were done as a WPA project. The building is now mostly a museum center.

Another shot in this film is when the pair are in a car going from Cincinnati across the Ohio River on the Roebling Bridge. The bridge, also known as "The Singing Bridge" because of the sound it makes when cars go across, leads to Covington, Kentucky.