Southwest Airlines, which will launch service from Logan starting Aug. 16, announced
a big 48-hour sale, with one-way fares going for as low as $30, $60, or $90 based on length of travel.
The move bucks a recent industry trend, which saw the major airlines raising ticket prices over the past couple of weeks as the beleaguered carriers once again find themselves facing volatile fuel prices.
The terms of the Southwest sale go like this: For flights up to 400 miles, you could pay as little as $30; 400-750 miles $60; and more than 750 miles $90. These fares don't include taxes and fees, and you must purchase before July 9 for travel from Sept. 9 through Nov. 18. Also you can't travel on Fridays or Sundays.
The complaints with this kind of deal tend to focus on the fact that sale fares tend to be in rather short supply. But here in Greater Boston we have an advantage because Southwest doesn't begin flying till next month, so, for the most part, there's no shortage of seats available for the fall.
I plugged in a few September and October dates for flights to the Midwest and California and found a number of openings at sale prices.
This sale could also kick off a smallish price war on competing routes, according to one airline analyst who was quoted in a Reuters story.
"While airline ticket prices have stabilized recently from their free fall, airlines are by no means out of the woods as oil prices remain volatile and demand precarious," said Rick Seaney, chief executive of FareCompare.com, in an e-mail this morning. "Later today we should see significant airfare matching activity (even for the modest 2-day purchase period on the Southwest sale) as legacy airlines will not want to be undercut."

Forewarned is forearmed. Recent reports suggest that problems for the airline industry may be near bottoming out, and with the the seasonal uptick of air travel it looks like carriers are trying to may some hay. Bloomberg, citing numbers from Farecompare.com, is reporting that the major carriers may be trying to make another move to raise fares.

American Airlines and United Airlines raised most domestic fares by as much as $20 for a round trip, the second increase in as many weeks, as they try to take advantage of peak U.S. summer travel season demand.

AMR Corp.’s American boosted prices by $10 to $20 on most U.S. routes yesterday, and UAL Corp.’s United matched the move, ticket-research firm FareCompare.com said in an e-mail. Delta Air Lines Inc. and Southwest Airlines Co. led carriers in a $20 round trip increase in the second week of June.

Two successful fare increases in a month would support an International Air Transport Association report today that the slump in global airline travel may have reached a “floor” following a 9.3 percent decline in passenger traffic last month. Airlines have slashed prices to win customers in the recession.

“We may have hit bottom, but we are a long way from recovery,” IATA Chief Executive Officer Giovanni Bisignani said in a statement. “This crisis is the worst we have ever seen.”

The Clear registered traveler program, which promised to speed fliers through airport security lines, was shuttered last night.
Clear, which began about four years ago, had enrolled more than 250,000 travelers who paid nearly $200 a year and operated at 18 airports, including Atlanta, Denver, San Francisco and Washington Dulles. At Logan, the program was offered only through Delta Airlines in Terminal A.
Users of the Clear system received high-tech ID cards to verify their fingerprints or iris images at designated security kiosks. Clear faced criticism because TSA decided that registered travelers had to go through the same security screening as everyone else.
A statement on the website of Verified Identity Pass, which runs the Clear program, said that the firm "had been unable to negotiate an agreement with its senior creditor to continue operations."
The note also said that the firm would keep member information secure until it was able to delete it and that "at the present time, because of its financial condition, Verified Identity Pass, Inc. cannot issue refunds.''
Clear was started by Court TV founder Steven Brill, who told USA Today that he had left the company in March to start Journalism Online LLC, a venture to help publications collect revenue for online content.

Bloomberg News photo

The discount carrier has started twice daily nonstop flights to Los Angeles International and is offering one-way sale fares as low as $109. To get the special fares you must book before June 27 and travel between Sept. 8 and Nov. 11. JetBlue announced plans to launch the service in February after pulling back on LAX expansion in May of last year, citing the high cost of fuel and other start-up expenses. And starting tomorrow JetBlue will begin its previously announced nonstop service to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. To mark the occasion, Boston's favorite Santo Domingan, Red Sox star David Ortiz, will be at Logan to greet passengers boarding the first flight.

“What’s that cool hotel you were telling me about in Portland?” I asked a buddy.

He couldn’t remember. Or I was asking the wrong buddy.

I typed ‘portland oregon hip hotel’ into Google and there it was – the Ace Hotel.

My reasons for loving it? Along with the high, ceilings and a clean modern-meets-old-school-cool design, there’s a Stumptown Coffee connected to the lobby. There’s also a snack tray in every room with the beautifully-labeled Lurisia fizzy water and next to it, Dutch stroopwaffels – my favorite cookie to have with coffee. I love the idea that, instead of throwing some Lay’s and Kit Kat bars in there, somebody put the effort into sourcing some really good stuff.

Downside? The secret’s out. Canadian families in North Face Jackets are mixing with the dressed-in-black (and talking loudly about their lives as composers and art directors) crowd. Sitting at the big lobby table the morning I’m there is a bossy chump who looks like an extra from “The Matrix” and his doomed, sweet-as-gold girlfriend. There’s also a grumpy kid who kicked a chair at me when I asked if anyone was sitting there.

“It’s a free country,” he added.

Until the coffee kicked in, I had fantasies of whapping them all with a rolled-up newspaper.

Ace Hotel Portland
1022 SW Stark St
Portland, OR 97205
P: 503-228-2277
F: 503-228-2297
www.acehotel.com/portland

**********************

Globe travel correspondent Joe Ray writes his own blog, Eating The Motherland and contributes to the English language version of Simon Says! the French food and lifestyle blog run by French food critic Francois Simon.

Photo of Stumptown Coffee by Joe Ray for The Boston Globe

Southwest Airlines, which has largely refrained from engaging in the airline extra-fee feeding frenzy, has decided to add a levy for children flying alone, double charges for third checked bags, and allow pets in the cabin for $75 each way.
Southwest, which prides itself on its "no hidden fee'' policy, will add a $50 round-trip service charge for children ages 5 through 11 flying alone, according to a report by Bloomberg News. The levy will apply to fares bought after June 1 for flights starting June 17. Most of the major carriers, including Delta, American, and US Airways, charge $100 each way.
Southwest, which lets travelers check two bags for free, will raise the fee to $50 for a third checked bag and for luggage weighing 51 pounds to 70 pounds. The changes take effect June 17.
Among the major carriers only Southwest and JetBlue don’t charge for a first checked bag, and JetBlue charges for second and subsequent bags.

JetBlue started the week off with two big announcements. First it launched an online "300,000 seat Summer Sale" with one-way airfares as low as $29 to $129 for destinations across the nation and the Caribbean. Much of the fine print will be familiar: You must book before Friday for travel between June 2 and Sept. 9 and all travel must take place on a Tuesday or Wednesday. And fares require up to a 10-day advance purchase.
The discount carrier also said that it was extending its refund program for travelers who get laid off after buying tickets. The program, which JetBlue says has been welcomed by customers, was originally supposed to run only through June.

From May 21 to Sept. 27, 2009, Kimpton is offering a special PRIDE rate code to members of the LGBT community to receive a complimentary weekend night when they book two nights at the best available rate. Plus, Kimpton is including a $50 dining credit for use at participating restaurants adjacent to Kimpton hotels.
“Kimpton is proud to be supportive of the LGBT community,” said Alan Baer, senior vice president of human resources and co-chair of the Kimpton Gay & Lesbian Employee Network. “As a company we are very involved in the communities we live in and contribute to dozens of LGBT organizations.”
The Summer of Pride offer is available in 20 cities including: Alexandria, Arlington, Boston, Cambridge, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Portland, San Diego, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Seattle, Scottsdale, Vancouver, Vero Beach, and Washington, D.C.
Use the rate code PRIDE when booking. Some restrictions apply, based on availability. To book visit here or call 1-800-KIMPTON.

The wireless Internet battle in the sky is quickly escalating to a dogfight.
AirTran Airways said yesterday morning that it plans to offer in-flight, wireless, Internet access on all 136 of its aircraft by midsummer. Virgin America currently has the service on 24 of its 28 planes, and is on schedule have the rest ready to go by Memorial Day.
On Monday, Delta Air Lines, which became the world’s largest carrier after its merger last year with Northwest Airlines, announced that it has WiFi on 139 planes, or about half of its mainline domestic fleet, and will have the rest finished by September. The carrier also expects to complete outfitting all 200 jets in Northwest’s domestic fleet next year.
And American, which has already equipped all its transcontinental aircraft, says it will have a total of 165 planes WiFi-ready by the end of 2009, with a goal of having 318, or nearly half its fleet, finished over the next few years.
Facing tough competition, the nation's airlines are viewing WiFi, which they once saw as merely a desirable amenity, increasingly as a necessary feature.
“Going online at 35,000 feet isn't a ‘nice to have,’ ’’ said Henry H. Harteveldt, principal airline analyst for Forrester Research Inc. “In today's tough business climate, in-flight Wi-Fi is as essential as the beverage cart. Business people need to stay in touch with their clients and colleagues, as well as stay on top of the volatile business environment. Leisure travelers appreciate WiFi in-flight because they can stay in touch with family and friends, plan their journeys, and entertain themselves.’’
While many carriers are aggressively adopting WiFi, others are at the very least kicking the tires. Southwest Airlines, which carries more passengers than any other US airline, is testing the service on four planes and is looking at the prospects for expansion. JetBlue hopes to have 20 planes outfitted this year for a stripped-down service that would allow e-mail and instant-messaging.
For the most part, all the services work the same. Passengers pay a fee, generally about $8 to $13 depending on the length of the flight, and the service is supplied by a contractor, the largest being Aircell LLC of Itasca, Ill., under its Gogo Inflight Internet brand.
The airlines, which have been garnering increasing amounts of revenue from the assorted fees they’ve launched in the past couple years, expect the service will be not just popular but profitable.
“On a coast-to-coast weekday flight, airlines tell me that it's not uncommon to sometimes have two dozen or more passengers online simultaneously,’’ Harteveldt said. “That could turn into a nice revenue stream long-term for airlines as the product becomes more widely available and more passengers begin using it.’’
But analysts say that the service also eventually could yield significant savings as it may let airlines remove their in-flight entertainment systems, leaving passengers to access the many media options available online. Getting rid of the systems would reduce the weight of planes, making them more fuel efficient, and free the carriers from having to pay for licensing entertainment content.

Good morning, travelers.
For the first time, American plans to let frequent fliers use their miles to book one-way flights for half the miles of a round-trip. The carrier will also let customers redeem miles for first-class seats one way and use fewer miles for a coach seat on the return, according to the Associated Press.

Officials at American, which developed the first frequent-flier program nearly three decades ago, plan to announce the changes Monday and put them into effect shortly.
They say American is the first major US airline to offer a one-way award ticket at half miles. It's hard to know how many people would use miles for a one-way trip -- parents driving a child to college and flying home might -- and American officials didn't offer any estimates.

Marriott is offering active, reserve, and military personnel a deal at 26 Marriott golf courses across the country. With Fairway Furloughs, members of the armed forces with a valid military ID card get discounted green fees/carts, ranging from $29-$69 after 3 p.m. any day of the week, year round. Tee times can be made up to three days in advance.

"In this country, we have hundreds of thousands of active, reserve, and retired military personnel who play golf, and we can't think of a better way to reward their unmatched dedication,'' said Bill Nault, vice president, Marriott Golf.

The complete list of participating courses includes: Camelback Golf Club, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Desert Springs Golf Resort, Palm Desert, Calif.; Doral Golf Resort & Spa, Miami, Fla.; Grande Pines Golf Club, Orlando, Fla.; Grande Vista Golf Club, Orlando, Fla.; Hawk's Landing Golf Club, Orlando, Fla.; Renaissance Vinoy Resort, St. Petersburg, Fla.; Shadow Ridge Golf Club, Palm Desert, Calif.; Starr Pass Golf Club, Tucson, Ariz.; The Rookery at Marco, Naples, Fla.; Wildfire Golf Club, Phoenix, Ariz.; Cattails Golf Club, Kingsport, Tenn.; Griffin Gate Golf Club, Lexington, Ky.; Kauai Lagoons Golf Club, Lihue, Hawaii; Stone Mountain Golf Club, Stone Mountain, Ga.; Crane's Landing Golf Club, Lincolnshire, Ill.; Westfields Golf Club, Clifton, Va.; and Willow Crest Golf Club, Oak Brook, Ill.

For more information on the program, visit here.

This morning the government for the first time is going to open the books on where and when airplanes have collided with birds over the past 19 years. This has, of course, become a big issue after a US Airways jet hit a flock of Canada geese in January, forcing it to ditch into the Hudson River.
All of which brings us to this interesting video put together by Rosemarie Lennon of Howcast.com. For those who prefer to read the instructions -- or perhaps print them out to stuff into your carry-on -- they are available here.

Thanks to This Just In for pointing us to this.

From Logan, one-way, online prices start at $29 (Buffalo, Charlotte, New York, Pittsburgh, Raleigh, and Richmond, Va.) and rise to $59 (Oakland and SF), $69 (Bermuda, Chicago), $69 (Bermuda, Chicago), $79 (Long Beach), $89 (Austin, Denver) and $99 (Las Vegas, San Diego, and Seattle).
There is fine print: You must buy before midnight. Travel must take place on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and needs to be completed by June 10. And there are other restrictions and you can scan them all here.

Virgin America has just launched an online "Go!'' fare sale, featuring one-way fares from Logan as low as $99 to San Francisco and $79 to Los Angeles for travel between April 14 and June 10 or Aug. 25 and Oct. 14.
With this move Virgin joins an already pitched battle between JetBlue and American for Boston customers looking to travel to the West Coast in the spring, and it demonstrates the value of having more competition in the market and particularly from discounters.
Both JetBlue and American were already offering seats at prices comparable to those being offered by Virgin to SFO, and American also matched fares for LAX (JetBlue doesn't begin flying to LA from Boston till June 17).
JetBlue's sale ended on April 8, but I noticed on their website there were still some $99 discount fares available in May for travel to San Francisco, and the carrier is still running a Buy 2, [roundtrip flights] Get 1 Free promotion for trips to select Western cities, including San Francisco, booked and taken through May 31.
American also appears to be offering the bargain $79 and $99 fares through the end of May and is offering triple AA miles for travel to SF and LA through May 31.
Typically, airlines operating in the Northeast tend to see an uptick in north-south travel in winter and early spring -- obviously, folks trying to get to warmer climes. So they tend to offer discounts and other inducements for transcontinental trips then -- and this is particularly true this year because of the decline in travel amid the slumping economy. And the pattern is reversed in summer.
I asked JetBlue spokesman Sebastian White about why there were still some $99 Boston-San Francisco seats available even though the sale was over. He told me that if a competitor, like Virgin, cuts fares in the market airlines will often make some attempt to match.
That this tendency is playing out at Logan is apparent. My pal Nicole Wong reported in February that since Virgin announced in December that it would break into the Boston market, round-trip airfares for nonstop flights to San Francisco on competing carriers had fallen 41 percent in the first couple months of the year, according to Rick Seaney, chief executive of airfare comparison website FareCompare.com.
All of this will clearly bode well for Boston travelers as JetBlue adds to its schedule from Logan, and Southwest prepares to enter the market in the fall.
"Virgin America's arrival at Logan has triggered a fare war with American and JetBlue resulting in travel to the West Coast being more affordable than it has been in years," said Edward C. Freni, Massport's director of aviation. "Because no single carrier dominates activity at Logan, competition is heightened to the benefit of the consumer. Let the fare wars begin!"

Earlier this week I wrote about JetBlue's sale on fares for travel through June 17. Now United has launched a similar sale also for flights through the 17th -- although United's includes international travel.
For domestic travel many of the terms will be familiar: purchase by April 5, 14-day advance, lowest fares on Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. Here is the fine print.
The exciting thing is that my pal, Rick Seaney, who tracks airfares reports that the discounts have already been matched by AirTran, Alaska, American, Continental, Delta, Frontier, Northwest, Southwest, and US Airways.
So the battle for your late spring travel dollar is joined.

Presumably most Bostonians already know that JetBlue service to Long Beach, Calif., is one of the most hassle-free ways to get into the Los Angeles area. But the marvelous Art Deco airport at Long Beach also has another stress-reducing feature on your trip back home. Once you’ve run the gauntlet through security, TSA has set up a spot to chill a moment and put your shoes and belt back on, repack everything you unloaded for inspection, and just generally recover your equilibrium. It’s called the Recomposure Area. Bravo, Long Beach!

Posted by Patricia Harris, Globe Correspondent

Photo by Patricia Harris for the Boston Globe

The Society of American Travel Writers has polled its members for advice on how to save on the go.
Among the top suggestions: Travel in the off-season or on the edges of popular seasons; try bus or metro transportation during city stays; instead of eating every meal in restaurants, have a picnic; have your big meal at lunch, when prices are cheaper; make your first stop the visitors center and collect coupons, brochures, and free maps; stay in places that have free breakfast and a refrigerator to store snacks; visit less well-known destinations; try a home swap or home rental; in cities, stay at business hotels on weekends when there are often lower room rates and restaurant deals.
For details, go to www.satw.org.

Posted by Richard P. Carpenter, Globe correspondent

Many, but not all, new parents already know the basic rules-of-the-road (or skies).
For domestic travel, if you're flying with a child under two the child can sit on your lap for free. If you want to buy the child a seat be aware that you'll probably have to pay the regular adult rate; there won't be a child's rate -- except on Southwest, which does offer one with a reduced fare. (It's also worth noting that on many airlines if there are a number of vacant seats -- a rare occurrence these days -- flight attendants often will generously shuffle passengers around a little and get you a seat for your baby for free). While these rules generally hold, it's worth a check with your airline to make sure you've got it straight.
Internationally, things get much trickier. My pal Rick Seaney, CEO of farecompare.com, took a look at this and says that things are all over the map. He suggests that anyone planning such a trip absolutely needs to do a little homework. He cites these examples:

The airfare war targeting Boston's transcontinental travelers is heating up. American Airlines, the largest carrier at Logan based on passengers served, says that it will give frequent fliers three times as many miles when they fly nonstop between Boston and San Francisco, Los Angeles, or San Diego this spring. That means two round-trip flights will result in a third flight free. Three paid round-trip flights will earn enough miles for a free round-trip ticket between Boston and Europe.
No other routes in American's network qualify for triple miles. What ushered in this incentive for the Hub? The hip, discount carrier Virgin America, which last month started flying nonstop between Boston and both San Francisco and Los Angeles.
"We are competing very aggressively in this market with everyone else who flies out of Boston,'' said spokesman Ned Raynolds. "We intend to maintain and build our following here."
Logan is one of the most competitive airports in the country, where no carrier commands more than 20 percent of the market. American also competes with JetBlue and United on these transcontinental routes.
To earn triple miles, frequent fliers must book their tickets and travel between now and May 31 and register before flying at aa.com/bos3x.

By Nicole C. Wong, Globe staff

It actually seems to be an advance purchase sale. It runs till Nov. 10, and there are blackout dates (like spring break, for instance). But if you can work around those restrictions there are some good deals to be had.
For instance, you can score a room at Hilton New York for as little as $159 a night, with a 3-day advance -- depending on availability. Use promo code NYSALE. Or rates at Millenium Hilton start as low as $159 night with 7-day advance purchase. Promo code is NYSALE.

Thanks to Kitty Bean Yancey's Hotel Hotsheet blog for pointing us to this one.

Last month I wrote about a promotion from lastminutetravel.com that promised to let visitors to the site score a room at any hotel in the site's 15,000-hotel inventory.

The catch was that the deals were only available for 15 minutes a day for one week, and, of course, they wouldn't divulge the magic times on any given day.

The promotion sparked some significant discussion and disagreement about whether the deal was too good to be true, with the most extreme folks speculating that perhaps the whole thing was a fake. There were, over the course of the week, folks who checked in to say that it wasn't bogus and that they had scored rooms.

But as it turns out things are a bit more complicated than that.

One reader wrote me to ask if this was a sale or a contest and whether she would have to pay taxes on her winnings.

I called Lauren Volcheff at Last Minute Travel and she confirmed that the company would be contacting winners to get their Social Security numbers so they could send them IRS 1099 forms. Basically, winners are liable for the difference between the amount they paid and the fair market value of the room -- in this case, according to Volcheff, what the room would cost on the site, which is a good bit less than the standard rate. Still if you scored a 3- or 4-star room for a week, the tax consequences could be significant.
Volcheff said if folks who had gotten rooms were concerned about the taxes they could just cancel and there would be no fee.
Seems straightforward enough. But it probably would've been useful to have this fine print somewhere on the site. And perhaps next time they will.
This from Volcheff on the confusion: "We do plan to run another campaign in the near future, and there are definitely learning lessons from this first one.''

This week, STA Travel is running a call-in contest promotion with 20 winners each day getting a chance to buy a round-trip ticket for travel through March 31 (think Spring Break) to New York, LA, Denver, Miami, or Chicago for $100, including taxes, fees, and any fuel surcharges.
The odds of scoring such a deal are obviously not good. Besides winners can only get one ticket and who wants to travel alone? So, STA will also be offering an online sale each day of a limited number of seats on flights to same destination city. What kinds of prices are we talking about? One way fares from Boston to New York $25; to DC $50, and to Miami: $75 -- plus taxes, fees, and fuel surcharge, according to Patrick Evans of STA. All these flights will be on American.
Evans said prices on Boston fares for the other destinations were not yet available.
This is the way the contest will work: On Monday-Friday, STA will announce that day's destination selected from the list above at 11 a.m. Today's is Miami. Starting at 1 p.m., the first 20 to call 800-360-9273 will be able to buy a $100 round-trip ticket from any departure city in the nation.
To qualify you must be a full-time student or teacher or under 26 years old and own or buy a $22 International Student (or Teacher) Identity Card or an International Youth Travel Card.

Posted by Paul Makishima, Globe staff

Et tu, US Airways? In a move pioneered by JetBlue, US Airways says it will start charging passengers $7 for a pillow and blanket on Feb 16.
US Airways' Power-Nap Sack (don't you just love the name?) includes a fleece blanket, inflatable neck pillow, eye shades, and foam ear plugs. The best part? It all comes in a bag embroidered with the US Airways logo.
How cool is that?
But wait! The sack also includes a coupon for $10 off any SkyMall item. Choice. Among the current top rated items on its site: Instant Pendant Light ($49.99), Heart Rate Ring ($39.84), and Foot Alignment Socks ($19.95).
So to cynics like yourselves it may just look like more piling on of fees, but it clearly all pays for itself.

With Virgin America prepared to launch its service from Boston to San Francisco and Los Angeles on Feb. 12, JetBlue announced that it will revive plans for service between Boston and New York to Los Angeles International starting June 17.

JetBlue had planned to launch service out of LAX last summer but pulled back, citing the record high fuel costs. That meant that the closest their customers could get to the city was either Burbank or Long Beach as opposed to Virgin, which offers service out of LAX. The discount carrier, which hasn't decided on fares for the twice-daily service (bet on low introductory ones), will begin selling tickets to LAX Wednesday Feb. 4.
JetBlue also has said that it will revive nonstop service from Boston to San Francisco May 1 on a seasonal basis -- which means through Labor Day -- after discontinuing the service last year.
Sebastian White, a JetBlue spokesman, denied that the moves were in response to Virgin's entrance to the Boston market.
"As you'll remember, when we canceled plans to start up LAX service last summer, fuel was at an all-time high. Fares could simply not support the cost of operations in the market,'' he said in an email. "With fuel prices down and fares slightly up, the timing was right for us to finally make our debut at LAX.''
White, however, admits that the airline sees Virgin as a competitor on the routes they both serve.
David Cush, Virgin chief executive, has said that he sees the airline's main competition as the legacy carriers, not discounters like JetBlue. Cush says his carrier aims to link major business centers, offering travelers top-flight entertainment options, service, and other amenities.
White says of JetBlue, which is no slouch in the area of in-flight entertainment and amenities, "We're committed to making JetBlue even more relevant to Boston travelers, particularly our growing numbers of business customers, by offering flights to their most-requested destinations.''
OK, guys, sounds like competition to me. And even if y'all are focused on business travelers -- as are most carriers, since suits tend to fly more than the rest of us and are more willing and able to pony up high fares for the privilege of flying when and where they need to -- I expect this could signal the beginning of good things for regular travelers in Boston.

One more thing... JetBlue says it will start flying to Montego Bay, Jamaica, May 21. Boston customers will be able to connect to direct flights departing from New York.

In yet one more reflection of the soft leisure travel market (read good for those who can afford to travel), Alamo Rent A Car has announced a new airport promotion offering $10-per-day rates Thursday through Monday through Memorial Day weekend.
To take advantage of the deal and for all the details, customers should go to the website and click the $10 A Day Weekend Rentals button.
There is a four-day limit on rentals, which range from economy to premium-size cars. You can commence your rental as early as 9 a.m. on Thursdays and the terms of the discount require an overnight Saturday rental. Nonparticipating locations include, but are not limited to, Denver, Aspen, and the New York Metro area.

If you travel with kids, check this out. AT&T Cruisecast and RaySat Broadcasting Corp. are teaming with Avis and Budget to make satellite TV available in rental cars at select locations in the second quarter.
AT&T Cruisecast and RaySat will launch their consumer auto satellite TV system at the end of March, according to a RaySat spokesman.
The Avis-Budget service will cost $8.95 per day or $62.65 per week.
For consumers, the system will plug into any rear-seat LCD entertainment system and the monthly subscription fee is expected to be about $28. The suggested price for the antenna and receiver -- not the monitor -- will be $1,299, and the systems will be available at car dealerships and stores that sell and install auto entertainment systems.
Both car-rental and consumer systems will pull in 22 TV channels -- more will likely be added later -- and 20 satellite radio ones and are geared toward families.
The TV line-up will include the Disney Channel, Disney XD, Discovery Kids, Animal Planet, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network Mobile, USA, Comedy Central, MSNBC, CNN Mobile Live, and CNBC.
Satellite TV has been available for a couple years but a major problem has been reception: Picture and sound would freeze every time you passed any obstruction, say, a telephone pole or a building. Early reports suggest that the new AT&T-RaySat system represents a significant improvement in the technology.
As a kid I always thought the car of the future would have TV and auto-pilot steering. So, now we're nearly half way there.

Here's the deal: Lastminutetravel.com has just launched its World for a Dollar promotion.
Starting in late January, visitors to the website will get a chance to book a room for up to seven consecutive nights for $1 per night at any of the 15,000 hotels in the site's worldwide inventory.
What kinds of hotels? To give you some idea, in Boston you could pick the Onyx Hotel, Nine Zero, or Boston Park Plaza, among many others.
The catch(es)?
Reservations can only be made during one 15-minute period each day, Monday - Friday, over 2 weeks. And they won't reveal in advance what day the promotion will begin or which 15-minute period in any given day. The only way to find out is to keep checking the site.
There are a few more conditions: You can only score a cheap room once during the campaign; the booking must be made online and must be completed within the 15-minute time frame.
Sound hard? You can register on the website for clues to help you out.
Why is Last Minute Travel doing this? The idea is to promote the site's transition to becoming an "opaque" one, like Hotwire, in which you make an offer for a hotel stay, car rental, air flights etc without knowing what specific hotel or company you are dealing with. Thus their interest in having you return to the site multiple times to check things out.
A hassle, yes. But a cool hotel room for $1? With a deal like that maybe you can afford a winter vacation, even in a lousy economy.

American has just launched a sale to select destinations in the United States, Caribbean, Mexico, South America, Europe, and Asia.
Sample fares include: Boston-Miami for $94 each way (based on round-trip ticket), Boston – Dallas/Fort Worth, $124, and Boston – London Heathrow, $186.
Tickets must be purchased by Jan. 16. US travel must begin between Jan. 26-March 1 and be completed by March 4; Caribbean and Mexico trips must commence Jan. 12-March 10 and be finished by March 12; Europe flights Jan. 19-April 1 and completed by April 29; Asia travel Jan. 19-March 31 and completed by April 30; and South America flights Jan. 12-June 27 and completed by June 30.
Other restrictions may apply. For full details, hit the website.
.

JetBlue, which has just cut a deal multiyear deal to become the official charter airline of the Red Sox, is throwing a 9-hour online sale of fares from Boston to the American League cities the carrier flies to, with one-way fares as low as $9 to Buffalo (as close as JetBlue gets to Toronto), $29 to New York, $49 to Chicago or Tampa, and $99 to Oakland or Long Beach, Calif. (which is outside LA).
The sale began at 9 a.m. Friday and ends at 6 p.m. There are some restrictions: Travel dates are Jan. 6-Feb. 10 with blackouts Jan. 15-19. Friday and Sunday travel is also excluded.
But few sales work for everyone -- or even most people, these days.
By the way, the significance of the number 9 (as in hours) is that it was Ted William's number.

JetBlue detailed what it called the first step in its Logan expansion plans with an increase of a total of 11 flights to 12 US cities starting May 1.
Besides its previously announced plans to resume flights between Boston and San Francisco with seasonal service, the discount carrier says it will add second daily flights to Charlotte, N.C.; Chicago O’Hare; Pittsburgh; and Raleigh/Durham, N.C.; a third flight to Buffalo, N.Y., and Long Beach, Calif.; sixth and seventh flights to Dulles; and a ninth and 10th flights to JFK.
JetBlue said in October that it was planning to increase its Logan presence.
Analysts have characterized the growth in Boston as very smart as it targets gaps left by other airlines, which either have dropped routes or are no longer serving them as well as they might.
Boston is already JetBlue's second-largest city, behind New York, and the carrier offers service to more destinations than any other at Logan.
Sebastian White, a JetBlue spokesman, said that he was not sure when the airline would disclose further expansion but expected that there would be more news in the first couple months of 2009.

American is going to announce this week that it will reinstate nonstop service between Boston and San Diego on April 7. The carrier stopped running the once daily transcontinental flight in September after the summer's record-high fuel prices made long-haul routes less appealing than shorter ones.
American cut domestic seat capacity by 12 percent this year, and it has slated a 6 percent reduction for next year. But in addition to bringing back the profitable and popular San Diego flight, American also plans to begin offering on April 7 a third daily flight between Boston and St. Louis, a fourth daily flight between Boston and Los Angeles, and a ninth daily flight between Boston and Dallas-Fort Worth. Starting May 1, American plans to offer a third daily flight between Boston and London and resume its daily seasonal flight between Boston and Paris.
But with the deteriorating economy, it's hard forecast how long these additional flights will remain viable.
"This is the first time people don't know what kind of demand we're going to have two to three months from now," James K. Carter, vice president for American's Eastern sales division, told a roomful of the carrier's Logan International Airport managers during a meeting detailing the service changes.
By Nicole C. Wong, Globe Staff

Virgin America, the California-based discount airline, will launch service at Logan Airport starting Feb. 12 with service to San Francisco and Los Angeles.
"Boston is a great fit for us when you look at our business strategy. We link major urban centers, and there are a lot of ties between Boston and the San Francisco area in terms of tech fields, medicine, education,'' David Cush, president and chief executive of Virgin America, said this morning.
Virgin’s announcement comes three days after it said that it would suspend plans to fly out of Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, the latest in a series of recent setbacks to the company’s aggressive growth plans.
Virgin is planning two daily flights from Logan to San Francisco International and three to Los Angeles, with main cabin rates starting at $149 one way, $570 for main cabin premium service, and $999 in first class. Tickets are now on sale on the airline's website.
Virgin, whose operational base is at San Francisco International Airport, began service in August 2007 with ambitious plans to be in as many as ten cities within its first year and up to 30 in five years.
It was the brainchild of British billionaire Richard Branson, who is a minority investor in the carrier and has licensed the Virgin brand to the company but is barred by US law from owning or controlling it.
Virgin currently serves San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Washington, D.C., Las Vegas, San Diego, and Seattle. Boston will be its eighth city.
Analysts have said that the key to Virgin’s growth would be its ability to develop a network around major business centers but it has recently been stymied in attempts to enter new markets.
The discount carrier said that it was planning to add two cities east of the Mississippi this year. And in a February interview, Cush hinted that the lucky two could be Chicago and Boston.
Virgin finally opted for Chicago and Newark, N.J. Plans for Newark got shelved this spring, however, because of government restrictions aimed at curbing air traffic in the New York area. And on Friday Virgin suspended its Chicago plans after failing to secure the gates they needed.
Virgin representatives had suggested that the carrier would likely not pursue expansion into Boston this year, amid the economic downturn.
But, Cush said, it was the decision to turn away from Chicago that opened the door to initiating service at Logan.
"We'd been talking to Logan since the beginning of operations in August,'' he said. "But things really heated up last week. We had some planes coming in, and we wanted to be able to put them in operation. So when it came time to look at pulling the plug on Chicago we got in touch with the people at Logan, and they were able to work out a nice offer of arrangements for us.''
Edward C. Freni, the Logan's director of aviation, has said that moves to consolidate operations of merger partners Delta Airlines and Northwest Airlines in Terminal A would clear space for the airport to offer gates to another domestic carrier.
Virgin’s Logan operations will be based in Terminal B, Matthew Brelis, an airport spokesman, said.
While the airline’s focus is on business travel, Virgin has also found favor with many leisure travelers owing to its newer planes, hip interior designs and mood lighting, and its luxury approach to lower-fare travel, which features leather seats, satellite TV, on-demand movies, streaming radio, and selection of MP3 music files. It also plans offer WiFi on all its aircraft by spring 2009.

The folks at TSA know that the holidays are -- how to put it -- a stressful time. Most people who fly know the carry-on rules, but for some reason it becomes easy to forget that the rules apply even to holiday goodies. To wit, the TSA reminds travelers that the following foodstuffs and beverages need to packed in luggage and checked:
* gravy (??)
* salad dressing
* oils and vinegars (who travels with oil and vinegar?)
* cranberry sauce
* salsa
* sauces
* maple syrup
* creamy dips (then noncreamy, less fattening varieties are OK?)
* wine, liquor and beer
* jams
* jellies
* soups (excuse me sir, is that a soup in your pocket or are you just happy....)

And who says these TSA guy don't have a sense of humor? Check out this last bit of advice from the website:

Note: You can bring pies and cakes through the security checkpoint, but be advised that they might be subject to additional screening. (italics mine)

Ya gotta love these guys.

Southwest put fares on sale for the second time in a week to boost business in the slow periods after the holidays.
The three-day sale begins today and ends Nov. 20 for travel from Dec. 9 through Feb. 28. Sale fares are available only on the website, with the cheapest days being Monday through Thursday. Sample deals from Providence: Baltimore-Washington Intl. $49 one way, LA $99, or Chicago Midway $89.
``It is pretty obvious that there are more than a few empty seats hanging out this winter, even with the substantial seat cutbacks,'' Rick Seaney, CEO of ticket-research firm Farecompare.com, told Bloomberg News.

For years, travelers have been screaming for setting limits on how long airlines can leave hapless passengers sitting on tarmacs during flight delays and even the US Department of Transportation's inspector general last fall recommended some kind of rule.
But the best a federal task force could do yesterday was to approve voluntary guidelines for airlines and airports. It failed to come up with any hard rules on how long airlines can keep you shut up in planes before being allowed to exit.
It's hard to find anyone who flies even semiregularly who doesn't have a story of being stranded on the tarmac for hours with no recourse.
(Full disclosure: I've been stuck twice. Both times were in California, once on an American flight and once with United, for three and nearly six hours, respectively, after the jets I was on appeared to be experiencing mechanical problems.)
Passenger rights advocates told the Associated Press that representatives of the airlines leaned on other task force members to reject time limits, saying they wanted the flexibility to design their own response plans.
Right. And what has kept them from doing so thus far on their own?
The DOT says it is working on rules to require airlines and airports to have contingency plans and include a time limit. But who knows when and if that will happen?
Well, you ask, what recommendations did the task force come up with?
They suggest the airlines update you on progress every 15 minutes; provide a secure room for passengers on overseas flight so they won't have to go back through security; provide refreshments and entertainment when practical; and try to keep the restroom clean.
The 36-member task force was created in December by Transportation Secretary Mary Peters and was dominated by airline industry and airport representatives.
OK, Barack, I know you already have one or two other things on your plate but let's hope that you will be able to do a bit better by us. Yes, you can.

Lower-fare carrier AirTran joined the major legacy airlines in adding a $15 fee for a first checked piece of luggage on flights starting Dec 5.
Delta, American, United, and Continental all charge for first, and subsequent bags.
Discounters Southwest and JetBlue allow at least one free checked bag.
The move by AirTran reminds us that even the discounters, once thought to be a bit more insulated from the pressures plaguing the industry, haven't completely escaped the drag of the sagging economy and slowing travel demand.

Our friends at Priceline have released their annual holiday calendar of the most fiscally prudent days to travel, and there aren't any surprises: The cheapest days are Nov. 23, 24 and 27 for Thanksgiving, and Dec. 22, 23 and 24 for Christmas; the priciest are Nov. 21 and 26; Dec. 19, 20 and 28; and Jan. 3 and 4.

While those general guidelines are useful, they don't necessarily shed a whole lot of light on the key thing here: what you will need to pay.

But the travel website does offer a Best Days To Fly tool that I find more useful. This is the way it works: Go to the site and click on the Best Days To Fly box on the right hand side of the screen. A dialog box will pop up. Enter your departure and arrival cities. This will generate a calendar showing the lowest published ticket price found by Priceline customers for days around the holiday, and you can use this info to help you figure out when to fly and whether you're getting a good deal.

Brian Ek, a Priceline spokesman, says the site will continue updating the info.

Westjet, the Canadian discount airline that plans to partner with Southwest, sent out a questionnaire to consumers to gauge their willingness to pay for a menu of services -- or to save money forgoing them.

One of the questions, first reported by Chris Elliott on his blog, involved whether passengers would favor shelling out $10 to not sit next to a parent with a baby.

The Westjet queries are revealing, I think. They don’t necessarily reflect what kinds of fees all the airlines will go for, but they suggest what kinds of things they all must be at least considering (or are already trying).

Besides the baby question, the carrier also asked whether travelers would consider paying $10 for:

• Being among the first to get on or off planes
  
• Quicker baggage delivery
  
• Priority rebooking after flight cancellations
  
• Complimentary meals/hotel accommodations for substantially delayed or canceled flights
  
• In-flight Web access
  
• Guaranteed space in the overhead bin
  
• In-seat power
  
• Premium snacks/meals
  
• Freshly laundered pillow/blanket set that you may keep
  
• Amenity kits with earplugs, eyeshades, and toiletries
  
• Shorter waits to clear security checkpoints

The carrier also asked questions about which services travelers would be willing to give up in order to save $10 on flights of two to four hours. These included

Good morning, travelers. The sale deals by both discounters won't help you with Turkey Day -- in one case the day is blacked out and the other requires a 21-day advance. But if you can travel in the windows they offer there are some pretty good fares to be had. Here's the rundown:
For the first times in months, Southwest is offering systemwide discounts, with fares as low as $49 one way. Travel must take place between Dec. 2 and Feb. 11 and require a 21-day advance purchase. Lowest fares are available Monday through Thursday, and Saturday, and must be booked through the site.
JetBlue is offering 10 percent off a number of flights, but you have to book through this page on the site and enter the promotion code: 10offNov. This deal is good for travel between now and Feb. 10, with blackout dates of Nov. 25-Dec. 2, Dec. 16-Jan. 7, Jan. 15-19, and all Sundays.
Both offers are only good through Thursday and there may be other fees and restrictions. But what else is new?

Delta, the lone holdout among the legacy carriers, says it will start charging $15 for the service. The move will take effect for flights after Dec. 4. Checking a second bag will cost $25, half the current rate.
The airline also said it would trim its telephone reservation fee from $25 to $20, and, drop its $3 curbside check-in fee. And it plans to to eliminating a $25 to $100 fuel surcharge for SkyMiles and WorldPerks award-ticket holders in response to falling fuel prices.
Delta says it's making these changes as it moves to align its policies with those of its merger partner Northwest. Delta said last week it would adopt Northwest's policy of offering coach seats with more legroom, such as those in exit rows, for $5 to $25 extra.

Continental says it will waive the $15 fee for a first checked bag for Continental Airlines Chase credit and debit card members. Continental Airlines Presidential Plus holders will be able to check up to two bags without paying a fee, a savings of up to $40 each way.
Passengers traveling with card holders also will be eligible for waivers if they're listed in the same reservation and check in at the same time. The new policy is effective immediately.
More than 1 million people carry a Continental credit or debit card, the airline said.
Carriers instituted the baggage fees this summer to help offset high fuel prices. Among the major legacy carriers only Delta doesn't assess a first bag fee.

To celebrate its new JFK home in Terminal 5, JetBlue has launched an airfare sale.
What kinds of deals are we talking about? Fares from Logan are as low as $59 to Buffalo or NYC, $69 to Washington, Charlotte, or Raleigh, $94 to Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Orlando, Tampa, or West Palm, $109 to San Juan, Puerto Rico, $149 to Vegas or Seattle, and $169 to Long Beach or Oakland.
You must book by the end of the month and complete travel by Jan. 14. As usual, there are other taxes and fees and blackout dates. To get the special rates you have to book online. Here's the link.

Kids can get in free at nearly 130 children's museums around the nation through Oct. 26 when they are with a paying adult.
The deal comes courtesy of the Association of Children's Museums and Nick's Parents Connect. Here's the list of participating museums and the coupon.
A couple things to bear in mind: This is a one-paid-adult-one-child-free deal so to get two kids in you'll need two adults. And not every children's museum in America is on the list. For instance, in Massachusetts the museum in Boston is not participating but the one is Easton is.
If you're looking already planning to travel, however, in the next few weeks, say, to Portland, Maine, it might be worth checking out. You could hit the museum there or if you're going to Bangor you and the kids might pop into the Maine Discovery Museum.

If you’re planning to go on a long plane ride but have a painfully short attention span, have I got a book for you. ‘‘747 Things to Do on a Plane’’ by Justin Cord Hayes gives you, yes, 747 things to do to make a long flight feel less tedious. Hayes’s ideas range from no-brainers (read the newspaper) to morbid (write your own obituary) to bizarre (draw tattoos on your arms). His section on making lists is thought-provoking and a possibly eye-opening use of time (list the top 10 happiest moments of your life or the top 10 vacations you’ve ever taken). He gets desperately snarky in the section on pranks. Sneaking into first class (then what?) is one thing, but belching the alphabet and kicking the back of someone’s seat? Not that anyone who knows how to spell air marshal would actually act like such a jerk on a crowded plane, but still. The book is better than a magazine, makes a great gag gift, the word puzzles included are clever, and you won’t mind if you leave it behind when you finally arrive at your destination.

Amid high fuel prices and a soft economy, American is moving to a la carte pricing starting next year. The AP is reporting that American, which was the first (but not the last) carrier to start charging for a first checked bag, plans to embrace the kind of "unbundling'' model that Air Canada has been practicing for about five years.
This is the way it works at Air Canada: Consumers choose from one of four fare levels. AP says the top two classes of tickets, Latitude and Executive classes, "are fully refundable and come with priority check-in, food and other goodies included." Basic Tango class "requires extra fees for upgrades such as a food voucher, advance seat selection, flight changes and airport lounge access," AP writes. You can also save a few bucks by electing to forgo frequent flier miles or by not checking a bag (all Air Canada customers can check at least two bags free).
I spoke with Ned Raynolds, an American spokesman, about the changes. He said he couldn't discuss any details but said it was a necessary move to fill seats and remain competitive. He also pointed out that the notion of al la carte pricing was not entirely new. "Largely,'' he said. "we're already there.''
And it's true. For the most part, it appears that the changes will not be stark. If you're flying coach, you're already paying for things like a refundable fare, food, and airport lounge access. There could be some shifts -- here, I'm thinking of having to pay for seat selection.
So the bottom line? More nickel and diming. Sure. But I don't think on its face that this is a huge shift for most consumers. I think you can, however, safely argue that by codifying the system what this does is make clear that this new era of proliferating and escalating fees, of trying to find out what travelers value so are willing to pay a premium for is here to stay.

Discounters reign. The folks at Forbes.com have put together a ranking of the nation's 10 major airlines, and Southwest rose to the top. Continental was No. 2, JetBlue No. 3, and AirTran 4.
The top dogs were followed by Alaska, Northwest, American, and Delta. And bringing up the rear were United and US Airways.
Now you're probably wondering which factors Forbes.com considered. They looked at five year's worth of federal data on on-time arrivals, cancellations, complaints, and mishandled baggage, with heaviest weight given to delays and cancellations. They then also took into account consumer satisfaction by looking at J.D. Power rankings from 2005-2008 as well as the airlines' financial stability as measured by their asset-to-liability ratios.
I like this ranking because it confirms my own prejudices and experience. However, on-time arrival figures for August, which were just released today, suggest that this ranking has limits in predicting anyone's actual travel experience.
Of the Big 10, the airlines that did best were Northwest, Southwest, and US Airways, followed by Alaska, AirTran, Delta, Continental, United, and American, And the worst? JetBlue. Go figure.

Among the things I like best about JetBlue and Virgin America are their in-flight media offerings. But as I fly around I increasingly see travelers listening to their own iPods or MP3 players and watching films on portable players or laptops.
I guess the folks at Hudson News have noticed as well. The ubiquitous-in-airports Hudson chain in September started selling (renting, really) Flexplay self-destructing movie DVDs for $6 at most of its 350 newsstand locations.
Why self-destructing? The big advantage of this system is that you don't have to remember to return anything. Once you open your DVD's sealed pouch, a chemical process kicks in, which will allow you to watch the film as many times as you want for at least two days. After that, the quality degrades. Once the DVD is kicked, you recycle.
Each Hudson store will offer about two dozen DVD titles, refreshed with new films every week or two, according to Laura Samuels, a Hudson spokeswoman. Currently, Flexplay has licensing deals with Warner Home Video, Paramount Home Entertainment, and DreamWorks.
You can also order online from Flexplay and have discs mailed to you for $4.99, which includes shipping. Flexplay discs are also available at Staples.
The new Hudson/Flexplay system is convenient and "Mission Impossible'' cool, but it's not the only option for airport DVD rentals.

Welcome to the land of bizarre travel ads. Please fasten your seat belt and make sure your seat-back and tray table are in the secure upright position for takeoff.
There's a theory among some ad guys that anything that brings attention to your brand -- good or bad -- is good. The people at Extended Stay Hotels must be adherents.
A new commercial by them is popping up around the Net. The commercial features a series of shots of various people engaged in fairly innocuous, routine activities in hotel rooms, all to a jaunty operatic score. The single commonality? They all appear to be passing gas.
That's right. The whole ad is one visual fart joke. And the tag line? "No place makes you feel more comfortable.''
I dunno. Do I want to feel comfortable in my hotel room? Sure. Do I want to be thinking of how others have been "comfortable'' there too?
I leave it up to you, my good friends. Loosen your belts and enjoy the show.

Call it more a la carte pricing. Literally. JetBlue says it's thinking about adding a premium snack service, although the company hastens to add that it will still offer free snacks. This from AP:

Forest Hills, N.Y.-based JetBlue already offers a "premium" drink service that includes VitaminWater and Rockstar Energy Drinks for $3.
Speaking at an investors conference, chief financial officer Ed Barnes said the carrier will consider charging extra fees, but insisted that it will not look to charge customers for basic items.
JetBlue currently charges for things like extra legroom, pillows, and blankets.

Verified Identity Pass's Clear program, which speeds prescreened travelers through security checkpoints at participating airports, will debut at Logan this month. Clear gives travelers who pay the $128 annual fee a high-tech identification card to verify their fingerprint or iris image at designated security lane kiosks. Clear spokeswoman Cindy Rosenthal said the Massachusetts Port Authority, which runs Logan, was one of the first agencies interested in this fast-pass program since it was tested in Orlando in July 2005. But she said Massport's long approval process has held up Clear's arrival, so instead Delta is sponsoring the program at its Logan terminal. More than 200,000 travelers have registered for Clear and used their fast passes nearly 1.5 million times across 18 airports nationwide since the program began three years ago.
Posted by Nicole C. Wong. Globe Staff

Here come again the fees again. Citing high fuel costs, United says it will to double its fee for a second checked bag to $50.
The carrier said the increased levy would apply to tickets bought beginning Tuesday for domestic travel starting Nov. 10. as well as flights or to or from Canada, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. And it expects about one of seven, or about 14 percent, of customers will have to pony up.
There are still exemptions and they remain unchanged: travelers in first or business classes, "Premier" frequent fliers, and active-duty military personnel.
The timing for this decision seems a bit out of step, considering that oil prices have been on the decline, falling from a high about of about $145 a barrel this summer to below $96 a barrel on Monday. But the carrier points out that fuel prices are still more than 50 percent higher than last year.

You think you have it bad, yo. Sean "Diddy" Combs says he's had to stop using his personal jet because fuel costs have rocketed.
In his Diddy Blog No. 12, making the rounds on YouTube (y'all should make sure the kids aren't in the room when my boy unleashes his [bleeping] tirade), Diddy complains, "I've been flying back and forth to LA pursuing my acting career. If I fly back and forth twice a month, that's like $250,000 round trip.''
Diddy videotaped his blog in an airline terminal before boarding a commercial flight. "I'm back on American Airlines now . . . and I'm in coach!"
The hip-hop star and entrepreneur urges "whoever the next president is we need to bring gas prices down,'' and he appeals to "all my Saudi Arabian brothers and sisters and all my brothers and sisters from countries that have oil if y'all could please send me some oil for my jet.''
Yo, Obama, McCain are y'all listening?
(A shout-out to the folks at the New York Post for this.)

The Wyndham folks are offering this 50 percent off deal through the end of the year. This is the way it works: This discount is available Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, and you must stay at least two consecutive nights. The offer is subject to availability, and blackout dates apply.
What you get? Half off your second night or half off additional room on the same night (a useful option if you happen to be traveling with, say, teenage kids and would not mind getting them into their own room for a night). You can book either through the website or
by calling 877-999-3223 and requesting the Weekender package.

Wanna get away -- and play some golf?
There are deals to be had over the next several weeks, particularly in places where late summer qualifies as the “low season.” The LaQuinta Golf Resort & Spa in Palm Springs, Calif., has two noteworthy courses designed by Pete Dye, and through Sept. 18, the golf vacation provider Worldwide Golf Vacations is offering an outstanding three-day deal for $489 per person, double-occupancy. The package includes three nights in a resort casita, a $50 dining credit per room per night, three days of unlimited golf on-site, a shared cart and pre-booked tee times, plus a three-day rental of a midsize car with unlimited mileage. The aforementioned courses include the Mountain Course, ranked among Golf Magazine’s “Top 100 You Can Play.” This scenic layout is carved into the Santa Rosa Mountains, and it has hosted the Senior Skins Game and golf’s World Cup competition. The resort’s Dunes Course (above) has a Scottish flair and demands accuracy off the tee. It has hosted the final stage of PGA Tour Qualifying six times, and is on Golf Digest’s “Top 75 Resort Courses” in the US.
Another deal is a bit less expensive and closer to home, but requires you to move a little more quickly. Kingston Plantation in Myrtle Beach, S.C., is offering a three-day package at $439 per person through Aug. 31, based on quad occupancy. The deal includes three nights in a two-bedroom villa, three rounds of golf, carts and pre-booked tee times, and a three-day minivan rental with unlimited mileage. For more information on these deals, and to view other available packages, go to the Worldwide Golf Vacations website, or call them at 800-946-5318.

Hertz, which had been testing rentals by the hour, says that it is planning to launch a major push into the car-sharing market later this year. What does this mean to you, dear travelers? The prospect of a multinational concern like Hertz getting into the business is potentially huge.
Rich Broome, senior vice president for corporate affairs and communications, wouldn’t offer much in the way of details, but said that the company would initially roll out the program in a handful of major US cities. Boston, he said, would "probably be part of a second wave."
Broome said, “Many people think of Hertz being primarily at airports but we also have 1,600 off-airport locations in the United States, and when we roll this thing out we will have leading-edge technology in place to be able to get customers what they want where they want it.’’
For travelers the potential upside is clear. Hertz has 8,100 locations in 147 countries, so it’s not hard to imagine that eventually customers will be able to sign up in Boston, but use car-sharing services around the nation and the world. Sweet, yes?
It's also a safe bet that this will juice up competition, a good thing for consumers. Right now, the leader in the field is Cambridge-based Zipcar, which has seen a tremendous amount of growth and currently has more than 200,000 members in 50 cities in North America as well as a presence in London.
But others will also be interested.
As my pal Scott Kirsner wrote a story detailing this a few months ago, UHaul and Enterprise, noting Zipcar’s success, have been testing the car-sharing waters.

American says it will raise fees and mileage requirements for upgrades and free trips.
Under changes that take effect Oct. 1, an upgrade from economy coach on a domestic flight will cost $50, plus the 15,000 miles that was already required.
Miles and fees for upgrades were also raised on international flights.
The airline told members of its AAdvantage frequent-flier program of the changes in an e-mail message. Its moves follow changes in Delta's mileage program last week.
Delta said it would give frequent fliers a guaranteed ability to redeem miles for a free trip but sometimes at the cost of many more miles. Under a new three-tier program, fliers who spend more miles will get a better shot at winning one of the limited number of seats set aside for reward tickets. (AP)

JetBlue says that it will drop nonstop service between Boston and San Francisco and San Jose, Calif., due to high fuel costs. These are two of the carrier's three longest routes -- the third being between Boston and Oakland, Calif. Fuel for a flight between Boston and San Francisco now costs JetBlue $20,000 - -or $276 per passenger -- but competition makes it hard for the airline to charge profitable airfares, said spokesman Sebastian White. JetBlue's twice-daily nonstop flights between Boston and Oakland will continue after the San Francisco route stops on Sept. 3 and the San Jose trips end Sept. 16.
Posted by Nicole C. Wong, Globe Staff

What next, you ask?
JetBlue says it will start charging for blankets and pillows. The discount carrier plans to stop giving out recycled blankets and pillows, and will instead sell an "eco-friendly'' travel blanket and pillow for $7 on flights longer than two hours.
But the news is not all bad: The kit will come with a $5 coupon to Bed Bath & Beyond. (Somebody say, Wa-Hoo!)
The blanket and pillow deal is just the latest in a string of a la carte items airlines have started charging for to help offset the soaring price of jet fuel.
Another nick in this death by a thousand cuts.

It makes my head hurt. As if keeping the shifting terms for frequent-flier programs straight wasn't hard enough already (how many miles do I now need and when do they turn into pumpkins?).
Delta plans to become the first major carrier to revamp from a two-tier plan to a three-tier, and the whole thing will go into effect in early September.
I'll let Micheline Maynard of The New York Times explain it:
"Previously, Delta offered frequent-flier tickets for domestic coach travel at either 25,000 or 50,000 miles. Under the new system, travelers will need 25,000, 40,000 or 60,000 miles, depending on when they book their ticket, and where they are traveling.
"Delta reinstated a feature called 'last seat,' which allows a frequent flier to book any remaining seat on a plane, whether or not it is designated for a member of its mileage program.
"These seats require 60,000 miles for domestic coach travel, and 100,000 miles in first class, the airline said. Delta first offered the feature in the early 1990s, but discontinued it in December.''
So the bottom line would seem to be that you likely will have to pony up more miles to get a seat. To being with, seats at the upper end have gone up from 50,000 miles to 60,000 and at the lower end you have to ask yourself: How many 25,000-mile seats will there really be? And how hard will it be to get one? If they are tough to snag, then for many the range will be more like 40,000-60,000 instead of 25,000-50,000.
To make us feel better Delta says for a premium price it'll now let you redeem miles for any available seat instead of limiting it to those designated for the program. Big deal. That's the way it was until December anyway.
For those interested in the terms of the international program, we return to Ms. Maynard:

It wasn't all that long ago that it seemed as if fare and fee hikes were raining down daily. And then it stopped. But it looks like it could be starting up again.
On Tuesday, Delta doubled fees for a second checked bag to $50. A big deal, yes, but for consumers not huge since the first is still free.
Today, airfare guru Rick Seaney, who has access to fare databases, is reporting on his website that Wednesday night Northwest jacked up domestic round-trip prices by $80 on more than 4,000 city pairs, less than two-thirds of its route system. This is apparently the first time Northwest has initiated an airfare hike this year.
Bloomberg News is quote Seaney as saying many of the affected routes are to and from Detroit, one of Northwest's three domestic hubs and that "hardly any'' are for flights its Minneapolis and Memphis hubs.
But the big question is: Will there be more?
It's tough to say. Seaney says part of the reason we haven't had any for a while is due to the fact that oil prices have fallen back below $130 a barrel. But a good part of the reason may be that the airlines feared customers might've been reaching a tipping point. Or as Gary Kelly, Southwest chief executive, put it last week: "We have some evidence … in the industry with our competitors where they feel like they’ve pushed fares too fast.''
So we'll see what happens next.

There's just no end in sight.
Citing high fuel costs, Delta says it will kick up the fee to check a second bag from $25 to $50 for most domestic passengers.
The carrier says it will also boost levies on domestic and international flights for items that require special handling such as surfboards or ski equipment.
Even the lowliest of domestic passengers will still be allowed to check a first bag free, and First Class, BusinessElite, and Medallion customers can check up to three bags at no charge. Travelers on international flights may continue checking a first and second bag at no charge.
Need more details? It's all here.

JetBlue has just launched its fall "Jetters Will Play'' sale starting now through Wednesday Aug. 6.
One-way fares start as low as $39 -- although most are not. From Boston, you can get to Buffalo (but why would you want to?) or New York City (now you're talking) for as little as $59. How about Fort Lauderdale or Orlando? As low as $94. Oakland or San Jose? Try $179.
All of these fares must be booked through the site; there are blackout dates; and the dates by which travel must be completed vary according to destination. Also, you'll note that you'll generally have more success getting the best rates by trying to book midweek.
If you go to the site, you can also register for a sweepstakes that will be held from now through Aug. 6 to win a pair of round-trip tickets to a different destination every day.

Time for a gut check. There was a story out Thursday morning about a government report showing that average domestic airfares rose 4.4 percent in the first quarter. No surprise, right?
But if you take a closer look at the Department of Transportation press release you see that the agency notes that from the first quarter of 1995 to the first quarter of 2008 average domestic itinerary fares rose 11.7 percent while inflation surged 41 percent.
Average fares include round-trip and one-way fares, taxes and fees and exclude abnormally high reported prices as well as freebie frequent-flier deals.
So I took their numbers, adjusted for inflation, graphed it out, and discovered that there's actually been a trend downwards -- a 20 percent drop from '95. Witness my handiwork above.
Surprising? Not really. Think about it. One of the first times I flew, in the mid-1980s, I did it on the budget-pioneer People Express, which basically priced itself out of existence. A round-trip, coast-to-coast ticket was about $200, which is a bit over $400 in today's dollars. About three weeks ago, I flew from Boston to Sacramento for a total of $465.
Some will want to quibble about details (Is the Department of Transportation Domestic Average Itinerary Fares the best way to gauge prices? And is the Consumer Price Index the best way to compare rates of inflation? Are first quarter prices the best period for comparing numbers), but apply your own life experience to this. Think about a flight you took about 10 years ago. Then plug those numbers in the Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation calculator. Not look around to see what that fare is now. And be fair.
Bottom line: Airfares are on the rise and for good reasons (in '95, a gallon of regular gas set you back $1.10-$1.20). But, historically speaking, they aren't that high. Yet. So let's turn down the volume on the kvetching.

I was in an airport in Sacramento earlier this month, getting ready to board a flight back here. And for those who have not traveled in a while, let me make this clear: The airlines are deadly serious about new baggage rules, including size and weight. We're talking both checked and carry-on.
While checking in, there was a woman in front of me who had been told that her suitcase was about 5 pounds over and her options were either to make it lighter or pony up about $80. So she popped it open right there and started pulling out a travel iron, knick-knacks, various articles of clothing (I leave this to your vivid imagination). And got the bag down to fighting weight.
Similarly, I saw a man trying to carry on a questionable-sized suitcase who was forced to check it (and pay for a second bag).
Anyway, the Washington Post, compiled this list of the current rules and if you are planning soon it might be worthwhile printing, clipping, and saving on the fridge:

I'll fess up: Jet lag does me in. I just got back from a quick trip to the Golden State. There's only a three-hour time difference, but it takes me about a week to get so I'm not still squinting quizzically through bloodshot eyes at the sun at 8:30 a.m. on the T.
I'm willing to try anything. Reader's Digest (I once had an English professor who likened the reading of digested material to the consumption of already digested material) has some tips. Most of them involve trying to get your body ready for the changes in advance; some focus on your general well-being; some are fabulously ridiculous. Here are a few (along with my own insights):
ACCLIMATE. If you’re going to be gone longer than a couple of days, begin acclimating your body to the new time zone by altering your eating schedule three days before your plane takes off -- cool, dinner at 3 sharp.
AVOID AIRLINE FOOD. See above. It seems if you're going to be tricking your body by eating closer to the new time zone you don't want at airline repast to mess up your schedule. Besides the food usually sucks anyway.
CHUG. Stay hydrated, but avoid alcohol and caffeine, as they can dehydrate you, mess up your internal clock, make you unpopular with the seatmate you have to climb over to get to the restroom, and exaggerate jet lag symptoms.
HIT THE LINGUINE. Or any other carb-dense food at dinner on the night before your flight. Recent research suggests carbs boost your ability to sleep — particularly when you fly westward. Wonder whether a Sam's summer ale would count. Carbs is carbs, right?
REFRIGERATE. Particularly if you need to sleep on the plane. I call this the suspended animation tip. Use earplugs to cut noise, an eyeshade to kill the light, and turn the air-conditioning valve on high. A lower temperature lowers your body’s core temperature and signals it’s time for sleep.
Here's the whole, unadulterated list.

James Bond's spy-gadget-equipped Aston Martin DB5, which first appeared
in the 1964 film "Goldfinger,'' on display at the International Spy Museum.

Orbitz is offering up to 30 percent off hotel rooms in a number of cities around the nation.
What does this mean? Maybe you want to get your Sean Connery on and go check out the International Spy Museum in Our Nation's Capital? You can score 30 percent off for stays of three nights. This translates into rates starting at $129/night (And this is no dive if TripAdvisor's reviews can be believed: They give it a 4 out of 5).
The only catch is that you have to book by Aug. 31, and your carriage turns back into a pumpkin Nov. 24. Worth a look.

Joining US Airways, American, and United, Northwest says it too will begin charging $15 to check a single piece of luggage. The new fee will apply to tickets sold after Thursday for travel starting Aug. 28 in the United States or to Canada.
In addition, Northwest, which also said it would cut 2,500 jobs amid surging fuel prices, plans to start charging for mileage-award tickets for travel starting Sept. 15. The carrier says those levies -- $25 for domestic, $50 for trans-Atlantic, and $100 for trans-Pacific -- are temporary.
Delta, Northwest's merger partner, said late last month that it would begin charging similar fees on frequent flier tickets.

The clock is ticking on JetBlue's 10 percent or $10 off sale, which will expire Friday at midnight.
This deal covers flights between Sept. 3 and Dec. 16, with blackouts apparently from Oct. 9-14 and Nov. 25 - Dec. 1.
To avail yourself of the savings you need to follow this link to a special page, where you can select where you want to go, and then use either JET07 to save $10 off a flight ($20 for round-trips) or JET17 for a 10 percent discount in the promo code box.
Think of it. Enjoying the vibrancy of fall in Oakland. Or Long Beach.

At long last. American plans to start testing its in-flight Internet access on flights starting tomorrow. And if it's successful, they're primed to roll it out to more planes in the next few weeks.
The test of the Aircell system will begin on one flight from New York to LA and one return flight, said Doug Backelin, American's manager of in-flight technology. The test service will be free.
The carrier says it's poised to initially launch paid service on its Boeing 767-200 jets that fly from New York to Los Angeles, San Francisco and Miami. It plans to charge $9.95 to $12.95, depending on flight length.
Besides the paid service, passengers will be able to connect free to American's site, Frommer's travel guides, and limited news headlines, Backelin said.
Besides American, Aircell is also working with Virgin America, and JetBlue started testing free e-mail, instant-messaging and some Amazon.com services aboard one of its planes in December.

Orbitz is offering a very interesting deal right now. If you book on the site and pay their $7-$12 service fee they promise to reimburse you the difference if the fare for your flight drops before you take off.
This is the way it works: Orbitz will track prices from the time you buy your ticket until the day of the flight and will issue qualifying refunds of $5 to $250, according to details on the site.
There is, however, a good bit of fine print involved. Two big things to keep in mind. First, the reimbursement won't apply if your carrier goes under. And the second involves the way Orbitz keeps track of fare decreases: Specifically, another customer must get a lower priced fare on Orbitz for the exact itinerary you have. So, if a lower fare is available, say, through a carrier's own website it doesn't count. And since Orbitz only sells a fraction of the tickets for any flight (the folks at Online Travel Review put their estimate at about 7.5 percent on average) and since flight prices tend to go up as you get closer to departure the odds that they'll need to pony up a reimbursement seem a little low.
Orbit's plans were first reported by the WSJ.
A little complicated but what a concept, yes?

Not a big surprise, but United and US Airways have decided to join rival American and start charging many customers $15 to check even one bag.
United, which said it was considering making the change when American announced its move last month, also plans to increase fees to check three or more bags, overweight luggage, or items that need special handling from $100 to $125 or from $200 to $250 depending on the item.
US Airways, which also plans to start charging domestic coach customers $2 for nonalcoholic drinks Aug. 1, detailed other cuts, including trimming its domestic schedule as much as 8 percent by year's end and axing 1,700 jobs.
The $25 fee that both carriers charge for a second checked bag will not change.
United's new policy will apply starting June 13 for passengers who buy seats for domestic travel and starting Aug. 18 for those headed to and from Canada, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands.
Exempt will be travelers flying United First, United Business, and those who have premier status with either United for the Star Alliance. Here are more details.
US Airways' new baggage fee will apply to tickets booked on or after July 9 for domestic flights and those to and from Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean. The airline will exempt Dividend Miles Preferred members, First Class and Envoy passengers, Star Alliance Silver and Gold status members, military personnel on active duty, unaccompanied minors, and passengers checking assistive devices. Here are the details.
All this should come as no shock. Sit tight. There will be others

Continental says it will drop service to 15 cities and trim flights to about 40 more as of Sept. 3.
The airline, which carries about 4.2 percent of the passengers at Logan said last week that it would cut its schedule by 11 percent in the fourth quarter.
The nine cities on the chopping block domestically include Oakland, Palm Springs, Reno, Sarasota, Tallahassee, Green Bay, Chattanooga, Toledo, and Montgomery, Ala. The six international destinations include: Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia; Cali, Colombia; Cologne, Germany; Guayaquil, Ecuador; Monclova, Mexico; and Santiago, Dominican Republic.
What this means to you is this: Obviously, you won't be able to get to any of the cities listed above on Continental. And you may have fewer options to other places it flies.
This is the reason why: From Logan, the carrier only flies to its hubs in Houston, Newark, and Cleveland, and from there to other cities. That service will continue without change.
The airline is cutting service cumulatively from those three hubs to about 40 cities. So, if you need to get to, say, San Jose, Calif., right now you can get there by flying first into either Newark or Houston, according to the flight map on the carrier's website.
In the future, you will no longer be able to get to San Jose from Newark, but you will still be able to from Houston, so it might be harder to get a flight when you want it. Or it might not. Service to any city will depend on demand. But the carrier is cutting flights overall, so clearly things will tighten up.
All the big carriers are cutting flights. At the very least, I give props to Continental for trying to get as much of it out there as quickly as possible. Still for consumers, things are going to get more expensive and more complicated.

Good morning, travelers. Continental said that it is cutting 3,000 jobs and reducing its flight schedule in the fourth quarter by 11 percent. Continental currently carries 4.2 percent of the passengers at Logan (and they anticipate being able to talk details about schedule changes as early as next week so stay tuned).
This comes just a day after our friends at United said they would trim their domestic schedule 17 percent by the end of 2009, two days after Delta said it would need to cut flights beyond the 11 percent already announced.
Oh, and let's not forget American who, a couple weeks ago, announced its plans to reduce flights 12 percent.
What these guys are doing is getting rid of unprofitable routes and grounding older, more fuel-guzzling planes -- we here in the US have the unenviable distinction of possessing among the oldest fleets flying.
With all these cancellations, more and more travelers, who made reservations before the reductions were announced, are going to have their itineraries involuntary shifted.
I took a quick look yesterday at what this will mean. If you missed it, here it is.

Delta says it will stop offering its daily flight between Boston and Los Angeles on Aug. 19 as record-high fuel prices force carriers to reexamine the viability of gas-guzzling nonstop transcontinental routes.
The cancellation comes a month after JetBlue axed its plan to launch a daily flight on the same route starting May 21. And last week, American said it would discontinue its daily flight between Boston and San Diego as of Sept. 3.
As a result, travelers will have to take connecting flights or scrounge for fewer seats on airlines that are still flying the routes nonstop. Trips are likely to be more inconvenient due to stopovers or more expensive due to a lower supply of seats -- maybe even both.
Nonstop service to eight West Coast cities is available from Logan.
Delta's move means flying on the carrier between Boston and Los Angeles -- or any other city on the West Coast -- will now require a layover in Atlanta, New York, Salt Lake City, or Cincinnati, said airline spokeswoman Susan Chana Elliott.
Posted by Nicole C. Wong, Globe Staff

Airlines already charge us for things that used to be included in the ticket price: headphones to watch movies and snacks, for instance. Now some airlines have begun to charge a fee to check a bag ($15) and for a window seat ($5). Outrageous, you say? Think again, say I, and brace yourself for these possible new fees:
1. Bathroom. $1.00 per use. There are two ways the airlines could charge for using the bathroom. One is to provide flight attendants with a key. Pay a dollar, get the key plus three squares of toilet paper. (Extra paper: 25 cents per square.) The second way is to have a coin lock on the door: Deposit 4 quarters (one Euro on international flights) and the door twists open. Unlimited use of tiny squares of paper included.
2. Light. Just like in churches in Italy, the overhead light would be controlled by inserting a token. Each dollar token would provide 15 minutes of illumination, almost enough time to complete the crossword at the back of the in-flight magazine. Which reminds me:
3. In flight magazine: $1.00. You think glossy paper is free?
4. Questions. $1.00. If you press the button for the flight attendant, you had better have an important question to ask, something more compelling than "Which gate number did you say my connecting flight will be at?" Which reminds me:
5. Connecting flights: $15.00.
6. Air: $5.00. You want to twist that little nozzle on? It's gonna cost you.
7. Reclining Seats. $10.00. If airlines stopped selling seats that recline they could fit an extra row in each aircraft.
8. Beverages. No more free ginger ale, diet cola, or tomato juice for you. $1.00 per beverage. Cup with ice (if you B.Y.O.B.): 50 cents. Napkin: A quarter.
9. Mini-pretzels or peanuts (.05 ounces): 50 cents. Bundle price $2.00: above, with cup, ice, beverage, and napkin. A bargain!
10. Blanket. $5.00 (used) $10.00 (in sealed plastic bag).
11. Pillow. Ditto.
12. Child-free Zone. $30.00. This ticket guarantees that no child under the age of 12 will be seated within 5 rows of your seat.
Unthinkable, you say? Check back in six months. Or add your own predictions now.

And so the cuts begin. American says it will cancel its daily Boston-San Diego service Sept. 3. The struggling carrier also says it will halt New York-London Stansted as of July 2, Chicago to Buenos Aires Sept. 3.Chicago-Honolulu Jan. 5, and trim American Eagle service in September to 33 flights, from the normal winter schedule of 55 daily departures.
These reductions are all part of the carrier's plan to reduce its schedule by as much as 12 percent and that of its regional Eagle service by as much as 11 percent. American detailed all this about a week ago -- at the same time it dropped the bomb about charging passengers $15 for even a first checked bag.
Be forewarned. This is just the beginning. News of more cuts will continue to trickle out.
If you are planning travel in the fall, you might do well to start making those plans soon. Decent fares and available seats will not be easier to come by as time passes.

Hold tight, folks. American said this morning that it needs to tighten the belt big-time. What that means is that it will start charging $15 to most passengers to check a first bag, and that it plans to cut its schedule by as much as 12 percent. American also said it would raise other fees from $5 to $50 for a range of services like reservation help to oversized bags.
The carrier's decision on baggage comes just a month after it decided to join other major carriers in charging $25 for a second checked bag. This means if you arrive with two bags the tab will be $40 each way. The baggage fees will kick in for flights booked starting June 15. But it won't affect some American frequent-flier program members or those paying full fare or international passengers. American put the details on their site.
Delta reacted almost immediately, saying it wasn't planning to adopt the first-bag fee, but United said it would consider it.
Ned Raynolds of American said that the airline will take 40 to 45 big jets and 35 to 40 regional ones out of service in the fourth quarter, so this will affect schedules for regular American flights as well as those of its regional American Eagle service.
The airline hasn't decided which routes it will cut. But the odds that Logan will be affected appear pretty strong, as American serves about 17 percent of the airport's travelers, behind only Delta and JetBlue.
Amid fuel costs that have risen 84 percent in the last year, Raynolds said American was in the process of "unbundling'' services: Basically, offering a menu of services -- some of them formerly free -- and letting travelers choose which ones they want and are willing to pay for.
"As much as we love our customers,'' Raynolds said, "we need to survive and thrive in the current climate.''
Why do we always hurt the ones we love? Did I hear somebody say, "Ouch?''

The Student and Youth Travel Association (SYTA) has released these Top 10 rankings for US, North America, and International hot spots for student and youth travel from their annual member survey, which polls student and youth travel industry professionals on current and emerging trends:

Top 10 U.S. Destinations
1. Washington D.C.
2. New York City
3. Orlando
4. Chicago
5. Greater Boston
6. Historic Virginia
7. Southern California
8. Philadelphia Area
9. Baltimore/Annapolis
10. Hawaii

Top North America Destinations
1. Toronto
2. Montreal
3. Quebec City
4. Vancouver
5. Cancun & the Yucatan
6. Calgary
7. Edmonton
8. Ottawa
9. Oaxaca
10. Mexico City

Top 10 International Destinations
1. United Kingdom
2. France
3. Italy
4. Spain
5. Australia
6. Germany
7. Greece
8. Brazil
9. Peru
10. China

Welcome to another episode of: You Can't Make This Stuff Up. First up is the case of the airline passenger from Austin, Texas, charged with disorderly conduct after refusing to get off the wireless during a Southwest flight from Austin to The Big D.
According to the Dallas Morning News, flight attendants repeated asked the passenger -- one Joe David Jones, president and CEO of an Austin environmental start-up called Skyonic -- to please shut the phone down, as the FCC prohibits in-flight wireless calls.
Turns out Mr. Jones, apparently a black belt of witty repartee, nearly a Shakespeare of the clever comeback, reportedly responded: "Kiss my [expletive]." When asked for clarification, Mr. Jones, fearing his terse and pithy mots juste had not been properly recorded for future generations, repeated, "Kiss my [expletive]." Then delivering a linguistic coup de grace, he finished with: "Not happening.''
Mr. Jones remained on the phone for 20 minutes and when Dallas police later met him at the gate to question him displayed disorderly conduct and was charged with a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $500, according to police reports.
For his part, Mr. Jones, through a representative, explained that he was on the phone because he had been trying to reach officials in a cardiac unit after getting a message his father's heart had stopped.
Beth Harbin, a Southwest spokeswoman, was sympathetic but said, "It was a safety regulation that we're required to enforce, and we're simply not in a position to make exceptions."

Good morning, travelers. While you were sleeping, oil prices went off without you and hit a record $120.93 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
And JetBlue decided to call off, at least for now, plans to start flying between LA and Boston and New York because of -- let's say it all together -- the high cost of jet fuel. While it has dropped its LAX plans, JetBlue still offers service from Long Beach to JFK and Logan.
The discounter said in February it would launch service May 21 at LAX with one daily flight to Logan and three to JFK. But Bryan Baldwin at JetBlue said that the discounter decided that high fuel costs made the move too pricey.
The LA Times, which first broke the story, talked to an unnamed JetBlue official who illustrated the conundrum with this bit of math: Last year it cost $9,600 to fill up a JetBlue Airbus A320 for a transcontinental flight and now it's $15,000.
I myself just shelled out $45 to fill my Subaru on Morrissey. Life is tough. And for travelers prospects for the summer travel season are looking expensive.

How refreshing to find a hotel "deal" that is actually a bargain! Shell Vacations Hospitality is offering family-friendly summer deals at some of its resorts in the US and Canada. Included are a $15 gas card (OK, that's not even half a tank these days, but at least it's something), room rates ranging from $68-$189 for guests staying four nights or more, and a gift pack of beach games for the kids. Packages are valid from June 2 until Sept. 5 and can only be booked online through Shell's website. Shell's resorts include:
Peacock Suites, Anaheim
Orange Tree Golf Resort, Scottsdale, Ariz.
Legacy Golf Resort, Phoenix
Starr Pass Golf Suites, Tucson
Desert Rose Resort, Las Vegas
Carriage Ridge Resort, Horseshoe Valley, Ontario
Mountainside Lodge, Whistler, British Columbia
Waikiki Marina Resort, Oahu
Kauai Coast Resort, Kauai

We like deals. Like 'em a lot. Bank of America has been running its Museums on Us program in May -- which is National Museum Month, for those of you keeping track -- a few years now. Bank customers got free admission to a bunch of museums by showing a check or credit or ATM card. First it was just regional and later it was expanded to the Northeast.
B of A now has decided to take it nationwide and change it from the month of May to the first weekend of every month (like this weekend, say). What does this mean? Well, besides museums like the MFA and DeCordova and others around here, you could hit the Met in New York, or perhaps the DeYoung in San Francisco. Ever been to the Art Institute of Chicago or the Houston Museum of Natural Science? You get the idea. There's a museum locator on the website.
Besides the B of A deal, Baskin Robbins -- they of the 31 flavors back in the day -- are offering a 31-cent scoop night (from 5-10) at all 2,700 locations nationwide as a benefit for the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. So we're talking three scoops for less than a buck. And you get to help Jakes. Here's the store locator.

Once again it's Us vs. Them. Beantown vs. The Big Apple. Final score? 667-142. We lose. Say it ain't so, Papi.
Actually, this isn't about baseball but restrooms in public places as measured by Imodium's Bathroom Finder, an admittedly unscientific, incomplete -- and potentially inaccurate -- yet for our purposes authoritative and informational source of Where to Go in America. (Thanks to Consumerist.com for the tip.)
OK, the battle of Us vs. Them is obviously unfair, they being not only much bigger but so full of it.
But let's see how we stack up against a handful of cities of our approximate size. At 142 we absolutely rock next to El Paso, Texas (94) and Milwaukee (134).
Sadly, though, we compare unfavorably with Seattle (247 -- but all that coffee those people drink...), Denver (200 -- I'm sure it's somehow related to that Mile High thing), and Washington (220 -- perhaps the only American city that could probably outdo New York in per capita generation, given the unfair advantage bestowed by Capitol Hill as well as the White House).
So we end up someplace in the middle. At least this time there's no Curse of the Bambino. Besides, who could wait 86 years?

If you're looking to fly this summer, maybe you'd better think about buying soon.
Delta and United have once again raised fuel surcharges, the second time in two weeks. This time the increase amounts to $10-$40 round-trip.
This increase pushes the domestic tote board figure for round-trip fuel surcharges to as much as $110 (!!) and the transatlantic figure to $230 (!!!).
Thanks to Rick Seaney at farecompare.com who has been keeping track and doing the math.
The latest hike comes a week after United pushed a similar one, which was joined by all the majors by Saturday.
And it was a week ago today that Delta CEO Richard Anderson said that US carriers would need to raise fares 15 percent-20-percent to offset rising fuel prices. They are most of the way there at this point so it would not be surprising to see a couple more increases heading our way.
Bear in mind, that these increases are not simply across the board. It's still possible to get a sale or a good deal on highly competitive routes. But this trend isn't going away any time soon.

The May issue of Parents magazine has compiled of list of what it considers the 10 best US and Caribbean beach resorts for families. Lo and behold, a Cape Cod resort clocks in at number 8, competing alongside heavy hitters in Florida, Hawaii, California, and the Caribbean. The rankings are based in part on cost, quality of supervised children’s programs, variety of family activities, and quality of pool and beach areas. In order of their rankings, here's the list:
1. Sheraton Grand Bahama Island Our Lucaya (Bahamas)
2. Club Med Punta Cana (Dominican Republic)
3. South Seas Island Resort (Captiva Island, Fla.)
4. Atlantis, Paradise Island (Bahamas)
5. Disney’s Vero Beach Resort (Florida)
6. Beaches Negril Resort and Spa (Jamaica)
7. Hilton Hawaiian Village (Honolulu)
8. Ocean Edge Resort & Spa (Brewster)
9.Loew’s Coronado Bay Beach Resort & Spa (San Diego)
10. Rio Mar Beach Golf Resort Casino & Spa (Puerto Rico)

A friend recently sent an email asking for travel tips. She was about to leave for Geneva and hadn’t been abroad for a very long time. Here was my response. (Blog readers: Feel free to comment with your own ways to make air travel easier!)

*The best way to get through a long flight is to upgrade to business class. (This is a joke, of course, but also serious! It's sooooo much better. I save my frequent flier miles for this.)

*Bring earplugs and eye mask as you never know when a screaming child will be in the next row. Also, the eye mask helps shut everything out when you want to snooze. If you sleep, make sure the flight attendant can see your seat belt is buckled--especially over a blanket--because if the captain turns on the "buckle seat belt" sign while you are sleeping...and you aren't buckled...the attendants will wake you up. What a pain!

*Speaking of blankets, I was told by an attendant that these and pillows are the worst source of germs on the plane. I bring a light shawl and use that instead. Also--I always wear socks & shoes because my feet get cold.

It's starting to look like the MD-80 Inspection Fiasco of '08 is winding down.
American says that it is only expecting 595 MD-80 cancellations today, including 10 at Logan which will affect about 1,000. This brings the running total to nearly 3,100 scrapped flights since this whole thing kicked off Tuesday, a disruption that affected hundreds of thousands of travelers.
This means that the carrier has restored about half of its schedule for the planes, and it is still hoping to have all the planes up by Saturday afternoon. But don't assume all will be back to normal. If you are flying out Saturday -- particularly on a longer haul flight with a stop in, say, Chicago or Dallas-Fort Worth -- you'll still need to check.
I wrote yesterday about the compensation American is offering by way of an apology to customers. In fairness to them, it's probably worthwhile to note that Uncle Samuel does not require airlines to offer passengers any compensation in these circumstances. But neither does it preclude them from doing the right thing.
Do you think AA handled this pretty well? Give it some thought because this won't be the last of mass cancellations as the chastened FAA turns the safety inspection lights on high after years of being slack. The regulators are making another round of checks that will run through June 30, and everybody's best guess is that the carriers that will be most affected are those with older planes, the AP reported. About a third of the US fleet is more than 25 years old, according to the International Air Transport Association.

OK, so you've been delayed. What now. Well, you can perhaps get some compensation from American, but it depends on how much you've been put out. And you'll need to tell them about it.
If your cancellation forced you to stay overnight somewhere, you can send a message to American's customer relations department and apply for compensation. There is a hot link on the website that gives you access to a form along with instructions. You will be eligible for refunds, hotel and meal vouchers, and a $500 voucher for future travel as an apology, said Tim Wagner, an airline spokesman.
American also will award vouchers of varying amounts to other passengers who message them from the site or write to them via snail mail (American Airlines Customer Relations/P.O. Box 619612 MD 2400/DFW Airport, TX 75261-9612) and detail how they were inconvenienced.
If you are scheduled on a flight that gets scrapped you can get a refund or apply the value of your ticket to future travel (Say Wa-Hoo, somebody). Travelers flying on any MD-80 flight from April 8 – 11, even if their flight has not been canceled, can rebook without fees. Travel must begin by April 17.

So, you think you're having a bad week?
American says it'll ditch another 933 flights today, including 16 at Logan which will affect about 1,600 passengers. You may add this to the approximately 1,550 total flights already grounded this week in the MD-80 Inspection Fiasco of '08, moves that have left 171,000 across the nation stranded.

American said this afternoon that they don't expect to have the situation completely resolved until Saturday night. So be forewarned.
For those you who hadn't heard, the thing that's triggered all this chaos is the tighter scrutiny on safety checks being brought by FAA, which has tightened inspections after catching major (well-deserved) flak from Congress and others for letting Southwest fly planes that had missed safety check-ups.
In the case of the MD-80s, it involves spot checks by regulators that found the carrier hadn't secured some wiring in accordance with an agency directive.
American has said that the problem posed no safety risk.
Also today, regional carrier Midwest Airlines said that it would ground 13 MD-80s for the same reason.
Get the feeling that this is just the start? With the FAA facing heat and the spotlight of public scrutiny turned up way high, it's a pretty safe bet we're going to see more groundings in the not-too-distant future.

If you're planning to fly with American Wednesday it might be worth making a call before you head to the airport.
American said it was canceling as many as 500 flights to check the bundling of wires in some planes, the same issue that caused it to ground more than 400 last month.
At Logan, the airline said there were as many as five canceled flights. Representatives for American, which operates about 2,300 daily flights, said they expected there would be more throughout the system Wednesday.
The airline said the Federal Aviation Administration raised concerns about recent inspections of the wiring in its approximately 300 MD-80 aircraft. Company representatives said that the problems did not pose safety threats.
The FAA has tightened inspections since coming under fire for letting Southwest fly planes that had missed safety inspections. American and Delta both canceled hundreds of flights late last month to do wiring-related inspections and repairs.
The hits just keep on coming.

After splurging last summer on a family trip to San Diego, I thought we’d be staying closer to
home this year. Or will we? TripAdvisor conducted a family travel survey of more than 2,400 respondents and came up with its top 10 family-friendly bargain hotels. Here’s the list — heavily geared toward California and Florida — with each hotel’s average nightly rate.

1. Dunes Village Resort, Myrtle Beach, S.C. ($139)
2. Disney’s Pop Century Resort, Orlando, Fla. ($104)
3. Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel, Anaheim, Calif. ($105)
4. Horizons by Marriott Vacation Club, Orlando, Fla. ($151)
5. Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort, Orlando, Fla. ($103)
6. Marriott’s Grande Vista, Orlando, Fla. ($156)
7. Homewood Suites Anaheim-Main Gate Area, Anaheim, Calif. ($121)
8. Staybridge Suites Lake Buena Vista, Orlando, Fla. ($155)
9. Comfort Suites Maingate East, Kissimmee, Fla. ($98)
10. Disney’s All-Star Music Resort, Orlando, Fla. ($102)

Amid the recent airline gloom, a ray of sunshine -- actually, more like a pretty good deal from JetBlue.
The discounter is offering $25 off and 50 TrueBlue points for tickets purchased on the site with an American Express Card by May 13 for travel between May 1 and June 18. Since 100 points gets you a free ticket, you can score either by flying twice or you can think of this as a kind of “fly two, fly free” offer. You must, however, be a TrueBlue member, but that's no problem because it's free. Details are here.

Thanks to View from the Wing for the tip.

And then there were four. Continental says that it will start charging most customers who buy the cheapest tickets $25 to check in a second bag. The new baggage policy applies to passengers traveling within the United States, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands and Canada on or after May 5 if they hold economy-class tickets, unless they are premium members such as Elite OnePass members in the airline's frequent flier program or holders of the airline's Presidential Plus credit card. The service charge, which will help defray rising fuel costs, was also adopted by United, US Airways, and Delta in the past two months.
Posted by Nicole C. Wong, Globe Staff

The bottom line: Yes, you should be worried but probably not for the reasons you think.
Over the past couple weeks, everybody's been reading about hundreds of flights being grounded because of maintenance problems. It started a couple of weeks ago when Southwest got hit with a record $10.2 million fine after admitting it missed required structural inspections on about 50 planes. And some days later the airline grounded dozens more because it wasn't sure that other necessary check-ups had been properly done.
In the past couple days, American and Delta have canceled hundreds of flights as they grounded scores of planes to inspect wiring. At Logan, this has ended up affecting more than a dozen flights.
No one wants to end up like Southwest.
But right now, with all these planes getting grounded for safety checks, you're getting kind of skittish about flying, yes. The airline wise guys say you're missing the point. In a story in the L.A. Times, they lay it out thusly: Yes, there is a safety issue, but it's not huge. Planes will not be raining down. What you are seeing is the result of an aging US fleet needing more maintenance at a time when carriers have less money to replace them and are trimming schedules to cut costs. As more planes need more work and with fewer options to reschedule we are going to start seeing more of these kinds of disruptions.
So air travel isn't necessarily less safe, but it could become a little less predictable.

Dude, what next? Discounter JetBlue, which currently offers free in-flight television, will charge $10 to $20 more for some seats with more legroom.
Six rows on some of their planes will offer four more inches than usual -- 38 total -- and the fees will run from $10-$20, depending on the length of the flight.
Now JetBlue isn't the first to do this. Northwest already charges $15 more for some seats -- say, in the exit row -- with more space. But air travel wise wise guys say they now expect other carriers to play copycat.
Why? The airlines are getting squeezed big time by higher fuel and other costs. So they're looking for other ways to raise scratch and cut costs. American and Northwest JUST raised international fuel surcharges by $20 for a roundtrip, and Delta jacked up its domestic fares by $10. Last week most of the Sky Kings kicked up domestic fuel charges by as much as $50. United and US Airways recently started charging some passengers for checking a second bag. And most of the carriers are looking for places to trim schedules and ground planes.
And there will be more of all of this.
The next logical optional charge would be air. No, I'm not suggesting that they would withhold it completely. Just the stuff that's, well, most breathable. And smells best.
Or perhaps they can go the bake sale route.

If the Wicked Witch of the West was actually a spa therapist at the Montage Resort and Spa, then Dorothy might have reconsidered her decision about rushing back to Kansas. The hotel spa offers a treatment called “Surrender,” and after a five-hour flight to L.A. and an hour in the car to Laguna Beach, surrender was what I intended to do.

Each “Surrender” treatment is geared to the specific guest. (Before arriving, I had filed out a four-page questionnaire about my diet, family medical history, and exercise habits.) My therapist, Diane, explained her plan and I nodded in agreement. The treatment started with hydrotherapy (in an algae, salt, and bergamot-scented tub) and continued with a post-travel compress (my abdomen rubbed with cool mud and wrapped in a warm blanket) and proceeded to a deep-tissue massage followed by a hot-stone treatment. Stress? What stress?

There are plenty of things you can do to make traveling with very young children easier. Some of those things work — in theory. In practice, though? Well…
In theory: Taking an 8:10 p.m. flight — right at bedtime — would mean that my adorable 3-year-old and my angelic 16-month old would sleep on board, and we'd tuck their sweetly slumbering selves into their beds at my in-law’s home in Florida.
In practice: Not so much.
O. — he’s the baby — soaked through his diaper, his onesie, his cute little shirt, and his overalls before we had even cleared security. Of course, I had a gorgeous, brand-new, color-coordinated designer outfit for him in the diaper bag, which I whipped out in the beautifully appointed and clean changing area at the airport. Wait, what? Hahahahah… no. I whipped out a pair of pajamas that may have fit him 6 months ago and certainly did not fit him now, squeezed him into it while trying not to let him touch any visible surface in the ladies bathroom, and prayed that he wouldn’t have a blow-out on the plane.
L.–- she’s 3 — watched all sorts of wildly inappropriate cartoons and other televised programming in-flight and finally fell asleep 10 minutes before we landed in Fort Lauderdale. At 11:45 p.m. I’m opposed to the whole give-them-Benedryl-and-they-will-sleep school of traveling with small children, but there was a point there when I would have gladly given it a try. Except that I already know my kids are in that slim minority of people who get hyper, rather than sleepy, after taking antihistamines (unlike me, who conks out when a pink-and-white capsule is waved in my general direction).
In theory: There are things you can bring and things you can do to make traveling with small children easier.
Posted By Lylah M. Alphonse, Globe Staff

Magellan Press is out with a guide for hungry travelers: ''Where the Locals Eat: The 100 Best Restaurants in the Top 50 Cities.'' That's US cities, and Boston is included.

Entries include a range of food and prices. Boston restaurants include Brown Sugar Cafe for the best Thai and the Cask 'n Flagon for the best sports bar.

If you think the $11.95 price is too steep, particularly for a guide that includes only one New England city, check their website for more foodie news and blogs.

And if you have your own local winner, share your tip with us.

Dude, it'll never work in Boston.
The TSA (it's like Pavlov: I feel like I should shed my shoes and empty my pockets) is testing a system in Denver and Salt Lake City in an effort to speed security lines at airports: color-coded lanes.
How does it work? Think skiing. Green circle for beginners (families or those needing special assistance), blue squares for intermediates (a casual traveler, perhaps, but one who's been around the block a couple of times -- although never without multiple carry-ons), and black diamonds for experts (Special Forces in Gray Flannel camo with limited carry-ons and the rules of engagement with liquids, gels, laptops. and footwear tattooed on the insides of eyelids).
Basically, you decide which lane is for you, and in theory it makes the process more efficient and less stressful.
Earl Morris of TSA says that the tests are working well and that they will be completed in about a week in Denver, but that Salt Lake City will continue for the foreseeable future. He says the agency will look at possibly expanding it.
But let me be on the record first: It will never work here. Know why? Because here everyone would queue up as black diamond until it filled up and then the wise guys would start trying to speed the green one like a breakdown lane on the Expressway at rush hour. While yammering on the Bluetooth. And cursing. Never mind the new hand gestures the kids would learn.

It's peer group pressure, people. US Airways says that it will charge some passengers (i.e. those not in its frequent-flier program) $25 for a second checked bag, starting May 26. Sound familiar? It was just earlier this month, that United said it would was planning the same thing.
Hear that? It's the footsteps of all the other major carriers getting ready to queue up.

Travel with teens at your own peril: if your teenager isn’t happy on vacation, chances are no one’s happy. Some good news: Loews Hotels' ‘‘Edu-cations’’ are year-round packages that include a one- or two-night hotel stay and activities that will appeal to hard-to-please teens. Some examples: at Loews Coronado Bay Resort in San Diego the teen package includes private surfing lessons on surfboards custom-designed to take home. At the Loews Vanderbilt in Nashville, a music package includes a song-writing session with songwriter Thom Shepherd, a Gibson acoustic guitar, and a one-hour guitar lesson. And on it goes: golf lessons for aspiring PGA pros at Loews Lake Las Vegas, a culinary arts package for would-be cooks at Loews Miami Beach Hotel, and even a behind-the-scenes look at the financial markets for executive wanna-bes at the Loews Regency Hotel in New York. These packages don’t come cheap: they cost between $600-$2,000. But for these one-of-a-kind experiences, your teen will owe you big time.

DAY SEVENTEEN

Last day in La-La Land. A full-circle day. For gifts and souvenirs, I buy bottles of my friends Litty and Melkon’s infused vodka, which is still not available in Mass; until then I’ll smuggle it like a bootlegger). I snag some merchandise -- CDs, shot glasses -- from my friend Sage’s band The Lucky Stars.

I run into Michelle, the friend I’ve been staying with, at Chango, the cafe that’s been my workspace. She’s finally beating her cough, but her boyfriend Sage is getting sick. Their son Weston sings silly songs and still tries to sneak up on me in the kitchen while I’m making dinner. I’ve enjoyed being part of this little family this past week.

I walk with Sage to the local school, his voting place, on Super Tuesday. After casting your vote in California, you get a voter-verifiable paper receipt. I like this. Proof you were there, part of democracy for a day. I lunch with another friend whose couch was my crash pad for two nights. If I total up my meals out over the past 16 days, I’ll be depressed. I don’t, and brace myself for the credit card bill.

Yo, Travel Dude, your life, well, it bites more and more. First off, you've got the dollar, which is tumbling like a drunken snake snowplowing down Tuckerman Ravine. And now there is further ugliness with frequent-flier miles.
US Airways says it will no longer give a minimum of 500 miles for a flight, instead giving credit only for actual miles. This puts a crack in what had been pretty much a longstanding policy throughout the industry that allowed many in the Gray Flannel Brigade and others to really rack up miles.
And you know that once one of them does it.... (Mrs. Maggi in 2nd grade warned you about the dangers of Peer Group Pressure)
It's not like a big surprise, though. The counters of airline beans have been shrinking that fine print for a while now, adding fees, cutting the value of miles, and making them expire so fast that, well, you've had bread around longer (and, bear in mind, you're the kind of person who thinks of the expiration date as merely a suggestion).
Death by a thousand paper cuts. Does this tick you off, or what?

DAY FIFTEEN AND SIXTEEN

The rains create green. I‘m told this phenomenon is unusual in LA at this time of year. In the backyard of the Echo Park address that’s been my home this past week, grass has shot up six or more inches in the bare patches. My wanderings up and down the hills reveal garden after garden, endless variation on the theme of survival. I even saw an espaliered magnolia -- in full
bloom. I don’t know how the plant life can hold out through the dry periods. Or manage the severe grades (the reputed steepest street in California, Fargo Street, is but a couple blocks away. Yes, even steeper than in San Fran).
But of course plant life doesn’t care about grades.

You don't need GPS in Boston when you rent through Avis. You can book a chauffeur instead.

Avis began testing its Chauffeur Drive service six months ago and it's caught on with business and leisure travelers. What began in 10 cities in June is now offered in more than 350 cities in Arizona, California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Virginia, and Washington.

Avis's partner WeDriveU provides the drivers for $34.50 per hour (plus a 15% service charge), and there is a three-hour minimum per ride. See the Avis website for other details. The drivers can pick up the car and customer and later return the car to Avis. Or you can keep the car and drop the chauffeur off. Just don't do it in the middle of nowhere.

DAY FOURTEEN

The Echo Park Film Center, a non-profit,
community-based film and media center. The funky storefront has a small space for screenings and meetings, and best of all rents out old-school equipment like Super 8 alongside video and digital. The night I visited, the center hosted a DVD release party for a remarkable film, “This is the LA River,” a collaborative, lyrical, 16mm film made by 21 young people ages 14 and 19 about that neglected river that runs through Los Angeles’ heart --- and should be its soul.
Tinseltown ain’t known for its German expat community. So think of the Red Lion Tavern on Glendale in Echo Park as a biergarten theme park --- greenery-draped back patio, white beer steins lining the walls, plates of knackwurst, bratwurst and bockwurst, and a dozen beers on tap like Bitburger and the dark Erdinger Weissbier Dunkel, brews normally absent at most American bars. And yes, waitresses in lederhosen.
Posted by Ethan Gilsdorf, Globe Correspondent

Long Beach is nice. The Queen Mary summers there -- and springs, falls, and winters, too. But face it: It ain't LA. JetBlue knows this. So on May 21 the discounter, which already flies to Long Beach, will start daily nonstops between Logan and LAX (no, Whitney, we don't mean lacrosse). The carrier is also offering the obligatory introductory fare: $159 each way when booked online by Feb. 22 for travel by June 14.
Yet another event in an already big month. The carrier was already throwing itself an 8th anniversary party with round-trip flights in the treat bags. You hadn't heard? Check it out: 100 TrueBlue flight club members will be picked in the sweepstakes to win a round trip, and each winner gets to give away seven other flights to friends or family -- or whatever (yes, I know you have very complex relationships).
The fine print: Enter from now through Feb. 29; you must be a TrueBlue member (but you can sign up for free); and cough up the names and e-mails of seven other people (JetBlue promises they will only use this info for good -- i.e., to let them know they won -- and not for evil -- i.e., sell them out to Spam Meisters or other satanic cults).
Truly there is magic in the air.

So, communing with nature sounds great to you -- in theory at least. But the allure of the great outdoors pales a bit when you find the accompanying living conditions a bit too ... outdoorsy, shall we say. Perhaps the latest iteration will make you a more enthusiastic outdoors enthusiast. It’s called “glamping,” or glamour camping, and it combines the best of both worlds for those so inclined: a wilderness camp setting with deluxe comforts, such as hot showers, daily maid service, plush-top king beds, triple-sheeted linens, and gourmet cuisine. These amenities are available in what is billed as California’s newest backcountry “tent hotel,” the Sequoia High Sierra Camp. The camp is perched at 8,200 feet in Giant Sequoia National Monument in Central California, about three hours north of Los Angeles. Guests can drive their own vehicle to a trailhead, then hike an easy, well-marked 1-mile trail to the camp, or hike a moderately strenuous 12-mile route which takes an average of 8 hours, starting at neighboring Sequoia National Park. Recreation options include scenic day hikes and abundant fly fishing, with a picnic lunch. Three California-style gourmet meals prepared by an on-site chef are included in the daily rates, which are $250 per person. Operating dates for the 2008 season are June 13-Oct. 5, weather permitting. Hey, even glamour campers must occasionally bow to the elements. For more information, go here or call 866-654-2877.

DAY THIRTEEN

“I wouldn’t be talking to myself if someone would just talk to me,” grumbles a disturbed young woman in a flowery dress at Chango, the cafe that’s become my de facto workplace. “And the coffee here [expletive],” she adds, storming out with this further insult: tossing a cup of some liquid at the front window.

She could have been an actress. This could have been performance art. But I doubt it. It’s just an unhappy LA day for her.
The morning seems grimmer than others this week, overcast, over-bleached. Or just over-exposed. A woman next to me is

also from out of town, visiting friends, haunting cafes. She can’t get the wireless signal to work, either. Nothing’s going right. And I’m anxious
about being on vacation for so long. Do I deserve this break? Love my neuroses.

I’m still wandering Echo Park. Struck by the composition of a mural of palm trees in a school
playground and actual palm tress in the distance. I snap a picture. The school recess monitor
yells at me, “Hey! You can’t take photos here!” I apologize. She radios the front office anyway. I
leave. (Oddly, I run into her a few hours later on Sunset Blvd and explain again: No, ma’am, I am not a terrorist or a child molester. Honest.)

On the walk home, I see a house and garage set into the hill, completely wrapped in a orange- and green-striped tarpaulin. Like a wedding tent, or an inflatable Moonwalk for a birthday party. Or a Christo-wrapped art project.

But no. The home’s been sealed off for some anti-termite fumigation. Do not enter, kids. This
anti-art project/Bounce House can kill.

DAY TWELVE

Here in L.A., ever since the strike, a lot of out-of-work writers have a lot of time on their hands.

Sitting in cafes, driving in cars, walking the streets (to their cars or cafes), would-be screenwriters seem undeterred.

“Look, guys, if you want to sell this movie..." one guy in sunglasses insists into his cell phone, passing me on the sidewalk.

“I’m writing my first screenplay,” says another fast-talking writer in a cafe, giving a 30-second
elevator pitch. “I’m scripting a scene of a future meeting with the president of Korea. Well, it’s all
scripted.”
In another cafe, a woman and two men huddle over coffee, strewn notebooks and a laptop. “I was at a third callback when...” the woman, apparently also an actress, brags to her two colleagues.

The subject moves onto describing an actor she knows. “He’s a former actor,” the she says. “That guy who starred in 'Space Jam,' you know, that movie withMichael Jordan? He says still makes enough residuals off that movie to get health insurance from SAG.”

A few minutes later, they’re hashing out a scene from a work-in-progress. They go back and forth discussing characters and motivations. I could be witnessing the next Robert Towne or Herman Mankiewicz in the making.

“I really, really love this script,” she says, “I really, really can’t help but be in love with Scott
and Fred and Karen. I just love the whole thing.” To emphasize her point, she compares the script to “that Kate Hudson movie 'Almost Famous.' ”

Really.

Perhaps theirs is not the next Oscar-nominated screenplay after all.

“We could have her, like, see the knife go in and go, ‘Ha ha!’ She could cover with humor. Cover with humor.”

Really? Or really not.

Posted by Ethan Gilsdorf, Globe Correspondent

Let the howling begin. Uncle Samuel may not know when you've been sleeping or when you're awake but he seems to have a pretty good grip on when The American Traveling Public is not happy.
It should come as no surprise that he keeps lists. So, without further ado, here are the
Top Six travel agents that inspired the most complaints in 2007 (according to the Department of Transportation's Air Travel Consumer Report ):
5. (tie) Priceline.com & Cheapoair.com
4. CheapTickets.com
3. Expedia.com
2. Travelocity.com

And the No. 1 most-complained-about agent:
1. Orbitz.com (Most of Orbitz's complaints dealt with ticketing, boarding, and refunds.)
Now the moment you've all been waiting, last year's rankings for the Top 5 in complaints for US airlines (drumroll, please):

5. Comair
4. American
3. Delta
2. United
And, the top -- or perhaps bottom? -- dog:
1. US Airways
You should know that this ranking wasn't based on overall complaints but on grousing per 100,000 flights.
In individual events, US Airways lead the pack for flight problems, like cancellations and delays, with American running a close second. It also was the frontrunner in bumping problems and customer service. But American took the Gold for the worst in baggage complaints, with Delta snagging the Silver.
So, tell us your stories. Go ahead, kvetch till it hurts. You know you want to.

DAY ELEVEN

Last night ended with a quintessential movie experience: watching the Marx Brothers’ 1937 comedy “A Day at the Races.” That put me in touch with the Hollywood of old:fast-talking men in pork pie hats; women shimmering in backlit, gauzy close-ups; and a kind of mad-cap, hope-over-fear, anything goes esprit de corps.

Though the glamour has diminished in most neighborhoods of L.A., the entrepreneurial spirit runs deep and strong. Small businesses fringe both sides of West Sunset: Mama-y-Padre taco stands and convenience stores; auto body shops run by Armenia brothers; Salvadoran restaurants and all-night retro diners with names like The Brite Spot and Madame Matisse;
funky hair salons and boutiques; junk shops and 99-cent stores. Even in the gentrified zone of Silver Lake, the coffee shops and groceries mostly aren’t chain-owned -- unlike back in Boston, where every street corner has become a luxury ATM booth or DunkinCVSbucks.

But appearances are deceptive. A grungy storefront next to a shuttered theater where a street person has staked his or her claim becomes enchanting at night. A superior vegetarian restaurant called Elf Cafe is hidden behind its
nearly missable storefront. The modest but delicious menu is concocted in an in-full-view kitchen the size of most bathrooms; the chef works with three hot plates and an oven. The elfin waitresses, poised and lovely, flit among the seven tables. They are lovely. The food is more lovely.

More so than any other city, LA looks more glamorous at night. And once that sun simmers behind Sunset Boulevard, those elves sure make a mean vegetable torte and mushroom ragout with polenta.

Posted by Ethan Gilsdorf, Globe Correspondent

DAY TEN

I’m comfortable in foreign places. But it’s disorienting to be alone in an American city with nary
a friend or schedule. These past days in L.A. I’ve felt somewhat adrift, aside from the moorings my friends have provided. But my hosts are busy at work each day, leaving me to wander Echo Park and Silver Lake; walk the clash of Sunset’s high- and

low-brow cultures; get lost on the Glendale strip in search of a grocery store; and climb the staircases and twisted streets that crisscross every precipitous, house-laden hill.
I’ve been in solo and anonymous mode. One of my haunts has been a cafe on Echo Park Ave called Chango, a local hipster hangout where the creative, day-jobless of L.A. look busy. Whole platoons sit in rows at tables behind white MacBooks, nursing a single coffee all afternoon. Moochers like me.

But I don’t mind knowing no one. Which explains my surprise upon seeing a familiar face at Chango -- Jami, a friend from Boston. Jami and I caught up. She and her husband Brian are
trying to make it as screen writers. I had no idea what ‘hood the couple had settled in when they moved here last fall. Seems Echo Park is a good starting place.

In a way, it wasn’t a shock to see her. I’d often run into Jami once a week in Somerville cafes like True Grounds or Diesel. Here, in L.A., the chance encounter seemed just another reminder how mobile we’ve become, and how interchangeable are the backdrops and scenery for our creative pursuits.

Posted by Ethan Gilsdorf, Globe Correspondent

DAY NINE

They say L.A. is not a green city. Of course, it’s a cliché to say L.A. wasn’t exactly designed with public transport in mind. But I’ve been walking around Echo Park. I’ve seen a few other pedestrians. A bike path runs along Sunset. It’s possible to get around without a car.

And in another sense, L.A. is very green. One thinks of endless sprawl, cement and asphalt, pollution. But the hills and valleys, at least in Echo Park, are a teeming jungle of growing things (made all the greener since the rains). Life sprouts up in yards, lots and the pitched slopes between every bungalow. I’m no flora expert, but I’ve identified olives, orange and lemon trees; blooming rosemary bushes as big as hedges; towering banana trees; mutant jade, cactus and
aloe; hibiscus and camellia. Palms fringe the sky, dot the ridges and hover over homes like thought balloons. (The homes think: “I wish I had a better view than my neighbor.”)

The storms also brought damage. Palm fronds litter the streets. Tan and twisted palm bark looks like animal skins. In front of one house: dozens of avocados smashed on the street. I look up: more avocados will fall. Now I know what an avocado tree looks like, laden with fruit thick as an apple tree back east.

That one pristine avocado by the gutter, I bring it home to ripen. Now, is it OK to eat it?

Hey, I've heard that a couple of Irish families have recently moved to Boston, so I'm passing this bit along just in case anyone's interested.
Our pals at the Wall Street Journal say that JetBlue and Aer Lingus will announce Friday that they've cut a partnership deal. This means that come spring, travelers across the puddle will essentially be able to book flights between Ireland and more than 40 US destinations in a single reservation. Everything will connect through JetBlue's home base at JFK in New York.
Now if you and/or yours just hop between Boston and Dublin or Shannon, it's maybe not such a big deal. But what about Uncle Declan who always wanted to make the rounds here in the States? Yes, I thought you'd get it sooner or later.

DAYS SEVEN AND EIGHT

The rain is still here. On Friday afternoon, I’m in West L.A., killing time at LACMA (the Los Angeles County Museum of Art). Standing water everywhere; each patch of grass super-saturated like a maxed-out sponge. Fake mastodons mired in the adjacent La Brea Tar Pits look on woefully at the traffic passing on Wilshire, stuck in the drizzle like the rest of us. Southern California was not built for such weather.

But on a drive to Echo Park Saturday morning, finally, sunshine. Then, an astounding sight: the giant “HOLLYWOOD” letters affixed to the hillside, and behind them, snow-capped peaks. Everything gleams --- even the old cars. Even the old stars.

My pals Sage, Michelle and Weston have invited me for breakfast. I know Sage from my days at Hampshire College out in Western Mass. We kick around for the afternoon, have pizza and sausage panini at a place on Sunset Blvd. called Masa.

His musician friend Cari Lee Merritt is down from San Francisco to play a few shows, first Saturday night at a church hall in Pasadena, then Sunday at a landmark Los Feliz club called The Derby.
The world of throw-back jazz- and swing-era society is alive and well in L.A. Folks come out dressed to the nines in period

clothes to dance -- and they do dance well. Cari’s Pasadena show with the Hollywood Combo is like a high school social, complete with non-alcoholic punch and chairs lining the walls. Sage and I watch the show, hang out backstage with the band between sets, then have eggs and meatloaf sandwiches with her and bandleader Mark Tortorici at a diner until 1am. I’m going to gain 20 pounds on this trip.

DAY SIX

Snow?

Snow.
The drive last evening from Santa Cruz to the airport in San Jose yielded a dusting of the white stuff amid the redwoods and knobcone pines. And, on a slipperier stretch of Route 17, an overturned monster truck. Uh oh.

I bid Drew farewell, and boarded the plane. My descent back into LA was a blustery, gut-churning dive. The airplane lurched, roared, clobbered by winds. Back on earth in one piece, the flight attendant announced over the PA to applause, “We made it.”
Torrential downpours fell as I took the shuttle to my next stop in West LA. Two twisters had touched down somewhere. Minor flooding and mudslides. Interstate 5 between the Los Angeles Basin and the San Joaquin Valley was closed due to snow in the mountains.
What the...?
On, Friday, it was overcast. I was parked at a cafe on Wilshire, gazing at palms and cacti and birds of paradise. And wondering if and when snow might hit the Hollywood Hills. That would be some special effect.

This one is primarily for The Suits -- and you know who you are. JetBlue is now offering special refundable fares for those (hopelessly fickle ones) whose travel plans keep changing. It's not free. The new fares will cost $50 more on short-haul flights and $100 for longer ones. But for the price of admission you can make unlimited changes to reservations right up to departure or you can even opt out entirely and still get a full refund. Don't thank me. As I've said time and again, we simply cannot do too much for The Man in the Gray Flannel.

DAY FIVE

“Remember this one? I used to be good at this,” Drew says.
“Oh yeah,” I say. “Wait, check this out ... Robotron!”
This is last night. We’re in the Santa Cruz’s Casino Arcade. Fueled with Greek meatballs, grilled chicken, souvlaki, beer and wine, we’re down by the sea, near the boardwalk, in a building with a green neon “Casino” sign. But there’s no gambling.

Instead, a treasure, a time capsule.

Within the gallimaufry of modern machines, a veritable museum of old school video games: Galaxian, Asteroids, Tron, Donkey Kong, Tempest, Q*bert, Centipede, Pac Mac, Frogger, something that looks like a Pong rip-off, and my beloved fave, Robotron. All worn out and bleary-screened but in perfect working order.
Heaven.
Before long, we’re killing robots, saving humans, dodging spiders, cracking open meteors, blasting TIE fighters. We’re right back in high school, circa 1984. We haven’t lost our touch. We’re just a little out of practice.
The arcade is about to close, so we end with a round of pinball, then a new-fangled game called Drummania, much like karaoke with drumsticks. I pick Led Zeppelin’s “Misty Mountain Hop.” Fortunately, my percussion debut is an embarrassment only to myself and Drew. John Bonham I’m not.
Next stop: two strings of bowling, a pitcher of beer.
We’re bad. Getting badder.

Posted by Ethan Gilsdorf, Globe Correspondent

Click here to read the rest of this entry

DAY FOUR
I know my buddy Drew from Somerville. He is, in fact, the first friend I met when I moved to Boston three years ago. He moved back home to Santa Cruz with his wife Michela. Last year, she gave birth to Max. Drew’s life has changed, and I’m here to see how.

For this visit, though, Drew is solo (Michela and Max are still in Italy). Drew kindly picks me up from San Jose and drives me over the misty Santa Cruz Mountains to his town. We have tacos, talk, walk along the coastal cliffs and watch the surfers. Next up: a blazing sunset. Then pizza and beer, more talk, and the movie “There Will Be Blood.” It’s great to catch
up.

The next day, Drew has to teach, so I head downtown to work and write from cafes. I scout for accessible bathrooms and free wireless. I’m beginning to feel like the locals.

Click here to read the rest of this entry

DAY THREE
Not sunny California. Even in LA. Oh well.
Keeper of the flame of her family's Kerala (South India) cooking secrets, my friend Litty treated me and my college friends Sage and Michelle to a feast last night. Best of all, she and I cooked it together. And that means I’ve stolen some of her secrets. Not that I can remember after all that vodka.
Litty writes for Saveur and Men’s Journal, but she’s working on a series of short stories. The fictions are not about her Indian heritage, as I expected, but about the world she’s come to know since marrying her husband, Melkon --- the vibrant Armenian community in Los Angeles.
In the a.m., Litty (bless her) takes me to Burbank airport for my flight north to Santa Cruz. Another small airport. I write this from the plane. My jet dips through the clouds, over patches of farmer’s fields -- squares, rectangles, circles, trapezoids, that all end when they hit those omnipresent, purplish, muted-green mountains.
I swear I might be able to see myself down there, or some other me, trying to re-center the compass for 2008. Or was that a wisp of cloud?

Posted by Ethan Gilsdorf, Globe Correspondent

DAY TWO

I had come to LA for the usual reasons: seeking fame, fortune, and change. Actually, I’m here for two and a half weeks, essentially to get the heck out of Boston and its weary cold. But also to jump-start my New Year. Why not begin it new, in a new place? Fool myself that 2008 will be different. It will be. It is already.


My first new experience? A sneak peek into vodka production.
Litty and Melkon are journalists who also run an “artisanal spirits factory” in nearby Monrovia. Their company, Modern Spirits, infuses vodkas with surprising flavors like black truffle, candied ginger, chocolate orange, celery peppercorn, three tea, pear lavender, grapefruit honey, rose petal and pumpkin pie.

Posted by Ethan Gilsdorf, Globe Correspondent

Click here to read the rest of this entry.

I always wanted to be a teacher. Molding those young minds. Cultivating the best that America has to offer. Making a real difference.
And then there are the three most obvious reasons: June, July, and August.
In recognition of the good work that they do -- and recognizing the short money they do it for --
I feel it my obligation to make sure these shock troops in the Battle against Ignorance know about Educators Bed & Breakfast Travel Network (800-956-4822).
No, there are no guys with shaved heads and orange togas here. This is a kind of co-operative run by teachers for teachers. You must be a working or retired educator to join. Once in -- there is a $36 annual membership fee -- you pay just $40 a night (plus a $5 booking fee) for a double room at any of more than 6,000 homes in 50 countries. This includes a spouse and kids under 18, providing you can all fit -- and stand each other (think Texas Death Cage carping) -- in one room. And you get a light Continental breakfast -- yes, I'm sure sometimes this means doughnuts.
A caveat: By joining you also agree to potentially be a host, but you're under no obligation if a request comes at a bad time. By hosting, you build up credits that can be redeemed for future stays.
Besides, single rooms it's also possible to wire up a Home Stay -- which is $50 a night -- in which you essentially housesit for someone else for five days or longer. A win-win: They get someone to watch over their stuff and you get a whole house.
So, it seems that y'all don't know everything, eh? I hope you paid attention because there may be a pop quiz later.

DAY ONE: SUNDAY, JAN. 20

I arrive to green-brown mountains, idyllic blue skies and palm trees. Yes, I had forgotten. Los Angeles.

I had been here before, several years ago. But I had not remembered that dry, scrubby peaks of the Santa Monica Mountains ring the city in a wall of hazy, fractal triangles, that the sprawl is cut into slivers by freeways, and that the few spikes of downtown skyscrapers are the only vertical effort to compete with those skyscrapers. LA is an expression of the horizontal.

Best way to arrive: the secondary airports. My advice to the newcomer (or the jaded LA veteran) is skip LAX and fly into one of the lesser airports like Long Beach (as I did) or Burbank. Pretend you are among the elite at the dawn of commercial air travel --- James Dean, say, or Elizabeth Taylor --- as you deplane and walk across the tarmac to the modest terminal. Admire
the calm, the civility (compared to LAX), and sip an espresso as you wait near the semi-outdoor baggage claim. And yes, gaze up at the palms. This is the way to greet LA --- a small fish perhaps, but swimming in a smaller pond.

Posted by Ethan Gilsdorf, Globe correspondent

Click here to read the rest of this entry.

They're like digital gunslingers. Before they head out anywhere, they strap on the DS. Nintendo, that is. For many kids, they are The Peacemaker. As long as everyone has one, there's peace -- in the car, at least. It's like the Cold War days. MAD. Mutually Assured Diversion.
Disney knows this. They know that Billy the Kid, as well as Santiago and Siobhan know and like DS. They also know that one of (the 153) things that gives you pause about going to Disney World are the lines. For everything. Everywhere.
So in the interest of trying to make your trip to the Kingdom that much more Magical (as if it could be), they reportedly are testing this week a DS-based wireless information system at Disney World. According to mouse watcher Jim Hill Media, the new system willl tell you in real time what the wait is at, say the Tower of Terror, or any other attraction. It'll also let you know whether there are any fast passes left for that attraction and at what time.
And if that weren't enough (give me more...), the system will also keep you abreast of show schedules (more...) and give you interactive maps of that where everything is in the park (more, I say!).
It'll also wash your car, do your kid's homework, squeeze a raise out of The Man, introduce you to 50 Cent (a close personal friend), and make an acceptable Long Island Ice Tea.
Anyway, if it works out you could see them in Florida by Spring 2009, Hill says.
The Disney folks, however, refuse to confirm or deny anything, saying only that they are constantly kicking the tires on devices and systems, high-tech and low, to improve the experience.
Back at ya, Mouse.

NEW YORK -- Travel in 2007 was marked by high gas prices, new passport rules, record lows for the dollar, and record-high air travel. In 2008, experts say, Americans may take shorter trips or choose destinations closer to home where their dollar goes further. But they will still travel.

The Conference Board's most recent consumer survey found 45.8 percent of Americans intend to take a vacation within six months, down just a tad from 46.4 percent a year ago. "When there's a slowdown in the economy, travel only slows slightly," said Douglas Shifflet of D.K. Shifflet & Associates, which tracks travel trends. "The amount of time people spend on vacations and in hotels is hit harder. They make tradeoffs; they stay closer to home or with friends and relatives."

International hot spots for '08 include Beijing; Central America; Italy, Eastern Europe and Lisbon, Portugal. But domestic travel could benefit from the weak dollar and other trends. Visits to national parks were up 1.3 percent, January-September 2007, compared to the previous year, with Yosemite and Yellowstone adding more than a quarter-million visitors. Lonely Planet, the guidebook publisher, picked the U.S. as its No. 1 destination for 2008. (AP)

Now that it’s cold I find myself daydreaming about the week I spent in San Diego this summer. It’s only about 50-60 degrees there now, but that sure beats our Arctic blast. Next time you’re in San Diego, take a short trip north to the mellow hippie/surfer neighborhood of Mission Beach and check out a small, purple coffee shop/boutique called Kahve Coffee House (3719 Mission Boulevard). Kahve serves strong, smooth, brewed-to-order coffee and espresso and an assortment of pastries, scones, and smoothies. The smoothies are practically a meal unto themselves: Kahve’s açaí bowl ($5.95) comes with blended açaí berries topped with banana slices and granola. (Pronounced ah-sigh-ee, these tropical berries are touted for their antioxidant qualities - which sure would help my sniffles right about now.) Nobody seems to rush much here — so sit outside and put your feet up on the cushioned benches while you wait for your order or browse the scarves, handbags, and jewelry in the tiny but funky-chic boutique next door. Hopefully you have your own happy, and preferably warm, summer memory to fall back on while you’re scraping the ice off your windshield.

Get a pencil. JetBlue launched a four-day sale today for travel in January and February.
They're flogging fares from Logan to the Bay Area (which includes Oakland, SF and San Jose) for as low as $139.
The fine print: Flights must be booked online at the airline's site by midnight Friday; require a 14-day advance purchase; take place between Jan. 8-Feb. 13; and be on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Saturday. There are other restrictions if your travel involves New Orleans, Aruba, Cancun, Nassau, or St. Maarten. There are also blackout dates.

Used to be that whenever pals would come back from Europe all you would hear about would be how great the food was, how cool the clubs/clothes/music are, and generally how much better their lives are than ours (especially in August).
But with the dollar sucking wind, well....you still hear that stuff but it can be tough to make out the words as they echo in the high, empty walls of your pals' now empty bank accounts.
Anyway, our friends at the Los Angeles Times suggest before your next trip across the pond you check out EuroCheapo.com, which can help you find bargains on hotel rooms in two dozen cities, including New York.
They say you can find rooms starting at $80 in London; $72 for a place advertised as a three-star in Paris. But they offer this caveat: While the site claims the recommendations are vetted by their editors, LAT found that some listings are merely hostels (nothing wrong with that), and some selections were whacked by TripAdvisor.com visitors.
Worth checking out.

Seems like it was just yesterday (probably because it was) Priceline.com said it had cut a deal with low-fare airline JetBlue Airways Corp. that will give the bargain-hunting website access to all of JetBlue's published fares, schedules, and inventory.
A little earlier yesterday Travelocity also said it had cut a deal with JetBlue. Likewise Orbitz Worldwide Inc. revealed it had agreed to distribute the discounter carrier's fares through its Orbitz, Cheap Tickets, and Orbitz for Business sites.
OK, now pay attention. This is what the most annoying people you know call “a teachable moment.’’ There will be a pop quiz later. Let's say that on Sunday morning, before clearing the requisite cobwebs from Saturday night or constructing your 17th leftover turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sandwich (light on the mayo), you tried to book a cheap seat online for a flight to sunny Tucson.
You perhaps assumed that the travel site search engine was scanning all possible airlines, including JetBlue (Don't make me repeat that thing your Uncle Henry used to say about why you should never assume). If your favorite site happened to be one of the aforementioned, obviously, you likely would’ve been wrong.
Remember, search engines on travel sites only sift through the fares of airlines the sites have agreements with. What this means is that before you start doing research on the Web for fares you need to look into who has deals with whom. Or at least count on doing a good bit of comparison shopping.
Nuff said. Now, let’s dig into some of Mom’s Thanksgiving chili surprise.

You need it don't you? I can tell you need it bad. A fix of new stuff. The writer's strike has cut off your supply. It's already been a week. Cold sweat rising. Maybe you've even started the shakes. Don't waste your time lookin. Ain't nuttin on the street.
If it makes you feel any better, check out this YouTube video in which writers Greg Daniels, B.J. Novak (who also plays Ryan), Paul Lieberstein (Toby), and Mindy Kaling (Kelly) explain why they're fighting the good fight -- and why they abandoned their loyal fans to face a potential wasteland of rerun and reality TV hell (like summer without watermelon or those drinks with the cute paper umbrellas).
OK, so we don't have any new shows to help you through this rough time, but we do have this: Mindy Kaling shows us around Scranton (with the small catch being that she had never actually been there before). We have a story, pictures of Mindy around town (this one is her at the Steamtown Mall -- remember the "Women's Appreciation'' episode?), and a video slide show -- which is partly narrated by Mindy.
Try it. It'll be free. At first, anyway. We'll see about later.
Anything to get you through the night, right?

My father is the one who started the rumor that truck drivers know the best places to eat. He said it so often it had to have come from him. My mother would wrinkle her nose and make a joke in Japanese, something about a priest, a rabbi, a Unitarian minister and a case of shared gastrointestinal distress.
But it just stands to reason that folks who cruise the nation’s highways and byways for a living must have picked up a thing or two about survival on the road.
In the interest of sharing the wealth, Atlas Van Lines recently released the results of their annual King of the Road survey of their drivers’ preferences.
According to the drivers, the most scenic highway stretch in the nation is Interstate 70 through Colorado and Utah. Interstate 10 through the Southwest got the nod for the most boring.
The safest roads? Interstate 80, Interstate 10 and Interstate 95, in descending order.
And since every army travels on its stomach, it may interest you to know that the drivers’ fave for fast food is Subway sandwiches, followed by Wendy’s, KFC, and Arby’s (and that they believe Tums to be the antacid that gets rid of heartburn quickest, with Rolaids not far behind).
I wonder if Mom still remembers that joke?

This month's Conde Nast Traveler touts its 20th annual Readers' Choice Awards, The Top 100.
Twelve New England gems made the list of Top 100 Mainland US Hotels: The Charlotte Inn on Martha's Vineyard (12), Pitcher Inn in Warren, Vt. (23), Blantyre in Lenox (26), Boston's Four Seasons (35), White Barn Inn in Kennebunkport, Maine (39), Twin Farms in Barnard, Vt. (44), Nantucket's White Elephant (54), Boston's Fifteen Beacon (62), Taj Boston (65), Boston's Hotel Commonwealth (73), Wequassett Resort and Golf Club on Cape Cod (81), and The Wauwinet on Nantucket (88).
If your favorite place to stay in New England didn't make the cut, think about voting next year.
And be sure to give Boston the nod for top US city. This year it made the cut, but it was No. 10 out of 10.
The winner among US cities: San Francisco.

One of the great things about traveling to Europe (or California, for that matter) used to be the chance to bring home bottles of whatever local wine you'd discovered. Never mind that it rarely tasted as good as it did in that little country restaurant or urban cafe. It was the idea of the wine - an ideal souvenir for those of us who live in small places. Stick the bottles in the carry-on, wait a few weeks for them to get over the jostle of travel, and you could relive a golden moment or two of that trip.
Now that airline security prohibits carrying wine onboard, I had resigned myself to drinking that wine in situ only. But when I visited the upper Douro Valley of Portugal recently I really wanted to bring home a nice bottle of vintage port to serve to my family after Christmas dinner. I chose a bottle that was boxed in a nice cedar case. I always have a stash of two-gallon zipping plastic bags in my suitcase. So I put the port in a bag and then returned it to the box -- the extra plastic helped to cushion the bottle and would, I hoped, contain the port if the bottle broke. Just in case, I then put all my good clothes into similar bags, stuffed it all in the suitcase I was checking, and crossed my fingers.
Success! The port is on the kitchen counter now, settling down from the trip. It should be perfect by December.

Posted by Patricia Harris, Globe correspondent