Flickr: Bexatious
With Fourth of July right around the corner, it's time to start thinking about where to go to show your independent spirit. It's hard to deny any American city the title of "most patriotic" but Foursquare rounded up some of the more popular ones, if you want to escape for the long weekend.

The social media check-in site looked at check-ins from last year to create the lists of Most Patriotic and Most Historical.

Methodology: Foursquare looked at cities that had the highest jump in check-ins at parks, firework and parades on July 4, 2012. Boston didn't make the list... I guess we have this year to make a better impression. Get our your phones and start checking-in, Boston! The Esplanade will be full of fabulous entertainment next week, so check-in and let us know where you are.

If you feel like traveling, Foursquare says these are the most patriotic cities:

Sunrise on one of Turnbery Isle Miami's 18-hole golf courses.
Mention southeast Florida and the first thing that most people think of is South Beach - white sand beaches draped from end to end in bikini-clad sun-worshippers, volleyball nets, parasailing and partying in the streets. Sure, South Beach has its finer points - a little further down the road and you'll find yourself in Bal Harbour, the tony village coveted by luxury travelers, and you really can't be the entertainment factor on Ocean Drive on any given night. But for those who want a little more privacy and recluse, there's something a little less flashy but just as luxurious only minutes from Miami Beach.

Turnberry Isle Miami, one of Marriott's newest Autograph Collection hotels, is located just minutes from Fort Lauderdale and Miami in the city of Aventura, and is a welcome escape from the mayhem synonymous with South Beach and southeast Florida.

Turnberry Isle Miami sits on two 18-hole championship golf courses, boasts a 25,000 square foot Four-Star Spa, three heated pools and four restaurants. And that's just the beginning.

Take the early morning 3-hour flight to Fort Lauderdale and you can be relaxing at the resort's Laguna pool by lunch. From there, the options are endless.

New Orleans is getting fancy for the Super Bowl. Forget about the Pimm's Cups in plastic cups - one New Orleans hotel is offering a limited-time $10,000 cocktail to welcome the Super Bowl to The Crescent City.

The "Key to the City" cocktail is available at the Windsor Court Hotel until Feb. 12. According to a report from ABCNews.com:

[The cocktail] is made of D'Oliveiras Malvasia 1907 Madeira Cobbler and served in a silver julep cup, garnished with fresh fruit and souvenir gold key.

Say goodbye to paper tickets at Disney parks. An official announcement on the Disney Parks blog confirms that the park will soon replace their traditional paper tickets with a RFID-enabled bracelet for all park guests.

The bracelet, called the "MagicBand", will make tickets, hotel keys, cash and credit cards obsolete for visitors.

According to the New York Times, Disney asked for FCC approval for the digital transmitters in the fall. The “MagicBands” will roll out as part of a vacation management system called “MyMagic+.” Once loaded with your personal information and credit card numbers, you can simply swipe your band to buy just about anything, access your hotel room and even get your name on the wait-line lists for popular rides. As for the kids? The MagicBrand can keep track of them, too.

Via the NYTimes:

[P]arts of MyMagic+ will allow Disney for the first time to track guest behavior in minute detail.

Did you buy a balloon? What attractions did you ride and when? Did you shake Goofy’s hand, but snub Snow White? If you fully use MyMagic+, databases will be watching, allowing Disney to refine its offerings and customize its marketing messages.

MagicBands can also be encoded with all sorts of personal details, allowing for more personalized interaction with Disney employees. Before, the employee playing Cinderella could say hello only in a general way. Now — if parents opt in — hidden sensors will read MagicBand data, providing information needed for a personalized greeting: “Hi, Angie,” the character might say without prompting. “I understand it’s your birthday.”

View of Central Park and skyline from the Mandarin Oriental, New York

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is a time-honored tradition that draws millions of visitors a year to New York, each one ready to officially welcome Santa Claus and kick off the holiday season. If you're planning on descending to New York City for Thanksgiving this year but don't want to brave the crowds, LuxeInACity.com named some of the best luxury hotels with a view (and I offer a few extras) so you can watch the Thanksgiving Day parade:

Mandarin Oriental: The Mandarin Oriental New York offers rooms with a bird’s eye view of the Thanksgiving Day Parade, and a package to go along with it. The “I Love a Parade” package includes access to the Mandarin Ballroom on the day of the parade and a seasonal welcome amenity. (If you need suggestions on ways to capture the holiday spirit while you're here, check out my favorite New York city holiday things to do.)

6 Columbus: Located conveniently in Midtown, this luxury hotel's sleek rooms and upscale ambience make it an ideal way to watch the parade in style. If your room for the night doesn’t have a view you can always watch the parade from the rooftop deck.

Sonoma County was rated the top wine region in the U.S. by TripAdvisor readers. Photo credit: TripAdvisor

Where do you travel to when you want good wine? TripAdvisor just announced the winners of its 2012 Travelers’ Choice Wine Destinations awards. The awards are divided up region: World, U.S., Europe and South Pacific.

According to TripAdvisor, winners were determined based on their popularity as wine destinations, taking into account travelers’ reviews and opinions for local wineries, restaurants, attractions and accommodations.

Not surprisingly, most of the top U.S. wine destinations were in California. However, there are a few on this list that might surprise you. Here's what TripAdvisor had to say:

Raise your hand if you've uttered these famous last words: "If [my candidate] doesn't win, I'm leaving the country!"

Now, you'll have the chance to do just that, thanks to a simple ballot from JetBlue.

“On November 6th, America will elect the next U.S. president,” the airline says on their Election Protection website. “If things don’t go your way, don’t worry. Here’s your chance to get a free flight out of the country with JetBlue. Participate in our election protection poll to enter. And remember if you change your mind you can always come back. Or not. It’s a free country.”

The "Live Free or Fly" campaign is simple: participate in the online poll by choosing Republican or Democrat (JetBlue swears your vote will remain anonymous). From there, you'll get a choice of countries you would want to flee to (where jetBlue has flights) if your candidate doesn't win. The JetBlue poll will post your country of choice to your Facebook page and you'll be automatically entered to win a free ticket to flee if things don't go your way on Nov. 6.

Choose from Mexico, Costa Rica, Barbados, St. Lucia, Dominican Republic, Turks & Caicos, the Bahamas and more, if you want to flee the U.S. (I suggest you do some research ahead of time to ensure these countries fit your lifestyle and political preferences.)

Here's a quick video to explain the concept:

On the jetBlue Election Protection page, you can check out real-time poll results and follow election chatter with the hashtag #JetBlueElectionProtection.

We've only just said goodbye to summer and it's already time to start thinking about holiday travel. Yes, really, it's time. Airfares are rising almost by the minute and if you aren't paying attention, you could lose your seat on a flight home for the holidays (or end up paying a small fortune for one).

As I sit here, end of September, windows still open and fall finally settling in, I admit I'm having a hard time fast-fowarding to holiday spirits. And then I started looking for my own airfare to visit my family at Thanksgiving and was aghast at what I found. After a few days of serious searching I was able to find some decent deals. But these deals won't last long. The holidays have always been prime time for airlines to hike prices, and this year is no exception.

Get on your computer, dedicate some time to these tips, and you'll secure some deals for holiday travel:

If you're looking for some steep discounts for fall travel, discount travel Hotwire.com has some suggestions. Their just released September 2012 Hotwire® Travel Savings Indicator features the top five cities in North America where hotel, air and car rental rates have dropped the most as compared to the same time last year.

Using extensive pricing research to cover the three most popular travel products, the report helps guide travelers to the best destinations for maximizing their travel dollars each month.

Hotel Price Drops:
Las Vegas, Tucson, Raleigh, Phoenix and New York saw the biggest declines in hotel room rate prices from the same time last year, according to the report.

Las Vegas tops the list with an 11 percent drop. Hotwire suggests for even bigger discounts in Sin City, look off The Strip in neighborhoods like Downtown – Fremont Street and Lake Las Vegas.

Tucson and Phoenix are hot with deals right now, because it's off season for travelers. As the weather gets colder in the Northeast, the rates in these warm cities will continue to climb. Meanwhile, Raleigh and New York have plenty of hotel rooms to fill meaning prices have dropped.

Baltimore's inner harbor, featuring the Pier Six Pavilion, the aquarium and plenty of shops and restaurants.

Baltimore hasn't historically been the first place that comes to mind when you consider a weekend escape. It's reputation has a tough, crime-laden city kept tourists away for years as Maryland's most populated city struggled through the shadows of its much more recognized and visited city to south, Washington, DC, for years. Then came the change.

Baltimore got to work a renovation that aimed at bringing tourists back this historical city. And it worked. Thanks to a new luxury hotel, a few celebrity chefs, the opening of big name retailers and the investment of the city's government and its locals, Baltimore is experiencing its own renaissance, for the better.

JetBlue and Southwest/AirTran airlines fly non-stop from Boston to Baltimore for as low as $152 round-trip. The 1 hour 20 minute flight means you can leave after breakfast, arrive in time for lunch, and have a full weekend to enjoy all that Baltimore has built up.

For your weekend escape to Baltimore, don't miss the following: