Traveling the West Coast
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Beyond the beach: Try Maui's tropic scape or Point Reyes' dunes Photo
When it comes to long walks on warm, sandy beaches, travelers can be spoiled by the many choices. But how about strolling miles of tropical beach? Or sauntering across acres of sand dunes? Or traipsing miles of sandy coast with dramatic vistas and views of humpback whales? Or even dipping into local... more
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A tasty trip to Vashon Island, Wash. Photo
A quick getaway from Seattle is how city slickers often look at this place. Maybe a loop around the island on a bike. Now people come for the bounty of summer: heirloom tomatoes, French beans, and loganberries, fresh and ripe, plucked right off the farm. more
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Europe meets old Hollywood on Santa Catalina Island Photo
This couldn't be Catalina. I had two visions of Santa Catalina Island, which, if the 1958 Four Preps hit single is correct, is 26 miles off the shore of Long Beach, Calif. I was not prepared for what I saw when the ferry pulled into Avalon Harbor. more
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The 'Twilight' zone Photo
You don't need to travel too far into Canada to enter the "Twilight" zone. Just head to Vancouver, British Columbia, where "Eclipse," the third installment from the wildly popular vampire-love movies based on the "Twilight" novels, was filmed. more
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Family vacationing on Washington's Cranberry Coast Photo
At the tip of Westport's marina sit 25 luxury condos that boast granite shower surrounds, wood and stone interiors and a private clubhouse. But to get there, you first walk past a motel that looks like it's been transplanted from an RV parking lot. Pelicans and gulls flock overhead, chasing... more
East Coast Spots
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A user's guide to Baltimore's Restaurant Week Photo
More than 100 restaurants are participating in Baltimore Summer Restaurant Week 2010, which begins Friday and runs through Aug. 22, but only one of them has steamed crabs on the menu. more
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Sunrise comes early in West Quoddy Head, Maine Photo
At the easternmost point of the United States, it stands sentinel. West Quoddy Head lighthouse is striped like a candy cane. It looks a lighthouse in a children's book. Twenty thousand people visit every year, not too bad for a lighthouse on the edge of forever. more
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50 free things to do in Baltimore Photo
Summer's almost over, your money's almost gone, and yet it feels like there's still so much left undone. What's a person to do? more
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Phil Vettel: Food-friendly Philly
My wife and I were relaxing on a sunny afternoon in Stella, a gleaming-tile pizzeria whose wood-burning oven produces the kind of crusts that would curl the toes of any pizza lover, when the couple at the nearby table asked, "Do you know where you're going to eat tonight?" more
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Fall in love with the city of revolutionaries Photo
Somewhere among cheese steak, Philadelphia's Magic Gardens and chatting with Benjamin Franklin at City Tavern, I fell in love … with Philadelphia, the seat of American independence. more
Vacationing in the Heartland
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Phil Vettel: Grazing in horse country
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Forget Louisville, Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby. This state's real hooved hot spot is Lexington, which immodestly bills itself as the "Horse Capital of the World." more
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Jackson, Wyoming's abundant natural wonders Video
Rolling through Jackson Hole on the way into Grand Teton National Park for the first time, I spotted a boy on the cycle path alongside the road. more
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A fresh take on Chicago Photo
The man wearing the white skull cap at the Hindu grocery store on Devon Avenue plucked a quarter from his pocket and began plunking it on a coconut. If it sounded too hollow, he explained, that meant it was too dry. This time, the fruit seemed fresh — just like my trip to Chicago. more
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A visit to Mark Twain's Hannibal, Mo. Video
It was long after dark when Henry Sweets brought me to Hannibal's Old Baptist Cemetery, "a graveyard of the old-fashioned Western kind." more
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Wisconsin cheese makers who take the prize Photo
Driving along Skinner Hollow Road, through hilly woodlands and across a tranquil stream, a motorist is about as likely to meet a milk truck as another car. more
Rocky Mountain Regions
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Idaho's Stanley Basin runs wild Photo
Just an hour north of Sun Valley, Idaho's celebrity hot spot, lies the Stanley Basin — an amazing region surrounded by snow-capped mountains, spectacular scenery and abundant wildlife, with the Salmon River — also known as the "River of No Return" — running right through the... more
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Beer on Colorado's Front Range
The air is clean, and the skiing is great, but do you know what really inspires fervor around here? Beer. more
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Cowboy life: It's real ranchy Photo
ANTIMONY, Utah — Dinner wasn't for another hour, so when I arrived at the Rockin' R Ranch, the cowboy-hatted, stubble-chinned guy behind the front desk asked what I wanted to do. more
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Riding rails in the Canadian Rockies Photo
In most travels, it's the destination, not the journey. Getting there is not half the fun, but all that changes on this trip. more
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Las Vegas resorts want their guests to take the plunge Photo
As Danish tourists Benjamin Jensen and Peter Andersen get a tutorial in blackjack, the pit boss at Caesars Palace isn't concerned that they're barefoot and wearing only swim trunks. more
Southern Destinations
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Tour of Central Florida roller coasters has dizzying results Photo
Our roller coaster slowed as it approached the precipice, then stopped, the front hanging over the edge. From my seat at the end of the front row, I could not see the track below, just empty space. We teetered there for excruciating moments, while I contemplated my folly and certain death. more
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Florida serves up fabulous food fests this fall Photo
Fall in Florida features food and more food--with lots of festivals offering goodies for foodies. This year is no exception: there's everything from juicy pineapples to yummy seafood, from chili and barbecue to international delicacies. Is your mouth watering yet? more
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On the BBQ trail Photo
We drive to some of the barbecue joints in the Midwest and South deemed essential by aficionados. more
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Tubing the Ichetucknee lazy river in Florida Photo
There might be more serene ways to pass a summer day in Florida than tubing along the Ichetucknee River. more
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Take a glide into 'Planet Shark' Photo
ATLANTA — Ah, summer — the perfect time for tourist dining at the beach. more
