Thick clouds are produced from marine layer in southern California. (Getty Images) The kids are either on summer vacation or about to be if you live in Midwestern cities such as St. Louis, Minneapolis or Kansas City. The family decides it’s time to go on a memorable summer trip to meet Mickey Mouse. You start a checklist of which Disney destination to choose. Generally, the distance to either Disney location in Anaheim, CA or Orlando, FL is within the ballpark...

The Corn Palace in South Dakota is one of many reasons why the state's tourism is in full swing. (Getty Images) SPEARFISH, S.D. (AP) -- More than half a million people have visited the state's main tourist attractions so far this year as the state's tourism industry prepares for its busiest season of the year. Ashley Worth with the South Dakota Department of Tourism says 518,000 people have visited South Dakota's National Parks -- Mount Rushmore, Wind Cave, Jewel Cave,...

Flying trapeze lessons, hot-air balloon races, swing-dance parties: Get your kicks at America’s coolest city parks. (Courtesy of Denver City Park) Sure, New York’s Central Park has a lot to offer, but when it comes to cool, the park just can’t compete with the thrill of swinging yourself off a 23-foot-high trapeze platform on Governors Island. Adding to the island’s cool factor is an expanding lineup of art installations, food-truck festivals, and rock concerts on a sandy beach—all this with...

Airports across the country are slowing down again—and some more than others. Find out which hubs are most likely to delay your flight. (Mira / Alamy) When technology consultant Steve McHargue travels to Panama on business, his biggest complaint is the airport where he frequently gets delayed. “If I came home via a connecting flight thorough Anchorage,” says the Dallas area native, “and had to rent a husky team and race the Iditarod to get to my connecting flight, and...

Plan ahead and you could save a couple hundred dollars on flights and hotels to popular destinations like New York, experts say. (Getty Images) It's tough to think about Thanksgiving and Christmas travel when the weather is calling you to the beach, but now is a good time to do just that. Airlines already have released schedules and fares through New Year's Day, and it's no secret bargains are tougher to find as popular travel times draw near. Plan ahead,...

From soaring man-made monuments to jaw-dropping natural landforms, the U.S. has a wealth of beautiful landmarks. (iStock) Nearly a million New Yorkers rush through Grand Central Terminal to and from their desks every day, barely taking notice of the spectacular Beaux-Arts building that surrounds them. First-time visitors to the terminal, though, may find it hard to imagine taking such an architectural masterpiece for granted: with its massive, echoing main concourse, soaring multipaned windows, and vibrant astronomical ceiling mural, it’s one...

Everyone wants to know where to go next, so we’ve unearthed the coolest new hot spots. (Courtesy of Cancun CVB) As you snorkel past coral reefs and angelfish in the warm, shallow waters of the Caribbean Sea, you suddenly come across an eerily beautiful tableau: hundreds of life-size human sculptures. No, this isn’t loot from some sunken pirate ship. It’s the world’s largest underwater museum. This ingenious twist on Cancún’s popular dive tourism shows that tourism sights get bolder and...

Smart tips for traveling to the Caribbean and Mexico during hurricane season. (Mike Theiss/Corbis) When Hurricane Wilma—the most intense Atlantic hurricane on record, with maximum wind speeds of 175 mph—cut a swath of destruction across Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula in October 2005, thousands of travelers in the region’s popular Caribbean-coast resorts were left terrified and stranded. Hotels were destroyed, roads were made impassable by fallen trees and debris, electricity and running water were disabled, and commercial flights were grounded. Although the...

BAY SHORE, N.Y. — It just keeps going, and going, and going. No, it's not a battery. It's Irvin Gordon's 1966 Volvo P1800S. Gordon's small, red two-door has well more than 2 million miles on the odometer, the equivalent of nearly 1,176 times across the globe. The retired schoolteacher from Long Island hopes to reach the 3 million mile mark by next year. He only has 34,000 miles to go. The 72-year-old Gordon drives his Volvo everywhere. He has held...

Cheers to these small towns for great Main Streets, where you can admire architecture, sample the local flavor, and find a lost America. (Woods Pierce) Driving across America, it’s all too easy to lose your mooring amid the commercial thicket of the same old fast-food outlets and big-box stores. But push on a mile or two beyond the interstate exit, and you may discover a town that’s anchored by a distinctive Main Street—one with grand architecture, eclectic small businesses, and...

T+L gives you the lowdown on how to plan an affordable trip to Europe that stays within your budget. (iStockphoto) American travelers may have felt betrayed by their national currency over the past five years, but the dollar is finally gaining some ground. Its value against the euro increased 9.2 percent between January 2010 and January 2012. Pair a stronger dollar with unsteady European economies, as well as growing tourist markets and emerging destinations, and the happy conclusion is this:...

(Getty Images) Traveling with children can be fun and exciting for all involved. However, it's important to remember children have special needs, and traveling can sometimes be particularly difficult for young ones. Here are a few tips for providing a pleasant experience for all: Take several toys and games with you. The rule of the thumb is a toy for each hour of the journey. New toys are preferable to old ones because they hold a child's attention longer than...

A pilot is seen in the cockpit of a Boeing 777 at Denver International Airport. (File Photo by EyesWideOpen/Getty Images) WASHINGTON — An industry forecast that nearly half a million new airline pilots will be needed worldwide over the next 20 years as airlines expand their fleets has raised safety concerns that airlines will hire lower caliber pilots as they struggle to fill slots. Boeing, one of the world's largest makers of commercial jetliners, forecasts about 460,000 new pilots will...