Hot Creek Ranch in Mammoth Lakes has a 2-mile stretch ripe for fly fishing. (Chicago Tribune) This isn't one of those cushy Fish-Carltons like those uber-expensive Montana trout resorts. Hot Creek Ranch in Mammoth Lakes has nine no-frills cabins whose biggest amenity is one of the sweetest spring-fed creeks you'll ever see, right out your front door. You and other guests will have a two-mile stretch of it all to yourselves. Isn't that the ultimate VIP perk, anyway? Plus, it's...

Azriel Blackman is framed by a mural of him in Hanger 10 while speaking to reporters at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer) NEW YORK — American Airlines is celebrating the seven-decade service of a New York mechanic who turns 87 next month and has no plans to retire. Azriel "Al" Blackman was 16 when he started as an apprentice mechanic in July of 1942, long before bag fees, airport security or even the introduction...

Young Shetland colt walking towards viewer. He very close; behind him hills, islands and deep blue sea are visible in Shetland. (Getty Images) Richard Webber takes his family to Shetland and savours the simple pleasures of the open sea, wonderful wildlife and majestic landscapes. We sat motionless in the grass atop Hermaness Hill, surrounded by frenetic activity more reminiscent of Heathrow airport than Britain’s northernmost headland. As the grey blanket of mist, which had lain heavily all day, gave way...

Torrens Lake and the Adelaide skyline at dusk. (Getty Images) In my mind, Adelaide is forever hot and sunny. That’s the way it looks on television when the cricket’s on, with the velvet voice of Richie Benaud welcoming viewers to a day’s play. As a teenager I’d watch rapt while the great man intoned, “Yesss, it’s a very good morning and welcome to the Adelaide Oval, the most picturesque cricket ground in the world.” But of course the city is...

Na Pali Coast is a great place to view from a helicopter in Hawaii. (Getty Images) Every Monday we ask a few questions of a St. Louis travel professional. Today, Cynthia Friedenberg of Brentwood Travel talks about Hawaii. If someone is visiting Hawaii for the first time, what are the don't-miss sites you recommend? For first-time visitors to Hawaii, Pearl Harbor and the Polynesian Cultural Center are musts on Oahu; on Maui, go to Haleakala National Park and a pineapple...

With the New York City skyline as a backdrop, a United plane prepares to land at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) WASHINGTON — A safety program that encourages air traffic controllers to voluntarily disclose their mistakes in exchange for amnesty from punishment needs significant improvement before it can work effectively, according to a report released Monday. The program has been FAA's primary answer to the problem of controller errors that bring planes dangerously close together....

Casinos, hotels and fountains at night, Macau, China. Macau is the largest gambling center in the world, by revenue. (Getty Images) Fionnuala McHugh visits China's Macao region, a buzzing casino island, across from Hong Kong, with hidden pockets of tranquility and a unique colonial heritage. It takes about an hour to travel by ferry from Hong Kong to Macao. On polluted winter days, it’s often a hazy crossing but in summer, the bright-green humps of Hong Kong’s 235 islands jostle...

Air travelers should get a break next month, when airfares are expected to drop 10 percent to 20 percent. (Getty Images) Air travelers, rejoice: Relief from soaring airfares may be just around the corner, at least temporarily. For travelers, it can't happen soon enough. In the first three months of the year, the average domestic airfare in the U.S. climbed to $373, up 4.8 percent from the same period last year, according to the U.S. Transportation Department. That was on...

A special sale designed to celebrate Southwest's 3 million Facebook fans was supposed to give customers who booked flights on Friday a 50 percent discount on certain fares. Instead, they were overcharged. (AP Photo) DALLAS -- Southwest Airlines said it has begun filing refunds to customers who were accidentally billed multiple times for a single flight, after a half-price online ticket promotion backfired. The special sale designed to celebrate Southwest's reaching the 3 million mark in Facebook fans was supposed...

Charleston Light, the last major lighthouse built in the United States, is seen on Sullivans Island, S.C. The National Park Service is considering alternatives in a draft management plan to refurbish the lighthouse and provide public access. (AP Photo/Bruce Smith) SULLIVANS ISLAND, S.C. -- The last major lighthouse built in the United States is showing its age at 50, but the National Park Service is reviewing a management plan to maintain the beacon that still shines 27 miles out into...

(MCT Photo Service) America is full of baseball pilgrimages and road trips. Fenway Park in Boston turns 100 this year. Wrigleyville, the neighborhood around Wrigley Field in Chicago is the best baseball neighborhood in the country. California has five major league teams to visit. New York City has two major league teams and two minor league ones. Roadtrippers can enjoy the Pioneer League with stops in Montana, Idaho and Utah. But for me, a road trip from Louisville to Cooperstown...

(MCT Photo Service) Erik Lars Myers, 36, has built quite a career out of beer. Since the Maine native came to North Carolina a decade ago, his home-brewing hobby turned into a business Mystery Brewing in Hillsborough and Nash Street Homebrew, also in Hillsborough, which last year began selling ingredients and equipment to aspiring home brewers. This year he topped off his portfolio with "North Carolina Craft Beer & Breweries" ($16.95, John F. Blair), a guide to 45 microbreweries from...