Staycation destination: Polymath Park in Mt. Pleasant Township
Need a break? Looking for new adventure? There’s no reason to leave Western Pennsylvania. In this occasional series, we highlight “staycation” ideas found in our own backyard. Imagine being able to tour a Frank Lloyd Wright home — it’s easy if you try because Fallingwater is only an hour’s drive...
Taco Bell hotel sells out in minutesVideo
A Taco Bell-themed hotel in California sold out in minutes and fans will have to hope for another chance to experience the limited-time vacation getaway. The Bell: A Taco Bell Hotel and Resort, located in Palm Springs, California, sold out in just 2 minutes after opening at 10 a.m. Pacific...
Travel tip: Win a dream trip via ‘Vacation Do Over’ contest
The American Society of Travel Advisors is looking for someone who planned the trip of their dreams, only to have it turn into a vacation nightmare. The society will soothe the pain of plans gone wrong with a $10,000 dream getaway through its Vacation Do Over Contest. Best of all,...
‘Don’t panic’ is first rule when you lose your passport overseas
Passport problems can elicit very real physical responses in travelers. On a blazing afternoon in Jakarta a few years ago, I realized I didn’t have enough pages in my passport to get to my next destination beyond Indonesia. I had one of those skin-crawling, heart-racing moments of terror. Reason went...
Burning Man OK with attendance cap; will fight searches
RENO, Nev. — Burning Man organizers say they won’t challenge the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s plans to cap their attendance at current levels under a new 10-year permit but they will fight any move toward federally-sanctioned screenings for weapons and drugs at the counterculture celebration. BLM proposed in a...
Toxic bacteria outbreak sparks warnings on Mississippi coast
People along the Mississippi coastline are being warned not to swim or eat seafood. USA Today reports that the warning is in response to an outbreak of toxic bacteria known as cyanobacterium. Residents have been advised to avoid water that has a greenish-blue hue, which is said to cause rashes,...
Send that checked bag packing for a better travel experience
For me, packing for a one- or two-week vacation is often a tug of war. The desire to pack light competes with the temptation to fill a jumbo suitcase with a variety of outfits and accessories, plus some “maybe” ensembles (those that may or may not be worn to that...
Travel tip: Old Bethlehem steel mill hosts Blast Furnace Blues
Carrie Blast Furnaces in Rankin isn’t the only old steel mill in Pennsylvania that’s been repurposed as an arts venue. There’s also SteelStacks, once the home plant of Bethlehem Steel in Bethlehem. Five idle blast furnaces loom over the 10-acre site offering concerts, festivals, food, arts programming, family fun and...
When that ‘rock’ is actually a horseshoe crab and the beach becomes a respite from the city
DEWEY BEACH, Delaware - It’s become a rite of summer, at least for children who have grown up near one of Washington, D.C.’s best-known dives. For the past 22 years, Bill Duggan, the owner of Madam’s Organ, has been rounding up kids - and now the kids of kids who...
Video: Tourists scramble as Outer Banks waterspout tips boats, rips off shingles, kills powerVideo
Vacationers were forced to run for cover as a fast-moving, violent storm hit the Outer Banks Thursday evening. The popular North Carolina beach vacation area lost power and had several trees toppled by the large waterspout, reports OBX Today. Shingles were reported ripped from roofs in Kill Devil Hills. WITN-TV...
Boaters spot whale off coast of Ocean City
Fishermen looking for sharks caught a glimpse of something bigger last week. Chasin’ Tides Charters shared a video of a whale surfacing near their boat off the coast of Ocean City, Md. “You never know what you may see while out on the ocean,” they wrote June 17. “Tonight while...
Daytrippers: Head to historic Harmony
Looking for a day trip replete with history, food and maybe a little weaving? Look no further than the little town of Harmony. Packed with early American history, Harmony offers visitors old-world German charm amidst specialty shops, eateries and preserved buildings. Tourists frequent annual Harmony events including a German Christmas...
Outer Banks beachcombers find ancient shark tooth
There are large fossil deposits along the North Carolina coast but not everyone is lucky enough to spot an ancient bone while walking the beach. Beachcombers last week found a fossilized tooth from a prehistoric shark and got some verification from the experts at North Carolina Aquariums’ Jennette’s Pier facility...
Myrtle Beach tourist gets photos of sharks swimming near beachgoers
A visitor to North Myrtle Beach spotted sharks lurking near swimmers in the ocean below her hotel balcony and has the pictures to prove it. Ginger Gilmer from Tennessee was high above the action when she captured the photos. “Not one person had an idea of what was lurking around...
Want to spend the summer pool-hopping? Hotels.com has a job for you
If you enjoy spending your summer poolside, Hotels.com has a job for you. The company is seeking applications for a “poolhop” position. “This summer, we’re hiring our first-ever ‘Poolhop’ to travel across the country researching the most epic hotel pools from coast to coast,” an online application reads. “It’s a...
Moscow’s Pushkin Museum presents Modernist art treasures
Iconic art works by Claude Monet, Paul Cézanne, Paul Gaugin, Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso went on show Wednesday in a major exhibition at Moscow’s Pushkin Museum. The treasures hail from the early 20th century collection of Russian businessman Sergei Shchukin, whose collection was confiscated and then divided up by...
Billions of mosquito lookalikes plague New Orleans
NEW ORLEANS — Billions of mosquito lookalikes are showing up in the New Orleans area, blanketing car windshields, littering the ground with little bodies and even scaring some folks. They’re aquatic midges, often called “blind mosquitoes.” They don’t bite, and they’re good for the environment, but they sure can be...
Arctic Norway island wants to be ‘time-free’ during summer
Residents on an Arctic Norwegian island with 69 days of constant light in the summer say they want to go “time-free” and be more flexible with school and working hours to make the most of the long days. Resident Kjell Ove Hveding says people on the island of Sommaroey —...
Travel tip: Calling all Chevys for car gathering in Carlisle
If names like Nomad, Bel Air, Corvette and Camaro make your heart beat a little faster, we have just the thing for you. The Carlisle Chevrolet Nationals, set for June 21-22 at the Carlisle Fairgrounds in Cumberland County, will welcome all Chevys, old and new, and other vehicles under the...
Universal: Harry Potter faithful wait 10 hours in line to ride new Hagrid coaster
ORLANDO, Fla. — Fans of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter are waiting up to 10 hours in a long, slithering line as Universal Orlando opened its new roller coaster — Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure — to the public for the first time Thursday morning. Potter fans and coaster...
Krispy Kreme goes all in with mega Times Square store
Don’t look now, but a trip to New York City’s Times Square just got a lot sweeter. Krispy Kreme, the doughnut store extraordinaire, announced it is opening the first-of-its-kind flagship store in Times Square in early 2020. With its 4,500 square feet of retail space, the shop “will serve more...
Largely unregulated, facial-recognition technology comes to airport gates
NEW YORK — You won’t need to pull out your ticket to board the flight to Cancun at JetBlue’s Gate 18 at John F. Kennedy Airport. Put away your passport, too. All this convenience costs is your face. You get only one of those, so I hope it’s worth it....
Travel tip: AARP survey says Baby Boomers are on the move
Baby Boomers aren’t just sitting at home watching the grass grow. An AARP survey of 2019 Boomer travel plans revealed these tidbits: • Boomers surveyed expect to take four or five trips this year, with half traveling in the U.S. only and half traveling domestically and abroad. • Their travel...
Flying well with kids takes more than a wing and a prayer
If you’re flying somewhere with young kids this summer, you deserve a medal. Few things seem to irk fellow passengers like babies, toddlers and their parents. According to surveys done by
Expedia.com, seat kickers and inattentive parents rank up there with aromatic passengers (those who lack in hygiene or overindulge...
Muhammad Ali’s Pa. training camp opens to the public
The rustic Pennsylvania training camp where Muhammad Ali prepared for some of his most famous fights has undergone an elaborate restoration, opening to the public Saturday as a shrine to the heavyweight icon’s life and career. The famed Deer Lake camp was in disrepair when California real estate investor Mike...
