After nothing but car travel for months, I've been at the airport twice in the past two weeks -- once to attend a Chicago blogging conference (my impressions are here) and again this weekend to fly to Charlotte, North Carolina to research an upcoming NASCAR/travel article for Automotive Traveler .

Air travel these days is like a sport -- you get rusty and do dumb stuff if you don't practice. I haven't flown since the 3… Read More

Maybe you're being beaten bloody by your kids to go check out Harry Potter film locations. Maybe you'd like to enjoy the Thames, exploring maritime heritage in a side trip to pretty Greenwich, or surprises like Canary Wharf. Maybe you want to see England, Scotland or Wales now, simply because you never have before! Americans tend to think quite highly of the British, even with their quirks.

For whatever reason, if you're… Read More

One of the reasons that I'm planning a gargantuan road trip from Texas to Chicago this summer is for the simple reason that I don't know enough about the US Midwest.

I realize that one trip is not going to solve that problem, but it's a start. The great Midwestern city of Chicago has long been on my "must-see" list; although I visited briefly for only one afternoon, years ago, I knew that I needed to return. This past weekend,… Read More

I've been hopping over at one of my other blogs, the Perceptive Travel Blog, where I'm a co-author. Dynamic Australian blogger Darren Rowse, who runs the ProBlogger site, has a Group Writing Project going on -- I'm one of, oh, over 370 submissions so far on the topic "Top 5."

It can be "Top 5" of anything, which is great because that means that an enormous variety of blogs can participate. My own… Read More

Awhile back I wrote a Kid Trippin' post about budget airlines in Europe. I said that they were a great deal under the right circumstances, but that you still shouldn't overlook rail travel options, especially with kids and especially since flying is pretty painful these days.

Here's another voice in favor of rail travel in Europe -- Harry Shattuck, the travel editor at the Houston Chronicle. He just enjoyed a blissful few days via boat and train on and… Read More

Here are a few links that will help you go in several different directions on your next vacation:

Outdoors -- Frommer's has a great article about getting out and enjoying our national parks: 11 Hikes The Entire Family Can Do.

Indoors -- How about a factory tour? There's a map here of such tours in the United States, so click on a state and start planning. Ben and Jerry's ice cream in Vermont is pretty obvious, but how about… Read More