 MAKE A MAINE PLAN
I spent the July Fourth weekend lying in a hammock on the shore of a pond in central Maine. I liked it so much, I'm going back in August. Big activities planned include listening for loon calls, watching the moon rise and picking sprigs of wild mint. Maybe I'll take a canoe out - but only if I get really ambitious.
|  Tourists bunk up to save bucks
Charity Simon is sharing a bedroom and a bathroom with two other young women she has never met during her stay at the Tropics Hotel & Hostel in Miami Beach. But that's fine with her since she is saving a ton of money every night.
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 TEEING OFF IN PARADISE
I was 10 when I first saw that iconic coastline. The one that looks like a sleeping Sioux, beautifully laid out along Hanalei Bay. I had no idea I'd be back here 27 years later, and I didn't even bring my clubs.
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 UNWINDING IN THE WEST
Go beyond suburbia to find lap of luxury at Arizona resort/spas
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 WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?
Sink into hot mineral springs at resort and spa in New Mexico and absorb the quiet, soothing and, some say, healing effects of the water and rest
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 NO WALK IN THE PARK
No amount of training can prepare a city dweller for the challenge, triumph of hiking desert gorge from rim to rim
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 TAKE UP SPACE
Kids and parents learn about science, history while getting a sense of what astronauts feel when launching in a rocket, walking on moon
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 MAGICAL MAUI
Family hops from snorkeling, shopping and sightseeing to zip-line tour and luau on brief visit to Hawaiian island
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 VOLCANIC BEAUTY
The awesome destruction of its 1980 eruption isn't far from the minds of hikers climbing to the summit of the most active volcano in the continental U.S.
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 WINDY CITY SPIRIT
Add architecture, Wrigley Field, Sears Tower and Millennium Park to a long list of things to see in Chicago
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 TANTALIZING TAOS
Find cheap lodging, a charming town and good food when heading to the Taos Valley Ski area, which opens to snowboarders on March 19
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 SPIRITS OF THE WEST
Get a glimpse into wild history, investigate tales of hauntings
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 SAN ANTONIO SHINES
There's fun to be found at The Alamo, Sea World and other big attractions, but time in Texas city is best spent boating or strolling on River Walk
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 Traipse through Tucson
Check into the Hotel Congress. Yes, it's across the street from the bus station and the train station.
But all is forgiven when you enter the door and take in the high ceiling, the
right-angled staircase, the red neon sign of the Cup Cafe, the noirish blue
light from the telephone booth, the bright bottles of the lobby bar stacked
against the large front window, the Southwest deco ceiling lamps, the three
laundry lines of old-fashioned calendars hanging above the reception desk and
printed with paintings of beautiful señoritas, saints, the Virgin Mary.
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Arizona attractions, spring training vie for visitors’ attention
For those of you wise enough to appreciate baseball and fortunate enough to
be attending spring training games in Arizona this year, keep in mind that there
are plenty of things to do besides drink beer and get sunburned in plastic seats
or on outfield berms. |
 Wining and driving Illinois
Since 1982, when a stubborn retired college professor named Guy Renzaglia
decided the experts were wrong, winemakers have been busy in southern Illinois.
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 Renowned editor's home opens
William Allen White's house was more than just a place
for his family to eat and sleep. It was a think tank of its day, where movers and shakers gathered to exchange
ideas and hear The Emporia Gazette editor and publisher's wit and wisdom.
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