It’s been a big news week!  Between the huge earthquake and its aftershocks in Chile, to the tsunami warnings in Hawaii and Japan, there’s plenty of news to capture the attention of travelers.  The devastation and disruption of life has been tremendous, and there is no diminishing the impact it has on travel plans.

In the midst of all this news, however, there are lots of good things in travel going on.  Here are some of them:

• Up, Up and a Gay introduced me to a new organization, and website, the Flight Attendant Appreciation Club.  What a concept!  It’s always nice to be appreciated!
• PlanetEye Traveler – Niagara is a new destination for the magazine, and starts off with a bang with information about Maid of the Mist, the boat that gets you up close to the falls.
• Chris Around the World has photos of Manhattan under a blanket of snow.  These guys just haven’t been able to catch a break lately, and I wonder if the end is in sight.
• Gadling list the 24 greatest cities for drinking beer.  Seattle, with all our local brew pubs, made the list.
• Ottawa Citizen has the scoop on the launch of a new travel magazine focusing on wine travel.  At a time when so many magazines are closing up shop, here’s hoping this one makes it.
• Consumer Traveler reminds us that new credit card laws are on the horizon and they’re going to affect travelers.  It’s not just earthquakes and tsunami that are dangerous!
• World Hum has a great story on getting a driver’s license in China.  The testing part seems easy, it’s the resulting driving that has me a little nervous.
• PlanetEye Traveler – Atlanta had a close up experience with falconry.  Amazing!
• BlogHer Travel has some travel advice for parents traveling with kids who worry about getting seats assigned apart from one another.  And why yes, that is yours truly who was interviewed.
• Italy Mondo has a review of a yummy sounding cookbook, Venerdì Sera, Friday Evening: Creating La Dolce Vita. It’s a great concept, too, the bringing together of people and food to create wonderful memories.
• BNET wraps up the month with the 5 weirdest travel industry stories.  Funny and true.

And finally, my trip to Skamania Lodge, and a beautiful drive along the Columbia River Gorge separating Washington and Oregon.

Have a great week, and please take a few minutes to check out the travel posts that I’ve highlighted here.  I think you’ll enjoy them as much as I did.  And please tell them that MJ sent you!

Photo credit: personal collection

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