As I've mentioned before, I'm a native of Panama City, Florida. Very few of us have left the Redneck Riviera--and that is probably because the Emerald Coast is one of our nation's best kept secrets. It's gorgeous there. Hand on my heart, the beaches blow away anything I've ever seen in Hawaii or California and are on par with the best shores of the Caribbean. But my quiet--and okay, a bit backwater--town may soon be thrust into the tourism spotlight.

This week's question comes from Lindsey in Florida, the world’s second-largest orange-growing area (after Brazil):

Ah, the Hawaiian luau, so much a staple of the Hawaiian vacation experience. Before I actually went to one, I pictured a giant big fat pig roasting on a spit. I envisioned scantily clad men and women dancing near tiki torches under the stars and moon. And I imagined there’d be lots of loud shirts and goofish tourists scarfing down umbrella-clad cocktails.

Some of that vision was myth, and some was, indeed reality, as I found out last month at Waikiki Starlight Luau at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Resort & Spa. So what really goes down at a Hawaiian luau? Read on, and I’ll give you the luau lowdown.

As someone who works in the travel industry, I often feel a lot of pressure to do anything, see everything, and be everywhere when I travel. This past trip to Hawaii, in between Aloha Festivals activities, it was very important to me that I made some time to do absolutely nothing at all. For the sake of “research,” I wanted to park myself on that world-famous Waikiki beach and zone out to the horizon, holding a pulpy paperback in my hand, and reading snippets in between swimming like a buoyant fish. After all, isn’t the beach the reason so many people come to Waikiki in the first place?

Recently, while I was lying on the beach in front of the Hilton Hawaiian Village, resting up from the Aloha Festivals’ Floral Parade and sucked 100% into a paperback mystery, a man approached me, wallet in hand. “Are you going to be here for awhile,” he inquired.

Startled, I looked at the time. “A little while,” I answered warily.

“Then, would you mind looking after this for a few minutes,” he asked. And with that, he took his wallet and placed it down in the sand right next to my towel.

I looked at it like it was a crawly bug or something else undesirable, and then looked back at him. He had a huge grin on his face as he continued on to say, “I know you won’t take it, darling,” and before I could even open my mouth to reply, he walked away and into the ocean, going in with a show-off dive.

Here are some of the numbers: 13 floats. 14 marching bands. 27 vintage cars. 3 trolleys. 1 royal court. 1 private mounted unit. And an uncountable number of flowers. All this and about 4,000 other parade participants was about to converge on Waikiki’s Kalākaua Avenue, where I’d snagged a curbside seat in the bright morning sun. I’d just come from the pre-parade preparations, which I described in my last blog entry, and was eager to see everything come together.

The Associated Press is officially denouncing this hurricane season as a “dud.” In my opinion, it’s been exactly the opposite. As far as I’m concerned, no news is good news when it comes to hurricanes, and this year, there has been delightfully little hurricane-related news to report.

I’ll admit it – I’m biased. I love Mexico. I’ve been twice so far this year – once to Riviera Maya and once to Riviera Nayarit – and am hoping for a third trip later this year.  That may be a little aggressive, even for a super fan like me, but the deals are so good right now, I’m not sure I can stay away.

I've been slacking a bit on posting deals, I know, but this one is so good I had to share. Also, it has a short shelf life so time is of the essence.

Bermuda's Fairmont Southhampton 99 Hour Sale

Rooms at the five-star Fairmont Southampton from under $99 per night. Travel now through 2010. Book on Travelocity.com/bermuda

Editor's note: I just booked this as a surprise for my parents' upcoming 40th wedding anniversary over July 4th weekend, so it seems there are few or no blackout dates. Hurry and book your trip now!

I get absolutely giddy with joy around spring time.  As an avid whale watcher, the spring season means that humpback and gray whales make their annual 12,000-mile journey from cold Alaska waters to breed in the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean further south.

Starting now through early April, state parks, recreation departments, and beaches throughout the West Coast have set up a string of whale-watching sites for visitors hoping to catch a glimpse of a humpback or gray whale diving, jumping, or gliding over the top of the water.  Volunteers are usually on hand to guide visitors, too.  In Oregon, the parks and recreation department has volunteers stationed at 28 different locations to help curious seekers find good whale-watching spots.