It's hard for me to think "ad" without immediately sticking "banner" in front of it. And with such a strong modern association between advertising and the internet, it's even stranger to consider that hand-painted ads and posters were the norm just a few decades back. So, as a tribute to commercial travel's rich history--and a visual break from the twitching, screen-devouring flash ads we've gotten so used to--I'd like to share 25 of my favorite vintage travel ads:

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It's 2007. Post-Katrina travel to New Orleans is just too cheap to pass up, so I jump on the discounted opportunity to cross Mardi Gras off my travel to-do list. I hop on a flight from Dallas to the Big Easy with a few friends, and stay at the historic Hotel Monteleone in the French Quarter. Supposedly, the hotel is haunted. But it's fabulous and affordable, so I take my chances. This is where the story gets a little weird.

We spend the evening sucking down Hurricanes at Pat O'Brien's and getting to know the locals and tourists before we go back to the supposedly haunted hotel for some shut eye. The powerful libations send me into a restful slumber, but I awake suddenly to a deep voice in the room.

Even if the economy is doing a little better, times are still very tough. We've all got stories about how this recession has affected us and many of us are still recovering from being laid off. And if you're anything like me, the only thing that helps you re-focus on what's really important when times are tough is helping others in need.

If you've ever wanted to take a volunteer vacation, you should apply for a $5,000 Change Ambassador grant from Travelocity's Travel for Good program. The deadline for applications is September 30th and we choose two deserving do-gooders a quarter.

It’s hard to pick a highlight from my recent trip to Bosnia and Herzegovina—from the second I crossed into the country from eastern Croatia, it was clear this place was different.

It’s true that buildings were pockmarked from mortar attacks of the last decade, Cyrillic road signs were sprayed with the political graffiti of a rival alphabet, and towns were crumbling down beneath still-towering minarets.

But green hills and golden fields also greeted us, and people could not have been more welcoming, as my friends and I quickly discovered when we rolled up to a toll with no local currency and were allowed to pay in Hungarian forint and nervous laughs.

Today our nation mourns. As someone living on the West Coast, I'm never sure how to deal with my feelings about 9/11. Like everyone, I'm sure, I remember where I was when I heard the news. I was starting grad school in Baltimore and it was the first day of classes. I didn't know a soul in the city and they canceled school for a week. I went home to grieve alone.

I did not personally know anyone who died on 9/11 and yet it haunts me. It was the day the rules as we knew them changed, the day that nothing would ever be the same again.

The following year, I moved to New York City. 9/11 is different there. I remember walking to the subway on the first anniversary of that horrible day and seeing a man clutching a picture of a woman, openly weeping on the streets of Brooklyn.

Deal alert: If you've been thinking about taking a volunteer vacation, there's almost never been a better time to book. Globe Aware is offering 15% off trips booked before October 12, 2009 and completed by November 20, 2010. How are they doing this? The devoted employees at Globe Aware are donating hours so the organization can pass along savings to you!

Choose from volunteer vacations to Peru, Costa Rica, Thailand, Brazil, Romania, Jamaica, China, and more! Plus, don't forget that the program fee and airfare are 100% tax deductible for U.S. and Canadian citizens.

So let's recap the deal. You get:

1) Warm fuzzies from helping people in need around the world

2) 15% off your volunteer vacation program fee

3) An awesome tax write-off

Okay, so reading The Other Boleyn Girl doesn’t exactly qualify as preparation for a trip to London. But it did introduce me to the goings on at the infamous Tower of London, one of London’s most notorious sights. Set on the lovely Thames River right downtown, the Tower dates all the way back to the times of William the Conqueror, in 1078. It’s an amazing anachronism, standing as it is surrounded by modern buildings.

Please join us in welcoming Martha Stewart to The Window Seat! This is an abbreviated version of Martha’s first travel column that debuted in the April 2009 issue of Martha Stewart Living Magazine. This article is a part of the new quarterly travel section and her next piece is scheduled for the August issue, which hits stands July 20, 2009. An abbreviated version of the next travel article will also be featured on The Window Seat so be sure to check back soon.

In the summer of 2008, I decided to travel to England, Ireland, and Poland to visit some of our company’s strategic partners. I also planned to sightsee and to film several segments for my TV show. This is not an unusual scenario. I frequently combine my love of travel with business because I go places that I think most of us would enjoy seeing and experiencing.

Catch a ride on a clattering cable car, slurp clam chowder from a sourdough bread bowl, stroll Fisherman’s Wharf--most tourists in San Francisco know the drill. But as locals, it often breaks our hearts to watch the hordes move from one time-honored experience to the next en masse, never stopping to wander without purpose through our charming city, never trying the new thrills and attractions.