In every community, in every friend circle or family, there's a special woman that outshines the rest with her compassion, her commitment, and her care for the less fortunate. Travelocity's Travel for Good program and WE TV want to honor these super-star women for their tireless service.

If you know a special woman volunteer and you'd like to make sure she gets the recognition she deserves, nominate her for the We Do Good Awards today. There are three categories to choose from: the Travel for Good Award, the Women on Their Way Award, and the We Do Good Award.

Right now, there are a whole bunch of nervous tourists on Gulf Coast beaches ready to twitch away at the first sight of black oil washing onto those pristine white sands. Parents are expressing concern about having their children swim in Florida's western waters, diving and fishing charters are being called off in the Keys, birds and turtles crying tears of oil are washing up on shore in Mississippi, no one's ordering the N'awlins oysters, and many regional Gulf Coast resorts, hotels, and vacation rentals are fielding cancellation calls for as far away as August. But are the worries to tourists overblown?

Marking another milestone in the movement to snuff out smoking rooms for good, in July Wisconsin will become the first state to ban smoking in guestrooms of hotels, motels, bed-and-breakfasts, and rental cabins. The law reinforces what many hotel chains are already doing; the first chain to go entirely smoke-free was Westin in 2006, and Marriott, Sheraton, and others weren’t far behind.

In his Washington Post column this week, Christopher Elliott points out that Wisconsin's move is great news for those of us who have lost count of the number of smoking rooms we’ve endured despite efforts to avoid them. And most of us do try to avoid them: when Westin went smoke-free, the chain said it was a popular decision among the 92% of guests already requesting non-smoking rooms.

Like you, I'm sure, I have a HUGE list of places to see and things to do before I die. And every trip, I try to cross one off my list. So when I found out that I'd be going to Maui with my husband's family, I immediately began to research surfing lessons. For years and years I have wanted to give this sport a whirl and finally I would have my chance.

What I love about travel is the way it expands your worldview. I admit that I have occasionally felt like I had it hard here in the U.S. But all it takes is a trip beyond our borders and I remember how very lucky I am.

And inevitably when the citizens of my host country open their arms and welcome me, treat me like a guest in their beautiful country, I am humbled anew. Travelers are acutely aware that the world is not a collection of different people and countries, but rather a global community where people rely upon one another. And they understand that the gift of travel comes with responsibilities.

For many people, getting in shape tops the list of New Year’s resolutions, but those who travel frequently for business or pleasure know that keeping up a fitness routine on the road is challenging. Fast food at the airport, high-calorie business lunches, an unfamiliar fitness center at your hotel or a reluctance to run in a city you’ve never been to are just a few of the things that can derail your fitness routine. Here are five ways to travel and keep your New Year’s resolution to get fit on track.

If you read this blog, you're probably a lot like us, constantly planning your next trip, collecting passport stamps like medals of honor, and always looking for that next peak to climb. The older I get the more keenly I feel that if I love travel this much, I also have a responsibility to preserve beloved destinations for my children and my children's children.

Responsible or green travel is at heart a conservation movement, a desire to keep pristine places around the world as they are--or even restore them to how they were. Here are 10 green travel resolutions you can make for Mother Earth. I've listed them from simplest to most ambitious so you can choose where you'd like to start. If we all make a pact to do just one of these resolutions, I think you'd be surprised at the huge impact it would have over time.

Having grown up in Georgia, I was bummed yesterday when I read that Southern states bring up the rear on the list of the happiest places in the U.S. There’s no question in my mind that the South, and particularly my hometown of Atlanta, often get a bum rap when it comes to tourism--and now they’re downers, too?!

Via LiveScience.com: Need a pick-me-up? Travel where it’s happy. According to an article by Jeanna Bryner of LiveScience.com, researchers have determined that well-being is at its highest in states that lie in the U.S. mountains and in the far West. The Mid-Atlantic, New England, and the Midwest came next. Southern states were deemed the least happy.

I'm all about getting sporty on my trips. When I was training for the NYC marathon, I had to visit Washington, D.C. at a crucial point of my training. Instead of halting training or spending hours running on the hotel treadmill, I hired a running guide through City Running Tours who took me on a sightseeing run through our nation's capital.

So when I heard about a physical fitness event  -- again, in Washington, DC -- coming up on October 11, I thought I would share it with you. Bike for the Heart is a day-long event put on by the Sister to Sister organization, a group dedicated to educating women about heart health and risk prevention and providing free heart health checkups.

The day consists of four events:

 - a family-friendly five-mile bike ride around our nation's capital (this would be my choice)