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

I knew I could make the move from New York City to San Francisco the moment I first laid eyes on Napa Valley. It felt like a wonderland to me, a spot of much-needed European charm and pastoral quietude just a quick hour down the road from the hustle and bustle of the city.

And now three years into my great California adventure, I have developed my way of enjoying Napa and Sonoma. Much like how Coloradans debate the relative merits of competing ski resorts, we here in the Bay Area enjoy holding forth about the "right way" to explore the wine country. There are two valleys to choose from, at least 10 quaint towns, and a huge variety of activities, including hiking, biking, wine tasting, gourmet dining, air ballooning, spa going, and more.

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)

I’m a sucker for spokesanimals (I’m not sure there’s anyone who loves the Frontier Airlines crew as much as I do), so I was excited to hear that the gorillas of Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park have started Tweeting and Facebooking their way to conservation funds. (Those opposable thumbs sure have come in handy!)

Check out the new Friend a Gorilla website and its Twitter and Facebook pages; the team behind them will be adding new features (like geo-tracking gorilla families) soon.

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.

Maybe it’s because the state of the current economy has everyone cutting back. Maybe it’s because there were three fee-free weekends this summer. Or, maybe it’s that the fever pitch of endless news streams and twitter feeds has people looking to get back to the basics, but U.S. National Parks are on par for their most-visited year ever.

Forgive me because I’m about to state something obvious, but to me it bears mentioning in thanks: America’s had a lot of great ideas over its history, but establishing its national parks is up there among the best of them. I’ve been to parks all over the country, and to say the landscapes these parks protect is spectacular is an understatement. These landscapes are stunners, they’re mouth-openers, they shake you up and turn your brain inside-out, they remind you that the world is as weird as it is wonderful, they get into your dreams and stay there, and they comfort you during indoorsy, work-filled days.

Jim: Dwight, if you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Dwight: I can travel anywhere, except Cuba, and I will travel to New Zealand and walk the Lord of the Rings trail to Mordor and I will hike Mount Doom.

Even though Dwight may dream of traveling down under to bond with his Hobbit friends, there are plenty of sights to see right in his own backyard. In honor of The Office being back, I thought I'd do a round-up of the must-see (cough, cough) sights of the greater Scranton area.

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In San Francisco, we experience two seasons: pretty nice and not-as-nice. In fact, if I never left this city, I would be led to believe that our global climate was a moderate one, void of extremes, surprises or change of any kind. I'm quite fond of change, and I miss the about-face that Mother Nature commands every few months, which is why the traveler in me makes it a point to get out of San Francisco when each season calls.

Having already begun research on an easy fall getaway from the Bay Area, a request from a local TV show further fueled my motivation to get out of the city and off the beaten path. I was invited to be a guest on ABC's View from the Bay to talk about destinations where travelers can experience nature's vibrant display of changing leaves. (See video from the show below.) The show had just one request; they wanted to highlight fall foliage destinations not in the Northeast.

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.

Recently I crossed something big off my must-see-before-I-die list: Machu Picchu. I took a day-trip to the stunning UNESCO World Heritage Site during my volunteer vacation to Cuzco, Peru. Machu Picchu is situated 8,000 feet above sea level and Cuzco, where I spent the majority of my time, was at 10,800 feet.

Leading up to the trip, every single pamphlet, website, and guidebook I read discussed how to avoid altitude sickness and I must confess, I skimmed it. It didn't feel like there were any good options. For instance, the side effects of the prescription medicine for altitude sickness are often worse than the actual symptoms of it. One woman on my trip who was taking it kept saying, "My nose is tingling! I can't feel my fingertips!" Uh...no thanks.