Just how important is your vacation? Personally, I take vacationing very seriously. Typically, I take one big trip (more than a week) each year, plus several long weekend trips (three or four nights) plus many weekends (one or two nights) and then two family trips (one on my husband's side and one on my side) to the same destination each year for varying lengths of time. (Thankfully, Travelocity has a generous vacation policy).

Alright, I admit it. Last weekend I went to see the movie Hot Tub Time Machine, and while I’m not going to say it’s the most brilliant movie ever made, it did succeed in making me laugh—and that’s really all I could ask for on a gloomy and rainy Saturday night. In the movie, a group of guys check into a rather rundown ski hotel and find that the hot tub on the back deck has transported them to the year 1986 when neon was still in style, the Talking Heads were “letting the days go by,” and the Russians were the “enemy.” Don’t worry, I haven’t spoiled any of the plot.

Editor's Note: Inspired by Follow Friday on Twitter, I am profiling (in far more than 140 characters) travelers who you, too, should follow!

Sleep better with: Anya Orlanska
Follow her at: @SleepConcierge

After returning from a 10-day stint on the road (and not sleeping a wink), I was ecstatic to climb into my very own bed and get a good night's sleep on my plush mattress and super flat feather pillow. Heaven! As much as I love to travel, the new environment, the time changes and the busy agendas keep me up at night, but Sleep Concierge Anya Orlanska says it is possible to sleep as well, if not better, while you're on the road.

Good news for any woman who, like me, appreciates a good bathroom in the sky: Japan’s All Nippon Airways is rolling out ladies-only restrooms this month. Next time you have to powder your nose on ANA, ladies, the seat will be down and your spirits (the airline hopes) will be up.

I thought I’d heard it all after learning about no-pants subway rides and nude flights. But those underdressed endeavors seem tame compared to naked skiing and sledding: neither wind, nor snow, nor hail can keep these sports' cold, bold athletes from careering down mountains in the buff.

Among the best ski resorts for nude skiers are, evidently, Squaw Valley; Telluride; and Obertraun, Austria, where clothing-optional cross-country trails have earned it the mantle “Europe's nude ski mecca.” It sounds like one awkward après-ski scene to me.

There was a time, not too long ago, when you paid for an airline ticket and with it were able to check two bags, get a snack onboard the flight, and reserve any seat in the class of cabin you paid for. In just a few short years, airlines have moved from a more-or-less inclusive model to an a la carte pricing structure – and have made billions by doing so. What if hotels follow?

A look at spring travel data tells us that average hotel rates are still down slightly over last year, hovering around $156 for a domestic hotel stay and $218 for an international hotel stay. When you compare these numbers to hotel prices in 2008 and see that they're down 14 percent and 11 percent respectively, you can't argue that they're a real steal.

The relative inexpensiveness of travel at this point in time makes my job as a bargain hunter and tips guru, well, easy. Everything seems to be a deal right now, but a thrifty shopper looks for lower-than-average hotel stays. We decided to make the hunt easy for you, listing 100 Hotels Under $100.

I’m not sure why, but putting a piece of food on a stick always puts a smile on travelers’ faces. Maybe it’s because we associate skewered snacks with childhood pleasures like lollipops and popsicles; maybe it’s because sticks make for easy cleanup when we’re on the go.

Either way, certain destinations are held in high esteem for their unforgettable (for better or for worse) meals on sticks. Here are 10 picked especially for brave travelers—stick it to your friends when you complete one of these challenges.

The Gadget Guru is here to alert you to two travel apps you might want to download if you're heading to Los Angeles or hitting the slopes soon.

If you're anything like me, the last thing you want to be is the dork whipping out a map every five seconds on vacation. That's why I LOVE my Google Maps app on my iPhone. Hey, I might be checking my email for all you know, and not, ahem, looking for a store that's right behind me. But the Google Maps app is fairly bare bones when it comes to entertainment, so that's why I love fun travel map apps like the Celebrity Star Maps and iTrailMap.

This weekend, along with a sizable portion of the rest of the country, I saw the movie Avatar. Through my 3-D glasses, I entered into the bioluminescent forestlands of a fictional distant moon named Pandora, where flowers bloomed rampantly, trees stretched into the skies, and rivers glowed. Although the plot was a little trite and silly, the Pandora landscape was a true escape. Much like an avatar, while my body sat in a darkened theater surrounded by hundreds of others in our dorky glasses, the rest of me entered into this forest world for 2 ½ hours. On a year when I’d opted not to travel for the holidays, this movie was my ticket to a realm beyond San Francisco, somewhere exotic and indelible—and not once did I have to step on a plane.