Traditionally, I haven’t been the most mainstream traveler. I hang back from the crowds, hunt out hole-in-the-wall diversions, and generally do what I can to skip the tourist hot-spots. Which means that after three years of living in San Francisco, the closest I've gotten to a tour group is shouldering through one on my way to work. So I’ve come up with a new travel mission: to tour San Francisco so thoroughly that I can point to Coit Tower in my sleep. And the natural starting point of such an expedition is Alcatraz Island, America's sixth most popular tourist attraction.

As Chelsea Clinton’s wedding guests descend (reportedly) on Rhinebeck, New York, today, the small Hudson River Valley town is banking on a big tourism boost. But the valley is more than a wedding destination and more than a quick getaway from New York City: it’s a truly stunning part of the country, as pretty as New England and as friendly as the Midwest.

As the area’s biggest fan, I thought I’d round up my favorite places and ways to spend a day upstate:

Rhinebeck
Visit (or check into) one of the 430+ Rhinebeck sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places; see an air show at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome; and hit the local wine trails. Visit in September for the fabulous Hudson Valley Wine and Food Fest.

I ended up in Pécs because its dot on the map was rather large and well located between Budapest and Sarajevo; I ended up loving Pécs because it’s a wonderful surprise in southern Hungary—a stunningly beautiful city full of fascinating attractions.

The European Union agrees, because Pécs is one of the organization’s Capitals of Culture for 2010. And with a calendar packed with related events and festivals this summer and fall, there’s never been a better time to score a Central Europe travel deal and discover Pécs.

Imagine monitoring a meerkat population in the Kalahari. Picture tracking black sea turtles in Baja California. This summer, you could take a volunteer vacation with our partner Earthwatch Institute and work side by side with scientists who are doing important research in the field.

I always say that the mark of a good vacation is when you start looking at the "For Sale" signs on the homes. No matter how much a traveler loves her job, her hometown, her native country, the temptation to pull up roots and plant a flag somewhere new is always there. And the more I like a destination, the more detailed my Run Away From It All scenario gets. During my trip to Guanajuato, Mexico I had all but called up the airline and asked what would happen if I didn't show up for my return flight home.

Please join us in welcoming Amanda Pressner to The Window Seat. She is the co-writer of the blog The Lost Girls and the new travel memoir of the same name.

Back when my fellow Lost Girls Jennifer, Holly and I first left New York City to begin a yearlong, round-the-world adventure, I assumed that the last places I wanted to visit were big cities. Hadn’t I just abandoned a cramped stressed-out, metropolis to find wide-open spaces and new horizons somewhere beyond U.S. borders?

When I told people I was going to Mexico and NOT staying on the beach, a look of sincere confusion would cross their faces. "Oh, so you're going to Mexico City, then?" they'd ask. "No, San Miguel de Allende." San Miguel...what?

Neither a sun-soaked beach nor a mega-metropolitan center, San Miguel is nestled in the heart of central Mexico and is a colonial gem. Perched more than 6,000 feet above sea level, this UNESCO World Heritage Site is hands down one of the most charming destinations I've ever visited and it offered me a peek into the sleepy villages of Mexico's past.

On the morning of 9/11, I remember repeatedly thinking to myself, “things are never going to be the same again.” But here we are nearly 10 years later, and things over the past decade have been creeping back to sameness. Yes, the Twin Towers will never again punctuate the skyline of New York City, but rebuilding in the region takes place 24/7, shops are back in business, and commerce is flowing. Perhaps one of the biggest indicators of this return to normalcy is the announcement that a brand-new hotel is using its Ground Zero location as a unique draw to bring in tourists.

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.

I’ve never been much into the Olympics, but after a trip to Vancouver and Whistler in January I caught a bit of a bug. Anxious to keep the spirit alive as I waited for the Games to begin, I planned an early February trip to Lake Placid, NY, home to the 1932 and 1980 Winter Games and a place both entrenched in and proud of its Olympic history. From ‘Miracle Monday’ specials at the famous Dancing Bears Bar to the photos of champion Olympians past hanging on the walls at the High Peaks Resort to the signs all over town wishing ‘good luck’ to local Andrew Weilbrecht, member of the US Olympic Alpine Ski Team -- the Olympic ties practically hit you over the head at every turn in this tiny town in New York’s Adirondacks.