Chances are you’re hitting the road or taking to the skies this weekend. If you’ve had a summer full of weekend getaways like me, you’re probably having mixed emotions. Labor Day is always good for a little R&R (after all, the holiday is all about honoring workers) but because we travelers have come to associate it with the end of summer and the end of our carefree escapes, it’s a little sad too.

But don’t think of Labor Day as the end of summer – think of it is the beginning of an autumn filled with travel possibilities. The Wall Street Journal reports that the week after Labor Day marks the beginning of the off season (read: deals). That’s just one reason why the end of the summer can be a good thing.

China is a fantastic country. China is also an enormous country, and enormous countries equal enormous guidebooks. Seriously, the Lonely Planet China---which I carried around with me for two weeks last summer---comes in at a whopping 1012 pages and weighs close to two pounds. And since I was only visiting Beijing and Shanghai on that trip, meaning I only really looked at two sections of the book with any frequency, I'm estimating that I carried around about 700 pages and a pound and a half more paper than I actually needed.

But there's good news for travelers with weak upper body strength: Lonely Planet has just come up with a solution to slim down its more portly tomes with a concept it calls the Pick & Mix.

Through the windows of Ottawa’s Parliament building, senators are likely to see something that you wouldn’t expect on Parliament Hill: a Cobra; a Cat; and a Downward Facing Dog.

If you’re a follower of the ancient tradition of yoga, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Keep in mind, I am no yoga expert, but you don’t have to be an Ashtanga master to know there’s something special about Yoga on Parliament Hill, one of Travelocity.ca's Local Secrets, Big Finds. This free yoga class, sponsored by Lululemon Athletica, lures locals to the lawn of Parliament Hill, just along the banks of the beautiful Ottawa River.

For all my gripes about flight delays and airline-service slips this summer, I have to admit that when I book a ticket to Rome, I generally end up in Rome. My suitcase’s final destination, on the other hand, is often quite literally up in the air. And since tighter carry-on restrictions have turned my fellow toiletry fiends and me into reluctant bag checkers, it seems inevitable that we’ll face down empty luggage carousels increasingly often.

The only thing worse than the moment you realize your luggage is lost is the process of retrieving it, especially if you’re traveling abroad. And sometimes, your bag permanently checks out, never to be seen—or stowed—again.

When I travel, I tend to book accommodations on a just-somewhere-to-sleep basis. This is for three reasons: first, I’d rather get it over with and spend more time planning things to do or, more importantly, what and where and how often to eat; second, it saves me money; and third, it’s a good way to make myself feel better about not having a single excuse to set foot in a five-star hotel, save visiting the lobby restroom. “Oh, it’s just somewhere to sleep,” I tell myself. And usually, it is.

Photo courtesy of IgoUgo member Jason Elite

It’s an amazing thing to witness: many people undergo complete transformations of personality while on vacation. Ordinarily shy people become chatty. Reserved executives find themselves entering themselves into a cruise ship hairiest chest contest. Dieters indulge in chocolate fantasies and couch potatoes find themselves running with glee from attraction to attraction. Everybody, it seems, has a vacation alter-ego.

Photo courtesty of IgoUgo member Sail Army.

There is almost nothing more American than a good, old-fashioned road trip. Fill up the tank, call up your friends, and take to the great highways. But if you’re anything like me, before you go, you load up your iPod with a road trip mix that is so well-crafted (and let’s face it, borderline genius) that surely your friends will oohh and aahh all the way to Albuquerque. (That never happens, by the way.)

My only problem when creating these mixes is the embarrassment of riches to choose from. Not only do Americans love riding along in their automobiles, but bands love to sing about it too, making the wealth of road trip songs nearly overwhelming.

Photo courtesy of IgoUgo member kwasiak.

If you read Genevieve’s last post (and I hope you did!), you’ll know the difference between those who feel that summer means vacation and those who don’t. Like Ms. Brown, I am of the former category. Whether it is a hardwired impulse or simply a remnant of schooldays when warm weather and responsibility were inversely proportional, I can’t help but get restless when the days are long and the breeze blows balmier. To be honest, I’m on vacation now! This year, as we’ve done for the last 25 Augusts, my family and I put some time aside, drop just about everything, and go to Nantucket. That’s right, I’m on vacation right now. Of course, I have used just about all my vacation days to do it, so don’t be too jealous (though I just came in from the beach).

Photo courtesy of IgoUgo member richardhall99.

With almost two-thirds of all Americans living in a household with a pet, it’s no surprise that our furballs are taking to the roads, skies, and seas in increasing numbers. And since Americans are projected to spend over $40 billion on their four-legged friends in 2007, pet travel is going beyond being just a niche industry.

The appeals of traveling with a pet are many. You don’t have to hire a dog-walker or kennel and worry that they’re getting enough exercise and play time. Bring a dog out on the beach, hiking through the woods, or even on an afternoon kayak excursion, and their spirit of adventure is infectious.

Photo of Hector the Dog courtesy of Eric Eisen.

After pounding several Caribbean islands over the weekend, Hurricane Dean hit Mexico's Caribbean coast Tuesday as a Category 5 storm, according to USA Today. The hurricane was downgraded to Category 2, but is expected to regain strength as it heads towards central Mexico.

Travelers with plans to visit Mexico, especially the Yucatan Peninsula, should check with their hotel for information on rebooking. Most hotels and tour operators in impacted destinations will waive cancellation fees and allow travelers to rebook for a later date, based on availability. Customers with cruise itineraries that include Mexico ports will experience itinerary changes; check with your cruise line for updates and schedule changes. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports that Carnival Cruise Lines shifted the itineraries of six ships, while Royal Caribbean International changed at least two.

Island by Island Conditions
On Grand Cayman, Owen Roberts International Airport is open and the visitor restriction has been lifted. Visitors should check with individual properties for inofrmation on hotel opening status.

Jamaica was spared a direct hit by the hurricane and hotel damage was limited. Many hotels, particularly in western Jamaica, are fully operational. Montego Bay Airport is now open and ready to receive flights. Norman Manley Airport in Kingston is expected to open on Tuesday.

On Martinique, Martinique Aimé Césaire International Airport is open. All island hotels are open, though some have suffered landscaping damage. No structural damage was reported.

On St. Lucia, both airports are open and hurricane damage was minimal.

On St. Kitts, airline service remains normal and all hotels are open. The island suffered very little impact from the storm.

You're side lined. Suddenly, unexpectedly, your plane taxies to a holding area, and you're far from the gate's amenities to occupy your time. Now that you're stuck sitting on the tarmac, you need some inspiration, which is where I come in. No need to curse the airlines for wasting your time when you can make use of it.

Sure, we can all make use of the time if our laptops and cell are fully charged. But what happens if the batteries are running low? Suppose you're saving the last juice for a call upon arrival? If you're like many people, this is when you start to curse the airlines, unless of course, you can make productive use of the time on the tarmac, or at least pass it pleasantly. You may even wonder when it was that you had such solid time without interruption. It's kind of nice.

I just got back to work from a family vacation to Hilton Head Island. The trip was my second this season that involved taking time off of work. Summer, to me, is synonymous with vacation days.

It seems I’m in the minority.

About a year and a half ago, I was obsessed with finding a universal sink plug. I was about to set off on a three-month backpacking jaunt around Southeast Asia, staying in the sorts of places that cost the same per night as my daily Starbucks habit in the States, and apparently a universal sink plug was de rigueur. I mean, honestly, all the guidebooks said so.

So after several weeks--and various forays into many, many stores--I finally found one. Into my backpack it went, along with my mosquito repellent, my sunscreen, my travel detergent, and a hundred pocket-sized packets of tissues. After thrice-daily applications, the mosquito repellent and the sunscreen were gone within a week; the travel detergent was equally as indispensable, given the frequency with which I used the communal laundry facilities in youth hostels (can you imagined carrying a Target-sized container of Tide around Asia? I think not.) And the pocket-sized packets of tissues proved, time and time again, to be as important as you would imagine them to be in a series of third world countries where toilet paper in public restrooms is not exactly high on the list of priorities.

But the universal sink plug? Didn't even use it once.

Miles. They’re the bread and butter of the frequent traveler. If you’re like me, you hoard miles in every way possible. There’s the miles card; e-shopping; special promotions; and, if you’re an American Airlines AAdvantage member, the Platinum and Gold Challenges -- fast tracks to more miles and elite status.

It wouldn’t surprise me if you’ve never heard of the challenges. They're not posted anywhere on the site, so many consumers aren’t aware that they even exist. I recently enrolled in the Platinum Challenge. My goal: to earn 10,000 points through qualifying flights within three months.

What did I do with a week in China amid worldwide claims that the country serves and exports drug-laced seafood, salmonella shellfish, and cancerous ducks?

I ate. I ate all of it.

In July, while the U.S. media focused on China’s toxic wheat gluten and the execution of the country’s former food and drug chief, I focused on dumplings, pork, chicken, snow frog, duck, hoisin sauce, eggplant, and tofu. I devoured dishes from street stands and swanky restaurants, in styles from Shanghai (oily) to Guizhou (spicy).

Despite all the doom and gloom surrounding travel these days, I hold steadfastly to my wanderlust, insisting that one little summer of record flight delays and security scares isn’t enough to sway me. After all, there are plenty of reasons to keep traveling, from the emotional to the pragmatic. But I’m not going to get all warm and fuzzy here. The travel experiences that really stick with me—the ones I remember long after I’ve forgotten where I had that amazing steak tartare or found that tiny art gallery—are the ones that made me laugh (or just want to run away) the most at the time.

Photo by IgoUgo member Shady Ady

Could there be two more dreaded words in the traveler’s vocabulary than “flight delayed”? This week, it’s been all over the news: It’s officially the worst time for flight delays in 13 years. To put that in perspective, the last time we had it this bad, O.J. Simpson was white Bronco-ing it along the Los Angeles freeway.

Every time I fly I am reminded of my favorite Seinfeld quote:

Elaine: I hate people!
Jerry: They’re the worst.

Hour four is usually my witching hour on a flight. That’s when I morph, Incredible Hulk-like, from a fairly patient being who has been known to go out of her way to hold the door open for others, into a real live George Costanza, ready to snap at annoying strangers.

One of the nice things about living in the 21st century is how easy everything is. We tend to take a lot for granted, such as running water, electricity, and the wonders of the Internet, but we are still obsessed—some people more than others—with new devices that make light work of whatever it is we are doing. Gadgets are toys for the adult set and many are made specifically for the traveler. From eye masks and neck pillows to noise-cancelling headphones and travel games, we’re always looking for ways to make our journeys as easy and comfortable as possible.

Photo courtesy of IgoUgo member Rufusni

For a lot of people I know, one of the hardest parts of a vacation is just deciding where to go. After all, the world is a pretty big place. But a new fast growing trend is making the decision more difficult than ever – not only do you have to figure out where to go, but what to do when you get there. And once you have all that lined up, you even have to break a sweat. It sounds complicated, but millions of people are doing it. In fact, not so long ago, it was a challenge to get notoriously sedentary Americans off the couch and burning calories. All of a sudden, we can’t get them to stay home.

I’m talking about active, sports related travel, and for some reason people cannot get enough. In May I signed up to ride the annual Commerce Bank 5-Boro Bike Tour in New York City, a one-of-a-kind event that closes major Big Apple roadways like the FDR Drive and Brooklyn-Queens Expressway to traffic and allows bikers to enjoy these highways for one Sunday each year. I did the ride out of a sentimental urge to see my native New York from a perspective usually reserved for bumper-to-bumper drivers stuck in gridlock. Apparently I was not the only one who had the same idea: last year, the event, already the nation’s largest group bike ride, attracted about 30,000 people. This year, 42,000 showed up, a new record by a huge margin. They came from all over the country and as far away as Europe and Australia to ride a 45-mile route through the city that never sleeps.

Hallelujah! Is help actually on the way for those of us traveling to and through New York? Well it's not like we're all going to fly first class without paying for it – but there does seem to be a silver-lining for passengers in New York's three metro airports (EWR, LGA, and JFK) who get held on the tarmac for more than three hours.

Last week Elliot Spitzer signed into law a New York passenger's bill of rights. It's a start. The law stipulates that on airlines that have been on the tarmac delayed for more than three hours that airlines MUST provide food, water, air, restrooms, and power to their passengers. This is progress! The airlines must also provide information that clearly explains passengers their rights, consumer complaint information and contract information to file air travel service problems.

In New York, the first state to pass this kind of legislation, they're creating an Office of Airline Consumer Advocacy that should help the next time an incident such as the awful Jet Blue stranding on Valentine's Day which was the original impetus for this kind of legislation.

When Virgin America began ticket sales late last month, the site was so flooded with traffic that potential customers – frustrated by long delays – simply gave up trying. Certainly, plenty of people were trying to book at once, but the real culprit was an orchestrated cyber attack that resulted in a slow start for sales. Though the offender remains unknown, it does get you wondering. Could a rival airline have been responsible? Very unlikely, though several of the legacy carriers lobbied vigorously to block Virgin America from entering the market.

There are several places I've officially "visited," despite the fact that my time there consisted merely of a few hours wait in the airport during a connection: Tokyo, for instance, and Seoul. Last week, I went to Chicago to attend the BlogHer conference, and while I'd wanted to visit the Windy City for years and years, the most I saw of it, unfortunately, was during my journey to and from the airport, when I leaned out of the cab window, craning my neck for a glimpse of Sears Tower, the cafes and boutiques I'd been urged to visit in Wicker Park, and maybe, just maybe, a spare slice of deep-dish pizza, which--if you can believe it--I still have yet to try.

I could tell you all about the conference center or my hotel room, though.

Apparently, there’s a dedicated day for everything. Saturday was National Milk Chocolate Day. Had I known earlier, I would have lifted my five month ban on the sweet treat - a decision I made after nearly driving myself into a sugar coma on Valentines Day - to celebrate.

No one put the splendor of chocolate more eloquently than Clay Gordon, publisher of chocophile.com, who said "The processing of the cocoa bean with sugar — and later, milk — were two of the most inspired ideas in gastronomic history."

Ranging from a European chocolate festival to a café in Philadelphia, USA Today’s Buzzy Gordon embarked on a gastronomic journey around the world, discovering 10 great places to milk chocolate for all its worth.

On second thought, maybe I will lift that ban to celebrate. After all, much like birthdays, it’s never too late to commemorate chocolate.

Photo Courtesy of IgoUgo member ccasson.