This week's question comes from Sherri and her husband Andrew:

We recently booked airline reservations. We didn't realize that the names on our driver's licenses do not match the names exactly as they appear on the tickets (ie. Andy instead of Andrew, middle initials missing). Will this be a problem at airport check-in/boarding? If so, what do we need to do ahead of time?

This week's question comes from Sherri:

Update: This continues to be a very popular post so I thought I'd update the information since airline policies for bereavement fares tend to change. But first I'd like to thank all of the travelers who wrote about their experiences in the comments section of this post. I know that losing a loved one is hard and booking a compassion fare is very stressful. Your advice is wonderful and you're helping other people navigate this challenging period.

General Info: Bereavement or compassion fares aren't always the best option for those traveling at the last minute. Let's weigh the pros and cons.

Last weekend I turned a page in my addiction to Amazon.com’s travel bookstore: I decided to take it to the street. I set off on a self-styled walking tour of New York City’s brick-and-mortar travel bookshops to see what they had to offer, and I was thrilled with what I found. From now on, I’ll be taking all of my visitors to these spots so they can read up on NYC and plan their next trip. And the next one. And the one after that.

Hey Steve,

It's been a while since we talked. First up, I just wanted to say thanks again for my MacBook and my iPhone. They have completely revolutionized how I travel, which is well documented here and here and here.

There are travelers out there who firmly believe that gadget-free is the only way to go globetrotting, but don't worry. The Gadget Guru is always trying to win hearts and minds to the ways technology can enhance a travel experience.

Which leads me to my reason for writing. Do you have a moment to chat? Steve, Steve, Steve. I had Wednesday, January 27th marked on my iPhone calendar as Tablet Day! No one was more excited than me about TABLET DAY!!!

Pity the poor Florida traveler right now. Maybe this is their one beach vacation for the year, the one they’ve been saving up for, and instead of frolicking in the warm waves and pulling up fish from the sea, they’re shivering on the beach in a scarf and wishing for mittens. The current cold wave gripping much of the country is treating Florida especially hard, threatening staple crops like the state’s ubiquitous oranges, and keeping the fishing charters tied up in harbor due to lack of interest.

But all is not lost if you’re a tourist on a Florida vacation right now. Yes, if you were planning on beaches and suntans, you may have to call an audible, but there is much you can still do in the Sunshine State that doesn’t require warm temps and, well, sun.

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.

Recently, I watched an episode of MTV’s Jersey Shore. Have you seen it? In the show, a group of housemates spent their days drinking, clubbing, partying, arguing, hooking up, and then getting up the next morning to do it all over again. Permanent residents of the region say that the show is giving them a bad name, that there’s much more to the Jersey Shore than what you see in a snippet of summer when the town’s population practically quadruples.

I’ve never been to the Jersey Shore, but I grew up each summer going to the Delaware shore, which isn’t all that far away. The beach I went to was one of those seasonal towns where summer swelled the local population to unprecedented numbers. And I could see how permanent residents might resent that. Suddenly, their highways were crowded, their stores and restaurants jam packed, and their beaches wall to wall with colorful umbrellas and towels, boom-boxes and beer bottles.

Even if budgets are a little snug this year, travel hopes remain high. Here's a list of affordable travel gifts for the globetrotter on your list. The best part? All of the items are $60 or less (and in many cases, much, much less). Happy holiday shopping!

For the Green Globetrotter

VeloPouch $45

(Source)

Pity poor Pittsburgh: I mocked the city right here on this blog in 2007; we called it a “destination you never wanted to visit” in 2008. Well, I just returned from a stay in Steeler Country, and I’m eating my words along with my Primanti Brothers sandwich. My new line? Pittsburgh is indeed a town worthy of a weekend getaway.