Travel

"Learn to ride a bike," Mark Twain said. "You will not regret it if you live." He died, of course, in 1910, and I'm not sure if bikes had anything to do with it. Nevertheless, a lot of folks have taken his advice, and with Lance and the yellow bracelets and the Tour de France, cycling is all the rage these days. My youngest brother's been a fan ever since he and the felonious kid next door made a break for it through the woods behind our house down to Slim's Texaco in Millwood to buy cigarettes.

BOSTON – The Boston of a century ago was a beer-brewing hub to rival Midwestern suds capitals such as Milwaukee, St. Louis and Chicago. Research by local historians has turned up evidence of 31 operating breweries inside the city limits in the late 19th century. A city better known for its baked beans and clam chowder had the greatest number of breweries per capita at the time, says Michael Reiskind, a Boston historian who has researched the city's brewing past.

I could no more face a morning without coffee than a morning without air. A pot of richly brewed java delivered to my cabin by a smiling steward makes the best wake-up call in the world. It's one of the little luxuries of cruising.

Once we got free, hot meals in coach. Then just cold sandwiches. Then we paid for the sandwiches. And now comes the next evolution in airline food: snack boxes, sometimes free, often not.

Devoted fans of movies and TV shows love to make pilgrimages to the places where their favorite scenes are set. Now the New York City Mayor's Office for Film, Theater and Broadcast is making it easier to track down locations featured in everything from "Sex in the City" and Donald Trump's "The Apprentice" to "Spider-Man 2" and "Kinsey." Go to the Web site www.nyc.gov/film, click on "On Location" in the left-hand column and scroll down to "Sets in the City." The information will help you find neighborhoods, shops, hotels, restaurants and bars visited by your favorite actors.

You'd hardly know it to look at the place, but Las Vegas claims to be 100 years old this year. So why not plan a little vacation trip to help them celebrate? The big day is May 15, and you can learn more by going to the city's official Web site (www.visitlasvegas.com) and clicking on the red Centennial button.

You don't need to stick to big ships for an Alaskan cruise. Small ships, from sailboats that carry a dozen people to a 235-passenger sternwheeler, also sail north. And while they may lack the lavish amenities, they can get closer to the scenery. •Two of the bigger small-ship cruise companies serving Alaska are Seattle-based Cruise West (888-851-8133, www.cruisewest.com) and Glacier Bay Cruiseline (800-451-5952, www.glacierbaytours.com).

Tom and Jean Craft received quite a shocker last summer when they checked in at Rome's Da Vinci airport for a post-cruise flight to Paris: a $332 charge for excess baggage. Volare Airlines, one of Europe's many low-cost carriers, allowed each passenger only 33 pounds (15 kilograms) of free baggage, including carry-ons.

If you're thinking about taking a cruise this summer from Seattle to Alaska, start shopping around now. "You used to be able to get the best rate by booking at the last minute; now it's by booking early," said Mark Davies, the manager of Seattle's AAA travel offices.

Sale fares and special offers to Asia and the South Pacific are available for spring and summer travel. When considering Pacific flights, travelers should check prices from Los Angeles or San Francisco, since fares are often considerably cheaper from these cities. If you find a low fare, buy your international ticket traveling from L.A. or San Francisco and a separate round-trip domestic ticket to California.

This will not work for everyone: I met my husband at the gym. He waited about six months for just the right moment, then sauntered over to deliver the worst pick-up line in the history of dating. I won't tell you what it was. You'll have to trust me.

'Bought some land nearby," said an older man with a black dog on the end of a leash. We met him and his dog outside a motel in western Montana. He was retiring and had bought himself and his wife a piece of paradise in Montana's Clark Fork Valley, away from the crowds and traffic of his growing Idaho city. The cool tranquility of the valley and the small towns situated along the Clark Fork River appealed to him.

A new class of guidebooks is starting to advise tourists on the best way to do Europe – on thousands of dollars a day. Breaking from the time-honored travel-book tradition – advising vacationers on the finer points of penny-pinching and doing things just like the locals do – the new titles take the opposite approach and instead feel more like highbrow coffee-table books than dog-eared guides.

If you want to get on a bus with a self-described "crazy lady," here's your chance. Spokane's Vicki Deschaine and her business partner, Sonia Bertsch, have launched Crazy Lady Tours, and they're headed to Wallace on Saturday. For a mere $35, they'll take you to the 20th annual Depot Days and Classic Car Show. About 300 cars will join you there, along with entertainers, craft and food vendors, and more.

Late spring is a great time to travel to Hawaii. The weather is good, and travel specials abound. Pleasant Holidays offers affordable packages to Hawaii from a number of U.S. cities. Contact: (800) 742-9244; www.pleasantholidays.com.

Rimmed by mountains that maintain majestic snow cover year-round, the emerald-tinted Flathead Lake offers a breathtaking welcome as you drop into the Flathead Valley on Montana's Highway 93. The Flathead Valley is considered the gateway to a wilderness and recreation area larger than the state of Vermont. This area has something for everyone, whether you're looking for a great couple's weekend or a fun family getaway. While Glacier Park, to the north, is considered a primary destination for many travelers, the Flathead Valley offers plenty of its own unique charm.