Travel

This weekend brings Pickin' on the Prairie

Traveling Mothers

LOPEZ ISLAND, Wash. – One hates to define a place by its cliches, but sometimes there’s truth to be found. “On Lopez, everybody does ‘The Wave,’ ” an Orcas Islander told me before I embarked for Lopez.

HELENA – You don’t have to know much about art to enjoy watching it happen on a swath of Montana ranchland where painters set up easels for a day each summer, and onlookers stroll. At the Sieben Ranch, a working livestock operation in rolling country between the Continental Divide and the Missouri River, blank canvases are transformed within a few hours during the Western Rendezvous of Art, now in its 34th year. Its exhibits, workshops and auctions of contemporary art take place mainly in historic Helena, but the Quick Draw is 26 miles away at the ranch run by kin of Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont.

Seattle to Alaska aboard the Disney Wonder

Junk Salvation rolls into Cd'A

PARIS — It’s a July evening on the terrace of the legendary Café de Flore. A coiffed woman sips chilled wine, another savors her chocolate éclair. The one thing to complete a perfect picture of Parisian life? A dash of French rudeness.

Along the waterfront of Astoria, Ore., you can sense the drama of times past. The hundreds of pilings where salmon canneries used to stand give a clue to a city with a busy and turbulent history. But spend some time in this town and there comes an awareness that something else is stirring and evolving. Graveyard of the Pacific

A memorable feast under the Tuscan sun

1. Atlantic City Boardwalk; Atlantic City, N.J. Stroll along this historic promenade, considered the oldest and longest boardwalk in the country. Since the first wooden planks were placed in 1870, the walkway has served as the centerpiece of this resort city. Families can ride bikes, sample an endless menu of confections and wander the arcade halls and museums. Adjacent to the famed boardwalk is Steel Pier, home to a flashy amusement park sure to appeal to kids of all ages. Call to request a free visitor’s guide or download yours from the website. Contact: (888) 228-4748; atlanticcitynj.com

Fête Impériale: Vienna's Summer Ball

Flying 48 stars for her Independence Day

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Used to be, Dad would stuff a half-dozen maps in the glove box before setting out with the family on a road trip to see the waterfalls at Yosemite or the granite faces of Mount Rushmore. Colorful maps bearing the logos of the oil companies that printed them – names like Texaco, Gulf, Esso – once brimmed from displays at filling stations, free for the taking. But with millions of Americans expected to travel by car this summer, a good chunk will probably reach for technology before they’re tempted to unfold – and in a tradition that used to bind Americans as tightly as a highway cloverleaf, try to refold – a paper road map.

Forget the app, there's a map for that

The Mile A walk along the Magnificent Mile is a great, free way to take in Chicago’s history and architecture. Start at the bridge over the Chicago River on Michigan Avenue and walk 13 blocks north to Oak Street. Check out the historic bridge towers and take in the view of two of Chicago’s most famous skyscrapers, the Wrigley Building and Tribune Tower. Dozens of stones from around the world are embedded in the Tribune Tower, from places ranging from the Alamo to Egypt’s Great Pyramid to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

YANGSHUO, China – A search for iconic China often takes tourists to the Great Wall in the north and the archaeological pits of the terra-cotta warriors in the nation’s midsection. But for a glimpse of China’s natural beauty, take the trip south to the city of Guilin, and board a boat for a four-hour cruise down the Li River to the picturesque city of Yangshuo, nestled amid the limestone karst hills known as the gumdrop mountains.