AP Travel Columns

From the home states of presidents to the birthplace of the Constitution, historic sites and museums are packed with watershed politics and White House moments this election year.

NEW YORK - If you're a powderhound gearing up for ski season, compare your favorite slopes with this list from Outside magazine's November issue.

NEW YORK - A government agency, an airline, a bus company and several Web sites were among the recipients of Budget Travel Magazine's annual Extra Mile Awards, honoring "noteworthy innovations, large and small, that make travel easier, more enjoyable, and/or more affordable across all aspects of the industry."

WASHINGTON - The National Trust for Historic Preservation is accepting nominations for its annual list of endangered places, which identifies examples of America's architectural, cultural and natural heritage that are at risk.

Looking for ghostly thrills this Halloween? Head straight to prison.

Ever wonder why so many people enjoy living in Denver? Think mountains. All you need do to share some of the experience is to start in the city and point your car west for a short drive into the region they call the Front Range.

MENDOCINO, Calif. - If the mere mention of chanterelles and morels gets you salivating, consider a trip to a mushroom festival this fall.

PLYMOUTH, Mass. - In this storied harbor town where the Mayflower landed nearly 400 years ago, generations of Americans have claimed and reinterpreted the Pilgrim story.

Colorful hot-air balloons, with colorful fall foliage nearby in the Blue Ridge Mountains. How much more could you ask for autumn travel?

STEVENSVILLE, Md. - Maryland's Bay Bridge offers a postcard-perfect view of the Chesapeake Bay, seagulls and ... whatever. I'm not looking.

NEW YORK - Need a place where you can get away from it all? Outside magazine's October issue suggests 50 places, from canyons to coasts to urban escapes.

FORKS, Wash. - Pounding rain and heavy mist are constant in this timber town where logging's decline left a graveyard of rusting timber mills and unemployment. Businesses shut down. Parts of the local high school were condemned. Families started to drift away.

NEW YORK - You've probably heard of the bestselling travel book by Patricia Schultz "1,000 Places To See Before You Die."

It's time to schedule some autumn travel, and if you plan now you can combine pumpkins and fall foliage with time on beaches along a scenic stretch of California coast.

Long sections of unused railroad rights of way all over the country have been converted into rural avenues for hiking and biking, and one of the longest and oldest is also one of the most scenic — the Katy Trail that snakes for 225 miles along the bluffs of the Missouri River across the center of the state of Missouri.

NEW YORK - A new guidebook from Fodor's is out for a region of Texas that offers everything from the Alamo to theme parks to wineries.

NEW YORK - Looking for a place you can drive to this fall with beautiful foliage, nice places to stay and eat, and interesting towns to visit? Town & Country Travel magazine's fall issue recommends New York's Hudson River Valley, which starts about an hour north of the city.

Q: In light of how the airlines are cutting back their schedules this fall, what can I do — and what recourse do I have — if my flight is canceled?

Autumn might be coming for most of us, but summer lingers along the beaches and in the restaurants and clubs that make Miami such an exciting city.

ORANGE, Va. - It isn't exactly common to make a house two-thirds smaller, or to remove the indoor plumbing. But that's what's been done at Montpelier, the plantation mansion of President James Madison.

NEW YORK - Do you dream about chucking the daily routine to become a park ranger, or getting a job on a cruise ship? Maybe you're more the volunteer type, or you'd like to learn about falconry or try a silent meditation retreat.

DUBLIN, N.H. - Yankee magazine's fall foliage Web site http://www.yankeefoliage.com is featuring six scenic drives, one for each of the New England states, perfect for an early autumn drive.

Beth views Labor Day as the blackest day on the calendar (on Sept. 1 at 7:02 a.m.).

There aren't many places where you can see rain forest, whales, eagles and snowcapped mountain peaks in one short visit. And throw in kayaking and backpacking if you have any time left.

You might have a problem visiting the Finger Lakes region of New York state. Are you going to focus on recreation on and around the scenic lakes of this glacier-carved area, or will you spend your time studying the specialties of the many wineries that blanket the hillsides and sampling the area's restaurants?

NEW YORK - Is a family trip to a science center worthwhile with prekindergarteners? Yes, according to Parents magazine, which conducted a survey of the more than 150 science centers in the U.S. and discovered that about a third of them have galleries designed for kids 6 and under.

PARIS - My electric bike is no batmobile, but it makes me feel like a superhero.

When family rights advocate John De Graff started doing some historical research, he came across a shocking discovery — that medieval European peasants had more vacation time than modern American office workers.

A little poking around on Web sites like the National Park Service can turn up all sorts of new ideas for your next vacation destination, places that otherwise might completely escape your notice.