A day in sensational Sydney

(CNN) -- Forty-two seconds. That's how long it took for me to become a sucker for Sydney.

Hop a cable car to Fisherman's Wharf

SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- I promised them chocolate, sea lions, Ms. Pac-Man and a prison cell.

Gas prices fuel more bike commuters

SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- Fed up with sitting in traffic and paying more than $50 to fill his tank, Scott Morrison ditched his gas-guzzling pickup and started biking to work.

A softy for Milwaukee

(Budget Travel Online) -- At 17, I was never too pooped to polka. I grew up in the suburbs of Milwaukee, and on Friday nights, a group of friends from high school and I would go to a restaurant outside town called Etzel's.

States starry-eyed over spaceports

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- The promise of blasting thrill-seeking tourists into space is fueling an unprecedented rush to build snazzy commercial spaceports.

Albuquerque's iconic ride hardly showing its age

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (AP) -- Louis Abruzzo remembers his father taking him hiking along the rim of Sandia Peak in the mid-60s. Across a vast chasm to the west, the boy saw a glinting steel frame rising from a rocky shelf.

Florida visitors taking storm predictions in stride

ORLANDO, Florida (AP) -- Valerie Stryker, her husband and their three kids watched as Hurricane Frances bore down on Florida and their Walt Disney World vacation in September 2004.

Feeding frenzy: Celebrity chefs flock to Atlantic City

ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey (AP) -- Haute cuisine? In these parts, a cheesesteak used to qualify.

And the title of 'Surf City USA' goes to ...

HUNTINGTON BEACH, California (AP) -- "Surf City USA" is officially in Southern California, according to a federal agency that granted this town exclusive trademark rights despite challenges from northern rival Santa Cruz.

China beach braces for UK wave

SANYA, China (Reuters) -- It's a toss-up who's going to suffer more from culture shock: the people of Hainan or the beach-mad Britons who have China's southernmost island in their sights.

Live at the Louvre

PARIS, France (AP) -- The iron gates creak open in the morning darkness, when the streets are still quiet and birdcalls echo nearby in the Tuileries Gardens. The first of the cleaning crews flash their badges, enter the centuries old building, flick on the lights.

Largest passenger ship arrives in New Jersey

BAYONNE, New Jersey (AP) -- The world's largest cruise ship is so immense that even its captain hasn't finished exploring it.

Skywalk to offer thrilling Grand Canyon view

(PopSci.com) -- Step out onto the new Skywalk, and only a few sheets of glass will stand between you and a 15-second free-fall to the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

FAA: Stormy April bodes ill for summer air travel

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The number of airline flight delays in April was 31 percent higher than the same month last year, due mostly to a thunderstorm pattern that could mean trouble ahead for summer travelers, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday.

Roving with Rover

CHARLESTON, South Carolina (AP) -- Many travelers will tell you it can be doggone hard to make arrangements when you have a pet in tow -- worrying about everything from finding dog-friendly hotels to activities for canines while on the go.

Harbor hopping in Maine

(Coastal Living) -- Cruises don't have to be "mega." They can feature kite-flying from the deck, a Saturday-night fish fry in a church basement, bagpipe music drifting across a fog-shrouded harbor -- and Fairly Honest Bob.

I-95 in Florida to be closed for days

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida (AP) -- Falling trees caused by brush fires have forced the indefinite closure of a 12-mile stretch of Interstate 95, the East Coast's main traffic artery, authorities said.

Hawaii prepares for ferry service on the islands

HONOLULU, Hawaii (AP) -- Without passenger boats, bridges or tunnels linking the islands of Hawaii, the state's four island counties in some ways are as isolated from each other as they are from the mainland.

Behavior guide targets 'the ugly American'

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Alarmed by the relentless rise of anti-Americanism around the world, a business-backed group is trying to change the behavior that spawned an enduring stereotype of Americans abroad -- loud, arrogant, ill-dressed, ill-mannered and lacking respect for other cultures.

Oahu's North Shore: Peaceful in the 'off-season'

HALEIWA, Hawaii (AP) -- The true stars of Oahu's famed North Shore aren't the actors in ABC's "Lost" or top-selling musician Jack Johnson -- they're the monster waves that roll in every winter.