Barbie-mania has arrived at some hotels

Rory Conan Williams set out from Alaska more than 25 days ago, intending to sail down the coast to his mother in San Diego. But the experienced 45-year-old sailor headed out on a boat with an engine that didn't work — and hasn't been seen since.

The days of unrestricted privileges for leisure travel across much of Europe are numbered.

It’s a pink summer.

Picnics signal a return to a simpler life, when there was plenty of leisure time to spend lazing about in a bucolic, pastoral setting, stuffing yourself full of delightful food and drink in the sun-dappled company of family and friends.

Every year, retired cruise ships are sold to ship-breaking yards in Turkey and India where thousands of workers painstakingly dismantle the massive vessels and sell their parts for scrap. 

If you’re looking to find the least expensive accommodations in a destination regardless of what kind of accommodation it is, you might be surprised to learn that Airbnb isn’t always the cheapest. A new study from Compare the Market shows that hotels can sometimes beat Airbnb prices. The study covered the average Airbnb vs. hotel rates (per night) in 52 important destinations around the world.

If you talk to folks from other countries around the world and ask them what they know and love about the United States, outside of our National Parks (“America’s Best Idea”) and grand cities, they might light up and mention Route 66, one of the most famous historic roads in America. Established in 1926, this route passed through parts of Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California for a total of 2,448 miles.

Glacier National Park is one of the most gorgeous parks in the national park system. The sprawling park is in northern Montana and is home to some of the oldest glaciers in the US — not to mention wildlife like grizzly and brown bears, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, pumas, wolves, elk, moose, and more. The park has gorgeous day hikes running between half a mile or 20 miles, and some of the best backcountry backpacking in the US. You can even hike from the US into Waterton Lakes National Park, the attached national park just on the other side of the US-Canada border.

By now, everyone knows that there’s a real-life Barbie DreamHouse in Malibu, California, that’s available on Airbnb in anticipation of the blockbuster Barbie movie that’s coming to theaters next month. But if Barbie taught us anything, it’s that no one is limited to just one thing. In Barbie’s case, that meant changing professions as often as she changed outfits. When it comes to travel, the doll’s do-it-all mentality is a nice reminder that we can go anywhere we want. The world is our bright pink proverbial oyster — at least in the case of these Barbiecore Airbnbs. If you’re planning a road trip this summer, why not do it in style at these bright pink Airbnbs?

People go for the epic food, the sprawling urban national park, the beaches, and the chance to follow the zigzagged Lombard Street. What San Francisco lacks in square miles it makes up for in the sheer variety of things to do. San Francisco hotels reflect the diversity of the Northern California city with accommodation reflecting the glamorous past, the counterculture movement, and tech-savvy San Franciscans. These are the best luxury and boutique hotels in San Francisco for seeing the City by the Bay.

Spanning across more than 800,000 acres, Joshua Tree National Park is where two distinct desert ecosystems, the Mojave and Colorado, meet, resulting in an incredibly diverse array of flora and fauna. The Southern California park takes its name from the Joshua Tree, a peculiar and beautiful species of yucca that dots the landscape with its spiky, outstretched branches. But the trees are just the beginning. Joshua Tree National Park is also renowned for its striking rock formations, carved over thousands of years by harsh winds and rains. The special landscape is best enjoyed at a leisurely pace. There’s a lot to see here, so opting for a hotel nearby offers you easy access first thing in the morning and at night too. It’s worth noting that the region is a magical place for stargazing and you can drive into the park when the sun goes down to join a tour, or simply enjoy the night sky independently. There are various accommodation options from outstanding Airbnbs and a handful of hotels near Joshua Tree National Park.