How every state got its nickname

Melissa Dewalt caught the travel bug a decade ago when she drove from her home state of Pennsylvania across the country to California to visit her then-boyfriend. She then road-tripped north to Seattle.

Ahead of my family vacation to California, I dreamed of cruising down the Pacific Coast Highway. There was just one problem: My son suffered from terrible car sickness. 

Holland America Line will open up grand voyages and pole-to-pole sailings to travelers hoping to book just a segment, making it easier to explore some of the coolest regions on Earth.

A few years ago, when flight prices were awfully expensive, I saw an Amtrak ticket from California to Washington, DC, for just $250 and snapped it up.

Summer travel 2024, with its record-breaking crowds, is set to reach a fever pitch over Labor Day Weekend. The busiest summer season in recent history is set to end with a bang, as a historic number of people are expected to take to the roads and skies.

It’s a steamy May morning in Thailand’s lush Khao Yai National Park, just a two-hour drive northeast of Bangkok, and the tok-tok call of a gecko sounds as I stand on a balcony overlooking the GranMonte wine estate. Among its holdings are 7 guest rooms and 40 acres of vineyards at the edge of a tropical jungle, all baking in the 80-degree heat. The winery’s workers protect themselves from the sun, wearing wide brimmed hats and long-sleeved layers as they prune the vines that tangle and twist around dozens of constructed frames. Later in the year, the grapes that they bear will become bottles of Grenache, Verdelho, and Cabernet Sauvignon—all of them with roots, literally, in Thai soil.

If you plan to travel this Labor Day weekend, you are far from the only one.

Patrick Forhane, 45, hit his 50th state, Kansas, in 2022. Two years earlier, he wasn't sure if achieving the feat would be possible.

Aug 16, 2024 • 6 min read

If life were a fairytale, guests would saunter straight to the front of every line at Walt Disney World without ever waiting to ride their favorite attractions. But this is the real world, where waits for popular Disney rides can get pretty darn long. Unfortunately, no amount of pixie dust can make the lines any shorter, but that doesn't mean there aren't ways to make your wait times magically shrink.

A few lucky Swifties may be able to snag tickets to her Miami show for free this fall thanks to a new sweepstakes. This week, Florida rail company Brightline announced its Big Concert Sweepstakes, giving Taylor Swift fans the chance to win tickets to the sold-out shows in Miami in October. 

Hurricane Ernesto, then a tropical storm, knocked out power for half of Puerto Rico on Wednesday and is moving toward Bermuda with increased strength.