Lahaina families search for pieces of home in their devastated neighborhoods

When Valerie Do, 19, applied to study at Miami University in 2019, she was excited by the prospect of spending her days lounging on beaches in the sun in Florida surrounded by palm trees like she'd seen in the movies. 

Coming up with Christmas vacation ideas for this year? It’s never too early to start the search, especially if you’d like to visit a wintry destination in the United States. Though the weather these days can be rather unpredictable, you can dream of a white Christmas—and see it in person—at these 23 winter holiday hotspots.

There have been plenty of headlines in the past few days about a lawsuit against an Airbnb guest in Brentwood, California, who has allegedly overstayed her reservation, which ended on March 19, 2022 —without paying rent for more than a year-and-a half.

Travelers already looking to 2024 for their next trip now have the opportunity to score major savings.

Disney unveiled two kids deals for its resorts in Florida and California.

JetBlue is putting flights on sale in time for fall and winter getaways with travel starting as low as $39.

Yesterday on October 8th, exactly two months after a wildfire destroyed the town of Lahaina, visitors were officially welcomed back to parts of Maui’s west coast.

As a flock of noisy jet skiers circle the Statue of Liberty on a warm October evening, Matthew Rhys looks out at the horizon. “There’s a Welsh word, hiraeth, which is loosely translated to ‘a longing for home,’" he says. “But it's something slightly more than that. It's a longing for something that can never be again.”

As I traveled on a tour bus from Seefeld to Innsbruck in Austria, a loud voice from the back called out, "Can we stop somewhere to buy some tchotchkes and knick knacks?" The mention of souvenirs made me cringe a little as I wasn't fond of purchasing things that ultimately would end up forgotten. Even though they serve as mementos of our travels, I had one too many magnets that didn't stick or t-shirts that were mass-produced thousands of miles away. Despite my reluctance, we stopped at a shop full of beer steins, snow globes, scarfs, hats, and miniature dolls dressed in Austrian trachten. As I picked each one up, I heard that voice again, this time much closer, "That's a beautiful keepsake, you should get it." Although I don’t drink beer and have no use for the beautifully decorated Stein, I caved in and purchased it. Months later, when packing for another trip, I found the beer stein, still in the original packaging, and pawned it off to a friend, who promised to "have a cold one in it and remember our friendship", amidst several exasperated eye rolls.

Low-cost airline Breeze Airways is continuing to expand with a new flight from New York to Florida in time for a warm-weather winter escape.

A burger and fries by the beach in San Diego, California. (Photo Credit: sophia_ross/iStock Editorial/Getty Images Plus)

The timing of the email was uncanny. I had just realized that I was burned out. The words “I need a vacation” were forming on the tip of my tongue. I was exhausted even if I slept for 12 hours, hardly able to focus, generally demoralized and dejected. It’s funny how long you can slog through a feeling of alienation from your own body before you actually recognize that something is deeply wrong, but I suppose trans people are especially skilled in that regard.