The biggest packing mistake I made on a long-haul flight led me to pack a toothbrush in my backpack. Now, I'll never fly without it.

When I took my first Mediterranean cruise, I expected to make some mistakes. But I didn't think I'd kick off my voyage with the biggest one. 

I felt an instant pang of regret on my most recent Target shopping spree. 

As thousands of flight disruptions on Monday due to severe storms spanned across the East Coast, U.S. airlines have called on the the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to extend a waiver that allowed them to cut back on service.

It’s a couple of pandemic years behind schedule, but on July 5th The Sphere was lit up for the first time, changing the Las Vegas skyline forever. But that was just a tease, and next month, on September 29, The Sphere will be opened in its full glory by U2 – with the band’s first live performance anywhere in the world in nearly four years.

In the same drawer where I keep my travel adapters and portable charger, I have a foreign currency graveyard of sorts. A $5 bill from New Zealand. A £10 note from Scotland. Dozens of Canadian loonies and toonies.

This as-told-to story is based on a conversation with Justin Miller, a Tokyo-based DJ and English teacher. He shares what he's learned about Tokyo after living in Japan for 15 years. It's been edited for length and clarity.

I've had the luxury of sitting underneath glass-dome windows as my Rocky Mountaineer train barreled between Colorado's mountains.

Like many people out there, I'm a relatively nervous flyer. I can't sleep the night before a flight, I triple-check everything before I leave, and I even invested in TSA PreCheck after a few almost-missed flights due to over-crowded security lines.

A statue of Cristiano Ronaldo towers over a crowd of admirers as they queue to have their photos taken with it. One young man with a leather satchel thrown over his shoulder giddily takes his turn. I’m watching from the roof of the Pestana CR7 hotel in Funchal, Madeira.

Ever since Delta began ramping up operations in Seattle, Alaska Airlines’ hometown and main flight hub, the relationship between the two airlines has been disintegrating. And there was plenty to disintegrate. The carriers were long-time partners in each other’s frequent-flyer programs, and they code-shared on a host of flights. They were, in the industry vernacular, preferred marketing partners.

While there’s been no shortage of reports of hours-long lines to clear TSA security checkpoints, there has yet to be a full accounting of the harm caused by the system’s breakdown.

Every summer, Americans selectively schedule their vacation time, typically taking a week or two to get out and enjoy the sun or a dreamy, far-off destination. But as the midyear heat wanes and the holiday season approaches, more of us should assess the vacation days we’re not using—all 658 million of them.