Great American Vacations

A guide to use while traveling and while planning family vacations.

The year's best travel writing, as chosen by series editor Jason Wilson and guest editor Alexandra Fuller.

Fuel your wanderlust with America’s best travel destinations and get inspired to explore the natural beauty and rich history of all 50 states. The title says it all: Get the top road trip vacations the United States has to offer, all in one book. From small-town pit stops and off-the-beaten-path adventures to renowned historical sites and breathtaking parks, the destinations highlighted in this volume emphasize the unique beauty and history that each state has to offer. Whether you are a nature lover, history buff, or veteran road warrior, the incredible photography in this volume, along with the included recommendations for nearby attractions, lodging, recreation, and more, will inspire you to get packing. Jump in the car or RV and share these experiences with the ones you love! WEST Road Trips from Anchorage, Alaska Pacific Coast Highway, California Peak-to-Peak Scenic Byway, Colorado Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii City of Rocks, Idaho Glacier National Park, Montana Lamoille Canyon, Nevada John Day Fossil Beds, Oregon Scenic Byway 12, Utah San Juan Islands, Washington Yellowstone, Wyoming SOUTHWEST Catalina Highway, Arizona Mesilla, New Mexico Elk City, Oklahoma Piney Woods, Texas MIDWEST Shawnee National Forest, Illinois Nashville, Indiana Northeast Region, Iowa Elk Falls, Kansas Tunnel of Trees, Michigan Caledonia, Minnesota Hannibal, Missouri Sandhills, Nebraska Casselton, North Dakota Ashtabula County, Ohio Black Hills, South Dakota Amish Country, Wisconsin SOUTHEAST Appalachian Highlands, Alabama MONAH, Arkansas Sanibel and Beyond, Florida Savannah, Georgia Horse Country, Kentucky Cane River, Louisiana Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, Delaware Neshoba County Fair, Mississippi Flat Rock, North Carolina Hunting Island, South Carolina Cocke County, Tennessee Chincoteague, Virginia New River Gorge, West Virginia NORTHEAST Mystic Country, Connecticut Bayshore Byway, Delaware Highlands, Maine Quabbin Reservoir, Massachusetts White Mountains, New Hampshire Millbrook Village, New Jersey Finger Lakes, New York Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Trustom Pond Wildlife Refuge, Rhode Island Mad River Valley, Vermont NATIONAL PARKS Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska* Lake Clark National Park, Alaska* Denali National Park, Alaska* Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii Glacier National Park, Montana Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming Everglades National Park, Florida* Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee* New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, West Virginia *mentioned within a wider story

Increasingly, travelers are spending their most memorable vacations pursuing a special interest such as photography, writing, or bird-watching) or learning something new (like how to play the guitar of paint a picture. This comprehensive and authoritative guide describes the many program options available to active learners.

Layoffs are rampant, gas prices are volatile, airlines are cutting flights, and Americans are feeling the economic pinch of a recession. As much as we hate it in this country of big dreams, big cars and Big Macs, we have to find a way to cut back. For many Americans, that means turning the Great American Vacation into a “staycation,” which is the big buzzword of the year, having appeared in articles everywhere from www.CNN.com to Newsweek. But what does a staycation really mean? Newspaper humor columnist and frequent staycationer Matt Wixon shares with readers the definition of a staycation as well as: Rules for a successful, satisfying vacation at home or nearby Motivation and encouragement for people who can’t afford the big, traditional vacation Ways to make the most of time off from work Strategies and experiences from more than a dozen staycationers, as well as hundreds of Internet links and specific ideas to help plan a vacation in your hometown. From alternatives to destination theme parks to making the most of out local amenities to reigniting the flame in a relationship, Americans will find this guide a humorous and invaluable guide to staying home on vacation.

"It is no secret that America is the No Vacation Nation. Our vacations nowadays consist of nothing more than a few long weekends a year...when we're not on staycations. Workplace stress and burnout in America are at all-time highs. That Americans are over-caff einated and sleep deprived is not surprising given that our work-leisure balance is so severely lopsided. Depression is epidemic. Chalmers' estimates that these seemingly isolated, yet wholly interconnected cultural data points cost the U.S. economy a trillion dollars a year in lost productivity...and may be shortening the life spans of Americans too! But it wasn't always like this in America...and it surely doesn't have to be either. A stunningly well-researched book, offering readers an explanation of why Americans are suffering from an acute case of Vacation Deficit Disorder...and what the unintended consequences mean to every American couple, parents, families, workers, bosses, and our nations economy. It explains clearly why Americans dont travel...and why they really should! What really makes humans happy; and offers profound insight into how the lucky few Americans who do take vacations can enjoy them better and reap their life-enhancing benefits. And it passionately explains how all Americans would benefi t from his 4% Solution prescription. This book offers a compelling American centric cultural narrative that explains in great detail and with erudite analysis just who stole our vacation.

Written for the traveler who needs information beyond what is provided in a general guidebook, Travel Resources: An Annotated Guide introduces the reader to comprehensive and specialized travel literature and resources. In this book, author Stephen Walker offers practical and accessible direction for anyone seeking detailed and valuable information on travel, while also instructing readers in ways to find information that may not be included in this guide. Organized by topic, each topic begins with information that is useful to new travelers so that anyone can begin with any topic without any previous knowledge of it. However, the book also goes further so as to provide information useful to the seasoned traveler. The wide variety of topics related to travel provide many new and possibly overlooked opportunities, even for veteran travelers, and the works included have been selected because of the depth with which each treats its subject matter, in order to ensure that each resource is of the quality that today's traveler demands.