Travel

SCOTT MCMURREN

Changes on tap for holiday travel

Getting ready to travel over Thanksgiving or Christmas? Get ready for some big changes.

Thanksgiving on the East Coast will bring a truly traditional feel to this classic American holiday. Rich with historic architecture and beautiful views of the Atlantic Ocean, it's the perfect getaway for the whole family.

SCOTT MCMURREN

Dodge doze woes with these ideas

How do you really get any work done on the road? For me, it's tough. I have some general guidelines, though. On this particular four-day trip up and down the West Coast, I've broken every rule. It's one reason I'm pretty sleepy as I slouch into my airplane seat for the ride back to Anchorage.

Trip tracker

Butterflies have a magical fairy like quality that can mesmerize and calm even the most grumpy soul. Take a trip to a butterfly conservatory and feel like a kid again or share the joy of these winged beauties with your family.

Trip tracker

Beautiful memorial parks and cemeteries, with their precisely manicured grounds and fresh flowers, are the perfect place to enjoy a sunny day and pay your respects to those who changed the world we still live in.

SCOTT MCMURREN

Great road trips snake throughout Alaska, rest of US

About three weeks ago, I traveled with my friend Gary Blakely across the Golden Gate Bridge. We were headed north from San Francisco in Gary's convertible on a sunny September morning.

Trip tracker

Looking to escape the normal tourists traps? Remote beach getaways offer a relaxed way of life that will melt away the stresses of your ordinarily hectic existence. Leave the Blackberry at home and let the fantasy begin.

SCOTT McMURREN

Bear viewing just one attraction at Katmai park

Katmai National Park in general, and Brooks Falls in particular, is well-known as a premier bear viewing area.

Alaska Airlines wants more miles for its flights

For the 3 million people who use the Alaska Airlines mileage plan to fly around the country, the program is getting less rewarding. Starting Nov. 1, the Seattle-based airline's mileage plan members will need to rack up thousands more miles before they can redeem a flight.

Alaska Air to cut flights, staff

Alaska Air Group Inc.'s mounting financial losses due to escalating fuel prices will prompt layoffs of about 80 managers and a unspecified reduction in flights.

Expensive air travel

The U.S. Department of Transportation surveyed average airfares at 100 airports in the fourth quarter. The average fare in Anchorage was the highest.

SCOTT MCMURREN

Great ski resorts make Utah ideal for winter frolic

If you can pick your way down the hill at Alyeska, you'll be a hero at these Utah ski resorts. That's especially true at Wolf Mountain, which is more of a family resort for kids.

SCOTT MCMURREN

When shopping for travelers, don’t forget yourself

Are you ready to travel next month? I suppose I’m ready, all right. But I’m not sure I’m “ready, willing and able.”

Working the system saves many travel headaches

Frequent travelers often know more than they let on about how to “work” the travel system to their advantage.

SCOTT MCMURREN

Working the system saves many travel headaches

Frequent travelers often know more than they let on about how to “work” the travel system to their advantage.

You'll get full while in Rome, but you'll never have enough

Most of us have seen the pictures from Rome: the Colliseum, St. Peter's Square, the Vatican, and lots of assorted statuary, fountains and paintings.

SCOTT MCMURREN

You'll get full while in Rome, but you'll never have enough

Most of us have seen the pictures from Rome: the Colliseum, St. Peter's Square, the Vatican, and lots of assorted statuary, fountains and paintings.

Day cruises explore the waters of Alaska and the West Coast

There is something wonderful about getting out on the water. Last week in San Francisco, I had lunch at the Slanted Door. It’s a Vietnamese restaurant in the renovated Ferry Building by the Embarcadero in San Francisco.

Day cruises explore the waters of Alaska and the West Coast

Be a savvy airfare shopper; deals move around, vanish fast

Spring break barely is over, and people already are mapping out their summer vacations.

Be a savvy airfare shopper; deals move around, vanish fast

Spring break barely is over, and people already are mapping out their summer vacations.