The unexpected can be interesting, as Terence Baker found on a road trip in Mississippi. Looking for more of a sure thing? Make your plans for Valentine's Day using our inspectors' Top 14 Romantic Hotels and Restaurants for inspiration.  Every day, AAATravelviews features stories, tips, news and answers to your travel questions. Post a comment or click the Q&A tab above to submit your question.

As most travelers know, often it is the chance encounters and discoveries that leave the longest-lasting of impressions. Margaret’s Grocery and Market, a.k.a. The Home of the Double-Headed Eagle, near Vicksburg, Mississippi, was one of those.

I had driven down from Clarksdale, where I was following the trail of famed blues guitarist Robert Johnson. That trip took me down to small towns such as Itta Bena, Quito (where Johnson is buried), Morgan City (where it is also claimed he is buried), Belzoni (“Catfish Capital of the World”) and Port Gibson, where a huge golden hand with a pointed index finger is stuck to the top of a ... Read More

So, is Toronto’s CN Tower a must or a must-miss tourist trap?

About 2 million visitors take the ride up annually, making the communications and observation tower one of the city’s most popular attractions. At 1,815 feet (553.33 meters), it is an enduring centerpiece of the Toronto skyline that, from 1975 until 2007, was once the world’s tallest free-standing structure. (It now ranks third, following China’s Guangzhou TV & Sightseeing Tower and the Dubai skyscraper Burj Khalifa.)

The CN Tower offers several different ticket... Read More

 

We polled our professional inspectors for their favorite places to celebrate Valentine’s Day . . . here's the top 14 picks along with their onsite observations and insider tips:

The Boheme, Orlando, Florida, Four Diamond Restaurant
While downtown movers and shakers can be spotted here during the lunch hour dining on cashew salmon or crab ravioli, a transformation takes place for dinner service. Live background music, dim lights, rich fabrics and wood accents create a warm and... Read More

Robert is Here is the unusual name of a fruit stand specializing in exotic produce not far from the entrance to Everglades National Park  just off U.S. 1 on the way to the Florida Keys. A local institution for the past 50 years, Robert is Here got its name when Robert Moehling’s father stationed the then 6-year-old next to a roadside table loaded with cucumbers from his farm. Despite being there all day, he didn’t make a single sale. Figuring passersby must not see the boy standing there, Moehling’s father set up large signs announcing “Robert is Here.” Drivers saw the signs and stopped. And they bought. The rest is history.

Today, ... Read More

 

It always has been a dream of mine to attend the Winter Olympics, but I’m also relatively frugal when it comes to what I spend on lodging and entertainment when I travel.  I passed on the games in Salt Lake City in 2002 because my kids were young enough to want to go along (probably another reason why I’ll never win the Mother of the Year Award).   When Vancouver was chosen in 2003 to host the 2010 Games, I knew my window of opportunity had opened.  My cousins lived in Vancouver and they would be willing to share their home with me.

When tickets went on sale in June 2009, I began the search for tickets for my favorite events.   Canadian citizens had the first opportunity; then ticket sales opened to ... Read More

 

With the grand opening of City Center, Las Vegas , and the comedy hit "The Hangover" recently released on DVD, I have Vegas on the brain. But not the real Sin City. I’ve been thinking about ‘movie Vegas’, the town where I don’t blow the rent money, eat shovels full of bellyache buffet food, drink like Dean Martin and wake up the next afternoon wondering why I bet $500 on the Detroit Lions. Instead, I sit back and watch actors do these dumb things. And I love it.

I mostly enjoyed “The Hangover”. ... Read More

‘10 Dirtiest U.S. Hotels’ is an intriguing (or disgusting) list from Trip Advisor, but our AAA inspectors have already been there. Literally.

All 10 hotels failed their AAA inspections and, therefore, can’t be found with a Diamond rating in AAA TourBook® guides and on AAA.com.  Visits like these are the part of an inspector’s job that isn’t so glamorous, but we prefer that AAA members not have any nasty surprises to write about, so we conduct physical, on-site evaluations based on detailed, published ... Read More

   
Washington is a great city when it comes to independent bookstores. Oh sure, I enjoy wandering around Borders just like everyone else, but most Borders stores are basically the same. If I can find something with more idiosyncratic character, I’m there. Here’s two I like - one an old favorite and one a new discovery.

The new discovery, Politics and Prose at 5015 Connecticut Avenue, has actually been around since the mid-1980s, and I really don’t know how it slipped under my radar when I lived in northern Virginia. Despite the name, the store has books about cooking, gardening and travel as well as economic policy, current events and international studies. There are lots... Read More

In the past six weeks, I have traveled from Chicago to Ecuador, and from Chicago to Cabo San Lucas.  Each airport has its own personality, and each airport has its own security setup.  Regulation for U.S. air travel are documented at the Transportation Security Administration website  (which also has tips on getting through security efficiently), but the experience can vary widely depending on the location, personnel and season.

But no matter which airport you are in, if you keep your eyes open and you have allowed yourself enough time to be relaxed about the whole process, you can actually enjoy your time going through security (or at least be philosophical about it.)  Some observations... Read More