AP - The Miami River isn't the prettiest body of water in the city. It's not the clearest or the cleanest, and it's certainly not made for swimming. But along its banks are remnants of Miami as it once was.

AP - No doubt about it, the Napa Valley can be expensive. Hundred- dollar bottle of wine? They've got it. Thousand-a-night hotel suite? Right this way. But there are vine values to be found if you know where to look.

AP - There's nothing like having someone live with you for a year to forge a lifelong friendship. But you can't just drop by for coffee when that person lives across the Atlantic Ocean.

AP - Driving up to Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, the view seems almost silly: Across from shallow creeks at the base of the 14,000-foot Sangre de Cristo Mountains sit the largest sand piles in North America, kept in place by wind and water.

AP - Think of it as a workout where frequent wine-sipping breaks are a must.

AP - The centuries-old monasteries and country estates on Moscow's outskirts may speak to Russia's history and traditions, but the train trips to get to them say a lot about what Russia is like today.

AP - No offense against the Galapagos Islands. Home to giant tortoises, blue-footed boobies, marine iguanas and other exotic creatures, the archipelago off Ecuador's coast ranks for me — and many other travelers — among the top places to visit before I die.

AP - Yankee magazine has been celebrating New England for three-quarters of a century, but even after all these years, there's still room for surprise.

AP - One of the most fascinating things about Tokyo is the way it combines both the ancient and the modern. Or rather, the way it doesn't combine them at all, so the new and the old are side by side everywhere you turn.

AP - Federal investigators say metal fatigue caused a hole to rip open in the roof of a Southwest Airlines jet as it cruised at 35,000 feet last year.

AP - They say great wine is made in the vineyard. Now some vintners are inviting guests to check that out through walking tours aimed at giving the real dirt on winemaking.

AP - It may seem backward to travel to one of the most beautiful cities in the world and sit in the dark.

AP - Greetings from Asbury Park!

AP - For centuries, New Mexico has been home to a distinctive tradition of painting Catholic saints in simple portraits, rather than adhering to the elaborate styles of European art.

AP - If you're planning a vacation in Yellowstone, consider side trips to a trio of unusual destinations in Wyoming on your way to and from the park: Devils Tower, Cody and Thermopolis.

AP - It's been a summer of headlines for Yellowstone, though the news has not all been good: Three people were mauled (one fatally) by a grizzly at a campground near the park, authorities briefly staged a manhunt for fugitives in the area, and a buffalo charged a tourist earlier in the summer, flipping her.

AP - Riding through a West Coast state three decades ago on a motorcycle, two hungry riders — my wife and I — stopped at a small roadside restaurant and asked for a couple of seats so we could enjoy steaks that were advertised on the chalkboard.

AP - When you think of vacationing in Canada, chances are the country's three most-visited cities come to mind: Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto.

AP - Kathy Boisvert, who teaches preschoolers with special needs near her home in Massachusetts, had never been overseas before she signed up with World Teach, a nonprofit organization that matches volunteer teachers with overseas assignments.