Heading north on the Maricopa Highway toward Wheeler Gorge Campground in Southern California, I was finally comfortable behind the wheel of the 25-foot-long RV.

I'd gotten accustomed to the rental's hulking mass, adjusted to its vague steering and learned to ignore the clanging cutlery and cooking implements, which registered their noisy ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Walt Disney World's theme parks haven't reopened from the coronavirus shutdown yet, but there's a fresh development at Magic Kingdom. Imagineers will revamp the Splash Mountain ride, changing its theme from "Song of the South" to "The Princess and the Frog," it was announced last week.

In the win-win-win category for Disney, it...Read more

CHICAGO -- After months of hunkering down at home amid the COVID-19 pandemic, travelers are slowly returning to the skies -- some eagerly, some cautiously -- and all curious to see how their first flight in months will be different.

On a recent morning at O'Hare International Airport's Terminal 1, used primarily by hometown carrier United ...Read more

The Florida Keys, which reopened to visitors on June 1, is making it mandatory for everyone in the destination to wear masks.

The Monroe County Commission decreed that facial coverings must "be worn by all residents and visitors while in business establishments and other public settings where there is a roof overhead."

It is not mandated, ...Read more

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- If you haven't seen State Street in Santa Barbara lately, brace yourself. It's gone car-less. The empty lanes are filled with young and old people eating, drinking or wandering on foot, on cycles, on scooters. Expect a big, happy crowd on a Saturday night.

And maybe mask up.

"It's so wonderful, isn't it?" said Ruth ...Read more

All of California's 11 national parks and recreation areas are now at least partly open.

The portions still closed, however, include such iconic spots as Alcatraz and Muir Woods in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Gov. Gavin Newsom is urging Californians to postpone leisure travel until the pandemic eases.

The parks' phased-in steps ...Read more

CHICAGO -- It's one of the signature images of summer in Chicago: Architectural tour boats plying the skyscraper canyons of the Chicago River, their guides spitting out facts to packed crowds as the low-slung craft slip beneath river bridges.

The coronavirus pandemic erased such vibrant scenes, turning the docks along the river's main branch ...Read more

LAS VEGAS -- "Why is he wearing a mask?"

As I walked up to a roulette table at the Cosmopolitan on Friday night, I couldn't help but hear the young woman ask her friend about my facial covering. I knew she was talking about me because as I scanned the casino floor, I was the only nonemployee wearing a mask.

Welcome to the new Las Vegas, where ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- The Disneyland Resort, closed since mid-March to help stem the spread of the coronavirus, is preparing to reopen just in time to celebrate the park's 65th anniversary. The so-called happiest place on Earth is looking to begin a phased reopening in July.

Both Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure will open July 17, ...Read more

Bruce Munro's artsy superbloom of thousands of solar-powered stemmed lights has wowed visitors in a Paso Robles, Calif., field for more than a year. The art installation, which had to close temporarily in March because of the coronavirus pandemic, will reopen Friday with new social distancing rules.

Visitors now will take a one-way path through...Read more

Amanda and Peter VanOverbeke of Orono, Minn., planned to jet off to Ireland with their two sons, Danny, 18, and Andrew, 16. The summer vacation was to be a present for Danny, who just graduated from Orono High School, and a celebration of his acceptance to Notre Dame -- home of the Fighting Irish. Now, given the coronavirus pandemic, they will ...Read more