womantraveler

US Airways Dresses Up Business Class

Finally some good news for business class travelers -- airlines are competing again for business class perks. US Airways, arguably offering a pretty shabby first-class experience during its bankruptcy battle, is turning the corner with its merger with Air West. First-class meals as of August 1 for long-haul customers will not be cardboard. The pickings still look a little slim but the promise is encouraging, and the proof will be in the proverbial pudding.

New Amex/Jet Blue Partnership

The new JetBlue card from American Express will allow travelers to accrue frequent flyer miles simply by using their credit cards. Cardholders will earn one mileage point for every dollar spent and bonus points offered for various purchases.This is the first such partnership by American Express since its Delta Skymiles card and an advance forward in JetBlue's path to develop an even more regular client base. United Airlines' Mileage Plus Platinum Visa partnership with First USA Bank works in a similar way, only spenders get 2 miles for every United dollar spent.  Details of the Amex-JetBlue card will come later in the summer. If you're a "True Blue" JetBlue, put all the purchases you can afford on the new card. It's amazing how quickly the free miles grow when you use only plastic.

A Woman's Network Worth Joining

A favorite new find for the womantraveler is A Woman's Network, which is savvy, intelligent, and fun. What a right-on concept -- "exerciseballs" -- because we're all juggling multiple balls at once. This growing online woman's community addresses  our juggling acts with an optimistic spirit and solid information on topics that drive us daily -- health, fitness, beauty, diet, and, importantly, shopping. Stick with this site on your travels, or during your down time, and keep afresh of your options for treating yourself right. (Are those red pumps Manolos?)

Chloe in the Evening

A summer evening at Chloe, the cozy neighborhood restaurant in Playa del Rey, one of the villages along the Pacific Ocean, delivers in one stroke the reason why people eat out in LA rather than eat at home. With the crisp light of long days, an inventive menu prepared and presented with serious culinary attention, and pleasantly accommodating service, why cook anyway? That's why I keep going back -- three times in the past year, including a dark winter night when a seasonal menu that stretches with options and warm service are most welcome.

Of course the food is key -- and Chloe's menu changes monthly. This June evening our choices reflected the small but eclectic menu --  for appetizers, a layered tomato puree and cucumber coulis that had the overall effect of gazpacho in a martini glass, and a zucchini soup (a puree tinted with rosemary for a wonderfully nutty flavor); for entrees, grilled char with lavender butter, peas, and tiny gnocchi and grilled halibut dressed with morel mushrooms as the other; and wine selection that scours California and the world for not the same old same old. For dessert -- Chloe made the cover of Los Angeles Magazine for its hot chocolate cake with marshmellow cream, but we chose on this warm evening to share the peach soup, aromatic and lightly creamy, and  a glass of Pinot Noir as the closer.

The trick about LA is knowing where to find these distinctive places tucked in strip malls and along small neighborhood streets. These other choices on the West Side close to the Pacific Ocean and LAX are among the local favorites.

Alaska -- See It Before It Melts

Global warming is to Alaska what rain is to Southern California -- with the melting and the mud-sliding, there goes the scenery, let alone what was built on it. The landscape is definitely changing up north, and concerns that this distant wilderness will eventually disappear is also influencing tourism. Clearly it's a good time to experience the massive beauty -- and take stock of the global consequences of our selfish over-consumption. One way is an Alaskan cruise. Another is a small ship cruise.

I once climbed a mountain in Norway that led to a vast glacier plateau. So this is what it means to be on top of the world! Each step connected with relatively solid footing, but the foundation was simply water frozen solid. The idea that this sheer crystalline surface could vanish and literally shift the landscape made every step a surreal experience. Nature is fragile, and we must honor her while we protect her.

Over 50? You GO, Girls!

Not only is 50 the new 20, but to make it even better, women over 50 are proving they're particularly adventuresome travelers. To document this trend, two frequent womentravelers have produced a new adventure series for public television, "Grannies on Safari." Despite the old-fashioned title, they'll focus on adventure tours tours and avoid typical haunts like Paris and Rome. Check your local listings.

Ducking Hurricanes? Choose a Cruise

Cruising may be the best way to keep your vacation from being damaged by a hurricane this summer, which is expected to be another higher than average hurricane season. Typically 4 to 6 of these ill winds blow through the Southeast US, Bahamas, Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and parts of the eastern Pacific between June 1 and Nov. 30 each year. In 2005, the official prediction is 7 to 9. Of course, these are odds -- the first tropical storm, Arlene, never grew into a hurricane. But if the past few years are any indication, it's a good idea to have some options.

That said, here is an inside tip to 8 dreamy but less well-known beaches in the tropics, according to Caribbean Travel & Life, and resources for the best diving in the Florida Keys, where marine scientists and environmentalists are working hard to preserve and restore over-dived and polluted reefs.

Hot on the Highways on July 4

If you're hitting the road f or the July 4 weekend, get ready for lots of company. The American Automobile Association predicts busiest July 4 weekend ever, with 40.3 million travelers on the road and the heaviest concentrations in the Southeast and the West. In the skies, a sharp increase of 4.2 percent of holiday travelers will be going by air. Because of the long weekend in this year, July 4 is expected to surpass Thanksgiving travel, typically the busiest for holiday travel.

Venice Then and Now

Venice, California, officially begins its centennial celebration tomorrow, marking a century of the boom-bust-rebalance cycles that have created the global city of Los Angeles out of a desert. In this case, Venice -- now known for the daily street performance sideshow of its boardwalk -- was imagined out of marshland and swamp by the sea where real estate developer Abbot Kinney launched his Italian Venice-of-America of canals, Byzantine and Renaissance architecture, a flotilla of gondolas, and a Pacific-style Coney Island on July 4, 1905.

Twenty years later, "Kinney's Folly" began its slow decline as the lofty World's Fair spirit and the street-level realities of brothels, winos, and greed tangled fiercely. LA took over, many canals were filled in, and others deteriorated from pollution from nearby oilfields. Not to worry, though, another dream was imagining itself down the road in another marshland -- Howard Hughes and his airfield. In the 1950s, Venice revived with a steady in-flow of American culture, starting with Lawrence Welk's show from the Aragon ballroom, a settling in of the Beat Generation, and later rockers like Alice Cooper and Jim Morrison.

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E

Disneyland turns 50 this summer, and, crowd-adverse, the closest this womantraveler will get to Anaheim is this slide-show trip down memory lane from MSNBC.com.