travel

If you go...

For information, contact Chattanooga Area Convention and Visitors Bureau: 800-322-3344, www.chattanoogafun.com, www.hamiltontn.gov/riverpark.

Bicycle rentals are available at River City Bicycles, 423-265-7176, www.rivercitybikes.com. The shop is located at 112 Tremont St., two blocks from Coolidge Park.

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- More than 25 years ago when community leaders proposed a linear park to reconnect Chattanoogans to the river, they didn't realize all the benefits their project would have. The river that divides the city also brings together the city.

HAMILTON, Ohio -- Having taught two teen-age boys to drive and lived through clothes-shopping with 'tween daughters, I'm not a gal who scares easily. But shooting guns for pleasure? That's one frightening activity I've always steered clear of.

Anyone who spends workweeks on the road knows it's no job for weenies. Attention, road warriors: It's time to strap on additional armor.

HAMILTON, N.J. -- Dare I join this lively group for lunch? They are having a good time at their lakeside table. Wine and conversation seem to flow smoothly. I slip past the waiter and take a spot next to the man wearing a straw hat and sleeveless T-shirt. A young woman coos over a cute puppy. Everyone looks familiar, but no, I can't recall any names.

THE WILDWOODS, N.J. -- A pleasant time-warp feeling floods over us as we drive down Atlantic and Pacific avenues. The motel-packed strip is a jumble of flashing neon light, cars with chrome and tail fins, kidney-shaped swimming pools and palm trees growing in concrete.

HELEN, Ga. -- A few turns off the Richard Russell Scenic Highway and suddenly you're no longer in Georgia. It's Bavaria, right here in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Old-world clock towers, half-timbered houses, red roofs, cobblestone alleys and murals on stucco walls may baffle, leading up to the question: Why is oompah music playing here?

There's no doubt air travelers have to negotiate numerous hurdles on their way to catch a flight these days, so it makes sense to do what you can to help the process go smoothly. Consider the following:

"Is there a doctor on board?"

That's a flight announcement no air traveler ever wants to hear, but based on available data, it's a question heard more frequently on commercial airlines these days.

DEARBORN, Mich. -- It's no surprise that the Henry Ford Museum has enough cars to fill a Motown freeway, but its vast collection of automobiles -- a stunning variety of makes, models, eras and designs -- is just one part of a more general tribute to American know-how.