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TSA: Thanksgiving travel will suck

Travel this Thanksgiving will be dreadful, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) predicts.

More people will travel, and the holiday period will last longer, experts say. Between Nov. 16 and Nov. 26, the federal agency predicts more than 25 million travelers will be screened at airport checkpoints nationwide.

“People are trying to get a jump-start, head start on the crowds, but actually…

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Rethinking Georgia wine

JASPER, Ga. — The burgeoning Georgia Wine scene is worth a second look for anyone who has dismissed the state’s wine production as nothing more than sweet and undrinkable.

Georgia indeed has a reputation for producing sweet table wines using local varietals such as muscadine and scuppernong grapes. Even as the wine scene had expanded in the past few years, these sweet wines have remained an…

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#Georgia

Renovated Read House hotel in Chattanooga opens for business

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — A portion of the renovated Read House hotel in Downtown Chattanooga has reopened for business.

Avocet Hospitality Group, an owner and operator of independent hotels, purchased The Read House in 2016 and started the $27 million renovations in late 2017.

The hotel has two buildings. The Read House dates to 1926, while a second building — The Manor Building — dates to 1964.

“As…

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#Chattanooga #Tennessee

Santa to bring holiday cheer to the Southeastern Railway Museum

DULUTH, Ga. — The Southeastern Railway Museum will celebrate the holiday season with special events, including its popular breakfast and lunch with Santa.

The Duluth Historical Society will host its 4th Annual Festival of Trees at the museum. The event, featuring more than two dozen community-sponsored and decorated trees, will be open during museum operating hours from Nov. 17 through Dec 31.

Sa…

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#Georgia

InselAir introduces simplified pricing structure

InselAir has introduced what it calls a “simplified pricing structure.”

Moreover, the carrier believes the new prices better match customer demand. According to a new release, the new pricing structure includes four options:

Seat Only offers a no-frills, affordable fare

Basic +has fewer booking restrictions and a free baggage allowance

Flex includes the same baggage allowance as the Basic +…

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#Aruba #Curaçao #InselAir

Reauthorization bill directs FAA to set minimum standards for airline seat sizes

The U.S. Senate has approved a bill to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration. The measure now heads to the White House for President Trump to either veto or sign into law.

Lawmakers say the bill, in part, tackles some hot-button issues, including seat sizes and the involuntary bumping of passengers:

Prohibits involuntary bumping of passengers who have already boarded

Directs FAA to set…

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New York governor signs legislation to correct spelling of Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation to correct the spelling of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge.

“The Verrazzano Bridge is a vital transportation artery for millions of Staten Island and Brooklyn residents,” Cuomo said in a news release. “We are correcting this decades-old misspelling out of respect to the legacy of the explorer and to New York’s heritage.”

The city named the bridge for…

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#New York

Atlanta airport remains a construction zone

ATLANTA — The world’s busiest airport remains a construction zone as workers continue overhauling the domestic terminal.

Officials at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport contend the project will improve the experience for customers.

In addition to giant canopiesover the upper roadway on the north and south sides of the terminal, workers will install “engineered trees” and other…

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#Atlanta #Georgia

Five ideas for cutting costs while on vacation

SMYRNA, Ga. — Spending money is fun, particularly while on vacation.

However, there may be a time when you want to go less than all-out, at least from a budget standpoint.

The mistake many make is thinking there is an inextricable correlation between expense and fun. Despite the overarching belief, it is possible to save money and still have fun.

Here are a few lessons I’ve learned from the road.

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A view of New York City from One World Observatory atop One World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan on June 21, 2018. (Photo by Todd DeFeo/The DeFeo Groupe)

NEW YORK — There’s something about an observatory.

Sure, they’re half a tourist trap, but there is also something therapeutic about relaxing and enjoying the view.

Worries wash away with each passing floor. The world below looks so small and simple.

It puts the world in perspective.

So, in honor of getting high, enjoy the view from a recent visit to One World Observatory in New York.

I like to get high…but only when I travel NEW YORK — There’s something about an observatory. Sure, they’re half a tourist trap, but there is also something therapeutic about relaxing and enjoying the…

#Canada #New York #New Zealand

Southeastern Railway Museum places rare locomotive on display

DULUTH, Ga. — The Southeastern Railway Museum has placed on display a rare SD45-2 diesel-electric locomotive.

The locomotive is the first of its kind exhibited in a museum.

Electro-Motive Diesel built CSXT No. 8954 in August 1974. It is one of only 136 SD45-2 diesel-electric locomotives the McCook, Illinois-based EMD constructed between 1972 and 1974.

Click here to read more.

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#Georgia

Blame Trump? DC sees record number of visitors in 2017

So much for the idea that President Trump is bad for tourism. A record 22.8 million total visitors went to the nation’s capital in 2017, up 3.6 parent over 2016, new numbers reveal.

“Washington, DC welcomed 20.8 million domestic visitors last year, up 4.2%, and 2 million overseas visitors, up 2.5%,” Elliott L. Ferguson, II, president and CEO of Destination DC, saidin a news release. “We’ve seen…

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Smyrna, Ga., museum closed pending restoration

SMYRNA, Ga. — The Smyrna Museum has closed pending a restoration and overhaul of its exhibits.

The museum first opened in 1992. It moved to its current location, in a replica of the former Smyrna train depot, in 1999.

Last month, the city council voted to spend $185,000 on the project, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

“This is a project I feel personally is something we as citizens of…

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#Georgia

The many statues of Honest Abe

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — A driving tour of Illinois is fascinating in a number of levels, but particularly for seeing the many depictions of the state’s most famous resident.

Abraham Lincoln may have been born in Ketucky, but he’s found everywhere in Illinois. Honest Abe looms large over the Land of Lincoln.

Here are a handful of the interesting statues that help tell the life story of the 16…

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#Illinois

Your guide to a quick tour of Florence

FLORENCE, Italy — Florence is one of those cities you could spend a month exploring and still not see everything.

That said if you only have a few days to see the city, there are a few places to hit that will give a great sense of the city and its grand history.

Click here for a complete travel guide to the birthplace of the Renaissance.

The Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, Italy,…

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#Florence #Italy

Ideas for what souvenirs to buy on your next trip

SMYRNA, Ga. — Some years ago, I interviewed a guy who wrote a book about “crap souvenirs.”

I thought he had an interesting perspective. He collected a range of souvenirs. Some made sense, while others — such as a Pope John Paul II bottle opener — were outright ridiculous.

He told me: “What we really bring back from a trip are experiences. For many, there’s a desire to represent that with…

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University of Georgia planning to add memorial honoring slaves buried at Baldwin Hall

The University of Georgia has finalized the design for a memorial honoring slaves buried at Baldwin Hall on its Athens, Ga., campus.

The memorial will serve as a place of remembrance for those buried on this site in the 1800s, most of whom likely were slaves or former slaves.

Much of the granite for the monument is being donated by a nearby Oglethorpe County quarry that a black family has owned…

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#Athens #Georgia

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