Boutique hotel has all the extras

Part of a series of mini-reviews of Chicago-area hotels.

Steps away from the Magnificent Mile sits the Affinia Chicago, but that's not the most attractive trait of this boutique hotel. What's impressive is that the Affinia has all the hot-button amenities you would look for in a downtown hotel — a rooftop bar, a celebrity-chef restaurant — yet manages an understated, almost homey feel.

Take the rooms, where guests can choose from a number of complimentary "My Affinia" welcome kits, including a fitness kit with yoga mats and Pilates DVDs, a kids kit filled with cupcakes, or a pillow menu that offers everything from hypoallergenic cushions to ones that plug into your iPod.

But if you want to sip cocktails while staring out into the city, visit the aptly named rooftop bar C-View, where you're privy to some fantastic cityscapes to the east, south and west. Or you can head down to C-House, where chef/owner Marcus Samuelsson (as in "Top Chef Master" Marcus Samuelsson) has developed a seafood-centric menu full of local, sustainable ingredients.

Insider tip: Be sure to check out the Candy Bar, a dessert kiosk inside C-House that's so decadent you'll have to call your dentist.

Affinia Chicago

Neighborhood:

Streeterville

166 E. Superior St.

Chicago, IL 60611

312-787-6000

affinia.com

Getting there

Cross streets: Superior and St. Clair

Public transportation: CTA bus: Michigan Avenue routes, including 3, 145, 146, 147, 151; Red Line "L" stop: Chicago

Parking: Self and valet

Wheelchair access

The basics

Prices for a standard room start as low as $209, excluding taxes and fees.

Floors: 29

Rooms: 215

Hotel amenities: Meeting rooms (5), restaurant and bars/lounges (2), 24-hour business center, 24-hour fitness center

Room amenities: Wide-screen television, work desk, minibar, coffeemaker, in-room safe

Features

Room service

Turndown service

Pets allowed: $25 service fee

Wi-Fi available: $9.95 a day

Shopping nearby

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U.S. expands travel warning amid violence in Syria

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Reuters

7:35 p.m. CDT, August 5, 2011

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Americans in Syria are
encouraged to leave and travel to the country should be
postponed, the U.S. State Department said Friday following
widespread violence that has pitted thousands of protesters
against the government.

The State Department warned that given the ``ongoing
uncertainty and volatility'' U.S. citizens are urged to leave
immediately while transportation is still available. The
advisory also encouraged Americans who remain to limit any
nonessential travel within the country.

The advisory expands a travel warning issued in late April
that ordered eligible family members of U.S. government
employees and certain non-emergency personnel to leave.

Syrian security forces Friday killed at least 18
protesters in attacks on tens of thousands of protesters who
poured into the streets to demonstrate against the rule of
President Bashar al-Assad on the first Friday of the Muslim
fasting month of Ramadan.

The four-month-old uprising has grown increasingly violent

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Rental already damaged

I recently rented a car through Enterprise at Chicago's Midway Airport. I was taken to a vehicle that had a damaged fender. I called this situation to the attention of the rental attendant, and he said, "No worries, I'll just note it on the contract."

When I returned the vehicle, all check-in procedures ran normally, and I was sent on my way. The next day, I received an unsigned email from the "Damage Recovery Unit" asking for my insurance company information.

I contacted the agency by phone. A representative advised me to email a copy of my original contract, which noted the damage. So I did. The next day I received another email from the Damage Recovery Unit that said, "claim and invoice information was on the way."

I phoned the Midway location where I had rented the vehicle. A representative claimed not to have a copy of the contract, stating, "We don't keep those on file here." Within three days, I received another email from the Damage Recovery Unit, with an estimate and an invoice.

Clearly, no one had read my letter or looked at the contract attached. I couldn't get through to the Damage Recovery Unit by phone, and the Midway location didn't have any paperwork on my case. I think I am the target of what may well have been a scam. What do you think?

— Janice Stickley White, El Dorado Hills, Calif.

A: I think I'm getting tired of answering questions about fraudulent damage claims on rental cars. Obviously, if there was pre-existing damage that was noted on your rental car, then Enterprise should have signed off on your car, thanked you for your business and let you be on your way.

If there had been damage to the fender that you were responsible for, an Enterprise representative should have noted it when you returned the vehicle and asked you to fill out a damage claim. The company shouldn't have broadsided you with a form letter a few days later, demanding the name of your insurance company.

Is this a widespread scam? It's hard to tell. There's no doubt that rental companies are pursuing every damage claim, no matter how small, in an apparent effort to make more money. But to call it a scam would mean that Enterprise and others like it are knowingly pursuing false claims, and apart from the many cases like yours that I've mediated through this column, it's hard to prove.

There are a few things you might have done to prevent this from becoming a claim. When you picked up the car, and the representative promised to note the damage, I would have asked for another car. Enterprise shouldn't be renting you a damaged car.

If it were the last car on the lot, I would have double-checked the notation to make sure it was accurate. And knowing that you were driving a damaged car, I would have asked for a manager to sign off on the car when you returned it. Also, note the name and phone number of that supervisor, just in case Enterprise has second thoughts.

One other thing: Calling Enterprise was probably the least efficient way to contact it. A brief, polite email, disputing its claim, works the best. I like the fact that you copied the insurance authorities in Illinois on your correspondence — that underscores the seriousness of your grievance.

I contacted Enterprise on your behalf, and it dropped the claim.

Christopher Elliott is the ombudsman for National Geographic Traveler magazine and a co-founder of the Consumer Travel Alliance, a nonprofit organization that advocates for travelers. You can read more tips on his blog, elliott.org or email him at chris@elliott.org.

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48 hours in New York on a shoestring

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - It's known for its Broadway shows, designer shops and exclusive restaurants but there are plenty of things to enjoy in the Big Apple without burning a hole in your pocket.

Reuters correspondents with local knowledge show that bargains can still be found in the city.

FRIDAY

6 p.m. - Soak in the bright lights at Times Square, where it always seems like mid-day under the mega-watt billboards. You'll get the rush of gawking tourists and perhaps see the barely clothed busker, "The Naked Cowboy." You can buy discounted Broadway tickets for same-day performances at the TKTS booth on Duffy Square.

7 p.m. - Grab dinner from a street vendor and sit at one of the seats in the "pedestrian plazas" in the middle of Times Square. Take in a sweeping Times Square view from the top of the red glass steps adjoining the ticket booth, or eat at one of the many restaurants in the theater district, or low-priced regional eateries along Ninth Avenue.

8:30 p.m. - If you skip the theater, or later if you do catch a show, have a drink at the revolving bar at the New York Marriott Marquis in Times Square.

10 p.m. - Enjoy panoramic city views from the "Top of the Rock" Observation Deck at Rockefeller Center.

SATURDAY

9 a.m. - Grab a bagel and coffee from a street vendor and head to midtown for a Gray Line or CitySights NY Hop-On, Hop-Off double-decker bus. Buy a 48-hour All Loops Tour and start with a downtown loop that takes in Greenwich Village and Union Square, SoHo, Chinatown, the Lower East Side and Empire State Building. You can get off at all stops and explore on your own. Also check out "NYSee Tours" for guided "Get Acquainted" city adventures.

The Gary Line and CitySights NY also offer Brooklyn tours that run every half hour until 3:30 p.m. The tour includes the Botanical Garden, antique furniture district and Brooklyn Museum of Art stops.

Or, because no trip to New York is complete without seeing the Statue of Liberty, jump on the free Staten Island Ferry for a view of this enigmatic lady, Ellis Island and lower Manhattan.

10 a.m. - Pick up hand-crafted cheese, organic produce and freshly baked goods at the Union Square farmers' market.

11 a.m. - Wander through Greenwich Village's meandering streets, historic townhouses, unique shops and many restaurants.

Noon - Movie and TV fans can take an "On Location Tour" of the city (www.screentour.com). The company specializes in TV and movie location trips and also offers a "Sex and the City Hotspots" and "Gossip Girl" site tours.

4 p.m. - Enjoy panoramic views of Manhattan and the East River by walking across the Brooklyn Bridge.

5 p.m. - Spend some quiet time remembering the victims of the September 11 attacks at Ground Zero. The best viewing points are from the adjacent World Financial Center.

7 p.m. - Explore Chinatown's exotic food markets and gift shops, and pick a spot for dinner. Have a cappuccino and cannoli in neighboring Little Italy.

10 p.m. - Head to Arthur's Tavern in Greenwich Village at 57 Grove Street to end the night with intimate jazz and blues.

SUNDAY

8 a.m. - After breakfast of fruits and breads bought at the markets on Saturday, head to Central Park, the oasis in the middle of the urban jungle. Popular destinations include Strawberry Fields, a memorial to Beatle John Lennon, and Bethesda Fountain, a fixture in movies set in Manhattan.

10.30 a.m. - Visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Fifth Avenue. From an extensive Egyptian collection to countless European paintings and sculptures, there is something for everyone with approximately 3 million works on display.

1 p.m. - The Cloisters, a Metropolitan Museum of Art branch at Fort Tryon Park overlooking the Hudson River in northern Manhattan, offers free garden tours and medieval European art. Have a light lunch here at the cafe.

4 p.m. - Bike or walk over the George Washington Bridge, which connects the Washington Heights neighborhood of upper Manhattan to Fort Lee, New Jersey. If you've had enough of nature, head back to Madame Tussauds wax museum in midtown, where soon you're not sure whether the person sitting next to you is real or not.

6:30 p.m. - Window shop along famed Fifth Avenue. Have dinner in Virgil's Real Barbeque on 44th Street, or at Osteria Al Doge on the same block.

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Allure of Amboise snared even da Vinci

The Loire River glides gently east to west, officially separating northern from southern France, and has come to define one of France's most popular tourist regions.

The region is home to more than 1,000 castles and palaces in all shapes and sizes. When a "valley address" became a must-have among 16th century royals, rich Renaissance palaces replaced outdated medieval castles.

Straddling the widest stretch of the river is the city of Amboise, an inviting town with a fine old quarter below its hilltop chateau. A castle has overlooked the Loire from here since Roman times. Leonardo da Vinci retired here — just one more of his many brilliant ideas.

The Italian genius came here in 1516 because it was the royal residence of French King Francois I. Da Vinci packed his bags (and several of his favorite paintings, including the Mona Lisa) and left an imploding Rome for better working conditions. Imagine his resume and cover letter: "I can help your armies by designing tanks, flying machines, windup cars, gear systems, extending ladders and water pumps."

Da Vinci settled in the Chateau du Clos Luce, a plush palace where he spent his last three years. (He died May 2, 1519.) The house is a kind of fortified chateau of its own with a rampart walk and 16th century chapel. The place survived the French Revolution because the quick-talking noble who owned it was sympathetic to the cause and convinced revolutionaries that da Vinci was philosophically on their side.

Though today's owners keep the upstairs to themselves, an entire floor of finely decorated and furnished rooms is open to the public. It thoughtfully re-creates (with a good English brochure and Renaissance music) the everyday atmosphere da Vinci enjoyed while he lived here.

Another da Vinci sight is the Chateau d'Amboise, the historic royal residence partially designed by the brilliant Italian. The king who did most of the building — Charles VIII — is famous for accidentally killing himself by walking into a door lintel.

Inside you'll find a lacy, petite chapel where da Vinci supposedly is buried. This flamboyant little Gothic chapel comes with two fireplaces "to comfort the king" and two plaques "evoking the final resting place" of da Vinci (one in French, the other in Italian).

Though grand, the chateau was much bigger in the 16th century. Wandering through its halls, you travel chronologically from Gothic-style rooms to those of the early Renaissance and on to the 19th century. Climb to the top of the Minimes Tower for panoramic views. The bulky tower ascends 130 feet in five spirals and was designed for a soldier in a hurry. From here the strategic value of this site is clear: The visibility is great, and the river below provides a natural defense.

From the tower you can see the half-mile-long "Golden Island," the only island in the Loire substantial enough to be flood-proof and to have permanent buildings (including a soccer stadium and a 13th century church). It was the place where northern and southern France, divided by the longest river in the country, came together. The Loire marked the farthest point north that the Moors conquered as they pushed into Europe from Morocco.

After touring the chateau, take a lazy walk through Amboise's pleasant, pedestrian-only commercial zone. The city wielded far more importance than you'd imagine.

Its 14,000 residents are still quite conservative and keep their wealth to themselves; consequently, many grand mansions hide behind nondescript facades.

When travelers ask me where to stay in the Loire Valley, I tell them Amboise is the best home base for first-timers. It offers handy access to important chateaux such as Chenonceau, Blois, Chambord and Cheverny. It also has good train connections and public transportation options. Those transportation links also put it under some development pressure. The TGV bullet trains can get you to Paris in an hour, and cheap flights to England make it a prime second-home spot for many Brits, including Mick Jagger.

What makes Amboise so attractive to ancient nobles and modern commuters makes it appealing to tourists too. If you have a passion for anything French — philosophy, history, elegant architecture, food, wine — you'll find it here.

Rick Steves (ricksteves.com) writes European travel guidebooks and hosts travel shows on public television and public radio. Email him at rick@ricksteves.com, and follow his blog on Facebook.

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Arizona considered a bird-watching hotspot

PHOENIX (AP) — From the sandhill crane to the red-faced warbler, rock stars of the birding world have spawned a tourism industry in Arizona that draws bird-watchers from around the world.

"It's one of the two or three best places in the United States to look for birds," said David Pashley of the American Bird Conservancy. "Arizona makes a lot of money off of bird-watchers going down to the southeast corner of the state."

More than 140 bird species are found in southern Arizona, and birding festivals take place year-round throughout the state, including Yuma and in northern Arizona's Verde Valley. One of the best-known birding destinations is the southeastern city of Sierra Vista, which hosts the annual Southwest Wings Birding and Nature Festival. The Aug. 3-6 festival, in its 20th year, typically draws thousands of participants.

Nearby Tucson will host another major summer event for birders — the inaugural Tucson Bird & Wildlife Festival, Aug. 17-21. The itinerary will include the Sky Islands Birding Cup fundraiser, where teams will compete to observe the most bird species in a 24-hour period.

Sierra Vista is located near several canyons, the San Pedro River and the Coronado National Memorial, and birds are attracted to the area's hodgepodge of ecosystems, including mountains and trees along rivers and lakes, according to Joe Yarchin, an Arizona Game and Fish Department project coordinator.

"Those are the strongest kind of birding areas in deserts. People certainly don't think of Arizona as any kind of mecca for birders," Yarchin said. "Everyone thinks death and desolation when they think of desert."

Many out-of-town birders come to see birds that are a rarity where they live. Sierra Vista, which promotes itself as the "Hummingbird Capital," has documented more than a dozen species of hummingbirds that are found nowhere else in the country. With the Huachuca Mountains' close proximity to the Sierra Madre mountain ranges of Mexico, birders also get excited at border-crossers.

"A bunch of birds that are Mexican in distribution get into that part of the country," Pashley said. "There are essentially Mexican birds that you can see there that you can't see anywhere else."

In Sierra Vista, birders can also get an extraordinary peek at scientists' effort to record information on hummingbirds. Near the San Pedro River, researchers set up nets and feeders to catch hummingbirds in the fall and spring. Once they're caught, scientists weigh them and measure them. Daggett said they are released, but not before getting a band around their leg.

"Sometimes they get one that has been coming back year after year," Daggett said.

Like most birding events, the Southwest festival offers field excursions and lectures. "A lot of folks like to do a 45-minute classroom and then do a carpool and go someplace and put some of the stuff to use in the field," said Gordon Lewis, one of the festival's organizers.

Lewis said the June 12 Monument Fire outside Sierra Vista, which burned 47 square miles and destroyed 57 homes, hasn't affected the festival's plans or bird-watching in general. They have only had to close down one planned trip because of U.S. Forest Service road closures.

Wildfires have also provided fresh fodder for discussion topics, including talks at the Southwest festival addressing how wildlife and habitats bounce back from the disasters.

Pashley, who oversees domestic habitat issues at the American Bird Conservancy, says most fires are good for ecosystems by helping to clear growth. Displaced birds are resilient enough to adapt and find new places to get food. In southern Arizona, where summer brings a monsoon season characterized by increased humidity and rain, burned areas will "green up really fast."

"My suspicion is those systems will come back and in the long run they'll be healthier than they were," Pashley said. "It's worse for bird-watchers than it is for birds."

According to a 2006 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service survey, birders spent more than $12 billion nationwide on travel and equipment expenses such as cameras, binoculars and bird food. That same report states that about 1.3 million people came to Arizona to observe wild birds, Yarchin said. Arizona birding generated $838 million in trip-related spending the same year, bringing about $1.2 billion in revenue into the state. For tourism offices and communities, that's a lot of heads and beds, Yarchin added.

"It gets their attention when I go and give my talks to a county board of supervisors or a chamber of commerce," Yarchin said. "You might just say wildlife viewing is comparable to the combination of hunting and fishing."

One reason birding may be such a big draw is its leisurely pace.

"It's a good excuse to go out and get in the fresh air. You don't have to set a goal of going 10 miles or something. It's better than sitting in front of the TV," Lewis said.

___

If You Go...

SOUTHWEST WINGS FESTIVAL: Sierra Vista, Ariz., Aug. 3-6, http://www.swwings.org/

TUCSON BIRD & WILDLIFE FESTIVAL: Tucson, Ariz., Aug. 17-21, http://tucsonaudubon.org/

AUDUBON ARIZONA: http://az.audubon.org/

ARIZONA TOURISM: Birding information from the state office of tourism: http://www.arizonaguide.com/things-to-do/nature/birding-wildlife/arizona-birding

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Dry-diving underwater Hawaii

Not everybody wants to snorkel or scuba dive in Maui. Particularly those of us who (full sheepish disclosure) don't know how to swim.

The Maui Ocean Center wasn't built for the underwater-averse, but it sure lets everybody experience — feet firmly on dry land — the majesty of underwater Hawaii.

It's not the biggest aquarium out there, but it does the state's marine population proud. About a quarter of the animals on exhibit are found only in the region.

You'll see hundreds of varieties of seafarers: tiny sea horses and urchins; colorful reef triggerfish and bullethead parrotfish; those slinky, odd trumpetfish and moray eels; and, yes, the rock stars — hammerhead sharks, gray reef sharks, blacktip reef sharks. The displays showcase the ocean in its increasing depths, from a surge zone and shallow reef exhibits to ever-deeper waters.

The most fascinating exhibit is the last, Open Ocean: This 750,000-gallon tank includes a 54-foot acrylic tunnel you walk through, with sharks, rays and green sea turtles among the other animals swimming alongside and above you. Think of it as a "surroundswim" effect — and as close as this landlubber is going to get to looking at the underside of a stingray as it swims past overhead.

I'd recommend the ocean center early in a trip. It offers a history lesson tied to the sea, which is so integral to Hawaii's history and culture. Those who do plan to snorkel or dive will acquaint themselves with some of the creatures they'll be seeing in the wild. (In fact, because the museum's fishes are regularly released back to the ocean, you might even see the same fellas.)

Most exhibits are inside, but outdoor fun includes a Tide Pool exhibit where you can "pet" starfish and other creatures, and the obvious draw of Turtle Lagoon.

Maui Ocean Center, 192 Ma'alaea Road, Wailuku, Maui; 808-270-7000 or mauioceancenter.com. $25.50; $18.50 for children (there are online discounts). The excellent audio tour is recommended for an additional $3.

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Congress reaches deal to end FAA shutdown

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congressional leaders struck a deal on Thursday to resolve a partisan dispute and end a partial shutdown of the Federal Aviation Administration that has halted airport projects and threatened thousands of jobs.

The standoff, which began on July 22, centered on partisan differences over full funding of the agency through the middle of next month.

In addition to idled construction projects, the gridlock allowed airlines to stop collecting more than $30 million per day in ticket taxes, leaving a hole in government revenue for aviation priorities but giving carriers a big windfall.

"I am pleased to announce that we have been able to broker a bipartisan compromise between the House and the Senate," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said in a statement.

Reid said the deal did not resolve underlying differences that held up the latest in a series of stop-gap FAA funding extensions and that they could re-emerge later.

This extension and others approved since 2007 authorize the FAA to tap available funds from a federal trust account that is funded by ticket taxes to help cover some of the agency's costs. The temporary extensions aim to bridge the gap to a long-delayed bill still being negotiated on long-term FAA budgeting and aviation priorities.

The agreement announced by Reid essentially found a route around contentious issues, allowing the Senate to pass the temporary measure, which had previously been cleared by the House of Representatives.

Democratic aides said formal action will occur on Friday after the Senate convenes at 10 a.m. EDT.

Congress adjourned this week for August so the Senate will use a procedure not requiring lawmakers to return for a vote.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood called the prospect of passage a "tremendous victory" for workers.

The nearly two-week shutdown affected some 70,000 jobs related to airport construction and nearly 4,000 FAA positions that were placed on furlough, government officials said.

PRESSURE FROM OBAMA

Compromise came after President Barack Obama stepped up pressure on lawmakers already bruised by weeks of partisan wrangling over legislation to raise the U.S. debt limit.

The FAA impasse hinged on cutting more than $16 million in subsidies for rural air service -- a demand by the Republican-led House that rankled key Senate Democrats like Reid, Finance Chairman Max Baucus and John Rockefeller, chairman of the Commerce Committee.

Congressional and transportation officials said the linchpin of the compromise gives LaHood authority to waive cuts in service to rural airports targeted in the bill, raising the prospect that some or all of the cuts will not be made.

"He will use that authority where appropriate under the law," a senior Transportation Department official said.

Rockefeller warned of another possible showdown with Republicans over funding and aviation priorities. Congress returns from its recess in early September.

An underlying issue not in the temporary extension but looming large for Rockefeller and other labor-friendly Democrats in a long-term FAA bill is a bid by House Republicans to gut a rule making it easier for unions to organize at airlines.

The end of the impasse also will mean the end of a revenue windfall for U.S. airlines. With no legislation in place to authorize FAA funding, carriers were not required to collect a 7.5 percent passenger tax assessed on tickets.

Most, like Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, US Airways and Southwest Airlines, raised fares by that amount and stood to earn more than $1 billion had the shutdown lasted until Congress returned.

(Reporting by John Crawley; Editing by Bill Trott)

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Drink like an American in Frankfurt

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Ask two people for advice on any city and you'll receive two very different view points, reflecting their various tastes, interests and backgrounds. So when I received nearly identical lists of Frankfurt's must-try bars from two people - one in the bar industry, one ad exec/former expat - my antennae went up.

While weekdays may find these bars full of local business types, "The local Germans leave Frankfurt on the weekend to live in the country - leaving Frankfurt to the foreigners," says William Perry, who lived in Frankfurt for two years working as the European Creative for GM and now lives in the United States.

Both Perry and Berlin-based bar expert Bastian Heuser honed in on the following three bars:

Roomers Bar (http://www.roomers.eu/), located within the Roomers hotel, part of the Design Hotels chain, the lounge is known for its sleek decor and pricey drinks.

Gekkos (http://www.gekkos-bar.com/) meanwhile, is an "American-style bar and lounge" within the Hilton Hotel. The drink selection runs to classic cocktails and the bar lays claim to the largest American whiskey collection in the region.

In addition to whiskey-centric drinks like the boozy Brooklyn (Rittenhouse rye, Noilly Prat vermouth, Picon Amer, and Luxardo Maraschino), travelers with well-padded expense accounts will also want to accept the invitation to "Pimp Your Drink" - tipples made with special reserve whiskies, Dom Perignon, and other precious ingredients - and the price tags are roughly triple or quadruple the price of regular cocktails.

Jimmy's (http://www.hessischer-hof.de/de/jimmys-bar-frankfurt) at the Hotel Hessischer Hof is another "American-style bar," with live jazz instead of late-night DJ action. Here, the heavy leather chairs and old-school bartenders invite patrons to enjoy fine cigars and order another round from the Fizzes and Flips and Sours that round out the cocktail menu.

So if whiskey gets top billing in American-style bars, what is the drink of choice in more typical German haunts? According to Heuser, the Aperol Spritz (Aperol topped with sparkling wine or soda) is a top choice, as is wine - which is drawing in more tipplers even at the expense of the selection of excellent local beers.

RECIPE: BROOKLYN COCKTAIL This classic cocktail, a variation on the Manhattan (which uses sweet vermouth), is served at Gekkos.

2 ounces Rittenhouse Rye 1 ounce Noilly Prat Dry Vermouth 1 ounce Amer Picon (a French amaro) 1 ounce Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass and stir with ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a Maraschino-soaked cherry.

(Edited by Peter Myers and Paul Casciato)

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Comic likes unwinding in Hawaii

When Loni Love was in her 20s, her company was undergoing massive layoffs. As an electrical engineer, Love was making a nice salary and had good benefits. But she wasn't happy with her career.

"There were people who had been there for 30 years, and I asked myself, 'Is this something that makes me happy?'" said the 40-year-old Los Angeles-based comic. "I wanted to be laid off and save someone else's job. I had been doing stand-up all along, and now I was free to do it full time. Being good to yourself and not getting too caught up in life goes along with traveling and taking vacations, in my view. You need a good balance to keep you happy."

Love is a regular on programs such as "Chelsea Lately," "E!'s Wildest TV Show Moments," "The Smoking Gun Presents: The World's Dumbest" and "Kickin' It."

Q: What is your favorite vacation destination?

A: I really like Hawaii, especially Maui. It's quiet, lush and green. I try to turn off the phone and relax. If I'm there for a week, maybe I'll check in every two days because the messages will get ridiculous if I don't. I work a lot and travel a lot for work, so when I get a couple days off to just rest, I want to sit back and relax with those little drinks with umbrellas in them.

Q: Where are your favorite weekend getaways?

A: From Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and San Francisco are quick and easy trips. Las Vegas is cheap, fun and quick — and it never closes! For a comedienne, that's the place to be. And Vegas has about the best buffets in the world, so you can eat on a budget if you need to.

Q: What are your favorite hotels?

A: I know a lot of people want to hear about all the high-end hotels, but do you know what hotel chain I really like? I really enjoy staying at the Holiday Inn (holidayinn.com). They remodeled a lot of them so they're really nice, have comfy beds and are economical. It's nice to get a cup of coffee there, and it doesn't break the bank.

Q: Everyone's scared of finding bedbugs in their hotel rooms. Have you seen one yet?

A: Not yet. And I don't worry about them, but I do have my own little ritual. I wipe the place down and try to disinfect everything that I can. I really don't like (hotel) bedspreads! I try to avoid them as much as I can.

Q: When you go away, what are some of your must-have items?

A: If all my luggage was lost, I could get by with a pair of jeans and clean underwear. But I couldn't live without my computer.

Q: What are some of your favorite cities?

A: I love Washington, D.C.; Miami; Detroit; and Virginia Beach.

Q: Where would you like to travel to within the U.S.?

A: I just went to Montana, so I've hit all 50 states.

Q: Where would you like to travel to that you haven't been to yet?

A: I'd really like to travel more outside the United States. I would want to go to Hong Kong. I've been to Ghana, which was a lot more Western than a lot of people think, but I haven't been to Kenya. I really want to go on a safari someday. That'll be my next big trip.

For more from the reporter, visit jaehakim.com.

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US Airways joins Delta in refunding ticket taxes paid before FAA shutdown

By Associated Press

2:37 p.m. CDT, August 2, 2011

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — US Airways Group Inc. says it will offer direct refunds of ticket taxes that travelers paid before the taxes lapsed on July 23.

The taxes can add up to $60 or more on a $300 round-trip ticket. They stopped when the Federal Aviation Administration partially shut down. Travelers who bought tickets before the shutdown but flew during it are due a refund.

Some airlines have been telling travelers to ask the IRS for a refund. The IRS has asked airlines to refund the money directly. Delta said on Monday that it would offer direct refunds, and US Airways joined them on Tuesday.

Most airlines raised fares by the amount of the taxes, so travelers have been paying the same amount during the FAA shutdown as they did previously.

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14th death this year at Yosemite National Park

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) — A woman slipped to her death Sunday while descending Half Dome in the rain, the latest accident at Yosemite National Park in a year that is breaking records for the deadliest in recent history.

Fourteen people have died so far this year, including three who were swept over Vernal Fall two weeks ago while taking photographs upstream in the Merced River. In 2007, seven people were killed at the park, the most in any recent year until this one.

One factor in the high number of deaths is a record snowfall that has created treacherous snowmelt, swelling streams and rivers at a time of year when nature in Yosemite is supposed to be relatively tranquil.

For Haley LaFlamme, 26, it likely was the unseasonable rain that brewed on the day her group of four secured a rare permit to ascend the enormous, smooth granite dome, the park's iconic feature. They were among a group of about 20 hikers who were braving the trip to the summit despite the wet conditions, slippery granite and distant lightning and thunder.

The permits limit traffic on the popular 8.5-mile climb. LaFlamme was using the cables that park officials install during the hiking season to help with the steep and sometimes slippery footing up the final pitch of the granite dome.

At about 11 a.m. people in the park began to send messages on Twitter about a raging thunder storm with rain. At noon, Yosemite's emergency communication center received a 911 call reporting a hiker had fallen at the bottom of the cables, where the granite trail becomes less steep and the cables end. Cobb says LaFlamme fell 600 feet from the shoulder. She was dead at the scene.

Between 2006 and 2010, 38 people died in the park and 1,225 had to be rescued at a cost of more than $3 million. Nearly 4 million people visit the park every year.

Most of those who get themselves in trouble in Yosemite are day hikers who are unprepared for the challenges and changing conditions of the wilderness, according to Search and Rescue records at Yosemite.

By far the single biggest age group of people who get into trouble is young adults ages 20 to 29, records show. The second largest: those over 60.

The allure of the park's treacherous features combined with a population of tourists more accustomed to Disneyland than the great outdoors can contribute to a false sense of security.

"A lot of people who visit Yosemite aren't necessarily familiar with nature," said park spokeswoman Kari Cobb. "They are really out of their element and may not understand the force of nature and what they may encounter in nature."

The three people swept over the 317-foot falls last month apparently didn't realize the upstream pool in which they were wading for a photo had a strong current running underneath. The bodies of Ramina Badal, 21, of Manteca; Hormiz David, 22, of Modesto; and 27-year-old Ninos Yacoub Turlock are still trapped somewhere in the raging Merced River.

The trio ignored warning signs by climbing a barricade to take a photo, then lost footing on the slippery granite bottom.

"If the trail isn't closed, people tend to take that as a source of information: Wouldn't they tell us not to do it if it were dangerous?" said psychologist Paul Price, a professor of psychology at Fresno State.

The last person to fall and die on Half Dome was also from San Ramon. Majoj Kumar died in June 2009. The hikers who witnessed the fall were so frightened that 40 people refused to move and had to be rescued from the dome, Cobb said.

In 2007 Hirofumi Nohara slipped on the cables and died. Two other deaths on Half Dome — Jennifer Bettles in 2007 and Emily Sandal in 2006 — occurred when the cables were down.

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Space Needle contest aims to send person into suborbital space

SEATTLE (AP) — Organizers want to go beyond Earth to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Seattle's iconic Space Needle.

On Monday, they announced a multi-tiered contest to send a member of the public on a short ride into space using a company from the burgeoning space travel industry.

"The private business of taking people to space is right in front of us," said Ron Sevart, president and CEO of the Pacific Northwest landmark. "It felt so natural for us to build a contest around that."

He said the idea came after event organizers explored the circumstances around the opening of the Space Needle in 1962.

The Space Needle — with its hourglass tower and a top that resembles a flying saucer — embodied the era.

"It was an optimistic time, a forward-looking time, right in the middle of the space race," Sevart said.

To mark the occasion and help celebrate the future of space travel, the Space Needle brought in a pioneer.

Buzz Aldrin, the second astronaut to step on the moon, spoke at the formal contest announcement, recounting his Apollo mission and detailing his vision of the future.

The Space Needle's contest is another step toward fulfilling his vision of the space program from more than 50 years ago, he said.

"Private industry is going to gradually assume some of the things that government has been able to do only previously," Aldrin predicted. "The ability to continue exploring space is going to be dependent on private citizens engaging in the business of taking people into space."

Aldrin was joined by Sevart; Eric Anderson, chairman of Space Adventures, a Virginia-based private space travel company; and Richard Garriott, one of a handful of private citizens who have spent time on the International Space Station.

"It's an opportunity for the average person to have chance to do something very few people have ever done," said Anderson, whose company has sent seven people into space, hitching rides on Russian rockets.

The trip to space offered through the contest would be a suborbital shot, with about six minutes of zero gravity. The total flight, from takeoff to landing, would last about 30 minutes, with the pilot-less rocket taking two passengers to a height of about 62 miles. Training for the flight would take about two days, Anderson said.

More details will come later as Space Adventures — along withTexas-based Armadillo Aerospace — develop vessels. The cost of the grand prize is about $110,000. Anderson said he estimates the first flight will take off in about two years.

"The most impressive takeaway that I had on the International Space Station was seeing Earth from space, it was truly life changing," said Garriott, a computer engineer who has invested in private space travel, and spent 12 days circling Earth.

The contest — dubbed Space Race 2012 — will have several stages. People interested can sign up to enter at the Space Needle's website through the end of December.

The minimum age for contestants is 18. Sevart is expecting millions of entries.

After the entry period, a computer will randomly choose 1,000 people who will be asked to submit a one-minute video. Following the video, the public, via a vote, will whittle down the number of contestants.

A fitness challenge will be set up for the top vote-getters before a panel makes a final selection.

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'Is the drinking water safe in Bongo Bongo?'

Prospective travelers to that fictitious country and many real ones often ask that question, with good reason. A slip as minor as a sip of tap water in Mexico can lead to days of misery. On the other hand, bottled water often costs more than wine, so buying it when you really don't need it is a big waste of money. And although you can find quite a few sources of information, the final decision is up to you.

Whenever you're visiting a country for the first time, your first source of information on general health matters should be the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. government agency that deals with such things. Log on to its "Travelers' Health" website at http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/, select the country you plan to visit, and scroll down the display to the "Staying Healthy During Your Trip" topic, where you'll find the "Be Careful about Food and Water" section. There, along with some broad recommendations made about every country in the world, you'll find the item on drinking water.

-- In much of the world, the recommendation is "Drink only bottled or boiled water, or carbonated (bubbly) drinks in cans or bottles. Avoid tap water, fountain drinks, and ice cubes. If this is not possible, learn how to make water safer to drink."

-- Additional warnings for these countries typically advise, "Do not eat food purchased from street vendors; make sure food is fully cooked, and avoid dairy products, unless you know they have been pasteurized."

-- For most of Western Europe and such other advanced countries as Australia, Japan, and New Zealand, however, the site omits any specific recommendation about water, meaning that CDC thinks the drinking water is OK.

The site also includes a lot of other information about travelers' health. And although much of it is pretty much of the "any idiot" variety ("avoid insect bites" and such), you will find some of the warnings well worth your attention. Note especially any reports of contagious disease outbreaks.

In my experience, CDC errs a bit on the side of caution. Even in some places where it says, "avoid the tap water," on the advice of experienced travelers and resident expats I've occasionally used the tap water without any problems. That tends to be the case in some big cities in countries where you wouldn't drink the water in smaller towns or the countryside. But CDC doesn't make such distinctions.

As a cross check, you can also consult one or two guidebooks, which typically have something to say about drinking water and ice cubes. Fodor's and Frommer's generally track with CDC recommendations.

If you're traveling in a country with questionable water, keep in mind that you have to avoid exposure to local water in all of its forms. That means no ice cubes (other than in high-end hotels that promise use of bottled water in their ice-making), brushing your teeth with bottled water, and avoiding taking in any water when you shower. Yes, it's often a fuss, but a bad bout of diarrhea is much more of a fuss.

On the other hand, keep in mind that the hotels and restaurants have a vested interest in pushing the bottled water on you whether you need it or not. Their mantra seems to be, in Cole Porter's words," Never give anything away that you can sell." Even in countries where the tap water is perfectly OK, the default seems to be to try to sell you the bottled stuff.

In all my travels, I've had only one serious case of water-based sickness -- in Jerusalem. But that once was enough; when in doubt, go for the Evian, Vichy, San Pellegrino, or, as someone I know calls it, "Prairie Water."

(Send e-mail to Ed Perkins at eperkins@mind.net. Perkins' new book for small business and independent professionals, "Business Travel When It's Your Money," is now available through www.mybusinesstravel.com or www.amazon.com)

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New cruise ships

The new cruise ships slated to set sail in the next few years might not only be bigger, but also more crowded.

That is the new trend forecast by Paul Motter, Cruisemates.com co-founder. "The major lines are still building new ships," he says, "but the long-standing belief that the newest ships are always the best might no longer be true. The 2013-plus models are bigger but also far more crowded than the previous generation."

Motter points to the new ships planned by Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean International and Princess Cruises as examples. They "will carry far more passengers per square foot," he calculates.

The passenger space ratio — a measure of the space allotted each passenger — is shrinking. Norwegian's two new builds for 2012 and 2013 will drop by nearly 8 percent compared with the line's current Epic and Gem. The new ships will add about a third more passengers, but only increase the vessel's size by 11 percent.

Royal Caribbean, the holder of the world cup for largest vessels, has slowly contracted the amount of real estate devoted per passenger. Its earlier 138,279-ton Navigator of the Seas offered passengers a comfy passenger space ratio of 44.5; the later and much larger 225,282-ton Oasis of the Seas trimmed that to 41.7. When the line's new ships hit the water, the ratio will shrink to 38.5.

Princess' upcoming 141,000-ton twins will cut passenger elbow room by about 16 percent from the space available to passengers aboard its 115,875-ton Diamond Princess. Only Carnival Cruise Line's forthcoming Magic will both increase in size and, by some 12 percent, the passenger ratio.

For cruisers, there may be a bright spot: The new ships could easily cause a drop in fares, Motter says.

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Island gives chef tools he needs

LUMMI ISLAND, Wash. — The cooks are assigned homework. Once a week, sometimes more, The Willows Inn chef Blaine Wetzel sends his five cooks to forage in the wild. One might be tasked with elderflowers and crab apple blossoms, his job to pluck 30 flowers.

Often they'll find these wild plants in their backyards, literally. The restaurant staff all live on the nine-square-mile island, 20 miles south of the Canadian border in Washington state. Wetzel's home is located near the beach, where on days off, he'll bike to the water to gather sea beans and seaweed for dinner service.

Within the restaurant industry, ingredients traditionally pass through multiple sets of hands — the farmer, the food distributor, the deliveryman — before reaching the cooks. Then the "Eat Local" movement sprang up, and chefs began working directly with farmers.

What the 25-year-old Wetzel has cultivated on Lummi Island removes all intermediaries: They grow, forage, cook and serve everything. The only thing they buy commercially is oil and salt. What's notable is Wetzel's pedigree: The Olympia, Wash., native spent several years cooking at Noma, the Copenhagen restaurant voted best restaurant in the world two years running by Restaurant magazine (full disclosure: I'm a voting member of the World's 50 Best Restaurants Academy). Wetzel's cooking has attracted so much buzz that the New York Times name-checked the restaurant twice in the last year.

The Willows Inn (it's both a restaurant and a bed-and-breakfast) formed its philosophy out of necessity: Lummi Island, population 816, is reachable only by ferry after a two-hour drive from Seattle. The car ferry holds 20 or so vehicles and costs $7 round trip, and to ship produce from the mainland every day would be cost prohibitive. Plus, no delivery trucks would venture on the island for just one business. So the Willows Inn staffers grow what they need on their farm, located a mile up the hill from the inn. One-half mile south is the pasture where their 120 lambs graze. The restaurant could theoretically sustain itself even if Lummi Island broke off into the Strait of Georgia.

Until that happens, I'm sitting on the hotel's deck patio facing the sunset, metallic waters before me, cloud-crowned islands in the distance, the smell of cedar and pine wafting, and I'm thinking: How did I get into this Pacific Northwest tourism brochure? Then, to amplify the caricature, a bald eagle swoops by.

It's the same view from my dining room seat, where dinner begins at 7 p.m. sharp for everyone. The restaurant caps it at 30 guests each night, which means Wetzel and team have room to flex their creative muscles.

Wetzel's interpretation of creativity might be the opposite of what you'd expect — spare, subtle touches, a preference to undersalt, with ingredients you've never tasted or heard, colors you never thought possible on a plate.

It's visually arresting theater: a cedar container, modeled after Native American bentwood boxes, arrives with contents unknown, until the lid is removed and alderwood smoke escapes. Inside is one perfect bite of house-smoked sockeye salmon, caught by reef net boats that fish exclusively for the restaurant. A raw razor clam dish is unexpectedly, remarkably creamy, paired with grated horseradish ice and potatoes colored an impossible blue. And a pickled oyster ingeniously topped with sorrel is nature's mignonette, adding citric and herbaceous notes.

By the time the "Peter Rabbit" course arrives — a twig basket of pea shoots and raw turnips with an edible "dirt" of hazelnut and malt — the realization comes that this dinner could only exist here and now. In the finest restaurants in the world — Per Se, Alinea, The French Laundry — there's nothing New York, Chicago or Bay Area about those places. The Willows Inn has what the French call terroir: It is symbiotically connected with Lummi Island. Nowhere else could this food exist, in no other time can this menu take place.

It is challenging food, to be sure, but it is the restaurant equivalent of television's "The Wire." The gratifications are not always instant, but come the next day, week, month. There is little in the way of truffles, creams or heavy seasoning. Like wine that decants, Wetzel's cooking improves with time, when the floral aromas outside your room trigger memories of the wild cherry blossom ice cream and lemon verbena granita, adorned with velvety edible quince blossoms, wood violets and wild rose petals.

In my mind, some weeks later, those colors have only grown more vivid, the flavors more intense. That is a feat few restaurants can accomplish.

If you go

Lummi Island is located two hours north of Seattle and accessible only by a six-minute car ferry ride. It operates daily out of Bellingham. The set menu is $105 (wine pairing is extra). The inn, which dates back to 1912, has 15 rooms, with nightly rates ranging from $125 to $625 for the beach house. Breakfast (cooked by Wetzel's team) is included.

The Willows Inn

2579 West Shore Drive

Lummi Island, Wash.; 360-758-2620

kpang@tribune.com

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Six Flags, 50 years later

Somewhere between Skull Island and the Crazy Horse Saloon, I lost her. There I was in the blistering sun of a Texas summer, a 7-year-old in rumpled shorts and a pixie haircut, suddenly missing a sister 12 years my senior.

I remember feeling afraid, but I didn't panic. After all, brave little girls don't come to Six Flags to cry, though they might go there to get scared witless on a roller coaster.

Back then, there was only one Six Flags. And not even its founder expected the venture to last more than a few seasons. But on Aug. 5, when Six Flags Over Texas marks its golden anniversary, it does so as patriarch of an international entertainment empire.

It's quite a story. It's a Texas story. And like all who bonded with the original park, I take it personally. It wasn't just a fantasy place; this was where I lost and found my sister, this was where I discovered myself to be a cool-headed problem-solver.

That Six Flags was a product of a different time. Heading into 1961, the Dallas-Fort Worth rivalry for economic supremacy left the small towns between them struggling. Meanwhile, Disneyland was five years into a raging success in the Los Angeles suburb of Anaheim.

But for Texans, a California vacation was a daunting 1,400 miles away. And we were — are — patriotic about our state.

In that climate, the late Angus Wynne Jr. saw his opportunity: a regional family amusement park with attractions themed to Texas history. The flags of six nations really did fly over Texas: Spain, France, Mexico, the Republic of Texas (an independent nation for nine years), the Confederacy and the United States.

Halfway between Dallas and Fort Worth, little Arlington was eager for business. Mike Apple, who has been with Six Flags Over Texas since 1967 and is now director of operations, recalls that the impetus behind the park was to bring traffic to the Great Southwest Industrial District.

It worked. Fifty years later, I'm willing to claim that Six Flags Over Texas is responsible for places such as Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, the new Cowboys Stadium and a host of hotels, shops and restaurants that have sprung up only a few blocks away.

In 1961, Six Flags opened with what now sounds like a handful of attractions. A "cat-and-mouse"-style coaster, burro rides, a boat trip, a gunslinger show, an aerial gondola, a steam train, a touring-car ride, a carousel and not a whole lot more.

Set among towering trees and landscaped waterways, Six Flags was closer in spirit to Colonial Willamsburg or regional Renaissance fairs. Every aspect of the park told a Texas story. And Texans responded. More than 500,000 people came that first year, in a season that lasted only 45 days.

Today Six Flags covers 5,662 acres across 19 parks in the United States, Canada and Mexico, making it the world's largest regional theme-park company. It counts about 800 rides and 128 roller coasters. In 2010, even as it emerged from bankruptcy, this empire welcomed 24.3 million visitors.

Why do they keep coming? For many, such as coaster enthusiast David Lipnicky, it's because they grew up with Six Flags. Whenever his grandparents came from out of state for a visit, it always meant a three-generation outing to Six Flags Over Texas.

"It was Christmas and the Super Bowl all in one," he said.

Lipnicky, who has logged 2,125 rides on the now-classic Shock Wave steel coaster and is public relations director for American Coaster Enthusiasts, gives rave reviews for the park's all-new Texas Giant coaster, re-engineered for the 50th anniversary. And he's especially pleased Six Flags Over Texas has brought back a fondly remembered curiosity from the old days: Casa Magnetica, a house in which balls roll uphill.

But I'm still holding out for Skull Island.

If you go

Here's a sampling of what's hot at Six Flags, with single-day admission prices for adults/children/online. Access all parks online at sixflags.com.

California — Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, Vallejo, $50/$37/$37: Swim with dolphins. Six Flags Hurricane Harbor, Valencia, $35/$25/$30: River Cruise, 1,300-foot-long lazy river. Six Flags Magic Mountain, Valencia, $62/$37/$37: Green Lantern First Flight, vertical spinning coaster.

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Dinner with the Indiana Amish

SHIPSHEWANA, Ind. — Like a memorable scene from the movie "Witness," the red and white tractor-trailer rig seems almost alien as it roars past the nondescript horse and buggy along Indiana State Road 5 south of Shipshewana.

It's a classic Kodak moment, but for the photographer who didn't get the lens cap removed quickly enough, there's no need to fret. Here in LaGrange County, Ind., where four out of 10 residents are Old Order Amish, another photo-worthy buggy will be clip-clopping down the road in a matter of minutes.

No, the Amish won't stop what they're doing to pose for pictures — that's against their religion — but they truly don't mind if you take a snapshot or two while they're going about their business. And if you happen to meet one in a local shop, he or she will gladly take the time to chat in a Midwestern accent that bears no resemblance to their European ancestors'. Just be respectful and don't interrupt if that Amish person is already busy on his or her cellphone.

There may not be power lines running to their homes, but that doesn't mean the Amish who live in and around Shipshewana are disconnected from their non-Amish neighbors, whom they call the English. They mingle with them and the tens of thousands of tourists who visit each year on a daily basis. Many of the Amish men work in the northeast Indiana factories where recreational vehicles are built. Their children attend public schools with the English, at least until the eighth grade.

"They're very worldly because of that," explained Beth Thornburg, executive director of the LaGrange County Convention &Visitors Bureau.

Generally, the Amish women are left at home to tend to the more traditional and stereotypical jobs, such as quilting and cooking.

For Loretta Schlabach, that doesn't mean simply making dinner for her husband, Lavoyd, a welder, and their teenage son, Lyle. On most days during the warmer months, she's busy pulling together a feast for a dozen or more English.

The Schlabachs are a family who has teamed with Bill Miller, owner of Miller's Buggy Line Tours, to provide a delightful opportunity to meet and chat with some Amish people while enjoying a bountiful home-cooked meal.

"We thank you for this food," Miller says as he leads his guests in a premeal prayer. It's followed by a hearty "amen" from the 13 people seated around the Schlabachs' large dining room table, which is adorned with colorful dahlias.

Loretta is assisted by her husband and son in carrying from the kitchen seemingly endless platters of food. Served family-style, the meal consists of tossed salad, mashed potatoes, baked ham and chicken, noodles, green beans and freshly baked bread served with cinnamon butter and raspberry jam. There are various pies for dessert. Everything's delicious, plentiful and, of course, homemade.

The Schlabachs delight in chatting with visitors. The questions from the curious English, who this evening come from six states, mostly focus on the Amish lifestyle: things such as their simple clothing, the language they speak among themselves (Pennsylvania Dutch, a dialect derived from German, the word "Dutch" actually referring to "Deutsch") and their faith.

"I want to be Amish. My impression is that they got it right, and we got it wrong," said Crystal Mosher, a tourist from Port Huron, Mich., after the meal.

"I used to be really bewildered by them," she continued. "I just thought, 'Are they nuts? How do they expect their children to keep their faith?'

"I just felt that it was incredibly impractical and that they were just backward. But I don't believe that anymore. They have a peaceful, simple lifestyle, and I crave it," Mosher concluded.

"Once in a while, I'll hear that remark," Miller said. Visitors "admire the simplicity that they live by and also the humility they have toward each other.

"But then, when you stop and realize (an Amish family has) no car, no electricity, no TV (and) no radio, it doesn't take long for them to change their minds," he said of the visitors.

The interaction works two ways, according to Schlabach, who said she cooks dinner for about 1,000 English each summer. "I enjoy it," she said. "We learn a lot."

"They get it. They understand what a visitor is looking for," said the visitors bureau's Thornburg. They know "that visitors are willing to pay to see traditional Amish culture."

Within a few miles of Shipshewana are Amish homes selling everything from fresh produce to hickory rocking chairs to wind chimes. For the bigger-ticket items, many Amish vendors accept credit cards.

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