Mark and Dana Klaus love Christmas. Big time.

Cities are often rated by appearance; how they gleam, how they charm.

Paul Petrehn flies like the wind, and in one hour I catch the drift about how, where and why.

“Outstandingly good or special in some respect.”

The thrill of travel is about discovering the unexpected, be it one town over or an ocean away.

In Frank and Jane Martucci’s California home is a framed letter from June 2018 that says this:

Word of the day is “schmivitz,” and there is no dictionary definition. Yet.

September opened with Labor Day, the holiday that acknowledges our toils to pay the bills, snag a promotion, gain independence, feel worthwhile and maybe leave a tangible mark on the world.

I hear that people want to know more about the origin of their food.

Take time for a little or big getaway.

My wife Julie, my oldest son Davyd, my daughter-in-law Kim, and I were on plane pointed seriously north.

Near the northwest corner of Illinois is resilient little Galena, which wears its history as a badge of honor and foundation for tourism.

My cousin Jan always does the planning when we travel together. She takes pleasure in finding a good hotel, filling an itinerary with activities and researching places to eat about as much as I find it tedious and frustrating.

Let me tell you a tall tale about the Kingdom of the Giants.

In Wisconsin is a high level of enthusiasm for squeaky-fresh cheese curds, a mild and young variety of cheese.

Birthdays and anniversaries that end in a zero tend to generate more attention than average in our personal lives.

Jackie and Sara Woods’ doughnuts and breakfast sandwiches pop up here and there in the Milwaukee area. It’s been that way around eight months.

Watch the movie “Alice in Wonderland” sometime and pay attention to the crazed guy at that tea party.

Boosting the profile of outdoor recreation is a priority for Sara Meaney, Wisconsin’s new secretary-designee for tourism.

No matter how you slice it — or spread it, shred it or cube it — Wisconsin cheese is worth a road trip.

A class with cocktails: That’s how Taylore Ransom and Erik Rozolis of Janesville spent a recent Saturday afternoon in Madison.

On the dreariest of winter days, fog obscures otherwise gorgeous views from the 23rd floor of The Pfister Hotel in downtown Milwaukee.

On Gena Williams’ resume is work as a Delta flight attendant, and clerk for Julian Bond when he was a state senator in Georgia.

Encased in glass is a two-page letter, neatly typed and labeled confidential.

Prohibition ended nationwide 85 years ago, so now is a particularly appropriate time to hoist that hot toddy.

The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, the largest children’s museum in the world and often called the best, is literally a feast of color, sound and flavors for both children and their grownups.

Moran. Cassatt. Wyeth. Van Gogh. Sargent. Monet. Paxton. Klimt. Bouguereau. Hopper. O’Keeffe. Bateman. Wiley.

You could spend a whole vacation in Los Angeles and not come close to seeing everything — from the beach to Hollywood to world-class art museums and music venues.

Here’s to the new, as in partnerships, transitions, decisions and distinctions in the world of close-to-home travel.

One way to get to know a city is through its attractions — the monuments, museums, biggest and best local marks of distinction.

Just a few miles outside of Detroit sits Cranbrook, a National Historical Landmark that critics have called “the most enchanting architectural setting in the United States.”

Time for another ghoulishly good time as the approach of Halloween brings out goblins and gore galore. Haunted houses aren’t the only option for scaring yourself silly this month. Consider this range of terrifying settings. Several are all-volunteer efforts whose proceeds help local charities.

Crossing the bumpy prairies in covered wagons would have been so much nicer for the pioneers if those prairie schooners had air conditioning.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Visitors to the newly renovated American Airlines’ C.R. Smith Museum can sit at the controls of an MD-80 cockpit.

The recent decades haven’t been all that kind to Detroit. 

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — When I started out on my trail ride on a scorching day with temperatures well into the 90s, I didn’t know I would be riding from Wyoming to Colorado. 

In a modest residential area — near farmland, railroad tracks and tall grain storage silos — is an almost-full parking lot at 5:30 p.m. on an average Thursday.

Approaching the Distillery District from downtown Lexington, Ky., motorists are taken aback by the large black-and-red mural depicting what looks to be — depending on your perspective — a demented scuba diver, a man wearing a gas mask, or more menacingly, a prison inmate flashing what may or…

We are high above ground and just below the signature “G” that looms 40 feet tall and 60 feet wide. 

MONTREAL — In recent years, I have made it something of a habit to celebrate my birthday in some far-flung corner of the world. I’ve gotten a year older in Munich, Germany; Lausanne, Switzerland; New Zealand and Hong Kong among other places.

No manmade monument in the United States is taller than Gateway Arch, at the Mississippi River in downtown St. Louis, and big-time renovations turned the area into a national park this year.

The last time I saw the Picardie region of France was in 1978.

Millennials want shorter, more frequent, but still “Instagrammable” vacations, and Royal Caribbean spent $120 million on one 15-year-old ship to give them that.

At the turn of the century, America’s wild bison — which at one time numbered 60 million — had dwindled to about two dozen animals. 

BRYCE CANYON CITY, Utah — For many years, I have been eager to take a trip to the Grand Canyon. My wife Sue Kittelson had visited a long time ago, and I longed to personally witness one of the seven wonders of the world.

Bison run faster than humans, I thought on my morning jog, as I panted down the slope.

The Grey Lady is gorgeous. 

Much of Itasca State Park, 125 miles northwest of Minneapolis, feels secluded on a 90-degree Saturday afternoon.

“Who wants to be the co-pilot?” Evan Frostman asks.