LOUISIANA TRAVEL NEWS

Latest Local & International Travel News, Guides, Information & Planning Tips

This much is clear: Many of you want to be there. Period.

JAE C. HONG / THE ASSOCIATED PRESSPresident-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden greet their constituents in Chicago's Grant Park after election results were posted Nov. 4.

So what if you have no reservations or even a clue of how you're going to get there or where you are going to stay.

So what if your view of President-elect Barack Obama taking his oath of office as the 44th president of the United States probably will be via giant Jumbotron screens set up around the U.S. Capitol and on The Mall.

Just being in Washington as it happens is what matters.

REFURBISHED NCL SHIP SPENDS WINTER IN N.O.

After a multimillion dollar renovation, Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Spirit returns to New Orleans Nov. 23 to begin weeklong, round trip Caribbean cruises from here through April 4.

Distance from New Orleans, about 1,500 miles

Ann Landry and Dana Hladky

"To celebrate 25 years of friendship and a 40th birthday, Ann and Dwayne Landry, Darren Ledet and I traveled to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic," writes Dana Hladky of Covington.

The problem: Can you help me with an airline reservation? I recently bought a ticket on South African Airways, through Virgin Atlantic Airways, to fly from Los Angeles to Johannesburg. My credit card was charged and the airline promised to send me a paper ticket.

MILLIE BALL / THE TIMES-PICAYUNEDoorman Chris Howard guards and greets at the front of the Monteleone Hotel in New Orleans.

Michael was so pleasant, in his late 40s perhaps, slender with kind bluish eyes and dimples that deepened when he smiled. Too bad about his gambling problems.

And it was such a shame he was stabbed seven times in the Monteleone hotel stairwell.

Distance from New Orleans, about 5,000 miles

Kaelin Ochsner, Lori Ochsner (mother of Kaelin and Brooke), Sam Blomquist (tour guide), Brooke Ochsner (holding paper), Jeff Scurlock, Kathryn Scurlock, Lock Ochsner (father) and J.J. Fourie (tour guide)

"We are standing in front of what is arguably the most famous building in Barcelona, the architect Gaudi's Sagrada Familia," writes Lori Ochsner of New Orleans.

The problem: I need your help with a cruise booking that's gone terribly wrong. More than two years ago, I tried to buy a Caribbean cruise for my parents though Travelocity. At the end of the process, the site crashed and I lost my reservation. I called Travelocity and explained what happened. We finished the reservation by phone, and the online agency e-mailed a confirmation.

Thinking about going to Washington for President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration? Top hotels were booked long ago, but check www.expedia.com/inauguration for some ideas on how to plan your trip, including attractions and museums (most of which are free). One bit of advice is to stay in Bethesda, Md., or Alexandria, Va., in a hotel near a Metro station stop.

The 82-year-old Delta Queen steamboat, the country's only floating National Historic Landmark and a vestige of New Orleans' glory days as a port city, docked for what was likely the last time Thursday night at the Julia Street Wharf.

Barring congressional intervention, it was the final stop on the farewell cruise for the last remaining steamboat carrying overnight passengers up and down America's rivers, and the only one made of wood.

CHRIS GRANGER / THE TIMES-PICAYUNEThe 82-year-old Delta Queen steamboat cruises between the two spans of the Crescent City Connection in New Orleans on Thursday, November 6, on what probably is her final voyage.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- In a dank, stony hallway beneath a towering obelisk, I stop in the shadows of the innermost part of Abraham Lincoln's tomb, as close to the president's remains as a visitor can stand.

Here lies Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, his wife and three sons who died before manhood, a family scarred by personal tragedy, yet marked by public triumph.

COURTESY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN AND MUSEUMLifesize models of Lincoln, his wife and three sons, who died young, welcome visitors to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Ill.

SPRINFIELD, Ill. -- Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama have ties to Lincoln or to Illinois, the Land of Lincoln. As we entered the Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum here, I asked Illinois state historian Tom Schwartz what he would show the candidates on a visit.

SUSAN POAG / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE ARCHIVEFederal Judge Christopher Juge, from Algiers, donated this portrait he painted of Abraham Lincoln to the Lincoln Museum.

The words museum and library can be off-putting, but several of the presidential museums -- especially those of more recent presidents -- are creations of a different sort.

While I've been to only two -- Lyndon Johnson's and Bill Clinton's -- I was intrigued by what i saw. Both have replicas of the Oval Office and display inaugural clothes, gifts from foreign leaders and papers that should fascinate even those who don't think they're that interested in politics.

MILLIE BALL / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE ARCHIVEVisitors can sit at this replica of the White House Cabinet Room table in the Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock, Ark., and interact with computers that tell how the president made decisions and describe the jobs of various cabinet members.

U.S. RAIL PASS

Amtrak 's Rail Pass, previously sold only to travelers who live outside of the United States, is now available to Americans.

A 15-day pass offers eight segments of travel for $389; the fee is $194.50 for ages 2 to 15. A 30-day pass provides 12 segments for $579; it's $289.50 for children. And a 45-day pass includes 18 segments of travel for $749; ages 2 to 15 pay $374.50. A segment is counted each time a passenger boards another train or connecting Amtrak Thruway bus.

Distance from New Orleans, about 4,500 miles

(From left, more or less) Tim Spaulding, Oliver Spaulding, Ross McWilliams, Dori Spaulding, Clare McNulty, Kathy Olmstead, Todd Paden, Susan Ingraham, Lars Wedin, Jimmy Simpson, Brant Synder, John Burke and Amy Jones

'Here we are getting in the football (American football that is) mood for the New Orleans Saints versus San Diego Chargers game in London," writes Tim Spaulding. "We're about 300 feet above the River Thames, having a blast on the London Eye.

The problem: Last year I earned enough Marriott loyalty points to score a cruise with Carnival for my 25th anniversary. I followed all of the rules carefully. We booked a cabin and a certificate was issued for the cruise.

But four months before the departure, I learned that Marriott has not and will not sign a new contract with Carnival, effectively canceling my vacation.