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Labor Day Gas Hikes
You can expect already-high gas prices to peak this Labor Day weekend as 35 million Americans hit the road for one last summer hurrah. But don't worry; the experts say prices will fall in a week or two, as they traditionally do at the end of summer road trip season.

Amtrak Aims to Please
If you've been awaiting the chance to take Amtrak's new high-speed East Coast train, the Acela, you'll have to wait until at least next spring, thanks to a maintenance problem with the train's wheels. Express service was supposed to begin this fall. Meanwhile, Amtrak promises one improvement: a customer satisfaction guarantee. If you're not happy with their service, you get a voucher for a free trip. And that policy will go into effect this year.

Turbulent Skies Around the Globe
And it's been rough going in the skies at home and abroad. Last Tuesday at least 70 people died when a plane from the Argentinian airline LAPA crashed on take-off from Buenos Aires, in Argentina's worst air disaster ever. Wednesday, a safari charter plane crashed in Tanzania, killing all 12 aboard, including ten American tourists. And on Thursday two flights leaving Los Angeles had problems: a Southwest plane lost a wheel and made an emergency landing at nearby Ontario, and a United shuttle to San Francisco hit severe turbulence that sent more than a dozen to the hospital with injuries.

Vive la France meets Viva Las Vegas
Well, Vive la France meets Viva Las Vegas in the new Paris-Las Vegas hotel-casino that opened last Wednesday, complete with a replica of the Eiffel Tower. Our good friends Ron and Sheila Clark were there for the opening night fête, so I thought I'd give them a call.

Hotel Clerk: "Bonjour, Paris Las Vegas."

Rudy: "Monsieur Ron Clark s'il vous plait."

Hotel Clerk: "I'm sorry, I only speak a little bit of French."

Rudy: "Mr. Ron Clark, please."

Ron: "Hello?"

Rudy: "They don't speak a lot of French down there at the desk..."

Ron: "Yeah, that's the funny thing...they said they all had to take courses."

Rudy: "Do you feel like you're in France?"

Ron: "You really do. It's a big surprise."

Rudy: "Are you kidding?"

Ron: "The exterior looks like one of those great trains stations in Paris...ironwork...beautiful rooms...50-story Eiffel tower. And someone told me that at the top, there's going to be a wedding chapel."

Perfect. I love Las Vegas.

Vive la France meets Viva Las Vegas
But if Paris in Vegas isn't enough make-believe for you, how about a map of Dreamland? The Library of Congress offers "Language of the Land," a book that charts fictional places, like the location of Tom Sawyer's whitewashed fence, or a map of Oz and the Emerald City. The authors say their maps present a world where books are the dominant features.

Travel Advisory
by Cheryl Glaser

Forest Fires out West
Fires continue throughout the West, in parts of California, Montana, Idaho, and Utah. Highways and backroads are jammed with trucks bringing in relief crews and supplies.

Hurricane Havoc on the East Coast
And Hurricane Dennis brought more than rain to the Atlantic Coast. Hundreds of jellyfish have been washed ashore in Virginia's beach communities, such as Chesapeake, Norfolk, and Virginia Beach. They've even been appearing on sidewalks, and lawns. But experts say these are "moon jellyfish" and although they sting, they're not the kind that wrap themselves around your legs with their tendrils.