Around this time of year, experts often remind air travelers that holiday sanity can come wrapped in an airplane ticket to a secondary or alternate airport.

Their advice: Fly to smaller, easily accessible airports such as Oakland International instead of San Francisco, Baltimore Washington International over Dulles or Milwaukee’s General Mitchell International over Chicago’s O’Hare.

“Not only does flying into alt-city airports usually save travelers money and time, it also alleviates frequent travel frustrations that typically go hand-in-hand with major city airports,” said John Peters of Rand McNally/Tripology, who said parking is often cheaper and easier at secondary airports.

Another plus: Tickets are typically cheaper when you fly into alternate airports, as they are often served by low-cost carriers.

“Smaller airports usually have shorter security lines as well,” added American Express Travel Specialist Tanisha Sanders.

Stay awhile

A potential downside to the alternate airport plan is costlier transportation costs when traveling to your actual, larger-city destination. Unless, that is, you stick around.

“Alt-cities not only help travelers avoid hassles,” said Jennifer Gaines, contributing editor for Travelocity. “Compared to their larger city counterparts, alt-cities usually have hotel rates that can be much lower.”

Gaines sampled rates for a weekend in early January 2011 and found rooms at the Fairmont San Jose for $121 per night versus $207 per night for the same type of room at the Fairmont in San Francisco. “Fly into Baltimore Washington International and stay in Baltimore instead of going to Washington, D.C., and you can stay at the Loews Annapolis for $111 a night compared to The Madison, also a Loews hotel, in D.C. for $229 a night,” said Gaines. “And if you fly into Newark-Liberty Airport, you can stay at the W Hoboken, right on the Hudson, for $179 a night. If you go to New York City and stay at the W Times Square, the rate is $218 a night.”

What to do?

“Many alt-cities are cheaper yet still terrific destinations brimming with terrific restaurants, local art scenes and fun family attractions,” said Peters of Rand McNally/Tripology, who offered Fort Lauderdale as an example.

The airport has a wide selection of low-cost and popular air carriers, while the city offers a vacation experience similar to the costlier Miami, located 35 minutes away, he said.

“Fort Lauderdale has pristinely beautiful weather, is close to beaches and has diverse hotels and a growing arts and entertainment scene,” Peters said. “Visitors can stroll along the Downtown Riverwalk Art & Entertainment District, visit the Museum of Discovery & Science with kids, take an airboat tour of the Everglades or relax at Fort Lauderdale’s Deerfield Beach, which is a much better beach for families than Miami’s South Beach.”

Sanders of American Express Travel noted that vacationers don’t need to give up luxury, either. “You could stay in Fort Lauderdale at the Atlantic Hotel for approximately $270 a night versus staying on Miami Beach, where you’ll pay $545 a night for the Delano,” she said. “The only difference is location.”

For those choosing a visit to Oakland over San Francisco, Sanders recommends a free tour of Oakland’s Fornia Fortune Cookies factory (where the secret of how fortunes get inserted inside cookies is revealed) and a visit to the classic Art Deco Paramount Theater, which hosts movies, ballet, concerts, stand-up comedy and performances by Oakland East Bay Symphony.

Travelocity’s Gaines said Newark, N.J., is a great alternative to New York City. “Newark has a very large Portuguese population, and in the Ironbound District there’s a selection of great restaurants you wouldn’t expect when you think of Newark,” she said. Other attractions include the Prudential Center — which hosts the New Jersey Nets, New Jersey Devils, concerts and other events — and the Newark Museum, which has 80 galleries, a mini-zoo, a planetarium and a Victorian mansion.

Patrick Evans of STA Travel, a discount student-oriented travel agency, said many people fly into Buffalo and drive to Toronto to avoid international fees, but, he said, “staying in Buffalo offers a ton of great options. You can head over to Niagara Falls to visit the beautiful Buffalo Japanese Garden or take in the nightlife, which stays open until 4 a.m.”

Evans also suggests an alternative to Raleigh, S.C. “Spend some time in Greensboro, where you can check out the International Civil Rights Center and Museum, which is housed in the same building as the famous Greensboro sit-ins.”

Milwaukee’s best

“For years, Milwaukee’s General Mitchell International has touted its benefits — namely affordable fares and overall convenience — in an effort to lure Chicago O’Hare passengers,” said Pat Rowe, an airport spokesperson.

The strategy has been working. The airport has seen an increase in travelers flying into Milwaukee and then driving or taking the train to Chicago.

Milwaukee has plenty to offer visitors who stick around. “There’s the Miller Brewing Company and the amazing Discovery World, a science center located on the lakefront,” Evans said. Mummies of the World, the largest assembled exhibition of mummies and related artifacts, is now at the Milwaukee Public Museum, and Milwaukee is also home to the Harley-Davidson Museum.

Visitors can also pose for a thumbs-up photo with the bronze statue of The Fonz, Henry Winkler’s character “Happy Days,” said Dave Fantle of VisitMilwaukee.org. “That’s much cooler than posing with the bronze statue of Bob Newhart in Chicago.”

Not all travel experts get behind the alternate city idea, however.

Pauline Frommer, syndicated radio show host and creator of a popular guidebook series, doesn’t buy the theory.

“All these cities do have worthwhile attractions, but I just don’t think they have them to the scale or the depth of the competing cities. I’m sorry, but a big city like Chicago, with the Field Museum and the new park and all the other attractions just trumps Milwaukee,” she said.

“Even if it does have some fun breweries.”

(This story originally appeared on msnbc.com: Smaller cities offer alternative to big-city vacations.)

Sarah Palin would say, “You betcha.”

When it comes to a place as big and as beautiful and as unpredictable as Alaska, though, I’d have to say “no way.”  Nothing can outshine Alaska. But when it comes to luring tourists, some extra spotlight action can’t hurt.

Here’s the story:

“[A] nature series for political voyeurs,” the New York Times proclaimed. “[M]ore than just your average nature series,” said the New York Post. “A hybrid of adventure travel, documentary — and, despite Palin’s protests, reality TV,” added USA TODAY.

The highly anticipated “Sarah Palin’s Alaska” debuted Sunday night on TLC. The eight-part series features the former Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential candidate, her family — and the incredibly scenic state of Alaska.

Some TV viewers couldn’t wait to see the show. Others said they wouldn’t tune in. “I have no intention of watching it,” said Nancy DeWitt of Fairbanks.

“It will be hard not to watch,” predicted Toronto resident Dian Emery, who likened it to driving by a car accident.

But many people in the Frontier State are far more interested in the show’s potential impact on tourism.

Palin produces
When it comes to promoting Alaska as a destination, Palin is a proven producer. “She really does love Alaska and, irrespective of her political leanings, her passion for her home state shows when she talks about it,” said Kathy Dunn, director of consumer marketing for the Alaska Travel Industry Association (ATIA).

“During the year Palin was the GOP vice-presidential candidate, there was a 4 percent increase in the number of people expressing interest in visiting Alaska,” Dunn said. “Our marketing budget and marketing components were roughly the same as the prior year, so we attribute much of that interest to the fact that Gov. Palin was putting Alaska in the national spotlight.”

That spotlight shone brightly on Palin’s hometown of Wasilla. This past summer, Palin-related souvenirs and guided tours were popular with visitors. Bonnie Quill, director of the Matanuska-Susitna Convention and Visitor Bureau, noticed a lot of people standing in front of the “Welcome to Wasilla” sign, posing for pictures. “That would never have been a visitor activity before Palin’s fame,” she said.

“Forget Mount McKinley and dog mushing,” said Scott McMurren, publisher of the Alaska TourSaver travel discount book. “When someone from Alaska goes anywhere in the world and people find out we’re from Alaska, it’s all about Sarah Palin.”

The producers of the “Sarah Palin’s Alaska” hope her celebrity status remains high profile and bankable. So do tourism vendors such as Kirsten Dixon, owner of the Within the Wild Adventure Company, which operates three remote lodges in south central Alaska.

Palin’s crew spent a day filming at one of Dixon’s lodges, so she has already reaped some benefit from having the TV series set in Alaska. Now Dixon is waiting to see if there will be a measurable uptick in business that can be tied to the show. “We have a bear-viewing lodge. Sarah Palin saw bears on the show. We’re hoping viewers might have an interest in crafting that same sort of experience,” Dixon said.

Ready for its close-up
In the TLC series, Sarah Palin and family set out for well-documented adventures of fishing, hunting, dog-sledding, glacier climbing and more.

“Anything that increases the interest in Alaska as a pristine and wild environment — which is really what we’re selling — is a plus,” said Ron Peck, president of ATIA. “It’s all about additional exposure for our destination.”

Throughout the series, all Alaska has to do is sit there looking rugged, wild, majestic, pristine and picture-book pretty. It’s a role the state’s scenery has played before, most recently on “Deadliest Catch,” a popular Discovery Channel show about fishing crab in Alaska’s Dutch Harbor. Then there’s the History Channel’s “Ice Road Truckers,” which tracks a group of long-haul truck drivers along the treacherous route between Fairbanks and Prudhoe Bay.

Peck knows a lot of people on the political left will never watch Sarah Palin’s new show. But he also knows there are plenty of people on the right who will. “There are people who adore Sarah and will turn on the show just because it’s Sarah,” he said, “but I’m most interested in those people who fall in the moderate middle. They may turn on the program and gain an interest in coming to Alaska just because they see it in the show.”

Play like Palin
Most of the adventures Sarah Palin experiences in the series can be recreated by viewers. To that end, the producers of the series plan to post background information, links and resources about many of the activities, locations and service providers from each show on the series website. Additional information about Palin-style adventures will be found on Alaska’s official tourism website.

“Alaska tourism has taken a hard hit in the recent economic downturn and a lot of us think ‘Sarah Palin’s Alaska’ might be good for tourism and the state,” said Mercedes Theuer, a Fairbanks resident spending a year doing graduate work in Washington, D.C.

On Friday, Theuer was adamant she was not going to watch the show, but on Sunday night, she and her boyfriend ended up turning on the TV. “Yes, we were watching Palin’s show,” she said 10 minutes after it started. “Call it morbid curiosity.”

Researching the story was an educational and quite sobering experience.

And as the column title says: Travelers with disabilities face obstacles at airports.

Sadly, that’s the case far too often at far too many airports. But if you read through the column a bit, you’ll see that there have been some improvements.  And a lot of those fixes end up making it easier for everyone to travel.

Here’s most of that column:

With laws such as the Air Carrier Access Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, you might assume that people with disabilities no longer encounter obstacles at U.S. airports.

Unfortunately, that’s not true. “Frankly, there isn’t enough policing going on to go look at all these airports to see if they’re 100% compliant,” notes Tim Joniec of the Houston Airport System. “So at some airports it may take a traveler complaining about a service that isn’t there before attention is paid to a problem.”

And even if a traveler does lodge a complaint, “you’d be surprised at how many airports, including some enormous ones, just don’t care,” says Eric Lipp, the executive director of the Open Doors Organization (ODO), a non-profit that works with businesses and the disability community.

For those that do care, next month the Open Doors Organization (ODO) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) will host a conference about universal access in airports. On the agenda: tools, technology and training to help both airports and airlines do a better job of serving travelers with disabilities.

One topic sure to be discussed is money. About 55 million people in this country have some sort of disability. This community spends upwards of $14 billion a year on travel; more than $3 billion a year on airplane tickets alone.

With medical care and life expectancy improving, the number of travelers with disabilities is predicted to increase to more than 80 million in the next 20 years. Yet, when the Open Doors Organization surveyed adults with disabilities about travel, more than 80% reported encountering obstacles at airports and with airline personnel.

Universal access universally helpful

Lipp and others point out that removing obstacles at airports makes traveling easier for all passengers, not just those with disabilities. And there are plenty of examples of how making changes makes sense.

Curb cuts help those with strollers and wheeled luggage as much as they assist travelers using wheelchairs, walkers, canes or scooters. Family bathrooms are great for parents traveling with small children, but special lavatories at airports also offer grab bars and other amenities that a disabled traveler, or one traveling with an attendant, might find useful. Many general-use airport bathrooms are cleaner due to ADA-compliant self-flush toilets, automatic faucets and motion-sensing paper towel dispensers. And weave-through entryways reduce germs by eliminating the need for everyone to grab the door handle.

Visual-paging systems, like the high-tech ones now installed airport-wide at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, were originally created to assist hearing-impaired passengers. But all passengers can benefit from having an additional way to receive emergency messages and courtesy pages.

And of course, air passengers must be able to get to the gate before they can fly.

At George Bush Intercontinental Airport, passengers must now either walk or negotiate elevators, escalators or a bus when trying to reach Terminal A from Terminal B. That barrier will disappear in October when the airport’s above-ground train finally links Terminal A to the other four terminals. “Those with mobility challenges will certainly benefit from this,” says the airport’s Tim Joniec, “But because 70% of our passengers make a connection at IAH, this will definitely be noticed by all travelers.”

Some airlines embrace universal access

Airlines, which are responsible for providing wheelchair services at airports, have also made some special accommodations that end up smoothing out the journey for all passengers.

If you travel with a pet, you’ve probably noticed more fenced, landscaped animal relief areas at airports. Those pet parks are popping up because the Carrier Access Act now requires airlines to make relief areas available for service dogs accompanying travelers.

Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air often uses ramps instead of stairs to board all passengers, not just those using wheelchairs, onto smaller Horizon planes at gates where jet bridges are unavailable. “That way no one has to negotiate steep steps to and from the airplane and everyone can enter the airplane the same way,” says Ray Prentice, Alaska Airlines’ director of Customer Advocacy.

And for the past three years, Continental Airlines (which will legally merge with United Airlines on October 1st) has been getting feedback and advice from a thirteen member advisory board made up of passengers with disabilities.

Before the board was in place, the airline would wait for a passenger with a disability to complain about an access issue before a policy would get tweaked.  Continental’s disability programs manager Bill Burnell says “Now we can anticipate problem areas before they become complaints. And try to go beyond the minimum ADA requirements. We’ve learned there’s a big difference between something being ADA compliant and it being universally accessible.”

A 1954 Yellowstone Travel Trailer - with two doors

So I was intrigued when I saw a story about the 26-foot 1958 Airstream Overlander trailer being gutted and re-modeled by a group of students at Washington State University in Spokane.

They’ve been working on it all summer and, according to a university report, “Part of the focus of the project is to explore the sustainability issues of today’s society and challenge the current image of the travel trailer industry.”

They’ve gutted the inside, but luckily they’re committed to preserving the trailer’s historic exterior character.

Here’s a short video on their progress:

And here’s the part I’m especially excited about: this fall, when the Airstream is all shiny and renovated,  the students will be taking the trailer on the road to show off their handiwork.  (And party?) After that, the updated WSU Airstream trailer will be either given away in a contest or sold. To find out what happens, follow them on Facebook or Twitter.

And for inspiration, here are few photos from the collection of the RV Museum and Hall of Fame:

Mae West's 1931 Chevrolet trailer

1936 Airstream Clipper

(Vintage RV photos courtesy RV Museum and Hall of Fame)

If I could, I’d stop first in Richmond, British Columbia, a short SkyTrain ride away from the Vancouver International Airport to watch 13 million (!!) locally-grown cranberries get dumped into the Fraser River in front of the Richmond Olympic Oval to form a  giant floating version of the maple leaf, rings and flame that make up the Canadian Olympic Committee logo.

Then I’d head over to the Dusseldorf International Airport to see if they finished trucking in enough snow (and turned the temperature down low enough) to make the world’s first indoor ski jump in an airport.   When they sent this photo, they were just waiting for the snow to arrive.

It would be fun, too, to stop at New York’s Albany International Airport (ALB), where the newest art show, Material Witness, is now underway.

And it might be interesting to touch down in Wichita, Kansas.  The Wichita Art Museum is one of the 100 or so museums around the country where Bank of America account holders can get free admission this weekend as part of the Museums on Us program.  And look what the Wichita Art Museum is using to promote an exhibition of works of paper.

(Robert Cottingham, Wichita (1985)

But, alas, the ability to be everywhere at once is not my super power.

So instead, I’ll stick close to home this weekend and pay a visit to the Museum of Flight, just up the road from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, where there’s an exhibit titled  In Search of Amelia Earhart.

This exhibit includes many of Earhart’s personal artifacts,  including a suede jacket she wore on her 1932 solo transatlantic flight, two flight suits, a helmet,  a scarf,  newsreel footage and photos.

Amelia Earhart and her Lockheed L-10E Electra NR 16020 c. 1937. | The Museum of Flight

I really like those kooky lounges. Riding on them always offers a unique view of the airport.  And there’s a black and white picture somewhere in the airport’s archives that explains the “lounge” part perfectly: it shows females attendants serving drinks to passengers on their way to the plane.

Even this photo shows travelers who seem to have no worries at all about making their connecting flights.

There are certainly some upsides to the AeroTrain.

One benefit is that right now there’s a photography exhibit in the tunnel connecting the temporary Concourse C with the C-Gates AeroTrain station.

(Photo by: Kanji Takeno)

The exhibit “Washington, DC: Through Our Eyes,” includes photos shot by members of the White House News Photographers Association. The 44 photos currently on display are just the first group of more than 200 photos that will be displayed on a rotating basis.

And,  if you find yourself with a long layover at Dulles International Airport (IAD) and have wrung all the excitement out of riding the AeroTrain and looking at the photo exhibit, then check out the cool stuff at the National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center just down the road.

The museum is big enough for the to Smithsonian to display thousands of aviation and space artifacts that just won’t fit on the National Mall.  Like the Boeing B-29 Superfortress  “Enola Gay.”

Christmas week is always a big deal for airports and air travel.

This year, as usual, lines are long, people are cranky, and there’s a storm wreaking havoc with schedules and everyone’s best laid plans.

So, it’s a good bet that if you’re traveling by air this week, you’re going to spend some time being stuck at an airport. Remember to bring supplies such as books, snacks, a charged cell phone, and some extra cash to buy a few last minute gifts.

And remember to look around: some airports are hosting complimentary gift wrapping stations and many airports have scheduled holiday events and entertainment.

Here are just a few examples:

The Chicago Airport System’s schedule of “Holiday Delights” continues at both O’Hare Airport and Midway through Wednesday, December 23^rd with performances by local blues, jazz, international, R&B performers, barbershop quartets and carolers. There will also be children’s workshops and a visit from Santa Claus.

Both airports are also offering free gift wrapping, past security, on December 21 and 23 with wrapping paper and gift bags created by students from the After School Matters program.

On Monday December 21^st, Southwest Airlines and The Container Store join forces to offer free gift wrapping at Dallas Love Field, Phoenix Sky Harbor, Denver International, Saint Louis Lambert International, and Baltimore-Washington International airports. Here are some details about locations and times.

Free gift wrapping continues in various spots around Phoenix Sky Harbor airport through December 24th and through Wednesday at San Diego International Airport. Check your airport’s Web site to see if free gift wrapping is being offer there as well. Keep in mind that many airport shops also offer fee gift wrapping and many will have piles of pre-wrapped items ready to grab-n’- go.

If you find yourself hanging around Detroit Metroplitan Airport (DTW) Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday (Dec 21 – 23rd), head on over to the stage next the water feature in the center of Concourse A (near Gate A40). The airport is partnering with local Delta Air Lines folks to host a holiday karaoke event called “Sing Because you Care” between 11 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. each day.

Anyone, or any group, that sings is being asked to donate $5 to support the local Salvation Army.

And here’s a great gift for anyone flying to or from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA): the airport light rail station opened, as promised, on Saturday, December 19^th. Just in time to save a lot of holiday travelers a lot of hassle and money.

It’s now possible to ride between the airport and downtown Seattle for $2.50.

Thanks, Santa!

No, not THAT kind of escort program…..PIT’s Escort Program is being offered by the airport’s Volunteer Airport Ambassadors and is designed “for the individual who may be flying for the first time or is an international visitor who needs a hand navigating the airport. It is also for the adult child of an elderly parent, who is unable to escort the parent through the airport his/herself.”

Better yet, there’s no charge for the service and volunteer Airport Ambassadors accept no tips.

Sounds like a program that could – and should – be offered at all airports.

Want to give PIT’s Escort Program a try? Call (412) 472.5690, leave your name, number and flight information and they’ll take it from there.

And if you do use the service, let us know how it works.