Q. My family and I would like to visit a small American town to experience an old-fashioned Fourth of July celebration. We are looking for a town that passionately celebrates the independence of our nation — parades, fireworks, patriotic events, etc. We are considering Cape May, N.J., and Mackinac Island, Mich., but we would like other recommendations.

My husband and I have two young children (ages 5 and 2) and we will be traveling with another family with small children (ages 7 and 4). Ideally, we would prefer a town that has central rental properties (condo, house or cottage) or rental properties within close proximity (although we will consider traditional hotel rooms as well).

Kathy M.

You’ve picked two good ones. But since you asked for more: Travel writer Larry Bleiberg (and my co-author on a recent travel book), recommends Bristol, R. I., which claims to have the nation’s oldest Fourth of July celebration dating from 1785. Nowadays, that includes an orange crate derby, drum-and-bugle corps, concerts and of course, a parade! Info: www.july4thbristolri.com/.

I’ll pitch in with the small town of Thomaston, Maine, near the larger towns of Rockland and Camden. It, too, offers a homey parade, fair-like atmosphere and fireworks. Info: www.catinkacards.com/thomaston4thofjuly.Q. I want to take a package tour of Northern Europe, with a stop in St. Petersburg, Russia. However, the Russian visa application asks an amazing amount of personal information, such as your complete educational background, work history (complete with supervisors’ names and phone numbers), all the countries you’ve visited, and enough other material to thoroughly steal one’s identity. Am I right to be concerned about this? What is the risk?

William V., Miami

Kathryn L. Bucchere, director of customer relations at Go Ahead Tours, said her firm has never experienced a problem regarding stolen identities due to a visa application in the decade it has run trips in Russia. But she has seen visa applications turned down because they didn’t include enough detailed information. She advises using an independent visa processing firm to handle the details; an experienced company that regularly handles such visas will make sure you’ve filled in all forms properly before they submit your application. (I’ve previously used Zierer Visa Service (www.zvs.com), VisaHQ (www.visahq.com) and Travisa.(www.travisa.com).

If you’re traveling independently or on a group tour and arriving by air or land, you will need your own visa. However, if you arrive on a cruise ship and go on shore excursions arranged by the ship or by another tour operator licensed to service tours in St. Petersburg (and therefore allowed to pick up at the ship docks), you’ll be covered by the ship’s group visa and won’t need to get a separate one, says Karen Candy, spokeswoman for Princess Cruises. Q. I have been looking for some time for a trip/tour that would combine Rapa Nui and the Galapagos. My husband and I are seasoned travelers, and, living in Miami, have a large number of flights to choose from when traveling to South. America. However, every suggestion that I have found in my research has us traveling back to the South American continent between visiting the two island groups. Is there any trip that goes directly between them?