It’s a scene right out of Lawrence of Arabia: enormous mountains of sand — some as tall as 300 feet — their surfaces sculpted into soft, geometric designs by the wind, and extending as far as the eye can see. My wife and I stand captivated, feeling the heat of the day rising up out of the soft sand and watching the interplay of golden light and pale shadow as the sun dips behind a distant ridge of solid beige.

Paul Reinckens kicked slowly over the sandy bottom 30 feet deep in the Gulf of Mexico looking for triangular objects — not an easy task with visibility a mere four feet and this dive being his first underwater fossil hunt. But suddenly, there it was: a hard, brownish-gray chevron lying on the sand.

I received the message from the revolutionary agent who, despite her 18th century dress and speech, had no time for period delivery services. When America’s freedom is at stake, and the park is closing in a few hours, we patriots cannot idle the hourglass waiting for a carrier pigeon or a horseback-riding courier.

Streetcars, sharks, pandas and parasols.

Among the swords, the wrenching letters home and the haunting photographs in the Museum of the Confederacy’s new exhibit on Gettysburg, few artifacts embody the ferocious battle more than the eight battle flags recovered from the bloodied fields where Pickett’s Charge was fought.

Thorns pierced my slacks as I traipsed through the swamp, dodging deep, inky pools and thanking my lucky stars that it wasn’t mosquito season. The sign at the start of the two-mile Tubman Road Trail, in Maryland’s Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, had warned us that the “trail may be wet” — but that was an understatement. As my boyfriend and I finally reached higher ground, I marveled at how Harriet Tubman had negotiated such a challenging landscape in the dark of night while shuttling people out of slavery on the Underground Railroad in the 1800s.

When I was young, I learned a lot about travel from my mother. She taught me how and what to pack. She taught me to keep a travel diary to record my memories. And most importantly, she taught me how to power-sightsee.

It may be known as the Windy City, but cash need not go flying from your pockets when you visit Chicago. From the shores of Lake Michigan to the sidewalks along the Magnificent Mile, you can find outdoor family fun along with history and culture without spending a cent. Here are five free things to do.

With Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby opening, there’s no better time to celebrate the spirit of the Roaring 20’s. From speakeasies to grande dame hotels, the members and editors of VirtualTourist.com have chosen the “Top 5 Places to relive the 1920s.”

Cruise ships have a reputation for encouraging a measure of gluttony.

Norwegian Cruise Line’s upcoming Miami-based ship, which will be delivered in January, will feature a Latin-themed ballroom dance show, a rotating cast of comedians and a musical about a blonde.

Miami-based Norwegian Cruise Line celebrated the christening of its newest ship with pomp, pageantry — and some high kicks.

Take a cruise ship, the Disney Magic, that was a pioneer in the world of family cruising and is headed for a new assignment. Order up a rehab. Call in the Imagineers.

Royal Caribbean’s next ship, Quantum of the Seas, will include a simulated skydiving experience, bumper cars, roller skating, a circus school, and a Ferris wheel-inspired ride. It will also have studio staterooms for single guests, a feature that Norwegian Cruise Line introduced on Norwegian Epic, and “virtual balconies” in interior rooms that show what’s going on outside, similar to the virtual portholes on Disney Cruise Line’s newer ships.

Capt. Barry King is wrapping up his “welcome aboard” speech in the galley of the schooner Mary Day when he gets around to the question everyone has regarding the trip’s itinerary.

Good news for travelers: Singapore, a gateway to vacations in Southeast Asia, and one of my favorite home ports for boarding cruise ships, is anticipating an expanded fleet of big, modern vessels. They will be based at new and enhanced marinas, built here at a cost of half a billion dollars.

Ahita Keshmirian placed bits of broken yet colorful glass into a pendant. Outside, beyond the natural grass on the top deck of Celebrity Cruise Lines’ Silhouette, the mosaic-decorated churches of Ravenna, Italy, were visible.

The first rule about traveling between America and England aboard the Queen Mary 2, the flagship of the Cunard Line and the world’s largest ocean liner, is to never refer to your adventure as a cruise. You are, it is understood, making a crossing.

All revved up

SeaWorld Orlando’s new Empire of the Penguin, which has its grand opening Friday, is a fun family ride that tilts and twirls gently through an artist’s impressionistic re-creation of Antarctica and ends up in an icy penguin habitat where a visitor could easily watch the antics of the real thing for hours -- if only it weren’t a bone-chilling 30 degrees.

A proud tradition

Paul Reinckens kicked slowly over the sandy bottom 30 feet deep in the Gulf of Mexico looking for triangular objects — not an easy task with visibility a mere four feet and this dive being his first underwater fossil hunt. But suddenly, there it was: a hard, brownish-gray chevron lying on the sand.

Legoland’s new attraction, The World of Chima, in which animal tribes war over an energy source called Chi, will open July 3, the park announced Tuesday.

Miami-Dade — South Beach especially — is still seeing a surge of new or rebuilt hotel openings, giving locals plenty of fresh options close to home.

With its sizzling beaches and steamy nightlife, it’s no wonder Miami is a top vacation spot for snowbirds, spring breakers, international tourists and passengers heading out on cruises from Florida ports. More than 13 million people visited the city in 2011, according to the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau.

A week’s worth of South Florida fun

I received the message from the revolutionary agent who, despite her 18th century dress and speech, had no time for period delivery services. When America’s freedom is at stake, and the park is closing in a few hours, we patriots cannot idle the hourglass waiting for a carrier pigeon or a horseback-riding courier.

I stood on the deck of the houseboat with a boa constrictor draped around my neck. Her tongue rapaciously darting in and out, the snake slithered down my arm. Then, unexpectedly, she turned to look at me, and her head began maneuvering back towards my face.

Anyone who has ever hugged a teddy bear has sampled some of the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt, the United States’ “conservation president.”

Ask the people who cook in Atlanta to sum up the post-recession dining scene, and you hear things like this from one of its shining lights: “We’re building confidence,” says Billy Allin, the chef-owner of the destination Cakes & Ale.

Derrick, our garrulous tour guide, offers a biriba, a prickly looking pod he’s cut open to expose a pale and pulpy fruit, as well as some peer pressure.“What’s the matter?” he asks.“Don’t you want to live forever?”

Even at the tender age of 18, I was smitten with Providence’s charming and historic East Side, particularly mile-long Benefit Street, still touted by tourism officials as “the most impressive concentration of original colonial homes in America.” But way back then, in the summer of 1972, the advice had been universal: “Stay away from downtown,” a blight-stricken, commercial-industrial hodge-podge all too reminiscent of my native Cleveland.

My epiphany comes the moment I realize our “log” boat is about to plunge headfirst down the steep water slide. “This is awe-soooome!” my 7-year-old daughter screams as we go over. I just scream.

Women in feathers danced some sort of crazy mating ritual to Southern tunes — vying, I was told, for the honored title of Buzzard Queen. Then there was the 70-something-year-old man in the loin cloth and tails wearing a Buzzard Queen Inspector button and, around his neck, a Perfect Woman Meter.

I see her as I step out from among the sea grape trees and onto the golden sands: tanned, blond and bikini-clad, she is walking toward me. And she possesses the one characteristic I’m yearning to see in a woman on the beach: a little kid.

When “bouquet” and “beer” appear in the same sentence, you know these aren’t the hills of hillbillies.

It’s a scene right out of Lawrence of Arabia: enormous mountains of sand — some as tall as 300 feet — their surfaces sculpted into soft, geometric designs by the wind, and extending as far as the eye can see. My wife and I stand captivated, feeling the heat of the day rising up out of the soft sand and watching the interplay of golden light and pale shadow as the sun dips behind a distant ridge of solid beige.

I stood on the deck of the houseboat with a boa constrictor draped around my neck. Her tongue rapaciously darting in and out, the snake slithered down my arm. Then, unexpectedly, she turned to look at me, and her head began maneuvering back towards my face.

How adventurous travelers can find health-and-fitness trips

Until recently, Baja California’s culinary contribution to the world amounted to the Caesar salad, a dish hardly associated with Mexican food. Beyond that, this long, thin peninsula was known more for its Chinese food and pizza thanks to the thousands of migrants from all over the world who began to settle the Mexican state south of California in the 19th century.

Happy, clean and tropical, Costa Rica has almost too much to love about visiting. The bars are no exception. On the west coast, the drinking options will satiate any style of imbiber. Kick back to some reggae or pop the cork on a fine bottle of bubbly and enjoy an equally indulgent view — the bars here will make a local out of you, even if only in spirit.

At Bimini Big Game Club’s up-close adventure, visitors are in a cage and the bull sharks swim free.

In Brazil, soccer is not just a game — it’s a national drama.

Derrick, our garrulous tour guide, offers a biriba, a prickly looking pod he’s cut open to expose a pale and pulpy fruit, as well as some peer pressure.“What’s the matter?” he asks.“Don’t you want to live forever?”

The ancient Mayans played a soccer-like sport with great ferocity, according to our guide, Victor. So seriously did the Mayans take this game, Victor said, that when it was over, the winning team’s captain was beheaded.

Hiking the rainforest in northwest Ecuador, an area packed with some of the world’s highest concentrations of plant and animal life, I’m wondering if there are any dangerous creatures on the trail — poisonous snakes, perhaps.

Following the Pope’s footsteps

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