Arthur's Blog: Week's End Round-Up of Thoughts on Travel

Here are a handful of stray travel thoughts from a New Yorker bowed down by the aftermath -- limited electric power, spotty transportation, chilly weather -- of Hurricane Sandy.
The British press is full of colorful stories about a fracas between Ryanair and a female passenger about her right to carry a book onto the plane, in addition to her one piece of permitted carry-on luggage. Ryanair claims much more was involved than a book -- that the passenger sought to rush onboard past the screening staff -- and that the matter was one of decorum and permissible behavior. The other passengers, all of whom took the side of the female flyer, vehemently deny this was the case. Whatever the cause, would you want to run such an obstacle course in order to board a plane? And has the Ryanair staff grown a bit batty in the context of all the rules and regulations they need to remember?
In case you may have forgotten, the long weekend after this coming one, namely November 10, 11 and 12, will find every National Park of the U.S. waiving entrance fees (and also presenting major commemorations and historical re-enactments associated with Veterans' Day). This would be a fine occasion for you to schedule a visit to a National Park in your vicinity, that you might have always planned to visit but haven't yet seen. This will be a budget-priced holiday, requiring only that you reserve accommodations on park grounds or nearby.
What's the other best way to enjoy a vacation once election tension has disappeared? I'd consider five leading candidates: 
First, a vacation exchange, swapping your home or apartment for that of a foreign family in an interesting country; using the lightning-like facilities of the Internet, the arrangements can be made in a day. Second, sign up for a British-organized intellectual adventure, either from Martin Randall Travel or on a cruise operated by Swan Hellenic. Third, consider a winter trip to Stockholm, and visit the bookstore of the Swedish Institute in the downtown area, assaulting you with all sorts of new ideas for civic improvement in your own area. Fourth, go on a hiking or biking tour or Florida or southern California. And lastly, make health the object of your vacation, signing up either for a stint at the Duke University Diet and Fitness Center in Durham, North Carolina. or at one of the three Canyon Ranches, or at Rancho LaPuerta in Tecate, Mexico, across the border from San Diego.
Persons I know have put off their planned trip to Israel in late January because they have heard that this time of year is a "rainy season" in Israel. I put the question, via e-mail, to a friend who lives in Israel and here's her exact response: "Israel is never really cold and rainy...and we are all happy when it does rain. Usually, if there is rain, the sun comes out and there are rainbows. But do be aware that it is not usually hot during late January/February, although Eilat and the Dead Sea are always warm, and you can include those places in your plans if you are looking for a spell of warm weather."