The next best thing to traveling is dreaming about traveling.

Long before the day of blogs and the Travel Channel, graphic artists almost made a science of inspiring wanderlust, with evocative posters.

Some fine examples are on sale next Thursday, February 5, during an auction of vintage travel posters at Swann Auction Galleries in New York. These works can run several thousand dollars, so it's nice that the auction house will let you peruse the collection online, and in person this weekend.

A poster expert will lead a tour of the items for sale on Saturday at 3 p.m.

Keep in mind not all the items travel-themed. There's a grab-bag from World War II propaganda to burlesque posters.

Thanks: Newyorkology

What a better way to start a marriage then by helping others out too?

A new program on the Big Island's Kona coast allows you to share the celebration. If you have a destination wedding at the Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort & Spa, the hotel's Pay it Forward program will donate 10 percent of the cost to the charity of your choice.

Not sure if that makes your wedding tax deductible. I'm your guy for travel advice � but don't expect me to navigate anyone's Schedule A.

Packages range from $750 for a simple ceremony or vow renewal with a wedding specialist, three location choices, an officiant, and a specialty lei to $5,800 for a package that adds musicians, bouquet, champagne, cake, Hawaiian wedding certificate, spa treatments, and more.

You can also have the ceremony webcast to folks back home.

Finally, it allows you to put a generous spin on your special day. Click here for some great choices for that charitable donation.

As January shuffles into February, some of us are getting tired of winter.

The cure? A beach, a spa, and a hammock.

Well pack your bags and head to Amelia Island, Florida, where you can get all three in one.

The "Heaven in a Hammock" massage at the Ritz-Carlton resort, presents the enticing idea of getting a massage while lazing away. It's said to be based on a traditional Mayan practice � not that the Mayans frequented northern Florida.

The masseuse works from below and above the hammock. And blogger Phyllis Steinberg makes it sound awfully relaxing.

"The benefits of "zero gravity" and massage unite as the hammock elongates the spine to create a sense of weightlessness and floating. This gives the body more flexibility as it moves in a rhythmic, rocking motion."

Since I've never met a hammock I didn't like, I'm sold, although the hour-long treatment isn't cheap. It runs $200.

What's your most memorable spa experience? Let us know in the comments section.

This is the time of year for lists. But a new one from Trip Advisor.com is a little different. Instead of relying on travel writers and other alleged experts, the web site compiles the ratings of regular travelers – like you.

I have mixed feelings about Trip Advisor ratings. Because you don't know who wrote them, you can't determine if it's from a hotel employee trying to talk up his company, or a competitor trying to talk it down. Trip Advisor says it has sophisticated screens to limit such chicanery.

All that said, its Travelers' Choice 2009 list seems valuable to me. It's based on many reviews compiled over time, and some of the results are surprising. Trip Advisor will send you the list if you provide an email address. It's worth the trouble.

I'll just focus on some coastal winners.

The "Hidden Gems" category appeals to me for bargains and new travel ideas.

Next time I go to Hyannis, Massachusetts, I'll have to check out the Sea Coast Inn, which won several honors. Also on that U.S. list: the Anderson Inn, Morro Bay, California; the Gardens Hotel (shown here) and Santa Maria Suites, both in Key West, Florida; South Beach Place, Vero Beach, Florida; and Island Cottage Oceanfront Inn, Flagler Beach, Florida.

A "Hidden Gems" list covering the Caribbean and Mexico, gives top honors to The Inn on the Bay in St. Lucia, while the "Best for Romance in the U.S." leads off with the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel in Kamuela, Hawaii.

There are hundreds of other winners. Take a look and plan your next trip – but you might to avoid these hotels, which Trip Advisor named the dirtiest.

What's been your experience with Trip Advisor reviews? Let us know in the comments section.

When you're thinking Mexican beach vacations, the last thing that usually comes to mind is pie.  But that's only if you've never been to Yelapa.

The secluded beach town, a 30 minute boat ride south of Puerto Vallarta, is home to the famous pie lady, Chelly Rodriguez.

For 20 years, she has baked them at home and sold them on the beach. You'll find her strolling the shore carrying the merchandise in a Tupperware container balanced on her head. She's even become a local tourist attraction of sorts.

These homemade desserts are enough for some folks to make the trip south. Drive-Thru Gourmet columnist Ken Hoffman (who I think is overdue for a James Beard award) waxed poetically about her creations recently.

By all means, don't forgo margaritas or flan on your Mexican vacation. Just make sure to leave room for pie.

Photo: Casa Grace

With Valentine's Day just a few weeks off, now's when you should be making reservations for a special getaway.

That's why the timing's perfect for the annual list of top romantic inns from American Historic Inns and iLoveInns.com.

Half of the award winners are on coasts, which we all know is the perfect place for romance.
Award winners include:

* French Quarter Inn - Charleston, South Carolina

* Port d'Hiver Bed and Breakfast - Melbourne Beach, Florida

* Carriage House at the Harbor - South Haven, Michigan (shown here)

* Inn at Warner Hall - Gloucester, Virginia

* MacCallum House Inn - Mendocino, California

Go ahead and make your reservation now. Trust me it will go over much better than a last-minute Teddy Bear holding a heart.

Crabs and wine provide a perfect excuse to head to northern California this weekend.

Mendocino celebrates the two tastes with an array of events. The Crab and Wine Days festival welcomes winter's Dungeness crab season with cooking classes, crab tours, fishing excursions, crustacean-and-wine dinners.

You're going to have to eat strategically to get in all the fun.

On January 23, choose from a Cioppino dinner, with salad and French bread for $30. Or head over to a crab feed at the Knights of Columbus Hall on January 23 and 24, where for $40, you get your fill of crabs along with salad, bread, and wine.

Also on the 24th, there's a crab cook-off and wine tasting competition. Admission, $65, includes plenty of tastings and wine -- and the chance to cast your vote for the best crab. Compare your vote against the decision of judges, which include a friend, Jeff Book, and other notables such as Google's executive chef Olivia Wu.

After all that eating, you're going to need a break from eating. My suggestion: On Sunday, go the Crabby Film Festival and catch a screening of "Attack of the Crab Monsters," clip below, and other nautically themed horror films at Little River Inn.

Photo via Flickr: Mecredis

What's the trickiest age group for family travel?

Experienced parents will tell you it's teens.

Younger kids will hang out with their parents, but older ones are eager � desperate! � to get away from those boring, embarrassing people they happen to be related to.

Several Ritz-Carlton hotels in Florida are trying to ease families' way through those tricky years. They've opened teen lounges where parents and younger kids are not allowed.

The lounges, at the hotels in Palm Beach, Naples, and Amelia Island, sound like onshore versions of cruise ship teen clubs. But the challenge is that teens are allergic to organized group activities. The Ritz-Carlton says its programs are "subtly" supervised and based on focus groups with teenagers.

Apparently, teens seem to crave technology more than anything else.

For example, the Amelia Island "Our Space" lounge includes flat screen televisions, Wii, X-Box and Playstation game systems, laptop computers for Internet access, iPods and docking stations, along with air hockey, foosball and pool tables. The other clubs also resemble tricked out Best Buys

In addition, the lounges include interactive gaming areas, and are staffed with counselors organizing water sports, beach games, pizza and movie nights and more.

Sounds like fun. But don't for a second expect a teen to admit it.

Have you had luck with special teen programs while traveling? Let us know in the comments below.

This January and February, Jekyll Island's again hiding glass floats along Georgia's most popular beach.

The floats are designed by artists and if you're lucky enough to find one, it's yours. The island asks that you bring it to the welcome center so you can record your find, and get a certificate of authenticity for the float. You'll also be entered in a drawing for a grand prize.

The pursuit's not limited to actual visitors. You can go on a virtual treasure hunt too, searching the island's web site for small, hidden Island Treasure pictures. The first person to click on one wins a float, which will be shipped to them.

And on January 31, geocachers will have a chance to find the floats, using GPS coordinates.

The treasures are inspired by glass floats once used by fishermen. Since the hunt began six years ago, over 1,000 glass floats have been discovered, and they've become collector's items. If you can't find a float, you can always buy one online for $65.

But first, you might as well look on the site. You won't have the gorgeous views, the sunshine or the wind whipping through your hair, though. For that, you'll still have to travel to Georgia.

What's the best thing you've ever found on beach? Let us know in the comments below.