If I had a nickle for every time I wondered what restaurants awaited me on the otherside of an I-95 exit, well… I’d have a trunkload of nickles. Drive I-95 is a guidebook that seeks to help roadtrippers or frequent I-95 drivers navigate the Florida-to-Maine roadway’s amenities, hotels, motels, restaurants and services. The book offers maps that pinpoint services located near each exit, including information about ATMs, pet-friendly lodging options, gas stations, outlet shops and landmarks.

And it’s got some nifty features like duplicate maps of each highway section – readers have one map for the drive up and another for the drive back in the other direction. That way, nobody has to read upside down… very thoughtful of the authors, n’est ce pas?

Drive I-95 Guide Book

Want to quickly sift through Fourth of July events and fireworks displays in cities across the U.S.? Check out AOL Cityguide’s Fourth of July Events and Fireworks. Who knows, you might discover that you live in or near one of the cities hosting the nation’s Top 11 Booms with a View.

LL Cool J, Mary J. Blige (pictured), Magic Johnson, Cedric the Entertainer, Biz Markie, Babyface. These are just some of the celebs hitting Houston this weekend for the Essence Music Festival. The star-studded festival officially takes place at Reliant Park, but the Houston Chronicle lists a slew of after-parties and additional events taking place at venues around the Houston area. Your chances for celeb-spotting dramatically increase if you happen to be crashing at one of the following hotels:

Hotel Derek: Location for two fashion shows, a silent auction and an after party.

Doubletree Downtown Houston Hotel: Location for the All White Party and the All White Affair, hosted by Magic Johnson.

Westin Galleria Hotel: Location for Ladies Night Out hosted by LL Cool J.

Surf the sites below for more info and the complete schedule of events and after parties.

Essence Music Festival 2006 official site

Houston Chronicle’s Guide to Festival Events

Poo. In-flight wi-fi is still at least a year away from arriving at a U.S. airline near you, according to this buzz-killing article from USA Today: Providing In-Flight Wi-Fi Still a Struggle. Read it and weep…. I did.

Berlin’s 54-room Schlosshotel is so posh and full of perks that Germany’s football team has admitted wanting to play extra hard in today’s quarter final game vs. Argentina just to have another night there. The Grunewald district hotel features oppulent rooms designed by Karl Lagerfeld that come with amenities like personal computers, high-speed Internet access and heated bathroom floors. And that’s in the basic rooms.

Berlin Schlosshotel

Lehmann Just Wants to Keep His Posh Hotel Room

MapQuest’s new multi-stop Route Builder is a must for anyone planning a summer road-trip. Or any adventure, really, with multiple stops. Instead of creating one map of point A to point B and another from point B to point C and so on (which I’ve definitely done before), the route builder lets you enter up to 10 locations for one set of directions. Prett-ay prett-ay cool.

Mapquest Multi-Stop Route Planner

Soon, travelers may be able to take lighters with them on flights. Seems lighter-hunting is taking up too much of the TSA’s time….

Lift Airline Ban on Lighters, TSA Urges

On the heels of announcing its plan to switch to open boarding, Northwest has announced a little twist: first-class and elite members of its frequent flyer program will be able to board first. Then all the plebians can get on the plane.

Does anyone else think this sounds like a really good way to piss off everyone except the lucky elite? I don’t know, it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth for some reason. I mean, if you’re going to go rogue and start an open boarding free for all system, shouldn’t you just make it applicable to everyone? How much business are you really going to save by coddling a handful of passengers and ticking off practically everyone else? Isn’t that a PR problem? Anyone? Bueller?

Northwest to Offer Faster Boarding for Best Customers

Insider Tip: Carry your prescription medicine in the original pill bottles with the proper labels or copy your prescriptions and pack them in your suitcase to show customs agents if they ask for them. For domestic travelers, unlabeled prescription medicine will usually not be a problem. You’re much more likely to run into trouble while traveling internationally or returning to the U.S. from abroad.

As Rush Limbaugh has so elegantly illustrated for us all, carrying prescription meds without a labeled bottle or accompanying prescription can land travelers in hot water with customs agents. Seems he was carrying unlabeled Viagra for “privacy reasons.” Kinda backfired, didn’t it?

PS – Is Rush wearing an earring? What the h is that thing?

Limbaugh Case Alerts Passengers to Rules for Prescriptions

Looking for a bargain this summer? The average room rate in Albuquerque is about $67 this time of year. Yeah, it’s hot as h there. But you’ve gotta pick your battles. Is it money or personal temperature regulation that concerns you?

Report says Albuquerque hotels a bargain this summer