If you’re flying Northwest in the near future, you best check your flight status before heading to the airport. Yours may be one of the airline’s hundreds of canceled flights.

Northwest Flight Cancellation Rate Soars

For bookings made by September 15, 2007, Holland America is offering Early Advantage discounts on 2008 cruises and cruise packages. Some of the deals include:

- 7-day Caribbean cruise starting at $1049 for verandah rooms.

- 15-day Circle Hawaii cruise starting at $1,799 for an outside stateroom

- 10-day Yukon CruiseTour starting at $1,489 for an outside stateroom.

- 16-day South America cruise starting at $2,099 for an inside stateroom

Discover Boating offers up its picks for the Top 10 Best Places to Watch Fireworks from a Boat, copied directly from the site below:

– Austin, Texas: Marked by beautiful symphony music and a spectacular
fireworks display, Austin’s Town Lake is the place to be for this
annual celebration. Rent a kayak or bring your own boat to find the
best seat in the house on the water. (July 4, 9:30 p.m., Zilker Park)

— Chicago, Ill.: Join family and friends aboard a boat as the skies above
Lake Michigan and Chicago’s famous skyline are illuminated with
accompaniment from the Grant Park Orchestra and U.S. Air Force Singing
Sergeants. (July 4, 9 p.m., Grant Park)

— Los Angeles, Calif.: Enjoy a variety of live music and big booms over
the main channel in Marina Del Rey for free family fun and a patriotic
fireworks display. (July 4, 9 p.m., Marina Del Rey)

— Memphis, Tenn.: The Beale Street Fourth of July celebration is a
festive time with great food, live music that the city is famous for
and, of course, a thunderous grand finale of fireworks. Enjoy the
boisterous display on the mighty Mississippi as the fireworks burst
over Tom Lee Park. (July 4, 9 p.m., Tom Lee Park)

— Milwaukee, Wis.: Named Discover Boating’s “2006 Top City to Watch
Fourth of July Fireworks from a Boat,” Milwaukee’s annual Summerfest
hopes to help this fantastic fireworks display return to defend its
title. On July 3, thousands gather along the Lake Michigan shoreline to
watch the U.S. Bank fireworks show, but being aboard a boat for the
display provides an unmatched panoramic view. (July 3, 9:30 p.m.,
Veterans Park)

— Myrtle Beach, S.C.: With an entertainment megaplex featuring shops,
restaurants, nightclubs, theatres, miniature golf course, Ripley’s
Aquarium and a 23-acre lake, Broadway at the Beach is the place to be
for fireworks on the Fourth of July. (July 4, 10 p.m., Broadway at the
Beach over Lake Broadway)

— New York, N.Y.: With more than 35,000 pyrotechnic shells in a half-hour
display, Macy’s dazzles viewers each year with the nation’s biggest
birthday fireworks display. Fireworks are launched from two East River
locations, anchored in the East River is sure to be the best seat in
the house. (July 4, 9 p.m., East River between 23rd & 42nd Streets)

— Philadelphia, Penn.: In the city of our nation’s birth, July 4 is all
about history, music, fun and fireworks. After visiting the Liberty
Bell and Independence Mall, hop aboard a boat on the Delaware River to
view the flashes and booms of a roaring fireworks display as the City
of Brotherly Love shines in the background. (July 4, 8:30 p.m., along
the Delaware River)

— St. Paul, Minn.: St. Paul’s “Taste of Minnesota” is a six-day food and
music extravaganza at Harriet Island and is the perfect place for
family fun this Fourth of July. As the sun sets, hop aboard a boat to
watch the largest fireworks display in the Midwest over the Mississippi
River. (July 4, 10:20 p.m., Harriet Island)

— Tacoma, Wash.: Freedom Fair events cover two miles of the Ruston Way
waterfront on July 4. After the annual log boom competition, Tacoma
boaters anchor to end the day with the Tacoma Air Show and spectacular
Emerald Queen Grand Finale Fireworks Extravaganza. (July 4, 10 p.m.,
Ruston Way waterfront)

Mobil Travel Guide has announced its picks for the best North American spas of 2007. Only two establishments won Mobil’s coveted five-star rating: Spa Montage at Montage Resort in Laguna Beach, CA and The Spa at Mandarin Oriental New York. But there were plenty of four-star winners:

Mobil Four-Star Award Winners

Willow Stream, The Spa at The Fairmont, Banff Springs, Banff, AB

The Sanctuary Spa at Sanctuary, Camelback Mountain, Paradise Valley, AZ

Alvadora Spa at Royal Palms, Royal Palms Resort & Casitas, Phoenix, AZ

The Spa at Four Seasons Resort, Scottsdale at Troon North, Scottsdale, AZ

The Centre for Well-Being at The Phoenician, Scottsdale, AZ

Willow Stream, The Spa at The Fairmont, Scottsdale Princess, Scottsdale, AZ

The Spa at Omni Tucson National, Tucson, AZ

Ancient Cedars Spa, Wickaninnish Inn, Tofino, BC

The Spa at Four Seasons Resort, Whistler, BC

The Peninsula Spa, Beverly Hills, The Peninsula Beverly Hills, Beverly Hills, CA

The Beverly Hills Hotel Spa by La Prairie, Beverly Hills, CA

The Spa at Beverly Wilshire, Beverly Hills, CA

Post Ranch Spa, Post Ranch Inn, Big Sur, CA

The Bathhouse, Calistoga Ranch, Calistoga, CA

The Spa at Four Seasons Resort Aviara, Carlsbad, CA

The Spa at Bernardus Lodge, Carmel Valley, CA

Spa Gaucin, St Regis Monarch Beach, Dana Point, CA

The Ritz-Carlton Spa, Laguna Niguel, Dana Point, CA

The Ritz-Carlton Spa, Half Moon Bay, Half Moon Bay, CA

The Spa at Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, CA

The Spa at Torrey Pines, Lodge at Torrey Pines, La Jolla, CA

The Spa at The Carneros Inn, Napa, CA

The Spa at the Island Hotel, Newport Beach, CA

Spa du Sureau, Chateau du Sureau, Oakhurst, CA

Spa Ojai, Ojai Valley Inn and Spa, Ojai, CA

The Spa at Pebble Beach, Pebble Beach Resorts, Pebble Beach, CA

Spa du Soleil, Auberge du Soleil, Rutherford, CA

Remede Spa, St. Regis San Francisco, San Francisco, CA

The Spa at CordeValle, The Lodge at CordeValle, San Martin, CA

Bacara Spa, Bacara Resort and Spa, Santa Barbara, CA

The Spa at Four Seasons Resort, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA

The Ritz-Carlton Spa, Bachelor Gulch, Avon, CO

The Spa at the Broadmoor, Colorado Springs, CO

The Spa at the Brown Palace, Denver, CO

The Mayflower Spa, The Mayflower Inn, Washington, CT

The Spa at Mandarin Oriental Washington DC

Willow Stream, The Spa at The Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort, Aventura, FL

Spa Palazzo at The Boca Raton Resort & Club, Boca Raton, FL

The Ritz-Carlton Spa, Key Biscayne, Key Biscayne, FL

Canyon Ranch SpaClub at Gaylord Palms Resort, Kissimmee, FL

SpaTerre at Little Palm Island, Little Torch Key, FL

The Spa at Mandarin Oriental Miami

The Spa at The Setai, Miami Beach, FL

The Ritz Carlton Spa, Naples, Naples, FL

The Ritz-Carlton Spa, Orlando, Grande Lakes, Orlando, FL

The Spa at The Breakers, Palm Beach, FL

The Ritz-Carlton Members Spa Club, Ritz-Carlton Sarasota, Sarasota, FL

The Ritz Carlton Spa, South Beach, South Beach, FL

The Ritz-Carlton Lodge Spa, Reynolds Plantation, Greensboro, GA

Spa at Sea Island, The Cloister, Sea Island, GA

Spa Halekulani, Halekulani, Honolulu, HI

Spa Suites at The Kahala Hotel and Resort, Honolulu, HI

Hualalai Sports Club and Spa, Four Seasons, Resort Hualalai, Ka’upulehu-Kona, HI

The Spa at Manele Bay, Four Seasons Resort Lanai, Lanai, HI

Spa Grande at The Grand Wailea Resort, Wailea, Maui, HI

The Spa at Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea, Wailea, Maui, HI

The Peninsula Spa, Peninsula Chicago, Chicago, IL

The Spa at Four Seasons Hotel Chicago, Chicago, IL

The White Barn Inn Spa, White Barn Inn, Kennebunkport, ME

The Spa at Pinehurst, The Carolina at Pinehurst, Pinehurst, NC

The Ritz-Carlton Spa, Lake Las Vegas, Henderson, NV

Canyon Ranch SpaClub at The Venetian Resort Hotel, Las Vegas, NV

Spa Bellagio at Bellagio, Las Vegas, NV

The Spa at Four Seasons, Hotel Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV

The Spa at Wynn Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV

The Spa at Emerson Place, Mount Tremper, NY

The Spa at Four Seasons Hotel New York, New York, NY

The Peninsula Spa, New York, The Peninsula New York, New York, NY

Stillwater Spa, Park Hyatt Toronto, Toronto, ON

Woodlands Spa at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, Farmington, PA

Spa at the Sanctuary at Kiawah Island, Kiawah, SC

The Spa and Salon at Four Seasons Resort and Club Dallas at Las Colinas, Irving, TX

Trellis, The Spa at The Houstonian, Houston, TX

The Watermark Spa, Watermark Hotel & Spa, San Antonio, TX

The Spa at Stein Eriksen Lodge, Park City, UT

The Greenbrier Spa, White Sulpher Springs, WV

The Spa at Four Seasons Resort Jackson Hole, Teton Village, WY

Clearly, finding a top-rated spa is easier when you’re in California, Arizona, Hawaii, Las Vegas, Florida or somewhere involving snow.

Mobil Travel Guide’s Best of the Best Spas 2007

Patricia Shultz’s 1,000 Places to See Before You Die has captured the wanderlust of many a traveler. The Travel Channel took note of the book’s popularity and developed a television show based on Shultz’s worldly advice. 1,000 Places premiers tonight at 9 pm on the Travel Channel. To satisfy the modern viewer’s appetite for reality television, the on-screen version follows two newlyweds from Colorado on a 14-week round-the-world journey to 13 countries and 100 of Shultz’s suggested destinations. First stop? Alaska.

If you were contemplating skipping out on work and heading to the nearest ski area, this would be a good week to do it. Pretty much all of the big ski destinations located west of the Rockies are experiencing new snowfall - and lots of it. Tahoe has gotten over a foot in the last 24 hours, while the Vail area is reporting 10 inches in that time. Over in Park City, 11 inches have dropped in the past day. Time to get out those planks and play hooky.

You can stay up-to-date on the latest snowfall reports with Weather.com’s The Deep Stuff Across the U.S.

If you look closely, very closely, you will see one of nature’s most elusive and grand beasts waiting, ever so quietly, to dine on unsuspecting guests who dare to enjoy the Hampton Inn Anchorage’s three-sided lobby fireplace. If you visit the Alaska hotel, don’t forget your bear spray (yes, it really exists!).

If swimming is your favorite way to exercise, it’s always a treat to stay at a hotel that has a pool with a lap lane. This 42-foot indoor pool is part of a Seattle luxury hotel’s impressive health club. Along with aquatic diversions, the facility boasts over 10,000 square feet of fitness space, men’s and women’s locker rooms with saunas, massage services and a Jeremy Todd Wellness Spa & Salon. Wanna know which hotel it is? Click the pic.

For those who want to make environmentally sound lodging choices: The Hilton Vancouver Washington Hotel has received LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. That means that the hotel is one of the first in the U.S. to be officially recognized for its eco-friendly structural and landscaping features, as well as attention to low energy systems and indoor air quality. The hotel is also working on “greening” its day-to-day operations as well through recycling programs, use of non-toxic cleaning products and using locally grown produce in its restaurant.

Hilton Vancouver Washington Earns LEED Certification

I’m a fan of Citysearch in general - I think it’s a great resource to use when you’re visiting a new city and looking for hip bars, restaurants, shops and local sales. From the looks of it, the Citysearch 2006 Top New Restaurants & Bars list is just as reliable. Here are the top 10 national winners in each category:

Top 10 New Restaurants

1. Cut: Los Angeles

2. NOPA: San Francisco

3. L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon: New York

4. Schwa: Chicago

5. Lineage: Boston

6. Ecco: Atlanta

7. Chambers Kitchen: Twin Cities

8. Simpatica Dining Hall: Portland

9. RA Sushi: Houston

10. Jack’s La Jolla: San Diego

Top 10 New Bars

1. Bourbon & Branch: San Francisco

2. 230 Fifth: New York

3. Pi-rem: Portland

4. Area: Los Angeles

5. Stingaree: San Diego

6. Havana: Seattle

7. Stone Lotus: Chicago

8. The Belmont: Austin

9. Libertine Bar: Dallas

10. DC10: Denver

To find the winners in your city, check out Citysearch’s Find the Top New Restaurants & Bars.