I haven't blogged about the inauguration in a while. I'm not going. I do know that. I tinkered with the idea briefly, but as DC has inched toward total lockdown with bridges closing, roads closing, 10,000 tour buses parking up the mall, I've rethunk it. The thought of being trapped with all those people gives me hives in weird places. Even if I do have a special, commemorative Inaugural FABmap to guide me to safety.

It's practically too late anyways for most folks, except cycling enthusiasts. I think MTA has sold out of train tickets unless you want to leave at 5 a.m. or drive to Frederick. You could also relocate to Virginia and take their train, which still has availability. Amtrak also has some seats available. The Metro station at Greenbelt (and other locations) will have parking available for transit riders - which was in question at some point. So it may be possible to get there, especially if you go early. Like in the middle of the night. But you have to plan to stay late.

For some people, it's a rush. For example, the folks at this fun site want to help you crash the Inauguration - now known as the Woodstock of Washington. This level of enthusiasm may explain why so many DC-area residents are searching for a tropical hideout for Jan. 20. Escaping the inauguration has become its own cottage industry, with Washington folks swapping houses with people from Texas to Tanzania. Hotels on Amelia Island (near Jacksonville) are offering discounts from 20-45% to residents of Maryland, DC and Virginia for stays Jan. 18-22.

Photo: Scene from President Bush's inauguration for his second term om 2005. Officials are expecting a lot more people to attend Barack Obama's inauguration on Jan. 20. Getty Images.

Of course, if the seats stay empty, another sale will be coming right up. Is it better to wait? I don't know. I've noticed gas prices ticking up a bit at the pump and the spring break/summer vacation season will be here before you can blink five times. But Tom Parsons, the editor of BestFares.com, says if you have a flexible schedule then you're better off waiting and not booking too far in advance. But he also says you have to watch the low fares pretty closely because they tend to come and go.

I like certainty, so I'm booking my spring trip to Arizona right now. If fares fall through the floor between now and April, I'll rebook at the lower price and save the credit for a future trip. That's my plan. What's yours?

But then I heard about HazelMail. It's a Web site that allows travelers to upload a vacation photo, add a message and then HazelMail will turn it into your very own postcard. They also print it out, add the stamp and put it in the mail for you. What a great idea. It's much more personal than a generic postcard off the rack. And the site has received great reviews from PC Magazine. I wish I'd thought of it. (So does my Grandma.)

Ravens fans and Elvis fans unite! If you're headed down to Tennessee for the big game this weekend, you'll be just in time to celebrate the birthday of the King of Rock n' Roll. Every year a huge celebration takes place over several days at Graceland, starting with the singing of "Happy Birthday" at the front gates tomorrow, which would have been Elvis' 74th birthday.

After watching the Ravens annihilate the Titans (requisite trash talk), head on over to Memphis on Sunday for the Elvis Birthday Breakfast , a tour of Graceland and a visit to the Meditation Garden. Memphis is about a 3-hour drive from Nashville, so it's probably for hardcore Elvis fans only. And if the unthinkable happens, you could always book a stay at the Heartbreak Hotel.

If you're still undecided about your weekend plans, when last I checked moments ago, Southwest still had a few seats available on flights to Nashville on Friday and early Saturday. It's $400 roundtrip, but what's the cost of tender memories? Priceless, methinks.

Photo: An Elvis impersonator who, judging from his purple threads, must also be a Ravens fan (or at least like the color purple) performs in Memphis.

BWI Marshall is adding new regional air service to Hagerstown and Lancaster, Pa., beginning this spring. The carrier Cape Air, based in Hyannis, Mass., was selected to provide the new service which Gov. Martin O'Malley expects will "bring greater economic opportunity directly to Western Maryland."

Who knows? Maybe this will provide the boost that the Rocky Gap Lodge & Golf Resort  needs. The struggling Western Maryland resort is about an hour's drive from Hagerstown. In November, the Board of Public Works chipped in $7 million to keep the resort afloat in the face of foreclosure threats. Rocky Gap is the planned site of a future slots casino that officials are hoping will provide a payoff for the state's budget.

Any boost in business likely will be small since Cape Air's equipment, a Cessna 402, only seats 9 passengers. However, the airline will provide 4 daily roundtrip flights to Hagerstown. Cape Air originally provided service between Boston and Provincetown, beginning in 1989. Since then the carrier has expanded its regional service into New York, Florida and the Caribbean, offering up to 850 flights per day.

Photo of Rocky Gap Lodge & Golf Resort by Doug Kapustin, Staff Photographer.

Doctors point to a possible culprit in formaldehyde, used by clothing manufacturers to prevent wrinkles and stains. The union representing TSA workers says employees at airports across the country have complained about the allergic reactions to the new royal blue shirts. However, TSA had a third-party company test the clothing and found the levels of formaldehyde to be acceptable.

Truthfully, I hadn't noticed the change in uniform. White shirts or blue shirts, patches or metal badges, it's all the same to me. That blue glove, though, has got to go.

We're just 5 days into the new year and I'm already thinking about my next vacation. Mostly I'm thinking can I afford it? (And will I have a job when I get back?) Many travelers are going to have to be even more thrifty about vacations this year. I suspect people will wait longer to make plans, hoping to get the best deal at the last minute. That's not a bad strategy, especially if your schedule is flexible or you're thinking about taking a cruise. Another idea is to decide where you want to go early on and then monitor airfare prices at airfarewatchdog.com or sign up for emails from hotels or other travel providers that will give you the inside edge on upcoming deals for that destination.

Trying to decide where to go? CheapTickets.com lists the top places where your money will have the most stretch if you go off-season, including Portland, Maine in spring; Napa Valley in winter; and Tucson in summer - yeah, I know. Blazing hot. Right. But to save money you gotta make sacrifices. Overseas budget friendly locales include Hong Kong, Brazil and Greece. Still can't decide? Check out our list of fun 2009 events around the world.

Photo: Tucson, Ariz. is a hot destination for 2009. And we do mean hot.

Woman overboard.

Man overboard.

Baby born on board.

Muslims not on board.

Obamas get room and board.

Bored yet? If not, read on here.

"We regret that the issue escalated to the heightened security level it did on New Year's Day, but we trust everyone understands that the security and the safety of our passengers is paramount and cannot be compromised."

"We apologize to all of the passengers - to the nine who had to undergo extensive interviews from the authorities and to the 95 who ultimately made the flight. Nobody on Flight 175 reached their destination on time on New Year's Day, and we regret it."

Regret or no, I smell a lawsuit.

The passengers believe they were profiled because of how they look, according to a report in the Washington Post. Most of them were born in the U.S.A., but have traditional Muslim appearance, including headscarves. An AirTran spokesperson, defending the airline's actions, said "At the end of the day, people got on and made comments they shouldn't have made on the airplane and other people heard them...It just so happened that these people were of Muslim faith and appearance."

I don't know about that. I'm willing to bet that the appearance of the Musllm family mattered a whole lot. Maybe not to the airline, but to the other passengers for sure. Ever since 9/11, people pay attention to who gets on the plane. It's simply human nature. I notice when someone who appears to be Muslim gets on my flight. Do I freak out? No. Do I watch them more closely than the white couple in front of me? Probably. Is it fair? Absolutely not.

Was AirTran being fair? I don't know, the airline was most likely trying to calm some very anxious passengers but mob rule on planes is a bit scary. At the very least, it was very unfair to not help the Virginia family get to their destination. After the FBI cleared up the "misunderstanding," the Muslim family ended up paying more to get on a USAirways flight. AirTran says it likely won't reimburse them for the difference in airfare. That's definitely unfair.

The Obama family, just back from a vacation in the Hawaiian tropics, are ready for their big move to Washington. The kids have to start school, but since the inauguration is still a few weeks off, the family will set up house temporarily at the historic Hay-Adams Hotel. The Associated Press reports the Obamas will have a suite at the hotel, which offers guests Italian linens, plush bathrobes and nightly turndown service.

The hotel has a Presidential Suite (where else would Obama stay?) that's a penthouse with a living room and master bedroom offering a "spectacular view" of the White House. Of course, with family in tow, he might be better off with the Federal Suite, which has two bathrooms. Junior suites start at about $1,500 a night. The Hay-Adams does have other rooms available with packages starting at $399 per night. That's still a bit steep for most Americans, but for our president we should spare no expense.

Photo: Associated Press

Wow, the year flew faster than a jetliner at 40,000 feet. For travelers, 2008 has been a year where it was best to keep your seat belt buckled for most of the ride. Still, like any year it's had highs and lows. Here's my take on the top travel stories of the year. And Happy New Year to everyone.

1. Fees, please. Air passengers got a rude awakening about midway through the year when airlines, feeling the financial pinch, decided to charge travelers for stuff we used to think was free. Like checking our luggage. Or getting a pillow or blanket. Or a can of Coke. Suddenly, there was this "a la carte" pricing where the only thing included in your ticket price was the seat.

2. Gas prices. Seems silly to mention now that I've filled up for $1.31 in South Carolina over the holiday, but a few months ago gas prices were approaching the stratosphere. $5 a gallon didn't seem too far-fetched. Gas prices were a killjoy for summer vacations, leading many Americans to just stay home. Cruise ships and airlines tacked on or jacked up their fuel surcharges. But that was then. This is now: most cruise lines and airlines have reduced or eliminated many fuel fees. Of course, they reserve the right to bring them back - and probably will.

3. The "staycation." I hope we give this term a vacation in 2009. If you stay at home to clean the garage or organize the basement, you're simply taking time off. Sorry.

4. MegaBus.com begins service in Baltimore. For as little as a buck, travelers can hop aboard and take a smooth ride to New York City. Cheaper than the Chinatown bus lines and, from what I hear, more reliable. Only drawback: the pickup spot is in White Marsh.

5. New visitor centers. From Gettysburg to Washington to Virginia, visitor centers popped up everywhere. In Gettysburg, the newly restored cyclorama re-opened, adding a three-dimensional touch to the new visitor center.

7. Currency travel. The worldwide economic crisis led to some savings bonanzas for travelers. I'm thinking about Iceland, where a financial collapse sent hotel rates and airfares plummeting. The bad economic news was also good news for travelers to Europe and Canada, where local currency fell against the dollar.

8. Baltimore's  $300 million convention center hotel opens. The Hilton Baltimore is supposed to lure more tourism dollars to the city and has already snagged a pretty big get with the U.S. Conference of Mayors in 2011. But the view of the skyline from Oriole Park will never be the same.

9. Hawaii. Beautiful flora, fauna and a sea so blue it hurts the eyes. All that and a presidential retreat, too? No doubt, the 50th state gained the limelight this year with multiple visits from Barack Obama. Camp David has a little competition from Camp Kailua.

10. Inauguration travel frenzy. Did you rent your house yet? Book a hotel? Get a ticket? Buy your commemorative Metrorail swipe card? No? Me neither. If I want this much hassle, I'll go someplace that requires a passport. 

But seriously, this latest victim - and I use that term because it's been nearly 72 hours since she went overboard - is a woman traveling with her husband on the Norwegian Pearl, who was lost at sea somewhere near Cancun. According to an interview I just saw on the Today show, her husband waited 8 hours to report her missing. Interviews with other passengers showed the couple made a big impression on their fellow travelers. They were mostly notable for participating in the onboard 'Nearly Newlywed' game. Ever played that? I have. It's a great way to make an embarrassing first impression. I'm sure I did. We almost won except my dear husband said "tiger" and I may have said "lamb," so we ended up in second place. (I wisely stayed away from the railing for the rest of the trip.)

I don't know what happened to Jennifer Seitz - accident or foulplay, it's still a tragedy. I don't know what more cruise lines can do to discourage this trend. Raise the railing? Eliminate balconies? Screen passengers for psychoses? Stop serving alcohol after 9? But something has to be done.

Considering the temperature in Chicago, who wouldn't want to be in Hawaii? Lucky for president-elect Barack Obama, he and his family can afford to get out of the very windy city for a 12-day tropical vacation. Of course, it is his hometown and he's essentially doing what a lot of Americans do at the holidays: going home to visit family and friends.

I recently took my own beach vacation to Florida, but I didn't get to stay in a million-dollar rental property like the Obamas. Oh, well. Life's not fair. But for kicks, let's say I had money to burn from a generous employer, what would I pay to stay like the Obamas? I did a quick check over at Rentalo.com. And though for security reasons, the Obama folks can't say exactly where he's staying there was a photo (above) of the beachfront house by The Associated Press, who also report the five-bedroom $9 million estate is in Kailua, about 30 minutes from Honolulu. At Rentalo, I found an oceanfront rental with four bedrooms, a jacuzzi and hot tub in a gated community in Honolulu, for a cool $25,000 a month. Not bad. Only $800 a night.

The folks at Hawaii's official visitor's bureau have not overlooked the possibiiity of Obama's frequent vacations gaining them more tourists. They've set up a special page on their site highlighting Obama's local favorites. I guess they're looking for their own Meli Kalikimaka. (Merry Christmas)

Photo: Associated Press

The weather just isn't cooperating this year for holiday travelers. Delays. Cancellations. And the worst - an accident in Denver over the weekend that left a Continental Airlines jet on fire and in pieces with nearly 40 passengers injured. Judging from the look of this photo, they were lucky to be alive. Seattle had it bad. So did Chicago and New York. Even today, a colleague of mine is still stuck in Iowa, where blizzard conditions are playing havoc with air travel. With conditions like these, even Santa may have a tough time taking off. Here's what's up:

Investigators still don't know why that Continental Airlines jet, a Boeing 737-400 headed from Denver to Houston, left the runway, but they have recovered the black boxes. Some experts say it's possible the pilot was trying to abort takeoff and one passenger who escaped the plane noted that the wings were icy. Here are some passenger accounts of the accident.

Considering the recent problems, it seems an odd time for the FAA to be booting weather forecasters from the nation's air traffic control centers. But The Associated Press is reporting that's what's happening. The FAA wants to save cash by providing forecasts from a distance. Under the plan, two weather units, one in Maryland and another in Missouri, would provide weather information for all flight centers.

And I missed 60 Minutes last night, but Lesley Stahl had a revealing interview with the outgoing head of TSA. When asked if all of the patting down and shoe scanning was really necessary, he said "This is war. These people are trying to kill us."  Also, TSA agents think passengers are mean to them. And parents, please stop sending your infant carrier through the scanner with the infant still attached.

Photo: Associated Press