What happens after 8 p.m. can make or break a city vying for Party Town status, and can determine whether the city will land among those Travel+Leisure's list of America's best cities for nightlife. 

Each year, Travel+Leisure's readers vote on what they love most (or like the least) about 35 major cities. The criteria might include  luxury hotels and big-name restaurants. To find the real party cities, Travel+Leisure looked at the nightlife rankings based on live music, cocktails, and the singles scene. As an added bonus, they also checked  noise levels.  

Just to let one know, the major factor making Nawlins the champ of over-the-top partying is -- Bourbon Street. But those surveyed love this city for small details too. New Orleans has its bar scene, its neighborhood joints,  fascinating people, and  cool boutique hotels.

And Damn! We haven't even considered Mardi Gras!

Peter Goodman, over at the Huffington Post, reports on what Ben Bernanke had to say today. Ben knows what to do to help the US economy, but he's not saying.

Ben, we know how to help too! Everyone should go somewhere like Jackson Hole and spread some money around.

Our friend Jeff Ward, at Teton Village Realty, in Jackson Hole, has ideas too. Jeff has a nice way of expressing these ideas about a beautiful part of our country. Another area we believe many people should see.

As for Ben, we hope he enjoys his get away to Jackson Hole. Maybe when he gets back to his office, away from the beautiful scenery and fresh, high-altitude air -- he'll be in a sharing mood.

If you ever want to see this area yourself, there are some great accommodations there for you. Just Click Here To See.

Is it just my imagination, or is this shadow (maybe tree) trying to say something? 

Isn't it cool how one can go to a foreign travel sight and get Google translations like this?

We love land of 20 Spanish Mackerel, but just try to find the damn thing on the map!!!!

Live it! Kick it! This sums it all up. Do we need say more? NO!

When you visit Sedona, Arizona, make sure you take time for a trip aboard the Verde Canyon Railroad. Just within 25 miles of Sedona, this wilderness adventure can be a perfect addition to your Sedona vacation.

Aboard the  Verde Canyon Railroad, your vacation team will slip into an unspoiled world where serenity and stimulation merge. The Verde Canyon Railroad is a four-hour, stress-free ride, running at just 12 mph while  introducing you to the terrain between Clarkdale to Perkinsville.

While on board you hear the wheels echo off the canyon walls, feel the gentle wind, taste Arizona’s special blend of fresh air, or spy a majestic Bald Eagle effortlessly soaring above. Along the way you'll pass near ancient Indian ruins, over spanning trestles, and through a man-made 680-foot tunnel.

And if you really want to upgrade your vacation with some luxurious accommodations, click here for one of our favorite vacation rentals in the Sedona area.

Have a favorite Sedona story to share below?

Videos showing skiing ostriches are bound to get your attention. They got our's. But why?

The videos were made about eight years ago as advertising for East Japan Railway Company promoting their moving passengers to Japan's skiing areas. 

However, the videos lead us to something at East Japan Railway's site looking more like a spaceship instead of a train. A short time ago, East Japan Railway  introduced its high-speed Bullet Train Hayabusa. It is shaped like a bullet and travels 300 kilometre per hour (186 mph). And goodies like this always make us wonder where high-speed rail is at in the US, and what's the future for HSR? Here's some basic info from the US HIGH SPEED RAIL ASSOCIATION:

Between FY 2006 and FY 2007, Amtrak’s Acela grew its share of the air/rail market between New York and Boston from 36% to 41% – even though obsolete infrastructure allows 150-mph operation over only 18 miles of the 231-mile route. Overseas, where trains run on state-of-the-art tracks at true high speeds, rail dominates. On the 284-mile Paris-Lyon TGV route 2% of all travelers fly and only 18% drive. Similarly, between Madrid and Seville, the high-speed AVE trains now carry 80% of the air-rail market. California and Florida are planning high-speed rail networks because their states have choked themselves with roadways and airports and still can’t move people efficiently.


So where do you think high-speed rail is going in the US? Would you be a passenger? What benefits could you derive from from such a system?

Yesterday, a strong earthquake measuring 6.3 shook northeast Japan and a brief tsunami warning was issued for the region already devastated by the earlier March 11, 2011 event.

Reporting on yesterday's incident, CNN said the Japanese Meteorological Agency had issued a tsunami warning for Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures after the quake off Honshu, Japan's northeastern main island where Tokyo is located.

The Mainichi Daily News reported the warning was in effect for approximately 40 minutes.

After the earlier, March 11 devastation, a Japanese man was able to recover his custom 1950s Harley-Davidson motorcycle, which was washed away with his home in the earthquake and tsunami destroyed town of Onagawa, Miyagi Prefecture, northeastern Japan.

Just in case you've missed it, Hexacopters and Quadrocopters have positioned themselves as modern, aerial platforms for photographic and videographic creations. William Thielicke, a Ph.D. student, assembled a MM6 Hexacopter, complete with video camera, and the results of filming Cameroon are amazing.

Though the video is about seven months old, a recent third-place finish at the Vilsflimmern film festival in Germany, and popping up all over the Web, it's being heavily viewed. 

Even for those having been fortunate to visit Cameroon, most have never seen it like this before, as the Hexacopter swoops down on Cameroon's coast, up the rivers, hovers over tiny villages, roads, farms,  and flies passed bridges and forests.

Does this remind you of those flying dreams we've all had? When do you think they will scale up one of these machines to human size?