If you want to go fishing for salmon or halibut–head to Valdez!

Typically, I love the kayaking (Pangaea Adventures) and the glacier cruises (Stan Stephens Cruises). But there’s fun for everyone!
a. The Halibut Derby is on through Sept. 5. There are weekly prizes, plus a grand prize of $15,000 cash. Get your ticket ($10/day, $50/season) at the Best Western Valdez Harbor Inn. We like that place. It’s where we stayed on our recent visit.
b. Silver Salmon Derby. Wow. Another $15,000 first-prize, plus weekly prizes. This derby also runs through Sept. 5, so go get your gear and plan your trip to Valdez!
c. Women’s Derby. This is the 6th annual Women’s Silver Salmon Derby–and it’s just for one day: Sat., Aug 14, 2010. The registration is $50, in addition to your regular derby ticket. But there are lots of extra bells and whistles that come along with the fee. Of course, i wouldn’t know…since I don’t qualify. HA! Check it out HERE.
In between your fishing dates, make plans to see the Whitney Museum, on the Prince William Sound Community College Campus. This is an incredible collection gathered over decades when the Whitney’s had a store and trading post out on the highway. There are furs, artifacts, carvings, mounted wildlife models–and much more. We basically got talked into visiting — and it was worth the trip. Learn more HERE.
Fly, drive or sail to Valdez. If you’re coming from Fairbanks, Valdez is a straight shot down the Richardson Highway. From Anchorage,you can take a quick 50-minute flight on Era Alaska. Or, you can drive up and over the mountains to Glennallen, then back down to Valdez. Or, you can sail across Prince William Sound on the Alaska Marine Highway to/from Whittier. Great fun. Great sailing!
Learn more about your adventure to Valdez! Let’s go fishing!

Gray Line of Alaska has some AWESOME rail-n-stay bargains:
a. Anchorage-Talkeetna. Ride the Great Alaska Railroad from Anchorage to Talkeetna aboard the mega-dome McKinley Explorer rail cars. The coach will pick you up at the station in Talkeetna for your trip the McKinley Princess Lodge–right on the Chulitna River. Remember–this place has the MOTHER of all decks. It’s the closest hotel to Mt. McKinley–incredible views. As low as $135 per person, double occupancy, includes roundtrip rail, overnight accommodations.
b. Anchorage-Denali National Park. Get on board in Anchorage and keep riding the rails past Talkeetna up to Denali National Park. This tour includes overnight accommodations at Denali, plus roundtrip rail. Take optional bus tour into the park, go flightseeing or raft the river! As low as $239 per person, double.
c. Three days/two nights along the rail belt! Your package includes overnight accommodations at both Talkeetna and Denali National Park. You’ll see Denali from two sides! Check it out at Graylinealaska.com ! Priced from $299 per person, double!
Call (888) 452-1737 now to make your reservations to see more of Alaska with Gray Line!

A Southern California woman was removed from an Atlanta to Los Angeles flight on Delta last month after she told a flight attendant that she smelled alcohol on the breath of the plane’s captain. The flight had been delayed an hour, and, following the delay, she walked onto the jetway with the captain. Following the conversation, she told friends that she smelled alcohol on his breath. She then told a flight attendant, who told another pilot. The passenger was called into the cockpit to discuss, and was informed that the co-pilot and the captain were together during the delay that he definitely did not drink anything.

The passenger thanked the pilot and went back to her seat. Soon after, Delta staff came on board and removed her on the plane, saying that the Captain did not want her on board. Delta gave her meal vouchers and a hotel room and booked her on a flight the next day.

This does sound like one of those stories where there’s clearly another side, but if this is true, it’s kinda disturbing.

JAL is sending 100 of its executives to American Airlines to learn how to get the carrier through its severe financial troubles.

Let’s get this out of the way: you can insert all the jokes you want here about how it could be possible that they’ll learn anything from American. Blah blah blah.

The reality is this: the team was sent to American to learn about they manage their financials. And for whatever you want to say about American’s passenger experience (and I would say it’s on par with every other major US airline), American managed itself incredibly well during the past 2 downturns. During that time the industry saw just about every other major airline succumb to bankruptcy. American did not. And while that has put them at a bit of a disadvantage now, they were the only major airline to accomplish that, and, for JAL, there’s a huge lesson in how to turn around a company during a rough financial period. Or so they hope.

Virgin America is flying into Dallas/Fort Worth.

The carrier - known for Wi-Fi on all of its airplanes and flight attendants with a reality TV show - announced on Tuesday that it is launching service from D/FW Airport to Los Angeles and San Francisco in December.

“Virgin America’s decision to launch service from DFW Airport to two major markets is a testament to the strength and vitality of the Dallas-Fort Worth region,” said D/FW Airport chief executive Jeff Fegan. “Our passengers will see a big benefit from the increased competition and the new Virgin America service.”

The new service will launch with daily flights from Los Angeles to D/FW starting on December 1 and with daily flights to San Francisco as of December 6.

With the announcement, Virgin America is offering a "Texas-sized" fare sale on those routes starting at $129. There are blackout dates around the holidays where the cheap fare is not offered. The sale ends on August 12.

"Before today, travelers along these routes had very little choice and we think a little healthy competition is always a good thing - especially for consumers," said Virgin America chief executive David Cush.

Virgin America, which is 25 percent owned by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group, launched in 2007 with its hub in San Francisco. It has about 100 flights a day with service to eleven destinations. On its website, the carrier says its aim is to "make flying good again" and touts its in-flight Wi-Fi Internet service and mood-lit cabins.

Earlier this year, its flight attendants were in a reality TV show called "Fly Girls" that aired on the CW network. The show was canceled after its first season.