Getting hitched in a Vegas wedding chapel is so last century.

In July, a van with minister began making the rounds, so couples could marry at the Vegas sign or at a site of their choosing.

RELATED:  New 'wedding wagon' cruises the Strip

Now comes word that a new Denny's planned for downtown Vegas will include a wedding chapel, photo booth, even flapjack "wedding cakes." Denny's CEO John Miller told the Associated Press that the restaurant/knot spot will be open 24 hours, which is pretty much a prerequisite in Vegas, famed for carefully considered major life decisions.

No details announced yet on prices or opening date, but you can bet they'll be more suited to penny-slot players than high rollers.

Readers, what do you think of this idea?

Four bears walked into a Norwegian cabin...and the result was one heck of a party.

According to The Local, a mother and her three cubs ripped open a wall and forced their way into a cabin in Finnmark, in northeastern Norway, earlier this week - reportedly consuming more than 100 cans of beer along with a supply of marshmallows, honey and chocolate spread.

"The entire cabin was destroyed," cabin owner Even Nilsen told the local Finnmarken.no daily. "The beds and all kitchen appliances, stove, oven and cupboards and shelves were all smashed to pieces."

And yes, says Nilsen, the carousing marauders left calling cards: excrement outside the cabin and footprints on the windows.

In other trespassing bear news, Time reports that surveillance video from the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory in Estes Park, Colo., shows a black bear went in and out of the store multiple times late last month to snag such goodies as English toffee, caramel-dipped chocolate-chip cookies and milk chocolate "cookie bears".

"The bear took the comestibles without breaking a thing in the store, ate the stolen goodies outside, and then returned to the shop for more," says Time. " All told, the well-behaved bear made seven trips in roughly 15 minutes," and the thief "left for good after a passing car scared him away."

When we polled regional magazine editors to name three favorite summer lakes each and asked USA TODAY readers to weigh in from the pool of 15 finalists, we got more than 5,000 responses - including many detailed, impassioned testimonials on the best place to beat the heat by making a splash.

Now, let's see some proof.

While Lake Tahoe topped our poll as America's best lake, we hope you'll share photos of your own aquatic favorite on the social media platforms Pinterest and Instagram.

To participate, check out our lake photos at USA TODAY's Pinterest board, share photos you've taken and post your favorites on Instagram. (For both, use the hashtag #USATODAYbestlake.) We may feature them in a gallery.

Cue those ominous strings from Jaws.

Today marks the start of JawsFest: The Tribute, a four-day salute to Steven Spielberg's blockbuster 1975 film that transformed the quiet summer enclave of Martha's Vineyard, Mass. into fictional Amity Island - the temporary haunt of a mechanical monster named Bruce.

As Reuters reports, the movie's success was followed by a boom in home construction and an explosion in summer crowds on the island. Before Jaws, the average summer tourist population was about 5,000 people. After its release, the figure ballooned to 15,000.

It's now about 75,000, but rises to 130,000 during the busiest weeks - including this one, when fans will descend on the island for Jaws-related trivia hunts, location tours, discussions and documentaries about the making of the movie, autograph sessions with surviving cast members, and forums about shark conservation. A new digitally re-mastered, Blu-ray version will screen on Saturday, Aug. 11 at 7:30 p.m. - preceded by a concert from "The Hammerheads."

Jaws author Peter Benchley, who died in 2006, devoted himself to shark conservation after the success of his book. Fear of sharks was so great after Jaws that "the initial reaction was to go out and hunt great whites," his wife, Wendy Benchley, president of the conservation group Shark Savers, told USA TODAY. "It horrified us."

Even when that panic died down, the shark population continued to dwindle because of overfishing caused by demand for shark fins.

Last month, a swimmer was attacked 400 yards off a Cape beach by what state officials believe was the first great white shark attack since 1936. The man required surgery for bites on both legs.

"At the grocery store this morning, people were talking," Benchley says. "But they now accept that sharks live in the ocean. If people act wisely, don't swim at night and don't go way out, we should be able to share the ocean together."

Never mind the old saw, "If these walls could talk…" A new travel show queries notable objects, such as the New York subway grate that blew Marilyn Monroe's dress in The Seven Year Itch, about their role in pop culture and history.

Thanks to some creative voiceover, the objects talk back.

Created by Richard Linklater (Dazed and Confused, School of Rock), the six-episode Up to Speed highlights obscure sites and objects in five cities. It premieres today on Hulu, with new episodes going up on the website at midnight on subsequent Thursdays, and then available on demand. Featured cities are San Francisco; New York; Charlottesville, Va.; Lawrence, Kan.; and Chicago. A sixth episode profiles tour guides.

Timothy "Speed" Levitch, a self-described performer of history and former New York tour guide of some renown, hosts the show. Levitch, the fast-talking subject of the 1998 documentary, The Cruise, for years led tours of New York City for Apple and Gray Line Tours.

Now, he says, "I've gone from mainstream tourism to what we call magical tourism. We visit monumentally ignored monuments, but we also visit monuments that everyone knows about, and view them in a different way."

That includes a revolving serving door at Monticello near Charlottesville, Va. Slaves on one side loaded dishes of food onto shelves affixed to the door, and rotated the door to deliver the food to the dining room.

Says Levitch, "We talk to both sides of the door" to get the historical perspective of those on either side – the slaves and Jefferson's dinner guests, who presumably were also slave owners.

Other obscure highlights: A second-century Roman column in Chicago that was a gift from Benito Mussolini in 1933, and the gold fire hydrant in San Francisco at 20th and Church that was the sole hydrant in the neighborhood to gush water after the 1906 earthquake and fire. Grateful residents repaint it every spring.

"At the heart of these objects are characters," Levitch says. "And many of them have interesting things to say."

Tune in and see if you agree.

In the dog days of summer, here are some ideas for travelers who like to stay at intimate B&Bs, which often don't boast swimming areas.

Did you know there's B&B in Paris with an indoor pool?

Or that some bed and breakfasts have pools that are drop-dead gorgeous, such as the one with sweeping vistas -- including four volcanoes -- at Vista Atenas not far from San Jose, Costa Rica, shown at right? Summer rates start at only $59.

It's one of BedandBreakfast.com's 10 B&Bs around the world that boast cool pools. You can view the list and photos on its website.

Others:

*Casa Portagioia in Arezzo, Italy. It's in the Tuscan countryside, with a pool that overlooks flowers, cypress trees and olive groves.

*Ed Lugo Resort in Wilton Manors, Fla. The lagoon-like tropical pool here has a heated waterfall, music and is lighted at night. There's a hot tub, too. The resort is inland, not far from Fort Lauderdale.

* El Morocco Inn & Spa in Desert Hot Springs, Calif. A TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice, it has a pool heated with hot spring mineral water, a day spa, and -- in keeping with its theme -- you can smoke a hookah water pipe.

*Le Domaine Tomali-Maniatyn in Quebec. Located near Mount Sutton in the scenic Eastern Townships, it has a swimmingpool that's part indoors, part outdoors that is open year-round.

*Ivory Creek Bed & Breakfast Inn, Hadley, Mass. This inn with wrap-around porch has a new pool and hot tub.

*Sweetfield Manor Historic Inn andB & B in Barbados. Set on a plantation, the inn has a tropical-themed swimming complex with lagoon and grotto.

*Maison d'Anne in Paris. It boasts one of the few indoor pools in lodgings in Paris, and the pool is below ground. Expect to pay $300 0r more for the privilege.

*Tropical Inn in Key West, Fla. This romantic oasis is tucked away in tropical gardens on Duval Street. There's a hot tub, too.

*Villa Sonho in Buzios, Brazil. A chic hideaway in this popular Brazilian beach resort, it boasts an infinity pool with views of the sea.

Readers, have you stayed at any of these B&Bs? Most are news to me. What did you think?

Julia Child would have turned 100 this month, and 100 restaurant chefs across the country are firing up their stoves this week to honor her culinary legacy.

Child died two days short of 92 in 2004, and in celebration of her birthday on Aug. 15, such notables as Barbara Lynch in Boston, Traci Des Jardins in San Francisco, Emeril Lagasse (at nine restaurants in four cities), Michel Richard in Washington, D.C. and Alice Waters in Berkeley, Calif. will create special menus and events inspired by the bon vivant chef, cookbook author and television personality.

In addition, Washington's National Museum of American History will reopen Child's kitchen Aug. 15 through Sept. 3. The turquoise kitchen, from Child's home in Cambridge, Mass., had been on display from 2002 until January of this year and will anchor an expanded food exhibit opening this November.

On Aug. 15, the museum will screen rarely seen episodes of Child's show "The French Chef," and host book signings with such experts as Alex Prud'homme, who co-wrote My Life in France with Child during the last eight months of her life.

If you've traveled on almost any type of public transport, you likely can relate to these tactics aimed at keeping a stranger from occupying that empty seat beside you.

There's the bag-on-the-seat approach. The blank stare tactic. The "back off, I'm crazy" gambit. The legs stretched into adjoining seat maneuver. And, my personal favorite, the crumpled Kleenexes strewn on the adjoining seat ploy.

Esther Kim hasn't actually witnessed that last tactic, but she saw plenty of others while riding the bus in a series of trips over the course of 2 ½ years. The Yale University graduate sociology student dubs these don't-invade-my-space tactics "nonsocial transient behaviors," a topic she explores in a paper published in the journal, Symbolic Interaction.

This penchant among travelers to avoid contact with others while in confined spaces (e.g. a bus) differs from so-called "civil inattention," a term sociologists use to describe the way strangers in close quarters (e.g. an elevator) give one another maximum personal space out of respect.

Nonsocial transient behavior, on the other hand, is more a matter of "wanting to be invisible," Kim said in a phone interview. "You want to pretend that that person doesn't exist -- and that you don't exist to that person."

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

"There's nothing wrong with wanting to avoid people," she continues. "People are just trying to protect themselves physically or mentally. They want to avoid discomfort and aggravation."

Kim, 31, didn't set out to ride the bus. She didn't even set out to examine nonsocial behavior. In the course of studying undocumented workers, she wound up traveling from Connecticut to New Mexico on a Greyhound bus for two-plus days back in 2009. Acting as both observer and participant, the researcher watched her fellow riders, jotted notes and rode some more. From Los Angeles to Las Vegas; Illinois to Texas; Connecticut to Florida and elsewhere.

A year into the exercise, Kim was looking at her notes with an eye to distilling the more interesting interactions she'd observed.
"I realized, 'Nothing is going on. No one is being murdered. No one is stealing. No one is really even talking.' "

But upon further reflection – and some chats with fellow riders about why hardly anyone interacts on the bus – she realized "there's a lot of action going on here. You have to try hard not to engage with people, to pretend they're invisible."

Though her study of antisocial traveler behavior involved mostly long-haul bus travel, Kim believes the same factors come into play on other modes of transportation.

Indeed, Kim, who is in Beijing this summer, acknowledges she never spoke to her seatmate during the 17-hour flight there.

How about you? Do you engage fellow passengers? And for those who prefer disengagement, got any tips to keep the seat next to you empty and/or silent?

USA TODAY Travel asked editors at The Huffington Post to share some of the site's top travel stories this week. Here are their picks:

Annie Leibovitz's Disney photos: Annie Leibovitz has done it again. Portraits of celebs posing (as well as behind-the-scenes shots) for this year's Disney's Dream campaign have just been released and we like them, we like them a lot.

PHOTOS:  Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy

An ode to 80 years of Airstream (with great pics): The Airstream recreational vehicle, all curves and chrome, was originally designed to evoke the open road and the aviation age. Hawley Bowlus, the man who created the brand's toaster-over-in-a-wind-tunnel look was also the chief designer of Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis. His America was all about going places and the Airstream was intended to be both a way to get there and a way to stay.

MORE:  The nation's top campgrounds, RV resorts
MORE:  Celebrating 100 years of rambling at the RV Museum
PHOTOS:  Highlights from the RV Hall of Fame

Pedi-buses coming to convention cities: Apparently a bicycle built for two just wouldn't do. Fleets of "pedal buses" that seat up to nine will descend on Charlotte and Tampa ahead of the DNC and RNC, offering delegates, media and assorted hangers-on the opportunity to hob-nob while they ride around town.

Olympic stadiums worth visiting: London's building boom is typical for host cities eager to make a big impression on the world stage. But the coolest stadiums make an enduring impression, not only through architectural flair and historic importance, but also by hosting events, guided tours, and sports activities that let visitors get a taste of Olympic glory. In Beijing, for instance, the cutting-edge Bird's Nest stadium now attracts wintertime athletes to its indoor ski resort.

MORE:  London's big summer: Queen's Jubilee, Olympics

Judging from the overwhelming response to our recent post on Caesars Palace's soon-to-open $17 million Bacchanal Buffet, readers are Vegas lovers who're choosy about Sin City's multiple options for all-you-can-eat.

RELATED:  Wicked Spoon review

Last year, USA TODAY surveyed top Vegas experts, and the buffet that won the "best of" crown was the Wicked Spoon at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas casino resort. As our "Best of" article raved:

"... what makes Wicked Spoon the next generation of Vegas all-you-can-eats is up-to-the-minute, delish dishes (clams with jalapeño, Yucatan green rice, arugula and blackberry salad). Presentation is outstanding: sweet potato fries in miniature metal "fryers"; mini chicken pot pies. Chew until you can't at dozens of stations, including a gelato bar at a dessert center featuring a pastry case groaning with house-made mini treats."

ALSO SEE:  Travel blog picks top five buffets in Vegas

Now, we're digging in and ready to crown the best buffet of 2012. The wild card is Caesars' revamped spread, due to reopen as an all-new experience Sept. 10. Meanwhile, to help guide us, please cast a vote for buffets previously picked by experts as being especially good. If you choose "other," add the buffet name by commenting below:

A weekly visit to the local farmers market is, for many, as much a rite of summer as beach trips and backyard barbecues.

And since this is National Farmers Market Week, the American Farmland Trust is offering a sneak peek at top vote getters in its annual America's Favorite Farmers Markets contest. There's still plenty of time to sway the results, however. Online voting continues until Labor Day (Sept. 3), when four winners – one each among small, medium, mid-size and large will be named.

The number of markets rose 9.6% last year, reports the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Markets listed in its National Farmers Market Directory now total 7,864, up from 7,175 last year. Almost half those markets are concentrated in 11 states, most notably California (827), New York (647); Massachusetts (313); Michigan (311); Wisconsin (298); and Illinois (292).

The annual contest – this marks the fourth year – is meant to highlight the fact that farmers markets help keep family farmers on the land.

"Farmers markets connect people who enjoy fresh, seasonal produce with the farmers who grow it," American Farmland Trust President Jon Scholl said in a statement. "America has been losing more than an acre of farm and ranch land every minute to development. Farmers markets play a critical role by helping to keep family farmers in business and keep farmland in agricultural production."

Fifty years ago, a nude, disheveled Marilyn Monroe was discovered in bed at her Los Angeles home, dead at age 36 of an apparent suicide from "acute barbituate poisoning."

But a few days before, she'd been partying with Frank Sinatra and other celebrity pals at Lake Tahoe's Cal Neva Lodge, a state-straddling casino getaway once owned by Ol' Blue Eyes himself.

And as guide Rozlynn Weig tells her 20-odd charges on a recent "tunnels tour" of the down-on-its-luck resort, "I think there's more to that weekend than we know."

A few conspiracy theorists think the troubled actress may actually have died in Cal Neva's Cabin 3, a modest, one-room structure that rents for as little as $89 a night on weekdays. (Though the star's original heart-shaped bed is long gone, a door under the closet carpet connects to a closed-off tunnel system that kept celebrities, mobsters and bootleg liquor from prying eyes.)

But it's certain Monroe was here the last weekend of July, 1962 - when Cal Neva was, in Weig's words, a " Disneyland" for Hollywood stars looking for gorgeous scenery, brisk mountain air and a temporary respite from the limelight.

RELATED:  America's best lake: And the winner is...

Monroe had flown to the resort at Crystal Bay on Tahoe's north shore in Sinatra's private plane, and by the night of her arrival "she was in tatters, ready to blow the lid off" her alleged romances with Pres. John Kennedy and his brother Bobby, says Weig.

Monroe flew home early the next day, and was never seen in public again.

Cal Neva opened in 1926, and was rebuilt after a fire in 1937. (Singer Judy Garland was discovered here, at age 13, in 1935.) It was one of the first legal casinos in the United States, served as a popular retreat with couples waiting for a quickie Nevada divorce, and was "ring a ding dinging" when Sinatra and his Rat Pack reigned here during the early 1960s.

But in more recent years, Lady Luck has deserted the place.

Gambling returned on a limited basis last year after a shutdown prompted by a sour economy and boom in Indian casinos, but it's limited to slot machines. A kidney-shaped pool that once let paddlers swim from one state to another is drained and fenced off. The gift shop is shuttered, and recent TripAdvisor reviews have been brutal ("Frank Sinatra would be appalled!")

Still, a one-hour, $10 tour (2-for-1 drink coupon included) gives an entertaining glimpse of the glory days. Customers can squeeze into some of the dimly lit passageways that once facilitated quick escapes from the feds, and straddle the yellow state line that runs down a fireplace and across the hardwood floor of the former Indian Room. And, in the Celebrity Room, they can canoodle in Sinatra's old red booth and listen to tales of drunk stars (Dean Martin was once so inebriated he had to be whisked off stage through a hidden trap door). Lining the stage, meanwhile, are period photos and scenes showing what may or may not be ghosts.

"If walls could talk," says Weig, "these would have a lot to tell us."

We're talking made-to-order chocolate and vanilla soufflés, home-smoked ribs and chefs who've worked in top restaurants.

Caesars Palace's revamped $17 million buffet, tentatively set to open in Las Vegas Sept. 10, is billed as the Strip's biggest, with 524 menu items. Caesars researched other Vegas buffets and says it will dish up more dishes. Don't expect troughs of reheated eats: Executive chef Scott Green says 80%-90% of the food will be made at buffet stations in front of the customer.

Some months ago, I asked readers to submit suggestions for the buffet's new name, and regret to inform you that "Vomitorium," "Eat Tu Brutus" and "Grubis Maximus" did not make it.

Reader Mary Riggins came closest with "Baccus Feast." The buffet's new name is "Bacchanal" instead of the old Lago. The idea is over-the-top indulging. But the decor will be modern and homey, including serving stations fronted with shelves holding hundreds of jars of pickled foods and other edibles. "No togas, no Roman columns," Green says.

There will, however, be the must-have Vegas buffet standards: prime rib, cocktail shrimp and crab legs. But look for contemporary touches that have worked well at nearly 2-year-old The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas' award-winning Wicked Spoon buffet: clever containers such as mini iron skillets for lasagna, and fried chicken and cute wire fry baskets holding chicken and waffles at breakfast. Red velvet pancakes with sweet cream cheese are on the breakfast menu. Espresso drinks will be offered, too.

ALSO SEE:  Top five buffets in Vegas

Green likes to think of Bacchanal not as a buffet, but as "nine litttle restaurants operating under one roof," he says. Four of the buffet's six chefs have worked at Michelin-starred eateries.

RELATED:  Help name Caesars' new buffet

The 590- seat culinary orgy will offer more than 20 kinds of bread baked fresh daily (including the same bread that Caesars' pricey Restaurant Guy Savoy serves.) Vegetarian and gluten-free items also will be offered.

"The major focus is the quality of the food," Green says, such as sliders fresh-cooked on a mesquite-burning grill. Planned prices are at the top of the Vegas buffet food chain, as you might expect: breakfast, $19.99; lunch, $24.99; dinner, $39.99.

Readers, what do you think? So far, what is your favorite Vegas buffet?

USA TODAY Travel asked editors at The Huffington Post to share some of the site's top travel stories this week. Here are their picks:

Disney hotels by personality: Planning a trip to Walt Disney World can be a daunting task, especially for first timers: Where to stay? What's the best ticket to buy? How far in advance can I book a princess breakfast at Cinderella's castle? To make things easy, here's a round up of local hotels, sorted by personality, to help you find the right fit.

EGAD! Suri Cruise flies commercial: Much has been made of the dissolution of Katie Holmes and Tom Cruises' 5-year marriage, but very few pundits guessed it might prove to be a boon for the commercial aviation industry.

Really pretty photos: Beaches as works of art: Photographer Gray Malin travels the world snapping the most luxurious beaches and pools from a bird's eye view. Once we shook off our initial pangs of jealousy, we became entranced by the beachscapes as seen from this playful new perspective.

10 things you didn't know about the Olympic venues: Kudos to the brains behind London's 2012 Olympic venues: Because the city won't need all the structures once the games end, many are temporary (and recyclable!).

I went on a swim-with-whales excursion in the roiling waters of the North Atlantic off Newfoundland recently, where I came face to face with a massive humpback whale.

The encounter was fleeting, but nonetheless thrilling and absolutely memorable. Still, it got me wondering about the advisability of swimming with wild creatures.

Was I merely an adventure-seeking tourist? Or was I an intrusive lout whose presence could be harmful to the whale? I floated the question by John Fisher, proprietor of the Fishers' Loft Inn on the island's Bonavista Peninsula. He didn't mince words.

"It's an invasion of privacy. You should watch passively from a distance," he said. "This is Newfoundland, not Disneyland."

Not surprisingly, Rick Stanley, who with his wife, Debbie, operates Ocean Quest Adventures, the outfit I booked with, has a different take.

"It's a big ocean," he told me. "Besides, this is passive. If they're trying to feed or have sex, we'll leave 'em alone."

Related: Newfoundland Labrador's mystique, beauty lure adventurers

The Stanleys started their whale-swimming venture several summers ago after discovering that the scuba divers they were taking to shipwreck sites were ecstatic over chance underwater encounters with humpbacks. The waters off Newfoundland's Avalon Peninsula are flush with humpbacks in June and July. Demand for the Stanleys' well-run tours is now so brisk (even with the $199 price tag), they're offering five excursions a week vs. two last summer.

When I returned home, I contacted Naomi Rose, a Humane Society marine mammal scientist, to pose the thrill-seeking adventurer vs. intrusive lout question.

The short answer: No one really knows. But commercial swim-with-whales operations are popping up worldwide, from the Dominican Republic to Tonga to Africa.

"It's growing in popularity without a lot of study to determine what's safe for swimmers and whales," she said. "That's always of concern to us in the conservation community."

Scientists have studied the impact of similar encounters involving dolphins. The animals are curious and often approach swimmers. But some studies suggest too much human and watercraft activity causes them to move on to what might be less desirable realms.

Then again, a dolphin is about the size of a human. Adult humpback whales are about the size of a bus. Given the vast size differential, a human presence might be less noticeable (and annoying) to a humpback.

Off Australia's Great Barrier Reef, home to relatively small minke whales, whale-seeking swimmers are required to maintain contact with an anchor line. "Oddly enough, the whales are very curious and they approach the swimmers," Rose said. "You can't really see how that would be harassing. When it becomes an issue is when they're being chased. And is that harmful? We don't know."

Since we were on the topic, I told her I also swam with whale sharks in Mexico a couple of summers ago. Anything wrong with that?

Related: Swim with the whale sharks: Tours to get close to gentle giants make a splash on Isla Mujeres

That's another kettle of fish, so to speak. Whale sharks lack the intelligence of whales, but little is known about their behavior – normal or otherwise, Rose said.

"If you don't know much about the animals, it's probably not a good idea to swim with them," she concluded.

Over to you, readers. What's your take on swimming with whales, dolphins, whale sharks or other wild creatures?

First came the World Series of Poker, where players fight to make the final table, and the winner of the Texas Hold 'Em marathon goes home with a ton of cash.

In November, the World Food Championships will get underway for the first time, partnering with Bally's Las Vegas as the official host in a four-day festival of eats and a big-bucks cooking competition.

Adam Richman, TV food personality, will host the extravaganza Nov. 1-4.

The idea is that cooks will converge, trying to win a total pot of $300,000. First, they compete in a category such as BBQ, chili, burger, sandwich, side dish and "chef's challenge." There will be "people's choice" voting, too.

RELATED:  The top five buffets in Las Vegas

As in the WSOP, champions will converge at a final table -- only this one is all about eats. Seven category winners will vie for a $75,000 prize in front of Caesars Palace. The showdown will be judged by a panel of celebrity/culinary judges, including Richman, star of the Travel Channel's Adam Richman's Best Sandwich in America and Man v. Food Nation.

ALSO SEE:  Flight attendant won a prize in the Pillsbury Bake-Off

Now, you might ask: Can I jump in with my Weber grill or grandma's lima bean casserole and walk away with the jackpot? Not unless you've been specially selected or won one of the championship's qualifying contests, which include many that are new to me. A list is available at the contest website.

Here's the scoop from event spokesman Jeff Morris: "Some people competing in November will certainly be 'pros' who make their living by cooking or preparing food, either through owning their own restaurants or cooking on the KCBS professional BBQ circuit for example. There will, however, be a considerable number of 'average Joes' who treat food as a passion, but it may not pay the bills. The competition is seeking to put some of the best from all of these categories, from all walks of life, on the same footing, in the same competition. "

As for the World Series of Poker, it resumes with the final nine players Oct. 29 in Vegas.

No, it's not San Francisco, Seattle or even New York. The coolest city in the USA is … Houston.

Four other Texas burgs – Dallas (No. 4), San Antonio (No. 11), Fort Worth (No. 13) and Austin (No. 19) made it into Forbes.com's tally of the coolest places to live, among the nation's 65 largest metropolitan areas.

Compiled with help from Sperling's Best Places, the ranking takes into account seven measureable aspects of cool, including entertainment options, green space, outdoor activity venues, the per capita number of non-chain restaurants and bars, and the cultural diversity of residents.

With a median age of 33, Forbes.com notes that, "Over the past decade, the dreary (Houston) corporate landscape has been quietly transforming. Stylish housing developments have popped up downtown, restaurants have taken up residence in former factories and art galleries like the Station Museum have been inhabiting warehouses."

The accolades might seem baffling to those who haven't visited Houston in awhile, but they don't surprise long-time Houston Chronicle columnist Ken Hoffman.

"Thermometer aside, Houston is cool because we're everything to everybody," he says. "We have all the major sports and outdoor activities year 'round. Yet the arts community is thriving and there are jobs looking for smart people. We're the best city in ultra conservative Texas, and our mayor is an openly gay woman. Top that!"

Rounding out the top 10:
2. Washington, D.C.
3. Los Angeles
4. Dallas
5. Seattle
6. San Diego
7. Boston
8. Orange County
9. San Francisco
10. New York

Summer Games fans may be raising TV ratings, and there's no doubt Olympic fever is spiking. Plus, popular track and field events are still to come.

But in London, hotel rooms are available, tourist attractions are easier than usual to get into -- and seats on planes from the States during the Games are readily available and priced lower than the fares many Games-goers paid months ago.

Tuesday, a Delta Vacations package from New York to London Aug. 7-11 -- when the Games still are in session -- cost $2,206 a couple, including all taxes. The package includes nonstop flights and three nights in a hotel in central London. United Vacations was offering similar deals from Washington's Dulles Airport.

Nonstop flights alone were in the $1,000 range from the East Coast or Chicago during coming days; about $1,300 from San Francisco, according to a search on kayak.com.

That's a lot of money, but those same flights were higher a few weeks ago, and prices soar to $1,500 and above immediately after the Games.

According to an article in Britain's The Independent newspaper, theater business and museum visits are off, because visitors are preoccupied with the Games or people are staying away because of incorrect perceptions about cost or problems with transport.

Steve McNamara, general secretary of the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association, told the newspaper that cab drivers are hurting and that London is a "ghost town. ... Anecdotally our business is down by about 20%-40% depending on the time of day."

Fans with Olympic fever who can fly over on the spur of the moment may face a problem, though: obtaining tickets. No more official tickets for U.S. visitors are on sale, and resale is banned. A Canadian tourist spent two nights in jail for trying to scalp two tennis tickets he said he couldn't use.

However, people are selling tickets on Craigslist or obtaining them unofficially in other ways. And in response to an outcry about so many empty seats seen on TV, organizers are freeing up tickets or allowing people leaving events early to "recycle" them to potential spectators .

RELATED:  Olympic ticketing woes

Would you consider a last-minute trip across the Pond?

Park ranger duties go far beyond shutting down wild parties on campgrounds and taking visitors on nature walks.

They rescue people in all sorts of disastrous situations, protect the flora and fauna in their domains and educate the public on nature and having respect for it.

Today is the fifth World Ranger Day, when national park rangers around the globe are honored. According to the International Ranger Federation, "it is the day to commemorate the many Rangers killed or injured in the line of duty. It is also the day to celebrate Rangers and the work they do to protect the world's natural and cultural treasures."

PHOTO GALLERY:  Park rangers at work around the world

Suggested activities include lighting a candle and having a minute of silence to think about rangers who have died in the line of duty. One is Margaret Anderson, shown at right, who was shot New Year's Day 2012 by a rampaging visitor at Mount Rainier National Park. And June 21, Rainier ranger Nick Hall fell to his death while trying to rescue some injured climbers.

Thanks to the World Wildlife Fund, you can even send an e-card to a ranger with a message of your choice. If you don't have a specific ranger in mind, you can mention a park or just write a general note of appreciation. Messages will be delivered and can be read online soon on that same part of the WWF site where you send your greetings.

If I knew his name and if he were still alive, I would send one to the man who helped my father and me out near Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains during an especially fierce thunderstorm. Lightning was striking not far away, wind and a downpour had toppled our tent, and I was panicked ( I'm sure my dad was, too, though he tried not to show it). We lucked into a ranger on patrol, who directed us to a nearby shelter. Inside were blankets, a fire and -- surprisingly -- a couple we knew from our hometown who offered us food and clothing. The ranger left us in good hands, and I hope I thanked him then (I was maybe 10 years old).

Readers, care to share any stories about your encounters with park rangers or appreciation of those felled while on duty?

Tahoe came out on top in our recent reader poll on America's best lake, and I'll be exploring the popular alpine outpost later this week for a travel story running Aug. 10. But as its many fans made clear, the second-place finisher has plenty to offer, as well.

Though I grew up in southern Wisconsin on the shores of Lake Mendota (a sentimental favorite, but not on our shortlist), I wasn't familiar with runner up Lake Charlevoix, Michigan - or another nearby lake north of Traverse City that earned several write-in votes, Torch Lake.

RELATED:  America's best lake: And the winner is...

PHOTOS:  Best lakes in America

Now, I'm "smitten with the mitten" (a reference to Michigan's hand-shaped geography).

A few arguments in its favor from our readers:

Nancy M. Dammann: "To be fair, all these lakes are amazing. But here are a couple of other Lake Charlevoix facts worth mentioning--from any point on Lake Charlevoix, you can sail to any ocean in the world and many other lakes. Near the mouth of the lake, there is a natural safe harbor that often shelters international sailors and boaters who have left the oceans in the fall, under the false assumption that the Great Lakes will be safer than the oceans. Charlevoix's harbors have often hosted storm fleeing sailboats and provided them a home throughout entire winters. Lake Charlevoix has also been a seasonal destination since pre-Columbian times, providing an important summer place to Native Americans in the area. In addition, residents are also trying to raise funds to buy a significant chunk of lake shore (a former summer camp) and turn it into a permanent public park. The lake is 18 miles long, 3.5 miles wide at its widest, and has two arms (the South arm is 11 or 12 miles long and often much calmer than the Northern arm). It is home to loons, and ducks, and fish, the occasional otter, gorgeous boats, and amazing people and communities."

Karen Kent Guzniczak: "We've owned a retail store in Boyne City for 22 years and talk to thousands of people every year from all over the world. The comments we hear are always about how blessed we are. People are amazed at how clean and clear Lake Charlevoix is. A young child from our area went on vacation with his parents to the Caribbean and when they they flew over the water he said 'Look Lake Charlevoix.'"

Stephanie Balch: "Sandy beaches, access to restaurants, great fishing, gorgeous harbors in quaint Northern Michigan towns ... and a short boat ride through Round Lake and the Pine River Channel puts you on Lake Michigan! Not a more beautiful lake to view the fall foliage."

Laurie Szabo-Dill: "Got married overlooking Lake Charlevoix, and still have people tell me it was the most beautiful wedding they've ever been to!"

Chase Petroelje: "With several small, tourist-adored towns surrounding it, Lake Charlevoix boasts some of the world's finest sunsets, beaches, boating and gastronomy ... a shallow ledge outlines the entire lake, making it ideal for families, and anchoring for a day of relaxation. If that's not enough, it was the location for the wedding of world-famous author Ernest Hemingway and his wife. You know you've found an extraordinary lake when much of it is bordered by multimillion dollar houses, private water planes, and some of the largest yachts you'll ever see!"

G.T. Long: "Lake Charlevoix is where the Gods swim....other lakes may be pretty, but Lake Charlevoix is spiritual in its beauty, clear, clean, deep, and big, situated on hills and a hundred shades of green."

Tahoe - North America's largest and most popular alpine lake, a place Mark Twain once called "the fairest picture the whole earth affords" - is the champion in USA TODAY's recent survey. The poll generated more than 5,000 votes via Facebook and Twitter.

Michigan's Lake Charlevoix was runner-up among a field of 15 finalists nominated by regional magazine editors, with strong support for Alabama's Lake Martin, Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks and North Carolina's Lake Lure plus a sizeable number of votes for New York's Blue Mountain Lake, New Hampshire's Newfound Lake and Washington's Crescent Lake.

RELATED:  See original post, plus reader comments and votes

PHOTOS:  Best lakes in America

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While we took some heat for ignoring the five Great Lakes, our intention was to spotlight some of the USA's smaller, less famous summer getaways.

So much for that idea: The winner, notes nominator Peter Fish of Sunset, straddles the California-Nevada border and "draws a gazillion - that's what it feels like on a weekend, anyway— tourists who use it as a summer escape hatch."

But, Fish adds, Tahoe is "too stunning not to be experienced" - a sentiment echoed by aficionados like Dick Goodrick, a former Michigander who now lives in Dayton, Nev.

"The Sierra Mountains around Lake Tahoe clinch the deal," wrote Goodrick. "Year-round recreation, skiing, hiking, casinos, mountain bike riding, fishing, wake boarding, sailing on big boats, paddle wheel dinner/cruise boats, clear deep blue water, spawning salmon, zip-lining, historic homes to visit, and much more. No lake can match it."

As a former Southern Californian, I'm no stranger to Tahoe's multiple joys - and although I admit I'd rather listen to the call of a lonely loon than commune with a "gazillion" fellow admirers, I'm looking forward to revisiting some old haunts and discovering new ones for a story and photos that will appear in USA TODAY Travel on Aug. 10.

So, Tahoe fans, help me out. I'll be heading to the lake tomorrow, and look forward to your top suggestions for where to go and what to do to capture what makes it America's best.

Please leave your ideas as a comment below - and, if you'll be at Tahoe this week, I'd love to hear them in person. I'll be arranging a meet-up later this week, so drop me a line at lbly@usatoday.com if you're interested in saying hello.

Whether you're dreaming about beating the heat at the bottom of the planet or bringing it on in one of America's most torrid corners, Google Street View - the map option that lets you explore the world via 360-degree, street-level images - can take you there with the click of a mouse.

The latest Street View update, which required special permission from the Department of the Interior, was filmed in May on vehicles rigged with 15-lens cameras. Along with Death Valley, it includes first-person views of California's Yosemite, Sequoia & Kings Canyon, Redwood and Joshua Tree national parks.

With summer temperatures hovering near 120 degrees, Death Valley is largely ignored by U.S. vacationers this time of year, although it's popular among Germans and other heat-seeking Northern Europeans.

"We're often the forgotten big park," spokeswoman Cheryl Chipman told the Associated Press. "I think (Street View's images) will make people want to come to the park," which at 3,000 square miles is the largest in the Lower 48.

"It's a cool place, but it is remote. When they see those photos and the crystal-clear blue skies they're going to want to come here - especially in the middle of winter."

Google highlights an even more remote destination - Antarctica - in a recent Street View update from the panoramic images it first gathered in 2010.

RELATED:  Google Street View available on all continents

Now, notes Google, " you can go inside places like (British explorer Ernest) Shackleton's hut and the other small wooden buildings that served as bases from which the explorers launched their expeditions. They were built to withstand the drastic weather conditions only for the few short years that the explorers inhabited them, but remarkably, after more than a century, the structures are still intact, along with well-preserved examples of the food, medicine, survival gear and equipment used during the expeditions. Anyone can explore these huts and get insight into how these men lived for months at a time" - no boots or mittens required.

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