Restaurants With Higher Standards

When you're puzzled over what you're allowed to carry onto a flight, think 3-1-1: Each liquid or gel must be in a container that's three ounces or smaller; all must be placed in one clear, quart-size zip-top bag; only one bag is allowed per passenger (tsa.gov/311). Or not: Packed amid all our test containers was a four-ounce bottle of moisturizer that no one looked at twice.

The Three ContendersNalgene: Known best for its plastic water bottles, Nalgene sells individual bottles and packages like the $8 Travel Kit--four bottles and two jars, in various sizes, each with a screw-top lid and under three fluid ounces--at nalgene-outdoor.com and stores like REI, Eastern Mountain Sports, and Campmor. Pitotubes: Founded by a former flight attendant, Pitotubes makes plastic containers with pistons at the bottom that rise as the bottle empties, making it easier to get the contents out. Available at pitotubes.com, they're $10 each and are also sold as a $52 collection of six (two each of 15ml, 30ml, 50ml), with labels so you can ID them. Tumi: The luggage manufacturer gives anyone who buys a carry-on bag from a Tumi store in the U.S. or at tumi.com a set of four two-fluid-ounce plastic vials that are OK to clean in the dishwasher. All of the tops screw on, and two have press-open lids. The Test First, we chose two containers from each company. Then we filled them with two different substances: an oozy hair gel (for the ones with press-open and flick-open lids), and a liquidy mouthwash (for the screw tops). We packed each container in its own sandwich-size Ziploc bag--if there was leakage, we'd know which was the culprit--and then put them all in a one-quart Ziploc. We threw the bag in a carry-on, and flew from Raleigh-Durham to New York City, jiggling and jostling the carry-on as a normal traveler would. The only drama came when we took photos of the containers mid-flight: Would other passengers think we were mixing a Molotov cocktail from hair gel and Listerine? The Results The good news: no leakage. The flaw with Tumi's containers, however, was clear immediately. The plastic is very stiff, making the bottles virtually impossible to squeeze (a real problem with the press-top one), and the mouths are so narrow that the containers are a pain to fill and clean. The Pitotubes are sleek and stylish, but the mouths are just as narrow as the Tumi bottles'. Also, while the Pitotubes' neat pump tops worked well for the hair gel, they're a messy way to dispense something more watery like mouthwash. Pitotubes also lost some major points because they're not supposed to be cleaned in the dishwasher. The Winner The no-nonsense Nalgene bottles are made of a plastic that gives nicely, and the containers have wide mouths that are easy to fill and clean. Plus, they're inexpensive, durable, and dishwasher-safe. That's something we can get on board with.

Volunteer deals Groups of 10 or more get a discount if they book lodging and airfare for a volunteer vacation through cheaptickets.com. India flight Jet Airways plans to bring service to the U.S. in August, with a daily flight between Newark and Mumbai (via Brussels). AirTran fees The airline is charging $5-$15 for some aisle and exit-row seats. CityPass NYC CityPass has added the Met museum to its New York pass and the Hockey Hall of Fame to its Toronto pass. Nonstop routes ExpressJet announced new nonstops connecting smaller airports, including San Antonio to Tulsa, Oklahoma City, New Orleans, and Tucson; and Jacksonville, Fla., to Kansas City, New Orleans, and Austin. Skybus airline Skybus began flying from Columbus, Ohio, to Richmond, Oakland, and other airports, promising at least ten $10 seats on each flight. But it's charging for everything--and you can't bring food on board. Teen programs After consulting teenagers, Royal Caribbean is rolling out new features for them like Nintendo's Wii, teen-only dining, and an ice-breaker jam session with musical instruments. Billy Graham Library opens Charlotte, N.C., is home to a library dedicated to the evangelist. The building resembles a barn; the entrance is a 40-foot-tall glass cross. billygraham.org National Park fees going up Over the next three years, higher rates will be introduced at a third of U.S. national parks, including Big Bend, Zion, and Mesa Verde. The old $10-per-vehicle rate may become $20. Williamsburg Spa The 20,000-square-foot Spa of Colonial Williamsburg is open. thespaofcolonialwilliamsburg.com No-frills Jamaica SuperClubs' basic brand, Rooms, gets a second property, in Negril, in December. roomsresorts.com Disney shift Smoking is no longer allowed in any Disney hotel rooms or timeshares in Orlando. It'll only be OK at certain outdoor spaces. Riu in Aruba The Spanish chain now has a hotel in Aruba, the Riu Palace Aruba. riu.com Movin' movies Austin's Rolling Roadshow is screening movies all over this summer, including North by Northwest at Mount Rushmore. rollingroadshow.com

Finding the cheapest airfare is a game--and often, a maddening one at that. Flight prices fluctuate all the time, and the only way to monitor all the ups and downs is with frequent searches. This can obviously lead to shopping fatigue: Who has the time to punch dates and destinations into a handful of booking engines several times a day? A few websites have begun doing the searching for you. The best option of all may be one that came out of beta-testing this morning, Yapta.com, whose entire mission is to handle all of your searches for you. Membership is free. Once you join, plug in your dates and routes, as well as a price threshold. The site will do several price searches per day, and as soon as the flight drops to that specified price, you'll receive an e-mail alert. Members can also download Yapta's software and get messages instantaneously on their desktops. Yapta not only tracks flights you might want to buy, it tracks flights you've already bought. Why? Because occasionally fares drop so low that airline ticket holders are entitled to a cash refund (minus a change fee of $100 or so). It's rare but does happen. Yapta also tells members when they're entitled to a flight voucher from an airline: It's a little-known rule with some airlines--Alaska, JetBlue, Southwest, United, and US Airways--that a ticket-holding passenger can get a flight voucher if a sale is announced and prices drop below the fare the passenger paid. Getting the airline to cough up cash or a voucher involves some red tape, as you'd expect. But the only chance of getting anything back from the airline is by tracking fares after you've already paid for your flight--and nobody wants to do that. So Yapta, it seems, will certainly come in handy. I've been given a sneak preview of the site and have been testing it out. A key thing to note: For Yapta to start working for you, you've got to plug in exact flight numbers and times. The service searches for fares on that specific trip only; it doesn't search fares for an entire date. That's good if you'll only be happy with that specific flight, but not so good if you're flexible with times and are only looking for a cheap fare.