A few good links: Going on vacation the Simpsons way

I love this poster from artist Emily Wick. "The Fifty United States and Their Mottos" is exactly what it sounds like. Presented like this, many of the mottos are strangely unfamiliar, perhaps because they're all in English rather than Latin here. Which states chose the best warnings, observations, and promises—and which might be due for a rewrite? I'll admit a bias for those simple mottos such as "Forward," from my home state, or Texas's "Friendship", or Rhode Island's dainty "Hope." By contrast, Massachusetts seems to be straining to fill every inch of its borders when it declares that "By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty", and so does Connecticut, with its "He who is transplanted still sustains." The poster is available as a limited edition for $150, but if you'd rather have a linoleum print of just one state, those are available as well. [Via Loopy Rocket]

When the Invisible Hand of the market goes on vacation, it seems like it goes to an undisclosed location in Hawaii and stops answering its Blackberry. Airfares to Hawaii seem to be impervious to the ordinary workings of supply and demand. No matter what happens, the fares between Honolulu and the mainland U.S. remain sky-high. True, prices are a bit lower now than they were in, say, August, because of falling fuel prices. But that comparison isn't fair. The better comparison is year-over-year because of seasonal demand. You don't want to compare Christmas week travel, for example, with a slow week in September. And the sad news is that fares to Hawaii right now are about the same they were this time last year. Here's the lowdown: About 10 percent fewer tourists came to Hawaii in 2008. And two airlines that served Hawaii extensively, Aloha and ATA, disappeared in 2008. That's a cut of about 16 percent in available seats flying to the islands. On any other major route in America, other airlines would have swooped in to steal market share by offering replacement service. But that hasn't happened for Hawaii. None of the major carriers picked up the slack and started serving the routes to Hawaii. The lone exception is that Alaska Airlines has put a 737-800 on the route between between Anchorage and Kahului. Puzzled, I spoke about this issue recently with Rick Seaney, the CEO of FareCompare.com. He explained: "There's not an incentive to add flights to Hawaii, and it's for a reason you'll never guess. The bulk of people who fly to Hawaii are people cashing in their frequent flier miles, so it's a bunch of passengers that the airlines aren't earning new, fresh revenue from." Sigh. What if you don't have enough frequent flier miles to redeem? It looks like the best way to find discounts is to book packages instead of booking your airfare and lodging or cruise separately. Tour operators are responding by aggressively discounting un-booked rooms, cruises, and car rentals and bundling them into packages. As we reported in our story naming Hawaii as one of the Top Budget Travel Destinations of 2009, there are remarkable package deals, air inclusive, from both the west and east coasts. For example, this morning we posted a great deal on a Norwegian Cruise Lines 7-night air/cruise package, covering the Hawaiian islands of Oahu, the Big Island, Maui, and Kauai, from $1,099 per person. MORE DEALS Turn to GoVisitHawaii.com for more deals and strategies.

It's always right around this time of year when I start longing for a vacation. True, most of us are just back from at least a few days off for Christmas and New Year's, but vacations are kind of like movie popcorn to me: a taste only makes me hungry for more. So I was the perfect audience for the info I got today from a new program called Tuscany: A Journey for the Senses. I'm not crazy about the name (you can't get much more New Age-y than "journey" and "senses," and New Age-y I am not), but I love the concept: a week in Tuscany studying art, architecture, or cooking. There are four programs in all, and they last anywhere from seven to 10 days. The best part? You stay at Fatttoria La Palazzina, a villa in the Val d'Orcia region. To be honest, I don't care if my pastel paintings turn out like my nephew's kindergarten art—if I get to bask by that pool and stare out at the rolling hills every day, I'll be happy. The programs start at about $2,200 for a week, which sounds steep until you consider that it covers your room, classes, local transportation, admission to museums, and meals cooked by the villa's resident chef, Eliana Pasquini. I'm guessing she doesn't serve movie popcorn, but I'm sure I'll find something to tempt me.

For most of the year New York's finest dining is reserved for the city's Trumps and Rockefellers. But during the twelve sweet days of the NYC Restaurant Week each January and June July, the Big Apple is anyone's oyster (or Kobe-beef steak, or butternut squash risotto…). From January 18 to 23 and 25 to 30, over 250 of New York's poshest watering holes will offer $24.07 lunches and $35 dinners. Lunches tend to be two courses, while dinners usually include an appetizer, a main course, and a dessert—which is a relative steal considering that many of these places can charge over $35 for a single entrée. Bookings for choice spots are now available at nycgo.com/restaurantweek, and they go fast. Tourists and locals alike grab at the rare chance to sample offerings from celeb chefs such as Bobby Flay (Mesa Grill), Jean Georges (Perry Street and Spice Market), and Nobu Matsuhisa (Nobu and Nobu Next Door). Or to earn big-city bragging rights by scoring a table at the iconic Smith & Wollensky steakhouse or the legendary Tavern on the Green. My personal favorite splurge is A Voce, a Michelin-starred Italian bistro on the corner of Madison Square Park. To help you match the meal to your palette, NYC & Company has many of the prix-fixe menus posted online, with more to come in the following weeks. Bon appétit! EARLIER Making the most of Restaurant Weeks nationwide