Mark Your Calendar: The 2012 New York Times Travel Show

It's the dead of winter and summer seems very, very far away. Some folks are lucky enough to be escaping the cold (like my manager who wisely booked a trip to Florida). Then you have people like me who used their vacation time to escape a cold and rainy city (New York) to travel to a cold and rainy city (Dublin). I don't regret the decision—I was visiting a friend—but now that we're solidly in February and I haven't been anywhere warm in months I'm starting to long for a reason to break out my swimsuit. I shared my longing with a friend who looked at me, raised an eyebrow, and said "you're a travel editor, shouldn't you be able to figure out a way to get a warm weather fix in February?" Oh yeah. Right. if (WIDGETBOX) WIDGETBOX.renderWidget('fa4c734d-d46d-41c6-be57-a196bbae878d'); Get the Poll Creator Pro widget and many other great free widgets at Widgetbox! Not seeing a widget? (More info) I tossed around the idea of taking a 3-day weekend somewhere warm—maybe Florida, or the Caribbean. There are certainly plenty of deals out there, but I want to save my vacation days for a big trip this summer. Then I happened upon an article we did last year—a round up of the ten best indoor water parks. The first line grabbed me: "no matter how cold it gets outside, you'll always find temperatures in the 80s in these indoor water parks." That's it! Visions of lazy rivers, waterslides and wave pools filled my head. As it turns out, those aren't the only places that give you an outlet to splash around when the mercury is close to zero. We also have a list of the top hotel water parks in the U.S. (Of course, come summer there are even more options—check out our favorite 15 water parks nationwide.) Upon closer investigation, however, I discovered that none of these places are within driving distance from where I live. Fortunately, a quick Internet search revealed an indoor water park much closer to me—Greek Peak in upstate New York—and, yes, I'll be going there next weekend. Out of curiosity, a question for my fellow travelers in colder climes—how far will you go to escape the chill? Do you plan your winter retreats far in advance like my colleague? Or are you more inclined to play things by ear? Vote in our poll or share your thoughts below. SEE MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL: 10 Indoor Water Parks in the U.S. Top Hotel Water Parks Best U.S. Water Parks

While I'm certainly not immune to a little in–flight anxiety now and then, over the years I've become a pretty cool customer when it comes to air travel. (I'm not going to stop flying, after all, so what's the point in freaking out about the what ifs?) But a recent puddle–jumper flight in the Caribbean had me in completely unfamiliar territory—specifically, in the copilot seat of the nine–passenger plane. I don't mean I was merely close to the pilot, I was actually right next to him. We could have held hands. I could have easily grabbed the second steering wheel that was inches from my knees (see photo). I was borderline terrified. Even the seat belt style was foreign to me—a five–strap number with a between–the–legs harness—and I wasn't entirely sure I'd know how to open it if I needed to open my door (the handle was right there!) and bail out into the sea in the event of an emergency. But seating assignments were seating assignments—based, I believe, on balancing the weights of various passengers and their luggage—so I sucked it up. And mid–way through the flight, I actually started to enjoy it. (It helped that my traveling companion two rows back was clearly jealous of my "luck.") Small planes, of course, are in a league of their own, but even on big commercial flights, plenty of folks can get a little panicky, in spite of the fact that the odds are in our favor as passengers: Studies estimate driving a car to be 65 times riskier than riding in an airplane*. If you fall into that anxiety–prone camp, you've got company—roughly one in six Americans experiences some fear of flying—and you might want to pick up a copy of clinical psychologist (and former flight attendant) Sandra M. Pollino's new book, Flying Fear Free: 7 Steps to Relieving Air Travel Anxiety ($14.95, New Horizon Press). In it, Pollino takes a holistic approach to soothing in–air anxiety, starting with pinpointing where your fear comes from (for many, it's not just fear of crashes, but a nerve–racking stew of claustrophobia, social phobias, and other stressors. Then Pollino systematically addresses common worries (bird strikes, thunderstorms, turbulence), answering them with detailed nuts–and–bolts explanations of the actual dangers and how pilots and ground crew work to avoid them; she also breaks down all the disconcerting noises, shakes, and changes in pressure you might encounter in an average flight. It all gets a little nerdy at times, but Pollino believes that demystifying the experience can make a big difference. (When you learn that one kind of turbulence is caused by warm air rising from the earth on a sunny day, doesn't it seem a little less scary?) In other chapters, Pollino outlines real–world advice for choosing the right flight time, seat—even the right snacks—for a less stressful flight, and gives strategies for using breathing exercises, guided imagery, stretches, music therapy, and many more techniques (ranging from the very logical to the fairly out–there) to calm your nerves. There's pretty much a tactic for every type of traveler under the (turbulence–producing) sun. How do you calm your nerves when you're in the air (or before you take off)? Leave your best tips in the comments section! *based on the mileage for an average domestic flight; the results vary when measured on a per-hour or per-trip basis MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL 6 Places Germs Breed In A Plane Are Airlines Cracking Down On "Airplane Mode"? Green Day Incident Spurs Question: Should Airlines Enforce Dress Codes?