Pets are now welcome in Hawaii

It's your last chance to enter our Blog-Off Contest. Want a chance to be a travel blogger? Post your best travel entry in the comments field below by April 30, 2007. We'll pick the 4 entries that Budget Travel's editors think are best, based on writing quality and "informativeness." Then we'll post them on our blog. The person whose entry receives the most comments during that week will be a guest travel blogger on our site for a week, plus win a $500 gift certificate. In the event of a tie, the editors will decide the winner based on which entry, in their judgment, received more positively compelling comments. For full details and contest rules, click here.

Beware of free wireless hot-spots. Many hotels and other public places offer free wireless Internet access. But travelers should be wary of such services. More and more crooks are using technology to trick laptops into opening themselves up to unsafe networks instead of legitimate ones. The danger: Your data can be quickly copied and misused. PC Magazine finds that the trick is hard to detect and is nearly foolproof. The solution is to never let your laptop automatically detect and log on to a wireless network. Instead, you should manually type in an access code that you request from a hotel or whomever is providing the free "wi-fi" service. Pay-for-access services, such as those offered by many coffeeshops, are less vulnerable to this problem because they require users to actively choose the wi-fi network they are logging into, instead of carelessly allowing their computer to tap into the strongest available signal. (hat-tip, WashingtonPost.com) New space shuttle thrill ride opens soon. The Kennedy Space Center will open a new launch simulator on May 25. The so-called Shuttle Launch Experience allows 44 visitors at a time to feel and hear what it's like to be hurtled into space. Once "in orbit," the payload bay doors open to reveal a simulated view of the Earth. Tickets, which include a full run of the visitor center's exhibits, cost $38 per adult and $28 per child. (Given the high prices, you'll be glad to know that the visitor's center is not taxpayer-funded.) You must be at least 48-inches tall to ride the simulator. Facts about the new ride will soon be posted at the Kennedy Space Center website. For general tips and ideas on planning a vacation with your family, click here for Budget Travel's advice. Flirting tips for single visitors to London. If you'd like to take a guided walking tour in London that offers the best techniques and spots for flirting, click here. The tour costs about $40 and includes practice sessions with random strangers. This tour could prove very popular. The Brits have the world's sexiest accent, as determined by a poll on BudgetTravel.com that received 2,092 responses. (info on the tour via Gadling) Oops! This Just In's readers have pointed out that I was wrong to say that gas prices continue to "soar above $2 a gallon in many states" in my Monday post "Pain at the Pump". Turns out there's apparently nowhere in the U.S. where gas is for sale for less than $2 a gallon. I made the error by looking at reported gas prices at GasPriceWatch.com that were less than $2 a gallon in Minnesota, Oklahoma, and Kansas. But it turns out those prices are outdated, which I should have seen, given that the website reports the dates on which the prices are reported. I regret the error. Today's lowest price nationwide is $2.41 per gallon in High Point, N.C., and the highest is $3.89 per gallon in Needles, Calif., according to GasPriceWatch.com. The national average is now about $2.91 per gallon, higher than the $2.87 per gallon (according to a survey of 7,000 stations) that was reported earlier in the week.

If you've ever thought about retiring to Mexico on $600 a month, you'll find the definitive article on the topic by clicking here. Oh, and Budget Travel's staff members recently revealed the places where they'd most like to retire. (Click here for the list.) We encourage you to share your preferred retirement destination by posting a comment below.

A Harry Potter theme park is in the works. Universal Studios is in talks with novelist J. K. Rowling to build a Harry Potter theme park in Florida, according to news first reported by the Scotland on Sunday and since confirmed by other sources. The new rides will probably become part of Universal's Islands of Adventure in Orlando. If the deal is signed, the half-billion-dollar park could open as early as 18 months from now. Feel free to propose names for the rides that should be created for "Hogwarts World" by posting comments below. Meanwhile, The Simpsons will get their own attraction at Universal Studios Florida next spring. "The ride will use the 80-foot-tall movie screens and motion-simulation vehicles from Back to the Future: The Ride, to give visitors a virtual-reality trip through a cartoon theme park called "Krusty Land," says the Orlando Sentinel. Kids get more respect: Starting on May 19, 2007, Royal Caribbean cruise line will begin to allow parents to enroll their children in their frequent cruisers reward program. Kids who are enrolled will be able to get a gift of Crayola Twistable crayons or a messenger bag, plus a coloring book. Meanwhile, starting Memorial Day, Omni Hotels will begin offering free gift packs full of toys to the children of guests, upon request, at any of its locations in the U.S. and Canada.