Travel News: 10 Most Instagrammed Beaches, Tour Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, and Savor Minnesota’s Dark Sky

From explosive holiday celebrations across America for Independence Day to awesome and affordable road trips, plus a cool new development at one of our favorite travel-gear brands, this week’s travel news is a feast for savvy travelers. LAST-MINUTE 4TH OF JULY DEALS Dreaming of fireworks? Marching bands? Red, white, and blue? We are too. And we’re psyched to report that it’s not too late to nab last-minute flights to some of America’s biggest 4th of July celebrations. Our friends at Skyscanner, who are always scouring bargain flights 24/7, have delivered an array of 4th of July round-trips for under $300. A few examples include: From New York City, you can save big flying to Chicago, Savannah, or Fort Lauderdale; from Washington, DC, you’ll find deals to Orlando, New Orleans, Las Vegas, and Miami; from Chicago, jet off to Charleston, Seattle, or Philly; and from Los Angeles, we’re seeing great fares to Dallas, Phoenix, and Provo, UT. And after you grab your bargain flight, find great 4th of July lodging with our easy booking tool. BEST STATES FOR SUMMER ROAD TRIPS If you’re hoping to hit the road this summer, a new survey by WalletHub may come in handy: Best & Worst States for Summer Road Trips focuses on car-based vacations and digs into gas prices, auto repairs, safety, and activities. Here are the top 5 ranked states for road trippers, with a brief explanation of what the state offers: Wyoming (scored well for affordability)North Carolina (scored well for activities, including tying with California for most scenic byways)Minnesota (ranked as the safest state for road trippers)Texas (scored well for activities)Florida (scored well for activities, including a high percentage of national parkland)In addition, WalletHub’s survey determined the following details that may interest avid summer drivers: Lowest gas prices: MississippiLow cost of car repairs: MichiganFewest car thefts per capita: VermontMost affordable camping: WyomingANOTHER REASON TO LOVE L.L. BEAN When Budget Travelers open up their suitcases, chances are you’re going to spot some L.L. Bean. The Maine-based apparel company has been producing some of the most reliable duds, kicks, and gear for more than a century, and we just learned another reason why we should love them: To encourage people to spend more time outdoors, even when they are “at work,” L.L. Bean has launched an outdoor co-working space initiative, which began in New York City’s Madison Square Park on June 21 with Wi-Fi, electricity, individual workspaces, collaborative conference areas, cycling desks, team-building activities, and staff onsite to help get you started. After NYC, the outdoor co-working space initiative will come to Boston (July 10 - 12), Philadelphia (July 17 - 19), and Madison, WI (July 24 - 26). Want to give the outdoor-co-working space a try? Reserve a spot at beanoutsideratwork.com.

From the long security lines at foreign airports to the bucolic mountains of Vermont to the beaches of Florida, we guarantee you’ll have a strong reaction to this week’s quirky, sometimes irritating, sometimes soothing travel news. NEW TSA RULES WILL AFFECT CARRY-ONS Starting June 30, foreign airports will be examining your carry-ons more carefully. Why? Powder. A new TSA regulation will ask that travelers headed to the U.S. from another country remove powdered substances from their bags to be carefully checked, as agents currently do with liquids, and be prepared to either discard the powder or check their bag. The reason, of course, is the fear of improvised explosive devices, which can sometimes involve powdery substances. To avoid extra scrutiny, anyone traveling with more than 12 ounces of powder, which could include makeup, baby-related products, food, and other substances, should put the powder in a checked bag. WORLD-RECORD HUMAN SEASHELL IN FLORIDA Everybody loves a good world record, and the beaches of Fort Myers and Sanibel got in on the action this past week by breaking the Guinness world record for the largest human image of a seashell. Just how large? More than 1,000 participants gathered on Fort Myers Beach on June 21, which, not coincidentally, was the first day of summer and National Seashell Day, to form what a Guinness adjudicator verified was the world’s largest-ever human seashell. SEE GRANDMA MOSES IN VERMONT The world’s largest collection of paintings by the 20th-century American folk artist Anna Mary Roberton, better known as “Grandma Moses,” is at the Bennington Museum (benningtonmuseum.org), in Bennington, VT. The artist, who started painting in her seventies, depicted colorful scenes of bustling small-town rural life in Vermont and nearby upstate New York, often from an elevated “bird’s-eye” view that plays sly games of perspective with the viewer. Gently rolling mountains can be seen in the background in many of her paintings, and visitors to the beautiful Bennington are recognize them instantly as the Green Mountains just outside of town. The museum’s newly installed Grandma Moses Gallery features a larger selection of the artist’s work than ever before, including such classic pictures as Thunderstorm, Deep Snow, and A Christmas Gift, all on loan from private collections. If you haven’t visited Bennington lately, summer 2018 might be the time.

From New York’s legendary discount-ticket window to the forests of Connecticut, to a brand-new immersive attraction arriving in Los Angeles, this week’s travel news is decidedly geared toward making your summer vacation planning easier than ever - you’re going to want to do everything on this list. NYC CULTURE VULTURES REJOICE TDF, New York City’s largest not-for-profit organization serving the performing arts, is celebrating its 50th anniversary in a big way, and NYC “culture vultures” (aka, natives and visitors who devour theater, music, and dance) have reason to rejoice.  Formerly known as the Theatre Development Fund, best known for its TKTS discount-ticket booths, most notably in Father Duffy Square in Manhattan’s Broadway theater district, TDF has helped to make the performing arts accessible to everyone, including not only the incredible discounted tickets programs (which is hands-down the best way to save money when you see a Broadway show), but also school programs, community-engagement programs, autism-friendly performances, and much more. To help celebrate the anniversary, TDF shared some fun facts, including: TDF has helped subsidize more than 1,000 plays and musicals, including 37 that went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama; TDF sends 10,000 NYC high school students to the theater each year at no cost; and, our personal fave fun fact… writer/director Aaron Sorkin was once a messenger at the TKTS discount-ticket booth. WHY YOU SHOULD DISCOVER CONNECTICUT THIS SUMMER Connecticut (ctvisit.com) is promising some surprises this summer, and we’re intrigued. We already know (and love) the state’s shoreline, beautiful woods and countryside, and mid-size cities like Hartford, New Haven, and Norwalk, but this year we’re psyched to discover new lodgings such as the boutique inn GrayBarns in Norwalk, a grown-up summer camp (for real) called Club Getaway in Kent, and The Goodwin boutique hotel in Hartford with its new Spanish-style restaurant. We’re also gearing up for an array of new ziplines (including Foxwoods and Adventure Park at Storrs) and Powder Ridge Mountain Park & Resort’s new-and-improved mountain bike trails. And, to tell the truth, we may also just sit back and relax with a trip to one of Connecticut’s 107 state parks, hike some of the state’s 800+ miles of trails, and indulge in one (or all) of the fun food trails being offered this summer and beyond, including an oyster tour, wine trail, the inspiringly named Elm City Party Bike, and much more. A NEW IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE COMES TO UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOLLYWOOD Universal Studios Hollywood just opened (literally, today) its brand-new DreamWorks Theatre featuring “Kung Fu Panda: The Emperor’s Quest,” inspired by the hit film series Kung Fu Panda, taking guests on a journey that combines storytelling with visual effects that include the first-ever integration of the Universal Creative team’s “interior projection” mapping, which creatives a 180-degree, immersive experience, plus 360-degree surround sound audio, and physical effects such as wind and rain that aim to make guests feel as if they have been literally transported into the story.

From the hottest spots in Europe to visit in 2018 to America’s biggest LGBTQ pride celebration, plus a new reason for camping enthusiasts to rejoice, this week’s roundup of travel news is one of our most culturally expansive. Where will you go next? LONELY PLANET’S BEST IN EUROPE 2018 When our colleagues at our parent company, Lonely Planet, suggest the 10 best places in Europe to visit 2018, we’re all ears. This year’s Best in Europe may be the most inspiring yet because it focuses on some major destinations that are already on avid travelers’ bucket lists (Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, for instance), but from angles you may not expect. In Italy, for instance, the place to go this year is Emilia-Romagna, a northern region that may very well be the best culinary destination on the Italian peninsula (in other words, the best culinary destination on earth). Similarly, have you been to Cantabria, Spain? Well, get packing! And while many of you have savored the canals, cycling paths, and gardens of Amsterdam, we’re guessing you may have missed Friesland, the Netherlands, a must for 2018. Explore Lonely Planet’s entire Best in Europe list at lonelyplanet.com/best-in-europe - and be sure to let us know where you decided to visit. NEW YORK CITY’S LGBTQ PRIDE EVENTS This month, New York City’s Heritage of Pride events will draw more than 2 million attendees to happenings across all five of the city’s boroughs (Manhattan Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island), making it America’s largest celebration of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) pride, welcoming a diversity of sexual orientations, a diversity of friends, family, and allies, and in general throwing NYC’s most joyful, not to mention most peaceful, party of the year. (For a full calendar, visit nycgo.com/LGBTQ.) Traditional events will commemorate the 1969 Stonewall riots, credited with sparking the modern-day gay-rights movement. The 49th NYC Pride March on Sunday June 24, whose new route proceeds through Manhattan’s West Village down to Christopher Street to pass the historic Stonewall Inn, then heads up to Fifth Avenue (this is a kind of “test run” in anticipation of 2019’s Stonewall 50th-anniversary commemorations). Each of NYC’s other boroughs are holding marches and celebrations of their own, reinforcing the cultural centrality and power of the gay pride movement to every corner of the city, a movement that was once perceived as an “outsider” enterprise at its inception in the 1960s. As Tony Kushner wrote in Angels in America, “The world only spins forward.”   A NEW APP FOR CAMPERS This summer, millions of Americans will opt for the ultimate money-saving, back-to-nature vacation lodging: camping in national parks, state parks, and other wild (and semi-wild) settings. Although most campers enjoy essential chores such as cooking outdoors, and navigating the setting up and taking down of equipment, there is one task many do not savor: actually locating a good campsite. A new app, The Dyrt, available for iOS and Android, is making that easier, with more than 70,000 images, videos, and user reviews to help U.S. travelers pinpoint the ideal place to pitch a tent.