Virginia Is for Lincoln Lovers

Relaxing on vacation just got a little easier. Tech-free zones are being introduced at Marriott and Renaissance resorts in the Caribbean and Mexico next month. Yes, there will still be wifi available if you just can't disconnect. But there will also be sections of the resorts free of loud cell conversations and phones buzzing with email alerts. The move comes after the hotel chain did a survey of guests and found that 85 percent of vacationers have been annoyed by someone talking loudly on their phone, and 31 percent admitted they have been tempted to throw their mobile device in the ocean. That seems extreme, so instead the resorts are banning technology in certain areas (starting in December and running through the prime winter months) to give you a break. Participating hotels are part of the Paradise by Marriott brand that includes nine resorts in beach destinations like Puerto Vallarta, Cancun, St. Kitts, and Aruba. Rates for a double room at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort start at $189 in mid-January, while double rooms start at $159 at the CasaMagna Marriott Cancun Resort.

In the same way that the Olympics are interesting, even if you don't really care about sports, Art Basel has a way of bringing the die-hards and dilettantes together. It's also noteworthy for the way in which it infuses the city of Miami with energy—not just during the show, which takes place over four days from Dec 4 to 9, but long afterwards thanks to an influx of new restaurants, hotels, and bars (including the spiffy new Hyde Lounge at the American Airlines arena). The Miami program has been gaining steam since it was launched in 2002 as an offshoot of the original Basel festival in Switzerland. It is one of the few international art events that is as much for the public as it is for the industry. This year, more than 260 art galleries from almost every continent will showcase select pieces from established artists and up-and-comers alike. Media runs the gamut from photography to painting to public art projects. Tickets are expensive ($42 a day, $90 for a permanent pass), but there are a few exhibits that will be free of charge, such as the sculpture showcase in Collins Park. In addition to the art on display, there are films exploring the field of art, salon talks on various art-related subjects, and receptions in the evening. Also taking place over the same period: Design Miami, the interior design counterpart to Art Basel, and the UR1 music and art festival, which will feature acts such as Kanye West, Animal Collective, and Jane's Addiction. If a visit to the Miami is in your future, Art Basel is an event you should have in your vocabulary—if for no other reason than to understand part of what makes this city such a cultural hotspot. The details: Public show days take place from Thursday, December 6 through Sunday, December 9. A one-day ticket is $42, a permanent pass is $90. Miamibeach.artbasel.com Going to Art Basel Miami? Share your photos with us at myBT and use the tag "Art Basel Miami" in the caption. If we receive enough images, we'll build a slide show out of them.

The National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis opened back in 1991, incorporating the Lorraine Hotel, site of the Martin Luther King, Jr. assassination. But on Monday, November 19, the public will be able to access the most famous spot at the museum for the first time: the balcony that Martin Luther King, Jr. was standing on when he was shot in 1968. You've been able to see the balcony from afar, but now it will be open to the public along with King's hotel room. At the end of the day on Monday, the main section of the museum will close for an extensive renovation that will include interactive exhibits on the slave trade from Africa to the U.S., Brown vs. Board of Education, and the Memphis Movement. The balcony will remain open during the renovation and close again when the renovations are completed in early 2014. The Legacy Building annex across the street, located in the former boarding house that James Earl Ray used as a staging area for firing the fatal shot, will also remain open. This isn't the only assassination spot that is open to the public, of course. You can visit Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C. and then go across the street to the Petersen House and stand in the room where Lincoln died. Or take an audio tour of the streets around the former Texas School Book Depository, swing by the grassy knoll, and head up to The Sixth Floor Museum to see where Lee Harvey Oswald stood when he shot JFK in Dallas. How important is it for the public to have access to these sites? Are they an important part of history, or a macabre way of remembering fallen heroes and presidents?

With less than a month to go before the official end of the Mayan calendar on December 21, 2012, a new museum focused on Mayan history has opened in Cancun. The Maya Museum of Cancun is a $15 million project that includes 350 ancient Mayan artifacts it took more than 30 years to collect. Designed by Alberto Garcia Lascuráin and showcasing three 4,400-square-foot exhibition halls, the museum features 14,000-year-old Mayan remains discovered in the underwater caves of Tulum, the 10,000-year-old remains of La Mujer de las Palmas (The Woman of the Palms) discovered in a nearby cenote 10 years ago, and a room full of tools and other artifacts the Mayans once used in daily life. Sculptures by artist Jan Hendrix are also on display, as is a 26-foot-tall Great Pyramid inside the main building and displays of ancient dwellings, altars, and mural paintings. Next door to the Maya Musem is the archaeological site of San Miguelito, also included in the $5 admission price. The museum's official website is currently only in Spanish, but an English-language version is in the works (the Cancun tourism board's website has information in English as well). The Mexico Tourism Board has been promoting "end of the world" tourism all year through Maya Mundo 2012. The site focuses on places up and down the Yucatán Peninsula of historical significance, information on how the Maya understood the world, and the real meaning behind the countdown to December 21, 2012 (in other words, it's not a scary end of the world scenario, but the end of old beliefs, and the era of new understanding that will begin). If all this has got you thinking about taking a trip, check out our travel deals to Mexico and Central America, because odds are the sun will rise again on December 22nd, and you've still got some traveling to do.