Sailing

Barbie joins Princess Fiona and the "Shrek" clan as the latest kiddie character to invade Royal Caribbean International cruises. The iconic doll from Mattel will become the centerpiece of a "cruise experience" for girls 4-11 on the entire 22-ship fleet starting next year, the company said. The Barbie Premium Experience starts with staterooms decorated with Barbie pink everything -- pillows and blankets, toothbrushes and tote bags. Then there's a dress-up fashion show, mermaid dance class and a Tiaras & Teacups party featuring pink pastries and pink lemonade.

Chased by demons of past sins, pursuing the ghosts of past greatness, the top-ranked USC football team began the 2012 season by swathing the rollicking Coliseum with one chilling word. Scary. The Trojans looked so good in a 49-10 defeat of Hawaii, it's scary. The Trojans also looked so vulnerable in the wake of allegations of more NCAA infractions, it's scary. In their first game after two years on probation Saturday, the sprinting and soaring USC players have never looked more free.

Blown saves are often spectacular, but rarely as spectacular as Kenley Jansen's meltdown Saturday night in a 7-6 defeat to the San Diego Padres. Jansen was on the verge of pitching his way out of trouble when he committed the most egregious of sins. He let his mind drift. With two outs in the ninth inning, men on second and third base and the Dodgers clinging to a one-run lead, Jansen looked down and started kicking dirt on the mound, apparently collecting his thoughts before throwing a 2-2 pitch to Alexi Amarista.

It's a bird, it's a plane, it was two flying lawn chairs strapped to 350 helium balloons! In a soaring feat reminiscent of a certain Disney movie , a gas station owner and an Iraqi adventurer lifted off in a homemade flying machine in central Oregon on Saturday -- only to be forced down again by storms moving through the area, according to a report from the Associated Press . The area saw heavy rain and hail as big as nickels, the...

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. - They never got close, and Mitt Romney may not have even seen them, but protesters - some from Occupy Wall Street - took political theater to a new level Sunday outside the beachfront estate of billionaire David H. Koch, where the Republican candidate was raising money. Some of the 200 protesters marched down mile-long Coopers Beach toward the home in a cloud of sand, bearing banners and signs: "Your $50,000 ticket equals my child's education," "end corporate personhood" and "don't forget to tip the help.

Catalina Island's iconic casino, known as a concert venue for some of America's most famous Big Band orchestras, will rock to the tunes of a different era Saturday during a rock 'n' roll symposium. The event, "The British Invasion Rocks America," is being sponsored by the Catalina Island Museum , and is the opening salvo for a trio of events spotlighting '60s rock. Also in the works: an exhibit at the museum, "Gimme Some Lovin': The Spencer Davis Group," which opens Saturday and runs through Aug. 22; and a Fourth of July fireworks show and concert at the casino that will feature the Spencer Davis and the Catalina All-Stars.

Let's get lost in the Pacific Northwest, and I don't mean in Seattle or Vancouver, Canada. Little Gig Harbor - for most of the last century accessible only by boat - is a working fishing village ringed by tall pines on the ragged western edge of Puget Sound. Think sailboats, beachcombing, art galleries, a blessing of the fleet festival, fresh salmon, Washington state wines and the occasional glimpse of Mt. Rainier on the eastern horizon. At the far end of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge - famous for the collapse of its first incarnation four months after it opened in 1940 - Gig Harbor isn't easy to get to, about a 45-minute drive from Sea-Tac Airport.

DALLAS -- Anna Tunnicliffe was born and raised in England. And she has the British accent to prove it. "With certain words it comes out," she acknowledged. But that does not, she insists, make this summer's Olympic Games a homecoming. "I'm American," said Tunnicliffe, who became a U.S. citizen in 2003 and an Olympic gold medalist five years later. "I've spent more than half my life in America. I'm going to England to compete. "I love the country. But no, I'm not going home.

Sailing aboard the Californian is a throwback to the era of tall ships and re-creates what 19th-century travel by sea was like. The Martitime Museum of San Diego offers three sailings to Catalina Island aboard the topsail schooner where participants take turns standing watch, setting sail and learning other on-board skills. (Yes, there's a motor so you won't be stuck in the doldrums.) But it's not all work. There'll be time to relax on board and to go kayaking in the waters off Catalina with guides and gear provided.

Did you know that strawberries, though considered a fruit, are technically a member of the rose family? Then you are ripe for the California Strawberry Festival this weekend in Oxnard. On 50 acres, the event features two concert stages and an array of strawberry treats, including strawberry beer. There's also Strawberryland for the kids. Info: (888) 288-9242 or www.strawberry-fest.org . . . . Speaking of kids, here's yet another summer activity in family friendly San Diego: Pirate Ship Adventures offers daily cruises aboard an 83-foot sailing ship , including a special July 4 cruise.