Travel Section

Dear Travel Writer: Welcome to the cornerstone of what we do. What follows is the most important information contained in these several pages. The Los Angeles Times values honesty, fairness and truth. We understand the difficulties of the profession, but we also know that our reputation - and yours - rests on ensuring that our readers receive the best information possible. These guidelines are from our own code of ethics, constructed over many months and with much care.

Dear Travel Writer: Welcome to the cornerstone of what we do. What follows is the most important information contained in these several pages. The Los Angeles Times values honesty, fairness and truth. We understand the difficulties of the profession, but we also know that our reputation - and yours - rests on ensuring that our readers receive the best information possible. These guidelines are from our own code of ethics, constructed over many months and with much care.

A Travel section to linger over, savor Thank you for assembling a Travel section that I thoroughly enjoyed. For years, I scanned Travel because few articles shouted, "Read me!" Then to my pleasant surprise, the June 24 issue had three articles over which I lingered during Sunday breakfast. Christopher Reynolds' travel advice to recent graduates ("Next Stop: Somewhere Else") was entertaining, practical and very readable. It would have made a graduation speech for college seniors that constituted the best "gift" they could all have received.

If you've got a moment, you've got just enough time for “A Minute Away,” a new video offering from the Travel section. This week's destination is sleepy little June Lake , Calif., about 20 miles from the Mammoth Mountain ski resort. You may have seen this one here before, but it's 60 seconds of bliss that bears repeating. Last week's Minute, the first of the series, was Moscow in a snow storm. Whether you click June Lake or Moscow , you get a little slice of wordless, brain-cleansing, off-the-clock atmosphere.

Subscription Services: (800) 252-9141 Travel Section Phone: (213) 237-7730 Fax: (213) 237-7355 E-mail: travel@latimes.com Mailing Address: Los Angeles Times Travel Section 202 W. 1st St. Los Angeles, CA 90012

Innkeepers' vacations: An article in Sunday's Travel section about the places innkeepers vacation misspelled the name of the writer. She is Judy Mandell, not Mandel.

This is to state my satisfaction with the announcement of the start of a hiking column in the Sunday Travel Section. As a hiker, I welcome this new feature. TONY PEREZ Glendale

Redefining night life? That'd be Miami Regarding "For Creatures of the Night" [March 24] on Miami Beach: Jenn Harris needs to step away from Miami Beach, because anything done there is not redefining. Time to cross the bridge and step into the real Miami. Visit such places as Will Call, Space, Grand Central, the Garret, Wood Tavern, Shots Miami and the Electric Pickle Co. These places are a redefinition of typical Miami Beach night life. Marlon DeLeon Miami Wheelchair-friendly cruises Regarding "The Right Questions" by Catharine Hamm [On the Spot, March 24]

Average domestic airfares rose 1.8% to $367 in the third quarter of 2012, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported this week. Huntsville, Ala., had the highest average fare, $522, while Atlantic City, N.J., had the lowest, $133. The average fare at LAX was $398, up 1.7% over the year before . . . . Not able to make it to New Orleans for the Super Bowl on Feb. 3, or Mardi Gras a week later? Get a feel for the streets with EarthCam's live webcams in the heart of New Orleans.

Wow. Readers, you rock. In the Dec. 30 print edition  of the Travel section, we asked you share travel tips for our annual resource guide, scheduled for publication Feb. 17.  It was a holiday week and things were slow but you were not, sending in about 100 tips altogether. What a great start to an issue that promises to be full of information designed to make your travels easier. For those of you who got caught up in the holiday madness (or were just too tired take on one more task)

A history that needs to be told I sent Catharine Hamm's "Courage and Legacy" [Dec. 2] to my mother in Connecticut. In 1938, she escaped from Nazi Germany to the Philippines. President Manuel Quezon opened the doors of his country to more than 1,000 Jewish refugees. It is an amazing story that is not well-known - another "underappreciated chapter in the country's history. " Our family will always be grateful to the Philippines and its people. Leonie Hershfield Kramer Laguna Beach :: Thank you for this article.

Regarding "Death or Illness: Airfare Refunded?" by Catharine Hamm [On the Spot, Nov. 4]: As infrequent travelers, my best friend and I signed up for a trip to New York City some years ago. Travel insurance was offered, but we weren't sure we'd need it. After much thought, we went with it. We were surely glad we had. The last thing we expected was for me to end up in the hospital just a week before takeoff. The company we dealt with was great. We had complete refunds. "Nonrefundable" means taking a big chance, so you really need to weigh that concept against insurance.

I am a subscriber and an online reader. I look forward to the Travel section. Seriously, it is one of the first sections I dive into. Today's write-up about Santa Barbara is wonderful, and I got lost in it like a good book ["It's Ripening on the Vine" by Christopher Reynolds, Oct. 7]. As fall finally arrives, it will be a short trip by rail from San Diego County. I appreciate the great writing and am considering a weekend trip there. Christopher Carmichael Santee, Calif. After reading Reynolds' description of the inns in the Los Olivos area, I feel compelled to put in a word for the ForFriends Inn. My husband and I stayed there for a getaway weekend last month and found the property and rooms beautiful and the innkeepers wonderfully friendly and charming.

Soul-stirring trip through Oregon forest Great Story on Florence, Ore. ["Cool in Many Ways" by Camille Cusumano, Aug. 26], taking one back in time. Having traveled between Florence and Eugene for more than 70 years, I can assure you that there are about six routes, all of which are scenic and great trips to take if you want a new experience. It is too bad the writer could not have traveled it in a time when the forest was allowed to provide a living to the many families who resided there.