You won't want to miss this special; On May 1 -- National Pole Dance Day -- you can take a pole dancing class in Las Vegas for just $10. Fitting, yes?

Or more like fitness. The classes are in what’s being called “pole fitness,” and they will be taught at Shine Alternative Fitness, a few miles southwest of the Strip at 6415 S. Tenaya Way. Shape magazine  listed Shine as one of the “Coolest Fitness Clubs in America.”

A variety of classes will be offered to meet various skill levels. They include pole conditioning, flexibility and aerial pole skills.

The event is a uniquely American spinoff of the traditional maypoles around which English subjects have danced on May Day (May 1) since the Middle Ages.

For more information, call (702) 420-2358.

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A week and a half before the movie "Lincoln" opened last November, Cindy Ransick had an amazing Lincoln moment of her own.

The executive director of the Santa Maria Valley Historical Society Museum opened three scrapbooks stored in the museum's archives and, among hundreds of items of correspondence, found a letter from Abraham Lincoln to his friend and Republican Party activist Leonard Swett, a calling card from Mary Todd Lincoln and letters from the president's oldest son, Robert Todd Lincoln.

"It was a miracle," Ransick said Thursday. "I found the old scrapbooks and thought they were obituaries." Instead the thick books were filled with papers from other famous figures, too, such as Gen. George Custer, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and William Seward.

The collection is dubbed the "Lincoln Letters," even though the president authored just one letter. Ransick says they provide a snapshot of the politics and happenings in the Republican Party and its players as the nation was on the brink...

Visitors to Maui now have a way to stay connected to four-legged friends, even if the family pets are back home, thousands of miles away.

The Maui Humane Society is giving pet lovers a chance  to interact with homeless dogs and cats in need of some human kindness.

Starting Wednesday, the “Helping Paws Visitor Program” will let tourists lend a “helping paw” at the society’s animal shelter 1-4 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays.

After a brief orientation, vacationers-turned-volunteers will participate in activities such as bathing puppies, brushing cats and walking dogs. Children ages 10-17 are welcome to participate but must be accompanied by a parent throughout the afternoon.

“We have visitors stop by our shelter on a daily basis, just wanting to be around the animals,” Jocelyn Bouchard, the chief executive of the Maui Humane Society, said in a news release. “Until now, we didn’t have any organized way for them to get involved here,...

Travelers who buy a ticket to Argentina, Chile or Colombia on Chilean carrier LAN Airlines have an opportunity to add on a domestic flight for $27 or less, but only until Monday. It's a cheap way to get to Patagonia's glaciers or the incomparable Iguazu Falls on the Argentina-Brazil border.

The deal: The offer is part of a wider airfare sale by LAN and affiliate TAM Airlines. It's good for round-trip flights starting at $1,049 per person between Los Angeles and Santiago, Chile, (add a domestic flight for $27) and Buenos Aires, Argentina (add a domestic flight for $13). The minimum stay required for this deal is seven days.

When: The offer is good through Monday for travel starting Monday and ending June 30, subject to availability.

Tested: In checking airfares between L.A. and Santiago, I found many weeklong stays available in May at the $1,049 round-trip price. From Santiago, options include a hop to Punta Arenas to see Patagonia or to Calama in the north to the Atacama Desert....

It’s 100 miles by car between Aspen and Crested Butte.

But if you're fit and would rather hike between these two famed Colorado ski towns this summer, the trek is only 11 miles and takes just six hours. Better yet, it promises meadows filled with wildflowers and stunning mountain vistas.

The folks who run Aspen’s Limelight Hotel say many of their guests are adventurers and aspiring mountaineers. So the hotel is introducing a way to explore the local mountains with the new Aspen-Crested Butte Package.

The deal starts with two nights at Limelight, so you can acclimate and enjoy the local offerings. You’ll then be shuttled to a trailhead in the White River National Forest and dropped off with an assortment of local and organic snacks for the journey.

The hotel will also provide a map for the 11-mile hike and a Spot Satellite GPS Messenger, which allows hikers to track their progress on the trail and, if necessary, send distress signals because cellphones do not work on...

It’s a milestone week at one of California’s most famous landmarks: Cash is no longer accepted at the Golden Gate Bridge.

The move is expected to save money and speed traffic on the iconic span that opened in 1937.

What does that mean to occasional travelers who don’t own the FasTrack devices that bill electronically? Well, most car agencies include the devices with rental cars. For those passing over the bridge during a road trip, license plate scans will automatically send bills in the mail.

Nothing can ever go wrong with that, right?

Transit officials say travelers can also pre-pay with cash at "Touch-N-Buy" kiosks in convenience stores around Marin County.

AP reports that the switchover is expected to save about $16 million in salaries and benefits over eight years.

Meanwhile, nine toll-takers will lose their jobs. Another 17 have either been placed in other positions or have retired, a spokeswoman said.

The changeover was not without some emotional moments.

&...

A selection of 15 pieces -- studded with diamonds, sapphires, pearls and even gold nuggets -- are featured. Among them is a platinum ring set with three European-cut diamonds. The centerpiece is a 2-carat, pear-shaped stone.

The collection also showcases a charm necklace inscribed "This Be Your Lucky Star."

The "Heart of the Ocean" necklace featured in James Cameron’s "Titanic" isn’t included -- because it isn’t real. It was the creation of Hollywood filmmakers.

The tale of the jewelry’s discovery, which forms part of the exhibit, is nearly as fascinating as the riches themselves.

As the order was given to abandon ship on April 15, 1912, the purser and his team removed from a safe the valuables belonging to wealthy, first-...

California, Florida and New York dominated the top 100 restaurants in the country in the 2013 Diners' Choice Awards from OpenTable.

Twenty-six restaurants in California, 18 in Florida and 14 in New York were selected in the survey based on 5 million reviews submitted by diners between March 1, 2012, and Feb. 28, according to the online restaurant reservation provider.

Why did so many California restaurants make the cut? "California is naturally a leader in the hot spot arena," OpenTable's Caroline Potter said in an email. "The state boasts some of the best farmers, purveyors and vineyards in the nation, attracts the world's top chefs, and the weather can't be beat."

California also led the pack in 2012 with 25 in the top 100.

In the Los Angeles area, the top 10 restaurants (in alphabetical but no ranked order) include:

--Bestia, the Italian eatery that opened last year in the downtown Arts District
--BOA Steakhouse-Sunset in West Hollywood
--Chef Michael Voltaggio's ink.on Melrose...

The center is more than a spa, said Chanelle Garvey, the hotel’s director of sales and marketing.

"Its key programs focus on weight management, detox, face contouring and mini-lift, anti-aging procedures, colonics, body sculpting and cosmetic dentistry,” said Garvey, adding that the facility offers specialized programs, from noninvasive treatments to nutritional and life counseling.

The Vietura concept was developed by Dr. Mary Jane Torres, a Filipina who studied in Europe and promotes noninvasive, nonsurgical solutions.

The 609-room Sofitel Phililline Plaza, built in 1976, has a resort setting and is adjacent to the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

“Manila is a tremendous destination for...

The Fairmont Scottsdale Princess marks its 25th year with a summer special that echoes its age: $125 rooms and a $25 resort credit. Whether you go to golf or lounge by the pool, that's a pretty sweet deal for a hotel with a AAA Five Diamond rating.

The deal: The 25th Anniversary Early Summer Special starts at $125 plus tax and comes with a $25 credit for food and beverages. Use the code "2U8EBR" when making a reservation. The 649-room resort has just completed a $60-million renovation that freshened its Willow Stream Spa and brought a new ballroom/conference center to the site.

When: The offer is good through April 30 for travel from Memorial Day (May 27) through Labor Day (Sept. 2).

Tested: High temperaturesin Scottsdale can hit triple digits in summer, so be prepared before you go.  I checked online and found the $125 rate available July 4 to 6 when the resort holds nightly Freedom Fest concerts. The best available rate on the same nights costs $199 plus tax, and that doesn't...

Travel + Leisure magazine has selected Ping Pang Pong of Las Vegas in its new list of best Chinese restaurants in the United States.

The restaurant, inside the Gold Coast Casino -- on Flamingo Road across from the Palms resort -- opened in 2001. It quickly became a favorite with the local Asian community, despite its location just a few blocks south of Sin City’s Chinatown, with its bevy of eateries.

Not surprisingly, several restaurants in the L.A. area also made the list (Din Tai Fung Dumpling House, Sea Harbour Restaurant, Chung King). The list also featured some restaurants in locations not necessarily known for a Chinese population, including Kansas City, Mo.; Richmond, Va.; and Burlington, Vt.

The magazine helped explain Ping Pang Pong’s success in its review: “No matter which region they’re from, Chinese in Vegas can likely find their hometown specialties here,” it said.

Particularly popular is the lunchtime dim sum, served from Cantonese pushcarts...