Top 10 for cruising

The top large-ship cruise lines, from Travel + Leisure magazine’s 2002 readers’ poll:

1. Crystal Cruises

2. Holland America Line

3. Orient Lines

4. Celebrity Cruises

5. Princess Cruises

6. Disney Cruise Line

7. Royal Caribbean

8. Cunard Line

9. P&O Cruises

10. Delta Queen Steamboat Co.

More Americans hitting road in RVs

While the rest of the tourist market moans over the economic downturn, the RV industry is booming. Sales of motor homes and trailers rose more than 12 percent during the first half of 2002 and there was also a surge in RV rentals, reported the Recreation Vehicle Industry Assn. in Reston, Va.

Campground occupancy is also up 10 percent over past year, according to the Florida Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds.

The resurgence is being fueled by the post-9-11 interest in domestic travel by family vacationers and aging baby boomers – every day, 10,000 Americans turn 50, according to U.S. Census figures.

Another factor is the increase in luxury amenities, such as a hot tub, available in high-end motorhomes.

Lighter pollution reported at parks

Air quality improved or remained stable at more than half of 28 national parks that were monitored over a 10-year period, the National Park Service reported recently. Twenty-two parks had improving visibility on the clearest days. The best visibility occurs in Denali National Park, Alaska, and in an area around Great Basin National Park, Nev., the park service said.

The worst visibility is in Eastern parks such as Mammoth Cave National Park, Ky.; Shenandoah National Park, Va.; and Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee and North Carolina. The service also reported decreased visibility at Big Bend National Park in Texas and at Mesa Verde National Park, Colo.

For most of the country, the best park visibility is in winter. The full report is online at www2.nature.nps.gov/ard/pubs/aqnps.htm.