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Welcome to The Genre Traveler! Please sign up using the form to the right so that you'll get all the latest updates to the site. You also might want to sign up for the RSS feed, which you can do via email or your favorite RSS Reader. Last Thursday and Friday, I attended the New Communications Forum in Las Vegas for my day job. My husband, a big fan of Las Vegas, stayed at the Venetian with me. I didn't have much time to explore -- I really, really wanted to go have a drink at Quark's Bar in the Las Vegas Hilton, but I didn't make it.

So why am I telling you this? Several reasons:

1) I learned a lot about social media that I'd like to apply to The Genre Traveler. It helped me focus some of my ideas for improvements I want to make this year.

2) The Venetian is a nice place to stay for those who want an Italian fantasy vacation. However, be aware that the hotel has a very confusing layout and it is easy to get lost. When you're on the 3rd floor of the parking garage, you're on the 2nd floor of the hotel. The hotel is built in a Y shape, so be sure to take the correct elevators and the correct hallways. Also, be prepared to do a lot of walking -- the place is huge!

3) Tip: Because we arrived late, they only had "smoking optional" rooms. I'm allergic to cigarette smoke, so they put us in a larger suite "for the inconveinence" at no charge. That's a picture of our "living room." We even had a fax machine!

4) If you do stay at the Venetian, I recommend eating at the Mexican restaurant Taqueria Cañonita. The food was very good and we got to sit "outside" and watch the gondolas pass by. There are quite a few good singers navigating those boats. I also recomend the Mango Margarita -- you can taste the fresh mango.

5) On the way home, I saw a sign for "Alien Fresh Jerky" pretty much in the middle of nowhere. It piqued my curiosity, so I looked it up on the web and found more information: alienfreshjerky.com. Turns out they started out on the "Extraterrestial Highway" in New Mexico and now have a shop in Baker, Calif.

According to a recent USA Today survey, one in five Americans said that new passport regulations would cause them to alter their travel plans. The new regulations took affect last month and have been the source of much conversation in the travel industry for months.

According to another poll by Travelocity, one in four people surveyed were unaware of the new requirements, which require all incoming air travelers, including US citizens, to have a passport. A birth certificate or driver's license used to be sufficient for US citizens.

A year from now, in January 2008, the restrictions will become tighter. Cross-border land and sea travelers also will have to show a passport or passport card, a new form of identification that will be less expensive. The latter option, however, is only available if you are entering the U.S. from Mexico, the Caribbean or Canada.

The tightened regulations are part of the Bush administration's efforts to fight terrorism. You know -- you really gotta watch those Canadians ... (Don't even get me started on all the foolishness coming out of the White House).

According to a survey of Kayak.com users, 32 percent said they had planned to get a passport, but only half of them had actually started the process.

So, my question is: Did you know about the change in regulations? If so, did they change any of your travel plans?

Yep. With July's release of the new Harry Potter movie Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and the release of the final book in the series Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Britain is going to see a surge of tourism again. Since 2001, when the first Harry Potter film came out, the U.K. has experienced a tourism phenomenon.

This time, London-based tour operator British Tours Ltd. will be ready. They received their first Harry Potter inquiry in October 2000, before the first film had been released. By 2006, they were conducting more than 200 tours a year.

The Harry Potter films use several of Britain's historic sights as backdrops, and all of them have seen an increase in visitor numbers since the first film came out.

If you're interested in a Harry Potter tour, here are a few options to check out:

British Tours, Ltd.
www.britishtours.com/harry_potter.html

HP Fan Trips
www.hpfantrips.com

Off To London
www.offtolondon.com/hp_tours.html

Lynott Tours
www.lynotttours.com/b-potter.htm

London Country Tours
www.londoncountrytours.co.uk/harrypotter.htm

The Original London Walks
www.walks.com/Homepage/Harry_Potter_Tours/default.aspx

The state of Georgia (U.S.) just won my admiration. On Thursday, the Associated Press reported, the Georgia Board of Education voted to uphold a local school board's decision to leave Harry Potter books on library shelves, despite a mother's objections that they promoted witchcraft.

Laura Mallory, mother of three children who attend elementary school in Gwinnett County, had worked more than a year to ban the Harry Potter books from the schools. She claimed that the series tried to train children in witchcraft.

School officials fought back, saying that these books were good tools to encourage children to read and that banning all books with references to witchcraft would have to include such classics as Shakespeare’s Macbeth and the fairytale Cinderella.

It seems to me that a book of obvious fantasy couldn’t instruct anyone in witchcraft. If Ms. Mallory truly believes that the witchcraft portrayed in the Harry Potter books is real, then I’ve very sad for her and anyone who agrees with her. Is the state of education today so bad that people can not tell the difference between fantasy and reality?

Anyway, since 2000, the popular Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling have been challenged 115 times. According to the American Library Association, this makes them the most challenged texts of the 21st century. In addition, they’ve become one of the most popular books to be embraced by youth, causing many children who might not have discovered the joys of reading or the delight of genre fiction to become avid readers. In my book (forgive the pun), this makes them a boon to society, not a bane.

Some Gwinnet County Genre-Friendly Attractions

Six Flags Over Georgia
www.sixflags.com
Home of Gotham City Crime Wave, Superman Ultimate Flight, Batman the Ride, Monster Plantation, Santa Maria (a pirate-themed ride) and more.

Atlanta Horror Fest
www.atlantahorrorfest.com
The first one was held this year. I wonder what 2007 will be like?

DragonCon
www.dragoncon.org
America's largest, multi-media, popular arts convention focusing on science fiction and fantasy, gaming, comics, literature, art, music, and film.

Mythic Journeys
www.mythicjourneys.org
A conference and performance festival focused on the mythic imagination.

Sci Fi Summer Con
sfscon.tripod.com
A big con focused on science fiction.

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Genre Travel Across the US, Part One
Caves and Caverns, Section Three: New Mexico, Arizona and More
Continued from Wednesday

(NOTE: There are so many caves and caverns across the U.S., I broke this section of “Genre Travel Across the US, Part One” into four posts, each one focusing on a single state – except for this last one.)

NEW MEXICO
Ice Cave and Bandera Volcano -- The Lad of Fire and Ice
www.icecaves.com
Located off New Mexico’s scenic Route 53 you’ll find The Land of Fire and Ice. The Ice Cave is naturally cooled, never rising above 31 degrees F. Ice formations glisten blue-green inside, but outside the volcanic land has been called "the most moon-like expanse of country on Earth." The Bandera Volcano is an excellent example of an erupted volcano, offering views of volcanic craters and lava tubes. Also at this attraction, you'll find opportunities to mine for gemstones and a trading post that deals in jewelry, pottery, rugs and other products from the local Indian Pueblos.

ARIZONA
Grand Canyon Caverns
www.grandcanyoncaverns.com
The largest dry caverns in the U.S., Grand Canyon Caverns is located of Route 66 in Arizona, between Kingman and Seligman. The attraction has an Inn, RV Park, restaurant and gift shop. An elevator takes you 21 stories below ground to the base of the caverns, which are so large that three football (American) fields could fit inside. AAA and AARP members receive a discount.

Colossal Cave
www.colossalcave.com
Located southeast of Tucson, Ariz., off U.S. Highway 10, Colossal Cave is a dry cave where the formations are not growing at present. Staying at an even 70 degrees F, the Cave was most likely formed by an upwelling of deep, hot sulfur-rich salty water. Guides take guests on 50-minute tours and tell of the Cave's history, legends and geology. The attraction also sports a gift shop, open-air café, and a wide variety of family-friendly activities. A RealPlayer virtual tour is available at www.colossalcave.com/cavetour.html.

Hungry for more U.S. caves? Check out the National Caves Association at www.cavern.comfor the National Cave and Cavern Directory.

BATS
While in Texas, I picked up a little brochure called "Bats 'N' Bridges," provided by the Texas Department of Transportation. According to this flyer, there are 33 species of bats that call Texas home. If you'd like to see bats fly at dusk, the best time is between March and the end of October, when Mexican free-tail bats reside in Texas bridges and culverts. The best places to see them include:

• The bridge over Town Lake, Congress Ave., Austin;
• The U.S. 77 bridge over Los Olmos Creek, Riviera;
• The Interstate 35 bridge over McNeil Road, Round Rock; and
• The Foster Street bride over Loop 306, San Angelo.

For more information about bats, visit the Texas Department of Transportation's website at www.dot.state.tx.us or the Bat Conservation International website at www.batcon.org.