He laughs about it now, but to hear former flight instructor Dave Domino describe his near-death experience flying over the bright lights of Chicago, it sounds anything but funny.It was a cloudless, starry night in the mid-1970s when Domino was instructing another pilot during a cross-country flight in a small, single-propeller aircraft.As they descended toward Midway Airport they peered down to pinpoint their destination amid the city's thousands of bright lights. Domino suddenly looked up to see another high-wing Cessna -- coming directly at him in the opposite direction.The plane loomed so close that Domino remembers seeing its red wingtip light on his right and its green wingtip light on his left."It was one of those situations where all you could do was gasp -- and then he was gone," Domino says. "There was no time to maneuver. No time to do any of that."Shaken but unharmed, Domino radioed air traffic control. [Read the full article]

When Britain's Prince William marries Kate Middleton in Westminster Abbey in April this year, they will be the latest royal participants in a blue-blood tradition that goes back a thousand years.Britain's monarchs have been crowned in Westminster Abbey since 1066 -- and many have exchanged their marriage vows there, too.As Kate Middleton walks up the aisle underneath the abbey's soaring Gothic arches, to the notes of the impressive organ and choir, she'll pass by priceless sculptures, medieval paintings and the tombs of past kings and queensShe may feel nervous. Even on an average day, the Abbey is an awe-inspiring place. Light filters through enormous stained-glass windows and candles flicker in its cool, echoing corridors. Gilded tombs, gleaming altars and the smell of incense all impress the Abbey's importance as a time-honored place of worship. [Read the full article]

Eye-popping gas prices on a weekend trip to Yosemite National Park in California have Damaris Santos-Palmer rethinking a family road trip.Santos-Palmer, her husband and two young children were planning to drive from their Santa Cruz, California, home to New York over six weeks this summer."If the gas prices stay the same or continue to go up, we're not going to do it," Santos-Palmer said."But now, there's no way we're going to stay in hotels. If the gas prices continue to be like this, we're just going to have to find places to stay with people or not do the trip at all."Gas prices could take a bite out of the travel market if other American families pull back on spring and summer road trips.Santos-Palmer's family celebrated her 28th birthday over the weekend at Yosemite, a five-hour drive from home. Gas near the park, where supply is scarce, was running close to $4.50 per regular gallon, she said. [Read the full article]