| How to take pets on road trips and Headed to the beach? Heads up for an invasion force |
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• "Take the pet for a few short rides before your trip so it gets accustomed," says Greg Hammer, a veterinarian and the president of the American Veterinary Medical Association. "You can't take your pet on a four-hour trip if he's never been in the car before."• Make sure your cell-phone number is on the pet's collar, in case he gets lost. Put it on his tags or write it on the collar in permanent marker. And have your vet inject your pet with a tiny microchip implant (it's about the size of a grain of rice). If he loses his collar, rescue organizations will scan the back of his neck, see his personal identification number, and contact you.• It's safest for passengers and your pets if cats ride in a carrier and dogs in a car harness or a crate, depending on what makes them most comfortable. "Pets that are out of their comfort zones can have behavior problems in the car, which can be dangerous while driving," says Hammer. [Read the full article] (Sunset.com) -- Listen to the ocean from your room in one of these lesser-known inns along California's jaw-dropping Pacific coastline.Atop a bluff and offering nose-bleed views of the major highway for gray whales --- aka the Pacific Ocean -- is this Cape Cod-style seaside estate from 1901, with slatted ceilings, vintage photographs, and piles of firewood near the basement.Check in: It's hard to shake the Agatha Christie vibe at the windswept inn, what with the grandfather clock ominously stopped at 4:20, a house dog named Winston, and a Friday-night wine and cheese party where you meet the other suspects, ahem, guests. Two cottages and four rooms are shipshape cozy. From $165, breakfast included; two-night weekend minimum; coastguardhouse.comExplore: Tiny Point Arena isn't exactly booming, but nearby are sand dunes, pocket beaches, the Point Arena Light Station and the great Pinots of Anderson Valley. [Read the full article] Editor's note: Brett Snyder writes a weekly CNN.com travel column. Snyder is the founder of air travel assistance site Cranky Concierge, and he writes the consumer air travel blog The Cranky Flier.(CNN) -- The airlines love to tout their participation in one of the "Big Three" airline alliances as being great for consumers. While there are some benefits, the alliances are far from providing a truly seamless experience for travelers. For less frequent fliers, the benefits are slim to none.If you fly a fair bit, you've certainly heard about the alliances. The largest, Star Alliance, is led by United in the United States with US Airways also participating. American leads oneworld and Delta anchors SkyTeam. What's the point of an alliance? According to Star Alliance, it's to "offer customers worldwide reach and a smooth travel experience."That sounds pretty fluffy, but the alliances have been somewhat successful in that regard. [Read the full article] 
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