Thrill seekers may anxiously await this summer’s arrival of Sin City’s newest adventure, the VooDoo Skyline, coming to the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino.

The ride will send guests racing along a wire between the hotel’s Masquerade and Ipanema towers at speeds of up to 33 miles an hour. While it’s similar to a zipline, the attraction is electrically powered, so it doesn’t rely on gravity. The ride can handle two passengers at a time.

The 70-second roundtrip begins and ends at the resort’s VooDoo Lounge, atop the 50-story Masquerade tower. On the return journey, guests will be transported backward as they overlook the famous Strip, just across I-15.

“We’re excited to be offering this invigorating new view of Las Vegas,” Kevin Donnelly, director of hotel operations, said in a news release. “Now thrill-seeking guests can enjoy the legendary views that VooDoo Steak and VooDoo Rooftop Nightclubare best known for -- from an entirely...

Here’s a fetching Ireland tour that includes airfare from New York, a rental car and six nights of lodging for $999 a person. The catch? Well, it’s a winter trip, available beginning Nov. 1 and running for five chilly months. And the car features a manual-shift transmission. But still.

The deal: Great Value Vacations offers the Emerald Dromoland Package that will let travelers explore Ireland at their own pace and experience everything from bed-and-breakfasts to a castle hotel. The journey begins at Dublin’s Croke Park Hotel. From there, travelers explore the countryside. Options include the southwest (Kilkenny, Kinsale, Killarney), the west (Galway, Dingle Peninsula, Aran Islands), or the north (Sligo, Donegal). The six-night package also includes a stay at Dromoland Castle, the 16th century castle that was transformed into a luxury hotel in the 1960s. The 375-acre estate offers hunting, fishing, riding and golf.

When: Nov. 1 to March 31. Blackout dates apply and...

One of the most famous aircraft in American military history -- the Lockheed F-104A Starfighter -- has landed at the Pacific Aviation Museum at Pearl Harbor.

The jet arrived on Oahu’s Ford Island in early May, becoming the 43rdaircraft to join the museum’s collection of historic planes.

Starfighters were used by the Air Force from 1958 through 1975. At a length of more than 55 feet, but with a wingspan of just under 22 feet, the jet was dubbed “the missile with a man in it.”

It was in an F-104 that Gen. Chuck Yeager made the record-breaking, high-altitude ascent depicted in the movie “The Right Stuff.” The modified, rocket-assisted jet soared to more than 100,000 feet during a test flight in December 1963.

The museum is located on the site of what was known as the Pearl Harbor Naval Air Station at the time of the Dec. 7, 1941, attack. Visitors reach the site aboard shuttles that depart from the USS Arizona Memorial/Pearl Harbor Visitor Center.

Adult...

On May 2, two Viridian employees and 28 volunteer travelers visited the Mamori region of the Brazilian Amazon on the company’s fourth trip to Brazil as part of its Amazon Preservation Project. 

Viridian launched the project in March 2011 with the goal of planting 5,000 indigenous trees in Brazil within five to six years due to severe deforestation in the Amazon.  Viridian’s website states that as of 2008, an estimated 280,000 square miles of rainforest had been burned down since 1970.

The May group planted 401 trees in three days during a six-day trip, and Viridian attempts to take two trips each year. 

Featuring a glass atrium with 150 species, Butterfly Wonderland opens in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Saturday, on a five-acre parcel on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community.

The new attraction brings a tropical rainforest environment right into the middle of the Arizona desert. Butterfly Wonderland will also feature educational laboratories, interactive exhibits, and a 3-D movie theater along with a gift shop and café.

In addition to seeing more than 3,000 butterflies, visitors can stop by the Rivers of the Amazon to check out some aquatic life, an ant colony, and the Honey Bee Extravaganza exhibit that features of series of beehives (protected by glass, of course).

Butterfly Wonderland will hold a special grand opening celebration in conjunction with “National Butterfly Awareness Day” on June 1.

Butterfly Wonderland’s opening marks the first phase of the planned “Odysea in the Desert” entertainment complex that will also eventually feature the largest...

Trails and campgrounds in Point Mugu State Park damaged by the Springs fire earlier this month will reopen  Friday but officials warn visitors to stay out of closed areas to help the area recover, according to an announcement.

The popular Sycamore and La Jolla campgrounds off Pacific Coast Highway at the southern end of the park will open in time for the Memorial Day weekend. Campgrounds have been closed since May 2 when the fire burned from Newbury Park to the ocean and torched about 12,000 acres of the almost 14,000-acre park. (Thornhill Broome Campground and Sycamore Cove day-use area remain open and were unaffected by closures.)

The Chumash trail and back-country routes will reopen too, allowing a first-hand look at the fire-ravaged landscape. Trail repairs will be ongoing, and the park will open at sunrise and close at sunset until further notice.

Park officials warn visitors not to wander off trail and hamper habitat recovery. "We'll be monitoring the situation closely, and if we...

Here's one fish story that just may have a happy ending. On June 8 and 9, the Big Bear Lake Assn. is hosting its annual Fishin' for $50K Trout Derby. Big Bear Lake will be stocked with 15 specially tagged trout, and one will be worth $50,000 to the angler who reels it in.

Those who land any of the other 14 tagged trout will be eligible for a cash prize drawing of up to $500. Besides the tagged-trout prizes, anglers in four classes who catch the largest fish by weight will be awarded prizes too. A bonus prize of $500 is to be awarded for the overall largest trout by weight caught on Pautzke Fire Bait.

The entry fee is $55 for adults and $30 for participants 15 and younger. Entries are limited to the first 750 registered anglers.

The fee is waived for those Trout Derby participants who stay at least one night June 7-9 at a Big Bear Lake Resort Assn. lodge. Participants who rent a pontoon boat at a participating Big Bear Lake marina also will receive up to four free entries.

Each...

Hungry for a change of pace? The World Street Food Jamboree in Singapore, May 31 to June 9, may be the place to find it.

The event, described as a "mega street food feast," will feature 35 master chefs. Entries will hail from Indonesia, India, Thailand, Vietnam, the United States, Malaysia, Copenhagen, Denmark, China and Singapore, one of the world's best-known street food cities.
 
In addition to offering unusual cuisines, ongoing events will include masterclass cooking demonstrations, an awards ceremony, discussions on street food opportunities, live music and other entertainment.

The jamboree is being held in conjunction with a two-day conference, World Street Food Dialogues, that will feature food experts such as American chef and author Anthony Bourdain; Saveur magazine editor James Oseland; Brett Burmeister of Food Carts Portland; and Singapore chef K.F. Seetoh, founder of the street food fest.   

"As the day draws nearer," said Seetoh, "it is becoming crystal clear there is...

For those spending Memorial Day weekend in the Bay Area, the USS Hornet Museum will hold a special Memorial Day ceremony Monday to recognize veterans. The ceremony will take place aboard the aircraft carrier and will begin at 1 p.m.

The Hornet is a historic aircraft carrier that participated in World War II, the Vietnam War, and the Apollo 11 recovery. It is now moored at Alameda Point in the San Francisco Bay.

This year marks the 13thyear the museum is holding this ceremony and it will include a special invocation by retired U.S. Navy Cmdr. Chaplain John Berger, a special wreath-tossing ceremony off the ship, and the presentation of Colors by the Boy Scouts of America. There will also be musical performances featuring the Hornet Band and the Young American Patriots Fife & Drum Corps beginning at 11 a.m.

Before and after the ceremony, people can visit the many decks of the ship such as the Captain’s Bridge and the Engine Room. The museum also houses many exhibits including 13...

If you’re a baseball fan, you probably know that the Omni San Diego Hotel offers a unique tie to the game: It overlooks Petco Park, with a pedestrian skywalk connecting the hotel to the action. It’s the only hotel in the nation attached to a major league ballpark.

The Omni offers visitors other perks too. It’s in the historic Gaslamp Quarter across from the convention center and is convenient to other city sites.  But the hotel really shines in summer, when the ballpark is in use.

The deal: Celebrate America’s pastime with the "Beer, Brats and Baseball" package, which starts at $289 and offers lodging, plus two tickets to a Padres game, beer and brats. A Father's Day special for people who book June 14-16 adds a complimentary “Batter’s Up” breakfast of waffles or pancakes for Dad.

When: It’s available through Sept. 20.

Details: In addition to tickets and accommodations, the deal includes complimentary valet parking, and peanuts and...