Wednesday Travel Ticker: Fire Island expected to rebound

Fire Island, New York’s idyllic summertime getaway, took a direct hit from Superstorm Sandy, losing about 200 homes. But about 4,000 structures survived on the 32-mile-long barrier island. AP reports that a well-maintained wall of dunes is being credited with taking the brunt of the storm’s fury . . . . The Food Network has opened its first Food Network Kitchen, in the JetBlue terminal at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. Since opening Nov. 8, the restaurant has averaged 1,500 customers a day . . . . Nearly a quarter of business travelers would give up stipend money to have extra time to explore the local neighborhood where they are staying, a survey by IHG’s Hotel Indigo found. Almost a third (29%) would give up sleep . . . . JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa is touting its new Quarter-Back Massage, a specially-designed therapeutic massage “designed to alleviate the stress of some of footballs’ greatest fans.” The Palm Desert resort’s 60-minute service runs $155 . . . . Palm Springs has been selected as one of the host cities for the 2013 Amgen Tour of California, May 12-19. The race, which stretches from Escondido to Santa Rosa, will enter Palm Springs on Monday, May 13 . . . At least one of the teams participating in San Diego’s Poinsettia Bowl (yet to be announced) will visit SeaWorld on Dec. 17 . . . . An early Mardi Gras means the Super Bowl will overlap with Carnival season in New Orleans, parades and all. New Orleans hosts the Super Bowl Feb. 3. Mardi Gras is Feb. 12. Pre-Mardi Gras parades in the city will be suspended during Super Bowl, but the suburban parades will continue . . . . If you’re in the Big Easy for New Year’s, check out the Hotel Monteleone, where Lena Prima, daughter of musical legend Louis Prima, will perform at the Carousel Bar & Lounge from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. . . . . Seattle’s Hotel Max, six blocks form Pike Place Market, is offering 25% off stays Dec. 23-30. The rates are bookable at https://www.hotelmaxseattle.com/holidays/ . . . . Disconnecting seems such a challenge. Fifty percent of respondents reported checking their emails and voicemails multiple times per day, in a survey by Marriott and Renaissance Caribbean & Mexico Resorts. Some 85% of respondents had experienced being annoyed by someone talking loudly into their cell phone when traveling . . . . Travel quote of the day: “Books are the plane, and the train, and the road. They are the destination, and the journey. They are home.” (Anna Quindlen)

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chris.erskine@latimes.com