Toy crazy at Rochester museum

PLAY’S the thing in Rochester, N.Y., where the Strong Museum will open its renovated and expanded National Museum of Play on July 14.

The facility, twice the size of New York City’s Grand Central Station, will offer giant people-powered toys, an indoor butterfly garden and a Yellow Brick Road that leads to fantasy worlds featuring Harry Potter, Nancy Drew, King Arthur and the “Sesame Street” regulars.

The museum, which Child magazine rates as one of the top children’s museums in the country, contains the National Toy Hall of Fame and houses one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of toys and dolls in the world.

Admission is $9 for adults and $7 for kids 2-17. (585) 263-2700, www.strongmuseum.org.

-- Rosemary McClure

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LAX to Tel Aviv nonstop on El Al

YOU can soon fly nonstop from LAX to Tel Aviv on a route that’s being established by El Al, Israel’s national airline.

The flights, which are to begin July 23, will be offered Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays and will be the only nonstop service offered to Israel from Los Angeles.

Special introductory round-trip fares for coach passengers will be $1,399 from July 23 to Aug. 17 and $1,259 Aug. 18 to 31. Round-trip companion fares are available for first and business classes through Aug. 31.

Flights will depart LAX for Tel Aviv at 12:20 p.m.; inbound flights will arrive in Los Angeles at 6:45 a.m.

For reservations, call (800) 352-5747 or see www.elal.com.

Rosemary McClure

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California through song

FOR a state that stretches from the desert to the mountains to the ocean, the soundtrack would have to reach from Luna to the Ramones to the Beach Boys.

“California -- The Soundtrack,” a joint creation of the California Travel & Tourism Commission and Rhino Records, is designed to lure road-trippers with the Golden State’s siren songs by those bands, plus the Mamas and the Papas (“California Dreamin’ ”), Kool & the Gang (“Hollywood Swinging”) and others.

The $9.99 CD is available to consumers through the California Store (www.visitcaliforniastore.com) and will be given free to guests of Best Western hotels in California. It complements the commission’s free 30-page booklet “California Drives 2006,” which outlines back-road routes throughout the state.

Of course, with only eight songs, road-trippers will be lucky just to get out of Los Angeles.

-- Robin Rauzi

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New airport will open up remote area of Tibet

CHINA will open a new airport in southeast Tibet, near the border with Myanmar and India, in July, unlocking a remote area known for its natural scenery to 120,000 more visitors a year, state media said.

The Nyingchi Airport was built and will be managed by Air China Southwest Branch Co., a subsidiary of China’s flag carrier Air China Ltd., the official Xinhua News Agency said.

Tibet already has two airports, one in the capital, Lhasa, and another in the eastern town of Qamdo.

The city of Nyingchi is about 75 miles from the Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon, which Chinese scientists claim is the world’s deepest canyon.

Associated Press

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Yosemite highway debris

STATE Highway 140 remains closed about 10 miles west of El Portal, near Yosemite National Park, as debris and large rocks continue to tumble at the 15-acre Ferguson Rock Slide. Caltrans is studying short-term relief solutions, which include rerouting the road around the slide and building two bridges over the Merced River, said Incident Information Officer Pam Bierce. If short-term measures are taken, the road could be open by the end of summer or early fall, she said.

-- Vani Rangachar