Does the hotel landscaping reflect the areas climate? The key is to look around, Starr Vartan, author of The Eco Chick Guide to Life, wrote in an email. Are lush trees and grasses growing in profusion in natural areas at your destination? Well, then, for the most part, the ecosystem can support similar types of plantings in the hotel grounds too. Usually if a property is using local and native plants for their landscaping, they will tout it on their site. As a side bonus, these kinds of plants really give a visitor a sense of place and a further grounding in the local environment.

Is the hotel designed to adapt to the local climate? This can be especially important at beach destinations,...

COLLEGE LACROSSE

INDIANAPOLIS Syracuse will play a future Atlantic Coast Conference foe in the first round of the NCAA Division I Mens Lacrosse Championships.

The Big East champion Orange (9-7) will travel to Durham, NC, to play third-seeded Duke (13-4) at noon Saturday In a game to be televised by ESPN.

SU beat Villanova and St. Johns en route to the Big East crown and an automatic bid.

The SU/Duke winner will play either No. 6 Massachusetts or Colgate in the quarterfinals on Sunday, May 20 at PPL Park in Philadelphia.

Loyla (14-1) is the top sEed, followed by Johns Hopkins (11-3), Duke and Notre Dame (11-2).

The 16-team field includes seven conference...

MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) The Myrtle Beach area joins cities across the nation in celebrating the power of travel and tourism, during the 29th annual National Travel and Tourism Week.

The Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce says that nearly 15 million tourists vacation in the Grand Strand each year. They will be celebrated tourism week with activities and promotions for Grand Strand visitors including several scheduled musical performances

List of performance during National Travel and Tourism Week:

• May 7, 11 am- 1 pm

Doug Fankhauser, various instruments and singer

• May 8, 11 am-1 pm

Joan Burton, guitar player and singer

• May...

Updated:
May 13, 2012 3:20AM

For consumers preparing to make summer vacation travel plans, antacids may be in order.

Higher airfares and still sky-high gasoline prices are driving up the cost of the summer trip.

“People I think are going to be shocked by how much higher some fares are,” said Airfarewatchdog.com President George Hobica. “We’re seeing fares that we haven’t seen in years.”

While fuel costs have driven up fares, other factors include airlines intentionally cutting back on capacity, flying fewer planes, which makes fewer seats available, and airline mergers have led to less competition...