The Imposing Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam, located just 30 miles from Las Vegas, Nevada, recently marked 75 years of water control and hydroelectric power production on the Colorado River, Spectacular new views of this Depression-era engineering wonder are now available from the nearly 900-foot-high O'Callaghan-Tillman Memorial Bridge, which allows vehicles to cross Back Canyon about 1,500 feet downriver from the dam.

The dam was originally called "Boulder Dam" even though the dam site had been shifted from Boulder Canyon to Black Canyon.  By the time construction began, the name had been unofficially during the early years of the Great Depression, many people again referred to the dam as Boulder Dam.  In 1947, a bill that permanently named the structure Hoover Dam passed both houses of Congress.

A variety of guided tours make it possible to go inside the dam and its power plant.  Exhibits explain not only the building of the massive structure, but what life was like during the Depression and the development of the American West.  You'll get a closer look at the surprisingly elegant Art Deco style of the dam's exterior.  Inside the dam, the finishing materials, colors and patterns were designed to incorporate some of the traditional motifs of the region's Navajo and Pueblo tribes.

Hoover Dam is a terrific diversion from the glitz and glitter of nearby Las Vegas.  If you have time for a day trip, you should also stop at Lake Mead, a beautiful reservoir that's open for swimming, boating, water skiing, fishing and other outdoor pursuits.

If you don't want to drive the 30 miles from Las Vegas to Hoover Dam and back, you can reserve a space on a helicopter tour that will take you to the dam.  Some operators offer sunset tours that provide an aerial view of glittering lights of Las Vegas on your return flight.

Credit Cards Issues for International Travel

Most credit card users in the U.S. are accustomed to swiping their cards through a machine that reads the information stored on the magnetic stripe, then signing their names on a paper receipt or electronic signature pad.  Outside the U.S. - including many countries in Europe, Asia and South America - banks and retailers have switched to a system that reads information on a chip embedded in the card, then asks the user to enter a PIN.  Canada is also switching to the "chip-and-pin" system.

Chip-and-pin cards, also called "smart cards," are generally acknowledged to be better at preventing credit card fraud.  While cards with magnetic stripes are vulnerable to the possibility of being cloned through a technique called "skimming," it's not possible to clone a card that has a chip.  It's also not possible to forge a PIN as one could forge a signature.

Still, traveling outside the U.S. with a "swipe-and-sign" card is often easy.  American Express, MasterCard, and Visa require their merchants anywhere in the world to accept any valid card, including swipe-and-sign cards.  However, there can be trouble if you try to use a swipe-and-sign card with an automatic dispensing machine, such as a train ticket vending system, roadway toll booth or parking lot pay station.  If an attendant is present, he or she can accept a swipe-and-sign card, but if there's no attendant you may be out of luck.

A few U.S. banks are beginning to offer dual-mode cards that have both a magnetic stripe and an embedded chip, but so far these offers are limited.  If a chip-and-pin card is not available to you before your next international trip, ask your travel professional for some advise about traveling with a swipe-and-sign card- such as knowing how to obtain cash at your destination.

The Kennedy Center Turns 40

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., opened on September 8, 1971, and has hosted thousands of performances by great artists from across America and the world during the past 40 years.  The center, located on 17 acres that overlook the Potomac River, isn't the nation's busiest arts facility.

The Kennedy Center has a place on any "must-see" list of Washington attractions, and more than three million people visit each year.  Tours can be arranged in advance, and walk-in tours are available, too.  Tours begin about every ten minutes between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on weekdays, and between 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. on weekeds.

Tours of the Kennedy Center include the Hall of Nations, lined with Cararra marble; five of the center's main theaters, including the Concert Hall and its 4,144 pipe organ; and the stunning Israeli Lounge.  There are 20th Century works of art and crystal chandeliers gifted by Sweden, Norway and Austria.  Tours also ascend to the center's Roof Terrace Restaurant, which has a breathtaking, 360-degree view of the nation's capital.

As part of its commitment to enabling everyone to enjoy the arts, the Kennedy Center has a Specially Priced Ticket program for students, seniors, people who have disabilities, enlisted military and other people who have fixed low incomes.  The Kennedy Center also offers more than 400 free performances - at least one per day - each year.

The Kennedy Center peresents a diverse and wide-ranging program of music, dance, theater and multi-media performances. For example, in the coming months, the center will host the National Ballet of China, the Budapest Festival Orchestra, and a tribute to comedian Will Ferrell.  The schedule also has performaces by the National Symphony Orchestra, the NSO Pops, and noted pianists, jazz musicians, chamber groups and folk musicians.  You can even attend the annual Kennedy Center Honors, a glittering event held each year to recognize luminarie in the performing arts for their contributions to American culture.

Tickets for all Kennedy Center events are easy to purchase online, or you can visit the box office after you arrive in Washington.