Officials say a Swedish couple looking for the pristine waters of the popular island of Capri ended some 400 miles away in the northern industrial town of Carpi after misspelling the destination on their car’s GPS.

Five people suffering from swine flu have been discovered aboard a cruise ship that docked in Greece.

Upcoming conventions, conferences, meetings, events and trade shows: DateMeetingAttendanceSite
July 20Tagger/Goodwin/150Sheraton Park South Nunn Reunion
July 23-26Randall Family Reunion100Richmond Marriott West
July 23-27Constant Family Reunion100Hampton Inn
Richmond West
July 23-Aug. 1Microscopy & Microanalysis1,000Greater Richmond

Robert Anderson of Henrico County says that since he was young he has always enjoyed traveling. “I was in Scouts, so my first big trip was to Maine. After that, traveling became a passion.“ Anderson and his wife and young son Max took a trip around the United States “traveling some 7,000 in our Honda Odyssey. After spending time in the Black Hills of South Dakota and at Yellowstone National Park, we headed south. This is what we saw as we crossed the [Grand Tetons].“

Cautionary tales from overseas Readers offered plenty of feedback on my column last Sunday about protecting valuables while on vacation overseas. One person questioned the U.S. State Department’s advice to not carry a Social Security card overseas because it may get stolen. The reader said people on Medicare routinely carry their Social Security and Medicare cards—the numbers are the same—with them at all times.

Upcoming conventions, conferences, meetings, events and trade shows: DateMeetingAttendanceSite
July 10-12Watchtower Bible and10,000Richmond Coliseum Tract Society/Jehovah’s
Witnesses
July 17-19Watchtower Bible and10,000Richmond Coliseum
Tract Society/Jehovah’s
Witnesses
  For details on meeting sites, contact the ; Richmond Coliseum, 600 E. Leigh St., 780-4970.

Virginia Republicans will appeal to the court of public opinion instead of a court of law to fight over access to Gov. Timothy M. Kaine’s out-of-town travel records as Democratic National Committee chairman. “To continue our pursuit of the documents in question would leave us with the only option of taking the issue to litigation,“ state GOP Chairman Pat Mullins said in a statement released yesterday, responding to a letter sent by Kaine’s office late last week denying his request for the records.

“My wife, Pam, and I go to Big Meadows on the Skyline Drive a few times in the spring, summer and fall,“ said Gilpin Brown of Richmond. “In the spring, some of the mama white-tail deer bring their new fawns out in the meadow early in the morning. At the end of May this year, we saw 55 deer and five to six babies in just a one-night stay. It’s beautiful there this time of year and 10 degrees cooler than Richmond.“

Five French tourists got a harrowing start to their New York visit: a wild police chase.

Lois Easton showed up at Denver International Airport expecting her usual quick trip through airport security. Instead, she was turned away as screening machines were dismantled around her. She is one of about a quarter-million customers who paid up to $199 a year and turned over detailed personal information in exchange for breezing to the gate—until the company that runs the program, known as Clear, abruptly shut down yesterday.

John Stanwix Jr. of Henrico County recently spent a week in London with his wife and captured the nighttime beauty of some of the landmarks near the River Thames. “There is always something magical about a city at night,“ Stanwix said. “The combination of the river and lights on the building was mesmerizing.“

Upcoming conventions, conferences, meetings, events and trade shows: DateMeetingAttendanceSite
June 16-18Assoc. of the U.S. ArmyN/AGreater Richmond 2009 Logistics SymposiumConvention Center
and Exhibits
June 18-21The MOLES Conclave600Richmond Marriott Hotel
June 19Bryant & StrattonN/AGreater Richmond
College GraduationConvention Center

Carole L. Hagaman and her husband took a three-week trip to Egypt in 2006. “We arose at 3:30 a.m. to be taken from our riverboat on the Nile to the West Bank to have breakfast and embark the balloon before sunrise,“ said Hagaman, who lives in Blackstone. “We were in a balloon above the one in the photo and about six other balloons were launched at the same time. It was a spectacular sight. As the sun rose, we were floating over the Valley of the Kings in the glorious morning light. It was an awesome experience to be viewing the land where the tombs of the pharaohs were built.“

Auto companies and airlines are getting hammered by the recession, but while two of the nation’s major carmakers went into bankruptcy court protection, the leading U.S. carriers are flying above the carnage—for now. Make no mistake, the airlines are in big trouble, with air traffic in a free fall this year. Many business travelers—the most profitable customers for an airline—have been grounded. Others have moved from the first-class cabin back to coach.

When gas prices hit $4 a gallon last summer, Joyce and Ricky Eagle of Warrenton simply padded their travel budget a little before tooling around the Midwest in their motor home. This year, gas is considerably cheaper. But the Eagles’ 36-foot Holiday Rambler will stay in the driveway. The reason? The software company Ricky works for sliced 20 percent off his paycheck.