About 90 miles south of San Francisco is Carmel, one of the most beautiful towns in the U.S. Movie stars and other celebrities have been frequent visitors there for the past century. Two who’ve put down roots as local citizens are Clint Eastwood and Doris Day.

Several years ago, Clint served as mayor of Carmel, and now he runs an inn there called Mission Ranch. It’s a seaside resort composed of quaint 150-year-old bungalows on a cliff featuring breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean. For information, go to www.missionranchcarmel.com

Doris Day is the owner of Cypress Inn, a seaside resort that gives visitors the feeling they’re at a French Riviera vintage millionaire’s estate. Because the singing star is known for her advocacy for animals, guests with pets are always welcome and given royal treatment. For more information, go to www.cypress-inn.com

Voted one of the top 10 hotel swimming pools in the world by Forbes Traveler is the big water playground at the Golden Nugget in downtown Las Vegas. Called The Tank, it’s much more than just for swimming. It gives you the unique opportunity of swimming with dozens of sharks, stingrays and other big sea predators.

Well, not exactly in the same water, because humans are protected by a transparent acrylic wall that affords all the fun of being with the big predators without any of the dangers. When you go, take your waterproof camera and get the proper angle so you look as if you’re side by side with the sharks. Then you can prove to your friends at home that you were actually brave enough to swim with the big guys.

The Tank also offers a three-story water slide, soaring waterfalls and swim-up bar for those who need to recover from the deadly shark encounters. For more information and to make reservations, check with your favorite hometown or online travel agency, or go to www.goldennugget.com

Started at least five centuries before the Christian Era, the Great Wall of China is a series of stone and earthen fortifications in northern China about 5,500 miles long.

The original and its later constructions were built to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire from tribal marauders. Most of the more modern constructions were erected during the Ming Dynasty of the 15th Century A.D.

The Great Wall runs from Shanhaiguan to Lop Nur along the southern edge of Inner Mongolia. Some sections of the wall are less than 50 miles away from China’s capital city of Beijing. Visitors can join a tour, take regularly scheduled buses or rent a car.

For more information, go to www.greatwall-of-china.com

Even though it happened a million years ago, my spouse always cries whenever we visit the Los Angeles Natural History Museum. Outside in the garden area is a replica of a momma dinosaur who’s unable to save her baby as they slowly sink into a prehistoric tar pit.

You may or may not cry, but you’ll be emotional when you see the new exhibit at the museum's new Dinosaur Hall. The greatly expanded 14,000 square-foot facility features the world's only Tyrannosaurus rex growth series, consisting of Thomas, a 30-foot, 18-year-old, a 20-foot juvenile and an 11-foot baby. Or, as my spouse would say it, a happy family group.

Others included in the displays are 20 fully reconstructed skeletons of Triceratops, and an enormous 68-foot, long-necked Mamenchisaurus. Bring your kids, because within the two big galleries are many more prehistoric creatures and all kinds of interactive, electronic and hands-on things to do. They’ll also get peeks into workshops, where museum experts clean and assemble the bones.

For more information, go to www.nhm.org/site/plan-your-visit