Guest Senior Correspondent MBL, Stroudsburg PA: The brightest kid in our high school class went on to become an Oxford professor. Although we’d occasionally contact each other through the years, I was happily surprised when he showed up one day back in town.

He was there to give a lecture at the local university, and we had an enjoyable lunch together talking about old times. When he left, he told me that if I were ever in Oxford, I should contact him. By coincidence, my wife and I were planning a flight to London in just a few weeks. I happily accepted his invitation.

When we arrived at eight-century-old Oxford after a one-hour train ride from London, my classmate guided us on a tour of the campus buildings and town. We walked in awe through the world’s most famous university.

The Chinese airline is experimenting with fuels for its aircraft. Recently, it tried a combination of conventional jet fuel and biofuel made from cooking oil collected from restaurants. The 665-mile flight went as smoothly as an expert chef prepares Peking Duck.

So, next time you finish eating your delicious dinner of Peking Duck, gai lan, egg roll and fried rice, leave a bit of the oil on your plate. Just maybe, it could help bring the rising cost of flying down a teeny bit.

For serious flight schedules, prices, deals and other info, go to www.hainanairlines.com

When planning your next road adventure, consider spending travel nights in picturesque destinations along the highway. As explained below, instead the traditional hotel and motel rooms, try snoozing in a tree-top, under the sea, inside a big wooden dog, under a Native American wigwam or in a classic railroad car.

Key Largo FL: Jules Undersea Lodge, 51 Shoreland Dr., Key Largo FL 33037, www.jul.com You’ll need to be be in good physical shape for this challenge. On arriving, the hotel staff trains you to scuba 21 feet straight down to your immersed room. The unique underwater inn is located at the famed Florida coastal town where Bogie and Bacall starred in the 1948 movie drama with Lionel Barrymore and Edward G. Robinson.

Safely inside each comfortable underwater glass-enclosed room are the usual hotel furnishings, plus TV, refrigerator and microwave. On the sides and top are large porthole windows, with ever-changing views of exotic ocean-bottom plants and up-close schools of fish. Rates per night are from $400 a person.

Guest Commentator PBL, Tucson AZ: When I retired, we left the cold, clammy Northeast and headed straight out I-40 west 2,500 miles to desert dry Tucson, Arizona. We've enjoyed two sunny retirement decades in the Sunshine State, and experienced many of its senior-friendly destinations. Here’s our list of favorites.

Grand Canyon: www.nps.gov/grca Spend quality time at this breathtaking creation by Mother Nature. On our visits, we went to the South Rim. It’s a five-hour drive from Tucson, with a halfway lunch stop in the beautiful town of Flagstaff, set in towering pine forests.

Our favorite Grand Canyon activity is the one-mile mule ride down to the desert floor and banks of the Colorado River from Bright Angel Lodge. The trip can be difficult for the very elderly and physically-challenged. I’d advise a one-hour ride ($50) for first timers. Reservations for the very popular trip must be made at least six months in advance. www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/mule_trips