By JOE MACALUSO GRAND ISLE - The call came early Wednesday morning: "The surf is clear and we're catching trout right up on the beach," Terry St. Cyr said. "They're catching some on the island, too." The island is Grand Isle.

By RICHARD BURGESS LAFAYETTE - Like many south Louisiana residents, Bob Stewart has a soft spot in his heart for Grand Isle. "When you cross the bridge at Leeville, it's like you're entering another world," he said of the road leading to the coastal community at the end of La. 1 in Jefferson Parish.

By ROBERT LIEBMAN The New England state might be known for its winter charms, but Vermont's Lake Champlain is a year-round hotspot, says Robert Liebman THE AMERICAN state of Vermont conjures up romantic images of autumnal foliage, snow-clad ski resorts, warm apple pie and maple syrup.

By JOE MACALUSO One week into the fall season, and this year's movement around and into the marshes is on schedule.

By Loren Steffy, Houston Chronicle Aug. 25--WHEN I got the tip on Tuesday about yet another problem at BP -- this time a leaking oil well in the Gulf of Mexico -- I thought of what Carl Veley told me a day earlier.