Wow, what a magazine. I’ve been a little down on Budget Travel lately, but the folks at Frommers did it right this month. I usually only find one or two things I deem worthy of passing along from each issue, but this month’s magazine is packed with good stuff.

Here are the highlights:

• Medicine Park, Okla., is featured at number 9 on the list of The Coolest Small Towns in America. Way to go Okies.
• iPhone really needs to get the Google Goggles app touted in the Sixth Annual Extra Mile Awards story. It’s currently only available for Android.
• An online-only piece about hand gestures is worth a read to help avoid making someone mad unintentionally.

Two other pieces caught my attention. Discount Detours details deals at outlet malls near several European hot spots and Cell Phone Smarts provides tips on how to avoid big cell phone fees while traveling overseas. Since these stories  aren’t online, you’ll have to buy the magazine.

The July/August issue of Budget Travel has a handy primer for shooting better vacation video. Digital Video 101 covers not only tips to capture footage, but makes suggestions and recommendations for types of cameras and video-hosting websites.

The May issue of Budget Travel magazine contained two items that caught my eye. First was Brad Tuttle’s piece examining travel clubs and whether the benefits justify the expense of the yearly fees.

The second item was a compilation of reader tips covering ”the art of cruising.”  I’m not much of a cruiser, but I have enjoyed a couple of voyages with my family and thought many of the reader tips could come in handy on my next family sailing.

The March 2010 issue of Budget Travel magazine has a helpful article for shooting better photos. Called “Picture Perfect” author Valerie Rains offers tips for capturing a great image in all situations.

I finally finished reading through January’s Travel + Leisure and wanted to pass along a great quote from Peter Jon Lindberg, T+L’s editor-at-large. In Social Media Revolution, an article reviewing social media’s impact on the traveler, Lindberg writes, “Part of the thrill of travel is in the mystery it entails, the buzz that comes from trying to imagine what this strange new place will even look like.”

Twitter, hotel review sites, travel guides, blogs, Travel Channel shows and the like, Lindberg’s article struck home with me because I have completely embraced the information explosion. A planner by nature, I have visited places for the first time and felt as if I had already been there. Not because it was similar to somewhere else, but because I had done so much research beforehand that the place seemed familiar, often times disappointingly so.

“Part of the thrill of travel is in the mystery it entails, the buzz that comes from trying to imagine what this strange new place will even look like.”

When I travel to a new city, state, country or continent I want it to feel new. I want Lindberg’s mystery and buzz. The challenge will be fighting my tendency to over-plan and research every angle.

I just finished reading the Jan/Feb 2010 edition of National Geographic Traveler and found two articles to pass along.

First was an interesting piece comparing different methods for learning a foreign language, a skill I have never quite mastered. Oh, I can stumble along with the typical pleasantries in one or two foreign tongues, but stumble is the best I can do. You don’t have to be out of the country for long to figure out that speaking the local language would come in handy when you travel to a foreign land. According to the article, only nine percent of Americans are bilingual but more than half of Europeans speak two or more languages.

Next was a short piece on surviving an airplane accident. The article, which claims “nearly 96 percent of passengers in U.S. plane crashes survive,” has several tips that can help readers avoid that fatal four percent.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find links to these articles on NatGeo’s website, so you’ll have to grab a copy of the magazine for yourself