Travel letters: Snap on snowshoes to raise funds

I enjoyed the article about snowshoeing in the Travel section [“Hey, Waffle Feet, Mom Knows Best” by Sara Lessley, Dec. 11]. Organizations have found that by holding a snowshoeing activity, a nonprofit can organize a successful fundraising event. The participants walk over white flakes rather than walk or run over hard ground.

Sue Chehrenegar

Los Angeles

Pasadena history

I am a mystified that Christopher Reynolds failed to mention the Pasadena Museum of History in his close-up on Pasadena [“Marvelous Magnitude,” Nov. 27].

This treasure-trove of local memorabilia includes the Beaux Arts-style Fenyes Mansion (1906), which, along with the neighboring Gamble House, marked the northern point of Millionaire’s Row (Orange Grove Boulevard).

The mansion, gardens and changing exhibits are steeped in Pasadena lore, the archives are open to anyone wishing to delve into local history, and the museum store features the work of numerous Pasadena artists and artisans, locally produced gourmet items and official Tournament of Roses memorabilia.

Andrew Stevenson

South Pasadena

Digging rocks

As a volunteer in the UCLA Rock Art Archive, part of the university’s Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, I shared Dan Falk’s Easter Island story with Jo Anne Van Tilburg, director of the archive [“Rock Stars,” Nov. 6]. She is also director of the Easter Island Statue Project and a leading researcher of Easter Island.

She asked me to point out that Falk’s guide missed taking him into the quarry to see the first excavations, conducted by a UCLA team, since Thor Heyerdahl dug there in 1954. For more on the statue project, go to https://www.eisp.org.

Ed Schoch

Westchester

This is a reward?

My boyfriend and I recently decided to book a cruise in June to Ireland and Scotland. I have frequent-flier miles with American Airlines, but not enough for both of us. I called to book a flight to England, where the cruise begins.

American couldn’t accommodate me for the dates we needed to fly; however, it could get me a flight on British Airways. Imagine my shock when I was told there would be a $510 fuel fee. I’ve since been told that British Airways gouges people on these fees. Because we were determined to go, I paid the fee but felt abused. My boyfriend had to buy a full-priced ticket that cost about $1,400.

The purpose of this is to warn travelers of these hidden costs. I mean, $510 would at least have bought me a round-trip ticket to New York.

Because we are senior citizens (72 and 82), I’m guessing there won’t be a lot of air travel in the future for us. Fuel costs have escalated for several years now, but it seems the airlines are just now taking advantage of the public.

Elaine Cohen

Santa Monica

After a dispute over allegedly expired Flying Blue miles, Air France allowed my wife and I to each use 50,000 miles to book an award ticket. We decided to book round-trip flights in April from LAX to Frankfurt, Germany. When we booked the flight, we learned that we had to pay $622.14 each for taxes. When I asked for an itemization, the agent on the phone couldn’t provide a breakdown. We booked the tickets anyway, figuring the amount would be cheaper than purchasing a round-trip flight. I have used American Airlines Advantage miles to go to Europe and never paid anything close to this in taxes. You might want to alert your readers that they will pay dearly for award tickets with the Flying Blue program.

Philip L. Merkel

Huntington Beach