Spring is just around the corner and it's a time to get outside and enjoy the great outdoors. Here is a selection of festivals around the country that are a great excuse to get back in the spring sunshine.

Dana Point Festival of the Whales

Dana Point, California

March 7 to 8 and 14 to 15, 2010

    Each year, over two sunny weekends in March the town of Dana Point, California celebrates the return of migratory California Gray whales to this part of the Pacific Ocean. Festivities include whale-watching, an arts festival and educational hands-on activities for the entire family. Prices start at $ 29 per adult and $ 19 for children. For more information, visit www.dpfestivalofwhales. com

Chandler Ostrich Festival

Chandler, Arizona

March 13 to 15, 2010

    Chandler is the center of Ostrich(鸵鸟) ranching in the U.S. You can see jockeys ride these feathered beasts around the ostrich track at Tubleweed Park. General admission is $ 9 for adults, $ 8 for seniors, $ 7 for children aged five to 12 and kids four and under are free. For more information visit www.ostrich festival.com

Festival of Houses and Gardens

Charlestib, South Carolina

March 19 to April 18, 2010

    The Historic Charleston Foundation gives curious travelers the opportunity to explore gardens of some of the finest private residences in America. Each three-hour tour(afternoons from 2 to 5 p.m. and evenings from 6 to 9 p.m.)lets you to visit eight to ten properties dating from the American colonial period. Prices range from $25 to $45. For more information, visit www.historic-charleston.org.

Tulip Time Festival

Holland, Michigan

May 1 to 9, 2010

    You don't need to travel to the Netherlands this spring to see and smell some of the world's finest tulips (郁金香). The town of Holland is home to millions of colorful bulbs. The 81^st annual Tulip Time Festival, one of the largest flower festivals in the country will begin with fireworks on May 1. Admission fee ranges from $ 6 for the children's area to $ 38 for theatre tickets. Tickets and more information are available at www.tuliptime.com.

Woman Uses Daughter's Key to "Steal" Car

    Charlie Vansant, a college student of Athens, Ohio, who reported that his car was stolen, got a surprise when he learned a woman had mistaken it for her daughter's car and taken it — using her key.

    Kate Anderson became an accidental car thief when picking up her daughter's car near an Ohio University building last week. Anderson spotted the Toyota Camry（丰田凯美瑞）and used her daughter's key to unlock the car, start the engine and drive home — without realizing that the car wasn't her daughter's.

    When Charlie Vansant left class a short time later, he found only an empty parking spot. He first assumed the car had been towed, but when the police couldn't find a record of it, they took a theft(偷窃) report.

    The morning after Anderson took the car, her daughter discovered the Camry in the driveway wasn't hers. Anderson said she was able to find Vansant's name on paperwork in the glove compartment and look up his phone number on the website for the university.

    When Anderson told Charlie the car was in her driveway, "It sounded really suspicious at first, as she wanted to hold the thing for ransom (赎金) , ” said Vansant. He eventually went to the house with a police officer, where he was reunited with his car. According to the police report, the case was closed "because of mistaken car identity", and Anderson wasn't charged.

    Vansant seemed to blame the car company more than the "thief". "Her key fit not only my lock, but my ignition（点火装置）as well — so high-five for Toyota, I guess." he said.

    Traffic problems are an everyday concern in many cities，including Washington，DC．A growing number of Washingtonians are turning to bicycles to get to and from work．In fact，the number of commuters who use bicycles has doubled in the city since 2007．

    Ralph Buehler teaches urban planning at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University，popularly known as Virginia Tech．He has written a book about urban biking，calledCity Cyclin . g．He says there is a reason why urban bike tiding is now becoming more popular．

    “Over the last 60 to 70 years，cities in America have adapted to the automobile．”

    “Most cities took advantage of the money coming for the interstate highway system，from the federal government，  starting in 1956．There was a 90 percent federal match(补贴)so the cities only had to put up 10％．It was very tempting．”

    In the years after World War Two，many Americans moved to suburban communities，just outside major cities．They decided to travel great distances to and from work in exchange for a home in the suburbs．Their cars became a symbol of freedom．

    But today，many people believe they can save money by living in the city．

    Greg Billing is with the Washington Area Bicyclist Association．“When a person makes a change from using a car to using a bike，he／she is saving anywhere between 8 or $9，000 a year．”

    Ralph Buehler says governments save money when people use bicycles．“Building bicycling facilities is much cheaper than building and maintaining road facilities or public transport．”

    Washington，DC has also taken steps to protect bike riders．It approved a safe passing law and created areas on the road between cars and bikes．

    The United States Census Bureau says 4％of the city's workers ride to work by bike．The only city on the East Coast with more bike commuters is New York．

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    Lions are the top tourist attraction to Kenya and also considered critically endangered. One of the main causes of their death is that people kill them in return for lions attacking their cows. “We put our cows in a small cow shelter at night,” locals said, “and that's when the trouble would start. Lions would jump in the shelter and kill the cows”.

    There have been a lot of efforts to try to protect the lions, but it's a crisis and everyone is looking for a solution. One idea was land leases(租用), another was lion-proof fences. However, no one even knew that Richard Turere, a 13-year-old Maasai from Kenya, had already come up with something that worked.

    One night Richard was walking around with a flashlight and discovered the lions were scared of a moving light. An idea was born. Three weeks and much repairing later, Richard invented a system of lights that flash around the cow shelter, mimicking a human walking around with a flashlight. His system is made from broken flashlight parts and an indicator box from a motorcycle. “The only thing I bought was a solar panel（电池板）, which charges a battery that supplies power to the lights at night.” Richard says. He calls the system Lion Lights.

    His simple solution was so successful: his neighbors heard about it and wanted Lion Lights, too. He put in the lights for them. From there, the lights spread and are now being used all around Kenya. Someone in India is trying them out for tigers. In Zambia and Tanzania they're being used as well.

    Welcome to our school. You can do a lot of things here. Come and join us.

    Like any new ninth-grader on the first day of school, Joemar Class had ninth-grader- emotion (情绪). He's not used to school in Hartford. He's used to going to school in his home town of Florida, used to seeing his friends, used to having class in Spanish.

    "Nervioso," he said in Spanish.

    We first met Joemar in mid-October in the San Juan Airport. His father, Guillermo Class, had sold his car to buy plane tickets to get his kids and fly them up from Puerto Rico. The island was almost destroyed (毁坏) by the deadly storm—Hurricane Maria.

    Now, they are settling into their new home in Hartford's South End. A week later, and, using his wife's car, Class drove 16-year-old Joemar to his first day at Bulkeley High School. After a short ride, he got out in front of his new school. Inside, he met Gretchen Levitz—the school's program director.

    "I see you have new uniform (校服)," Levitz said. "You look great. Are you ready for a good first day?"

    Then he met couple of teachers.

     "Hello," they each said in Spanish. They asked where he's from, and told him they were happy to see him. Then Levitz took him on a quick tour of the school before classes began—to her office the school store, the library, and the dining hall.

    A total of 19 languages are spoken in Bulkeley High School. "We have so many new students coming here from other countries every single day," Levitz said. "So it's not like he's the only one who has that feeling."

    "You could tell he's little worried," Guillermo said as we left." But, at the same time, he's looking forward to it."