Sunday, July 9, 2006; P05

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I JUST WANTED to compliment Cindy Loose on "Beach? Blanket? Bingo." [July 2]. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and was sorry to see it end. She took me there. I've been there before with my own family, and remembering was pure heaven! I'm looking forward to reading more of her work.

J.L. Salazar, Riverdale Heights, Md.

WHEN SHOULD you arrive at the airport [Coming and Going, July 2]? Your "rule of thumb" is out of date. At Dulles, because of baggage screening requirements, United and most other airlines require that baggage be checked in at least 45 minutes prior to flight departure. If passengers arrive one hour before departure and there is any line at all, they are likely to miss their flight.

United currently recommends that passengers arrive at the terminal at least two hours prior to departure for domestic flights and three hours prior to departure for international flights.

Bill Steiner, Customer Service Assistant, United Airlines

I APPRECIATE your article on check-in times, but with modern conveniences like e-mail and phone alerts, readers basing their check-in time on a flight delay notice from the airlines do so at their own peril.

On June 26, we planned to return from Buffalo on a United Express flight that departed at 2:14 p.m. for Dulles. While en route to the airport, we received both phone and e-mail alerts at 12:45 p.m. from United's "EasyUpdate" that the flight was delayed to 2:59 p.m.

Thinking we didn't have to rush, we decided to stop at the Walden Galleria Mall, about 10 minutes from the airport. Our plan was to leave at 1:50 p.m. to be present for check-in at 2 p.m. at the latest. However, at 1:38 p.m. we received an "oops" e-mail advising us that the flight was going to leave on time at 2:14 p.m.

Driving like a maniac, I dropped the rental car and got us to the ticket counter at exactly 1:50 p.m., only to be told the flight was full and that if we had been on time like everyone else we wouldn't have missed it.

We eventually flew back on Southwest that night and took the SuperShuttle from BWI to Dulles to pick up our car. Instead of arriving home at 4 in the afternoon, it was almost midnight.

My caution to readers: It is imperative to both check in online and to make sure you're at the airport at the original appointed time, irrespective of any notices from the airlines.

My advice to United: Fix your stupid EasyUpdate!

Dan Wasserman, Ashburn

I ENJOYED your piece on Hoboken ["Hoboken, N.J.: Start Spreading the News," June 25], but was surprised you didn't mention the new Latin and Asian immigrants. The city's history reflects the many waves of immigrants to our shores -- including my Irish forebears, Frank Sinatra's Italian parents and the Dutch founders from whom the city's name derives. During my last visit a few years ago, I was not surprised to learn that the church on Hudson Street where my mother and father were married ran a Sunday schedule of Spanish and English Masses.

Herb Hagerty, Washington

I LIVED in Hoboken from 1973 to 1988 -- the first of the fleeing-from-New-York brownstone generation. You hit on some of the high points dead-on, but missed two institutions. One is Marie's Bakery (261 Second St.), whose outstanding bread is exported under the name Policastro. Whenever I visit, I always bring back a few loaves. The other is Schnackenberg's (1110 Washington St.). Two old ladies ran it when I moved there, and I think they might still be there. They make (or made) cheap, traditional sandwiches and chocolates.

When I moved there, "nobody" went anywhere west of Willow Avenue. Now gentrification has spread from the river to the Palisades and has oozed northward to Weehawken and southward to Jersey City. As they say in Hudson County, who'd a thunk it?

Claire Walter, Boulder, Colo.

TRAVELERS TO Venice, beware. At our waiter's urging, one of our party ordered flounder at a modest restaurant, Ristorante La Feluca, and didn't notice the parenthetical "(100 grams)" preceding the price. That's 3 1/2 ounces of the whole fish pre-cooked. The bill was $112 for a single portion of fish!

A few other restaurants that prey on tourists play the same game, guessing that we won't do the math.

C. Stern, Washington

SOME MONTHS AGO, you published a letter from someone who had stayed in several bed-and-breakfasts in Ireland and encountered mold in every one. My wife and I recently returned from a trip to Ireland during which we stayed in four B&Bs. We found mold in none of them, even though every day of our trip but one had rain.

We selected our B&Bs from "Bed and Breakfast Ireland," by Elsie Dollard and Susan Causin, and were referred to one by a place listed in the book that was full.

Bruce Wood, Wheaton

MY WIFE and I are planning a trip to St. Martin. I looked online at all of the travel Web sites that tout booking vacation packages as being cheaper than booking direct.

However, after checking Expedia, Travelocity, American Express and Orbitz, I found that by booking direct through the airline (American) and the hotel (Grand Case resort), and using American to book the car, I came out ahead, with air, hotel and car being the same price as air and hotel alone would have been through the Web sites -- even $100 less.

Does it take some time? Yes! But I saved more than $300 -- the price of a dinner or two in pricey St. Martin.

Richard Ramlall, Herndon

Write us: Washington Post Travel section, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071. Fax: 202-912-3609. E-mail: travel@washpost.com. Provide your full name, town of residence and daytime telephone number. Letters are subject to editing for length and clarity.

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