What’s not to like about Halloween? We get to play dress-up and we get free candy. But sometimes the holiday is just a little too scary for children. Luckily, there are plenty of family-friendly alternatives in Southern California:

• Legoland California in Carlsbad celebrates the season every Saturday in October from 5 to 9 PM at their annual Brick-or-Treat Party. Children will find costume contests, “Howler of the Hour” scream-offs, and dance fests geared just for them. There’s also trick-or-treating along the Brick-or-Treat Trail, where kids can score candy and Lego bricks

Photo: Legoland's Brick-or-Treat celebration. Photo by Sandy Huffaker.

• On October 30 and 31, the San Diego Maritime Museum at the San Diego downtown waterfront offers spooky lantern-led tours aboard the beautiful, historic sailing ship the Star of India, during which costumed docents tell (not too scary) ghost stories. Check out the museum’s carnival on Halloween day (11 AM-4 PM), featuring costume contests for parents and kids.

• Disneyland is always looking for an excuse to party, and Halloween is no exception. Through November 1, famous villains from Disney films spookify the park, special seasonal decorations adorn attractions, Jack Skellington (from “The Nightmare before Christmas”) hosts an electrifying fireworks display, and Main Street storefronts display hundreds of specially carved pumpkins.

• On October 24 and 25, the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach hosts Scarium of the Aquarium, a fun and educational Halloween celebration that includes a coloring competition, crafts, and magic shows. Guests of all ages are encouraged to dress up!

Photo: Scarium of the Aquarium. Courtesy of Aquarium of the Pacific.

• From October 23 to 25, check out Boo at the Zoo at the Santa Barbara Zoo, where children 12 years and younger can trick-or-treat, explore mazes, join in a costume parade, and listen to tales by Mother Goose herself.

• Through October 31, Mr. Bones Pumpkin Patch in West Hollywood hosts a family-friendly, old-fashioned harvest festival where children can pick out their own pumpkins, wind their way through a straw maze, and burn off some candy-fueled energy on the mighty “Jumpin’ Pumpkin.”

Imagine visiting stunning Yosemite National Park in the winter, with sparkling blankets of snow across the meadows, icicle-draped trees and alpine-glow sunsets. Yosemite is a refreshing retreat—a place that naturalist John Muir described as “a place of rest, a refuge from the roar and dust and weary, nervous, wasting work of the lowlands, in which one gains the advantages of both solitude and society.” With winter’s lack of crowds, this natural refuge is especially majestic.

Photo: sara.atkins

Nestled in the heart of the valley with views of Half Dome, Yosemite Falls and Glacier Point, is The Ahwahnee. Known for its magnificent architecture and grand spaces, a stay at this elegant hotel is a special way to add to a Yosemite visit. The hotel’s Chefs’ Holidays are held each year in January and February, and include some of the world’s most acclaimed chefs.

Featured chefs for 2010 Chefs’ Holidays include: David Kinch from Manresa (Los Gatos, Calif.), Christopher Lee from Aureole (New York City), Suzanne Goin from Lucques (Los Angeles), Annie Somerville from Greens (San Francisco), Bruce Sherman from North Pond (Chicago), Jody Adams from Rialto (Boston) and more. The eight sessions run from Jan. 10 to Feb. 4, 2010.

Each session features a “Meet the Chefs” reception, cooking classes and demonstrations, kitchen tours and a five-course Gala Dinner (including four paired wines). Two- and three-night packages for Chefs’ Holidays include access for two to session presentations, tours, reception and dinner, as well as hotel accommodations. Two-night packages at The Ahwahnee start at $998 and three-night packages start at $1,307. It’s also possible to bunk at Yosemite Lodge at the Falls (two-night package starts at $694; three-night package starts at $793). Individual tickets for the Gala Dinner are $269 per person.

To learn more about Chef’s Holidays, call 801-559-4884 or visit www.yosemitepark.com/chefs.

Think you have to “rough it” to enjoy the wild beauty of the national parks? Think again. Although every national park offers a number of options for camping, backpacking, and cabin dwelling, the parks offer luxury, too.

Lobby of Tenaya Lodge. Photo: Debbie K. Hardin

• Yosemite has two opulent choices. The historic Awahnee Hotel, in the heart of Yosemite Valley, is the most luxurious and most expensive hotel in the national park system. Pampered guests can enjoy astonishing views of Yosemite Falls and the monumental granite cliffs that surround the valley, as well as niceties like daily tea in aptly named Grand Hall,  priceless Native American artwork scattered throughout the property, and five-star service.

• Tenaya Lodge, located just two miles outside the southern park entrance of Yosemite, is a sprawling full-service resort, with an elegant spa, state-of-the-art fitness equipment, sparkling pool, supremely comfortable rooms, and numerous fine dining opportunities. (Don’t miss Embers, the newest upscale restaurant onsite.) Let the concierge arrange for myriad activities, from horse-back riding, to a chuck-wagon dinner, to fly-fishing expeditions.

• The Grand Canyon scenery is impossible to improve on, so the fabulous El Tovar Hotel on the edge of the South Rim does its best to blend in, with low-slung architecture executed in desert-friendly hues. This registered National Landmark (a favorite of presidents and European royalty) has 78 rooms, the best with jaw-dropping views of the canyon, and books up 13 months in advance.

• Yellowstone boasts one of the largest—and best appointed—log cabins in the world: The beloved Old Faithful Inn. Massive timbers stretch up 77 feet in the soaring lobby; look for the fanciful tree house cabin built amid the rafters. As the name suggests, the inn is a stone’s throw away from the most visited geyser in the park. Don’t miss the inn’s famous restaurant, which offers the most civilized meal in the park, with grand buffet breakfasts.

• Sequoia National Park is all about the Big Trees, and the peaceful Wuksachi Lodge nestles among the groves unobtrusively. The cedar and stone lodge offers comfortable and spacious rooms and serene views of the mountaintops. It isn’t uncommon to find deer and bears roaming the grounds. Maximize your viewing opportunities—and up the stunning quotient—by booking a corner Superior Suite, with separate sitting room wrapped in windows.

As much as I hate to admit it, I’m addicted to the Internet: I obsessively check Yahoo Mail, New York Times online, Craigslist and Facebook. And when I’m away from my computer, I have my Blackberry to keep me connected (phew!). As a self-proclaimed Internet addict, I can’t imagine being on an eight-hour flight and not being able to connect to the World Wide Web. Seemingly, I’m not the only who fears being disconnected; a recent study by the Wi-Fi Alliance shows that 76 percent of business travelers would choose an airline based on Wi-Fi and 70 percent would choose Wi-Fi over a meal service. Well, technology junkies can rest easy.

Photo: SkilliShot

Mobile audience media company JiWire and satellite broadband provider Row 44 are coming together to provide a (possibly free) in-flight Wi-Fi system made available through advertising support. The manner in which the ads will appear hasn’t been specified; however, Row 44’s Skytown Center, a virtual mall and content portal customized for specific airlines, has been mentioned as one place that ads would appear. The ad delivery network would allow advertisers to reach out to an important demographic: the business traveler.

Southwest and Alaska Airlines have already begun testing Row 44-enabled Wi-Fi and are expected to officially launch the service this fall. While the hope is that revenue generated through advertising support would allow airlines to offer the in-flight broadband service free of charge, it’s up to individual airlines to set the price accordingly.

Would you pick an airline based on whether or not it offered Wi-Fi?

Hiking Half Dome inside Yosemite National Park is an incredible experience and an achievable goal for most hikers.  But at 18 miles round-trip and almost 5,000 feet of elevation gain, this is not the kind of hike you do last minute.  To complete it safely and successfully, one must be prepared.

In late September I had the good fortune of hiking Half Dome for the first time.  There were eight of us in the group.  Three had hiked Half Dome before; the other five had not. The decision to do the hike was made in July.  In the two months leading up to the big day, we shared notes, met twice to discuss packing plans and logistics, and most importantly, hiked almost every weekend.  Those training hikes were valuable for numerous reasons:  They helped us build stamina, enabled us to come together as a group, and made us aware of our individual and collective strengths and weaknesses.  Knowing your limitations is really important before tackling a hike like Half Dome.

Our hike began from the trailhead adjacent to Curry Village at 11:00 PM.  We decided to hike up at night to avoid the notorious crowds at the cables, which are a frequent occurrence on summer weekends.  It was a moonless night so, we each had a head lamp, which provided adequate lighting.  If you decide to do a nighttime ascent, it’s recommended that you pick an evening with a full moon.

On the way up we opted for the gentler grade of the Horse Trail that veers around Vernal Falls and intersects the John Muir trail above Nevada Falls.  This proved to be a good decision as it allowed us to preserve energy for the notorious steps at the subdome and the cables along the final push to the summit.  On the way down we took the Mist Trail which, while incredibly scenic, is extremely steep and jarring on your knees.

Heading up the the cables                        Kevin Fliess 2009

It took us about 7 hours to reach the summit and we arrived on top just prior to sunrise.  The views of Yosemite Valley are breathtaking and watching the sun come up over the Sierras is something I’ll treasure forever.

The Essentials - What to Wear

• Quick drying synthetic layers including a shell.  “Cotton is rotton” when it comes to endurance activities.  Cotton can chafe, becomes super heavy when wet, and takes forever to dry.
• Brimmed hat
• Sunscreen
• Sunglasses
• Hiking socks (wool is best)
• Hiking boots – I wore low-rise, lightweight boots.  Break them in before you go – not on the trail.

What to Bring

• At least 1 gallon of water per person.  Or, to save yourself some weight, carry a portable water filter.  The last water on the way up is at Nevada Falls.
• Plenty of high-carb, salty snacks.  Trail mix, crackers, nuts, PB&J sandwiches, bananas, etc.  You want things you can eat while hiking.  Hike day is not the day for the Atkins Diet.
• A first aid kit
• A phone
• Gloves for the cables
• A camera
• A headlamp if you are hiking at night
• Optional but recommended: hiking poles

Tips

• Do the hike on a weekday, if you can. 
• If you’re going to hike on a weekend, get up early.  Plan on starting no later than 5 a.m.  We were so grateful that we started early because we never felt rushed, and we beat the crowds to the top.  The stream of people coming up as we were going down was astonishing.
• Know your turn around time.  Give yourself a preset deadline to head back down so you don't get stuck hiking in the dark.
• Don’t do this hike alone.
• If there is any chance of rain or lightning as you approach the top, turn around.  There is no shelter on the summit.  And as the numerous warning signs will remind you, lightning has struck the top of Half Dome every month of the year.
• If you’re hiking with a group, carry walkie-talkies.  If the group splits up it’ s great way to keep in touch on the trail.
• If you suffer from a serious fear of heights, think twice before tackling the cables. 
• Train well in advance.

For more information on hiking Half Dome, check out these resources. 

• National Park Service for their recommendations for completing this strenous day hike
  
• Mr. Half Dome’s blog for the latest Half Dome news and tips

The author on "the visor"                                                       Kevin Fliess 2009

If you appreciate comic books or science fiction and have a deep-seated nostalgia for toys that encouraged creativity as opposed to sitting in front of a screen giving your hands a workout, then the MINT Museum of Toys in Singapore is for you.

Billed as the only purpose-built museum for toys, this cool shrine of historic and retro playthings houses one of the largest toy collections in the world, amassed over 35 years by owner Chang Yang Fa, says museum curator Richard Tan.

Photos: Donna M. Airoldi

Most visitors are sure to rediscover favorite childhood toys, but what they won’t find here are many electronic/computer-based games. MINT stands for Moment of Imagination and Nostalgia with Toys, and typical modern toys do not encourage the type of creativity required with older products, implies Tan, a self-professed passionate toy fan as well, who quit his job as a lucrative jewelry designer to curate Chang’s collection—of which only 10 percent is on display at any given time.

The oldest toy on exhibit dates back to 1840, however the foundation of the collection centers on the 1930s to the 1960s, making it a great stop for Baby Boomers who remember Buck Rogers, Dan Dare, Commander rockets, Flash Gordon and early Batman figures. The exhibits also include 10 different versions of Robby the Robot, each with minute variations; Betty Boop dolls; propaganda toys from Russia and China; historic African-American dolls; and Star Wars figurines in original packaging so pristine not even the chads for hanging displays have been punched out.

Photos: Donna M. Airoldi

Tan points out hand-painted detailing on several dolls and the different colors used in packaging, which is how you can tell where some products came from, such as “bold, gaudy colors on toys from the United States and more muted, pastel colors on packing from England.” However today “everything is made in China on machines,” Tan laments, “so the attention to detail is lost, the final products are sloppy and the colors are all the same.”

Today’s kids don’t know what they’re missing.

The Mint Museum of Toys is located in an architecture award-winning building on Seah Street across the street from the Raffles Hotel. Admission is S$10 (about US$7) for adults, S$5 (about US $3.50) for children ages 2 to 12 and seniors ages 60 and older, free for children under 2. Hours: daily from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. A café and wine bar are on the bottom and top floors, respectively. www.emint.com

Foodies bored with just chilling on the beach during a Caribbean vacation have another option: to learn the art of Caribbean cooking. When the trip is long over, you’ll still have recipes at home to bring back those island memories.

Photo: Elessar

Caribbean Culinary Tours focuses on hands-on cooking classes, mixed with activities such as spa visits, fishing, sailing and beach picnics. Chef Freda Gore offers 7-day tour packages on Antigua, Barbados and St. Lucia, with rates including your stay in an island villa, all meals and cocktails, cooking instruction, copies of recipes, airport transfers and gifts (like a logo apron and tote bag). Tours cost $3,999 per person for double occupancy.

Don’t want to spend an entire week cooking? There are also 4-day tours (Thurs. to Sun.) with rates starting at $1,099 per person. And if you’re looking for a ladies’ escape, Caribbean Culinary Tours offers a weeklong Women’s Retreat in early January to St. Lucia.

For more information, visit caribbeanculinarytours.com.

I remember watching the 1996 Summer Olympics held in Atlanta when I was a kid.  My elementary school class even took a field trip to watch the San Francisco leg of the Olympic Torch relay, and I can still visualize the people crowding the streets. There’s something special about having your country host the Summer Olympics: an overwhelming sense of national pride, something that has dwindled in recent years.

Photo: Ingorrr

On Oct. 2, the International Olympic Committee (ICO) will meet in Copenhagen to decide upon the location of the 2016 Summer Olympics. The Obamas will be flying to the capital of Denmark to make a final pitch for Chicago to the ICO. The president’s hometown must compete with some the world’s most beautiful and affluent cities: Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo. Chicago’s bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics has been met with mixed feelings from Americans, and in particular, residents of Chicago. Some feel that hosting the Olympics would be too costly (London has already spent triple its original budget!), while others feel that hosting the games would generate more revenue for the Windy City.

Why do you think Chicago would make a good venue for the 2016 Summer Olympics? Leave a comment below.

Interested in visiting Chicago? Read an insider’s guide to the Windy City.

Read about historical sites and personal favorites of Barack Obama’s hometown of Chicago.