Let the masses wait for the ball to fall.
There's another way to ring in the new year -- and still be out in the chill air.
Dr. Phil's New York Talks and Walks is offering a Brooklyn Bridge Walk Into the New Year.
Groups will set out from the Dunkin Doughnuts at 132 Nassau St. between 10:15 and 11:15 on New Year's Eve. Registration starts at 9:45 p.m.
For $50 cash that night or $40 if you prepay by credit card, you'll get a chance to party with the hearty.

There were so many moments never put in print. Turkish men steeped in tea and talk about changing times in a border town set a few miles north of Syria. A Norwegian fisherman dragging traps deep from the Barents Sea in search of king crab. Nuns in Sucevita serving soup to villagers outside a stone monastery near Romania's border with Ukraine. The young mother pushing a stroller through a manicured park in central Minsk.

And countries never visited. Bosnia. That was an early consideration as this year's "At the Edge of Europe" project began to take shape. My goal, simply, was to explore the figurative and literal edges of the continent. It was not to be scientific. Rather intimate. To connect with places and people in a way that could, perhaps, show readers back in Boston and around the world some of the joys and hardships, simple rhythms and complex contexts of life in dynamic and diverse terrain.

There is often a sense that travel should be an escape. I have long preferred to see it as a chance to engage with the world. At the least, it is interesting. At the best, it brings understanding.

I wrote about this in more detail six years ago in an essay, my first piece for the Globe travel section.

My soon-to-be 6 year old told me today that we were late decorating for Christmas. He hasn't even been in a store since Halloween, so what's got him thinking like the rest of the world? Ah yes, it is the rest of the world, including the neighbors with their Christmas Vacation light displays that has him saying out loud, 'Mom is late!'. Little does he know, that I am never late for this season - as it is, I decorate in full by the 1st so we can listen to Elvis' Christmas while staring at the twinkle of lights all over, for almost an entire month. But he's got me thinking now...it really does go too fast. Just like every other day, how can we simplify in order to slow it all down? The answer this season just may lie in Woodstock Vermont's Billings Farm.

Christmas at the Billings Farm will start this weekend from 10 am-4pm, and continue every weekend of the month until Jan. 1. Bundle up the family with no more than a change of clothes, visit the Farm, and experience the simple traditions of a 19th century Vermont Christmas.

The Farm will also feature a little something extra on Dec. 7, 8, & 9 - Woodstock's Wassail Celebration - Come ready to craft and make a historic Christmas ornament. Horse-drawn wagon rides will be offered on Friday & Sunday, and join local Will Danforth in the farmhouse for traditional holiday music on Saturday.

When it comes to over-the-top holiday gifts it's hard to beat the fantasy gifts in the Neiman Marcus catalog, but Andrew Harper has come up with a strong contender.
Harper, editor and publisher of the Hideaway Report, is offering an Ultimate Paris itinerary for those with money to burn.
The seven-night extravaganza includes a private jet, the Imperial Suite at the Hotel Ritz, reservations at restaurants like Le Pre Catalan or Le Voltaire, and a private museum tour.
And it doesn't stop there. Guests will also get a session with custom-perfume designer Francis Kurkdjian, a couture fitting at Chanel or Dior, and so much more.
And the cost for this holiday treat? Well, rates start at $300,000.
Too pricey? Try giving a bottle of fine champagne.

Did you know the top marriage proposal season is between Christmas and Valentine’s Day? If you’re pondering how exactly to pop the question and your loved one happens to be fond of Ireland and expensive timepieces, pay attention here: The luxurious Merrion Hotel in Dublin is offering a Will You Marry Me package for about $7,000 per couple that includes a deluxe room, a welcome bottle of champagne, a full Irish breakfast for two, and rose petal turndown service (spelling out ‘‘will you marry me’’ if desired). But wait: You also get a Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Lady watch with case, engraved with ‘‘will you marry me.’’ The hotel says the watch has a retail value of about $7,000, thereby canceling out that chunk of change you just spent on rose petals. An engagement ring is not included, but the hotel says it will scheme with grooms about the creative delivery of one. Who says romance is dead?

I’ve learned that booking a flight in English isn’t always the best way to go. Recently, I was searching for a round-trip domestic flight from Santiago, Chile, to Punta Arenas, the southernmost city in Chile and the main jumping-off point for Patagonia (right), which was my ultimate destination. I looked on LAN Airlines’ website , since LAN runs flights to, from, and within Chile, Argentina, Peru, and Ecuador.
What I discovered was that if I booked my ticket in English, the cost for my round-trip ticket would be $485. If I booked it in Spanish, the cost dropped to $195. The reason? Booking in English, I was only given a choice of “flexible” and “fully flexible” tickets, whereas if I booked in Spanish, I also had access to “promotional” and “economy” tickets — ones that had more restrictions, but were significantly kinder to my budget.
I figured there must be a catch, but a LAN representative confirmed that the promotional and economy tickets are available to travelers of any nationality. Since I don’t know Spanish, I got a Spanish-speaking friend to help me navigate LAN’s website and purchase my $195 economy ticket.

Posted by Kari Bodnarchuk, Globe Correspondent

Fifteen minutes ago got an email that said this:

"Thought you'd be interested in this article on some guy's stay at an infamous local-area Boston establishment."

It included a link which led to this.

It is a two-part story about a night in a bed & breakfast in the house where a lady lost her head, then her parents did too.

The story comes with photos, including this:

And a paragraph deep near the end that says this:

"I’m actually in Lizzie Borden’s room right now writing this one lone paragraph. I’m at a facsimile of her writing desk, in the exact spot where she kept her original writing desk, my posterior falling through a flimsy antique chair. My girlfriend is about to try on what is purported to be one of her dresses. When I write the rest of this article, I’ll stick this paragraph in it, hopefully somehow creatively. And without editing a single word. As a result, in a way this is the worst paragraph in the article because it lacks any art of composition. In another, it’s the best, because these words are literally being formed at the place they are describing. Between you and me, I wish I was more creeped out. And I mean by the room...not for the fact of photographing my girlfriend in a dead girl’s dress. I like that. I’d write more but I’m beat from a dragged-out séance. Oh, and if you’re from the B&B, we never did that thing I’m about to write about with the dress, regardless of the pictures I may or may not include in this article. If you’re just a reader, though, we totally did it. I’m definitely going to edit this paragraph."

Your eyes are bloodshot. Season is changing and you just can't wake up. You choke down your grande with shot of expresso (on second thought, make it a double, barrista). Thumb through the paper. There on page 2 of the Business section: American plans to sell its regional carrier, American Eagle. Who cares?
Shake yourself. You do. Or should.
You travel, right? At Logan, American is The Big Kahuna, with around 20 percent of the market, and American Eagle is a significant piece of that -- in fact, Eagle is responsible for nearly 40 percent of all regional flights out of Logan.
So what do we mean by regional? To begin with Eagle does 8 daily flights to LaGuardia. And then there are other high and low spots like Bangor; Columbus, Ohio; Raleigh-Durham (Go Tar Heels!); Toronto; and Reagan National in D.C.
What does this all mean? Listen, if I knew that I would be making mondo bucks instead of writing blog fodder. But it's a safe bet that it will matter to you. Stay tuned.

File this under Annoying Rich People Who Won’t Go Away: Virgin Atlantic’s Richard Branson (that’s Sir Richard Branson to you) is getting a little help from the Spice Girls in naming a new jumbo jet that will be christened in honor of their Return of the Spice Girls world tour. Posh, Sporty, Ginger, Baby, and Scary have a short list for fans to choose from: Spice One, Girl Power, or Spice Girl. Yes, I’m not even kidding. Fans can vote for their favorite name on the official Spice Girls website. One winner, who will be picked at random, will get to meet the band and see the aircraft in a naming ceremony. The competition closes Dec. 5. Go. Vote. May the spice be with you.

One of the special pleasures of travel is discovering a bookstore that
embodies the spirit of the place. For my taste, Native Books/Na Mea Hawaii
in Honolulu takes the cake for local interest. Located in the Ward Warehouse
shopping plaza out at 1050 Ala Moana Boulevard, Native Books is completely
devoted to Hawaiian life, language, song, and culture. Not only is it jammed
with children's and adult books about Hawaiian history -- including
biographies of major figures, a history of tourism, and an illustrated book
on the development of Waikiki Beach -- it also has a vast collection of
Hawaiian music on CDs and a extensive CD listening station to sample before
buying. True, the shop does hawk some of the predictable flower shirts and
shell jewelry, but they sell the stuff to support Hawaiian artisans. In
fact, the operation serves as something of a cultural center, with free
Sunday afternoon concerts and free introductory classes in everything from
Hawaiian language to playing the ukulele to dancing the hula. That's about
as local as any bookstore ever gets. If you're bound for Honolulu, check
them out.

Posted by David Lyon, Globe Correspondent

We had the opportunity to visit Hildene, the home of Robert Todd Lincoln and his family, last summer. A trip to the Manchester, Vt., estate in December provides a couple of potential added benefits: seasonal cheer and a respite from the frenzy that accompanies the holiday of today. Florists and home decorators from across the region contribute to making Hildene a Victorian Christmas showplace. The simple elegance of the period enhances the 24-room mansion and gives guests the chance to ponder whether we have indeed improved on the ways of 100 years ago. Candles, pine garlands, wreaths, and winterberries provide the visuals, and on the evenings of Dec. 28-29 from 4 to 6:30, holiday music will accompany guests as they tour the home and grounds. It's no wonder Mr. Lincoln was reluctant to leave Hildene in the winter months, even for warmer climes. http://hildene.org

Big weekend ahead people...Saturday makes the month of December official and that means you start to get anxious about crossing those names off of the Christmas list. No fear with extraordinary events like the Christmas Crafts Expo & Winter Wonderland Festival at the Connecticut Expo Center in Hartford.

This Expo features master artists and craftsmen offering pottery, jewelry, leather, photography and much more. There is daily entertainment [so bring the not-so-enthusiastic-husband], music [so bring the kids with seemingly undying energy] and free parking [so bring the tight Father]. Running from Nov. 30 through Dec. 2 it costs $6 with children 14 and under free.

There is definitely something about the seacoast at Christmas time, with its lights twinkling on the water, the shingles adorned with wreaths and cobblestone walks dusted with snow. And the charm of Portsmouth, N.H., is always a holiday draw with its unique shopping and jammed packed arts calendar.

This Friday, the Players' Ring presents A Christmas Carol at 8p.m. The Players' Ring is the area's community theater group, dedicated to presenting quality theater at reasonable rates by providing an affordable performance space for local artists. A Christmas Carol starts Friday and runs through Dec. 23, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 7 p.m. with Saturday and Sunday Matinees at 3 p.m. An important note is this small group takes reservations ONLY BY PHONE and does NOT take credit cards.

The Seacoast Repertory Theatre is a not-for-profit, award-winning professional theater and school for the performing arts, and they offer a very Dickens A Christmas Story this Friday at 8p.m., which runs through Dec. 30.

Get a pencil. JetBlue launched a four-day sale today for travel in January and February.
They're flogging fares from Logan to the Bay Area (which includes Oakland, SF and San Jose) for as low as $139.
The fine print: Flights must be booked online at the airline's site by midnight Friday; require a 14-day advance purchase; take place between Jan. 8-Feb. 13; and be on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Saturday. There are other restrictions if your travel involves New Orleans, Aruba, Cancun, Nassau, or St. Maarten. There are also blackout dates.

Used to be that whenever pals would come back from Europe all you would hear about would be how great the food was, how cool the clubs/clothes/music are, and generally how much better their lives are than ours (especially in August).
But with the dollar sucking wind, well....you still hear that stuff but it can be tough to make out the words as they echo in the high, empty walls of your pals' now empty bank accounts.
Anyway, our friends at the Los Angeles Times suggest before your next trip across the pond you check out EuroCheapo.com, which can help you find bargains on hotel rooms in two dozen cities, including New York.
They say you can find rooms starting at $80 in London; $72 for a place advertised as a three-star in Paris. But they offer this caveat: While the site claims the recommendations are vetted by their editors, LAT found that some listings are merely hostels (nothing wrong with that), and some selections were whacked by TripAdvisor.com visitors.
Worth checking out.

What to get those hard-to-gift people who already have everything? If they’re remotely interested in paleontology, throw ’em a bone! A dinosaur bone, that is. Through the Adopt-A-Bone program at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, patrons can can adopt bones from their favorite fossils in support of the renovation of the museum’s Dinosaur Hall. Adopters receive a personalized certificate of adoption for each adopted bone (it will take a few weeks to arrive) and name recognition on a donor plaque in the new exhibit hall. Hurry, the good bones are going fast. Get as fancy as you like: The skull of a tyrannosaurus rex will set you back $10,000; a rib on a triceratops is $250; a neck vertabrae of a baby apatosaurus is $50; a tooth of a stegosaurus armatus is $25. (Bonus: the adoption fees are tax deductible.) It’s also a good time to visit your adopted bone: the first phase of the museum’s way cool $36 million permanent exhibit ‘‘Dinosaurs in their Time’’ is complete; the second phase of the exhibit will be finished in the spring. And remember, nothing says ‘I love you’ more than the right fibula of a diplodocus!

On the way to the airport to catch a flight to my mother’s near Tampa, Fla., I told my husband, "I have this feeling I’m forgetting something really important. Well, whatever I’m missing, I can get it there."
Not quite. What I couldn’t get was another driver’s license. Arrrrgh!! Just before reaching the ticket counter I discovered that my driver’s license was nowhere to be found.
Southwest said I could fly without a non-government-issued ID, but that I’d get the full pat-down and search. Then I thought about my rental car. This would not be good. Once in Tampa, the Dollar clerk said, "Sorry, there’s nothing we can do. We can’t rent you a car without your license in hand."
Meanwhile, I counted my blessings that I could get a $25 Super Shuttle van drive to Mom’s doorstep.
Later that day, I had a brilliant flash of one more place to look -- my bicycle rain jacket, which I’d luckily packed. Yep, there it was. I’d had it all along.
Because I travel often, I keep a packing list. At the top, in large letters, is my reminder to "take Swiss Army knife out of purse!" Now I’ve added: "Check for license!"

Posted by Diane Daniel, Globe Correspondent

Seems like it was just yesterday (probably because it was) Priceline.com said it had cut a deal with low-fare airline JetBlue Airways Corp. that will give the bargain-hunting website access to all of JetBlue's published fares, schedules, and inventory.
A little earlier yesterday Travelocity also said it had cut a deal with JetBlue. Likewise Orbitz Worldwide Inc. revealed it had agreed to distribute the discounter carrier's fares through its Orbitz, Cheap Tickets, and Orbitz for Business sites.
OK, now pay attention. This is what the most annoying people you know call “a teachable moment.’’ There will be a pop quiz later. Let's say that on Sunday morning, before clearing the requisite cobwebs from Saturday night or constructing your 17th leftover turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sandwich (light on the mayo), you tried to book a cheap seat online for a flight to sunny Tucson.
You perhaps assumed that the travel site search engine was scanning all possible airlines, including JetBlue (Don't make me repeat that thing your Uncle Henry used to say about why you should never assume). If your favorite site happened to be one of the aforementioned, obviously, you likely would’ve been wrong.
Remember, search engines on travel sites only sift through the fares of airlines the sites have agreements with. What this means is that before you start doing research on the Web for fares you need to look into who has deals with whom. Or at least count on doing a good bit of comparison shopping.
Nuff said. Now, let’s dig into some of Mom’s Thanksgiving chili surprise.

When my boys were in their 'train phase' years ago, thank goodness they were just as impressed by any train car as they were Thomas. So one, December we decided that Santa would come early and we would keep them up past their bed times, drive over an hour to get to Carver, Mass., for Edaville USA's famous Christmas Festival of Lights...let's just say it was well worth the nightmare tantrums the following day for staying up 3 hours past bedtime!

So there is time still to see this spectacular display of lights while also on a train. From Nov. 23-30, and Dec. 1-31 (closed Christmas Day), from 4 pm-9 pm Mondays through Fridays, and 2 p.m.-9 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, with additional fireworks every Friday around 8:30 pm, there is ample opportunity to squeeze in this kiddie dream. Personal advice, dress for the Arctic, you can always strip layers off and bring some cash as the gift shop and candy depot suck you right in!

It's time for your much-awaited trip! You board the plane, wrestle your way
down the aisle and into a seat that was blindly assigned to you -- or, heaven
forbid, that you personally selected from your airline's nondescript,
black-and-white, online diagram -- and you discover that you're in one of those
seats that can't recline. Or that's located next to the lavatory. Or, say it
isn't so, that is the middle seat in the last possible row. Yes, it's going
to be a long flight.
To avoid this scenario next time you fly, check out SeatGuru or SeatExpert. These websites have colorful, detailed seat plans for hundreds of airplanes and rates the best and worst seats onboard.
Let's say you're flying on Continental's Boeing 767-400. Look up that
specific plane and you can see, for instance, which seats are located in
nice, spacious exit rows and which ones have power ports. You can also find
out how wide seats are and how far they recline, and whether the plane
offers audio, video, food, and other in-flight services. You may not get your
seat of choice, but at least you'll know which seat to request when booking
your flight or at check-in.

Posted by Kari Bodnarchuk, Globe Correspondent

A crazy thing happened before my recent nonstop Delta flight from the Durham, N.C., to Boston. The flight was scheduled to leave at 4:25 p.m. I got an e-mail at 1:25 p.m. saying "we have just been advised of a time change." The flight was rescheduled for 5:36 p.m. On the way to the airport, around 4 p.m., I got another e-mail and an automated call to my cell saying there was another time change -- to 8:42 p.m. I headed back home.
Around 7 p.m. I checked the status online, only to learn that my plane was on the runway awaiting takeoff!
I called Delta and was told "we're sorry for your misunderstanding. You should have gone to the airport at the time your flight was originally scheduled to depart." Now that’s ridiculous.
I had to rebook for the next morning, greatly inconveniencing many people and missing a meeting.
Later, Delta spokeswoman Susan Elliott said in an e-mail, "occasionally we are able to recover from the delay more quickly then expected.... In certain situations, and it is not often, customers can find themselves with circumstances where they are unable to make their flight."
There was no "misunderstanding." I did the right thing, which turned out wrong.

Posted by Diane Daniel, Globe Correspondent

Photo by Richard Unwin

Or a Canada goose over Somerset, England; twin boomerangs over El Teide, Tenerife; an elephant above Modena, Italy.
These are just a few of the images on more than 3,000 photos posted by members of the Cloud Appreciation Society on their website.
Some of the best, including Richard Unwin's Grim Reaper over Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, are included in a surprising booklet, "Hot Pink Flying Saucers and Other Clouds,'' edited by Gavin Pretor-Pinney (Penguin, $10).
If you believe as the group's more than 10,000 members do that there's more to life than just "blue-sky thinking,'' then a cloudy day on your vacation won't get you down. Just grab your camera. You never know what you'll see.

The flat fields of the eastern steppe of Ukraine spike with coal shacks and elevator sheds in and around the city of Donetsk, center of an industrial region that once fueled the Soviet Union and is still a major part of Ukraine's economy.

Even on a calm day, above ground, it is clear that all this industry is set upon a perilous subterranean foundation.

Confirmation today that the death toll from the latest mine explosion climbed to 100 people has briefly turned attention to the eastern edge of Ukraine.

In the dead of winter 2000, I stepped from a 15-hour train ride from Kiev into the station at Donetsk. Over the next few days, I bargained with mining officials and schemed with union leaders to get a look at the wheezing world beneath the surface.

I think now of "Aleksandrovsky," the narrow coal seam a kilometer underground in the Oktyabrskaya mine where I crawled alongside miners.

You can find a news story here that I wrote about that visit that explains the explosions and miners' plight in terms of the long swing from communism to capitalism. (Alas, an archive fee is required to view the article.)

For a more personal account, you can find a description of the underground journey in a story I wrote for The Atlantic Monthly online, here. (A subscription is required for this one. Not sure of the logic, by the way, of charging for something old, while giving away the new.)

Farms aren't just for pumpkin-tossing any more! Join Santa Claus, Carlton the Mouse, farm animals, and real reindeer at Charmingfare Farm in Candia, N.H. for a fully decorated Tractor Train Ride. Running on December 1 & 2 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. [Santa shows his rosy cheeks at noontime], the train ride only takes 20 minutes, but families should plan about 2 hours of fun as the kids can also take pictures with Santa and hand their carefully drawn up Christmas lists to Santa himself. Admission is $11 per person (Children 1 year and under free) and an additional $3 for the "Tractor Train Ride" with Santa at the wheel! [you can also shop for your Christmas tree here...]

South Shore resident Maggie Melanson, who operates a health conscious
catering service, has just published "Fly Fit" (HRD Press): a book of tips and exercises
to help airline passengers preserve their mental and physical well-being. Few
travelers need to be encouraged to dress comfortably (Melanson recommends
sneakers and workout stretch pants with a loose-fitting top), but it's also
worth heeding her advice to arrive early at the airport to cut down on
stress. Those long security lines are a lot easier to take when you're not
listening to the last boarding call for your flight. So what to do with all
that extra time once you've reached your gate? Melanson suggests taking a
brisk walk around the terminal. Even "casual running" won't seem out of
place, she says, since passengers are always hurrying to catch their
flights. She also recommends a few turns up and down a flight of stairs --
two stairs at a time for a better aerobic workout. I'll try it. But I'm not
sure that I have the flair to do pliés in the restroom or claim a quiet
corner of the terminal as a "personal yoga space." Melanson also offers a
lot of simple stretching exercises that you can do in your airplane seat or
while waiting for your luggage. (She's much too polite to tell you what to
do if your bag doesn't arrive.) Check out Melanson's website.

Posted by Patricia Harris, Globe Correspondent

I remember about a month ago seeing that Neil Young was playing around New England in December, and thinking, hmm...it's been years since I have seen him - MUST GET A BABYSITTER! Alas, we lost our sitter to a consistent paying gig at TGI Friday's. But my loss shouldn't stop you from paying homage to this father of grunge, acoustic genius, and electrifying rocker. Young can be seen at the Orpheum in Boston on Dec. 3 and 6, and the Chevrolet Theater in Wallingford Conn., on Dec. 7 with his wife of nearly 30 years, Pegi Young. Oh, to hear "Cowgirl in the Sand" live again....

You need it don't you? I can tell you need it bad. A fix of new stuff. The writer's strike has cut off your supply. It's already been a week. Cold sweat rising. Maybe you've even started the shakes. Don't waste your time lookin. Ain't nuttin on the street.
If it makes you feel any better, check out this YouTube video in which writers Greg Daniels, B.J. Novak (who also plays Ryan), Paul Lieberstein (Toby), and Mindy Kaling (Kelly) explain why they're fighting the good fight -- and why they abandoned their loyal fans to face a potential wasteland of rerun and reality TV hell (like summer without watermelon or those drinks with the cute paper umbrellas).
OK, so we don't have any new shows to help you through this rough time, but we do have this: Mindy Kaling shows us around Scranton (with the small catch being that she had never actually been there before). We have a story, pictures of Mindy around town (this one is her at the Steamtown Mall -- remember the "Women's Appreciation'' episode?), and a video slide show -- which is partly narrated by Mindy.
Try it. It'll be free. At first, anyway. We'll see about later.
Anything to get you through the night, right?

I've seen most chocolates made before, but never a candy cane. If in Vermont, stop into Stowe one of the following weekends for a FREE demonstration sure to hold the attention of the kiddos. Visit the tiny shop of Laughing Moon Chocolates and enjoy their Candy Cane Making Demonstration at 2pm
on Saturdays and Sundays from tomorrow to Dec. 23. Watch as the experts boil, pull, roll and twist the most well known Holiday treat into works of art. Contact the shop for more information.

Are you a fan of "Rick Steves' Europe'' on public television?
If so, you'll want to get "Dancing With Europa Vol.II,'' highlights from Steves' blog, Blog Gone Europe.
The 63-page travel journal of last summer's postings is free for a limited time through his blog.
In it Steves regales us with comments like this from his friend Chiara in Rome: "Italian men just can't take a blonde seriously.'' And in Siena, when he just misses stepping in a dog mess, another friend observes, "Those Florentines are everywhere these days.''
Like Steves' habit of opening shutters to delight in a new day, when you open his journal you're bound to find something to engage you.

So you're stuck at Baton Rouge Metropolitan and it's going to be a while. It's raining You're dying for a cancer stick, and, frankly, at this point you wouldn't say no to a tall cool Sam. You pop your laptop, go to airport haven.
Turns out there's a smoker's lounge where you can stick your cigarette into a hole on a wall device that will light it, and there's a sliding service window to a place where everyone may not know your name, but they can likely tap you one that Norm or Cliff would be proud to share.
Airport havens is a website where travelers volunteer tips on cool, useful, and interesting places where you can go at a number of different airports. The site appears to be relatively new as the info for some spots is thin.
And most of what is there involves a quiet WiFi hangout where you can get some work done or a favorite bar or restaurant. But there is also some cool stuff.
For instance, if you have a little time to kill at McCarran in Vegas and you don't feel like arm wrestling the One-Armed One -- which is an option -- you can get in a workout at a place called 24 Hour Fitness.
At Baltimore Washington International there's a meditation room. In Honolulu, a part of the airport has been given over to a rain forest area.
OK, so you're not into self-improvement. You want to shop. Try Pittsburgh. There's apparently a local law that prohibits gouging at shops and eateries there. All of them are banned from charging any more than at the closest comparable place outside the airport.
With all these options you might not even want to leave. Right.

Still wondering where my fall went, but indeed, here I am writing the first of many December posts! Jackson, NH just may embody what the quintessential New England village is thought to be. And on Dec. 1 and 2, visitors and locals alike, see the town at its most charming as visits from Santa, holiday open houses, art gallery shows and sales, holiday cooking demos and workshops, horse drawn sleigh rides and steaming hot cocoa with marshmallows on top set the scene. With something to do each hour of both days, it's a sure fire win to start the month of giving off right. For more information on the details call 603-383-9356 or visit the town's website.

Coming back to Boston on a rainy, dank November day was a bit of shock to
the system. When I left in mid-October, New England was basking in a late
warm spell. (Was it the Red Sox, perennial boys of summer, extending the
season? I'd like to think so.) And my luck held all the way to Argentina,
where temperatures rose into the 70s from overnight lows in the 60s,
unfamiliar songbirds were gathering twigs for their nests, and the ceibo
trees were bursting into brilliant red bloom with the country's national
flower.
As we New Englanders retrieve our woolies from storage at the
dry-cleaner, it's springtime in Buenos Aires. Women are pulling out their
flowered dresses and sleeveless blouses, and the male tangeros are trading
their felt fedoras for equally jaunty straw hats. I envy them the beginning
of warm weather, and the long stretch before it turns cold again.
Perhaps I should have bought one of those striking leather jackets on sale all over
Buenos Aires, but with the kiss of spring in the air, they seemed so
unnecessary.

Posted by Patricia Harris, Globe Correspondent

It must be peer-group pressure. Southwest has sprung a fare sale for the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Discounted one-way fares for travel between Nov. 28-Dec. 20 start at $107-$109 from Providence to a number of western states and Florida. Fares start at $109 from Hartford. You have to book seven days in advance, and the fares aren't available for Fridays or Sundays
Start the stopwatch: The offer lasts until midday Monday.

I typically eat on the fly when I’m in Vegas — I go for the $1 hot dogs and all-you-can-eat buffets, where quantity trumps quality — but on my last visit, I slowed down enough to discover the finer side of Vegas’ dining experience. Friends and I splurged on a multi-course meal at Fleur de Lys, a restaurant in the Mandalay Bay hotel and casino that serves modern French cuisine. It wasn’t cheap —average entrees went for $30 to $50 — but it had a cozy, chic setting (picture comfortable, cream-colored leather chairs, tables tucked away in little nooks, stone walls, and a display with more than 3,000 live roses) and a great selection of seafood, meat, and vegetarian meals.
Our favorite appetizers were the seared ahi tuna and smoked salmon raviolis with guacamole. And for entrees, the grilled scallops and filet mignon with braised oxtail tortellini were hits. The waiter thankfully urged us to try to chocolate soufflé, for which the restaurant is famous — if I could have bent over at the end of the meal, I would have kissed his ring for the suggestion. Plan on spending a good $75 per person, but the meal is well worth your hard-earned dollars, or, with luck, chips.

Posted by Kari Bodnarchuk, Globe Correspondent

London Heathrow is not a bad airport to spend six hours waiting for a flight to Marrakech. There's shopping, cafes, bars, bookstores, Internet access -- what more could a weary traveler need? Just one thing -- as I found out last month, when I spent the day waiting for my outbound flight. The US dollar has never been wimpier on the world market -- and against the British pound, the exchange is a horrifying: $2.2 for 1 pound. So all those tempting prices in the shops and boutiques? Double them. But I had to eat -- and how much could a munch of pizza, salad, and a glass of wine set me back? Try just shy of $40. Then I had the brilliant idea to splurge on a massage and a shower at the Urban Retreat, an upstairs day spa that offers all kinds of services for the jetlagged . The damages? $128 for a 50-minute massage -- on par with a high-end spa -- with the addition of the sounds of the terminal drifting through the treatment room. But I have to admit, even with the terrible exchange rate -- the shower was priceless.

Posted by Beth D'Addono, Globe Correspondent

A New Addiction

At the far end of the St. Mary's County Fairgrounds in Leonardtown,
Md., past aisles of vendors hawking sweet potato fries, grilled
Maryland oysters, seafood chowder, and crab cake sandwiches, I found a
little shack selling only one thing: funnel cake.
I'm embarrassed to admit I had never eaten funnel cake before. In fact, I always thought
they were some kind of food in a funnel shape. Cindy Sirk, running the
show that morning at Job's Daughter's, set me straight about the shape
and the name, allowing me to come inside and watch her pour the batter
from a funnel (aha!) into a vat of hot oil.
"We've made funnel cake at the county fair for twenty-five years. We're
the only place that makes them from scratch. We don’t use a mix!”
I couldn’t decide if I wanted the traditional confectioner’s sugar
topping or the avant-garde cinnamon sugar, and was relieved when Sirk
offered to make it half and half. The result was sublime: hot, crunchy,
light, slightly oily (in a good way) and sweet. The pie-shaped
confection filled an eight-inch paper plate. I guessed there were at
least 20 grams of fat in a serving but I didn’t care — I ate the entire
thing. I’m not sure if it’s good to have discovered funnel cake or not,
as now I want to eat one every day.

(Posted by Necee Regis, Globe Correspondent)

Those thoughtful folks at the T plan to juice up Silver Line service during peak airport travel times before the holiday and on the following Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. They've also released the rest of their Thanksgiving schedule, which starts tomorrow and runs through Friday.
So now you can plan your tryptophan-inebriated escape from the orgy ahead of time. Lord knows you won't be much good for anything when it comes time to lurch out of Mom's with your food buzz on, arms laden with shopping bags full of tinfoil packets of leftover bird and that last untouched pumpkin pie from Shaw's.
Remember your Charlie card.

New England is home to three of TripAdvisor’s "Top Ten Overlooked (and Under Budget) Ski Destinations in the US"
Editors at the Needham-based travel company rated ski resorts that featured mountains with a 2,000 foot vertical drop on average that offered less-expensive lift tickets and more affordable lodging and night life than many of the country's more celebrated resorts.
Jay Peak in Westfield, Vt., (adult ticket, $62) came out king of the mountain. "Located in a snow belt that generates a remarkable 350 inches of snow on average annually, Jay Peak has developed a reputation for its excellent powder skiing with adventurous off-piste opportunities, and with less traffic than Vermont's trendier ski spots," the report said.
Taking fourth place is Cannon Mountain, in Franconia, N.H. ($54). "Experience wonderful skiing and a bit of history on Taft Slalom, one of the first ski trails cut in the US."
Saddleback Mountain, in Rangeley, Maine ($40), came in at No . 9. "After undergoing renovations in the past few years, Saddleback now boasts great skiing along with a new ski lift, additional ski terrain and a new lodge at an elevation of 2,460 feet -- the second highest in New England."
The rest of the best:
2. Solitude Mountain, Solitude, Utah, $55
3. Schweitzer Mountain, Sandpoint, Idaho, $55
5. Durango Mountain, Durango, Colo., $60
6. Taos Ski Valley, Taos, N.M., $63
7. Diamond Peak, Incline Village, Nev., $48
8. Big Mountain, Whitefish, Mont., $56
10. Gore Mountain, North Creek, N.Y., $115 (2 day pass)

Posted by Diane Daniel, Globe Correspondent

The Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum is opening a new exhibit called "America by Air," which traces the history of air transportation from the early days of air mail, when pilots relied on hand-drawn maps, to the jet age. Visitors can even walk into the cockpit of a real Boeing 747. The museum is asking its online visitors to submit a brief ‘‘memorable experience involving commercial air travel.’’ If your story is selected, it could be displayed on the website. Just remember that this is a family museum, OK?

Honey, pack up the kids. AirTran is offering a two-day sale on airfares, with prices as low as $54 one way -- that is, if you happen to be going Newport News (insert rim shot here).
But seriously fares from Boston range from anywhere from $54 to $169 depending on when and where you're going.
Here comes the fine print: Fares are 7-day advance for travel from Nov. 28-Feb. 6, Monday-Thursday and Saturdays; blackout dates are Dec. 19-Jan. 3; and other fees and taxes may apply.
So maybe it's time to plan that trip you've always wanted to take to visit Uncle Carmine in Dayton ($74 - $169) or your old roommate, The Beast, in Akron ($64 - $169).
No pressure. You've got till tomorrow.

Admit it, the cortisol is flowing, the strains of the holiday season are upon you already and it's not even Thanksgiving. Remember this, the stress is yours only to reduce, and there is nothing more relaxing and enticing for me than live music. Today, the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence features the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Think Rock Opera meets Beyonce meets Neil Diamond? No, not Tommy starring Jayzee - OK, it's hard to explain, go to their web site and read the performance's history and then the next link you'll be hitting is to Ticketmaster for your seats.

OK, if the above is way too over the top for you, then crank it up some with the Brian Setzer Orchestra with Detonators on Friday, Nov. 23 at the near perfect venue - the Orpheum Theatre in Boston. C'mon, who out there misses the Stray Cats? Exactly...me too...but I just can't imagine what their Holiday Show entails...maybe that's why the show is called a Christmas Extravanganza!

While we were observing Veterans Day last week, residents of Sint
Maarten/St. Martin were commemorating their "discovery" in 1493, when
Christopher Columbus sailed past this Lesser Antilles island. The Spaniards
might have been the first Europeans to spot the turf, but the Dutch and
French ended up splitting it between them in the 17th century, making it the
smallest island in the world shared by two countries. Those close quarters
bred a spirit of cooperation formalized in 1648 when the respective
governors penned an agreement to "live as friends and allies."
Cooperation doesn't mean carbon copies, though, and the island's split
personality is a big part of its charm. The French do business in euros,
while the Dutch trade in Netherlands Antilles guilders. (Of course, dollars
work too.)
The differences are more than financial. As guide Frank Chance
told me on an island tour on the day I arrived, "You can't do no kind of
gambling at all on the French side." All the casinos, it turned out, are
located in the Dutch portion. But Chance found a bright spot about dwelling
in the French territory. "The only official nude beaches," he said, "are on
the French side."

Posted by Patricia Harris, Globe correspondent

Money Magazine calls TravelSmart the "best newsletter for travelers on a budget.''
Besides Top Ten Deals and Hotel Discounts, the Oct. 15 issue included Protective Tips for Women On the Go compiled by Dina Pinos, a New York-based correspondent and television producer.
When it comes to what you wear while traveling, the top tip is blend in. Others: If you don't want to be approached by men, wear a wedding band. And take a shawl to use in countries where women cover their arms, to cover your head in religious places, and -- perhaps the most practical -- for covering your purse, camera, and other valuables.
For a one-year subscription to TravelSmart, send your name, address, and check for $39 to TravelSmart, PO Box 397, Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522.

The writer at the summit of Mount Kearsarge.

I’ve recently realized something about myself. Though I enjoy many
kinds of physical activities — I’m fairly energetic; not a couch
potato — my tolerance for such activities lasts for about an hour. Do I
like to kayak? Sure. For about an hour. Go to the gym? An hour, max,
will do. Ditto for sailing, gardening, home improvement projects,
ice-skating, baking, bird watching, and chopping wood. (OK, so I’ve
never chopped wood. But if I did, I could do it for about an hour.)

In my world, too much of a good thing easily becomes just too much. So
it was with great delight that I learned I could hike to the top of Mount
Kearsarge (2937 feet) in Rollins State Park in New Hampshire … in about
an hour! How is that possible, you ask? Well, there’s a 3.5 mile scenic
road from the park entrance (on the south side of the mountain in the
town of Warner) that climbs up to a parking lot and picnic area. From
there, it’s a half-mile hike to the top and a vista that includes the
White Mountains, the Green Mountains, the coasts of New Hampshire and
Maine and, on a clear day, some skyscrapers in Boston, 80 miles
away.

The trail itself is rigorous: steep, rocky, and muddy in places. But so
what? It only lasts an hour! And it’s just enough of a workout to make
you feel pleased with yourself. Besides, if that 3-year-old child
and elderly woman with the cane (I’m not making this up) could get to
the summit, I thought, then I could too.

P.S. When the park is closed in winter months the Kearsarge Trail
Snails Snowmobile Club grooms the road to the picnic area, which
becomes accessible by snowmobile, snowshoe, cross-country skis, or
foot. Warning: It will take much longer than an hour to reach the
summit.

Posted by Necee Regis, Globe Correspondent

Trying to understand any place from the outside can be a vague proposition. Books outline and analyze defining dates of history. Experts talk about political and economic twists and turns. Films and music present carefully considered rhymes and rhythms. But what are things really like in a place? What is the story, from the ground up, of this moment in time?

Early images arrive from walking and wondering.

Or on an unexpected perch. It is enough just to feel - the damp of the air, the flat of the light, the brown of the autumn earth.

The winner of this year's Best of the Blogs competition from Deutsche Welle in Germany is a site kept by a 23-year-old Belarusian woman. It's called Foto Mania and is a vivid study in black-and-white photos of daily life from the capital, Minsk.

For more on Belarus from an outsider looking in, click here.

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For another blog from Belarus, click here.

Twenty-five years of their Rough writers’ experiences are distilled in “Make the Most of Your Time on Earth: A Rough Guide to the World” (608 pp., $29.99). Tracking Rhino in Damaraland (Namibia to you), Visiting Henan’s Mona Lisa (China), Canyoneering in Karijini (Australia), Chasing Whale Sharks Near Utila (Honduras), it’s all laid out in typically colorful Rough Guide style, concisely written, alluring, each handful of a place seemingly so ... doable. Why, the Juggernauts of Puri (India) are hardly daunting. But if zip-lining or nudity in Nevada is not your thing, even when you know Time Is Fleeting, there’s good old Harvard Yard. And, look, Nantucket. Oh, sweet: Vermont’s Route 100 in the fall. Try a Roughly appetizing taste online at www.roughguides.com/makethemostsampler.

I am a serious off-season adventurer, which is reason enough to mention Block Island's island wide, 18th Annual Christmas Shopping Stroll Nov. 23-25. Everyone gears up for early bird 4am shopping on Black Friday any how, so why not pack some turkey sandwiches and hop the ferry on over to Block Island for some carefree holiday shopping that poo-poos any big box store sales. Over 25 unique shops are open and decorated for the holidays, offering special sales for this three day occasion. Shops will be open from 10am to 5pm each day, and are an easy stroll from the ferry landing - so no worries about the typical holiday parking woes!

Best of all, shoppers can stop by the Chamber of Commerce office at the ferry landing on Nov. 23-24 between 10 am and 3 pm to pick up a sheet that makes them eligible for great prizes that will be raffled off on Sunday at noon. (You do not need to be present to win.) Check out the following list for superb island accomodations!

There are no mountains in Belarus, a flat country defined by forest, marsh and fields.

But a construction worker was talking tidiness and comfort, not terrain, when on a recent rainy morning he stood in the center of Alexandria II, a village in eastern Belarus, and said, "Lukashenko is building his own Switzerland here."

Alexander Lukashenko, the president who has controlled capital and country with a strong grip for thirteen years, grew up in Alexandria I, a village a few miles away from Alexandria II.

The countryside can be hard and stark. It can welcome and nourish. More scenes of both come this Sunday in the Boston Globe and at boston.com/travel.

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For the next Belarus blog, click here.

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Photos: Essdras Suarez/Globe Staff

Don't fret about those pies for Thanksgiving...plan your day around the Upper Cape Family Networks' famous Pie Auction Fundraiser on Saturday, Nov. 17 at 10am at the Oak Ridge School in Sandwich. This event gains in popularity each year as those around the Cape have found the secret to their Holiday success - pack their apron away, go bid on over 60 pies and hear their Thanksgiving guests ooh and ah. [Not to mention the money for those oohs and ahs goes to incredible family programming!]

Some pies offered are in disposable tin pans and others are offered up in handmade ceramic pie plates, shrink wrap and ribbons - the selection abounds and presentations are surprisingly creative which makes for even a better dessert to bring over to Aunt Elizabeth's on Thanksgiving. Don't have time to stick around and raise your bid card?...no problem, visit the sale table and buy from over 100 pies and get on to the rest of your errands! And no fundraiser is complete without a silent auction table, and here you can find bountiful baskets from local businesses and families, gift certificates and of course, more pies! Love to bake? Even better - call the Mastermind of the event, Tina Toran at 1.508.548.0151 ext. 172 to donate your own pies, then go and pick up someone else's culinary treat.

This auction is devoted to raising awareness, raising funds of course, but also as a family fun day as the Toe Jam Puppet Band is the entertainment, and let me assure you, this is a show your kids will cherish - heck, adults will cherish this performance too! Everyone even has a chance to play with the band. Bring your wallet, your kids, other's kids and if you can manage, other people's wallets? and have some fun for a great cause.

Backstage at the National Theatre, actors prepare for a weeknight performance of a play set in Rome. Mainstream arts find a ready home in the capital. Not so much for the edgier arts, where a younger generation tests the limits of its expression. More on that in the Globe travel section, and at boston.com/travel, this weekend.

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For the next Belarus blog, click here.

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Photos: Essdras Suarez/Globe Staff

You couldn't make this stuff up. The British budget hotel chain Travelodge says that sleepwalking among its guests is up seven-fold in the past year and that 95 percent (they must keep good records) of the incidents involve naked men.
Now bear in mind this may be a conservative estimate since the chain only kept track of those guys who wandered into reception areas (makes you think twice about sitting down on the leather couch near the front desk, yes?).
What did these night travelers want? Travelodge says the most commonly asked questions were: Where is the bathroom? Can I check out as I am late for work? And do you have a copy of today's paper?
In an attempt to really get their hands around the issue, top researchers at Travelodge have also looked into the top causes for sleepwalking. They include: stress (makes sense), alcohol (ditto), caffeine (don't you just hate wired naked sleepwalkers?), eating too late (note to self: cut out the chicken and waffles after 10), and cheese.
You heard it right. Cheese. Now we're just getting plain silly.

Question: What performance goes through 8 Lids, 1 Tall Bins, 5 Short Bins, 10 6ft 6in poles, 15 Pounds of Sand, 4 blocks of Athletes chalk, 12 pairs of Drumsticks, 200 liters of Water, 8 Bananas, and 12 boxes of Matches in one week? Answer: STOMP.

I just can't believe the acts that the Lowell Auditorium books these days - the Broadway phenom STOMP has been booked for Nov. 27-28! STOMP, a unique combination of percussion, movement and visual comedy, was created in Brighton, U.K., in the summer of 1991. It was the result of a 10-year collaboration between its creators, Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas. We took our boys [ages 5 & 7] to see STOMP this summer in New York City -- and even though the creators suggest the audience be over 8 years of age, our boys loved it and are still snapping and banging their way through the day. The shows are at 8 p.m. and tickets range from $28.50 -$54.50 [WAY less than seeing them in N.Y.!] The show has its obvious loud moments, being percussion based, so if noise bothers you, think about seeing the Doodlebops three days prior!

Minsk is the capital of the country at the very center of Europe.

What waits there, and in the countryside beyond? Scenes of extremes come quickly. You'll be able to find many in a package of stories and photos - and an audio slideshow - published at boston.com/travel this weekend.

To get in the mood for the journey, check out this bit of Belarusian rock 'n roll.

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For more blogging from Belarus, click here.

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Photo: Essdras Suarez/Globe Staff

Thanksgiving is always one of the busiest travel times of the year. But not everybody is heading home to mom. Some folks go skiing, some head to Orlando or Vegas, others cram the streets of New York and Chicago to watch parades. And some far-flung families gather at a hotel instead of grandma's house.

Here in the Bay State, more than 70,000 people visit Plimoth Plantation each November to learn about life among Colonial settlers and the native Wampanoags . Here you'll find costumed interpreters plucking the feathers off real turkeys and chatting about a harvest celebration that took place in 1621.

Plimoth also hosts a variety of Thanksgiving celebrations, including a Victorian-style dinner where President Lincoln's 1885 proclamation declaring Thanksgiving to be a national holiday is read aloud. Other holiday meals at Plimoth include a walk-in courtyard buffet ($37.95 including admission to the historic site), a more formal buffet ($58.95), "1627 Dine With the Pilgrims" ($55.95), and an "Eat Like a Pilgrim" program ($38.95, eating with fingers encouraged). The Victorian dinner ($79.95) is sold out for Thanksgiving Day but seatings were added for the day after. The Sunday after Thanksgiving is the historic site's last day of the season.
With kids off from school and families getting together, Thanksgiving is naturally a busy time at Walt Disney World. The park

serves up more than 100,000 pounds of turkey during the month of November, from elaborate Thanksgiving meals at the park's sitdown restaurants to turkey drumsticks, a popular a la carte item on Disney menus year-round.

Among the more unusual Thanksgiving traditions at Walt Disney World Resort is a gathering of some 20 families at the park's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground. For more than 30 years, they've been erecting a village of tepees there and cooking several dozen turkeys in big open pits.

In New York, the balloons and floats of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade attract thousands of spectators. If you'd rather avoid the crowded streets or the weather - which can range from balmy to freezing - you can watch the spectacle from inside the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle. The building has four floors of glass windows, and some of its stores will be open Thanksgiving Day if you want a head start on Christmas shopping. Chicago has its own Thanksgiving Day parade, with 300,000 people lining State Street to watch.

Denver shows up in top 10 lists for both Orbitz and Travelocity for Thanksgiving travel bookings, and skiing is undoubtedly part of the reason. Slopes scheduled to open Nov. 22 or earlier include Aspen Mountain, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, Crested Butte, Snowmass, Telluride and Vail.

In Vegas, restaurants offering Thanksgiving meals include Top of the World at the Stratosphere; Spago at Caesars Palace; David Burke at the Venetian; the Eiffel Tower Restaurant at the Paris; and MIX at THEhotel at Mandalay Bay. Tony Bennett and Wayne Newton are both in town for shows, and the Bellagio Conservatory has a spectacular autumn-themed scene on display through Nov. 24, complete with a 35-foot-tall cider mill, babbling brook, a bed of pumpkins and 1,000 red and green apples. I

You can celebrate Thanksgiving with a horse and carriage ride at the landmark Biltmore estate in Asheville, N.C., which will already by decorated for Christmas by then. For meals, you have a choice of venues - Bistro or, if you're staying at the Inn on Biltmore Estate, you can have your turkey at Deerpark, Stable Cafe, or The Dining Room. Three-night packages at the Inn start at $1,760 for two.

In California, the annual San Diego Thanksgiving Dixieland Jazz Festival, featuring two dozen Dixie Land bands, takes place Nov. 21-25. And wine-lovers can spend Thanksgiving Day aboard the Napa Valley wine train, which offers lunch and dinner excursions; details at 800-427-4124.

Finally, if for some reason you'd prefer to celebrate this most American of holidays on the other side of the Atlantic, head to Italy. Francesca Bortolotto Possati, the owner of the Bauer Hotel in Venice, lived in America for many years and holds a traditional Thanksgiving meal at the hotel each year for guests and friends. Rates begin at $2,500 for a four-night stay. (AP)

One of the ethnic groups in Iraq treated most harshly by Saddam Hussein (and promised to be most benefited by his removal) was the Marsh Arabs, whose lands Saddam had set out to destroy. In the 1950s, Wilfred Thesiger lived for months at a time in these varied marshes, which cover about 6,000 square acres in southern Iraq where the Tigris and Euphrates join above Basra, traveling from village to village by canoe, gaining acceptance as a rare European visitor, dispensing medicine and helping the sick. Four years after Thesiger’s death in 2003, Penguin Classics is reprinting “The Marsh Arabs” (256 pp., $15) and its predecessor “Arabian Sands” (400 pp., $15), which also describes Thesiger’s travels -- always on foot or by animal transport -- among people and tribes almost untouched by the modern world. Just before Thesiger left the vast, waterless “empty quarter’’ of Arabia, things changed forever. Oil was discovered.

There is no better afternoon, than one spent oceanside nibbling on goat cheese crostini and sipping a crisp Riesling. Well, okay, actually if your measly $30 goes straight to charity, then yes, I guess there is a better afternoon! Visit Newport, Rhode Island's Oceancliff, with its breath taking views of Narragansett Bay, while you sample from the area's best breweries, vineyards and restaurants. What charity event is complete without both silent and live auctions. This marvelous Visiting Nurse Agency fundraiser is in its 11th year and will be held on Nov. 18 from 3-5 p.m. Call to reserve tickets ASAP.

Logan International Airport is stocking up on cots, food and beverage vouchers, and employees volunteering to aid the distressed. The airport isn’t bracing for a natural disaster, but rather the busiest travel week of the year: Thanksgiving.
Logan officials expect almost a 3 percent increase in passengers compared to the same period last year and flights that will be 95 percent to 100 percent full. As a result, the Massport is unveiling a program to comfort passengers who get stuck sitting at terminal gates instead of on airplanes.
Travelers who become stranded or severely delayed can sleep on cots and cash in water and meal vouchers at concessionaries that will stay open later than usual. The airport is hoping to minimize such snafus by allowing any airline’s late flight to unload passengers at certain gates so the carrier can get back on schedule sooner.
Also, Massport’s board voted today to charge economy-lot parking rates at the more expensive airport garages that are closer to the terminals, offering drivers a $6 daily savings. The discount will apply to travelers who enter the Central Parking Garage, Terminal B Garage or Terminal E lots between 3 am Tuesday, Nov. 20 and 3 am Sunday, Nov. 25; it doesn’t matter how long the vehicle is parked there.
For those taking public transportation, Massport is also adding additional Logan Express buses serving Braintree, Framingham, Peabody, and Woburn. Additional buses will run on the airport routes to the MBTA station to handle increased riders on the MBTA Blue Line.
Also today, in an attempt to help ease holiday congestion in the skies nationally, President Bush suggested a series of steps that include:
*Creating a "Thanksgiving express lane" for commercial planes by letting them use military airspace along the East Coast;
*A holiday moratorium on non-essential FAA projects so agency personnel and equipment can focus on helping to alleviate delays;
*Encouraging airlines to add staff, extra seats and planes to relieve holiday congestion.

(By Nicole C. Wong, Globe staff and wire reports)

The airlines are feeling squeezed. Fuel costs are surging and stocks are slumping about 16 percent for the year. They're all casting about for ways to come up with extra scratch (that snarling you hear in the distance is stockholders). And possible moves that may or may not take place could or could not affect you (OK, I've had too much coffee, but stay with me because speculation is what fuels oratory at the water cooler).
Yesterday's news that Delta was possibly looking to buy United -- speculation that Delta denied -- probably won't put the brakes on the grinding at the rumor mill. And especially since Delta left open the possibility that while they weren't talking to United (at least not right now) they might be willing to talk to others (See how fun and easy this speculation thing is?).
How will that affect you, Mr. Bay State Guy?
Nobody knows for sure, but Delta is the No. 2 carrier at Logan, responsible for 16.2 percent of the traffic there, and United is No. 5 with 9.7 percent. The Not-Too-Titilating Tab points out that there is some overlap in service, with both flying nonstop from here to LA and DC. So if it turns out that Delta ends up with United there likely will be changes.
Let's say instead they do a deal with American. That carrier happens to be the King of the Hill at Logan, with 16.6 percent. You connect the dots.
At least one big Delta shareholder is pushing for a sale, and on Wall Street a little blood in the water can serve as an aperitif. Stay tuned.

Memories can become journeys of their own, particularly when the physical trip takes you face-to-face with a hard world.

Check out this video, about and including a new song by U2 singer Bono. It's been percolating for two decades, since he visited drought-stricken Ethiopia in the 1980s.

I heard again the too-soft voice of little Nurhusein.

My father is the one who started the rumor that truck drivers know the best places to eat. He said it so often it had to have come from him. My mother would wrinkle her nose and make a joke in Japanese, something about a priest, a rabbi, a Unitarian minister and a case of shared gastrointestinal distress.
But it just stands to reason that folks who cruise the nation’s highways and byways for a living must have picked up a thing or two about survival on the road.
In the interest of sharing the wealth, Atlas Van Lines recently released the results of their annual King of the Road survey of their drivers’ preferences.
According to the drivers, the most scenic highway stretch in the nation is Interstate 70 through Colorado and Utah. Interstate 10 through the Southwest got the nod for the most boring.
The safest roads? Interstate 80, Interstate 10 and Interstate 95, in descending order.
And since every army travels on its stomach, it may interest you to know that the drivers’ fave for fast food is Subway sandwiches, followed by Wendy’s, KFC, and Arby’s (and that they believe Tums to be the antacid that gets rid of heartburn quickest, with Rolaids not far behind).
I wonder if Mom still remembers that joke?

The leaves are still falling in New England, but now’s the time to start hunting down deals to ease the cost of that family ski vacation. Here’s one that’s worth checking out: Ski.com has hooked up with United Airlines and is offering packages that include free flights (not including taxes and fees) for kids 12 and under and free lift tickets or ski and snowboard rentals at resorts including Vail, Beaver Creek, Crested Butte, Steamboat, and Jackson Hole. Just be sure to read the fine print: midweek travel and a 5-day minimum stay are required.

Before you hit the road during Thanksgiving week, you might want to chew on this. According to the National Sleep Foundation’s “Sleep in America” poll, 37 percent of Americans admit to actually having fallen asleep at the wheel in the past year. Whoa. That is scary.
Until recently, I had never gotten drowsy when driving. Quite the opposite. A while back, when I was working a god-awful overnight shift at a newspaper, I was the designated driver on every road trip. Because I was used to staying up all night, I would drive for hours while my friends snored away.
These days, sometimes I get sleepy .... very, very sleepy. I always pull over because I’m terrified of falling asleep at the wheel. I know of too many tragedies, one close to home, that were caused by drowsy or zonked-out drivers.
So wake up and read about warning signs and remedies at the website set up by the National Sleep Foundation, which instituted the first-ever Drowsy Driving Prevention Week™ Nov. 5-11.
Remember: friends don’t let friends drive drowsy.

Posted by Diane Daniel, Globe Correspondent

American Master Painter Georgia O'Keeffe changed the way we look at things by offering a perspective often under appreciated - the close-up to the point of abstraction. Always one of my favorite artists, O'Keeffe's life and work will be discussed by art historian and artist, Bob Manning, and will be held at the St. Johnsbury Athenaeum in St. Johnsbury, Vt. on Nov. 14 at 7pm. Best of all, you get Georgia on your mind for free. What else is there to consider this day?

Taxi drivers can be such great resources for local information. On a trip to Vegas, one driver told me about a quirky “museum” that I never would have found on my own. The Neon Boneyard, also called the Neon Graveyard, is a fenced-in area downtown (at the corner of McWilliams and Encanto streets) with dozens of neon signs that once lighted up casinos, hotels, motels, and businesses along The Strip. The nonprofit Neon Museum has refurbished about a dozen signs and put them on display around town.
You can only tour the Neon Boneyard by making advance reservations (call 702-387-6366) or simply do what I did: find something to stand on (luckily, an abandoned shopping cart happened to be nearby) and peer over the fence into the “graveyard.”

Posted by Kari Bodnarchuk, Globe Correspondent

I was rushing through Logan last week when I picked up the latest issue of
Travel New England. Located around the airport and in South Station, the
newspaper is free and geared toward travel agents. However, travelers would
be wise to read it next time they're killing time at Logan. In their
"Airports New England" column, they talk about new carriers and/or flights
going in and out of the region. Several years back they mentioned that TNT
Vacations in Boston was starting a new charter flight to Barbados. Their
first flight out was over Christmas week, when prices are usually
exorbitant, to gouge that family traveler who only has two weeks off from
school during the winter months. The TNT charter price was less than half
the price of American Airlines and my family had a great vacation on the
island. Now I read that starting Dec. 17, Skybus Airlines will begin
nonstop service between Portsmouth, N.H., and two Florida
airports -- St. Augustine and Charlotte County Airport in Punta Gorda. Skybus,
you may recall, was offering incredibly cheap tickets to Columbus, Ohio,
over the summer, starting at $25 each way. They charge extra for
everything, including luggage, but it's still very affordable; certainly
worth a look for people wanting to leave the chill of winter behind.

Posted by Steven Jermanok, Globe correspondent

I’m always amazed at the number of people who’ve never heard of Roomsaver.com or its affiliate publication Traveler Discount
Guide. The guide -- which seem to be available for free at pretty much every interstate rest stop and state welcome center -- and its accompanying website offer coupons for discounts of up to $20 to $50 off regular room rates at more than 4,000 hotels in 48 states.
This is an example of the kinds of savings we’re talking about. Say you’re headed to Portland, Maine. On a late October Friday, I called a Holiday Inn on Riverside Street and was told the lowest price for a room for two for Saturday night was $109.95. Roomsaver’s coupon rate was $84.95.
Two caveats: Most of the offerings appear to be for midprice major chains on or near highways. So you aren’t going to score a deal for The Pastel Floral Print Chenille Bedspread Inn, or, say, The Ritz or Taj. And, these are pretty much walk-in rates (which means you can’t make a reservation using the discount and if the hotel is booked you’re out of luck). But you might be surprised at the number and variety of offerings. If you haven’t looked, it’s definitely worth checking out.

Pie de la Cuesta is between the Pacific Ocean, a lagoon -- and nowhere. The taxi driver in nearby Acapulco frowned when we asked to go there. It´s too isolated, he said, too far from the city´s manic streets and pulsing discotheques. Exactly, we said -- keep driving. Thirty minutes later, we arrived at this thin ribbon of white-sand beach, famous for spectacular sunsets and powerful waves {which can make swimming dangerous}. Villa Nirvana, our $50-a-night hotel on the beach, has hot water and a swimming pool -- but no TV, Internet, or telephone in the room. So we swam in the pool, swung in a hammock, and slept to the rhythms of pounding surf. The hotel owner warns: Don´t come here if you want pampering. But if you want peace, it is here in abundance.

Posted by Maria Sacchetti and Russell Contreras, Globe Staff

Orange County National Golf Center and Lodge is offering a sweet deal for golfers who might already have a visit to Orlando planned in December, or for those who just want to treat themselves, no theme park required!
Orange County National boasts a pair of strong courses which will provide the venue for the PGA Tour's final qualifying stage Nov. 28-Dec. 3. It is the third time the complex has hosted the tournament, which will finalize the roster for the 2008 PGA Tour season. Starting Dec. 11, the package includes two nights' lodging, three rounds of golf (one each of three days) on either the Crooked Cat or Panther Lake course, daily breakfast, practice balls, free play on the resort's 9-hole short course, club storage, and bag tag. From Sunday through Thursday, the cost is $222 per person, Friday to Sunday the rate is $252. The special, which ends on Christmas Day, is per person based on double occupancy and it does not include taxes. Additional nights and golf are available at a special rate. Go to www.ocngolf.com or call 888-727-3672.

Do you want the bad news or the worse news? The bad news is that airfares seem to be going up weekly -- sometimes daily. The worse news is that, according to Joe Sharkey at The World's Greatest Newspaper, those increases are probably not only going to stick but will keep multiplying like love-starved gerbils.
Why? If you guessed rising oil prices, give yourself a smiley-face sticker. But more than that after the shakeout in the airline industry there are fewer flights so all of them are fuller (Airlines call this "load factor'' (good name, yes?) and last summer the carriers reported their highest ever.). This means that they can afford to raise prices whenever they feel the need. In fact, since Labor Day, the big guys have raised one-way fares eight times. Now for the most part the increases are small, $5 or $10 a pop. But they do add up.
What to do? Consider yourself stuck.
Now to further brighten your day, if you happen to be traveling for Turkey Day the airline industry is projecting a 4% increase in passengers.
So this year Mom will stuff the bird, and you get stuffed into a crowded plane, and you get to pay more for the privilege. Make sure you score leftovers. Big time.

Admit it. Your nerves take a beating when you live in Boston. To fight the stress levels, a personal suggestion is to chill out occasionally at the Kripalu Yoga Retreat in the Berkshires, located on the Stockbridge line right across from Tanglewood. I’ve been going once or twice a year for many years and while the prices have gone up (not on a par with nearby Canyon Ranch, but certainly more than they used to be), the quality has gone up as well.
I stopped by for a recent massage at the site’s health center (you don’t have to stay at Kripalu to book their services) and was immediately transported by a masseur named Umesh, a true character who has also run Kripalu’s off-and-on, chartered hikes to the Himalayas. We discovered that we were born five days apart, but the main thing was that I left with a refreshed outlook, ready to tackle the city again.
Oh, and the food is great there, too. And they even serve coffee in the cafe. That’s a long way from when I first went to Kripalu when they were based in rural Pennsylvania 25 years ago and the men had to stay in a huge barn with an outhouse, and no caffeine was allowed.
File under: Yoga retreats adapt to the times.

Posted by Steve Morse, Globe correspondent

Speaking of continental linguistic divides, Savannah might sit on one. Nik Cohn has a piece, “Sip It Slow,” on the “self-styled capital of the Georgia Coastal Empire” in “The Condé Nast Traveler Book of Unforgettable Journeys” (Penguin paperback, $16). The mysteries of traveling to places foreign to you, even when the language is not, lead this displaced Brit to fall in love with the sensuality and languor of Savannah, a city where “you don’t have to function,” someone tells him. Like the other contributors (among them, Francine Prose on Prague, Russell Banks on Florida, Jan Morris on Hawaii, Philip Gourevitch on Tanzania), Cohn follows his essay with a few pages of practical information (some of us consider reading lists practical), in his case addressing “how to enjoy the city like a local.”

A $39 one-way ticket from San Francisco to Los Angeles becomes $110.40 after various taxes and unanticipated fees -- including an "upgrade" to the exit row, a change in itinerary, and a levy to check a second bag. Passengers get no in-flight magazines and soft drinks are served with no nuts or pretzels, but the airline does offer a self serve supply of bottled water.
This is part of the scouting report we get from USA Today's David Grossman who describes his own virgin run on the new lower-cost carrier. Grossman's take? An "unforgettable combination of disappointment and delight.''
The in-flight entertainment system is a good example. It takes Grossman most of the flight to figure out the basics of how to operate it. But, there is satellite television and lots of pay-per-view movies available for the seatback screens. And, he points out, all seats come with 110 volt power outlets, a USB port, and Ethernet jack which will eventually let passengers plug in to the Internet.
Bottom line? Grossman says that the carrier clearly has some bugs to work out but has the potential to be a superstar. Kind of like Dice-K. Only cheaper.

The changing of the seasons on the Outer Cape generally adds a note of finality to the year: restaurants, antique shops, and family amusements shutter their doors and windows, take in their signs and outdoor decorations, and in many cases, turn off the heat and plumbing until spring.
Despite the economic ebb, life does go on out here, and we are thinking specifically about nature and the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary. The sanctuary naturalists don’t curtail programs in the colder months, they throw on a jacket and gloves and adapt to the conditions, just as the creatures do. There are cruises on Cape Cod Bay to see seals and seabirds, birding outings, beach hikes, and in a cursory nod to the season, indoor lectures. One fascinating program provocatively called ‘‘Sea Turtle 911’’ discusses a late-fall phenomenon where sea turtles linger too long in Cape Cod Bay and become cold-stunned. Their blood circulation and other body processes slow down, they are unable to swim, and they’re at the mercy of the wind and currents. In 2006, 91 sea turtles were recovered from the beaches of Cape Cod during the ‘‘stranding season’’: 83 Kemp’s ridley turtles, six loggerheads, and two green turtles. You can find out why sea turtles strand and what you can do to assist. You can also sign up for one of the scheduled beach walks to look for stranded sea turtles. The sanctuary coordinates the Cape Cod Sea Turtle Stranding Network, in which injured turtles are brought to the sanctuary to be measured, slowly warmed, and given initial treatments. Live turtles are then transferred to the New England Aquarium for rehabilitation. The sea turtle 911 program will be held on Saturday, Nov. 17, and Saturday, Dec. 1. It costs $6 for Mass. Audubon members, $8 for nonmembers. Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, Route 6 on the Eastham-Wellfleet town line, 508-349-2615, www.massaudubon.org/wellfleetbay

It's the season for art shows. Nov. 23-25 come celebrate some 55 of Maine's premier artisans at the United Maine Craftman's 33d Annual Arts & Crafts show in Rockland. Don't deny any show with free gift giveaways every hour! This show is three days long so plan to spend a night in this gorgeous coastal town. Many historic inns and B&Bs dot this region - try The Berry Manor Inn [Bobby Flay was here with the Pie Moms!], the Captain Lindsey Inn, or the LimeRock Inn for starters. And if your shopping is still not done, swing on over to Camden, one of my all-time favorite places in New England.

As we peruse the 10-day weather forecast for mid-November, we find what can only be described as ‘‘bonus days.’’ It’s going to hit 60 degrees a few times over the next week and a half, and that translates to comfortable golf weather as the calendar slips toward Thanksgiving. Bonus days.
There’s something about golf in the fall that makes one savor the opportunity more, makes one more cognizant of the surroundings. We bask in any warmth that can be wrung from the sun, we welcome the breeze that clears the fairway of leaves, exposing our ball so we can strike it again. We worry less about the result of the shot, and relish the feedback from the club as it sends the ball ... somewhere, forward, to be struck again.
Most courses drop their daily greens fees around Nov. 1, in deference to the less pristine conditions the player is likely to find. The greens may be a bit ragged, the rough heavier with moisture, the lies a bit more uneven than we’d find in midsummer. But that’s really OK, as is the presence of the windbreaker that restricts our swing a bit. We swing too hard, anyway.
We remember caddying for members at our local 9-hole course as kids, lugging the bags and wondering exactly how late in the season they’d continue to play, how they could find it fun as the wind grew more biting and the greens got bumpier. We don’t wonder anymore.
Go to mgalinks.org and click on member clubs, then search by region and club type (public, municipal, semi-private) for a course in your area. Most courses have websites with phone numbers and seasonal greens fee rates.
RON DRISCOLL

I was surprised to discover on a recent trip to Vegas that Sin City is actually within a five-hour drive of seven national parks. I never really equated Vegas with the great outdoors, but it turns out that it’s a good jumping-off point for trips to Death Valley, Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Zion, Joshua Tree, and Great Basin national parks, and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
While there, I decided to escape the city and went for a hike and mountain bike ride in Red Rock Canyon, just 19 miles from Vegas. It was like stepping into another world: I hiked alongside 7,200-foot cliffs with red and yellow striations, and by fields of juniper, sage, and barrel cactus. Then I biked by petrified sandstone rocks that were 200 million years old and had “zillions” of embedded seashells. After spending time along The Strip, going to musicals and comedy shows, and listening the incessant dinging of slot machines, it was nice to focus on nothing more than the sounds of the wind, the birds, and our guide.
Escape Adventures runs guided hiking and biking trips to Red Rock Canyon and parks across the Southwest, and provides transfers to the canyon and back again from your Vegas hotel, so there’s no need to rent a car. (Rates: half- to full-day mountain biking, $99-$159; half-day hiking, $109.)

Posted by Kari Bodnarchuk, Globe Correspondent

This month's Conde Nast Traveler touts its 20th annual Readers' Choice Awards, The Top 100.
Twelve New England gems made the list of Top 100 Mainland US Hotels: The Charlotte Inn on Martha's Vineyard (12), Pitcher Inn in Warren, Vt. (23), Blantyre in Lenox (26), Boston's Four Seasons (35), White Barn Inn in Kennebunkport, Maine (39), Twin Farms in Barnard, Vt. (44), Nantucket's White Elephant (54), Boston's Fifteen Beacon (62), Taj Boston (65), Boston's Hotel Commonwealth (73), Wequassett Resort and Golf Club on Cape Cod (81), and The Wauwinet on Nantucket (88).
If your favorite place to stay in New England didn't make the cut, think about voting next year.
And be sure to give Boston the nod for top US city. This year it made the cut, but it was No. 10 out of 10.
The winner among US cities: San Francisco.

Bradford, NH's Rosewood Country Inn is offering an enticing 4-night Harvest Home Thanksgiving Package from November 21st-25th. The elves must be working extra early this year, as the Rosewood Inn has made an exclusive arrangement with the popular Tanger Outlets in Tilton, offering guests more than $300 [yes that means a lot of free Christmas presents!] in store discounts. And if that's not enough, the Inn will also provide ribbons, wrapping paper and bows to wrap all those gifts for Aunt Betsy, Cousin Rachel and Uncle Jimmy. You'll need to put your feet up and fill the tummy after all that shopping, and that's when you'll visit a nearby Inn for a full course Thanksgiving dinner. Forget about basting that bird this year - the Holidays just don't get any easier than this - book your room today!

The Thrifty car rental folks are offering a discount on longer-term parking through Feb. 15 at their Logan location -- which is a few minutes away in Revere at 400 Lee Burbank Highway. The deal is this: You download a coupon and daily rates are $13 and weekly rates are $73.30. Compare this to the rates for economy parking at the airport, which are $27 daily and $108 weekly. The only drawback is that you aren’t there at the airport. But Thrifty offers a free shuttle, which runs every five minutes. Not bad.

You want to get away with the kids, but please dear God, not to another theme park! What about doing something a little different: walk. Country Walkers, a small-group walking tour provider based in Waterbury, Vt., has 13 new itineraries in its 2008 catalog. ‘‘Family adventures’’ include tours in Costa Rica, Montana and Wyoming, Hawaii, and Italy. Country Walkers can also plan a private trip, geared to the specific ages in your group. The average group size for most tours is 12 to 14 people, with a maximum of 18. Tours typically span six to eight days and are rated by the terrain’s degree of difficulty.

Christopher Davies’s “Divided by a Common Language: A Guide to British and American English” is out in paperback (Houghton Mifflin, $10.95), just in time for your next trip to the UK to compare its health insurance system to Hillary Clinton’s plan. Davies left England for Australia and New Zealand and now prefers Sarasota, Fla. He devotes not much more than a page to language about health care; it doesn’t even get a list of its own, but if a “consultant” comes in to see you after your emergency appendectomy, he has medical degree, not just an opinion. If Davies’s lists don’t worry you enough to make you stay home or go to Prague instead, and if you can stop on a sixpence at a zebra crossing while driving on the wrong side of the road, it might be fun having him along. Keep you from making a bloomer or two.

After several days of skiing in Park City, Utah, I decided to look for some non-leg-burning activities and found two real gems. At the Utah Olympic Park , just 10 minutes west of Park City, I toured the 2002 Olympic venues for the ski jump, bobsled,

luge, and skeleton competitions. My guide mentioned that it’s common to see athletes practicing on site.
The park’s Alf Engen Ski Museum chronicles Utah’s ski history and the 2002 Olympics, and if you’re feeling particularly adventurous, you can get a sense of what it’s like to go screaming (literally) down a bobsled track. Several times a month, visitors can go for a ride with a professional bobsled coach down The Comet, the park’s bobsled track. Two friends and I gave it a shot and hit 74 miles per hour on the way down. It’s not cheap — $200 per person, per ride —but it was worth every penny for such a unique thrill. I’ve heard they recently started a bobsled driving school, too (check out the website for updates).
For something a little more subdued, consider taking a trip to The Viking Yurt , located at 8,000 feet in the mountains above The Canyons Ski Resort. Guests catch a sleigh ride (pulled by a motorized Cat rather than horses) to the yurt — a Mongolian-style, tent-like dome made of canvas and wood — for a delicious venison dinner (vegetarians meals are also available).

Posted by Kari Bodnarchuk, Globe Correspondent

I usually spend Thanksgiving with my husband’s family (who are scattered across Massachusetts and Rhode Island) but last year, all his siblings spent the holiday having dinner with various inlaws. So my husband and kids took the holiday ‘‘off’’ and stayed at the Eagle Mountain House in Jackson, N.H. They offer a nice, low-key brunch buffet on Thanksgiving. We took a long walk, drank hot chocolate by the fire, played ping pong in the game room, and vegged out in the Jacuzzi. It was one of the most relaxing holidays I’ve ever had.
This year, The Balsams in Dixville Notch, N.H., is open for Thanksgiving (in the past it has closed between Columbus Day and the Christmas holidays). There will be live entertainment, movie showings, and a Thanksgiving feast. Doubles start at $258 (including Thanksgiving dinner) and kids under 10 stay free. Sure, extended family is wonderful and I’m grateful for each and every one of them. But sometimes wonderful is someone making your bed and cooking your dinner.

Spencer Finch's "What Time Is It On the Sun?" at MassMOCA has drawn a buzz from the contemporary arts crowd. But any dedicated traveler would benefit from a trip to North Adams before the show closes on March 31, 2008.

Finch's cerebral meditations on environments actually offer some down-to-earth hints on how to really pay attention and more fully experience a place. I'd never thought much about the breezes at Walden Pond, for example, until I stood in Finch's semicircular installation of box fans programmed to approximate the wind speed and direction during a particular two-hour period.
A framed pastel rendering of the color of the ceiling above Sigmund Freud's couch is a quirky reminder to look for the offbeat detail that defines a place.
In a burst of simple genius, Finch placed colored panels in the panes of the wall of glass in the Duncan Brown Family Gallery. When the sun shines through, it's like walking into a candle flame. I always light a candle when I visit a church (it just makes me feel good and it's a way to make a small donation). Next time I'm in a dimly lit cathedral, I'll remember Finch's pure enveloping light.
MassMOCA is open Wednesday through Monday 11-5.

Posted by Patricia Harris, Globe correspondent

Ever since Mark Twain penned "Innocents Abroad" (1869) about Americans traveling overseas, our countrymen have been something of a class apart. We have a bad reputation (sometimes deserved, sometimes not) for dressing poorly, not speaking the local language, and being ... well, pushy.
A few weeks ago, I spent an hour in line at the KLM transfer desk in Amsterdam because the airline computers were down. One traveler complained so loudly and fidgeted so intensely that other people in line let her creep ahead of them until she reached the front. The transfer desk personnel were helpless to print boarding passes, so she shouted at them, berated the Dutch in general, and hinted that she'd sue KLM if she missed her flight.
This fit of frustration and pique was carried out in perfect American English, of course, which she spoke even louder when no action materialized. Almost everyone else in line was carrying an EU passport, but as an American, I cringed and bit my lip -- until she pulled out her passport and slapped it down on the counter.
"I'm a Canadian citizen," she said, "and you can't treat me like this!"

Posted by David Lyon, Globe correspondent

Eleven years ago, I joined a home-stay organization called Servas and have since stayed with more than 60 host families around the world, from teachers in Australia and Japan to a shoemaker in India. Launched in 1948, Servas is a nonprofit, nondenominational, and nonpolitical peace organization that has members in more than 125 countries. It aims to “build world peace, good will and understanding” by getting people from different cultures and backgrounds together.
You can join as a traveler or host and need to go through a simple application process to become a member. (You can even stay with hosts in your own country or state.) As a traveler, you’ll receive a list of hosts in the region you’re visiting with information on each host — address, names of family members, interests, hobbies, and languages spoken, plus a note on how many people he/she can host and for how long.
You’re required to stay for two nights, so you have time to get to know your hosts, but if you hit it off well they may invite you to stay longer. You don’t pay anything to your host for room or board — this is a cultural exchange — but annual membership rates for Servas are $25 for students, $50 for domestic travelers, and $85 for international travelers, plus a small, refundable deposit for host lists.
I’ve loved meeting other people around the world — getting a chance to learn about their lives, see their homes, and gain insight into their worlds, while having a safe, friendly place to stay (especially important, since I’m often traveling on my own).

Posted by Kari Bodnarchuk, Globe Correspondent

Downtown Providence has undergone a tremendous revival -- and, happily, the town fathers haven't forgotten about artists. AS220 is a fascinating, nonprofit community arts space that includes a concert venue, gallery space, a theater (with a great name, the Perishable Theatre, perhaps appropriate for these times), and even a burrito restaurant. Oh, yes, AS220 has an outdoor cafe that makes this feel like a mini-slice of the Left Bank.
The bookings are tailored to Providence artists, but Boston musicians, especially, slip in there as well. There are events with songwriters, filmmakers, authors, you name it. This place likes variety, as their website says. There are even "Free Speech Thursdays'' that feature an open-mic setting for spoken word performers, poetry slammers, and hip-hoppers. The action is at 115 Empire St. (a block from the Dunkin' Donuts Center, which used to be the Providence Civic Center).

Posted by Steve Morse, Globe Correspondent

Life is pretty laid-back in the Berkshires, but the region also boasts one of the most cutting-edge museums in the world. It's Mass MoCa in North Adams and it is located in old, renovated, industrial-brick buildings that provide huge amounts of space for some of the most intriguing installations you'll ever see.
On display for the next two years is Anselm Kiefer's bewildering concrete sculpture, "Etrois sont les Vaisseaux,'' which basically looks likes curled-up chunks of urban sidewalk, running in a long row that makes it seem like buckled parts of a bridge. I've certainly never seen anything like it.
There's also Spencer Finch's mix of colored glass panels that filter light into a kind of psychedelic kaleidoscope. Very trippy and you can sit on benches in front of it and start hallucinating, if you like. No need for LSD.
Overall, this is a fabulously surreal museum. It also offers concerts, some of them in the B-10 Lounge (complete with couches), where the Jazz Passengers perform on Nov. 17. The galleries are open every day except Tuesday, and admission is $12.50 for adults.
In addition, the museum has a cool cafe (called the Lickety Split Cafe) in one of its industrial buildings; and there's a more stylish restaurant, Cafe Latino, right next door.

Posted by Steve Morse, Globe Correspondent

Looking to kill a sunny weekend afternoon while feeling vaguely outdoorsy? Head to Purgatory Chasm State Reservation in Sutton. That’s what I did with the kids on a recent Saturday afternoon, mainly to test out my new GPS. And yes, it took us directly to Purgatory Road in Sutton, no questions asked.

There’s a wow factor when you first enter the chasm -- an enormous jumble of boulders, caves, and rock formations with great names: Look for Lover’s Leap, the Devil’s Coffin, and Fat Man’s Misery. The clearly marked Chasm Loop Trail will lead you through the chasm and then upward, where you can gaze down at the massive rocks. It can get somewhat crowded and the rocks can be slippery so take your time. But it’s an easy hike, the kids will love exploring the caves, and best of all, it’s free.

You'll think you're in Switzerland. At the very least, you'll have that giddy feeling that can only come from fresh air in the mountains. This summer I fell in love with the Loon Mountain Club, a resort/spa that doesn't cost an arm and a leg, but will give you the escape-from-the-city therapy that you might need. It's on a hill overlooking the gondola up to Loon's peak. But get a room that looks the other way -- toward the Pemi River across the way, because the sound of that white-water river is pure, ambient bliss. Leave your window open and enjoy.
This is a modern place with all the amenities -- most rooms also have kingsize beds -- and there's the Viaggio Spa and Health Club on the premises, which offers hot-stone massages. Treat yourself to luxury without paying Canyon Ranch prices. Not that you'll need it this winter, but there's also a great outdoor swimming pool.
Plus, the on-site Seasons Restaurant will entice the palate.

Posted by Steve Morse, Globe Correspondent

On a recent “girls’ getaway” in Kauai, my friend Sarah and I discovered a local treat that became a staple of our daily diet: shaved ice. After a day hiking in the 90-degree heat in Kauai’s impressive Waimea Canyon — dubbed “the Grand Canyon of the Pacific” by Mark Twain — we stumbled upon a place called Jo-Jo’s Shave Ice in the town of Waimea on Kauai’s south shore. Here, you can get a giant pile of shaved ice on top of either vanilla or macadamia nut ice cream.
Choose three flavors of syrup to create your own shaved ice concoction or choose from 15 tried-and-true favorites, like the Picnic Special, which is made with watermelon- and pink lemonade-flavored shaved ice on top of macadamia nut ice cream. My favorite combo was a self-concocted blue raspberry-, cream soda- and passion orange-flavored shaved ice on vanilla ice cream. I’m thinking of calling it Creamy Passionberry.
Turns out Kauai is known for its shaved ice, so you’ll find shaved ice stands, shacks, and shops all over the island, but none is as good as Jo-Jo’s (trust me, we tried them all).

Posted by Kari Bodnarchuk, Globe Correspondent

If the idea of a sunrise knitting circle on the beach gets your heart racing (and doesn’t make your child groan), the Handwork Studio’s Kids Craft Camp is for your family. The Handwork Studio is a Narberth, Pa., needle arts studio where kids learn self-expression through knitting, crocheting, sewing, quilting, embroidery, and fashion design. And now it’s time to hit the road: to Sunscape Puerto Aventuras Resort in Mexico’s Riviera Maya July 12-19. So in addition to sun, sand, and family fun, the camp includes handwork instruction sessions for children 5-14, a sunset beach fashion show, and craft sessions focusing on Mexican culture and native needle arts. Crafts are geared to both girls and boys (yes, boys). Prices start at $960 per adult and $680 per child. (That includes the camp fee and supplies, airport transportation in Mexico, all meals, drinks, hotel activities, tips and taxes, but not airfare.) Book by Nov. 30 and save $100 per room.

I never know when to strike up a conversation with my seatmate on a long airplane flight. If I start too soon, I fear spending the next several hours hearing about my flying companion's latest breakup, big business deal, or incredibly precocious grandchildren. But I've also gotten great tips from locals who are returning home to the city I'm visiting.
On a recent flight to Miami, I exchanged a few pleasantries with the buff guy who had the window seat next to my aisle. He proceeded to doze while I read. The flight was approaching Miami when we started to chat. It turned out that he was a personal trainer and was returning home from Boston where he'd been working with his client -- none other than Josh Beckett.
That left me only about 20 minutes to hint shamelessly for help scoring post-season Red Sox tickets. No luck. Another hour and I would have had them!

Posted by Patricia Harris, Globe correspondent

One of the great things about traveling to Europe (or California, for that matter) used to be the chance to bring home bottles of whatever local wine you'd discovered. Never mind that it rarely tasted as good as it did in that little country restaurant or urban cafe. It was the idea of the wine - an ideal souvenir for those of us who live in small places. Stick the bottles in the carry-on, wait a few weeks for them to get over the jostle of travel, and you could relive a golden moment or two of that trip.
Now that airline security prohibits carrying wine onboard, I had resigned myself to drinking that wine in situ only. But when I visited the upper Douro Valley of Portugal recently I really wanted to bring home a nice bottle of vintage port to serve to my family after Christmas dinner. I chose a bottle that was boxed in a nice cedar case. I always have a stash of two-gallon zipping plastic bags in my suitcase. So I put the port in a bag and then returned it to the box -- the extra plastic helped to cushion the bottle and would, I hoped, contain the port if the bottle broke. Just in case, I then put all my good clothes into similar bags, stuffed it all in the suitcase I was checking, and crossed my fingers.
Success! The port is on the kitchen counter now, settling down from the trip. It should be perfect by December.

Posted by Patricia Harris, Globe correspondent

We still don’t have a definitive answer to Freud’s famous question: What do women want? But it seems that travelers, at least, care most about germs, green tourism, and that guy in the seat next to them turning off his cell phone. And it turns out that next year, Jerba, Tunisia, is destined to the next great place.
Where do we get this stuff? TripAdvisor, the popular online community devoted to travel, just put out its annual survey of top trends. And according to their not-totally-scientific study:
Not only did 80 percent of respondents say they worry about germs, bacteria and viruses when traveling, but that they fret most about airplanes, followed by public transportation, eateries, hotels, and airports. What do they plan to do about it? Wash those hands like demons. (Over a quarter of those asked -- and you know who you are -- actually plan to travel with disinfectant and cleaning supplies.)
26 percent plan to be more environmentally conscious in their plans, particularly by hiking and biking more.
A huge majority of folks think fliers should have to shut off their mobiles, but only a bit over half think they have the right to tell a seat mate to turn off video content they deem inappropriate (Did I miss the news? Did Larry Flynt get himself an airline?).
Besides Tunisia, other possible top hot spots for world travel in Makandi Bay, Egypt, Phangnga, Thailand, Kovalam, India, and Sabaudia, Italy. In the states, folks may be heading to Sunny Isles Beach, Fla., Kitty Hawk, N.C., and Seward, Alaska.
One of the more interesting things is that about a fifth of the folks feel the need to swear their travel partners to a vow of secrecy about what happened during their trip. What happens in Lompoc stays in Lompoc?

Birds do it, bees do it. Just don't try it on Singapore Airlines.
The carrier has become the first to offer the world’s first airborne double bed aboard their new A380 jets but prefers users refrain. We're talking sleeping like Rob and Laura Petrie -- only in a double. The Times Online talked to the first couple to try it out: Tony and Julie Elwood from Perth, Australia.
“So they’ll sell you a double bed, and give you privacy and endless champagne — and then say you can’t do what comes naturally? Seems a bit strange,” said Tony who was described as a "vigorous'' 76.
Trophy wife Julie, 51, agreed. "They seem to have done everything they can to make it romantic, short of bringing round oysters. I’d say they shouldn’t really complain, should they?''
Apparently, the airborne suites, which are just partitioned off so aren't sound proof, run about
$14,320 for two tickets.
Even though the suites aren't sealed off I'm wondering how the airline intends to police this, given how loud it is inside the cabin of a jet?
I guess the staffers of SIngapore's national airline must be a pretty vigilant lot. This is brought to you, after all, from a country that has caned folks for any one of dozens of crimes ranging from theft and drug violations to vandalism and overstaying your official welcome.
Just keep your feet on the floor and everything will be fine.

Tooling around the Hudson Valley last week I stopped where tables flanked the road at what I learned was a weekly flea market. I didn't part with any hard earned cash but I discovered I was in the hamlet of

High Falls, New York (pop. 627) which is really no more than a collection of colorful, quirky, one-of-a-kind restaurants, craft stores, antique shops and a toy store clustered along a bend in the road on route 213.

This is how I ended up wandering into High Falls Mercantile, a country-cozy home store with needlepoint rugs, framed botanical prints, lamps, beeswax candles, luscious Belgian and English linens, commercial and handmade ceramics. I was particularly drawn to Obi Pottery, a
collection of wheel-thrown and hand-built stoneware and porcelain by local artist David Levy. (photo) I didn't stop for lunch but hope to get back before the leaves have completely left the trees.

Posted by Necee Regis, Globe correspondent

What does it take to discourage a traveler from a destination? The US State Department tends its warnings carefully: of 28 countries on its current list, 27 have had their warnings updated this year (http://travel.state.gov/travel/warnings.html). It is an interesting way to look at the globe, cordoning off 26 countries ranging from Cote d’Ivoire east to Timor-Leste (http://www.timor-leste.gov.tl; the world’s newest independent country -- remember Indonesia’s final attempt to subjugate East Timor all those years ago, in 1999), then looking west to the hot spots on our part of the planet, Colombia and Haiti. You can come up with a number of plagues common to most of these places and their citizens -- war, poverty, crime, illiteracy, ill health, intemperate climate, isolation, forbidding geography, the unstable earth beneath their feet -- and yet there are Americans who want to go. And are warned not to. And go anyway.