Farecast holiday forecast: Expect to spend more on airfare

SEATTLE -- Expect to spend more to fly home for the holidays this year, say the experts at Live Search Farecast.

Fares for Thanksgiving 2008 are up 31 percent from 2007, while Christmas and New Year's fares are up 30 percent, according to the Web site.

"The combination of high fuel prices, airline capacity and route cuts means holiday travelers may easily spend upwards of $100 more per ticket than last year," said Joel Grus, a spokesman for Farecast at http://farecast.live.com. "There are deals out there for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, but they're few and far between, and won't last long."

Farecast's data found that nationally, average costs for the most popular Thanksgiving itinerary, a Wednesday departure, Sunday return, is $490, up $66 from last year.

Travelers returning on Monday or Tuesday can save more than $90 per ticket.

The Web site found Christmas and New Year's fares averaging a little less than Thanksgiving fares, at $420.

Grus noted that fees for baggage, food and other extras that used to be free may send your travel costs even higher.

Tips from Farecast for finding bargains:

--During 2006 and 2007, most Christmas itineraries saw price drops in the first two weeks of October. Farecast data suggests there are more price drops for the holidays than other times of the year; sign up for airline alerts to catch deals.

--Travelers flying to and from major airports may see price drops this fall, but those using smaller regional airports are more affected by airline capacity cuts and should not wait as prices are unlikely to go down.

--If you're staying in a hotel rather than with your family, you may be able to offset airfare increases with cheaper hotels. Farecast found some hotels in vacation destinations like Hawaii and Florida are reducing rates so much that the combined cost of air and lodging was no more than last year's.

Farecast offers predictions on its Web site about the best time to purchase plane tickets based on past data about when prices go up or down. The Web site is also offering a beta version of a similar forecasting device for hotel rates.

10 places to see before you're 10, according to Travel + Leisure

NEW YORK -- You've probably heard of the bestselling travel book by Patricia Schultz "1,000 Places To See Before You Die."

Travel + Leisure is offering a shorter list geared to pint-size travelers: 10 places to see before you're 10.

The list, in the magazine's online September issue and in some print editions, has some classics as well as a few surprises, starting with the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, probably the least-known place featured in the article, described as an "outsider-art showcase" of "riveting works" like a 6-foot violinist made of matchsticks and a car smothered in Noxzema jars.

The 10 must-sees for grade-schoolers also includes Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia; Ellis Island in New York; the Grand Canyon in Arizona; Niagara Falls and Chicago's Sears Tower.

Four California attractions made it onto the list: Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., described as "charmingly retro" and "more manageable" than Orlando; Muir Woods; Monterey Bay Aquarium, and the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles.

Details at http://www.travelandleisure.com/family/.

Free walking and bike tours in Washington, Sept. 20-21

WASHINGTON -- More than 80 free walking and biking tours will be offered Sept. 20-21 in Washington for "WalkingTown," an event designed to highlight the capitol as a walkable city.

The event is held twice a year, sponsored by Cultural Tourism DC, a nonprofit coalition of Washington heritage and arts organizations.

Tours offered include bike tours of area Civil War forts; a visit to Florida Market/Capital City Market; a "Spies of Georgetown" walking tour; an insider's look at artwork in Metro stations; and a kids' architectural tour of Dupont Circle. There are also tours of monuments, Embassy Row, the National Arboretum and many other places, as well as tours with specialized themes, such as freedom and slavery, geology, gay history, Jewish history and German immigrants.

A complete schedule is available at http://www.WalkingTownDC.org.

Sept. 11 Pentagon memorial opening

ARLINGTON, Va. -- A new permanent memorial park has been built to honor victims of the Sept. 11 attack on the Pentagon.

The memorial, scheduled to be dedicated on this year's anniversary of the attacks, is located on the grounds of the Pentagon in Arlington.

Terrorists crashed American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, killing 59 people on the plane and 125 people working inside the building, which houses the U.S. Department of Defense.

The park consists of 184 memorial units in a field, one inscribed to each victim. The units, made from steel and gravel, are shaped like cantilevered benches. They are positioned so that if you read the name of a flight passenger, you face the sky; if you read the name of a victim from the Pentagon, you face the building.

The area also includes a lighted pool, grass, a footpath and maple trees.

The site will be open to visitors 24 hours a day. There is no admission fee.

The memorial is easily accessible by bus, and from the blue and yellow lines of Washington's Metro, which serve the Pentagon stop in Arlington.

Details at http://memorial.pentagon.mil/.

Mexico, Las Vegas, Caribbean cruising rank high on travel agent survey

MINNEAPOLIS -- Mexico, Las Vegas and Caribbean cruising were all high on the list of popular vacation options in a survey conducted by Travel Leaders (formerly Carlson Wagonlit Travel Associates).

The annual survey, conducted this summer, polled 415 Travel Leaders agents, managers and owners.

The top six domestic destinations this year were the same as last year, starting with Las Vegas, followed by Orlando, Fla.; Honolulu, and Maui, Hawaii; New York and San Francisco. Anchorage, Alaska, was No. 7 on the list. Miami tied with Phoenix/Scottsdale, Ariz., for the next two spots, and Chicago and Washington tied for 10th place. It was the first time Chicago made it into the top 10 in the survey's five-year history.

Mexico ranked No. 1 in the category of "best value outside the U.S.," and took five of 10 spots in the list of top international destinations, with Cancun at No. 2, Riviera Maya at No. 3, Mexican cruising sixth, Cabo San Lucas/Los Cabos eighth and Puerto Vallarta ninth.

Caribbean cruising was No. 1 on the international list, with Mediterranean cruises and Rome coming in fourth and fifth; Montego Bay, Jamaica, at No. 7, and Punta Cana, in the Dominican Republic, at No. 10.

Nearly 30 percent of survey respondents also said their clients were driving more often to vacation destinations than they used to, and about two-thirds said increases in gas prices and fuel surcharges have caused some people to scale back travel.

September is wine month in California

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- California is celebrating wine this month with festivals, tastings, grape stomps and tours.

Check out the "The Land of Wine and Food" Web site at http://www.landofwineandfood.com for information on events as well as a wine region locator that can be searched by location or even by wine varietal for things to do.

In the Carmel Valley on Sept. 26, you can watch as 10 tons of grapes are crushed, then join Chateau Julien winemakers for a dinner in the wine cellar. Chumeia Vineyards is hosting an ice cream social Sept. 19-20 and a wine cruise around Morro Bay Sept. 27. At Pipestone Vineyards, you'll get your hands (and feet) purple with a hands-on winemaking class on Sept. 28.

Tesoro Winery in Temecula is organizing a "Biker Brunch" with a five-course meal following a motorcycle tour of the area. The American Wine and Food Festival in Los Angeles, Sept. 26-28, which raises money for Los Angeles Meals on Wheels, features celebrity chefs, live music, tastings and a feast.

In Napa, Groth Winery and Vineyards is celebrating "Wine in the Insectary" to showcase the 44 different species planted there to attract beneficial insects.

The "Flights of Napa" event, Sept. 26-28, is a showcase for jets, gourmet food, cigars and wine.

The new Web site also offers a self-guided itinerary to see wineries featured in the indie film "Bottle Shock," about the triumph of California wines at a 1976 blind tasting in Paris. Details at http://www.landofwineandfood.com/bottleshock.

Another resource is the Wine Institute's new Web site, http://www.discovercaliforniawine.com, which lists ways to learn about and sample California's wines at wineries, vineyards, restaurants, shops and supermarkets.

B.B. King Museum opening in Mississippi

INDIANOLA, Miss. -- A new museum is opening to honor music legend B.B. King.

The B.B. King Museum & Delta Interpretive Center, scheduled to open Sept. 13 with King in attendance, is located in Indianola.

The event also will include live music entertainment, cooking demonstration and crafts.

Organizers say the $14 million museum is meant to honor King, telling his story of growing up in nearby Delta cotton fields and achieving fame and fortune as a popular blues musician.

The project features a historic brick cotton gin building in which King once worked, and a new education outreach wing. Details at http://www.bbkingmuseum.org/.

Birmingham Museum of Art preps for da Vinci tour

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Birmingham Museum of Art is preparing for an exhibit of Leonardo da Vinci drawings that will be shown later this month for the first time in the United States.

The exhibition, "Leonardo da Vinci: Drawings from the Biblioteca Reale in Turin," opens Sept. 28 and runs through Nov. 9 in Birmingham.

The works cover one of da Vinci's most celebrated notebooks, the "Codex on the Flight of Birds," and 11 important drawings.

The drawings have never traveled as a group before or been made available outside of Italy in its entirety.

Details at http://www.artsbma.org/.

Museum of Arts and Design reopening in NYC's Columbus Circle

NEW YORK -- The Museum of Arts and Design opens its new building at 2 Columbus Circle near the entrance to Central Park with a weekend of free admission Sept. 27-28, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

The museum was formerly known as the American Craft Museum.

For opening day, artist Jason Hackenwerth has created large sculptures from latex balloons that he and others will wear and perform in outside the museum.

New exhibits will include "Second Lives: Remixing the Ordinary," showcasing 51 artists who re-purpose mass-produced objects into art; "Elegant Armor: The Art of Jewelry," with 130 works of jewelry from 1948 through the present; and selections of important works from the museum's permanent collection along with a showcase of gifts from museum supporters.

The museum also just acquired a donation of 800 pieces of silver jewelry designed by tribal and ethnic artisans around the world during the 1900s. The jewelry is a gift from Daniel and Serga Nadler, who amassed the collection over 30 years during expeditions to Egypt, Morocco, India, Thailand, China, Greece and other places. The museum describes the collection of the unsigned pieces of wearable art as "one of the most comprehensive holdings of tribal, ethnic and contemporary jewelry in the world."

After opening weekend, admission is $15.

Details at http://www.madmuseum.org.

National Wildlife Refuges offer Halloween programs

WASHINGTON -- Wildlife refuges are using Halloween as a way to showcase creatures that have nocturnal or spooky associations.

The Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in eastern North Carolina is planning a free "Howl-O-Ween" safari the weekend before Halloween, where participants howl in an effort to get the park's red wolves to howl back. The event takes place Oct. 25, 6 p.m.; reservations are required at http://www.redwolves.com.

Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge, bordering New Jersey and New York in Vernon Township, N.J., is hosting "Nocturnal Creature Night," Oct. 25, 5:30-8:30 p.m., with tour guides in animal costumes teaching kids about the critters. Reservations required; call 201-660-8880.

In Montana's Bitterroot Valley, on Halloween night (Oct. 31) at 5 p.m., the visitor center hosts a campfire gathering called "Get Wild at Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge." Participants will learn about nocturnal creatures.

There are 548 national wildlife refuges in the country. Details at http://www.fws.gov/refuges/.

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