Rumors of ghosts and spirits abound all year long at Calico Ghost Town in Barstow, but during the last two weekends in October, Calico embraces its legacy with a good, old-fashioned haunting. From now until October 31, you can experience thrills and chills in Calico's famed Maggie's Mine or wander the halls and dodge the spooks inside Hank's Hotel.

"The Maggie Mine is totally haunted," says Ernie Escajeda, director of the Calico Bus Program. "There's no charge to see the mine with your admission. Hank's Hotel is be haunted inside. It's really scary and we've really outdone ourselves this year with the decor and entertainment options."

This year's event is themed after an authentic carnival freak show - the kind they had in the 1890's when circus greats such as Barnum and Bailey toured the countryside in tents displaying oddities and humanly impossible stunts like fire eaters, sword swallowers and contortionists. Guests will also be treated to The Children of Chaos where such strange things as two-headed calves and other amazements are displayed.There are even creepy, crawly critters you can touch, pet and even pick up if you dare.

Master mystifier Vincent Lords will present Haunted Hypnosis, a haunting audience participation journey into your imagination where anything is possible and reality gets twisted into a collage of mind blowing demonstrations. Lords is often compared to David Blaine and Chris Angel for his ability to surpass any mental doubt or fear in death defying feats.

The Last Ride, a coffin set in a mortuary is just waiting for you. Step inside and pull the lid shut and enjoy the feeling of being sent down, down, down as if buried alive.

Haunted hayrides, a cemetary walk, trick or treating, costume contest and much more await you at Calico Ghost Town's Ghost Haunt October 22-24 and October 29-31. Admission is $10 adults; $5 ages 6-15 and free for children five and under. Active Military with identification admission is $5 adults; $3 ages 6-15.

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Tomorrow begins the annual Palm Springs Desert Resorts Restaurant Week. Organizers of this annual event really should change the name to Restaurant Festival, as this tasteful event is really two full weeks of culinary celebration, running June 4-13.

During Restaurant Week, participating restaurants are offering a three-course menu at the fixed price of either $24 or $36 per person (tax, beverages and gratuity are not included). Those who dine at fine restaurants know that these prices are exceptional values, especially when considering you can enjoy this superb Italian cuisine at Johnny Costa's in the heart of Palm Springs for $24, or this generous offering from Copley's on Palm Canyon Drive.

There are dozens of dining choices throughout the desert resorts, from trendy Palm Springs to historic Indio. A list of participating restaurants with links to each restaurant's specially selected Restaurant Week menu is listed on the website linked above.

Area hotels are offering special accommodation rates through Restaurant Week. If you haven't checked out the newly renovated Riviera Hotel & Spa in downtown Palm Springs, this may be the opportunity you've been waiting for.

My favorite bed and breakfast in Napa Valley is offering a fantastic deal throughout the remaining days of May. I stayed at the Vintage Inn two years ago and have been itching to return. If I weren't headed for a two-week swing up the East Coast on Saturday, I'd take advantage of this offer.

Here's what you get: Stay two nights in May at the best available rate and receive a third night free (Sunday through Thursday bookings).

The Vintage Inn offers these luxurious amenities in charming, private chateaus:

• Guestroom w/ Fireplace & Oversize Sunken Bathtub


• Complimentary Bottle of Chardonnay Upon Arrival


• Champagne Breakfast Buffet w/ Omelette Station


• Afternoon Tea Service


• In-Room Coffee, Tea & Espresso Machines


• Daily Fitness Center Use


• Complimentary Access to Spa Villagio Facilities & Amenities


• New Pilates Studio

Riverside's own Chris Kern, fearless leader of the Friends of the Forgotten Grapes, has put together the group's first local wine- and dine-lover's weekend. Kern has 13 wineries scheduled for the four-day excursion to the Central Coast wine region, including stops in Santa Ynez Valley and Paso Robles.

Leaving on Thursday, May 13 and returning to Riverside on Sunday, May 16, the getaway includes ground transportation from Riverside to the Central Coast, deluxe accommodations for three nights (double occupancy) at a private mountaintop estate near Paso Robles, four wine-paired dinners, lunches and breakfasts, plus private tours and tastings. The all-inclusive getaway covers everything but the wine you buy at the wineries.

Kern is a self-taught wine aficionado who calls the popular Merlot his gateway into the lush world of the forgotten grapes of viticulture and winemaking history (read: the not so hip and trendy wines). The Forgotten Grapes website features a different grape varietal each week with pop-culture descriptions that take the snobbery out of learning about wine.

Only four more spaces are open for the May 13-16 Central Coast getaway. If you're looking for a great Mother's Day gift for the wine-and-dine loving woman in your life, don't delay.

Forgotten Grapes Central Coast Wine Tasting Weekend, May 13-16, 2010.

I have never been to Australia. When I lived in Japan in the late 1980s, my husband and I had planned a trip to Australia while we were on that side of the world, but two babies within two years changed our mind. When Prevue magazine called to ask if I would cover a conference there, the editor explained before I committed that I would not be flying Business Class as if that was a deal-breaker. I told him that I'd love the opportunity to visit and write about Australia and I'd ride in the cargo hold if necessary.

Turns out my flight arrangements were far nicer than the cargo hold. The conference travel department booked me in V-Australia's upgraded coach cabin, which they call Premium Economy. I made my way to my aisle seat and scooted my carryon bag under the seat in front of me. A water bottle, blanket and pillow with fine cotton case lay on my seat. I had barely settled into my comfy leather-covered seat when a flight attendant greeted me with a glass of champagne. As the plane readied for take-off, I explored the space that would be mine for the next 14 hours.

Premium Economy on V-Australia is like Business Class on most domestic airlines. This mid-level cabin has fewer seats than standard economy, wider seating, ample legroom and a flip down footrest. Seats recline 22 inches, which is not as comfy as the flat-bed extension available on Business Class, but much more conducive to sleep than the 7-inch recline in standard Economy.

Seat pockets are stocked with a convenient V-Australia pouch with a selection of necessities to comfort travelers, including mouthwash and toothpaste, a travel toothbrush, fluffy socks, ear plugs and an eye mask.

Each seat is equipped with a 9-inch screen on the seatback in front and includes V-Australia's RED entertainment system. Passengers can choose between current in-theater films and family classics, plus television choices from around the world. Music stations include everything from world music, to classical, with all genres of pop in between. The sound-reduction stereo headphones reduce aircraft hum and deliver vibrant sound.

Once in the air, I pulled out my iPod to listen to my audio book (The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova). A flight attendant came by to take my dinner, beverage and breakfast orders. Dinner selections included a beef tips casserole, chicken and vegetables, and vegetarian manicotti. Breakfast choices were scrambled eggs and ham or orange cheese crepes. I chose the manicotti for dinner, with a pairing of Australian Shiraz. My breakfast choice was the crepes and freshly squeezed orange juice.

Dinner included a crisp salad with lemon-garlic dressing, an apple torte, warm sourdough roll, and a generous serving of two manicotti shells filled with herbed ricotta and covered with a tangy tomato sauce. The manicotti was as good as any I've had at posh Italian restaurants on the ground.

After dinner I applied my eye mask, pulled the blanket over me and extended the seat back to its semi-reclined position. I slept through most of the flight, though I did wake up several times to reposition myself and recover with the blanket. The flight attendant woke me with a gentle pat on the shoulder and handed me my glass of orange juice, followed by breakfast. The crepes were soft and tender, not tough and chewy like crepes can get when pre-prepared. Breakfast also included yogurt and a fruit bowl with papaya (my favorite fruit), orange segments and kiwi.

I'm wearing my iPod earbuds and listening to The Swan Thieves again when the flight attendant comes by with a hot pot and I handed her my cup. I pour the milk into the cup and take a swig of the hot, dark elixir and nearly spewed it. Not because it was too hot, or tasted horrid, but because it wasn't coffee. I'd forgotten how tea is the automatic breakfast beverage served aboard flights to countries of UK ties. I finished the tea, then asked for a refill of coffee, which was delivered weak and whiney like all airline coffee.

Two hours later we were on the ground, I gathered my luggage and readied for my first night in Melbourne.

Inland Valley residents are in for a treat in their desert playground during Palm Springs Desert Resorts Restaurant Week June 4-13. With more than 70 restaurants participating in the 10-day culinary showcase, as well as the added benefit of special hotel packages from Coachella Valley resorts, this year's restaurant week is shaping up to have something for every budget.

Restaurant Week in Palm Springs is simple. All of the restaurants participating agree to offer three-course dinners of appetizer, entrée and dessert at fixed prices of either $24 or $36 per person. Some restaurants will offer both price points with expanded selections in the higher priced option.

At a cooking demo last night at the state-of-the-art Standards of Excellence Showroom exhibition kitchen, two of the participating restaurateurs prepared selections they will offer during Restaurant Week.

Executive Chef Dennis Cheek from Matchbox in downtown Palm Springs prepared Dungeness Crab Salad. A fusion of flavors begins by marinating the crab in a sauce made piquant with yuzu juice and lemon. The marinated crab is served atop a leaf of crisp bib lettuce, with halved cherry tomatoes of yellow and red and paper-thin slices of cucumber. Small bits of pickled Japanese radish are a perfect sweet/salty counterpoint to the marinated crab.

Copley's on Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs is among the leading fine dining establishments and a huge supporter of Restaurant Week. Executive Chef and owner Andrew Copley prepared an entrée he calls Coffee Scented Braised Beef Short Ribs. The name of this dish gives away only part of the secret of this unusual preparation. Along with the typical herbs and spices you expect in a savory beef sauce, Copley makes a cheesecloth sachet filled with three-quarters cup of ground hazel-nut flavored coffee beans to steep in the sauce as the short ribs are baking.

Zin American Bistro in the heart of Palm Springs provided a perfect finish with owner and pastry chef Mindy Reed's Chocolate-Cappuccino Mouse Cake.

When he's not in Napa overseeing his vineyards or making wine, Miljenko "Mike" Grgich, owner and winemaker for Grgich Hills Estate, enjoys a second home in La Quinta. Grgich provided wines for the cooking demo, a crisp yellow chardonnay and a smooth merlot.

Eighty-three-year-old Grgich is a living legend in the wine world. His 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay won first place in the historic 1976 Paris Tasting that put California wines on the map. Having immigrated to the U.S. in 1958, he settled in the Napa Valley where he now operates five Napa Valley vineyards all producing grapes for Grgich Hills Estate wines.

You can see a list of participating restaurants and hotels by visiting www.palmspringsrestaurantweek.com.

I've been watching the development of the new CityCenter complex for a couple of years now. When a project has so much potential, I get excited and the construction time can't pass fast enough. Next week CityCenter makes its official debut on the famed Las Vegas strip, nestled between the classical beauty Bellagio and sophisticated Monte Carlo.

CityCenter is a step beyond the typical Las Vegas strip hotel/casino. It's a whole new concept in resort lifestyle built with high technology blended with sustainable resources. Within the complex you'll find the sexy Aria Resort and Casino, the non-gaming Vdara Hotel and Spa, the luxe Mandarin Oriental Hotel, expansive retail and entertainment at Crystals, and a residential enclave called Veer Towers. Another posh tower hotel is set to open at the end of 2010.

Explore CityCenter and check out hot holiday season specials here.

Barry Manilow just loves Christmas music. He said so to a nearly-sold out McCallum Theater last night in Palm Desert. He went on to say, "Consider me your skinny, Jewish Santa Claus."

The Jewish Santa who calls Palm Springs home put smiles on the faces of 25 charities designated to benefit from the string of concerts finishing December 9. He must have been in the ho-ho-holiday spirit last spring when he put thousands of dollars worth of musical instruments into the hands of children in schools across the Coachella Valley, too.

Manilow opened with a medley of "Happy Holidays" and "White Christmas," then told the crowd how good it was to be home for the holidays right before launching into, "(There's No Place Like) Home for the Holidays."

A set of pop songs followed with hits like, "Somewhere in the Night," "This One's for You," and "Looks Like We Made It." He set aside his hand-held mic and sat down at an ebony grand for a version of "Weekend in New England (When Will I Hold You Again)" that made ladies in the audience swoon and stand for an ovation at its conclusion.

With holiday songs mixed between pop standards such as "Mandy" and "Could It Be Magic," Manilow hit every note with effortless clarity and little deviation from the recorded tracks that have made him one of the top selling adult contemporary artists of all time. Audience members got into the spirit waving red and green light sticks as Manilow belted the pop anthem, "I Write the Songs."

Reflecting on the importance of music classes in schools and what an impact they made on him in his youth, Manilow introduced a small orchestra from a local high school who accompanied him to "I Am Your Child."

Later, a group of four young girls followed Santa Claus across the stage where Manilow joined them in singing, "Deck the Halls," "Jingle Bell Rock" and "Feliz Navidad." White confetti fell from the roof as Manilow sang "White Christmas," once again.

A choir from a local college (Riverside Community College, Norco, under the direction of Dina Humble) lined the side aisles to join Manilow with a concert-closing version of "Because It's Christmas (For All the Children)."

Funds collected through the concerts will be distributed to the 25 charities through Manilow's ongoing fundraising organization, The Manilow Fund. Tickets are still available for shows next week and may be purchased online here.

If you're heading out one of next week's Manilow concerts, why not consider an overnighter using the special Gift of Love rate offered by Rancho Las Palmas and dinner at the resort's suberb BluEmber restaurant. Make reservations here.

The holiday season is here and there is so much to celebrate. Holiday travel deals are popping up all over, with prices to tempt Santa away from the North Pole. Imagine the holidays in the desert, where December temperatures are "sweather-worthy" and the pristine views of snowcapped mountains keep the chill of winter within eyesight.

I'll be posting some fantastic ideas for holiday travel here in Inland Traveler within the next couple of days. See you then.

The Festival of Lights is underway at Riverside's pride and jewel, The Mission Inn. From November 27th to January 3rd, the venerable Mission Inn is transformed into a wonderland of brilliance with 3.5 million lights. Animated holiday characters and scenes greet visitors from the portals and arches, with spectacular vistas inside and outside all of the Mission Inn shops, restaurants and the spa.

Special Festival of Lights packages are available for guests during the season and can be viewed on the Mission Inn website.