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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Twice a year we head to San Diego to get a snippet of California life. I grew up in Del Mar, a laid-back beach town where surfing is part of daily life. I was excited to teach my kids to ride the waves.  We love going to Menehune Surf Camp.

Photo: Nancy Solomon

Each year these surf lessons are the highlight of our trip. The instructors are always encouraging and fun, and my East Coast boys always crack up about the ultra-low-riding swimsuits. Menehune runs camps and private lessons on multiple beaches throughout San Diego. We love the one at Powerhouse Park—the beach is beautiful, plus it has food and one of the area’s best playgrounds. While my three older kids surf, I’m able to go for a long walk with my 2-year-old. She plays in the sand, and I get the downtime I need.

I love the resilience and perseverance that the surf camp teaches kids. Think fall and get up, fall and get up … times 100!

I have to admit, however, the few years of surf camp can be disconcerting. Two fears crept into my head: sharks and drowning. Despite the fact that we’re literally more likely to die by a falling coconut than a shark attack, we’re a generation with Jaws images and music imprinted in our minds.

I comfort myself knowing that the kids at Menehune stay in very shallow water.  Also, they’re not in areas with many seals, a favorite shark snack.  Of course, there are sharks off the Pacific coast, but in my 35 years of going to San Diego beaches, I’ve never seen one.

My kids first started surf camp when they were 5 and 6 and very strong swimmers. Between the lifeguards on the beach and the instructors, I felt like they are very well monitored.  That said, probably half the moms with kids under 7 stay and watch the class from the beach. This year was the first time—my kids are now 6, 9 and 10—that I left them alone for a portion of the class.

You can choose to do the morning program that runs from 9 to 12, the afternoon program from 12 to 3 or an all-day session. These camps are run in the summer and on school holidays, but you can get private lessons all yearlong.

Photo: Nancy Solomon

Where to Stay

We also just added two new hotels in the Del Mar area to the Ciao Bambino San Diego portfolio—both provide great beach access. The newly remodeled L’Auberge Del Mar is in the heart of town of Del Mar. The hotel has a fun social vibe, gorgeous views of the ocean and one of San Diego’s best restaurants at Kitchen 1540. Del Mar has cute coffee shops, casual restaurants and easy beach access in a quintessential Southern California setting.

Newly remodeled L’Auberge Del Mar. Photo: Ciao Bambino

Two miles up the road, nestled above the breathtaking Torrey Pines State Reserve is The Lodge at Torrey Pines. This hotel feels like a woodsy, grand lodge. Home to the renown Torrey Pines Golf Course, this is a golfer’s paradise. The beauty of this location is that adults can play too—send the kids to surf camp and head to Golf School (Golf School is also offered for kids). The hotel also has daily, guided hikes through the preserve. The Lodge features an award-winning restaurant, A.R. Valentien.

Nancy Solomon is an avid traveler and writer for Ciao Bambino. She lives outside Boston and has four children 10,8,6 and 2, with whom she enjoys sharing the world.

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

Photo: SkilliShot

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Heading up the the cables                        Kevin Fliess 2009

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

The Essentials – What to Wear

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

What to Bring

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

Tips

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

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

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

The author on “the visor”                                                       Kevin Fliess 2009

Hardly anyone looks forward to being trapped on an airplane for hours on end, but long-haul flights are unavoidable if you like to travel the globe, as I do.

I’m writing this from Tokyo’s Narita Airport on my three-hour layover while waiting for my nine-hour connecting flight to Singapore, fresh(ish) from my 13.5-hour flight from New York. That’s about 25 hours of transit folks, not counting time to and from the airports.

I’m usually pretty good with these marathon itineraries since I often doze off prior to takeoff, but today I’m suffering from a triple whammy of discomfort: a sinus headache, which is threatening to become a migraine; that time of the month; and an upset stomach. Oh, and did I mention that I’m in coach the entire way, and my seatback entertainment system broke about two hours into my initial flight? What a way to spend a birthday.

TMI? Perhaps. But I’m writing this because I made the mistake of packing when I was tired and inadvertently put my carry-on toiletries kit in my checked luggage, plus forgot to pack a book—silly me—so all this forced meditation time got me thinking about just what carry-on items are essential for long-haul flights, at least for me.

So here’s my preferred in-fight packing list—“perfected” over the past 25-plus years of international travel.

• Water. Buy a big bottle before you board. Better yet, bring an empty bottle and fill it up from the fountain after you pass through security. Don’t forget a small spray bottle, too. Keeping your skin hydrated is as important as your body, especially after enduring several hours of enclosed stale air. Evian sells an ideal 1.7-ounce size for $5.50.

• Lip balm, hand cream and face moisturizer. See hydration note above. Reapply regularly.
• A travel set including a blanket, earplugs, eye cover and neck pillow (the cushioned ones are more comfortable, but inflatable ones save space). I’m a big fan of DreamSacks and its travel kits, especially the luxury set with a silk/cashmere blanket and silk carry-case that fits a travel pillow nicely. Prices from $59.

• Ear-covering headphones. Those in-ear plugs hurt like hell.
• Slippers. I get out of my street shoes before I even board the plane.
• A silk scarf/shawl to block those pesky drafts.
• A small toiletries bag with travel-sized deodorant, mouthwash, toothbrush, toothpaste, tissues, pain relievers, stomach aids and, for women, tampons or liners. Be prepared, even if between cycles. Trust me.
• Reading material, puzzles, MP3 player, laptop—anything to keep you occupied during your flight.
• Snacks. Even though most international flights are pretty good about supplying food and beverages, you never know when you’ll get the munchies. I’m partial to the trail mix packages from Trader Joe’s. Nuts and raisins—what’s not to love.
• Moist towelettes. Great for cleaning up before and after a snack and for getting newspaper ink off your hands.
• Makeup. Not a lot. A simple face powder and lipstick will do. Nothing helps you look less like a zombie after 15 cramped hours in the air than a bit of color on your face and lips.
• A carry-on bag or purse with multiple pockets for organization of everything listed above, and easy access to your passport and boarding pass.

Well, that has me covered. What are your essential carry-on items?

I’m now going to pop a few of the over-priced Tylenol pills I snagged at the airport drugstore and hope to pass out until just before we land in Singapore. More to come on this island city-state next week.