No time for the beaches of Asia? Perhaps you can get up to High Point

The Tripadvisor travel website has released its 2014 "Travelers Choice" lists, and one of the rosters is for "Top 10 destinations on the rise":

Da Nang, Vietnam

Sihanoukville, Cambodia

Limassol, Cyprus

Ao Nang, Thailand

Bodrum City, Turkey

Naha, Japan

Hurghada, Egypt

Kazan, Russia

Manaus, Brazil

Eilat, Israel

Well, they may be on the rise, but the price to get there is too steep for many of us in the months ahead.

Their also-out list of "10 places that look awesome from above" is a tad more economical:

Rio de Janeiro

Niagara Falls, Ontario

Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Las Vegas

Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya

Grand Canyon

New York City

Cappadocia, Turkey

Sydney Harbor, Australia

Kauai, Hawaii

The list includes recommended copter or  balloon tours.

Still too distant and pricey?  Check the Tripadvisor list of "10 quirky attractions." You may want to fold and file in your memory the 10th one listed.

Lombard Street, San Francisco

Robot Restaurant, Tokyo

Diggerland, Stroud, England

Bata Shoe Museum, Toronto

Carhenge, Alliance, Neb.

Karni Mata Temple, India

Gnome Reserve, West Putford, England

Tiger & Turtle roller coaster, Magic Mountain, Germany

International UFO Museum, Roswell, N.M.

World's Largest Chest of Drawers, High Point

And before you start snickering at the World's Largest Chest of Drawers, note that the photo at the top of this post was taken by Christobol Perez of the Las Vegas Sun. 

Can't help but wonder how awesome High Point's attraction looks from the air. ...

Mixed signals from America's airport bars?

Aside from shopping malls, there are few places as annoyingly cookie-cutter generic as American airports. Seen one, seen them all.

And, as beverage columnist Wayne Curtis notes in the December issue of Atlantic magazine, that extends to mixed drinks.

The title of his column says it all: "Your Airport's Bartender Problem: Why it's so hard to get a decent drink before your flight...."

But the rest of the headline  -- "...and why that may soon change" -- adds a slight twist.

Among the factors Curtis cites about why quality cocktails are so rare at airport bars:

* TSA and FFA background checks  make it hard for some top-notch bartenders to get employment clearance at these places.

* Airports tend to be located in un-hip parts of town, and where just getting to work means dealing daily with  traffic, parking and security logjams.

* Given the ever-changing assortment of people boarding or exiting aircraft, it's hard to build a regular customer base or acquire a niche.

Never said but obvious through other passages in the article: The bars are chain operations. One person quoted extensively in the story is the "senior director of adult beverages and restaurant development at HMS Host, which oversees nearly 400 full-service bars at airports across North America."

Four hundred airport bars!

The article also mentions OTG, a smaller outfit that manages restaurants and bars in 11 airports.

The time-honored American concept of interchangeable parts -- making identical product components to guarantee easy assembly and reduce the time of assembly, the skills of the assembler and per unit cost -- and its descendant, the assembly line, revolutionized how items are created.

This eventually applied to the mass production of processed food and short-order dining: Everything is designed to be the same.

Throw in corporate America -- which treasures such ploys -- and there's small wonder there's mixed-drink boredom at the chain bars in airports.

The "why that may soon change" at the end of the headline for Curtis' story -- and at the end of his column -- mentions how the overseer of cocktail operations at the "nearly 400" HMS Host lounges is trying to get its bartenders to learn drinks that require three or four ingredients. Also, he's trying to localize some of the operations.

The one mentioned in this article is Barcuterie, in Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport, "which now serves a Texas Smoked Manhattan featuring house-brandied cherries and Balcones, a well-regarded local whiskey."

OTG, Curtis adds, operates One Flew South, in Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson's Terminal E. The story notes that the lead bartender often adjusts frequently ordered drinks. In the Cosmo served there, Curtis explains, Clement Creole Shrubb is often used instead of Cointreau.

Of the One Flew South cocktail menu, Curtis writes that it "wouldn't be out of place in a Lower East Side speakeasy."

Beech Mountain slopes open for season this weekend on 'White Friday'

A weather system dropping snow in Western Carolina on Wednesday afternoon -- and tapering off Thanksgiving Day -- will add more than half a foot to the snow cover on Beech Mountain, north of Banner Elk.

Combined with human-made snow, it's enough to begin the winter season at Beech Mountain Resort on Friday. Operating hours will be 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The ski resort is off N.C. 184. Improvements there this 47th season include a "magic carpet" conveyer lift added to the beginner slope and an upgrade of snowmaking capacity, with seven new high-tech snow guns. Also, the View Haus cafeteria has been remodeled and there's new rental ski equipment.

The  Burton Learn-to-Ride Center for snowboarders debuts in early December in the ski village at the base of the slopes.

The photo by James Foley at the top of this post shows the top of Beech Mountain.

Resort details: www.BeechMountainResort.com.

Driving in winter weather? Follow these tips

Hitting the road for Thanksgiving, Christmas ‑- or any other time between now and spring? Be careful out there: Weather and road conditions, coupled with being in an unfamiliar area, can combine to make  for a dangerous situation.

Hertz and AAA offer these safe-driving tips for winter drivers.

Watch weather reports for your route and destination in advance.  Delay a trip when especially bad weather is expected.

Plan your route in advance, especially when bad weather is expected.

If you're renting a vehicle, get one with a GPS system. And if you'll be driving in an area where snow can be a problem, think about getting a vehicle with extra weight, like an SUV of minivan. Renting a car with four-wheel drive could also prove advantageous on  snowy and icy roads.

Check your windshield wipers before going anywhere. Make sure they function properly and that the wipers and windshield are clean. And make sure you have an ice scraper.

Allow for time when you're on snow or ice. Drive slowly, to maintain vehicle control when accelerating, stopping or turning. Also when driving under these conditions,

maintain your speed when ascending a hill; don't accelerate -- that can be hazardous.

Do not use cruise control. You can instead instantly and easily decrease speed just by  taking your foot off the accelerator.  This, in turn, transfers weight to the front tires, giving them more traction.

Also, braking on slippery surfaces requires you to look further ahead, so plan as early as possible and always look 20 to 30 seconds ahead of your vehicle to make sure you have time and space to stop safely.

Along those lines: The normal dry pavement following distance of three to four seconds should be increased to eight to 10 seconds.

Have warm jackets, gloves and hats inside your car. Just in case.

If you become snow-bound, stay with your vehicle. The car provides temporary shelter and makes it easier for rescuers to locate you.

Don't try to walk in a severe storm, like the stranded traveler in the photo at the top of this post.. It was taken in Amarillo, Texas, during a February 2013 blizzard. (AP Photo/The Amarillo Globe News)

Brookgreen Gardens rolls out holiday illumination Dec. 4

Brookgreen Gardens, just south of Myrtle Beach in Pawleys Island, S.C., is about to launch its annual "Night of a Thousand Candles" holiday presentation.

It's Dec. 4-6, 11-13 and 18-20, and is staged from 3 to 10 p.m. so visitors can better enjoy the outdoor illuminations, both candles (more than 5,500)  and displays.

New this year: an 80-foot holiday fir decorated with 60,000 lights; the switch is ceremonially flipped at 5:45 p.m.

More new highlights? The Peppermint Forest in the Children's Garden, the Ice Garden in the Lower Left Wing Garden.

Admission is $18, $10 for children; 3 and younger, free. Tickets are available at www.brookgreen.org, at the gardens, and by phone at 843-235-6016. All entertainment is included in admission; dinner there is available at an additional cost. 

Also new this year: a free mobile app that has performance details and info on food and beverage locations, a map for the event and more. Get it by searching Brookgreen Gardens in the App Store and in Google Play.

The event will draw crowds, and the staff there offers these suggestions:

* Carpool with family and friends. This makes for easier parking.

* Consider checking out the event on a Thursday evening ‑- Brookgreen Gardens will be less crowded.

* Arrive early between 4 and 5 p.m. so you can see the candles being lit. Dusk is also the best time to take photos. Also, a limited number of adult and child strollers are available at no charge on a first-come basis. Reservations for them are not taken, so get there early if you need one.

* Dress warmly and wear comfortable shoes. "Night of a Thousand Candles" is a walk- not a drive-through.

24 properties nationwide awarded Historic Hotels designation

A total of 24 hotels  were designated this week as Historic Hotels of America. This program of the National Trust for Preservation recognizes and celebrates hotels that are at least 50 years old, have historic significance, and have been designated as a National Historic Landmark or are eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.

 were designated this week as Historic Hotels of

There are now more than 260 properties on the list.

There are no inductees this year from the Carolinas, but the two-state area already has honorees on the list.

In North Carolina they include:  Haywood Park Hotel, Asheville; The Omni Grove Park Inn, Asheville; Green Park Inn, Blowing Rock; The Carolina Inn, Chapel Hill; The Dunhill Hotel, Charlotte; Old Edwards Inn and Spa, Highlands; The Mast Farm Inn, Valle Crucis; and  Pinehurst Resort, Pinehurst.

In South Carolina, they include: Francis Marion Hotel, Charleston; Kings Courtyard Inn & John Rutledge House Inn, Charleston; Wentworth Mansion, Charleston; and The Westin Poinsett, Greenville.

New to the list: Le Meridian, Tampa, Fla.

Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort, Honolulu

The Drake Hotel, Chicago

Hilton Chicago, Chicago

Hilton Orrington/Evanston, Evanston, Ill.

Seelbach Hilton, Louisville, Ky.

Hilton Baton Rouge Capitol Center, Baton Rouge, La.

Hilton New Orleans/St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans

Southern Hotel, Covington, La.

The Westin Portland Harborview, Portland, Maine

Hilton Boston Downtown/Faneuil Hall, Boston

Hilton President Kansas City, Kansas City, Mo.

Hilton St. Louis Downtown at the Arch, St. Louis

Hilton Santa Fe Historic Plaza, Santa Fe, N.M.

Hilton Manhattan East, New York City

Chateau at the Oregon Caves National Monument, Cave Junction, Ore.

Abraham Lincoln Reading Hotel , Reading, Pa.

Caribe Hilton San Juan, San Juan, Puerto Rico

The Condado Plaza Hilton, San Juan, Puerto Rico

Condado Vanderbilt Hotel, San Juan, Puerto Rico

Hilton Fort Worth (1921) Fort Worth, Texas

Airlie, Warrenton, Va.

Capital Hilton, Washington, D.C.

The Edgewater, Madison, Wis.

The oldest inductee?

Hilton Santa Fe Historic Plaza -- built in 1625. It was originally a colonial hacienda. The photo at the top of this post shows its lobby.

Try Norfolk, Va., for holiday fun

Norfolk, Va., is a gem of a town worth visiting most any time of the year. If you're heading north a state or two between now and Christmas, be aware of what's going on in Norfolk. Highlights include:

MacArthur Winter Extravaganza, through Dec. 24 at Norfolk’s MacArthur Center -- a large shopping mall right downtown. The Ice Palace -- a  30-foot globe encircled with majestic arches, the ethereal palace appears to be carved from ice -- is where you'll find a photo-friendly Santa. You can also enjoy a 7,200-square-foot outdoor ice rink offering  public skating sessions, ice hockey clinics and figure skating exhibitions (Nov. 22 – Jan. 19). The  MaAarthur Winter Carnival features classic amusement rides, like a ferris wheel and spinning tea cups.

Downtown Norfolk this year debuts its first Dickens’ Christmas Towne holiday celebration. The semblance of Victorian London involves carolers and merchants in period costumes, as well as a Victorian Father Christmas and a holiday train display. Dates: Nov. 21 – Dec. 14 and Dec. 17 – 28.

The Grand Illumination Parade the night of  Nov. 22 marks the 30th year of the skyline being officially lit for the holidays. (The visitnorfolktoday.com photo at the top of this post shows a float from that parade.)

The Norfolk Botanical Garden id dressed for the season for its 19th annual Dominion Garden of Lights. Nov. 27-Dec. 31, 5:30  to  10 p.m., drive the 2-mile through a display of a million twinkling lights.

 The first-ever BlueMoon Harbor Lights Half Marathon and 5K will be Nov. 21-23. The three-day event begins with a Sports & Fitness Expo followed by two runs that go through the scenic, historic downtown area and along the Hampton Roads Harbor. Adult participants can attend a post-race party with complimentary live music, food and beer.

Need another run? The Tacky Sweater 5K, staged the morning of Dec. 13, is a chance to show off over-the-top holiday-themed outerwear. Besides both races, the fundraiser offers s a tacky sweater competition.

 Details on visiting the Norfolk area: www.visitnorfolktoday.com.