▪ Jeweled pendants, a golden crown, and nearly 230 other artifacts dazzle the eye in Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul, at San Francisco's Asian Art Museum from Oct. 24 to Jan. 25, 2009. (415) 581-3500, asianart.org.

▪ Las Vegas's Volcano erupts in early December with a new design. The Mirage casino hot spot will introduce more realistic "lava" and an earthshaking sound track. (702) 791-7111, mirage.com.

▪ On the trail of today's hot wine grape, John Winthrop Haeger profiles 200 California and Oregon wineries in Pacific Pinot Noir: A Comprehensive Winery Guide for Consumers and Connoisseurs. In stores Nov. 17. $22. (510) 642-4247, ucpress.edu.

▪ My Museum reopens Nov. 15 in a larger space in downtown Monterey, Calif. New interactive exhibits let kids turn recyclables into masterpieces, practice golf swings, and follow food from farm to plate. $7.
(831) 649-6444, mymuseum.org.

▪ Bring the kids and get four tickets to the Portland Children's Museum, paints, canvases, milk and cookies, an in-room movie credit, and free valet parking with Hotel Monaco's Mini da Vinci package. From $220 with AAA discount. (888) 207-2201, monaco-portland.com.

▪ Breeze through airport security this holiday travel season with MySmartPac toiletry kits—they're carry-on size, TSA compliant, and filled with essentials from lotion to toothpaste. $10. mysmartpac.com.

▪ At Montana's Big Sky Resort, the new Dakota chairlift ascends 1,210 feet in eight minutes, whooshing you to the south face of Lone
Mountain—a nexus of advanced runs traversing powdery, pine-fringed slopes. (800) 548-4486, bigskyresort.com.

▪ The historic Ellen Theatre in Bozeman, Mont., returns to its glory days as a live-performance venue after decades of disrepair. Transformed by extensive renovations, the 1919 landmark will host several Montana TheatreWorks shows a year, including A Christmas Carol this Dec. 5–24. theellentheatre.com.