Deal alert! Oceanfront efficiency

Pay $40 per night for an $80 efficiency at The Whaler Inn Beach Club. It’s a deal through The News & Observer’s dealsaver.com site. But hurry. You have to make the purchase – up to five nights -- by midnight Saturday.

We’ve never stayed at The Whaler, but it’s been around forever and has a good reputation. The oceanfront hotel is in Pine Knoll Shores, just down the road from Atlantic Beach, on the Crystal Coast. It boasts an enclosed swimming pool and game room, if you’re taking the children.

There are a number of restrictions. It’s only for Sunday through Thursday stays. The deal is subject to availability, but fewer than 30 nights have been booked of a total of 300 available.

Click here for all of the details.

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Surprise her. Or him

Many years ago, when our daughter was 2 or 3 years old, it struck me that my wife was feeling pretty stressed. What I did next has stayed with her and me all these years. Let me recommend this course of action to you, when you see your spouse feeling weary.

The thought popped into my mind to take my wife away for a short vacation. And I mean short: We didn't have lots of vacation money. I looked around for what for us would be an exotic destination, but close enough that it wouldn't cost a lot in gas and meals.

I'm not sure how, but I came up with Danville, Va. It was just a few hours away. It was across the state line, which was exotic enough. It had a section with old houses, where we could just walk and enjoy. I learned that it had a museum of the Confederacy, which for us meant indulging our enjoyment of history. And I found a good hotel whose rates were modest in early spring.

My little daughter and I called ourselves "kidnapping" Mom from an appointment that she had that  morning. We drove up to Danville, which straddles the Dan River, along back roads lined with trees just beginning to show their spring buds. We packed a lunch, I seem to remember, but otherwise we ate at local places that didn't charge chain-restaurant prices.

We left early enough in the day to see a good portion of Danville's sights. We stayed only overnight, but that gave us enough rest to take in more of Danville the next day, including its quaint downtown.

It ate up just two vacation days, but that was plenty to absorb a lot of at-home stress. It was time very well spent!
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A Crystal Coast freebie

One of our favorite times to spend at the beach is the late fall and winter. Sunrises and sunsets are spectacular. The crush of tourists is long gone...which makes long, quiet walks on the beach that much easier. The weather is usually pleasant, and sometimes even warm. And here's a treat: Cottage rental rates are at their lowest.

Here's one better. Bluewater Vacation Rentals is repeating its offer of one night free when you rent a cottage or condo for three nights. The deal is good from December 15 to January 6. You must pick from a selection of rental properties and then call 866-976-3512 to make the  reservation. And you must mention the 4-for-3 promotion.

Actually, there are a growing number of families that have started a tradition of spending Christmas or New Year's at ocean's edge. Some of the rental companies even offer Christmas season vacation packages that include a Christmas tree delivered to your cottage door! Be careful, though, since rates can be higher during the holiday weeks than the rest of the winter season.

We're old-fashioned enough that Dec. 25th has to be at home. But we've spent more than a few January 1sts in the salty air.

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Biltmore at Christmas

Biltmore House was dazzling, filled with light against the inky blackness that actually had settled late on that December afternoon. A light snow had begun falling a few hours earlier.

Our little family was bundled up head to foot against the bitter mountain cold. Is Biltmore at Christmas worth the drive and the (steep) entrance fee? I have to say yes.

Certainly it's a grand family experience, especially if your children are older (ours was in college at the time). There's much to see and talk about during the tour and later in the hotel room or over dessert that evening. And years later.

But anyone within a few hundred miles from Asheville ought to make the trip, and do it during the holidays. Biltmore is a magnificent, unique palace, one that ought to be experienced if possible. Just a few of these mansions -- built by the nation's royalty of the time -- survive and are open to the public.

Biltmore is massive, on par with a medieval European castle. Its great rooms deserve the name. It had the most modern accommodations and gadgets. George Vanderbilt plunked his estate on the top of a mountain, for heavens sakes, with stupendous views of the surrounding Blue Ridge mountains.

Admission is as high as those mountains. During the holidays, adults pay $69 or $79 for the self-guided tour of the mansion. Children 10 to 16 cost half those prices. But save the money one year and take the family. There are tours of the estate's gardens and there's a winery. There are more food places on the estate grounds these days, which is convenient if you have younger children. There are nice coffee shops downtown Asheville for a change of pace. Asheville also has its share of non-Biltmore attractions.

It's a trip that will make a memory. In that way alone it's worth the money.

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New kite festival

Circumstances imposed, and we were disappointed not to be able to make this year's Atlantic Beach Kite Festival in late October. But we were free the first week in November, and after just a few minutes of searching the Internet, we discovered that Wrightsville Beach holds its own kite festival.

It was a wonderful jaunt. The temperatures were a bit cool on the Saturday and Sunday that we were there, but a strong sun and crystal blue skies kept it just warm enough for this former Philly guy (and his N.C.-native wife.)

The giant, colorful octopus kites (170 feet long, 75 feet across!) made appearances, as well as a 10-story scuba diver and what had to be a five-story sea horse. And of course any number of people brought their own kites.

There's not the music, activities and stunt fliers that we're used to at Atlantic Beach, but any kite in the sky is a joy for "kite people" like my wife ... and increasingly me. It's worth the trip, and a long weekend next year.

By the way, next year's Atlantic Beach Kite Fest is Oct. 26 and 27. If you're a kite person, or have youngsters, you'll love it.
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