The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois • Page 30

E4 Pantagraph Sunday, November 4, 2007 www.pantagraph.com GOiTRAVEL Yankee tmiks are warm remBimders Top U.S. gay destinations, according to the 12th annual Gay Lesbian Tourism Survey conducted by Community Marketing Inc. 1. New York City 2. Las Vegas 3.

San Francisco 4. Los AngelesWest Hollywood, Calif. 5. Fort LauderdaleWilton Manors, Fla. 6.

Palm Springs, Calif. 7. Chicago 8. San Diego 9. Washington 10.

(tie) MiamiSouth Beach, Fla.Orlando Flagship store's array of scents take you there By Adam Gorlick ASSOCIATED PRESS DEERFIELD, Mass. Jeffrey Michaud was standing in the middle of the Black Forest when he heard the wind start to blow. It felt like nighttime, and the sound of a train whistle was closing in. Wide-eyed and eager, the 10-year-old couldn't contain his surprise at what came next. "It's snowing," he shouted, dusting a flurry of white flakes out of his hair.

"This is just like Christmas." It didn't matter that Dec. 25 was still months away, or the "snow" swirling through the simulated darkened German forest was falling from a ceiling. He couldn't care less that the train roaring down the tracks was a replica or that it was really 1:30 in the afternoon. Jeffrey was standing in one of the 12 rooms of Yankee Candle's flagship store, where the outside world is closed off long enough for some people to almost forget where they are. From the fake forest, Jeffrey and his mother traveled to the adjoining Bavarian Village, a room modeled after the market square of Rodenburg.

The blackened ceiling twinkles with star-like light bulbs. A 25-foot Christmas tree towers over a courtyard of "shops" small alcoves stuffed with ornaments, toys, and of course, candles. The candles are impossible to escape both in sight and smell. They're molded into jars, Visitors to Yankee Candle in Deerfield, explore a replica of a And that focus on faraway places is shared with visitors at the Deerfield store. After wandering through the Black Forest and Bavarian Village, what comes next is the facade of a castle.

Standing in the King Arthur-esque courtyard, the only way over the waterfall-fed moat is to cross a faux drawbridge. Keep exploring, and you're in Santa's workshop (complete with a real-bearded Santa) and an adjoining toy section. Then, back to the Candle Emporium. That's where you'll run into die-hards like Sharon Brunetti. The 54-year-old nurse from Harwinton, has been Plenty of ways to celebrate Thanksgiving away from home St.

Louis designs new loqo, slogan ST. LOUIS St. Louis hopes to brand itself as a distinctive tourist destination with a new logo and a slogan that is a bit of a play on the city's name. The slogan is "St. Lou is all within reach," and the image for the campaign includes a graphic representation of the Gateway Arch bridging the intentional space between "St.

Lou" and "is" in the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission president Kitty Ratcliffe said the shimmering Gateway Arch is the symbol most identified with the city and has worldwide recognition. "It is our Eiffel Tower. It is our Nike swoosh," she said. The brand aims to tie into the notion that St.

Louis has exceptional attractions' like its sports teams, architecture, museums and parks, but a lower cost of living and fewer hassles than some bigger cities. A related advertising campaign will run from around Thanksgiving to Valentine's Day, encouraging people to visit St. Louis in the winter. Ads will run in Missouri, Illinois, Oklahoma, Iowa, Tennessee and Indiana. Coney Island park gets another year NEW YORK Coney Is- land's Astroland amusement park will get one more summer by the boardwalk.

The park, which opened in 1962, had been scheduled to close forever after Labor Day as part of a redevelopment of the area. But a last-ditch agreement between new developers in Coney Island and the park's owners allows the vintage attraction to go for one more season, beginning March 16, 2008. Eventually, the 275-foot Astrotower and the bumper cars will give way to a glitzy development by Thor Equities, which has spent more than $100 million to acquire about 10 acres of Coney Island real estate in hopes of turning the Brooklyn boardwalk area into a year-round tourist attraction. The neighboring Cyclone roller coaster, a national landmark that just celebrated its 80th birthday, is scheduled to continue operations regardless of what other changes come to Coney Island. Associated Press mm pcttt? mm Mr Afe H' Associated PressSTEVE SENNE German village.

coming to this store since the 1980s back when it opened as a small candle shop with only 13 parking spaces outside. She's not here for the fake snow that falls every four minutes, or the history laid out in the candle museum or the demonstrations on how to transform bay berries and beeswax into a candlestick. Brunetti is here for the "Sparkling Pine." She swears it smells like a live Christmas tree. So much so, she doesn't bother buying the real thing anymore. "We have a plastic tree and burn these candles," she said.

"You don't know the difference." mil Associated PressJEFF CHRISTENSEN down Broadway during the in New York in this Nov. 24, 100,000 pounds of turkey during the month of November, from elaborate Thanksgiving meals at the park's sitdown restaurants to turkey drumsticks, a popular a la carte item on Disney menus year-round. ing sure they smell like they're supposed to. Each year, the company considers about 1,000 new smells. Only 30 pass the sniff test.

One of this year's big hits? Sun and Sand. "It smells just like suntan lotion," Ruffolo said. "It reminds you of a day at the beach." The point of Yankee's scented candles is to bring those outdoor smells inside. And they market easily with names like "Autumn Leaves," "Harvest" and "Farmhouse Apple." A new line of scents is drawing on more exotic fragrances: "Canary Island Banana," "Indonesian Ginger" and "Sicilian Orange," to name a few. You can celebrate Thanksgiving with a horse and carriage ride at the landmark Biltmore estate in Asheville, N.C., which will already by decorated for Christmas by then.

For meals, you have a choice of venues Bistro, Deerpark or Stable Cafe, or, if you're staying at the Inn on Biltmore Estate, you can have your turkey at The Dining Room. Three-night packages the Inn start at $1,760 for two; details at www.bilt-zmore.com. In St. Augustine, the local version of Thanksgiving is actually celebrated in September, commemorating a feast held more than 440 years ago between Spanish colonial settlers and native Timucuan Indians. The November holiday gets its due as well in restaurants around the historic city, but some chefs reinterpret traditional Thanksgiving fare to incorporate seafood and Spanish influences.

For example, the menu at the Reef of St. Augustine, one of the city's oceanfront restaurants om will feature turkey, ham and stuffing, but also Minorcan clam chowder, a regional specialty that has a tomato broth and peppers; oysters and shrimp; Spanish salads and paella-style casserole. "Not necessarily the authentic 16th century Spanish menu," said general manager Jeremy Ticehurst, "but we do make efforts to infuse the flavors of our Spanish heritage and freshest local ingredi- If you go Yankee Candle: 25 Greenfield Road, Deerfield, www.yankeecandle.com or (877) 636-7707. Open daily 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Closed Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Flagship store includes restaurant, museum, Bavarian Christmas Village, Nutcracker Castle, Black Forest and Santa's Enchanted Toy Works. formed into cans and shrunk down to votives and tea lights. They're placed in scenes meant to evoke holiday fantasies and comfortable memories. While one room looks like a German woodland, another takes on the feel of a New England country store. The candles overpower the air in a room called the Candle Emporium, where almost every scent imaginable is infused into some sort of wax shape.

They smell like home-baked cookies and cupcakes. Or cedar. Maybe the sea shore. And that rusty orange one does it really smell like spiced pumpkin? "It does," said Charlotte Landgren, one of the 1.5 million annual visitors to this store about 100 miles west of Boston. "If it says it's going to smell like something on the jar, that's exactly what it smells like when you light it." That's just what Rick Ruffolo wants to hear.

As Yankee Candle's vice president of marketing and innovation, he's in charge of getting new scents into the company's line of about 200 fragrances and mak- weather which can range from balmy to freezing you can watch the spectacle from inside the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle. The building has four floors of glass windows, and some of its stores will be open Thanksgiving Day if you want a head start on Christmas shopping. Chicago has its own Thanksgiving Day parade, with 300,000 people lining State Street to watch. Denver shows up in top 10 lists for both Orbitz and Travelocity for Thanksgiving travel bookings, and skiing is undoubtedly part of the reason. Slopes scheduled to open Nov.

22 or earlier include Aspen Mountain, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, Crested Butte, Snow-mass, Telluride and Vail. Rich Grant, with the Denver Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the state's iconic natural surroundings draws tourist ready for the perfect early winter scene. "It's the Norman Rockwell effect," he said. "People associate Colorado with evergreen forests and gathering everybody around a big fireplace." The glitz and glam of Vegas may not remind you of hearth and home, but you'll have plenty of distractions to keep you from pining for mom's apple pie. Restaurants offering Thanksgiving meals include Top of the World at the Stratosphere; Spago at Caesars Palace; David Burke at the Venetian; the Eiffel Tower Restaurant at the Paris; and MIX at THEhotel at Mandalay Bay Tony Bennett and Wayne Newton are both in town for shows, and the Bellagio Conservatory has a spectacular autumn-themed scene on display through Nov.

24, complete with a 35-foot-tall cider mill, babbling brook, a bed of pumpkins and 1,000 red and green apples. Information at http:www.vegas.com. Freedom Baptist Church presents A Free Family and Chtldrearing Clinic Six practical sessions on child rearing and family topics Free seminar notebook Free luncheon Free child care Door prizes Free book "Training Kings and Queens" by Cindy Schaap Special speakers Pastor Mrs. Greg Ogle Wi 750-1688 783916 3, wWimk. By Beth J.

Harpaz AP TRAVEL EDITOR NEW YORK Thanksgiving is always one of the busiest travel times of the year. But not everybody is heading home to mom. Some folks go skiing, some head to Orlando or Vegas, others cram the streets of New York and Chicago to watch parades. And some far-flung families gather at a hotel instead of grandma's house. "We literally have generations of families that come for Thanksgiving.

It's our busiest weekend of the year," said Clark Albright, director of marketing at Camelback Inn in Scottsdale, Ariz. http:www.camelback-inn.com where guests get a whole bird carved at their table rather than going through a buffet. In Massachusetts, more than 70,000 people visit Plimoth Plantation each November to learn about life among colonial settlers and the native Wampanoags more commonly known as Pilgrims and Indians. Here you'll find costumed interpreters plucking the feathers off real turkeys and chatting about a harvest celebration that took place in 1621. Plimoth also hosts a variety of Thanksgiving celebrations, including a Victorian-style dinner where President Lincoln's 1885 proclamation declaring Thanksgiving to be a national holiday is read aloud.

Other holiday meals at Plimoth include a walk-in courtyard buffet ($37.95 including admission to the historic site), a more formal buffet "1627 Dine With the Pilgrims" and an "Eat Like a Pilgrim" program ($38.95, eating with fingers encouraged). The Victorian dinner ($79.95) is sold out for Thanksgiving Day but seatings were added for the day after. Check availability and make reservations at http:www.plimoth.org or 800-262-9356 ext. 8364, 8365 or 8366. The Sunday after Thanksgiving is the historic site's last day of the season.

In New York, the balloons and floats of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade attract thousands of spectators. If you'd rather avoid the crowded streets or the mamm Hi PLEASE CALL THEATRE OR VISIT US I0NLINE FOR MOVIES AND SH0WTIME9 susss'SKR www.cannile.cdiM 1J-1 Pikachu leads a group of balloons Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade 2005, file photo. ents into our menu when planning special events." With kids off from school and families getting together, Thanksgiving is naturally a busy time at Walt Disney World. The park serves up more than l.l I.HI. I iinmifi III 11 ii-inni 1 7 8 7:30 pm rr i Labis'- 9M I uuu From Little Shop of Horror Director Frank Oz, DEATH At a FUNERAL Humorous hi-jinks ensue when a man attempts to expose a dark secret of a deceased patriarch of an upstanding British family.

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