A “Sports Widow Package” for women who want to take a luxurious break from the football season is offered by Pan Pacific Hotel in Seattle, Washington. From now through Feb. 28, $269 for a single or $389 for a double features a deluxe room, valet parking, a Champagne and strawberries welcome, a drink at The Bar, and a Vida Spa treatment that includes manicure and pedicure plus massage or facial.

Another Pan Pacific offering is five nights for the price of four at Pan Pacific Whistler Mountainside and Whistler Village Centre, in British Columbia, Canada, where the Winter Olympics 2010 will be held. Rooms must be booked by Nov. 15. Rates start at $219 in Canadian dollars in the early winter and $319 midwinter. The Whistler Blackcomb ski resort has 8,171 acres of world-class terrain. Besides skiing and snow boarding, Whistler has dog sledding, heli-skiing, snowmobile tours and sleigh rides.

Also at Whistler Blackcomb, a peak-to-peak gondola is due to open in December. Skiers and snowboarders will have access to the terrain on both mountains via 28 gondolas that can transport 2,050 people an hour in each direction.

Free California Guide
California, the Golden State, is calling attention to itself with a new edition of “California Road Trips,” a free guide that provides driving maps to some of the best but not necessarily best-known places in the state.
Separate guides are included to each of 12 regions, and there are tips about what to do and see once you’re out of the car.
“California Road Trips 2009″ is available by phone: 1-877-TOP-DRIVES, or download it at 222.visitcalifornia.com/visitorsguide.

Redwood Highway map
California wines and redwood trees are featured in “The Redwood Highway,” another free map showing you where you’ll find redwood trees so huge you can drive through them (three locations), as well as country shops featuring antiques and crafts, tours of historic sites, and the wine country around Mendocino.
Visit www.northcoastca.com or call 1-866-GOMENDO to request the map.

Annual Foodie Festival
Several foodie-friendly events in the Santa Barbara area have caught the attention of locals and tourists, and it so happens they take place in October. So a campaign is making its debut this month to promote the various events.
There’s the California Avocado Festival, Carpinteria, Oct. 2-3; the Harbor & Seafood Festival, Santa Barbara, Oct. 10; the Celebration of Harvest, second week in October at Rancho Sisquoc Winery in Santa Maria; and California Lemon Festival, Goleta, Oct. 17-18.
The whole month will be filled with special menus, educational seminars, mixology demonstrations, farmer’s market tours, cooking classes, micro-brew tastings, book signings, wine-maker dinners and more.
The promotion is called “epicure.sb: a month to savor Santa Barbara” and is being presented by the Santa Barbara Conference Visitors Bureau & Film Commission (tourism@santabarbara.com) and the Santa Barbara Downtown Organization.

Wax Museum Opens in Hollywood
Next to Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, Madame Tussauds Hollywood is now open to the public.
The $55-million, three-story building is home to more than 80 celebrity wax figures set in 11 themed areas: The Red Carpet, Party, Spirit of Hollywood, Westerns, Crime, Modern Classics, Making Movies, Sport, Action Heroes, Behind the Scenes and Awards Ceremony. For details, check out www.discoverlosangeles.com.

Photos Old and New
The new Annenberg Space for Photography in Los Angeles features a state-of-the-art digital projection gallery along with a traditional print exhibit area.
The opening exhibit features eight Los Angeles-based photographers in fine art, architecture, documentary, fashion, photojournalism and celebrity portraits. General admission is free. Details on this are also available at www.discoverlosangeles.com