On Course: More first-bag charges

More first-bag charges Fees for a first bag are gaining ground. Sun Country recently announced a $12 fee each way for the first checked bag for travel on or after Oct. 1. And Continental has joined other major carriers in announcing its $15 fee, which it will charge most economy-class passengers for destinations within the United States and between the United States and Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Canada for travel on or after Oct. 7. Read more about it and post your thoughts at www.startribune.com/escapeartists.

KERRI WESTENBERG

Deals few and far between You already expect to spend more to fly home for the holidays this year, now the experts at Live Search Farecast put a number on it. Fares for Thanksgiving 2008 are up 31 percent from 2007, while Christmas and New Year's fares are up 30 percent, according to the website. "The combination of high fuel prices, airline capacity and route cuts means holiday travelers may easily spend upwards of $100 more per ticket than last year," said Joel Grus, a spokesman for Farecast at farecast.live.com. "There are deals out there for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, but they're few and far between, and won't last long."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Grand Turk takes a hit The tourism industry was out of commission last week in Grand Turk and is likely to remain that way for weeks or even months as the island rebuilds from Hurricane Ike. Nearly every building, including the airport control tower, sustained some damage. The situation was better elsewhere in the tourism-dependent Turks and Caicos Islands. There was no major damage to the hotels and resorts of Providenciales, which receives the most visitors in the chain.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Sistene Chapel after dark Pass by the entrance to the Sistine Chapel and Vatican Museums during open hours, and you'll see patrons waiting in an agonizingly long line that snakes along the city's stone wall. Though a relative bargain in price (admission is about $21), the sacrifice is dealing with the galleries clogged with people. You can, however, book a private evening tour of the Vatican. The two-hour guided tours, organized a few times a month by Rome-based Italy With Us (italywithus.biz), take groups of 10 or fewer patrons through the museum's highlights, allowing time for lingering in the chapel. The experience costs 250 euros (about $375) a person. It's worth it to step into the Sistene Chapel in silence and stroll around a wide open room.

Night creatures in costume Wildlife refuges are using Halloween as a way to showcase creatures that have nocturnal or spooky associations. The Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in eastern North Carolina is planning a free "Howl-O-Ween" safari the weekend before Halloween, where participants howl in an effort to get the park's red wolves to howl back (www.redwolves.com). Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge, bordering New Jersey and New York in Vernon Township, N.J., is hosting "Nocturnal Creature Night" Oct. 25, with tour guides in animal costumes teaching kids about the critters. There are 548 national wildlife refuges throughout the country. Details at www.fws.gov/refuges/.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Please Touch history Memorial Hall, the Beaux Arts building in Philadelphia that is one of the jewels of the Centennial Exposition of 1876, is regaining its luster in anticipation of a new role as the Please Touch Museum. Renovation work is on schedule for a grand opening Oct. 18. Memorial Hall was designed by Hermann Schwarzmann for the Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia. The children's museum is being brought into the present with a keen eye to its past. The grand hall's centerpiece is artist Leo Sewell's 40-foot rendition of the arm and torch of the Statue of Liberty, made of colorful toys. The original arm and torch was displayed in 1876 to raise money for Liberty's pedestal.