How green is your hotel?

Art lovers will want to attend the Fall ArtWalk 2008 this weekend in Lancaster, Pa., (between Philadelphia and Harrisburg). The event will feature more than 50 arts venues. Artworks on display will include mixed media, photography, printmaking, and much more. There will also be special events happening at some galleries, such as pumpkin painting, wine tasting, art demonstrations, and meet-the-artist open houses. If the art isn't enough to sate your palate (or should we say palette?), there are performances, including a cabaret and a female barbershop chorus, and even "Art on a Plate," where local restaurants present special menus. Official ArtWalk hours are Saturday 10 a.m.–5 p.m. and Sunday noon–5 p.m. Gallery admission is free; some performing events are admission only. Lancaster's Gallery Row begins at Prince and Walnut Streets; there are lots of downtown parking areas.

The leaves are changing, the air is getting crisp. It's a great time of the year for camping. We've rounded up some neat (and affordable) gadgets to help you weather the wild. And keep these in mind for any outdoorsy folks on your holiday gift list this year. It's a water bottle! No, it's a flashlight! Wait—it's both! The LightCap is a one-liter bottle that has a solar panel on the lid. Charge it in the sun all day and you'll have up to six hours of light to guide you at night. ($25) There's nothing like drinking wine around the campfire. But who wants to lug around fragile bottles that you have to drink in one sitting? The Bota Box holds four bottles' worth of California wine in a lightweight box with a handle. It stays fresh more than a month after opening (about $20). Souped-up tents are out, apparently. Hammocks are the new black. REI's travel hammock won't break the bank, and comes with a built-in mosquito net to protect you from the little beasts ($39). The Hennessy Hammock comes with netting, a detachable rain fly, and support ropes. "It's especially popular with teens who don’t want to sleep in the big tent with Mom and Dad," says the site (from $80). The lightweight, pocket-sized HYmini charger converts wind and solar energy into a power source for all your gadgets. In just 20 minutes, you can tack 40 minutes of life onto your MP3 player or take an additional 20 photos with your camera. Think of all the power you could harness on a long bike ride (from $50). Find these and more thought-provoking ideas for camping gear at TrustyPony.com, the travel goods blog. What products make your life easier on the road?

Dedicated to children 7 and younger, the expanded Please Touch Museum opens this Saturday (Oct. 18). Its new home in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park is Memorial Hall, a Beaux Arts gem opened in 1876 to host a World’s Fair. Compared with its former digs, the museum now has three times more exhibition space (plus expanded parking outside). A magical Alice in Wonderland exhibit takes visitors down the Rabbit Hole in a former in-ground swimming pool. No matter what the weather is like outside, kids can experiment with waterwheels and toy boats at an indoor water play area. My daughter Ella and I had loads of fun at the museum’s special press preview last week. When we wandered into the Roadside Attractions exhibit, it didn’t surprise me that Ella, already a backseat driver, went straight for the kid-size hot rod with flames streaking alongside the car side panels. She must've been a racecar driver in her previous life! A ride of a different sort capped off our visit. We took a spin on the museum’s newly restored 1924 Dentzel Carousel, with 52 hand-carved animals. It's housed in a beautiful glass-enclosed space. This Saturday’s opening festivities begin with a brief welcome from Mayor Michael Nutter and include a performance by Fandango—a rock band that entertains kids—and costumed characters that will interact with visitors all day long. Please Touch Museum, 215/963-0667, pleasetouchmuseum.org, open daily, $15, free for babies under the age of 1, carousel rides $3, parking $5. —Helen I. Hwang, author of All Grown Up: Please Touch Museum and its Move to Memorial Hall (available at the museum’s kids store beginning Nov. 1).

My colleagues and I feel odd saying this, but the financial crisis in Iceland makes for great news for American travelers. The U.S. dollar buys twice as much in Iceland today than it did a year ago. And the country is not as far away as you might think. As my fellow BT editor Kate Appleton points out, it's closer to fly between New York City and Iceland's capital, Reykjavík, than it is to fly from the Big Apple to L.A. The Icelandic Tourist Bureau has just told us that Icelandair has just slashed fares from New York or Boston to $400 roundtrip, "about what a one-way fare once cost." This fare is good for travel November 1 through March 31, 2009. IcelandAir has revamped its seats and interiors on its airplanes for economy- and business-class passengers. And starting in November, the airline will have an easier-to-use website featuring online check-in (with matching kiosks to match at airport terminals). IcelandAir flies from Boston, New York-JFK, Minneapolis/St. Paul (seasonal), and Orlando. This past February, Budget Travel sent Jennifer Sabo to Reykjavík to take photos and notes about what it's like there in the off-season. Read her report: "Reykjavík: Cold, Dark, and Handsome." This view of Iceland's appeal has been seconded by our colleague Marilyn Terrell at National Geographic. Terrell says: "You can get a hot dog in Reykjavík for less than in Central Park." She also notes that the Intelligent Traveler blog has an "Iceland on the Cheap" report and photo slide show. For more on hot dogs and other comfort foods in Iceland, see Budget Travel's story "Eat Like a Local: Reykjavík." My BT colleague Summar Ghias says that, despite the cold, Iceland is a great spot to go for New Year's Eve celebrations. "Icelandic law allows a firework free-for-all on New Year's Eve, making for a raucous night in the capital city. Elves, trolls, and other costumed creatures sing and dance at 11 bonfires scattered across Reykjavík." The island is easy to drive around, despite winter weather. There is only one main highway circling the island's key spots, and the country has become super-adept at keeping its roadways free and safe. So…in case you were wondering: What is there to do in Iceland? Attractions include: Hveragerdi, a hot-spring village that uses geothermal water to warm greenhouses. Skaftafell National Park, near Kirkjubæjarklaustur village. The park sits on one of Europe's largest glaciers and is made up of three different geological areas: Skaftafell and Skeioarársandur, a volcano and outwash plain; Lakagígar, a crater area on a volcanic fissure; and the glacial cap. Gape at icebergs in the glacial lake—while they last! The picture-perfect scenery has been a backdrop in many popular movies and TV shows filmed here, among them two James Bond movies (Die Another Day and A View to a Kill), Batman Begins, and The Amazing Race 6. Explore the Golden Circle, home to hot springs, colorful mud pools, and blowholes. Volcanoes aren't far away. If you haven any thoughts on Iceland, feel free to share by posting a comment.