In honor of this spook-tacular holiday, MSNBC has posted a slideshow of 19  haunted destinations worldwide, including the Myrtles Plantation in Louisiana, where reported phenomena include an oil painting whose features become animated and doors than open and close themselves.

Another haunted spot? The White House (who knew?), which is said to be inhabited by the spirits of Dolley Madison and Abigail Adams, who supposedly still does laundry in the East Room. How depressing is that? We at Going Places are really hoping that we won't have to do laundry in the hereafter.

Have a safe and happy Halloween!

Antonia Malchik | Blogger, Perceptive Travel

My husband and I have been attending the National Storytelling Festival for almost eight years now. (A friend who'd been going for 15 years pestered us until we agreed to go, and now we're complete addicts.) Held in Tennessee's oldest town, Jonesborough, the festival started with a few friends swapping tales while sitting on hay bales and wagons. Over 30 years later, the festival's 10,000 attendees swamp tiny Jonesborough for the first weekend of October every year.

Taking our 13-month-old John to the festival this year was a no-brainer. The events are held in massive outdoor circus tents, so if John got fussy I could walk around outside the tent and still hear the tales. Also, the entire downtown is shut down to motor traffic, so we wandered easily between events to nab great Southern soul food at one of Jonesborough's many excellent cafes. Next year we can take him to hear talented kids telling their own stories in Youthful Voices.

Like most people, we go to the Storytelling Festival to be enraptured, uplifted, and entertained. This year we saw our favorite regulars, like Cuban-born, Georgia-raised Carmen Deedy, and Bill Lepp, a former Methodist minister and four-time winner of the West Virginia Amateur Liar's Competition. But we like to see the new, international talent, too, and spend time browsing the artsy and folksy shops of Jonesborough's main street. We walked away this year with a wicker stool assembled and woven right in front of the woodworking shop to remind us, until next year, of the magical stories that made us laugh and weep.

Yolanda Edwards | Cookie Travel & Lifestyle Editor

When in Oakland, California, check out Milk, an amazing kids store in the Rockridge neighborhood.  the labels they carry are really hard to find anywhere else (love the marie-helene de taillac jewelry for mom and little girls), and it's also very sweet looking...  Check out this San Francisco Chronicle article for listings of everything you would want to know about the area (how to get there, sights, shops, etc.) I think the Cactus Taqueria with its Niman Ranch pork taco carnitas sounds the best...

Find more activities in the area with our San Francisco city guide.

Kelly Alfieri | Web Editor

It's all about the big top these days in New York. The Big Apple Circus just rolled into town and Calder's Circus is being presented in a new installation at the Whitney as part of Alexander Calder: the Paris Years.

My husband and I brought our 2 1/2-year-old children to the Big Apple Circus this past weekend and they're both obsessed with the trapeze now. The circus feels lost in time -- it's in a small tent with just one ring and no seat more than 50 feet away. Many of the show's talent are second and third generation circus performers and the clowns weren't even creepy. 

Calder's Circus was created by Alexander Calder in 1927 and is a miniature, mechanical circus created from wire and bits of cloth, wood, and other materials. It's quirky and charming and has a magical draw to both kids and adults. The circus has been part of the Whitney's permanent exhibition since 1970 but it is presented now in a new installation that includes fresh elements that were uncovered in Whitney storage.

If you're in New York or planning a visit, step right up...

Elizabeth Connolly | Cookie Travel Intern

Here at Going Places, we can't get enough of Halloween. Since a night of neighborhood trick-or-treating just isn't enough to satisfy our desire for all things spooky, we found some great Halloween-themed events for this weekend.  So, pick one of these destinations, hop in the car, and gear up the family for a haunted weekend getaway.

1. Haunted Happenings (Salem, Massachusetts): In this most bewitching of towns, take part in a "Witch Trial Trail," by hearing the story and witness the sites of the 1692 witch trials or just enjoy the costume ball and the live music. Going on now through November 2.

2. Country Mercantile Maze & Harvest Fun (Pasco, Washington): Come and celebrate the holiday with a straw bale maze, petting zoo, pumpkin patch, and hay rides. October 31, 9 am to dusk.

3. Boo at the Zoo (Sacramento, California): Dress up the kids in their costumes and bring them to the Sacramento Zoo for trick-or-treating, live entertainment, and spooky crafts. October 31, from 4:30 pm to 8 pm.

4. Art After 5: Halloween Night at the Museum (Philadelphia): The Philadelphia Art Museum is hosting after hours Halloween-themed fun evening out. Bring your little ones (12 and under get in free) for a night of ghost stories, tarot card readings, spooky art tours and a costume contest. October 31 at 5 pm.

5. The Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze at Van Cortlandt Manor (Lahaska, Pennsylvania)- Head to the historic Hudson Valley and visit the Van Cortlandt Manor to partake in the lighting of 4,000 hand-carved jack o'lanterns. Check out the dinosaurs, snakes, ghosts, fish, and flowers all made out of pumpkins, October 31, 6:30pm.

Matthew Hranek | Photographer

Noodles, pasta you name it, if you can twirl it or slurp it my five year old daughter Clara will eat it. It really doesn't matter what its in, broth or sauce. Ethnicity doesn't quite seem to matter either. Italian pasta, Japanese Udon, or Chinese noodle - all good.

I am obsessed with Chinatown. I find it to be the only neighborhood in NYC that is still exciting to me after 18 years. I still discover new delicious things every time I visit. The visits also seem to be more frequent with Clara at my side. Our latest obsession is Food Shing noodle house on East Broadway. It is a hand-pulled Chinese noodle shop and it is dramatic, exotic and delicious. I heard about it in a small article in the New York Times. I cut out the address and put it in my wallet not to forget. We first walked there on a cool day in the fall - perfect soup weather. (Though any weather is soup weather for Clara as long as it is filled with miles of noodles.) We walked in to food Shing and were greeted with stares from most of the Chinese patrons. We found our seats and dug in. I ordered oxtail, Clara had noodles with vegetables. Each cost under $7 for a large bowl of brothy noodles. In the short time we waited for our soups to arrive we witnessed a magical braiding and twisting of dough in the back kitchen. From a huge mound of dough on the counter the dough was gracefully twisted, braided, violently slapped and then SHAZAM - perfect Tagliatelle size noodles appear and are quickly dropped into hot broth with the veg or meat of choice. It is pure magic -  an alchemy of physical perfection. How they turned that plop of dough into that elegant braid of noodles I may never know.   

Clara and I watched and watched in amazement only to be distracted by the bowls of fragrant soup that demanded our attention. We slurped ourselves full and vowed to make this place our own.

Find a Chinatown or Little Italy near your with our nationwide directory.

If you're anything like us, you've got plenty of bags of baby gear to lug around while traveling. But here's some good news for those of you traveling soon with your brood: If you're a Chase credit or debit card holder, that is. Continental Airlines announced yesterday that it will waive fees for the first checked bag for Chase customers.

And if you're already stressing out about your impending holiday trips, check out more of our holiday travel tips and sanity savers.

Image courtesy of Randy Faris/Corbis

We've definitely had our annual ski vacation on the brain lately. It's a classic family favorite, but between the lodging, lift tickets, and new snow gear, we're wondering if we should take up a more budget-friendly hobby. So, it was a pleasant surprise this morning when we came across WeJustGotBack.com's great tips on saving dough on family ski trips.

If you book early (read: now), and you could save up to 25 percent off of lodging or lift tickets, according to our friend Suzanne Rowan Kelleher. Plus, she says, cut down on costs by booking a mid-week Monday-to-Thursday trip rather than your typical Thursday-to-Sunday getaways.

Check out the whole post for more tips and check out some of our favorite ski destinations around the world!

Since it's been around for more than 30 years, the Big Apple Circus technically isn't new, but it is back in New York with a new show, Play On!

Tickets start at $28 and kids under 3 are free (as long as they're sitting on your lap, that is.) Also, no seat is more than 50 feet away from the ring, so even little ones should be able to all the action without any problems. The clowns, acrobats, and animals will be in NYC until January 18, then the big top will set up shop in Atlanta from February 13 to 28.

Has anyone heard of the "ancient trick" that is said to eliminate jet lag by stroking your arm and then pushing on your pinky at certain times in the day? We came across the jet lag cure today from Dr. Joseph Mercola (who admittedly is seen as somewhat controversial) and we're wondering if anyone had tried it. Mercola heard about the trick from a physician friend and says it can help fend off dreaded dragging after a long flight. Skip ahead to 2:00 to see the tip.