The Murder Mystery Dinner Train at Fillmore & Western Railway.

For a change of scenery, hop aboard the Fillmore & Western Railway this month for two murder mystery dinner train events.

• On March 13, the railway hosts the "Night Train to Murder." Departing at 6:30 p.m. and returning at 9:30 p.m., the event features a prime rib or chicken cordon bleu dinner with entertainment by the P. Maxwell Productions troupe. Here's the scoop: It's 1930 and celebrity Caesar Deville and his crew have just completed work on a new Pandamount Picture. Prohibition has just ended, and for now, anything goes: maybe even murder. Cost is $89 per person.  
• On March 27, bring the kids for a ride aboard the a “family style” murder mystery that takes place on one of the great trains of the silver screen. Eastwood meets Westwood during this 2 1/2 hour evening adventure, which includes spaghetti & meatballs, garden salad, garlic bread, coffee or tea and a special dessert.  Adults are $61; kids under 13 are $32.

Reservations required. Call Fillmore & Western Railway at (805) 524-2546 or (800) 773-8724. www.fwry.com

Montage Resort is hosting a Raw Food Retreat in April.

Natural wellness educator Susie Sondag, the owner of Opulent Living, is offering an "Art of Living Raw Retreat" at Spa Montage April 18-20.

Sondag will help you embrace organic and raw foods and purify your body with a series of lectures, raw food classes and tasting workshops. Choose from the complete Art of Living Raw Retreat, A Day of Living Raw, or a special one-hour lecture. The series includes signature Spa Montage Surrender experiences.

The Art of Living Raw Retreat, $1,135 per person

• Two nights oceanfront accommodations
• Three Thalassic beach walks
• Three informative Art of Living Raw lectures
• Three raw food preparation and tasting workshops: Preparing Nut Milks, Soups and Appetizers; Preparing Main Course Entrees; Preparing Desserts & Elixirs
• One 60-minute Surrender spa treatment, one 90-minute Anti-Aging Facial and one 90-minute Aromabalancing session

Day of Living Raw
Select your preferred focus and enjoy a day that includes a beach walk, lecture, food prep workshop and Surrender spa experience.

• Sunday, April 18: Surrender to Cleanse & Detoxification, $395
• Monday, April 19: Surrender to Anti-Aging, $435
• Tuesday, April 20: Surrender to Longevity, $435

Art of Living Raw Lecture
$195 per person, 11 a.m. - noon

• Sunday, April 18: Disease & Detoxification
• Monday, April 19: Regeneration & Anti-Aging
• Tuesday, April 20: A Longevity Lifestyle: Feel Confident & Empowered

The entire series takes place at Montage Laguna Beach, located at 30801 South Coast Highway, Laguna Beach.

• Watch our video about Montage Laguna Beach.

For reservations, contact Montage at 1-888-715-6700; or visit the Web site at www.montagelagunabeach.com.

Truth be told, most of us skip over the promo code box when purchasing travel flights, hotels, cruises and car rentals. It doesn't apply to me, right?

Actually, there are tons of Web sites devoted to finding these codes, which will help you save big on your next vacation. Dealhunting.com and CurrentCodes.com  are two online databases that categorize thousands of coupons and secret “checkout codes.”

For example, if you are planning a Hawaiian vacation at the Marriott this spring, you can use promo code MRP to get a "Suite Deal with Daily Breakfast for Two." The offer expires May 3, 2010.

There are tons of specials to be found, so have fun looking!

Photo courtesy of California State Parks

Housed in one of California's most historically significant buildlings, the San Diego Cosmopolitan Hotel opens in April 2010, fresh from a multimillion-dollar makeover.

The San Diego hotel, also known as La Casa de Bandini, was established in 1869 by Albert L. Seeley. Located in Fiesta De Reyes at Old Town State Historic Park, the newly renovated hotel features 10 guest rooms, an indoor-outdoor restaurant and several meeting rooms.  Read more about its history here.

Many historical features remain from the 1827 building remain intact, including a wrap-around balcony once used to watch local bullfights, adobe walls dating back to 1820 and a wood exterior dating back to 1869. The new Cosmopolitan Hotel in San Diego will be run as a bed and breakfast.

For more information, visit www.fiestadereyes.com.

Do airlines have WiFi? You bet — and here is a guide to them all. Photo courtesy of Alaskan Airlines.

With a trip to Hawaii planned this spring, I thought I'd do some research on all of the airlines with WiFi. Most of the information I found dated back to 2008, which wasn't much help finding current information about which airlines have WiFi.

But soon I stumbled upon a site called Gogo Inflight Internet. The company provides WiFi on airlines including Air Canada, AirTran, American Airlines, Delta, United Airlines, US Airways and Virgin America. What's nice is you can buy the airline WiFi a single flight, or as a 30-day pass, so there's a plan for everyone. Single flight plans range from $4.95 for 1 1/2 hours, $9.95 for up to 3 hours, or $12.95 for any flight over 3 hours.

I have a flight planned on Continental this spring, which will complete its InFlight Internet service on its 21 Boeing 757-300 aircraft later this year. Alaskan Airlines announced this week that it now offers Gogo on all of its aircraft.

JetBlue WiFi service is also being offered on its BetaBlue plane. Unfortunately you can't book that specific plane and it's a random thing. JetBlue plans to expand its service to its entire fleet, though there is no set date for completion.

Another WiFi airline service is being offered through a company called Row 44. Southwest WiFi is offered on four planes at the moment, but the entire fleet should be equipped early this year. Service is between $2 and $12.

Routes and availability differ by airline, but as a rule it's offered in all 48 continental states. To get access, you'll need a laptop or handheld device with 802.11 a/b/g (Wi-Fi) wireless local area network (WLAN) capability.

Handhelds that work include the iPod Touch, iPhone, Blackberry 8320 or 8820 and Nokia N95. The service does not work in the terminal, but only after you've reached an altitude of 10,000 feet. It's also important to point out that you may not place calls during flight, but you can use IM or e-mail services.

I hope this guide to WiFi on planes has been helpful. For more details from each airline, click on their links above!

California is home to some of the leading spas in the world, and a new iPhone app has made finding them even easier.

The free SpaFinder app, made by www.spafinder.com, has a database of more than 5,000 spas throughout the world. With the app, you can search spas by price or specific spa treatments. Additionally, you can check available appointments and book your reservations right from the app.

The app also brings you news on the latest spa deals. For example, between March 8-14, SpaFinder is offering $50 spa treatments at dozens of spas throughout California. 

Not all spas are in the database, but it comes pretty darn close. I searched for some of the smaller independent spas I'd visited recently, and they were there. For example, there was a user's review for Elevations Day Spa in Big Bear Lake, but information about services and treatments was not yet available. Read our review here.

Since the SpaFinder iPhone app relies on candid reviews from real people, you'll get honest experiences and recommendations for that spa's best treatments and therapists. The iPhone's GPS searches for spas near your location and then gives you driving directions right to the spa.

You can't beat free, and I've found the SpaFinder app to be a nice addition to my iPhone. I give it 4 1/2 out of 5 stars.

For more information about the app, go to http://www.spafinder.com/iphone

Indian Paintbrush is among the wildflowers you'll find at Death Valley National Park. Stock photography by Nik Go / http://www.sxc.hu

The Mojave Desert boasts some of the most brilliant and beautiful wildflowers in the world, and in the spring, Death Valley National Park is awash in color.

The 2009-2010 winter season was quite wet and evenly spaced this year, which should result in moderate blooms this spring. Fed by the flowing Amargosa River, a blanket of green fuzz is now sprouting across Death Valley's hillsides and alluvial fans. Peak season is expected between late March and early April.

Desert annuals pop with color — from the brilliant red Indian paintbrush, to blue lupines, orange poppies and purple verbena. More than 23 species of plants can only be found in Death Valley.

Some of the best places to view wildflowers in Death Valley are Jubilee Pass and Highway 190 during peak season, the Panamint Mountains from April through early May, and the High Panamints from late April through early June.

For the latest Death Valley wildflower updates, go to www.nps.gov/deva

Prohibition Speakeasy Wine Club opens in Healdsburg in March.

Capturing the excitement of the Roaring Twenties, the new Prohibition Speakeasy Wine Club in Healdsburg opens early next month in California wine country.

The 30-seat wine bar and shop, run by Richard and Kae Rosenberg of the Grape Leaf Inn, will serve up small-lot and rare wines by-the-glass and Prohibition-style brews such as Speakeasy, White Lightning, Prohibition Ale and more.

This clandestine wine bar is all about the experience, with a secret entrance found through an antique telephone booth. The decor pays homage to the 1920s and early 1930s with Prohibition-era artifacts and music from Jazz greats like Duke Ellington and Bix Biederbach.

“My grandfather owned and operated a real speakeasy during Prohibition and I was always intrigued by his stories of the fake facades, bootleggers and revelry of that time,” said Richard. “We wanted to recreate the incognito speakeasies of the 1920s and the camaraderie people felt during the Prohibition era, yet incorporate an authentic wine country atmosphere into the experience.”

The Grape Leaf Inn offers its overnight guests a similar experience, with a speakeasy and wine cellar found hidden behind a bookcase.

Prohibition is located at 340 Healdsburg Avenue at North Street in Healdsburg, just one block north of the historic town plaza.  Hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.  For information, call (707) 473-9463 or visit www.speakeasywineclub.com.

Taj Campton Place is offering a $99 San Francisco hotel deal for guests of its 2010 Campton Place Wine Scene series.

More than 12 events are planned, with participating wineries such as Morlet, Sequoia Grove, Salvestrin, Lail, Hartford Family Vineyards and Pierre Seillan. Enjoy in-suite tasting, seminars, and 5-course meals prepared by chef Srijith Gopinathan, complete with wine pairings.

For more information visit www.tajhotels.com/camptonplace.

La Costa Resort and Spa is offering a special golf getaway package this month. Photo © Veronica Hill.

Southern California's LPGA golf season kicks off in March, and two luxury resorts are offering some tempting golf getaway packages.

La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad (watch our video) will host the inaugural Kia Classic on March 22-28, featuring the world's best female golfers. La Costa's "Golf Classic Package" allows guests to relax in deluxe accommodations while enjoying the tournament — just steps from their guest room.

Starting at $260 per night, the La Costa LPGA Golf Classic Package includes:

• Deluxe resort accommodations
• Two tickets for 1-day admission to the LPGA Golf Classic

Taxes and a $22 daily resort charge are not included. Offer is valid for the tournament week, March 22-29, 2010. Reservations can be made at www.lacosta.com.

Following the LPGA Golf Classic at La Costa, Mission Hills Country Club will host the Kraft Nabisco Championship between March 29-April 4 in Palm Springs. Host resort and partner Rancho Las Palmas Resort & Spa in Rancho Mirage (watch our video) is offering a special golf package valid during the tournament week.

Starting at $299 per night, the Rancho Las Palmas KNC Package includes:

• Luxurious resort accommodations
• Two tickets for 1-day admission at the Kraft Nabisco Championship

Taxes and a $25 daily resort charge are not included. Reservations can be made at  www.rancholaspalmas.com.

Rancho Las Palmas is also the host site for the LPGA Championship Gala on March 30, benefiting the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). Guests can mingle with celebrities, enjoy live entertainment and participate in a silent auction. Tickets are $500, and some of it is tax deductible.

The Gala coincides with the tournament's Celebrity Pro-Am on March 30-31. For more information and tickets, call 949-300-0842 or visit www.kncgolf.com.