I have lived in earthquake prone San Francisco or Los Angeles almost all my life. But I am still riveted by images of collapsing highways and marooned boats coming from Chile after the 8.8 earthquake there. Just as the images of Haiti recently held our attention, another part of the world is overwhelmingly affected by a natural disaster.

This is close to home for me..Just last week I blogged briefly about my trip to Chile years ago. And now there are tsunami warnings for other places I have been – Australia, Tahiti, and just a few weeks ago, Hawaii. So I am reminded of what we all don’t like to think about: What would happen if we were caught in a natural disaster abroad – or even in another state, like Hawaii? And then I think -what if I were caught with my children?

There are some things you can do to prepare because disaster can strike at any time.

1) Register your trip abroad with the State Department. In the event of an evacuation, the State Department can assist. www.travel.state.gov

2) Make copies of your passport and itinerary and leave with family members at home, and put another copy in your luggage.

3) Bring the phone number of your doctor and the generic name of any prescriptions you take in case they get lost or damaged, or you are separated from them.. Meds in other countries often go by different names, and you need to know what is safe to take. I was in Australia during one of my pregnancies, and I didn’t know what I could take for the common cold because there was no “Sudafed” or “Benadryl”. Another time I caught a bad head cold in Argentina…and man! Whatever was recommended to me in the the local pharmacy knocked me out. The drug regulations and dosages in other countries are very different also so who knows what I took.

Last December the Wall Street Journal’s Wine Notes compiled some “easy wine resolutions” for 2010. The list was great – but one in particular is the inspiration for this post.

“Take a wine trip” is what the authors said. Most of us on the West Coast think of going to Napa or Sonoma, which are world class. However, a smaller, lesser known wine region  – although definitely growing in popularity – is Paso Robles along California’s Central Coast.

With more than 200 winerires in the area, you will find enough wine to taste. But even though Paso Robles is growing, the choice of hotels is still slim compared to Napa, especially if you are looking in the luxury B &B category.

Hotel Cheval

Recently, I sat down with Robert Gilson, owner of  Hotel Cheval in downtown Paso Robles. I make the distinction of it being downtown because many of the other B&Bs are in the country, which means a longer drive in if you want to eat dinner in town where there are some nice restaurants.

Gilson and his wife has been involved in revitalizing many buildings in Paso Robles. This hotel is their passion, and it really is reflected in the hotel’s charm and warmth.

Only 16 rooms, it is warm and personal..and with outdoor outdoor fireplaces, as well as a horse driven carriage that can take you to and from dinner downtown so you can imbibe all you want – that pretty much fills the charm category. Chester the horse has become quite popular there. The owners are horse lovers, so there is an equestrian themes bar in the hotel also.

Gilson says Paso Robles is comprised of old families mixed with new families…and it is still not a “perfecly polished” town. There is no Starbuck’s and no Coffee Bean.  (Isn’t it funny that the omission of those two chains can say so much?) There is a saloon in town, and at the time I spoke with Gilson, a guy rode into the saloon on a horse. And even though I like to write about places to bring the kids, there are better places than Paso Robles for that.

Gilson says there are advantages to the character of Paso Robles over wine country up north..better value…less snobbery…and less traffic. (Love Napa, but have you traveled on  Highway 29 during a busy weekend?)

Oenophiles: The wineries recommended for tasting visits are Justin, Tablas Creek, and Eberle. The last time I checked, Eberle had free tastings. You don’t see that very often in Napa… www.justinwine.com, www.tablascreek.com, www.eberlewinery.com. Tablas Creek used to offer a special program where guests can pay to participate in the wine making process – check on that if you are interested. Another great source for wine before you go is www.snooth.com.

Other things to do in Paso Robles – golf, and Hearst Castle is nearby.

www.hotelcheval.com. Cheers!

With all of the bad weather in most parts of the country this winter (last week Hawaii was the only state to NOT have snow on the ground…) there are many people spending time indoors…and most likely kids going stir crazy. I myself like to take my kids to a museum when the weather misbehaves to get them out and away from video games.

Which made me think of my trip to France recently. When all of  us travel, there are many trips with world class museums on the itinerary..especially if you are in Europe. So how do you balance keeping the kids entertained long enough by Monets and Mondrians so you can take in all the masters? I know I can be a little overzealous about traveling with kids. I myself love to explore, and don’t want my kids to live in a bubble. But I also realize there are headaches to family travel…and bringing kids under age 10 to a museum with pieces of art hundreds of years old may not be on your top list of relaxing activities.

BUT…I hope I can convince you it is not a lost cause. After spending two weeks in an apartment right down the street from the Pompidou Center in museum-rich Paris…another week and a half where many famous artists flocked – the Riviera…and another week in Provence, where  Van Gogh painted a bulk of his work, I picked up some tips for bringing kids along to view art. (All of my ideas didn’t work..and a lot of the time it depended on my kids’ moods, but you will benefit from being spared of my failures)

Here are some ideas:

1) Seek out the museums with kids’ programs.

The Tate Modern in London has one of the best. Among the  many enriching activities the museum provides is a scavenger hunt throughout the various exhibits. Kids are given a kit and have to look for items that are in the kit, and find them in the paintings. The beauty of this is that both you and your child can be looking at the same painting together – albeit looking for different things, but still – a shared experience..and dare I say it can entertain your child while you absorb the work of geniuses?

2) Find out if a museum has tours catering to children, or docents that have been trained to take kids around.

Usually, this is a home run. The tour guide will focus on much different works of art, or elements of art that are more applicable to a child’s level of understanding. However, at times I have sought out docents whose job it is to lead children, and although they have the knowledge, they sometimes lack the patience to deal with kids who want to touch everything all the time!

3) Be prepared, think out of the box, and know what will interest your children.

For example, I couldn’t be in Paris without going to the Musee d’Orsay, even though I have been before. I specifically wanted to take my kids to see the collection of Impressionists. I thought about the crowds, the French and their serious demeanor, and of course, how I could engage my kids with one of  the most beautiful artistic periods.  I considered their interests, and came up with an idea that totally worked. I packed notepads of sketch paper, colored pencils, crayons, and portable paints. I let them pick one or two paintings they would like to try and draw themselves.

Bingo. They were completely absorbed in their own drawings, and took in each painting they tried to imitate. This gave my husband and I a chance to wander around ourselves…each of us rotating between watching the kids and looking at art. Other visitors even started taking video of the kids sitting on the floor drawing – they became a tourist attraction!

4) Don’t try to see the whole museum if it is medium-large sized.

Try to allow just an hour and a half or two hours in the museum…that is probably the max that young children can tolerate before they start complaining or fidgeting. So – you have to plan ahead and pick an area of the museum you really want to see…like mentioned above, just see the Impressionists at the d’Orsay. Or focus on dinosaurs at New York’s Museum of Natural History. Or…we tried the Louvre and just wanted to take them to see the Mona Lisa. Because the Louvre is SO huge, by the time we walked, got lost, found the Mona Lisa, then fought the crowds to get a peak, it had been more than an hour!

5) Keeping the above tip in mind, many museums have one day in the week when attendance is free. Plan ahead and go that day.

This is especially helpful if you are just taking your kids to see the Mona Lisa for example. Why pay a full admission price when you are only focusing on part of the museum? Many museums are offering free times now and  as a way to boost attendance on “off” days, and during a decline in attendance due to the economy.

6) Look for smaller museums featuring one artist.

I have blogged about this before, because I noticed in France that there are so many museums devoted to one artist – giving a much more comprehensive understanding to how that artist evolved. Picasso, Van Gogh, Matisse, and more all have museums of their own in France. Here in the United States, I have visited the Georgia O’Keefe museum in Santa Fe, and the Norman Rockwell Museum in the Berkshires and loved them both. Perhaps because the number of paintings/sculptures, etc are smaller, you can prepare your own scavenger hunt for your kids by doing a little research before hand to keep them occupied and interested.

Have fun with this, and don’t get upset if your children justdon’t get it. Have a glass of Bordeaux at lunch and just hang on to the thought that by exposing them over and over, it will eventually foster an appreciation  -or at the very least a familiarity so they will feel comfortable in “adult-like” places.

***More to come in the next week or two: Best Museums for Children.