Whale Watching ... in Downtown Hartford

This is what a midprice ticket will get you:
Pretty awesome seats.
(We were in the sixth row.)

Winter's settling in. Even if you aren't a fan of sledding, building snowmen, or braving New England's freezing temperatures to ski or snowboard, all is not lost.

Whether you've got a family to entertain on the cheap or are just looking for a fun night out with a couple of friends, perhaps it's time to check out the Connecticut Whale.

I'm talking about hockey here for those of you not familiar with the Whale. Not NHL, of course, but still the very worthy American Hockey League, where the top Whale players still score six- and seven-figure annual salaries.

The best part is, you won't have to go broke buying tickets. They run about $12 apiece for kids (ages 2-16) and between $12 and $25 per adult. And this is for very decent seats. (Good luck finding prices under $100 apiece - even in the nosebleed section -  for any Boston Bruins game.)

Not a sports fan? Well, me neither, technically. I assure you, the Connecticut Whale's got something for everyone.

Today's Stefcations Highlights:

• What You'll Find: A fun, inexpensive night out, no matter who you are - sports fan or no, child or adult
• Where You'll Find it: The XL Center in Hartford, Conn.
• When to Go: All winter long (through April 2012)
• Cost: Usually around $12 a ticket for kids, ages 2-16; $12-$25 per adult, depending on the game (and you won't be in nosebleed)

3 Things You Need to Do in San Diego

San Diego beckons.

For those of you living in New England, you are more than likely aware of the craziness that was this year's so-called "Snowtober," a snowstorm that slammed us in October, dumping several inches of snow on our poor little pumpkin patches, downing tree limbs and power lines, and spoiling Halloween for countless kids (and adults - myself included, damn it).

Not to mention the week spent without power ... and heat ... and, for some, water. If you'd seen my most recent post, you may have some inkling of how excited I was for the Halloween party of the year at the Wadsworth Mansion. Alas, the party was canceled, marking my first un-Halloween. Sniff.

Where to go when your backyard looks like this,
and it's not yet even Halloween?  Fly south. Pronto.

As it is, I'm not a big fan of the autumn months, so sans power and heat, and with Halloween erased from the calendar altogether, I ask you, what was I supposed to do? Um, fly to Southern California, that's what.

I swear I'm not that much of a prima donna. It just so happened that I'd planned my vacation with uncannily perfect timing - on the Thursday that we were scheduled to depart for San Diego, it was Day Six of no electricity. Otherwise known as Time to Get the Hell Out of Here.

OK, so San Diego. If you haven't been, I recommend it to anyone who hopes to escape the winter doldrums. It's the perfect getaway for the non-snow bunnies among us, like moi.

In addition to the heavenly weather, there are oodles of things to do there - from the San Diego Zoo to the beaches to Tijuana (just 15 minutes away), you can spend numerous vacations there, as I have, and not see everything. But there are at least three things I do recommend you do once you've arrived.