Travel

Contributing travel writer Patti Nickell has written her first book, about one of the great passions of Central Kentucky: horses.

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — The 11/2-hour drive from the airport in Roanoke, Va., to this small hamlet just across the West Virginia state line took me through some of the most beautiful scenery in the Allegheny Mountains — made even more alluring by the fall colors: deep gold, vibrant orange and rusty red.

In case you get lost along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, the trail's revamped Web site includes turn-by-turn directions along with a new drag-and-drop feature that lets you plan your route from or to any of the eight distilleries.

Penguins are coming to Cincinnati — yellow penguins, in this case, for the new 21c Museum Hotel, which will be next to the Contemporary Arts Center, across the street from the Aronoff Center for the Arts.

PORTLAND, Ore. — A century and a half ago, a steady procession of Americans headed west. Their slogan: "Oregon or bust." Their modern-day counterparts travel by automobile or plane, but their goal is the same, making Oregon one of the hottest travel destinations around.