Tours

Talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres and her wife, actress Portia de Rossi, have bought a 13-acre estate in Montecito that had been listed at $26.5 million. The purchase price has not yet appeared in the public record. The restored Tuscan-style villa and gardens had undergone years and millions of dollars in reconstruction work under the care of an earlier owner, designer John Saladino. The two-story villa was built in the late 1920s from locally quarried stone. The property, entered through wrought-iron gates, has a quarter-mile-long driveway that winds through olive and eucalyptus trees.

Many Napa Valley wineries are beginning to welcome visits from families, and they're making a serious effort to keep the kids engaged. Lest we forget, wineries are farms, and in many cases they have farm animals, game birds, fish ponds, picnic grounds and other kid magnets. Not all of wine country is kid-friendly, mind you, but you can find ample attractions to make this a satisfying destination for serious wine lovers … and grape juice lovers too. The tab: We spent about $647 for a family of four, including $315 for one night at the Villagio Inn, $260 on meals and $72 on a castle tour and wine tasting.

Whether by necessity or choice, a quarter of Americans take at least one vacation by themselves each year. Some solo travelers are single. Some have partners who dislike travel or have different interests or can't get away. Some just crave freedom. But all face the same question: What's the best trip for the person traveling alone? "The key is to know yourself," said Beth Whitman, author of a guide for women traveling alone and founder of Wanderlustandlipstick.com , a website devoted to advice and tours for women on the go. "There are times when you just need to get away, to recuperate.

Layovers don't have to be a pain in the derrière. This app points you to short-term hotel stays, tours and travel deals to help you fill the hours. Name: Smart Layover Available for: Android, BlackBerry, iOS What it does: Shows travelers on long layovers that they don't have to be stuck at the airport. Users can find attractions and tours, travel deals and day-use hotel options along with terminal maps and tips. Get flight alert notifications and security wait times too. Cost: Free What's hot: You're not at the mercy of a packed bar or pricey express spa. The "Tours and Attractions" feature connects you to sightseeing tours in more than 140 countries.

If you want to give zip-lining a try, your Southern California options are plentiful. Most have physical requirements participants must meet, so be sure to call or check the website before you book. Catalina Zip Line Eco Tour: This two-hour aerial tour of Catalina Island is comprised of five zip lines, and guides provide information about local wildlife and history along the way. Tours leave 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays to Fridays, and 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. From Jan. 1 through May 24 and fromSept.

New Year's Eve was a banner day for partiers--and for gray whales. Twenty-one of them were spotted off Southern California as they headed south to the warm waters of Mexico , the best sightings since the season began Dec. 1. This means it's a good time to snag a discounted whale-watching ticket and go see them for yourself. The deal: AmazonLocal Long Beach is offering vouchers that take at least half off the price of whale-watching tours. The sale price costs $18 a person (usually $39)

Birds do it, bees do it, even wildebeests and zebus do it. And during the "Valentine's Day Sex Tour" at Santa Ana Zoo today, visitors will learn exactly how animals court and mate in a captive setting. Wild stuff? Well, the event is for adults only, but zoo curator Connie Sweet said she wouldn't go so far as to slap an R-rating on the tour. Call it PG-13.

WASHINGTON, D.C. A capital experience Beat D.C.'s summer heat -- and high prices -- by booking the Hotel Monticello's elegant Summer Promotion Package, which takes you around our nation's capital with grace and ease, then lays you down to sleep on a sumptuous pillow-top bed in Georgetown. Hot tip: Ask a guest-service agent if you can borrow a memory-card-equipped digital camera; it's free to use. Dates: Through summer. Price: $299 per night, including two tour-bus tickets, two all-day Metro passes (for weekend stays)

The Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory in Kailua-Kona (Big Island) offers tours Wednesdays and Fridays at 9:30 a.m. The cost is $10 for adults. Children 12 and younger are admitted free. Reservations are required, (808) 322-2626, http://www.ohcf.us . Steelgrass Farm in Kapaa (Kauai) provides tours at 9 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Tickets are $60 for adults. Children 12 and younger are admitted free. Reservations are required; (808) 821-1857, http://www.

WASHINGTON - A Republican-led attempt to reopen the White House to tours was defeated largely along party lines Wednesday in the Senate. Senators voted 45 to 54 on the measure from Republican Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, who was seeking to reshuffle the sequester cuts to bring back the White House tours and also prevent closures at Yellowstone and other national parks that have been hit by the budget reductions. Republicans have criticized the decision to shutter the White House as a political move by the Obama administration designed to give the sequester cuts some bite, particularly after the president's stark warnings over the consequences of the reductions have not been realized.

As he tried to ready himself for his anticipated comeback tour, Michael Jackson was "trembling, rambling, obsessing" and eventually needed a mental health evaluation, the singer's tour director wrote in an email just six days before the pop star died. The email from Kenny Ortega was one of several that AEG Live executive Randy Phillips received in the days before Jackson's death that expressed concern over the singer's mental and physical health as the 2009 "This Is It" tour approached.

At the height of his career, Michael Jackson had it all. International fame. Grammy-winning records. Unimaginable wealth. But in the final months of his life, as the King of Pop planned his ill-fated comeback in London, one of his biggest motivators was just to make enough money to buy his own home where he could raise his children, according to testimony Wednesday. Jackson broke down in tears as he confided that he was tired of "living like vagabonds" - shuttling his family between a Las Vegas rental and a Bel-Air hotel - said Randy Phillips, concert promoter AEG Live's chief executive who has spent days testifying in a wrongful-death suit filed by the singer's family.

— Sweet 16 for Serena Williams came courtesy of yet another ace, an exclamation point drilled into the red clay on the last point of the match. The sizzling serve sealed her 16th Grand Slam title and her place, at age 31, at the pinnacle of women's tennis. In a much-anticipated showdown Saturday between the world's No. 1 and No. 2 female players, Williams took on Maria Sharapova, the reigning titleholder, at the French Open. But Williams' 6-4, 6-4 victory, a career-best 31st in a row, underlined the distance between her and the rest of the pack, which has struggled to match her power, speed and variety since last summer.

President Obama and China's President Xi Jinping will meet this weekend at Sunnylands, the 200-acre Annenberg estate in Rancho Mirage. It has hosted five decades of political and Hollywood luminaries behind its pink walls. It opened to the public in March 2012. Consider this 20,000-square-foot dwelling, set in a far-as-the-eye-can-see expanse of golf course green, as a latter-day incarnation of the Gilded Age mansions of Newport, R.I. Inside the house, digital reproductions of the Annenbergs' $1-billion-plus Impressionist art collection compete for space on the few walls not made of glass.

Michael Adams , an offensive tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers was stabbed twice during an attempted carjacking on the city's South Side district, police said. Police said Adams, 23, told officers he was standing near his truck shortly after 3 a.m. Saturday when he was confronted by three men, one armed with a knife and one with a handgun. Adams told officers the trio tried to carjack him, but he didn't have his car keys. He said "the situation escalated" and one man pointed the gun at his face while the other stabbed him twice before all three fled, according to police.

This week has been a wonderful blur for Columbia outfielder Joey Falcone. Monday, he stood on the mound at Citi Field, which might as well have been a mountaintop. It was Memorial Day. The former Marine medic, with two tours of duty in Iraq and one in Afghanistan behind him, was to throw out the first pitch before the New York Mets and New York Yankees played. A perfect time to reflect. Yet Falcone said the only thought in his mind was: "I had to throw a strike. " Thursday was another day on another coast.

If you are looking for a nature outing, check out the tours offered by Southwind Kayak rentals. My friends and I explored the tidal wetlands of Upper Newport Bay and observed numerous bird species during a two-hour-plus guided outing via kayak. It was a welcome break from city life, and it's located in our own backyard. Southwind Kayak Center, (949) 261-0200, http://www.southwindkayaks.com . Kayak tours by preregistration only. Harbor Highlights or Back to Nature tour of the Upper Newport Bay ecological reserve, $55, or $45 with your own gear.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. - On his USO tour in March, Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning went farther than he ever imagined he'd go. Halfway around the globe. And six miles through the streets of Naples, Italy. That was a 5 a.m. run with Navy Adm. James Winnefeld and Brandon Anderson, the admiral's aide de camp. Manning asked the night before if he could join them. He hadn't run that far in 25 years, a pro in a game measured by yards, not miles. "The last time I ran six miles was when I was 12 years old in the New Orleans Crescent City Classic," Manning said.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. - Peyton Manning threw passes in the cavernous belly of a military plane flying 30,000 feet above Pakistan, and stood on the observation deck of an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf, watching screaming fighter jets land and launch. Back home in the U.S., the Broncos quarterback made a hole in one at a golf course outside Denver, shot a 77 last weekend at Augusta National, took a group of 30 teammates to a Yankees-Rockies game, and made several surprise visits to Colorado schools.