A pohaku (stone) at the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort and Spa has become the place for guests to leave lei before returning home. Les Nagashima, of Tidepools Restaurant, suggested creating a gathering place for the lei, which led Stella Burgess, Manager of Hawaiian Culture, to hold a ceremony to bless the stone. A plaque affixed to the pohaku encourages guests to leave their lei as a remembrance of their stay and the hope they will return again someday. The lei eventually contribute to the beauty at the resort as compost for landscaping.

This special pohaku is between the beach and the lagoon near Tidepools Restaurant, facing the waterfall. 742-1234 or www.grandhyattkauai.com.

GORNO-ALTAISK

CENTRAL SIBERIA'S THE PLACE TO BE FOR NEXT YEAR'S ECLIPSE OF THE SUN

Next year, Gorno-Altaisk promises to be a hot destination. Unfamilar? The capital of the Altai Republic in central Siberia will be a prime viewing spot for a total eclipse of the sun, Aug. 1. The eclipse is visible from within a narrow corridor that traverses half the Earth. The path of the moon's umbral shadow begins in Canada and extends across northern Greenland, the Arctic, central Russia, Mongolia and China. A partial eclipse is seen within the much broader path of the Moon's penumbral shadow, which includes northeastern North America, most of Europe and Asia. www.sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse.

TRAVEL CATALOG

IT'S NOT A TRIP, IT'S AN EXPEDITION, AND THE EXPERIENCE OF A LIFETIME

Escaping the 24-hour news cycle and personal and global worries takes effort ... and funds. National Geographic's 2008 catalog makes no excuses that travel requires planning, communication and a hefty cash commitment. But what you get in return can take your breath away: the great solitude of the Patagonian Steppes, sitting on a kopje in the Serengeti watching cheetahs, plowing across the Drake Passage on the way to the Antarctic. More than 65 journeys, with 40 new itineraries, are included. "We design our trips from the inside out, with respect for the people and places we visit ... travel is not where you go, but what you experience while you're there," says John Sugnet of GeoEx. www.geoex.com.