THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 9, 1996 TAG: 9606070062
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E3 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: TRAVEL-WISE
SOURCE: STEPHEN HARRIMAN
LENGTH: 102 lines
LEE VS. GRANT. It doesn't get any bigger than that if you're into Civil War history. The forces under the commands of Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant first collided on May 4, 1864, setting in motion the bloodiest and most decisive campaign of the Civil War.
Now, 132 years later, it becomes easier to follow and to understand as Phase II of the Virginia Civil War Trails - Lee vs. Grant: The 1864 Campaign - is inaugurated at 11 a.m. June 20 at Germanna Community College in Orange County west of Fredericksburg.
More than 50 significant sites, battlefields and museums from this Piedmont area along the Rapidan River southward to Petersburg are identified to the traveler.
The Virginia Civil War Trails is a four-phase effort to link the state's wartime history through a combination of driving, biking, boating and walking trails.
Phase I, Lee's Retreat, is in place with interpretive signs at 20 selected sites from Petersburg to Appomattox. Phase III, the 1862 Peninsula Campaign, is under development. It will add 58 sites. Phase IV, Northern Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley Campaign, will add 49 sites and complete the statewide interpretation.
The new trail begins with Grant's Federal army crossing the Rapidan and clashing with Lee's Confederate defenders at the Battle of the Wilderness. The thrust and parry of the two armies continued through the summer of 1864 at Spotsylvania Courthouse, North Anna River, Totopotomoy Creek and Cold Harbor, and ended with the beginning of the siege at Petersburg.
For a brochure on the Lee vs. Grant Campaign, call (888) CIVIL WAR.
If you want to go to the opening ceremony at Germanna, take I-64 west to I-95 north, to exit 130B to Va. 3. Follow Va. 3 west about 20 miles to signs pointing to the college. GOLF, ANYONE?
Golfers planning a vacation this summer will want to take a look at ``Virginia Is For Golf Lovers, '' the free pocket guide to courses throughout the state. For a copy, call (800) 932-2259. WHAT'S THERE TO DO?
Join members of Virginia's eight recognized Indian tribes for the seventh annual Virginia Indian Heritage Festival, 9-5 Saturday, at Jamestown Settlement west of Williamsburg. Adults $9, children 6-12 $4.25. Info: (804) 229-1607.
Dolphin watch trips off Virginia Beach are sponsored by Virginia Marine Science Museum June 17-Sept. 1. Daily 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday at 4:30 p.m. Adults, $12; 11 and younger, $10. Info: (804) 437-4949. FREE B&B STAY
The seventh edition of ``Bed & Breakfasts and Country Inns'' is now available. Inside you'll find a certificate good for a free night's stay at any of 1,600 inns nationwide when the guest purchases the first night at the regular rates. The deal offers a savings of $50 to $350. The book provides detailed descriptions of each inn, offers maps and illustrations and has an Inns of Interest section. Retail price is $21.95. Ask your local bookseller to order a copy if it's not on the shelf. BRANSON CONNECTION
If you want to know everything that's going on in Branson, Mo., the self-proclaimed live entertainment capital of the entire world, call for a free copy of ``Branson! Entertainer,'' a 12-page newspaper. Expect delivery to take about a week. Phone (800) 397-9339. ATTENTION PARENTS
You parents will have to take care of this. Kids 2 to 12 who join Delta Air Lines' Fantastic Flyer program by Saturday will get a $49 fall family-travel certificate inserted in personalized Fantastic Flyer magazine. Certificate lets the child travel round trip (Aug. 15-Dec. 19) in the 50 states and Canada and the Caribbean for $49 if accompanied by parent paying minimum $289. Also available: discounts for Alamo Rent A Car, Holiday Inn properties. To enroll in the free program, call (800) 392-KIDS, 7 a.m.-11p.m. DID YOU REMEMBER?
I know that older kids, who have a lot on their minds, sometimes need a reminder to do stuff. So here's one. Students traveling overseas this summer might want to use the student identity card and the goodies it entitles them to, including low air-fares, museum discounts, health insurance and a 24-hour help hotline. Sponsored by the Council on International Educations Exchange, the card costs $18. For more information call (800) GET AN ID. READ ALL ABOUT IT
The American, a Sunday paper, is not on sale ($3.95) in 44 countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In addition to news, it has the biggest sports section outside the United States, Dave Barry, film, theater and book reviews, personal and financial advice. The American Concierge lists events in 38 European cities, and The Sleaze Page guarantees stories of no redeeming social value. McOLYMPICS
When the world travels to Atlanta for the Summer Olympics (July 19-Aug. 4), it will find . . . McDonald's. But of course. In 33 days of operation in the Olympic Village, McDonald's anticipates serving 81,330 Big Mac sandwiches, 81,360 cheeseburgers, 87,700 Egg McMuffin sandwiches and 162,690 medium orders of French fries. MEMO: Travel-wise is compiled from wire-service reports, news releases,
trade journals, books, magazines and the deepest recesses of the
writer's mind. Send comments and questions to Travel-wise, The
Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Va. 23501-0449; phone (804) 446-2904. by CNB