THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 26, 1995 TAG: 9503240080
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E3 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: TRAVEL-WISE
SOURCE: STEPHEN HARRIMAN
LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
HAPPENING in Virginia next month. . . and worth an excursion if you have the travel itch:
The ninth annual Daffodil Festival at Gloucester Saturday (10 a.m.-4:30 p.m.). They claim to have more than 4,000 varieties at the peak of blossom. And you thought it was just a yellow flower. There's also a children's carnival, arts and crafts show, parade, men's and women's arm wrestling competition and the crowning of the daffodil queen. Gloucester is only about an hour from South Hampton Roads, north on U.S. 17. Info (804) 693-2355.
George Washington's Potomac River estate, Mount Vernon, near Alexandria opens an 18th century working farm on Saturday. Costumed interpreters will plant, hoe and harvest crops using period reproduction equipment and methods. Info: (703) 780-2000.
Also Saturday (8 a.m.-5 p.m.), the National Park Service will conduct a bus tour of Civil War sites between Sailor's Creek and Appomattox - marking the final days of the American Civil War. Bus departs Appomattox Court House National Historical Park. Special tours and programs also will take place April 8-9, marking Lee's surrender to Grant 130 years ago. Info: (804) 352-2136.
New permanent exhibition galleries featuring America's evolution from colonial status to nationhood from the perspectives of ordinary men and women of the 1700s will open at the Yorktown Victory Center April 11. Former president George Bush will be the principal speaker.
The museum's central theme is expressed in the ``Witness to Revolution'' gallery. Wrote Jehu Grant, an African-American slave from Rhode Island who joined the Continental Army: ``When I saw the people all engaged for the support of freedom, I could not but like such a thing.
Located on Old Route 238 in Yorktown, the Victory Center is open 9-5 daily. Admission, effective April 12, is $6.75 for adults, $3.25 for children 6-12. Info: (804) 887-1776.
Final notice: Historic Garden Week is April 22-29, offers visitors a sampling of more than 250 homes and gardens and landmarks on 36 tours across Virginia. Tours feature antiques and artwork, flower arrangements created for each house by Garden Club members and ideas for decorating and gardening. For a free brochure and other information, call (804) 644-7776. IF YOU LIKE GARDENS. . .
You really should visit a sampling of English gardens. Just once in your life. Expo Garden Tours has a fly/drive program to Britain. Prices start at $1,314 per person per week and include air fare on British Airways, AutoEurope car rental with unlimited mileage, CDW and VAT, hotel vouchers for over 150 Forte hotels and a Great British Heritage Pass for free admission to more than 600 gardens, estates, castles and historic places. Info: (800) 448-2685. WHAT'LLYAHAVE, NORM?
Here are the cheapest countries for a bottle of beer, according to a survey by Employment Conditions Abroad Ltd., as reported in Business Traveler International magazine:
1. Bulgaria: $0.36; 2. Czech Republic: $0.39; 3. Venezuela: $0.44; 4. Slovakia: $0.46; 5. Togo: $0.48; 6. Zimbabwe: $0.50; 7. Suriname: $0.52; 8. Portugal: $0.54; 8. Turkey: $0.54; 10. Philippines: $0.55. 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/The Ledger-Star, Norfolk, Va. 23501-0449; phone (804)
446-2904.
by CNB