THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 11, 1996 TAG: 9608090060
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STEPHEN HARRIMAN
LENGTH: 66 lines
ONE OF VIRGINIA'S best-kept secrets is little Mathews County, which extends into the Chesapeake Bay at the tip of the Middle Peninsula. You can learn more about its natural beauty, historic homes and maritime chronicles on a two-hour boat cruise Sept. 6 during the Mathews Market Days Street Festival.
The motor yacht Miss Yorktown will leave Williams Wharf Landing, site of the county land conservancy's ongoing restoration project, and cruise the East and North rivers, two of Chesapeake estuaries that have played important roles in Tidewater history since Colonial days.
Tours will leave at 9 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Tickets are $20 per person, and seating is limited. Reservation deadline for confirmed ``under-canopy'' seating is Aug. 23. Info and reservations: (757) 725-2151.
To get to Mathews County from South Hampton Roads, take I-64 and U.S. 17 to downtown Gloucester, then Va. 14 east to Va. 614. Watch for signs. The drive takes a little more than an hour. MUD IN THEIR BLOOD
Looking for an intriguing way to fill a day in central North Carolina? In the Seagrove area more than 80 potters ``turn and burn'' in the pottery mecca extending into Randolph, Montgomery and Moore counties.
Seagrove is less than 30 minutes south of Asheboro on U.S. 220. The stretch of N.C. 705 between Seagrove and Eagle Springs is a designated state scenic byway known as ``Pottery Row.''
Many of the shops are located along winding back roads, which might be difficult to navigate without directions. For a map of the potteries in the Seagrove area, call (910) 873-7887. For a comprehensive North Carolina travel guide, state map and events book, call (800) VISIT-NC. YOUR MONEY'S WORTH
World Airways' ``End of Summer Sale to Ireland'' is $399 round trip. Leave Newark beginning Aug. 25; last day of return is Sept. 21. One way to Shannon, Dublin or Belfast, $169 from Aug. 25 through September. Info: A local travel agent or (800) WORLD-50. MORE ON HOSTELING
There's a new hostel at Kitty Hawk on the North Carolina Outer Banks. It has 53 beds, including some rooms for families, which can be reserved. Formerly a schoolhouse, it is set on 10 wooded acres. Bicycles, canoes and kayaks may be rented. The overnight fee for members is $15; for nonmembers, $18. Info: Outer Banks International Hostel, 1004 West Kitty Hawk Road, Kitty Hawk, N.C. 27949; (919) 261-2294. For a free color map of 149 member hostels in the U.S., with a state-by-state list, contact: HI-AYH, 733 15th Street, N.W., Suite 840, Washington, D.C. 20005; (202) 783-6161. ALL ABOARD
Amtrak is offering several discounts to encourage late-summer rail travel, especially for children traveling with adults.
On the Auto Train between Northern Virginia and Florida, the usual half-price for children 2-15 has been reduced an additional 31 percent, cutting the fare to $29 each way.
A 10 percent discount is being offered on Northeast Corridor fares to Philadelphia to those who mention the Cezanne exhibit. Rail tickets must be purchased by Aug. 28; the exhibit ends Sept. 1.
Amtrak's general number for information and reservations is (800) 872-7245. 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 (757) 446-2904. by CNB