THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 9, 1997 TAG: 9702080088
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E3 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Travel-Wise
SOURCE: Stephen Harriman
LENGTH: 115 lines
YOU HANG GLIDER aficionados who are just sort of, well, ``hanging'' right now, here's something you can do right now while you wait for better weather:
Mark your calendar for May 9-12. That's when alumni from Kitty Hawk Kites (and a lot of other enthusiasts as well) will gather for the 25th annual Hang Glider Spectacular on North Carolina's Outer Banks.
Many of the more than 220,000 who took up the sport at the world's oldest and largest hang gliding school are expected, along with others who have been caught up in the thrill of flight. One who will be there is Larry Tudor, holder of the world's record for longest flight - 308 miles between Rock Springs, Wyo., and Sterling, Colo.
Most of the events will be held at Jockey's Ridge State Park, located at Mile Post 13 on U.S. 258 across from Kitty Hawk Kites. Currituck County Airport will be the other major venue.
The Rogallo Foundation Hall of Fame, honoring those who have made outstanding contributions to the promotion and development of the sport, will also induct its first members.
Francis Rogallo invented the hand glider about 40 years ago when he was a NASA engineer in Hampton.
Info: (800) 334-4777.
Live like a Colonial
Visitors to Colonial Williamsburg can now immerse themselves in Colonial life as farmers, seamstresses, gardeners, cooks and interior designers.
The Williamsburg Institute, a new project of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, offers courses year round that vary in length from a few hours to a few days. Visitors can cook 18th century foods in the Governor's Palace kitchen, sew 18th century clothing or try their hands at such trades as coopering and carpentry.
The programs are designed primarily for adults 18 and older, although one, Young People at Work and Play, offers tours and hands-on activities for children 5 to 13.
Programs vary throughout the year. Participants must stay in a Colonial Williamsburg hotel. Packages start at $125 a person a night (January through March), excluding meals. They include program fees and a one-year pass to museums and exhibit buildings. Reduced rates are offered for children 12 and younger. Info: (800) 603-0948.
From here to there
Dr. Janet Darrow, a senior research scientist in zoology at the University of Virginia, will escort an eight-day, 650-mile rainforest cruise into the Peruvian Amazon beginning March 15. Tour cost is $2,095 including air from Washington, $2,195 from Norfolk. Info: Explorations Inc. (800) 446-9660.
Slam dunk this
Sports Tours Inc. is offering two packages so you can hoop it up in Indianapolis, site of this year's NCAA Final Four basketball games.
The ``Deluxe Final Four Package,'' priced at $1,895 per person, double, includes upper-level tickets to the March 29 and 31 games, four nights' accommodations, full breakfast daily, full-size rental car with unlimited mileage, transfers between the games and the hotel, and a commemorative program.
A ``Value Final Four Program'' is also available for $1,197 per person, double. Airfare is not included. Info: (800) 722-7701.
Your money's worth
The seasoned traveler is always looking for the ``good deal'' but often it is not necessarily the cheapest deal. Good value for the dollar is what is really important.
So with that difference in mind, here are the best - a very subjective list - hotels for value in the Caribbean, Bahamas and Bermuda, as ranked by readers in the January issue of Travel & Leisure magazine (with starting double-room rates):
1. Hyatt Regency, Grand Cayman: $305
2. Hyatt Dorado Beach, Puerto Rico: $430
3. Atlantis Paradise Island, Bahamas: $240
4. Southampton Princess, Bermuda: $155
5. Bitter End Yacht Club, Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands: $480
6. Half Moon Golf, Tennis, Beach Club, Jamaica: $159
7. Caneel Bay Resort, St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands: $330
8. Casa de Campo, Dominican Republic: $180
9. The Buccaneer, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands: $210
10. Four Seasons Resort, Nevis: $575
Hello, young lovers
Ship captains no longer can legally unite couples at sea, but members of the clergy, notary publics and justices of the peace can do the deed when ships are in port, typically before embarkation. The greatest number of shipboard weddings take place in Miami, which requires no waiting period for a marriage license, no witnesses and no blood test, Porthole says.
A dozen major cruise lines offer onboard or shoreside wedding ceremonies to couples booking a honeymoon cruise, according to the January/February issue of Porthole magazine.
The most romantic ships for honeymooners? Porthole lists this top 10:
1. Windstar's Wind Spirit/Wind Song/Wind Star
2. Crystal Cruises' Crystal Harmony/Symphony
3. Princess Cruises' ships on Valentine's Day - ``the Love Boat national holiday'' - when hundreds of couples renew their vows (sometimes before TV skipper Gavin MacLeod on the Regal or Sun Princess)
4. Silversea's Silver Wind/Silver Cloud
5. Abercrombie & Kent's French luxury hotel barges
6. Star Clippers' Star Clipper/Star Flyer
7. Norwegian Cruise Line's Norway
8. Majesty Cruise Line's Royal Majesty
9. Cunard's Queen Elizabeth 2
10. American Hawaii Cruises' Independence
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. ILLUSTRATION: DARE COUNTY TOURIST BUREAU/File
Jockey's Ridge State Park will be a lot more crowded than this May
9-12 when the 25th annual Hang Glider Spectacular is held on the
Outer Banks of North Carolina.