THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 23, 1997 TAG: 9702210057
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E6 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Travelwise
SOURCE: Stephen Harriman
LENGTH: 131 lines
THIS YEAR'S Historic Garden Week in Virginia, April 19-26, offers tours in more than 250 of the state's historic sites. These are spread out over the week, enabling visitors to choose several of them.
Organizers call it the oldest and largest such event in the nation. For details and a schedule for this 64th season, contact the Garden Club of Virginia, Historic Garden Week, 12 E. Franklin St., Richmond, Va. 23219, or call (804) 644-7776. A brochure outlining dates and localities is available now, and a detailed guidebook will be available in March for $3.
Here are some local dates:
Portsmouth-Chesapeake, April 19; Virginia Beach-Princess Anne, April 20; Virginia Beach, April 22; Williamsburg, April 22; Suffolk, April 23; Hampton-Newport News, April 23; Norfolk, April 24; Eastern Shore, April 26; Gloucester-Mathews, April 26.
The historic James River plantations will be open as follows:
Bacon's Castle, daily except April 21; Belle Aire, April 22-26; Berkeley, April 23-24; Brandon, April 24-25; Evelynton, April 23-24; Sherwood Forest, April 23-24; Shirley, April 23-24; Upper Brandon, April 24-26; Westover, April 22-26.
Tours are self-guided, with local shuttle buses providing transportation at some locations. Admission to individual houses costs $3 to $5, and tours - usually covering six homes - are $8 to $20.
From here to there
If you'd like to follow the Virginia Symphony to New York for its April 15 debut appearance at Carnegie Hall, several special travel packages are being offered through CI Travel Premier Division, ranging from $349 to $749 per person, double occupancy. Price includes round-trip air and accommodations. Or you can design your own package by calling Sue Boring at (757) 627-8000. Reservations and final payment must be made by March 3.
Garden enthusiasts may want to join columnist Bob Stiffler and his wife, Dotty, on a tour of the Glorious Gardens of New York, May 15-18, sponsored by the Norfolk Botanical Garden. Cost is $1,059 per person, double occupancy, and includes round-trip air, accommodations, some meals and admissions. Deposits must be received by March 15. Info: Lynnhaven Travel (757) 4866-1911.
Highland fling
The 39th Highland County Maple Festival is March 8-9 and March 15-16 in western Virginia. Some people call this the Switzerland of Virginia. Mostly those are people who haven't been to Switzerland. It's really more like Vermont.
Visitors can tour four farms that produce maple syrup through different methods, from the primitive way of collecting sugar water (sap) in buckets to a high-tech system that uses tree ``milkers.'' There are also pancake breakfasts, trout and steak dinners, and dancing.
Daytime juried craft shows and live entertainment take place mostly in Monterey and McDowell, but there are events throughout the county. Events run from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., with evening dances at 8.
Highland County is about five hours west of South Hampton Roads, via Interstate 64 to Staunton and U.S. 250 from there. It's in the Allegheny Mountains, right up against West Virginia. Info: (540) 468-2550.
Spring to Outer Banks
Spring vacation packages starting as low as $47 are being offered along the Outer Banks of North Carolina. For a copy of the free spring brochure ``Discover a New Season'' and the 1997 Outer Banks Vacation Guide, call (800) 446-6262.
Tracking Stonewall
What good timing. The highly anticipated Stonewall Jackson biography by Virginia Tech history professor James I. ``Bud'' Robertson Jr. is due out in March; it's already been chosen as a main selection of the History Book Club and the Book-of-the-Month Club. His reputation precedes him. That goes for Robertson as well as Jackson.
The timing thing is this. Robertson will be the historical guide of a HistoryAmerica Tour called ``Stonewall: The Making of a Legend'' scheduled May 17-23. The tour examines the life and exploits of the Confederate general, with stops in the Shenandoah Valley, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and Guinea Station. The tour price is $1,049 per person, double occupancy, and includes transportation, accommodations and most meals. A 28-page guide to this and other historical tours and cruises is available from HistoryAmerica. Call (800) 628-8542.
Inn select company
The Gladstone House Bed & Breakfast in Exmore on Virginia's Eastern Shore has been selected for inclusion on the Internet's World Wide Web directory of Bed and Breakfast Inns of North America. You can make web contact at www.bestinns.net or by calling (757) 442-4614.
Hawaii, with kids
For a family of four (two adults and two children under 17 sharing a cabin) a nine-day Hawaii land and cruise vacation can cost as little as $3,390, according to American Hawaii Cruises. Its new Family Fun Package is available on cruises from June 14 through Sept. 6.
The package is based on space availability; port charges and taxes are not included. Air add-ons are available from major gateways.
American Hawaii Cruises visit five ports on four islands in seven days. For a brochure, call (800) 474-9934; for reservations, call a local travel agent.
Directory deluxe
The Leading Hotels of the World, with 310 prestigious hotels in 68 countries, now has 30 new members. The 1997 directory - with a striking design by Swiss jeweler and watchmaker Chopard on its cover - is available in English, German, French, Italian, Japanese and Spanish. Call (800) 223-6800.
Traveling the web
The most frequently ``visited'' destinations by Internet travelers on the http://www.city.net site:
Fun in the sun
1. Queensland, Australia
2. Orlando
3. Phoenix
4. Hawaii
5. Cancun, Mexico
Winter wonderlands
1. Aspen, Colo.
2. Austria
3. Sun Valley, Idaho
4. Lake Tahoe, Nevada/Calif.
5. Calgary, Alberta MEMO: Travelwise 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 Travelwise, The
Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Va. 23501-0449; phone (757) 446-2904.