THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 26, 1995 TAG: 9502250041
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STEPHEN HARRIMAN
LENGTH: Medium: 94 lines
REGIONAL REMINDERS for weekend wanderers:
The Highland County Maple Festival is March 11-12 and March 18-19 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 where you can learn the ``Buckwheat Stomp'' and the ``Maple Sugar Fling.'' Daytime craft shows and live entertainment take place in Monterey and McDowell.
Highland County is about five hours from South Hampton Roads, via Interstate 64 to Staunton and U.S. 250 from there. Info: (703) 468-2550.
Re-enactors portraying soldiers from different eras gather at Jamestown Settlement March 18-19 for the 12th annual ``Military Through the Ages'' demonstrations. Open 9-5 both days. Info: (804) 229-1607.
You can design your own visit to more than 250 of Virginia's historic and famous homes, gardens and landmarks, open to the public on 36 tours across the state during the 62nd annual Historic Garden Week, April 22-29.
A 200-page detailed guidebook of the homes and gardens on the tours is expected to be available in early March for a $3 donation. Write to Garden Week, 12 E. Franklin St., Richmond, Va. 23219; or call (804) 644-7776.
Attractions range from the boyhood plantation of Robert E. Lee to the modern residence of Charles ``Lefty'' Driesell.
Presumably you know Lee. Maybe Driesell, too. He's the basketball coach at James Madison University. Reaching this level of sophisticated living may forever blow Lefty's cover as just an aw-shucks country boy. Course he not really that, anyway; he's from Norfolk.
Tour locales include Virginia Beach-Princess Anne (April 23), Virginia Beach (April 25), Norfolk (April 27), the Eastern Shore (April 29), Richmond, Leesburg, Petersburg, Lexington, Alexandria, Fairfax and Fredericksburg, among others. THE TULIPS ARE SAFE
Word from The Netherlands is that the tulip bulbs were spared in the worst flooding to hit the country in more than 30 years. Almost all of the Netherlands' tulip-producing territory is in the province of Noord Holland, to the west and north of the flooding. The stricken areas were in the southern and eastern part of the country.
Tulip season, from April to May, and the Flower Parade on April 22 between the cities of Haarlem and Noordwijk, are expected to unfold on schedule. The Netherlands produces more than 70 percent of the world's tulip bulbs - about 3.1 billion - and exports them to 80 countries. Tulips are Holland's No. 2 export to the United States. Beer is No. 1. STUDENT TRAVEL
Students interested in seeing the world will find some quick answers to their questions along with useful advice on everything from rail passes to passports and visas in the spring issue of Student Travels, a publication of the nonprofit Council on International Exchange. The magazine also has information on obtaining an International Student Identity Card. Free copies are available at 41 Council Travel offices across the country, college campuses or by writing to CIE Information and Student Services, 205 E. 42nd St., New York, N.Y. 10017; (212) 661-1414, Ext. 1108. WORKING VACATIONS
International travelers will find many useful guides to worldwide adventures in bookstores across the land. Among practical guides are four from Peterson's: ``Adventure Holidays: Your Complete Guide to Thousands of Active Vacations Worldwide'' ($12.95); ``Summer Jobs Britain: Your Complete Guide to Summer Employment in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland'' ($15.95); ``Overseas Summer Jobs: Your Complete Guide to Thousands of Summer Employment Opportunities Abroad'' ($14.95); and ``Work Your Way Around the World 1995: The Authoritative Guide for the Working Traveler'' ($17.95). Can't find 'em in a bookstore? Call (800) 338-3282. FLY CHEAP AS A COURIER
Lots of calls come in about this. You can get a free audio cassette tape that tells how to fly overseas as an air courier from the International Association of Air Travel Couriers. IAATC keeps its members posted on courier opportunities with twice-daily updates by fax or computer. Membership is available with a $45 registration fee, which includes bi-monthly bulletins listing available courier flights as well as The Shoestring Traveler, a newsletter for couriers. For the cassette tape, write IAATC, P.O. Box 1349, Lake Worth, Fla. 33460; (407) 582-8320. 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