Sunday, Nov. 08, 2009

Travel briefs

CHARLESTON

New tours featured

A new walking tour is being offered in Charleston based on places featured in the new Pat Conroy book "South of Broad."

The two-hour tour is available Tuesday-Saturday, departing from the lobby of the Mills House Hotel at 115 Meeting St., and ending outside the Gibbes Museum of Art at 135 Meeting St. Both places are mentioned in the novel.

Tour stops linked to the book include St. Michael's Episcopal Church, where characters Chad Rutledge and Molly Huger were married; Legare Street, one of Charleston's most elegant streets and part of protagonist Leo King's paper route; Water Street, where characters in the novel ride out Hurricane Hugo; and the Dock Street Theater, visited by Leo's parents the night of a family tragedy.

The tour is $25 a person, which includes admission to the Gibbes Museum of Art and choice of a cocktail or dessert from one of Conroy's favorite Charleston restaurants, named Slightly North of Broad.

Tickets for the walking tour must be reserved in advance at 843-568-0473 or www.oldcharlestontours.com/southofbroad.html.

McLEAN, Va.

Enjoy snow sports

Winter Trails will celebrate its 15th year Jan. 9 at locations throughout the U.S. with free snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.

The annual event is designed to offer kids and adults who are new to snow sports a chance to check them out with free equipment and trail access.

You can register online for your preferred location at WinterTrails.org. Most locations offer snowshoeing and cross-country but some only offer snowshoeing. Venues include alpine resorts, Nordic centers, state parks, National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service land. Details can be found on the Web site. You can also register onsite at each location.

Winter Trails is part of "Learn a Snow Sport Month," set for the entire month of January to raise awareness of skiing, snowboarding and snowshoeing. Information about other snow sports learning programs can be found at WinterFeelsGood.com and individual programs are described at LearnaSnowSport.org.

NEW YORK

Learn of Leonardo

Cities around the country are in da Vinci mode with shows about Leonardo da Vinci's work.

In New York, "Leonardo Da Vinci's Workshop: Inventor + Artist + Dreamer," opens Nov. 20 at the Discovery Times Square Exposition and runs through April 4. The show offers full-scale, interactive models of da Vinci's inventions, including his ideas for the airplane, automobile, robot knight and mechanical lion.

In Baltimore, "Da Vinci - The Genius: A Traveling Exhibit" at the Maryland Science Center through Jan. 31 features some of his inventions, anatomical drawings and writings, plus "secrets of 'The Last Supper' and the 'Mona Lisa' revealed in 3D animation."

In Atlanta, an exhibit of sculptures and sketches by da Vinci and his contemporaries is at the High Museum.