Tour Historic Homes in the 'Wall Street of the South'

E-mail Jack Oglesby
Around the World

The Galveston Historical Foundation is inviting people from around the country to attend its 29th annual Galveston Historic Homes Tour this May on historic Galveston Island, Texas.

Tours will be given May 3, May 4, May 10 and May 11. Visitors will be escorted through 10 of the island's most historically significant privately owned homes. The magnificent 19th and 20th century mansions hark back to the days when Galveston was "Queen of the Gulf" and the "Wall Street of the South."

From cottages to palatial estates, the tour features some of Texas' most influential families and showcases awe-inspiring architecture and some incredible contributions to our cultural heritage.

Tickets for the tour are $20 on the days of the event.

SAN DIEGO ZZZOO: Snoring will never sound the same once you have experienced a night amid some of the world's rarest animals at the San Diego Zoo Wild Animal Park's "Roar and Snore" camp-over program. This year, the program begins April 4.
Visitors have been experiencing Roar and Snore sleepovers for the past 10 years.
Visitors are encouraged to bring appropriate overnight toiletries, a sleeping bag and pillow. Campers will have dinner overlooking the Wild Animal Park's 100-acre East African Plains exhibit, where they may observe natural animal behavior. After tours of the park and up-close encounters with animals, guests may retire to tents provided by the park. Roar and Snore is offered on Fridays, Saturdays and select Sundays through Oct. 24. For more information, call (619) 718-3050 or (619) 685-3291.

HOME & GARDEN: The Cocoanut Grove in Santa Cruz will be the setting for the Central Coast Home and Garden Expo on April 5 and April 6. This is the annual spring event that features demonstrations and presentations inside the historic Cocoanut Grove Ballroom and the glass-domed Sun Room overlooking Monterey Bay. Dozens of booths on home improvement, cooking, interior design and gardening will be set up, and an antiques appraisal booth will be available for those who bring their favorite treasures to determine if they have more than sentimental value. Expo hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. Admission is $3 per person, free for children age 12 and younger.

ALASKA IS HOT: Cruise lines will be focusing on Alaska from the West Coast this season. Ports in Washington and California will be featured as departure ports. Four big ships from three cruise lines will embark from Seattle on Alaska-bound cruises this season.

A BIGGER BOAT: A record number of cruise ships will be making their initial appearances in the near future. They were ordered years ago, but the time for being put into operation is getting close.

The headline-maker will be a new ship in the Cunard Line, the Queen Mary 2, which sets a record as the largest cruise liner in history. The ship, with a capacity of 2,620, will take a variety of cruises with a focus on transatlantic crossings. The maiden voyage has been announced for Jan. 12, 2004.

It will be a shorter wait for the debut of a new ship designed to look like it is from the early days of paddlewheeling on the Sacramento River. The Empress of the North, owned by the American West Steamboat Co., is set for a June 29 maiden voyage.

The vessel, with a capacity of 235, features Victorian decor and a lounge with a close-up view of the paddlewheel in action. Its showrooms will feature Dixieland, jazz and swing music. The ship will cruise between Seattle and Juneau, and on 11-night river cruises from Portland.

The Osterdam is a new ship of the Holland America Line and will be making cruises of the Baltic, western Mediterranean in summer and fall, and then in winter will cruise from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for the eastern and western Caribbean.

Travel agents have details on these cruises and the new ships.