Travel

OAKLAND, Calif. - Lonely Planet has long been synonymous with adventurous, no-frills young travelers, but the guidebook company's City Guides are growing up.

The revised series of books about places such as San Francisco, Vancouver and Chicago is geared to Baby Boomers and Gen-Xers ages 30-60 who are interested in longer stays in cities, "affordable luxury" and cultural immersion, according to Lonely Planet spokesman Frank Ruiz. The guidebooks also offer more emphasis on shopping, entertainment and moderate to high-end restaurants and hotels than previous editions, with fewer listings for college hangouts, hostels and taco joints.

The first batch of new City Guides will cover Amsterdam, Havana, Hong Kong, London, Rome, San Francisco, Seattle, Shanghai, Sydney and Venice. In April, look for Chicago, Dublin, Istanbul, St. Petersburg and Vancouver. The books are priced $18-$19.

The new San Francisco guide includes sections on "Wine Country," "Enhanced Excursions" with more on Santa Cruz, Marin and the East Bay, and chapters on the city's gay scene and on "New Neighborhoods," including lesser-known areas like Bernal Heights and Potrero Hill. A chapter of walking tours includes a guide to the Haight and North Beach, Pacific Heights and Japantown, and The Castro, plus tips for a bike ride across the Golden Gate bridge. And a new "Getting Started" chapter offers tips on avoiding the fog, catching the city's best festivals, typical hotel rates and even ways to make your visit sustainable by renting a bike, shopping for vintage clothing and eating food that's locally farmed.

Ohio's Division of Tourism has joined the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in promoting Underground Railroad sites around the state.

The Web site http://www.passagetofreedomohio.com and a series of kiosks to be placed around Ohio will help people plan tours of Underground Railroad locations.

"Passage to Freedom is the first step in what we eventually hope will be a nationwide tourism promotion effort for Underground Railroad historic sites," said Donald Murphy, chief executive of the Freedom Center.

The first three kiosks will be in Oberlin, Zanesville and Ripley, and three more sites are to be added later this year. They will have downloadable maps listing attractions, restaurants, lodging and regional points of interest.

Travel to heritage sites, sometimes called cultural tourism, is a fast-growing segment of the travel industry, according to the Travel Industry Association of America. At least 35 million adults say they plan vacations around cultural or heritage activities.

The tram that was out of service for eight months in the famed Gateway Arch in St. Louis is working again.

A snapped cable had shut the tram in the south leg of the Arch down last July 21, leaving only one route up to the 630-foot-tall monument on the banks of the Mississippi River.

Trams from each leg of the Arch carry visitors back and forth. The north leg of the tram was not affected.

No one was hurt when the cable, one of nine that pull the tram, failed. But tourists were trapped inside for several hours. Officials said the snapped cable came into contact with an electrified rail, causing the system to blow a fuse.

In a typical year, about 1 million visitors make the trek to the top.

For more information on visiting the tram, go to Jefferson National Expansion Memorial: http://www.nps.gov/jeff/.

Iowa has awarded $9 million to renovate a Mason City hotel built by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Lt. Gov. Patty Judge announced the Vision Iowa grant on March 12, saying the Park Inn Hotel is the last hotel in the world that was designed by the famed architect.

"It's very clear that people in Mason City understand the importance of this building and have tried tirelessly over many many years to save it from the wrecking ball and keep it as the architectural treasure that it is," Judge said at a press conference in Des Moines. "Today, all of those efforts are paying off and I'm very proud to say we are going to see this building restored to its original glory."

Jim Fitzpatrick of the Mason City Area Chamber of Commerce said the goal is for the 100-year-old building to once again function as a hotel and boost tourism in the area.

"It's in a kind of state of disrepair," he said. "It's not been used as a hotel for many, many years."

He said a local nonprofit group will own the hotel, which officials hope to open by September 2010.

Officials said the renovation is part of a $34 million project that also includes restoring the City National Bank that was designed by Wright; creating new trails; renovating the public library; and building a new performing arts pavilion. They said local groups have already raised $21 million.

Judge said the city must raise another $4.3 million in 180 days to ensure they get the grant.

BOSTON (AP) - Travelers between Boston and New York will soon have another low-cost option.

Greyhound Lines is partnering with Springfield-based Peter Pan Bus Lines to launch the "Boltbus." The coaches will offer wireless Internet, plenty of leg room and one-way fares as low as $1.

The Boltbus will compete with other low-cost carriers such as Fung Wah.

Bus companies say dissatisfaction with air travel delays and traffic congestion have an increasing number of travelers turning to old-fashioned bus service as an alternative.

Greyhound plans to keep Boltbus fares low by selling most of its tickets online. Company spokesman Dustin Clark says fares will be set at market value but he expects there to be at least some $1 fares for each trip.

The Boston-New York service is scheduled to begin in April.

BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) - A new Montana State University exhibit on voting includes chads from the 2000 presidential election, historic ballot boxes and a signed speech by President John F. Kennedy.

The American Computer Museum in Bozeman, with help from MSU's Humanities Institute, organized the "Technology and Democracy" display on the history of voting technologies.

"With political memorabilia from important presidential campaigns in the past and reminders that voting in this country has never been just a given, this exhibit invites us to think hard about both who we vote for and how our votes are counted," said Robert W. Rydell, MSU history professor and director of the Humanities Institute.

The exhibit contains a voting machine and ballot box used in Lee County, Fla., during the highly contested general election of 2000.

Photos show election officials using magnifying glasses to examine punch card ballots and determine if their chads were hanging, swinging or dimpled in favor of George W. Bush or Al Gore.

The display also includes wooden ballot boxes from the 19th century, a paper ballot box from the Civil War era and campaign buttons from current presidential front runners.

A reception on March 27 at 1 p.m. will launch the exhibit in Wilson Hall at MSU. It will be on display in the northwest corner on the hall's main floor through the fall semester and can be seen any time the building is open - usually 7 a.m.-6 p.m., Monday-Friday.

Jefferson Davis, like Abe Lincoln a native of Kentucky, to be honored

ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. (AP) - Abraham Lincoln isn't the only Civil War-era historical figure receiving a tribute in Kentucky.

Lincoln's rival and fellow Kentuckian Jefferson Davis will be recognized in Hardin County on his 200th birthday in June, according to The News-Enterprise.

Davis, who as president of the Confederacy opposed Lincoln in the Civil War, was born June 3 near Hopkinsville in western Kentucky. Lincoln was born 199 years ago in what was then Hardin County in a small cabin near what later became Hodgenville.

The Hardin County History Museum, which last year opened a Lincoln exhibit, plans one for Davis in June, said spokeswoman Susan McCrobie.

The local Sons of Confederate Veterans chapter plans an event at Davis' birthplace. It will coincide with a June 7-8 state parks commemoration at the Jefferson Davis State Historic Site. It will include living history camps, guest speakers, music and appearances by members of Davis' family.

The state has spent millions of dollars for Lincoln activities as part of the nation's two-year bicentennial celebration. Residents of Hodgenville even took hospitality lessons to prepare for visitors. The town has a Lincoln Museum, where visitors can gaze upon a life-size portrait of the famous native Kentuckian, dioramas tracing his life and a three-drawer chest crafted by a man who as a childhood friend of Lincoln saved the future president from drowning. A Lincoln statue is the centerpiece of town square.

Several other programs are planned across Kentucky, including an exhibit at the Lexington History Museum beginning in May.

Tougaloo College site chosen for civil rights museum

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - The $73 million National Civil Rights Museum will be located on a 9-acre site at Tougaloo College in north Jackson, but not everyone is happy about it.

A commission set up by Gov. Haley Barbour voted 22-9 in favor of the location on March 11.

Opponents argued that downtown Jackson would be a more viable site for the museum, which is expected to draw 125,000 visitors a year. Along with several other museums and tourist attractions, proponents say downtown Jackson was at the heart of the civil rights movement in Mississippi.

"We've just missed a huge opportunity to set this museum off on the right foot," Jackson City Councilman Leslie McLemore said. "This was just a huge opportunity. We just blew it in the biggest way."

McLemore participated in the Mississippi civil rights movement during the 1960s and said downtown Jackson hosted several significant events, such as the campaign by Freedom Riders, a sit-in at the Woolworth's and the attempted sit-in at the public library.

"That occurred in downtown Jackson right on State Street, right on Capitol Street," McLemore said. "So the battleground for the civil rights movement was downtown Jackson."

Next, the governor will choose a board of directors and the nonprofit museum's fundraising effort will begin.

Barbour has said he wants to limit new bond debt this year. That means there's little chance of any substantial state money anytime soon to move the project forward.

Plans call for a 73,650 square-foot space that will include an interpretive center, theater, classrooms and meeting rooms. The new site is about 10 miles north of downtown Jackson and can be seen from Interstate 55.

Kane Ditto, a former Jackson mayor and state representative, said the site is too far from downtown Jackson where there are 25 civil rights sites on a walking tour. He said the civil rights museum would dovetail nicely with new museum projects coming for the Old Capitol building and a state history archive.

Historic Bethlehem to offer Saturday Segway tours

BETHLEHEM, Pa. (AP) - Tourists in Bethlehem will be able to view historic sites from horse-and-buggy days using much more up-to-date transportation.

The Historic Bethlehem Partnership will begin offering some historic tours using Segway Personal Transporters, according to The Express-Times.

Nonprofit Historic Bethlehem maintains a number of buildings dating to the 1700s, including a Colonial Industrial Quarter along Monocacy Creek.

The Segway tours are planned for Saturdays, starting April 19. The $80-a-person tours are being offered in conjunction with a Segway dealership, which will teach riders how to use the gyroscopically stabilized two-wheeled transporters.