A getaway weekend for parents-to-be

A getaway weekendfor parents-to-be
Expectant couples can prepare for their future at Cherry Valley Lodge in Newark, Ohio, while enjoying one last getaway before the baby arrives.
The lodge, 25 miles east of Columbus, will have its first Parents-to-Be Weekend March 8-10.
The package, priced at $499 per couple, includes accommodations in a king-size room with a garden tub for two nights.
Guests may attend educational sessions on birthing alternatives, childbirth, breathing techniques, infant massage, CPR and safety, and breast-feeding.
The weekend includes an icebreaker dinner Friday, a lunch with a guest speaker and formal dinner on Saturday, and breakfast on Sunday.
Parents-to-be will receive upper-body massages on Saturday afternoon and the best-selling book "What to Expect When You're Expecting."
Cherry Valley Lodge is the nation's only hotel that's also an official arboretum and botanical garden.
For more information, call (800) 788-8008 or visit www.cherryvalleylodge.com on the Web.
Bluegrass museumto reopen April 11
OWENSBORO, Ky. (AP) -- The International Bluegrass Music Museum plans to reopen permanently April 11, kicking off four days of bluegrass music in downtown Owensboro.
The museum originally opened in 1992 but closed in February 2000 for a $3 million renovation.
All living members of the museum's Hall of Honor, including many Nashville recording artists, have been invited to the opening ceremonies.
Plans call for bluegrass musicians to perform in the museum and in other locations on the opening night.
A local hotel and entertainment venue, the Executive Inn Rivermont, will begin a three-day indoor bluegrass festival April 12.
The announcement of the grand opening comes at a time when bluegrass is enjoying a surge of popularity. The "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack, which has sold more than 4 million copies, is No. 10 on Billboard's pop charts this week, more than a year after its initial release.
CMT, the country music channel, recently devoted an entire week to bluegrass music.
Flights to Barbadosadded at Philly, Miami
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (AP) -- US Airways has added three nonstop flights between Philadelphia and Barbados to offer service on the route seven days a week, the Barbados Tourism Authority announced.
The airline, based in Arlington, Va., has a main hub in Philadelphia.
Separately, American Airlines will add a new morning flight to its schedule between Miami and Barbados as of May 1, the authority said in a written statement. The airline already offers daily afternoon flights on that route.
The statement said US Airways had promised Barbados tourism officials to increase service when the travel business began to pick up after the crisis created by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.
The new flights from US Airways' hub in Philadelphia to Grantley Adams International Airport began Feb. 1, the statement said. The airline already offers four weekly flights on the route.
US Airways began serving Barbados on Nov. 3, 2001.
Norwegian Cruise Linechanges Hawaii ports
Norwegian Cruise Line has changed the Big Island port for its weekly Norwegian Star cruises in Hawaii from Kona to Hilo, and recently it was considering whether to switch its Maui port from Lahaina to Kahului.
The problem in both cases is that the original ports require sometimes lengthy tendering of passengers to shore, said Andrew Stuart, NCL senior vice president of marketing and sales. The alternative ports have docking facilities for the 2,244-passenger ship.
Stuart also confirmed that the Star could not put passengers ashore on Fanning Island in Kiribati, 500 miles south of Hawaii, for two of the ship's six sailings this season because of bad weather.
Under U.S. law, as a foreign-flagged vessel, the Star must include a foreign port on its itinerary.
Hawaiian Sen. Daniel Inouye last month said he might consider backing legislation to exempt Hawaii from the law, called the Jones Act, if foreign-flagged ships employ U.S. citizens as crews and follow other U.S. laws.
Norwegian is the only cruise line with weekly sailings in Hawaii since American Classic Voyages filed for Chapter 11 reorganization last year.
RV rentals increasewith fear of flying
In light of recent tragic events and their impact on travel plans, the nation's motor home and recreational vehicle industry is looking to a banner season.
Fear of flying, once limited to a small percentage of the population, has become a widespread phenomenon since Sept. 11.
El Monte RV, one of the nation's largest motor-home rental companies, reported a 45 percent increase in bookings during December over the same period last year.
Motor-home rental prices range from $50 a day for small "Class C" vehicles popular with European visitors to $125 to $300 a day, depending on time of year, for the bus-style motor homes favored by American travelers. These range up to 36 feet.
Visit www.elmonterv.com for more information.
Visit New York centerfor all things Pok & eacute;mon
Transport yourself -- and your children, of course -- into a Pok & eacute;mon fantasy in the Pok & eacute;mon Center in New York's Rockefeller Center.
Based on the worldwide phenomenon, the multilevel center is a one-of-a-kind interactive retail destination.
It features both new and exclusive merchandise, as well as entertainment.
Visitors can see life-size robotic Pok & eacute;mon characters and experience sound-and-lights shows, while the center's giant Pok & eacute;ball gushes light and fog overhead and more Pok & eacute;mon characters spin across the room.
Visitors who don't know about the Pok & eacute;mon characters can get details with the Ultra Pok & eacute;dex. It uses a giant screen and control pad to provide details on strengths, weaknesses and special powers of all 251 Pok & eacute;mon characters.
For more information visit www.pokemoncenter.com on the Web.
Photo exhibit showsimages from September
An exhibit of photographs taken in New York City after the September terrorist attacks will be displayed in Chicago this winter.
"Here is New York: A Democracy of Photographs" is being presented through March 30 at the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, 72 E. Randolph St.
The exhibition includes images taken by professional and amateur photographers, all to be displayed anonymously and frameless. A 12-minute video shot during the 24 hours after the tragedy will be shown continuously. Visitors are invited to contribute their own photographs relating to the events of Sept. 11. These will be scanned on site and added to the archive.
The presentation is the show's first major venue outside of New York. The exhibition evolved from a small SoHo storefront. The resulting flood of images has attracted up to 3,000 visitors a day in New York City.
Digital prints will be available for $25 each, as well as the video for $30. Proceeds will go to the Children's Aid Society World Trade Center Relief Fund and other charities.
The free exhibit will be open daily, including holidays, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
For more information, call (312) 744-6630 or visit www.cityofchicago.org/CulturalAffairs on the Web.