Even the jobless need to get away sometimes

Even the jobless needto get away sometimes
If you're job-hunting these days and would rather be swimming, water skiing and dancing, you might be a candidate for Club Getaway's "Vacations for the Unemployed."
Entrepreneur Victor Fink, owner of the Kent, Conn., resort on Leonard Lake, conceived the idea after learning that the national unemployment rate had reached a nine-year high of 6.5 percent -- and joblessness was wreaking havoc with the singles' dating scene. "How can you have a love life when you're collecting unemployment?" he asks.
Though he's not offering a completely free weekend, he'll reserve six spots per weekend at $99 for the jobless, who can prove their unemployment by faxing a pink slip, unemployment check or other proof.
The rate is less than the usual $299 tab for a summer weekend of kayaking, rock climbing, volleyball, canoeing, paddle boat, volleyball, kick boxing and other activities, followed by campfires, cocktail parties, theme parties and casino night.
Call (800) 6GET-AWAY or visit www.clubgetaway.com.
During war, Americansdelay travel to Europe
American travel to Europe dropped off precipitously this spring when the invasion of Iraq began.
Before that, however, trans-Atlantic traffic had been making strong off-peak gains -- enough to offset the drop-off, said Rob Franklin, U.S. chairman of the European Travel Commission.
More than 5 million crossed the Atlantic during the off-peak months of October 2002, to April 2003, a 7.5-percent gain over the previous year. It was still far short of the record 6.34 million trips taken in the 2000-01 off-peak season, before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks cut sharply into European travel.
Travel dropped off nearly 12 percent during March and April while war raged, according to figures from the U.S. Commerce Department's Office of Travel and Tourism Industries. But the European Travel Commission is projecting that this month's growth will top last summer.
"While the recovery is slow, we appear to be heading in the right direction," Franklin said.
Covered-bridge tourin Bucks County, Pa.
BENSALEM, Pa. -- Looking for an unusual autumn drive? Visit five covered bridges in a three-hour tour around Bucks County, Pa.
The Uhlerstown Covered Bridge, which spans the Delaware Canal, was built in 1832 from oak and has windows on both sides. Driving from Uhlerstown to the other bridges brings you through rolling hills and scenic vistas, with historical sites and various biking and hiking trails nearby.
The other bridges are the Loux, made of hemlock, which spans the Cabin Run Creek in Pipersville; the Cabin Run Bridge, also in Pipersville, near Ralph Stover Park; the Frankenfield Covered Bridge, across Tinicum Creek near Stover-Myers Mill in Tinicum Township; and the Erwinna Bridge, in Erwinna, near Tinicum Park.
For driving directions and more information, visit www.experiencebuckscounty.com or call (800) 836-BUCKS.
Cruise payments
Carnival Cruise Lines has come up with the first almost-painless way to pay for a cruise: payroll deductions.
It's an opportunity for companies "looking for a different type of benefit to raise employee morale," said Carnival spokeswoman Jennifer de la Cruz.
The deal works like this: An employer or company signs up. Then, employees can purchase a cruise from Carnival and have payments deducted from paychecks. The option is not otherwise open to individuals, de la Cruz said.
Combined dispatches