Texas proves popular for outdoor recreation

Texas proves popular
for outdoor recreation

A new national survey of fishing, hunting and wildlife recreation indicates that Texas led the nation in hunting in 2006, with more than 1.1 million people going hunting.

Texas was second to Florida in fishing, with 2.5 million anglers. And it was third to California for wildlife watching, with 4.174 million people involved.

The National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation has been conducted every five years since 1955. It is conducted at the request of state fish and wildlife agencies, and is funded by grants.

For more information, visit
federalaid.fws.gov.

Web site’s Trip Planner
can calculate weather

SAN FRANCISCO — What’s the weather going to be like on your vacation? Well, unless it’s in the next two or three days, nobody can say for sure.

But you can see what the average temperatures and precipitation were like in your destination, on the same dates you’re going to be there, using information at WeatherUnderground.com’s Trip Planner at www.wunder-ground.com/tripplanner.

To use, type in the location and dates of your trip. The Trip Planner will then search the historical database for the weather conditions during that time period. The results, which are calculated from a historical records database, will help you predict how hot, cold, wet, or windy it will be.

Big-city tours offer
sites on the run

NEW YORK — Are you a runner? Now you can see the sights of New York, Chicago and Washington D.C. while on the run — literally.

City Running Tours offers tours for joggers, led by guides who point out places of note and offer historical facts and trivia along the way.

New York tours include an 8-mile bridge run that takes you from Manhattan over the Brooklyn Bridge, through the trendy Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, under elevated subway tracks and back over the Williamsburg Bridge to the Lower East Side. Other routes include running in Central Park, the sights of downtown, Greenwich Village, Harlem, the Lower East Side and a Broadway run up the famous street to the northern tip of Manhattan.

In Washington, the routes include runs with views of landmarks such as the Capitol Building, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the White House and Arlington Cemetery.

Chicago running tours include one themed on the Great Chicago Fire of 1871; the “Wrigleyville Run;” and a lakeshore tour along Lake Michigan.

The company will also accommodate any schedule, any day of the year, with customized runs.

The basic pricing is $60 for the first 6 miles and $6 for each mile after that. Details and tickets at www.cityrunningtours.com.

It’s in the bag: Purse
museum opens again

AMSTERDAM — Do you collect purses the way Imelda Marcos collected shoes?

If so, you’ll want to plan a trip to the newly reopened Museum of Bags and Purses in Amsterdam.

The collection started when its founder, an antiques dealer, bought a handbag from 1820. The collection gradually grew to more than 3,000 bags. At first it was housed in a two-room villa, but in June it relocated to a 17th-century house in central Amsterdam.

The exhibits show the history of women’s bags and pocketbooks in Western culture from the 16th century on, including looking at form, function, fashion and styles from both Dutch and international designers.

The building also offers two period rooms with painted ceilings and other elements dating back three and four centuries.

The museum is open daily, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with a cafe and lunchroom on site. Details at www.tassenmuseum.nl.

Combined dispatches