The Journal News from White Plains, New York • Page 83

II section Sunday November 29, 1992 ira Rockland Journal-News TIDBITS The rules on kid travel The nine largest U.S. airlines each have a separate policy for children. In general: Children must be 5 years old to fly unaccompanied. Once they are 12, the airlines no longer have special procedures or supervision. Teen-agers fly like adults.

None sell special fares for children. Tickets cost the same as the lowest available rate for adults. All but one require children to be at least 8 years old before they can take a trip that requires a change of planes en route to their destination. America West, whose limit is age 7, is the exception. Seven of the airlines American, America West, Continental, Northwest, TWA, United and USAir charge $25 for an escort to supervise the child between flight connections.

Southwest and Delta do not charge a fee. All except Southwest offer kids' meals (sandwiches, hot dogs and such) that must be reserved a day in advance. Adults who bring children to a flight are urged to remain until the plane takes off. To avoid stranding children, most airlines will not accept a child for a flight that may be delayed by equipment repairs or bad weather. Adults meeting an unaccompanied child at the destination must show identification to prove they are the ones named in the child's permission forms.

The Winter Games game Beat the crowds. Be the first on your block to visit the next home of the Winter Olympics before the Olympians. Lillehammer, Norway, hosts the 1994 Winter Games, and preparations are under way in this picture-perfect white Christmas destination, two hours by train or car from Oslo. "This is Norway in miniature," says county governor Knut Korsaeth. Located in Oppland County, Lillehammer (pop.

22,780) is surrounded by mountains and thick forests, perfect for crosscountry skiing, snowshoeing Nevada hotels and casinos are using sign language to light up the night By Jim Haviland Poughkeepsie Journal t's traditional for a clown to wear oversized shoes. But Lucky, the laughing clown of the Circus Circus hotelcasino in Las Vegas, carries this custom to an extreme. Each of his shoes is 38 feet long and 9 feet thick, fashioned of 172 cubic yards of concrete. Lucky, festooned with an array of sparkling liehts, is one of the most-photographed signs in the neon-jeweled Nevada resort known as the brightest city in America. Lucky stands 123 feet tall, the equivalent of 13 stories.

His body is 12 feet thick and 65 feet wide, measuring 5,126 square feet per side. The superclown weighs 84 tons. Bigger and brighter signs are the goals as the city's gambling resorts spend millions of dollars for enough glow to coax more money from the 13 million tourists who visit Vegas each year. Neon wars It has come to this because almost 50 years ago, a Salt Lake City man, Thomas Young convinced a casino owner that a neon sign would attract business. When that sign brought results, everyone else in town wanted one.

The Nevada city gradually grew brighter as the neon wars heated up. The signs have gone from the old days of 40 watt light bulbs to the modern age of electronic wizardry. Today the VA II II I RSiivf light wars flash incessantly between downtown's Glitter Gulch and The Strip, an electronic ribbon strung across the desert. A major sign today can cost $1 million, yet actually has little neon in it. More in demand are the flickering lights of the electronic message centers.

These tM yjs 3H video screens announce food bargains, casino attractions and showroom acts. mm ai and sleigh rides. It is so rural and rustic, one member of the Olympic Organizing Committee says New York's Lake Placid, site of- the 1980 Olympics, was "cosmopolitan by While much of Lillehammer famous open-air museum, the Sandvig Collection, is closed for the winter (admission is free for those who wish to just stroll the snowy grounds), many of the Olympic venues are well under way, giving you the chance to witness a Winter Games in the making. Visit the Gjovik Olympic Mountain Hall, being built within Hovdetoppen Mountain just south of Lillehammer, or the Viking ship-shaped Olympic Hall in Hamar, also south of Lillehammer. Guide-Service, 36 authorized guides based in Lillehammer, can show you around town as well as the southern area of the Gudbrandsdalen Valley.

Contact Guide-Service for tour arrangements and prices. One of the must-dos is the "Spellbound by the Woods" sleigh rides at nearby Sjusjoen. Every night the horses are harnessed for a ride through the forests. Where to stay? The highest-rated is the Hotel Lillehammer, an old-fashioned resort set in parklike grounds on the edge of town. There's a heated outdoor pool, and an orchestra for dancing every night but Sunday.

Cost: Around 1,000 kroner, or $155. The smaller Oppland Hotel (about $142) is right on Lake Mjosa. Contact the Norwegian Tourist Board, (212) 949-2333. Gannett News Service Ships' Regiitry: Bshunss. C19V2 Norwegian "We have more unusu.il signs than any other city," says Don Knepp of the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce.

"They're the most photographed things in the city." Knapp says the biggest draw is the volcano erupting periodically at the Marage hotelcasino. He calls it an identifying symbol for that casino an extension of the city's elaborate signs even though it has no letters. Signs of the times The Young Electric Sign started by Young, is one of four major sign firms serving Vegas needs. Steve Weeks, an assistant division manager there, says signs have undergone dramatic changes, especially in the last 10 years. "The signs are bigger now and feature electric message centers in many case," he says.

"Almost all cost $400,000 to $500,000, if not more." Weeks says the Circus Circus clown, designed for $1 million by the Young firm in 1976, has animated illumination, including neon chasers, scintillating incandescent lamps, steady-burn lamps, and wash-onwash-off effects. Weeks says older signs stored outside the Young firm at 5119 Cameron St. make for a bizarre, yet picturesque neon graveyard. "Some people on tours stop by to see them," he explains, "and we still light them up on occasion for rock videos." 4l I iihis Cruise Une. Then in May of '93 she will be seen making the rounds between New York City and Bermuda.

Now, how do you make such dreams come true? Call your travel agent or 1 (800) 262-4NCL for our free brochure. Norwegian Cruise Line. Elegant, yes. Stuffy, never." i NORWEGIAN' imagine: A new jhip. What if she were designed with walls of glass, instead of steel? Good idea.

What if her dining rooms, lounges, and pool areas were terraced? Cool. What would we name her? The Dreamward. And beginning December 6, she will sail out of Ft. Lauderdale to the Eastern and Western Caribbean. omma rue 2 'ecemocr v.

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