The Courier-Journal from Louisville, Kentucky • Page L1

Time: 05-16-2007 23:07 User: smartin PubDate: 05-20-2007 Zone: KY Edition: 1 Page Name: L1 Color: Bftapbnta TRIP CLICKS L2 ROAD TRIP L3 ARMCHAIR TRAVELER L3 SUNDAY USA TRAVEL TRIP CLICKS Find travel news and Share your great vaca-deals from USA Today attion photos online at www.courier-jour- www.courier-jour- WIN OUR CONTEST Answer today's online travel quiz and get a shot at a prize: Carla Carlton, editor 582-4684, phone 582-4665, fax MAY 20, 2007 nal.comtravel nal.comtravel LATITUDE LONGITUDE TRAVEL BRIEFS gTlJ Elm nininiM "-linKIH9SSHKEiBff3B lbbHbS bbbliV RXE iaxsas The West Baden Springs Hotel in French Lick, will officially reopen Wednesday. A grand reopening At 10 a.m. Wednesday, a ribbon-cutting ceremony will officially reopen the West Baden Springs Hotel, which closed to guests 75 years ago. Part of the French Lick Casino Resort complex in French Lick, the 246 rooms of the historic hotel open onto the building's enormous domed atrium. Still to be completed are a natatorium, stables and 18-hole golf course.

The reopening is also a vehicle for helping the restoration of other historic properties in Indiana. On June 23, the Historic Landmarks Foundation will present a black-tie gala at the hotel during which the foundation will honor Bill and Gayle Cook for their efforts in restoring West Baden. Proceeds will benefit Historic Landmarks' statewide grant program. For hotel information and reservations, call (877) 493-7822. For more information about French Lick Resort Casino, including West Baden Springs Hotel, go to Big Apple boating deals Apple Core Hotels, which has five midtown Manhattan hostelries, has a special "Row a Boat" package throughout July.

A one-hour boat rental in Central Park will be included in the $179.99 a night rate, as well as lunch at the Central Park Restaurant's Express Cafe and complimentary breakfast. And children under 13 can stay in their parents' room for no extra charge. The five participating hotels are Comfort Inn Midtown, Super 8 Motel Times Square, La Quinta Manhattan, Red Roof Inn Manhattan and Ramada Inn Eastside. To book the package or to receive more information, contact Apple Core Hotels at (800) 567-7720 and mention the "Row a Boat" package, or go online to www.applecoreho-tels.compromosboat. Campgrounds are tops ReserveAmerica, a camping reservations provider, has just named five Kentucky state park campgrounds in its list of the "Top 100 Family Campgrounds" in the United States.

The five park campgrounds are Barren River State Resort Park at Lucas, Big Bone Lick State Park at Union, Columbus-Belmont State Park at Columbus, Fort Boonesborough State Park near Richmond and Green River Lake State Park near Camp-bellsville. ReserveAmerica reviewed nearly 3,000 parks for the list. Factors such as quality of the campground, showers, laundry facilities, hiking trails, programs and children's events were weighed for the selection. You can reserve a campsite at any of the 32 state parks with campgrounds by going online to www.parks.ky.govreserva-tionscampgrounds or by calling (888) 459-7275. Compiledfrom staff and wire Satisfy your wanderlust with a free download of 'Second Life7 By Samantha Gross The Associated Press NEW YORK The tour was a whirlwind: dancing at a beachside disco in Spain surrounded by scantily clad women, grabbing a seat at a lively pub in Dublin, flying in a small aircraft above a lush, tropical forest.

Time elapsed? Less than two hours. With no tickets required, no money spent and no need to leave your seat, touring in the virtual world of "Second Life" holds a certain appeal for travelers willing to delve deep into the Internet to find their escape. Visitors need only download a free program, then log in. With the help of elaborate SEE THE WORLD WITHOUT 1 LEAVING I HOME I 3-D Inralps dpsienpd and built bv fhp world's residents, tourists ran watrh their online embodiments known as their avatars lounge at the beach, dine at a romantic restaurant or dance at a crowded nightclub. See VIRTUALLY, L5, col.

1 New York has a wealth of literary landmarks Visit the haunts of famous writers INSIDE How to find hotels, restaurants, shops and exhibits in literary New York. L4 west of Grand Central Station, was where the New Yorker magazine was born. Millions of people visit New York City each year to bask in the bright lights of Broadway, dine in America's finest restaurants or shop on Fifth Avenue until their credit cards threaten to self-destruct. But you can also visit New York as a lover of literature. New York is so full of places where writers and their fictional creations lived that there should be little book-shaped plaques on walls all over Manhattan.

See NEW YORK, L4, col. 1 By Susan Reigler C-J Travel Writer Pint-sized raconteur Eloise lived at the Plaza Hotel in midtown. Poet Dylan Thomas died after a reported 18 shots of whiskey at the White Horse Tavern in Greenwich Village. Harlem was the home of writers Zora Neale Hurston, Ralph Ellison and Langston Hughes. And, of course, the Algonquin Hotel, on 44th Street just a couple of blocks Courtesy of J.P.

Goldstein The original Winnie-the-Pooh, center, and his friends reside at the Donnell Library Center in Manhattan. 1-65 North Stanslfer Ave. Exit 1 Across from Derby Dinner Playhouse www.stlnnetlrv.com 1 1-800-583-5685 foHt sift? wmi uim0ID units available! CAMPING New used RV's available! WORLD.