El Paso Times from El Paso, Texas • 57

Travel El Paso Times IJJJ Sunday. May 1996 I toff ComtowWon yocr Mtviy 4 DAT 93 NIOHTB LAS VEGAS ft LAUQHLIN SAN ANTONIO CORPUS CHRISTI DmRT: wri MTuntMrti JUKI JUNE 14 MC JUL VI '135 Include found trto bv motorcoach. hotel occomrnodottoni in Lai Vegcn and Loughtm. 5 buffat meats. I mow.

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So world In San Dtaan and Mtwwnnn Wrtf rJ Fnma Dtfcl wvtce to Sunlortd Pork N.M., Conutlllo, AnttKmy, Lai Cructw Albuqwqu LET US "BORDER FOR YOU! Hourly Departure to Juarez 7 DAYS A WEEK CHARTERS FOR: Business Parties ClubsOrganizations Church Groups Maqulla Tours Schools weddings DESIGN YOUR OWN SPECIAL TOUR! 1 Photos by Newsday Korakla Penslone built in 1924 to resemble a Moorish castle, jiow attracts the trendy Hollywood crowd. has been transformed into a INCREDIBLE PRICES FROM LAX! pp Celebrity aura thrives in Palm Springs Air 7 Nights Hotel in Waikiki Selected Dates Still Available Moa-Thu. LAX-HNL or HA flighl 9 1 10; SttocrMriaAwiitioUnate. Halt ImanfwParfc. OPEN 9 am 5 pm Sat.

1 0 am 2 pm SOME RESTRICTIONS APPLY. PMCE8 SUBJECT TO CHANGE AN0 AVAILABILITY. 3800 N. MESA 533-2999 592-9973 AIRPORT SHUTTLE EL PASOJUAREZNEW MEXICO fr HOME PICK-UP 24 HOURS 7 DAYS A WEEK 1' Major Credit Cards Accepted nts. DEPART: MAY 31 RETURN JUNE 3 JUNE 21 JUNE 24 JULY 5 JULYS InctudH first dost tnotoicooch, hotaccomobcmor.tichfito FtosKi TKOi.

Twkm Sso Aquoxtum and vWt Port Aiixwm '140 ROCKY POINT MEXICO 4 DAYS OF -J149 SAND SEA DEPART: RETURN: JUWIS JUNE 1 4 JULY I JULY 11 KPT.1,11 MPT. 4,11 CeiFot nmmrvaftornti Dpartur Trm Mexico PoRqulTd DO THE 3T Zl J) HAWAII GRANDE TOURSSHUTTLE Old Mesilla '45 55 (Daily) Ma)or Credit 771-6661 Ad ntsyAii inciusiva from $430' from $499 Inclusive from $299 OUMV0VT ITOHIS Dillard's SMI US Charge It! $1 km II Boulder Station San Antonio Casifart loi Airpart fcpfekkuiliM. $7flfl MdfepiiMit diVlT hMtfevrfgrmiM." 94 TCOllYCa I SET EL PASO AIRPORT TO WEST SIDE $17.00 $21.00 1 person tdd. pass $100 each EL PASO AIRPORT TO CcntraVEastNortheast $12.00 $17.00 1 person add. pass.

$2.00 each EL PASO TO HORIZON CITY $25.00 1 person add. pass. $100 each EL PASO AIRPORT TO SANTA TERESA $25.00 1 person add. pass. $100 each EL PASO AREA TO JUAREZ AIRPORT $37.00 1 to 4 persons add.

pass. $5.00 each Stark, rugged mountains frame Palm Springs. The city's image is once again on the rise. en -li- njnr Se Habla Espanol Serving El Paso for 4 years. 6400 Airport Rd.

Ste. El Paso, TX 79925 1-800-605-1257 DAILY AND OVERNIGHT TOURS AVAILABLE JuarezEl Paso Mission Trail '1250 '15 (Daily) Private Custom Tours '16 per hour, 1-5 persons. (Daily) Carlsbad Caverns, White Sands, Mexico's Copper Canyon (3 nites, 4 days) 375 per person (Y ear Round) By Barbara Shea -Newsday PALM SPRINGS, Calif. Whisps of white flashed by the window, and I peered through a curtain of star jasmine to see -vvhat was haunting the desert night. But restaurant regulars didn't even look up from their steak Diane.

They knew it was just the daily procession of sleek stretch limos, scattering the ghosts of the past. -Swanky ghost town Lots of ghosts inhabit the re- sort city of Palm Springs, longtime winter retreat for movie a handy 100 miles east of Hollywood. But apart from a mythical witch who prowls the Jpanyons, they are beneficent spir-" its familiar legends of the sil yer screen who help keep the resort's celebrity atmosphere alive. The list of entertainment greats who have lived or vaca-' tioned in Palm Springs reads like a Who's Who in 20th Century film. Many came decades ago to shoot a scene and simply stayed.

Streets are named for them, their autographed photos cover walls of local businesses, and they're honored by larger-than-life stat-' ues and star-studded sidewalks a la Hollywood Boulevard. Today's divas tend to breeze in and out like the dry wind across the California desert. But those who seek seclusion still hole up, however briefly, at discreet small hotels like the Ingleside Inn whose popular Melvyn's restaurant was where I recently watched the limos come and go. Sixty years ago, one pulled up at the Ingleside bearing Greta Gar-bo, among the first guests to im-' plore, "I want to be alone." i Some Palm Spring notables keep a considerably higher pro-' file, playing in the endless desert golf tournaments or dabbling in fiolitics. The city has had two ce-ebrity mayors (not counting "honorary mayor" Bob Hope).

The most recent former sing-' ersongwriter Sonny Bono left "the job in 1992 for Washington, i where he's now serving as the Republican congressman from California's 44th District. On the upswing i For a discouraging period in jthe high-rolling '80s, it seemed that Old Palm Springs was losing 'its charm. A handful of upscale suburbs such as Rancho Mirage and Palm Desert marketed collectively as the Palm Springs I Desert Resorts were increas- PUERTO VALL ART A 3 CANCUN 3 stylish Greek Country house. It opened last fall. A sprawling complex is the latest addition to the shopping heart of main-drag Palm Canyon Drive.

A new Palm Springs entertainment museum also is in the works. Perhaps the city's biggest image boost came recently when Givenchy opened its first spa hotel outside of France at the former Autry Resort. Never mind that noted hotelier Rose Narva got the go-ahead to recreate Versailles at the base of the San Jacinto Mountains because she happened to know both fashionfragrance icon Hubert de Givenchy and ex-singing cowboyCalifornia Angels owner Gene Autry (who at age 88 was looking to sell his spread). Autry and his wife have kept a home on the property and often hobnob at Givenchy's Le Poteger restaurant with spa guests, who in the first month included Nancy Reagan, Leslie Caron and Tim Allen. A cfty for everyone For all the name-dropping, Palm Springs isn't only for pampered jet-setters.

Room rates start under $100, even at legendary lodgings. Just about every major chain is represented, including Motel 6, and virtually all have pools as well as million-dollar views of the mountain-rimmed Coachella Valley, which in March and April is carpeted with wildflowers. With so much resort landscaping, the sneeze quotient has risen dramatically in the desert, but fans still see arid inland California as Florida without allergies. Vacationers can count on about 350 days of sunshine annually though it should be noted that the average daily high tops 100 degrees June through September, and 120 isn't unknown (locals, of course, maintain "it's a dry In the January-through-April high season, however, visitors usually find perfect days in the 70s or 80s, with comfortably 50-ish nights. Most of the 3 million annual tourists are content to play golf (many of the courses offer discount deals), go shopping (amid the malls, a slew of consignment stores occasionally offer celebrity collectibles) or just relax by a pool (Palm Springs alone has about The water needed to support the valley's hedonistic lifestyle is provided by a 20-mile-long underground lake, which in the hottest months also supplies a huge water park and cools off patrons at sidewalk cafes via elaborate misting systems.

which will have "its own array of tricks and surprises," Purvis says. Fiesta Texas was acquired by Six Flags in January. Information: (800) 473-4378. For space cadets On the tamer side, Space Center Houston is getting its first major addition since its grand opening in 1992. Kids' Space Place, an interactive area targeted to ages 3 through 11, will open June 29.

The two-story attraction, located within the existing facility, will offer 17 different activity areas with 40 individual stations. Kids' Space Place will be included in the cost of admission to Space Center Houston. Information: (713) 244-2100. ACAPULCO 3 nts. IXTAPA 3 MAZATLAN 3 nts.

nts7AII DISNEYLAND 2 nts. from $1 26 Package includes hotel and Disneyland Pass. Visit with our Disney Specialists 1 Gannett News Service is priced at $1,500, including suite or villa accommodations, meals, spa refreshments and hea rthbea utyfitness treatments. Where to eat The acknowledged stars are Melvyn's at the Ingleside and Le Vallauris on Tah-quitz Canyon Way. Information: Palm Springs Visitors Information Center (which also makes hotel reservations), (800) 34-SPRINGS; Desert Resorts Convention and Visitors Bureau (covers eight communities), (800) 41-RE-LAX, or for hotel reservations, (800) 323-4786.

ing of the 87 courses within 20 miles of Palm Springs were actually in other communities. But after almost a decade of decline, Palm Springs is on the rise again. A new city-owned championship course Tahquitz Creek Palm Springs Golf Resort, managed by Arnold Palmer Golf new area will feature sand vol leyball courts, water volleyball courts, basketball, batting cages, an arcade, miniature golf and laser tag. Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio also is getting a new roller coaster called Joker's Revenge opening Friday. "It is a purple, steel roller coaster that will put guests upside down a total of three times," says Sydne Purvis, communications manager for the park.

"It has a 360-degree vertical loop, two corkscrew turns and a spiral curve toward the end. "And what makes this roller coaster distinctive is that you travel the entire track backward." After all that, the joker may not be the only one getting revenge. You'll enter the roller coaster through the Joker's Fun House, ilW iMHftffliT I 7 caiif. M5r mm Nevada 0cem Palm Springs a. 0 10 AngeteskJ DILLARD'S TRAVEL DILLARD DEPARTMENT STORES Monday-Saturday 10-9; Sunday 12-6 CIELO VISTA MALL (915)775-0878 From Paso: Round-trip air tare from Paso to Palm Springs is $363 on Delta and America West airlines.

Southwest Airlines has a one-way tare of $129 from El Paso to Ontario Airport, which is 62 miles from Palm Springs. The Palm Springs airport is two miles from downtown. The city is about a twc-hour drive from Los Angeles. Where to stay: Casa Cody, (800) 231-CODY; 23 rooms, suites, villas, most with kitchens, some fireplaces; $69 to $185 with continental breakfast Ingleside Inn, (800) 772-6655; 30 rooms and suites, some fireplaces, $95 to $385 with continental breakfast; complimentary limo service available. Korakia Pensione, (619) 864-6411; 12 rooms (soon to include eight more in another property being restored across the street); $79 to $169 with expanded continental breakfast; no credit cards.

Givenchy Hotel Spa, (800) 276-5000; 97 rooms, suites and villas on 14 landscaped acres; four pools (two indoor), tennis courts, business center, country club golf privileges. Doubles start at $275 daily; a two-night Midweek Sojourn ingly luring away chi-chi shops and celebs. Mammoth self-contained properties like Marriott's Desert Springs which offers everything from tennis to boat rides on an indoor-outdoor lagoon started snapping up activity-minded families. And golfers found that the most challeng $25, two-person missions are $20 each, and trios fly for $15 each. Souvenir videotapes, T-shirts, caps and mugs also are available.

Coasters and beaches Six Flags Over Texas also will add its first roller coaster in six years. Runaway Mountain, The Coaster that Dares the Darkness, will open near the end of May. "It's inside a 65-foot mountain with a nearly 90-degree drop in the dark," says Keith Salwoski, assistant manager of public relations. It also will have a G-force greater than the Texas Giant's. Next to the new roller coaster will be a new restaurant, Gator McGee's Mountain Grill.

Across the highway, Wet 'N' Wild in Arlington will add 7 acres called Lagoona Beach. The it V'ffiitfKIDH Amusement parks beckon thrOl seekers 01 two 1HB4 um Si! By KathrynStraach Morning News Six Flags Astro World (part of what is now called Six Flags Houston) and Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington are each opening a new extreme-sport attraction that's a cross between iskv divine and hang gliding. All Packages Include: ftoundtrip Air 2 Wights Hotel (unless otherwi noted) Hotel Taxis Ground Traiwporlatiofl Options Frqunt flyer Credit FunBook DiscowlCwpw toMet 74-Hour Travttsr As'istance i In Houston, it's called In Arlington, it's Dive Bomber Alley. i By either name, the contrap-ttion hoists one to three fliers to 1 153 feet above the park before clearing them for flight and send-jing them plummeting toward the Jground on their free fall. Wheeee.

One flier must be daring (or deranged) enough to pull the rip Jcord to send the group on its descent. 1 For this bit of fun, guests must ipay extra. Solo flights will set you back Citll your professional travel agent or cat I-Q00-423-5BQ3 iourlink jOuklL wsmik fnnt tfeatei tvsmAn mi art atr Mron asud an aWU ttntpMVt two tight aodasa Hk hn wrmni, Itxjr. teimo riuouoh l'AH (mm (I hJ mien atftanmM aotai tolas mot ba Jijhrrr trMitr tat oditr at til i. Wdiorigv aoprgr to wakeni Wtdoy ami tanvtaiwa aano.

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