Tourism tidbits
Mayday, a border collie who chases
hazardous flocks of egrets and starlings from
fields near the runways of the Augusta, Ga., airport, is
back on the job after a benign tumor was removed from her leg.
NEW HAVEN REGISTER
Join city parks rangers
to view bald eagles
A Feb. 26 trip by van to view
wintering bald eagles on the
Connecticut River is being
sponsored by the New Haven
Department of Parks, Recre-
ation & Trees.
The event will be led by park
rangers and include stops along
the Shoreline to look for winter
waterfowl. Ages 12 and older;
children must be accompanied
by adult.
Cost is $15; $20 for nonresi-
dents. Deadline is Feb. 24. Call
Ranger Dan Barvir at 946-6086.
Seats still available
for bus trips
The North Branford Recre-
ation Department still has room
available on the following bus
trips. Call 315-6017 or sign up
online with credit card at
www.townofnorthbranfordct.
com. Town residents pay $5
less.
March 8: University of Con-
necticut in Big East women’s
basketball tournament quarter-
finals, lower level seat at Hart-
ford’s XL Center for noon or 6
p.m. session; $70.
March 29: Blue Man Group
in Boston with free time at
Quincy Market before 4 p.m.
show; $85.
April 18: Ellis Island, Statue
of Liberty and South Street Sea-
port in New York City; $68
(children, $60).
May 2: West Point dress
parade and guided tour of the
U.S. Military Academy, with
buffet lunch at The Chalet on
the Hudson; $84.
July 22: “Jersey Boys” on
Broadway, front mezzanine for
matinee; $140.
Take in ‘Billy Elliot,’
have lunch in NYC
The Orange Senior Center is
organizing a Sept. 16 bus trip to
see “Billy Elliot” on Broadway.
Price of $203 includes lunch at
Pietrasanta. Call 891-2155.
Cirque du Soleil
coming to Big Apple
Two bus trips are being
offered to see Cirque du Soleil
perform “Kooza” in New York
City on April 24 and May 1.
Lunch at the Café Greco in New
York and reserved seats for the
4 p.m. show included at a cost
of $149. Call 483-6330 or (800)
967-1993.
Casino trip benefits
Catholic War Veterans
St. Michael’s Post 1562, Cath-
lic War Veterans in Derby, is
having a March 22 fundraising
trip to Mohegan Sun. Cost of
$31 includes $10 food coupon,
$20 casino bonus, coffee and
doughnuts breakfast and light
supper at post hall on return.
Call Red Clynch at 922-2314 or
or Linda at 736-3677.
Church social group
arranging day trips
Our Lady of Victory Social
Group is organizing bus trips.
Call Edna Sagar at 934-1714.
‰March 22: “42nd Street” at
Warner Theatre in Torrington,
with buffet lunch at The Clari-
on in Bristol; $79.
‰April 22: “Ethel Merman’s
Broadway” morning show at
the Garde Arts Center in New
London, with afternoon at
Mohegan Sun with casino
bonus; $63.
‰May 7: Mark Twain House
with lunch at Carbone’s and
guided tour of Hartford; $77.
‰June 14: Narragansett Bay
cruise, with brunch at Quidnes-
sett Country Club and Wick-
ford Village visit; $81.
‰June 25: Wine tasting at
Bishop’s Orchards in Guilford,
lunch at Oliver’s Tavern in
Essex, and ride on Valley Steam
Railroad and Connecticut River
boat cruise; $91.
Send Breakaway items to Phil
Greenvall, New Haven Register, 40
Sargent Drive, New Haven 06511 or
e-mail to: travel@nhregister.com.
Celebrating Abe’s 200th:
www.abrahamlincoln200.org
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2009 E8
LEFT: Chicken is cooked on the pimento-wood grill at Scotchies. The restaurant slow cooks its chicken, pork and fish for about two hours before serving them in aluminum foil.
CENTER: A group of tourists walks through a small river to get to the caves of Trelawny. Cockpit Country Adventure Tours uses environmentally sound practices for its tours,
keeping the paths to the cave rugged and minimally touched. RIGHT: Coming down from Blue Mountain Peak. The hike up and back down takes about eight hours.
Story and photos by Amanda May
Special to the Register
JAMAICA — Imagine you’re covered head to
toe in mud, exfoliating your feet with slate gray
pebbles and about to wash off with torrents of
warm, salty water.
As nice as it sounds, the description is a bit
deceiving. You are not in a spa. Instead, you have
just finished sloshing an all-terrain vehicle
through mud puddles in the lush
hills of Sandy Bay, Jamaica, and
now you’re walking across a stone
path to mount a horse that awaits
you for a swim in the Caribbean.
View the To experience Jamaica fully,
you need to peel away from the
slide show
at www. gorgeous, white sand beaches
nhregister. and get your hands and feet dirty.
An adventuring tour is sure to get
com. your adrenaline pumping and
show you the “real” Jamaica. From the highest
peak to the underground caves, the Caribbean Donald Sewell, with the Jamaican Tourist Board, looks down at a speeding visitor at
island is much more than a beach destination. Rainforest Bobsled Jamaica in Mystic Mountain. The tourist attraction opened in late
SANDY BAY
2008 and offers spectacular views of the tree canopy and sea near Ocho Rios.
Just west of Montego Bay, you can
spend a couple hours or a whole day
at Chukka Caribbean Adventures in
Sandy Bay, riding horses, driving
dune buggies or ATVs or snorkeling
around the reef.
For their “Horseback Ride ’n’
Swim” adventure, there are no stir-
rups to balance yourself on your
horse. Therefore, you need to grip its
sides with your legs. Rushing
through the turquoise waters of the
Caribbean, it’s almost like a Jet Ski,
and definitely like nothing you’ve
done before. It’s incredible, just
being along for the ride. Who knew ABOVE: A Chukka Caribbean Adventures guide rides
his horse through the water. LEFT: Cockpit Country
Adventure Tours guides prepare to enter a cave for a
See Jamaica, E7 two-hour trip.
View to the south
coming down Blue
Mountain Peak.
Party goes on for college spring breakers
By Megan K. Scott spot in Mexico this year. The same num-
Associated Press ber came to Cancun last year, according
to Quintana Roo’s Tourism Office.
College students don’t seem to be plan- Also popular is Acapulco, Mexico,
ning staycations for spring break. according to Chute. Acapulco has some of
Bookings to popular beach destinations the hottest night clubs, and many are
are strong, according to travel companies, open all night, he said.
and volunteering vacations continue to Scott Schechter, 22, a Boston University
gain momentum. senior, said he was looking for that big-
“Typically, the student business is more party atmosphere. “Generally, when I
resilient to the economy because it’s like a think of spring break, most of the nice
once in a lifetime trip,” said Jason Chute, spring break locations that aren’t trans-
director of operations for StudentCity.com. Atlantic would be in Mexico,” he said.
“A lot of times kids will go no matter what.” “The idea of traveling outside the country
Here’s how students will be spending makes it a little more exciting.”
their break. Perhaps because of the economy, more
students are choosing the Party Bus this
INTERNATIONAL BEACHES year, said Evans. The bus departs from
Cancun and Jamaica are top destina- locations in California, Texas, Arizona
Associated Press tions for spring breakers, according to and New Mexico to Mazatlan, Mexico.
In this March 2008 file photo, spring breakers take part in a dance contest during MTV Patrick Evans of STA Travel. Some 30,000
spring break activities in Panama City Beach, Fla. revelers are expected to visit the beach See Students, E7