The “Pirates in Paradise Festival” held annually in Key West is getting a new highlight this year – an “Official End of Florida’s Hurricane Season Party.”
The celebration, which commemorates Key West’s maritime heritage, is Nov. 25 through Dec. 5. The island city was settled in the early 1800s and later became home to fishermen, rumrunners, shipwreck rescuers and scavengers.
The hurricane party is Nov. 30, the day the National Hurricane Center deems the close of the 2004 storm season. Four storms battered Florida in September and October, and although the Keys were evacuated in anticipation of trouble, the island chain was spared any major damage.
Attendees are asked to contribute canned goods and supplies to be donated to hurricane victims in the Caribbean.
Shows will feature historic re-enactments, storytelling and other games and exhibits. For details, visit www.piratesinparadise.com or call 305-296-9694.
Hawaii weddings
The number of mainland visitors getting married in Hawaii has more than doubled in the past 10 years, as “destination weddings” gain popularity.
The state issued 7,200 marriage licenses to mainland couples in 1994. That grew to 16,168 last year, nearly twice as many issued to Hawaii residents, according to marriage license data from the state Department of Health reported in The Honolulu Advertiser.
Utah skiing
Early snowfalls are allowing some of Utah’s ski resorts to open sooner than expected.
Brighton and other Cottonwood Canyons resorts, just east of Salt Lake City, have plenty of packed snow after several early storms.
Brighton just got a new lift, the New Majestic quad, which replaces a double chair lift that opened in 1955 at the base of the mountain.
Alta expected so much fresh snow the resort was closed to early birds hiking up the slopes for fear of avalanche danger. It plans to open to skiers on Thursday.
Snowbird, which opened Friday, had its earliest opening in 33 years of operation. It already has more than 5 feet of settled snow at higher elevations.
In southern Utah, the Brian Head resort, also already open, was capturing a bounty of snow almost 6 feet so far this season, now packed into a 31/2-foot base. Brian Head offers various “Ski Las Vegas” packages, with two nights in Vegas and two nights near the ski resort; it’s about a three-hour drive from Las Vegas.
Galapagos wildlife
Spend nine days studying the fauna of the Galapagos – which figured prominently in Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection – on a trip starting Jan. 21 offered through Santa Monica College.
Participants, who must enroll in the one-unit class Natural History and Marine Biology of the Galapagos Islands, will travel aboard a 20-passenger yacht through six of the islands. The students will observe wildlife, including giant tortoises, sea lions, iguanas, penguins, albatrosses and cormorants.
“We aren’t allowed to touch the animals,” said biologist and tour leader Ed Tarvyd, “but they can touch you. The birds will land right on your head.”
The group also will spend a few days in the port town of Guayaquil and visit the Otavalo market in the northern Andes.
Cost: $3,500 per person, includes accommodations, most meals, round-trip airfare from Los Angeles, internal airfare, ground transportation, excursions and sightseeing tours.
Contact: Sandy Kemp, Santa Monica College Travel Facilities, 310-277-3833, or Ed Tarvyd, 323-870-2548 or go to www.smc.edu/international/special_progrms/galapagos.htm.
Alpine snow blanket
Enjoy winter in the Olympic ski town of Innsbruck, Austria, and the Alps for six nights (departing Saturdays now to March 26) on an independent tourist-class package.
The trip includes a bus tour of Innsbruck; a Bavarian castle tour; and day trips to Salzburg, and St. Moritz, Switzerland, and the Archeological Museum in Bolzano, Italy.
Cost: From $1,149 per person, double occupancy ($179 single surcharge), including airfare from New York, transfers and hotel room with breakfast. Airport taxes are not included. Supplemental fees are assessed for travel between Dec. 15 and Jan. 6.
Contact: Continental Journeys, Sherman Oaks, Calif.; 800-601-4343 or www.continentaljourneys.com.
Travel classes, seminars
Rick Steves’ Europe Through the Back Door hosts free travel classes most Saturdays at 11 a.m. at the Edmonds Theater, 415 Main St., Edmonds.
Nov. 20 – Eastern Europe.
Dec. 4 – Rome.
Dec. 11 – Packing light.
Classes are free, reservations recommended. Call 425-771-8303 ext. 298 or visit www.ricksteves.com/seattle.
The Savvy Traveler offers free travel seminars at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. most Saturdays at 112 Fifth Ave. S., Edmonds.
Nov. 20 – Costa Rica.
Dec. 4 – Undiscovered China.
French for Travelers – 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, through Oct. 28, $6.
Classes are free, reservations recommended. Call 425-744-6076 or 877-225-1994.
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