What's New — Near and Far

by Andy Vladimir

I recently visited one of America's newest national parks, and a unique one at that.

The Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller Historic National Park is located off Vermont Route 12 in Woodstock, Vt. This is the only natural park we have that tells the story of conservation history and the evolving nature of land stewardship in America.

Environmentalism — Then and Now

A delighted child gets acquainted with a lamb at Billings Farm in Vermont. Photo by Jon Gilbert Fox, courtesy of Billings Farm & Museum

George Marsh was one of America's first important environmentalists. As a diplomat he traveled the world. Disturbed by what he saw of man's devastating impact on nature, he wrote a classic book in 1864, "Man and Nature," which detailed forests being cut down and natural habitats destroyed.

In 1869 Marsh sold his 550-acre farm to Fredrick Billings, a wealthy attorney who was struck by how logging had spoiled Vermont's forests. Billings decided to build a model working farm that would demonstrate wise stewardship.

He imported purebred Jersey cows and developed one of the nation's first scientific forest-management programs so that 'many a barren hillside will once again glow with the glorious foliage."

Billings' granddaughter Mary French married Laurance Rockefeller, and they restored the family mansion and lived in it until a few years ago. In 1992 they donated the whole thing — mansion, farm and forest — to the Park Service.

It's definitely worth a trip. First of all, the whole park is completely accessible. You can roll right into the Rockefeller mansion and inspect the entire first floor, which contains all of the original furniture.

I sat there for a while and pretended I was a Rockefeller relaxing in my living room.

The park's visitor center is full of exhibits of the history of the environmental movement and the important part Marsh and Billings played in it.

At the working farm there's another visitor center where an Academy Award-nominated film, "A Place in the Land," is shown hourly. The horse barn, milk room, calf nursery and dairy barn are all stops on the self-guided tour.

There's also a museum of agricultural and rural life Many carriage roads are fairly accessible if you want to visit the woods.

The rangers give tours from Memorial Day to Oct. 31 when the park is open. For more information visit the park's Web site, www.nps.gov/mabi or call (802) 457-3368. Billings Farm has its own Web site and phone number: www.billingsfarm.org or (802) 457-2355.

If you want to stay near there, I recommend the Woodstock Inn and Resort, one of the finest country inns in New England and certainly one of the most accessible. It's right in the middle of the town of Woodstock, which is full of art galleries, restaurants and an old general store.

For reservations call (800) 448-7900 or visit www.woodstockinn.com.

Spinning the Globe

If you've always yearned to take an African safari, as I have, I've run across a tour operator in South Africa that's worth looking into.

Epic Enabled Tours, in Cape Town, has a Mercedes truck with a wheelchair lift and removable spaces so seating can be arranged to your preference. It also has elevated seating for good viewing. Travelers sleep in accessible tented camps, bungalows and cottages in main and private camps.

The company has been in business since 1992 and offers regularly departing eight-day tours of Kruger Park. Check out its Web site at www.epic-enabled.com or you can write to 14 Clovelly Road, Fish Hoek 7975, South Africa.

Another tour company that provides accessible tours not only to South Africa, but also to Costa Rica, Jamaica and even Thailand is Eco-Adventure International. This is a real ecotour company that has adapted certain of its tours to make them accessible.

Whether you'd like to visit the rain forest of Costa Rica in an aerial tram, visit a rum distillery in Jamaica, see elephants trumpeting at dawn and more wildebeests than you can count, explore the Amazon, visit temples in Bangkok, or soak up sun on the beaches of Phuket Island, Eco-Adventure will take you there. You can phone (888) 710-9453 or see its Web site at www.eaiadventure.com.

Visitors enjoy birdwatching at the Research Center in Costa Rica on an Eco-Adventure International trip.

Cruise Bargains

An interesting trend is developing in the cruise business. Since the Sept. 11 attacks the number of people who are willing to fly has decreased dramatically. More and more people want to vacation in places they can drive to.

The cruise industry has responded by offering more cruises from more ports. For instance, besides Miami and Fort Lauderdale, there are now cruises from the Port of New York, Baltimore, Charleston, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Port Canaveral, New Orleans, Houston, Chicago, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver and Quebec. Newer, faster ships serve many of these ports.

As a result, lines like Norwegian Cruise Lines offer Caribbean cruises from 13 U.S. ports including New York. Carnival has its newest ship, the Carnival Conquest, leaving from New Orleans.

	Bangkok, Thailand, is another accessible ecotour destination with Eco-Adventure International.

Many new ships that were ordered before Sept. 11 are now coming into service; the lines are finding it impossible to fill them at regular prices. As a result, you can now buy a Caribbean seven-day cruise for under $50 per day per person. That's less than your average Holiday Inn costs, and it includes transportation to exotic islands, all the food you can eat, shows and a host of other activities.

Many of these ships — almost all accessible! — have extensive programs for children ranging from infants to teen-agers.

Recreation News

There's good news for theme park, mini golf, boating and fishing enthusiasts. The Access Board, which sets accessibility requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), has issued new guidelines that affect all new construction or refurbishment of certain recreational facilities.

Let's say you want to build a new Ferris wheel or roller coaster. You must include either a wheelchair space or device designed to transfer to the ride. Floating docks must be accessible at marinas, and there must be some accessible boat slips. Fishing piers need railings lowered to accommodate persons in wheelchairs. Half of the holes of mini-golf courses must be accessible, and swimming pools must have lifts and/or sloped entries.

To send feedback or questions about "To Boldly Go," write to Andy Vladimir in care of Quest or at andyvlad@bellsouth.net.