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My Favorite Things
Cheap Charlie · May 28, 2001

Spring has finally decided to come to New England. The sun is shining, blossoms are colorful, the bushes are covered with that light pale new-shoot green, and I'm feeling pretty good. Somehow, weather like this makes me notice the best travel news in my piles of papers surrounding my computer.

So here are some good things happening in the travel world:

Windjammer Barefoot Cruises has teamed up with one of my favorite chefs in the world, Katy Keck, for a new series of Culinary Cruises through the Caribbean. Katy has her own restaurant, New World Grill in New York, where she features cuisine that marries foods and ingredients of different cultures with good old American cookin'.

Katy is bringing that fusion talent to Windjammer's new culinary voyages, tying the gourmet knot between Caribbean and New World ingredients. Learn how to create Jerk Pork Tenderloin with Black Bean Burrito and Pineapple-Cucumber Salad with Bananas and Rum. Then, go to work on another creation such as mango Glazed Kingfish with Jicama Mango Salad, roasted Corn & Black Bean Relish.

Food never tastes so good as when you have a chance to eat it in its own locality and when it is as fresh as can be. These cruises promise to provide it all - fresh seafood, aromatic herbs and spices, exotic vegetables bathed in mouth-watering curries, tropical fruit ice cream and moist rum cakes.

The first Windjammer Culinary Cruise just left port today, but another is scheduled for November 19-24 to the Spice Islands. Cheap? These cruises are a great value, starting at $700. Plus, I think you can save $100 if you mention the Ooh La-La promotion.

Great food, great weather and a great chef all for less than $100 a day sounds like a deal to me. Call Windjammer at 800-327-2601. Save yourself a trip to the Windjammer site, which is loaded with Flash and out of date.

Another of my favorite events is the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, S.C. This year they are celebrating their 25th anniversary with another blockbuster cultural extravaganza. It is hard to imagine how dedicated an entire city can be to the arts for two weeks.

Every theater, every small public garden, every college, every restaurant, every nightclub, every park is filled with art, music and performances. This is a marriage of the elegance of Old South Charleston with the international arts ranging from the most traditional chamber music and opera to today's cutting edge modern dance and music.

The Spoleto Festival USA takes place in Charleston, South Carolina, from May 25th through June 7th. Tickets for main events range from $10 to $100 and the streets are filled hundreds of free events and exhibits from the Piccolo Spoleto Festival that runs concurrently.

Finally, at the other end of the cultural spectrum and the other side of the country, head to Ruidoso, New Mexico, for Pinestock where "Rock, Country, Blues and Jazz" are mixed with the Southwest Wine Competition and a Southwest microbrewery competition.

Music, wine and beer at 6,000 feet of altitude in New Mexico all are mixed to create an intoxicatingly great party from June 6th through the 9th with most of the festivities over the weekend. This is always a great time.

I've participated twice and can attest to this area's charm. Besides the festivities, the area is home to Billy the Kid, Smoky Bear and Ruidoso Downs where quarter-horse racing takes place almost every day for purses rivaling those of the Kentucky Derby.

Ruidoso is a cool oasis of towering pines in the midst of New Mexico's hot scrub and desert. It's hard to find a more varied vacation opportunity than this. Call 877-877-9322 for tickets and information.

Charlie Leocha is the Boston-based author of Travel Rights: Know the Rules of the Road and the Air Before You Go. Cheap Charlie appears every Monday on this site. E-mail him at leocha@aol.com or access his Web site.