RITZ AT 10: The Ritz-Carlton hotel in...

RITZ AT 10: The Ritz-Carlton hotel in Dana Point, which hosts an invitation-only 10th anniversary picnic bash on Sunday, is still getting those rave reviews. Readers of Andrew Harper’s Hideaway Report, a tourist industry newsletter and bellwether, this month rated the place the third most desirable U.S. resort hotel--just behind the Boulders in Carefree, Ariz., and the Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va.

SHOP BY AIR: Having conquered South Coast Plaza, shopping mall fanatics looking for bigger challenges may want to consider the latest Northwest Airlines promotion. . . . On Saturday, the airline is flying shoppers from around the country--including Orange County’s John Wayne Airport--to Minneapolis. From the airport, passengers will be transported by bus to spend the day prowling the nation’s largest mall, the Mall of America. Price: $129 for a same-day round trip. “We did it last Christmas,” airline spokesman Jim Faulkner said. “We were surprised how successful it was.”

TELEGRAPH: In evaluating campus life for students, UC Irvine Chancellor Laurel L. Wilkening acknowledged last week that, in terms of a lively, student-oriented ambience, UCI may not stack up with the Westwood area around UCLA or Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley. . . . In fact, some UCI students have told her that occasionally they drive north to Westwood just to “hang out,” says Wilkening. “After all,” she adds, “we are in the city of Irvine.”

COMEDY VIOLATIONS: Traffic schools long ago began introducing comedy to their otherwise dry venues. Now comes a twist: a comedy club that has introduced traffic school. Faced with only break-even crowds on Mondays and Tuesdays, the Improv recently turned its Brea comedy club into a laugh-oriented traffic school on those nights. . . . “We’ve been bringing more people in, probably because we provide a fun environment,” says regional manager Robert Hartmann.