A Hefty Helping of Big Apple History

Explore sites associated with presidents and other historical figures May 10-19 in New York. Participants will spend three nights in New York City, where activities will include a welcome dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria, tours of Federal Hall National Memorial, the Teddy Roosevelt Birthplace, and a special tour of the mayor’s residence, Gracie Mansion. A morning trip will be made to Long Island to see Teddy Roosevelt’s estate, Sagamore Hill, and participants will also have a private tour of presidential material held in the New York Public Library with the curator of special collections. Heading toward the Hudson River Valley, a stop will be made at Grant’s Tomb, as well as the Cloisters, a collection of medieval art assembled by John D. Rockefeller that includes the unicorn tapestries. Visits will be made to Sunnyside, the home of author Washington Irving, and Lyndhurst, the Gothic Revival mansion of industrialist Jay Gould. In addition, participants will take a private tour of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Home in Hyde Park and the Vanderbilt Mansion. A tour of the FDR Library and Museum is scheduled. The tour continues through Albany, Saratoga Springs, and the village of Rhinebeck, with several major sites along the way. Cost: $3,150 per person, double occupancy, including air fare from Los Angeles to Newark (other departure cities can be arranged), most meals, hotels, transportation via motor coach, tours, entrance fees and gratuities. Contact: Spectrum Tours, P.O. Box 50608, Santa Barbara, CA 93150; telephone (805) 969-9665.

Graceful Alaska

Glaciers, whales and bears (oh, my) are at your photographic fingertips on weeklong yacht trips in southeast Alaska on various dates in June and August. Days will include whale- and eagle-watching, kayaking among icebergs, fishing for dinner and cooking on shore, hiking and swimming in natural hot springs. Photographer-marine biologist Ronn Patterson, captain of the Delphinus, a 50-foot wooden vessel, will give lectures. Participants will get a chance to view the glaciers from above on a seaplane ride. Cost: from $2,195 per person, including all meals, stateroom, flight-seeing excursion, kayak and guide. There will be no more than 10 guests on board. Not included: air fare to Alaska. Other cruise dates in the San Juans are available in spring and fall. Contact: Holly Wheeler at Educational Adventure Charters, 444 Pine St., Boulder, CO 80302; tel. (303) 442-0808.

Peru and the Incas

Three 10-day explorations of the Inca Empire in Peru will depart from LAX June 18, Oct. 15 and Dec. 21. The trip will overnight in Machu Picchu, the lost city of the Incas; spend time in Cuzco; go river rafting, visit old Inca towns and ruins such as Ollantaytambo and the famous market of Pisac, the Inca fortress of Sacsayhuaman and the Indian crafts markets. Visits to village schools will be included in the program to distribute needed school supplies to the Quechua children. Cost: $1,899 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare, hotels, all sightseeing, breakfasts daily, all transportation, entrance fees and some dinners. The June group will spend a day at the annual re-creation of the Inca festival of Inti Raymi. Contact: Escapes Unlimited, 626 E. Chapman Ave., Orange, CA 92666; tel. (800) 243-7227.

Mongolian Trek

A 12-day tour of Mongolia departs LAX June 29 led by Arnold Springer of the Ulan Bator Foundation of Venice, Calif. Springer has led tours to Mongolia every year since that country opened to tourism in 1990. Following an overnight in Tokyo, the tour will arrive in Beijing to visit the White Dagoba Temple in Beihei Park. Then the group will visit the Lama Temple, a Tibetan Buddhist temple in China that is a residence for Tibetan and Mongolian monks. Participants will be able to attend a service there. In Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, the group will attend national holidays and festivities that include competitions in archery, horseback riding and wrestling. Participants visit the Fine Arts Museum, Choijin Lam Museum and the Bogd Khan Palace Museum. In Ulaanbaatar, the group will deliver medical supplies to the Maternal and Child Health Care Clinic, its adopted charity. The group can split up and have a choice of flying to the west of Mongolia, to Ulaangom, or go to the yurt camps in the Gobi Desert, near the Karakoram Pass between China and India. Cost: $3,250, including international air fare, lodging and most meals. An extension tour for $2,350 will be 17 days in western China to see the Uighur region, the oasis of Turpan, the medieval market town of Kashgar on its grand market day, the capital of Urumqi, and also visit Dunhuang and Xi’an. Contact: Ulan Bator Foundation, P.O. Box 3059 Venice, CA 90294; tel. (310) 821-3459.

Cameras on Santa Fe

A three-week traveling workshop in art and photography will take place in and around Santa Fe, N.M., June 5. The workshop is designed for artists of all backgrounds and will be led by artist-photographer Harry Bliss. Participants will take working field trips to famous sites, museums and galleries. Members will receive professional instruction in sketching, painting and creative photography using the landforms, skies and peoples of the American Southwest. Accommodations and supplements to the program will be provided by the Plaza Resolana Study and Conference Center in Santa Fe. Cost: $1,125 per person, including accommodations, most meals and classes. Not included: transportation to New Mexico. Contact: Harry Bliss, Palomar College Art Department, 1140 W. Mission Road, San Marcos, CA 92069; tel. (619) 744-1150, Ext. 2306 or (619) 480-9813.

Soothing New Mexico

Experience the Land of Enchantment indoors and outdoors visiting museums, galleries and private homes in Santa Fe and Taos on three or four-night excursions on various dates beginning in May. Guests visit Bandelier National Monument and cave dwellings of the Anasazi. Participants will have time to visit artists’ studios. Cost: from $750 per person, double occupancy, including air fare to New Mexico, ground transportation, accommodations in a bed-and-breakfast inn, most meals, entrance fees to museums and events and guide. Contact: Adventura Artistica, 3143 Garrison St., San Diego, CA 92106; tel. (800) 808-7352.

Wales to Ireland

Friends of Hearst Castle is sponsoring a 12-day tour to Wales and Ireland. This tour will leave Los Angeles Aug. 3, 1995, with escort by landscape architect Wes Conner. The tour starts with a visit to St. Donat’s in South Wales, a castle that William Randolph Hearst once owned. Continuing by coach and ferry across St. George’s Channel, members visit gardens and castles in Rosslare, Waterford, Blarney, Killarney, Galway, the Dingle Peninsula and Dublin. For eight days participants will see summer gardens, Irish pubs, ancient castles and ruins, seascapes, and watch finely crafted textiles and crystals being made. Cost: $2,793 per person, double occupancy, plus $100 donation to Friends of Hearst Castle. Tour includes air fare from Los Angeles, hotels, most meals and sightseeing. Contact: Geostar Travel, 1240 Century Court, Santa Rosa, CA 95403; tel. (800) 624-6633.

The Times is not responsible for changes in prices, dates or itineraries. These should be confirmed with cruise lines, travel agents or tour operators.