Message Center

Sunday, April 29, 2007

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Newfoundland

YOUR ARTICLE on Newfoundland ["Newfoundland: A Trip off the Old Rock," April 22] brought back delightful memories:

· Sampling the province's tasty berries, such as the bakeapple, a kind of golden raspberry (check it out at the Dark Tickle Co.'s Web site, http://www.darktickle.com/);

· Listening to live Celtic music in a pub, where the young audience knew the words to the old folk songs, and then picking up a few souvenir CDs at Fred's music store in St. John's;

· Learning about the region's diverse heritage, including its Native American history, at the provincial museum.

There is so much more to do. You have rekindled my desire to return to this quirky, charming place.

Chris Morehouse

Shepherdstown, W.Va.

IT'S OBVIOUS that Paula Stone enjoyed her stay in Newfoundland, but her history of the island is nothing if not fanciful -- perhaps induced by imbibing too much "screech."

First, the local patois has nothing to do with Irish dialect. The place was colonized principally by emigrants from Cornwall, England. In fact, the island was a British dependency until the late 1940s.

As for Lord Baltimore, he never intended to settle there and was long promised territory on the Chesapeake Bay by the king. Newfoundland was nothing but a way station to his royal grant in what became Maryland.

Brian T. Petty

Washington

THERE WAS no mention in your article about the confusion that can take place over St. John's, Canada, and St. John, Canada.

It is important to check your tickets and ensure that destination places are correct.

St. John's, Newfoundland, was my first trip to Canada. When I arrived in Toronto to change planes, the customs officials said, "So, you're going to New Brunswick!"

Wrong. The travel agent had booked me there instead of Newfoundland. I spent the rest of the day in Toronto trying to get rebooked to St. John's.

Randi Thomas

Hanover, Md.

Boston's South Shore

HOW COULD Lawrence Lindner write about Duxbury, Mass. ["Classic New England: 5 for the Road," April 22] without saying that Capt. Myles Standish and John and Priscilla Alden are buried there? The Standish burial site is impressive, and the Alden home is a major historical site, as is the park that contains the outline of the original Standish home. Not only that, the Myles Standish Monument is a landmark that can be seen for miles around.

Lindner also failed to mention that the Daniel Webster home has just been refurbished and is open to the public.

Our family has been visiting a family home at Duxbury Beach for more than 50 years.

Fredericka Bernazani

Ashburn

Shuttle Solutions

AFTER READING the letters about SuperShuttle [Message Center, April 22], I had to add my two cents' worth. Washington isn't the only city with SuperShuttle problems. I quit using the service when I lived in Los Angeles and called to reserve transportation for an 8 a.m. international flight; I was told I would be picked up at 4 a.m. I would have gotten to the airport more than an hour before the ticket counter opened!

L.A. doesn't have as good a cab system as Washington's, so I opted for a limo service after that. For only about $10 more than SuperShuttle, I got my own town car to pick me up at the time I specified, and there were no other stops along the way. And if the town cars were busy, I was picked up in a limo at no extra charge.

Now that I live in Virginia, I use Falls Church Yellow Cab or Washington Flyer.

Fran Slimmer

Annandale

AS A 27-YEAR travel professional and agency owner, I have had many clients who booked a shuttle to the airport in advance, only to be forced to make other arrangements at the last minute. The stress is unbelievable.

The best advice I can give is to book a park-and-fly at a nearby hotel through a travel agent. Arrive at your leisure, since the room is guaranteed for late arrival; have a nice dinner and fall asleep knowing that you are less than two miles from the airport. In the morning, take a hotel shuttle to the airport with plenty of time.

Most of the time, with advance booking, this add-on costs the same as, or sometimes less than, parking while you are away.

Debra Overing

President, Classic Travel

Woodbridge

Write us: Washington Post Travel section, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071. E-mail: travel@washpost.com. Provide your full name, town and daytime telephone number. Letters are subject to editing for length and clarity.

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