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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 9, 1988)
Great escapes Fantasy settings for starting life together Hawaii, Mexico top honeymoon spots By Tammy Marshall Staff Reporter The moonlight reflects off the ocean and lights up the beach that seems to stretch on forever. A man and a woman walk along hold ing hands and talking softly to each other. Suddenly they run laughing into the water, where the surf softly laps at them as they embrace. This could be a scene from a romance novel or “The Blue Lagoon,” but it isn’t. The couple on the beach are honeymooners. This is a very special time in their lives — the few days between their wedding and their life together when the romance in their relationship is in full bloom and they can play out their fantasies. Couples can choose any place in the world for their honey moon spots, but Donna Rudolph, president of Contact Travel, and Jon Van Bloom, director of sales of Via Van Bloom Tour and Travel, agree that Hawaii and Mexico arc the most popular places Lincoln newlyweds choose to go. Van Bloom said many couples like Cancun, which is located on the east coast of Mexico in the Yucatan peninsula. Maui is the most pre ferred of the Hawaiian islands, he said. Van Bloom said cruises are also very popu lar for couples. Rudolph said she thinks a cruise is “the very best honeymoon cost-wise and value-wise,” because it “includes all your food, fun and transportation in an all-inclusive price that you know before you leave.” “Couples want to enjoy each other’s com pany and not have a lot of hassle” with planning everything for their trip, she said. “On a cruise they can have either a lot of privacy or they can get in on all the activities.” “Eighty perccntof people who goon cruises, go again,” Rudolph said. Rudolph said other popular honeymoon spots arc Florida, California, the Ozarks, Colo rado, Wyoming and the Poconos. Because of national advertising, many couples want to go to the Poconos at first, but when they find out the cost, they reconsider, she said. Van Bloom said a couple’s age makes a difference in where they choose to go. He said many younger couples choose all-inclusive resorts like ones in Jamaica and Hawaii. These arc often advertised in bridal magazines and appeal to younger people. Van Bloom said many older couples like to travel to Europe. “People in their 30s or 40s will often take a short honeymoon because of work, but they will pay more for luxury because they know that their time is precious,” Rudolph said. “However, younger people will be more cost conscious and choose a lower-priced honey moon, but will spend more time because they have more time.” , For couples who aren’t sure where they’d ( like to go or wish they could see it first before deciding, Contact Travel has a solution — a ] video destination and cruise library. I Rudolph said Contact Travel has more than m Michelle Miklos/Daily Nebraskan 100 videocasscttes of resorts, cruises and scen iry from all over the world. They consist of >uch places as Athens, Spain, Switzerland, Oisncyland, Africa, Morocco and the Carib bean islands, she said. People can rent the tapes bvernighl. “We have a lot of requests for the tape on dawaii,” Rudolph said. “Our cruise ones are bopular and so are the seven tapes on Mexico. “We felt that today’s traveler likes to have a picture of where they’re going. Our slogan is ‘Watch Where You’re Going.’ It’s what a library is meant to be.” Rudolph said most people whocheck out the tapes arc future honeyrnooners. Travel agencies can recomrflend interesting and exotic places that couples might overlook because they feel they can’t afford such a place. “Wecan find the good buys,” Rudolph said. And agencies don’t charge for advice, she said. Groom’s Tux FREE With Qualifying Wedding Tuxedos starting at ■32.95 FORMAL WEAR Lincoln 235 So. 70th e 483-5226 (70th & 0) II Lasting Memories. Photographs capture the joy of and keep the memories fresh for years. Stop in and see our display for ideas and information— at no obligation. ! Tues.’ Sat. Frl. 10 AM 10 AM- 3 PM 5:30PM OUR33RDYBAR 475-4936 Mt't Ok£ij C*aitowflu 2flthA O’ M m Honeymoon plans / Say no to Poconos Just call it the Las Vegas for Lovers. Almost every bridal magazine runs regular travel features on honey moon hot spots. They always men tion the typical tourist havens — Hawaii, Colorado, Europe, the Car ibbean — and a group of small, grassy Pennsylvania mountains called the Poconos. Just what are the Poconos, and why would anyone want to spend a honeymoon there? Perhaps it’s the resorts. Not just your average resorts, but “honey moon resorts.” These honeymoon mtecas are filled with outlandish, rc.nantic amenities: hotel rooms with private Olympic-size swim ming pools, heart-shaped whirl pools, two-story hot tubs in the shape of huge champagne glasses, and mirrored ceilings and walls to make it all seem kinky. An ad in a bride’s magazine claims the Poconos have “the charm of Europe, the glamour of Holly wood, the excitement of New York. And everywhere, a special kind of magic.” Hew come they don’t men tion the dinosaur playlands? Letmecxplain. When I lived back East, my family always drove through the Poconos on our annual trip to visitall the hillbilly relatives in West Virginia. I loved the place, but my parents would never stop at any of the roadside attractions there be cause they said they were “tourist trap trash.” Maybe they were afraid my virgin eyes would glimpse two nude honeymooners in a giant cham - pagne glass. The Poconos arc an Eastern ver sion of the Black Hills, replete with trashy tourist traps like miracle caves, waterfalls that change color, Santa Claus amusement parks, anti gravity houses. There’s justone thing missing: Mount Rushmore. The Poconos’ popularity is the result of clever marketing. “It was over 40 years ago that a man named Rudolf Von Hocvenberg first had the inspired idea that honey mooners deserved a world of their own,” says Modern Bride magazine. ‘He couldn’t have chosen a more Strike A Romance in The DN Personals. Strike a Romance by sending a Valentine message in the Daily Nebraskan on Friday, February 12th. A ten word personal is only $2.50 and 154 per additional word. You can also add a box, large type, boldface or a heart for only 504 Deadline is Thursday, February 11th. So stop by our office at room >14 Nebraska Union and strike up your romance today 34 Nebraska Union . —- _ romantic setting than the Poconos.” My main question is this: Why honeymoon in the Poconos? They’re hills, not mountains. The bridal magazines laud all the fun you’ll have “meeting other newlyweds and sharing memories of your weddings with them.” A honeymoon’s purpose is to get away from it all. Who would want to waste time lounging around a pool with boasting brides who say, “Well, at our wedding we had live pink flamingos, and I wore a black corset and cape instead of a gown. What did you wear, darling?” Wouldn’t it be much better to fly to Vegas, get married by an Elvis impersonator at a wedding chapel (they do have Elvis impersonator priests there), then spend your honey moon in singles bars across the country, telling all the sex-hungry people about all the AIDS-free, monogamous fun they can’t have? Then there’s that other honey moon haven, Niagara Falls. Again, why here? Who would want to spend a honeymoon next to an annoyingly noisy waterfall? Maybe the thought of water constantly falling off the side of a cliff and crashing below turns some people on. But if you think you’ll need the sound of rush ing water as an aphrodisiac on the Big Night because your spouse isn’t enough to get you hot, maybe you should skip the wedding. Harrah is a senior news editorial and English major and Daily Nebraskan night news editor. Gold Smith Jewelers Valentines Day Specials V All hearts on sale * Black hills gold 20% Off (thru Feb. 14th) Zhe (fold Smith ^ H Jfwri«v CtNTM A 3237 So. 13th 4722253 Lincoln, He. M F 9-5:30 SaL 93 Thurs. 9-7
