For Conservatives, Limbaugh Tour May Be Right On

Talk about making the most of what you had.

Rush Limbaugh’s hometown, Cape Girardeau, Mo., (population: 35,000) is hoping to attract travelers with a tour of places close to his youthful heart. A free brochure outlines a self-drive tour past the hospital where the radio talk-show host was born, his early boyhood home, the high school football field where he played, the barbershop where he got his first job shining shoes and first jawed about politics, and the locale of his favorite hamburger joint, Wimpy’s. (It’s now a bank.)

For groups, the town’s Convention and Visitors Bureau will provide a guide who’ll add personal insights and commentary, like about the time Limbaugh accidentally broke the door at Wimpy’s and ended up with 20 stitches in both arms or how he liked to drop water balloons on trick-or-treaters. It’s safe to say most of the stories lean to the conservative side.

You can pick up a brochure at the bureau, 1707 Mount Auburn Road, P.O. Box 617, Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63702-0617; (800) 777-0068.

Watchdog at work: It didn’t take long for the Department of Transportation to make good on its promise to scrutinize airline ads as part of its consumer initiative unveiled in January.

Continental has been chastised for advertising one-way sale fares between New York and Florida last summer without mentioning an additional $2 fuel surcharge. Continental said a clerical error resulted in the surcharge being added to fares only on flights leaving Florida. However, the airline agreed to pay a penalty of $38,000 and offer 60,000 discount coupons at its Florida and New York ticketing offices.

Pay attention: The State Department is warning Americans to postpone travel to Ecuador’s southern provinces - Zamora Chinchipe, Loja and El Oro - and to Peru’s northern border because of increased hostilities between the two countries. Americans already in the areas are advised to stay put until the situation stabilizes. Updates: (202) 647-5225.

Left is right: Shuttling a rental car from England to France through the Channel Tunnel could get tricky - emerging in a right-hand-drive world with a left-hand-drive car.

To stay on the right side of safety, Hertz has a new program, Le Swap, which combines round-trip tickets for Le Shuttle with one-week rentals and a swap of right-hand-drive for left-hand-drive cars - or the reverse. Renters can go from Folkestone, England, to Calais, France, or vice versa and drop the car off on either side of the Channel at trip’s end (on the continent, in Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg or the Netherlands), with no drop-off fee. One-week cost for an economy car picked up in Britain starts at about $259, in France at about $320. Information: (800) 654-3001.

Puffery: For travelers who want to combine dining and smoking, New York City’s new smoking law provides a single loophole: go to a very small restaurant.

Fearing that small restaurateurs could not survive the city’s stringent new rules, which take effect Monday, the mayor and City Council decided to exempt restaurants that seat 35 or fewer people.

This may mean a boom for many of the smaller ethnic gems, from some Russian spots in the Brighton Beach neighborhood of Brooklyn to the trattorias of Arthur Avenue in the Bronx.

But bigger restaurants will allow no smoking in dining areas, period. (Fighting the law all the way were Elaine’s, the Water Club and the River Cafe, among others, who contended that foreign tourists would be particularly annoyed with restraints on smoking.) The only smoking permitted will be in bar areas, in enclosed smoking lounges and at private parties.

Hot stuff: The top warm-weather family getaway resorts (judged on safety, quality and kid friendliness), according to Parents magazine:

Hyatt Regency, Scottsdale, Ariz.

The Breakers, Palm Beach, Fla.

Hyatt Regency Hill Country, San Antonio, Texas

Boca Raton Resort & Club, Boca Raton, Fla.

Allegro Caribbean Village, Playa del Carmen, Mexico

Kona Village Resort, KailuaKona, Hawaii

Franklyn D. Resort, Runaway Bay, Jamaica

Palmas del Mar, Humacao, Puerto Rico

The Westin Mission Hills, Rancho Mirage, Calif.

Colony Beach and Tennis Resort, Long Boat Key, Fla.