Map out a drive through Kentucky to see redbuds

For a great spring drive, consider a scenic byway tour of the shimmering redbud trees planted in the thousands along southeast Kentucky's state highways, scenic byways and state park roads.

For itinerary ideas and suggestions of where to stay, go to Tour SEKY.com, www.tourseky.com/redbuds.lasso. Review the section on Best Spring Redbud Drives and click on Plan Your Trip for sample itineraries.

April is the official Redbud month in the state. The American Redbud grows in hardwood forests on slopes and in valleys. In March and April, its reddish-purple flowers blossom before leaves unfold. It is common throughout the forests of Eastern Kentucky. It blooms at the same time as the flowering dogwood. Together, they make Eastern Kentucky one of the most beautiful places in the country in the spring.

One of the best places to see the redbuds is along U.S. Route 23, a National Scenic Byway also called the Country Music Highway, the major north-south route through far eastern Kentucky. This byway follows the route of U.S. 23 from Greenup in the north to the Kentucky-Virginia state line.

Another good route is the Wilderness Road National Scenic Byway, which follows U.S. 25E north from Cumberland Gap to Bailey's Switch, then tracks Kentucky Route 229 to London, where it intersects U.S. Route 25. The Red River Gorge National Scenic Byway explores the western edge of the Cumberland Plateau. It follows Kentucky Route 15 east from Stanton through Slade to Pine Ridge.

This site states: "The Bert Combs Mountain Parkway, the Daniel Boone/Hal Rogers Parkway, and U.S. 119 or the Kingdom Come Parkway, www.kingdomcome.org, run east-west through the plateau. Any of these major highways provide a great opportunity to immerse yourself in a sea of redbuds and other great scenery. If you want to get off the beaten path, get out your map and pick some back roads -- almost anyone will do."

For more information on traveling in southeastern Kentucky, go to Kentucky tourism.com, www.kentuckytourism.com.

When planning a trip outside the U.S., you might want to check foreign travel search engines for the best airfare bargains, which are often better than fares we can get domestically.

One to consult is Zuji.com, www.zuji.com, the Asia-Pacific specialist, which is based on the Travelocity engine, and includes the ability to make broad, flexible searches from Australia to Hong Kong.

Another is Kayak.com's UK version, www.kayak.co.uk. It searches fares from a Europe-centric vantage point. Depending on which country you'll be visiting most, you may also want to check the France version, www.kayak.fr, or the German one, www.de.kayak.com. Click on the American flag to get results in English.

In print

"Go Your Own Way: Women Travel the World Solo," by Faith Conlon (editor) Ingrid Emerick (editor ) and Christina Henry de Tessan (editor) is published by Seal Press at $15.95. Women who want encouragement to set out on their own, whether divorced, widowed, single or just independent and curious, will enjoy these first-person stories of peak moments, thoughtful insights and lessons learned while traveling.

Two favorites are "Resisting Florence" by Lucy McCauley, and "Wolf Pleasures" by Julianne Balmain.