Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for August, 2012
Nature’s Baths in BVI
By Linda Tancs
If you’re not necessarily the beach going type, there’s still good reason to visit Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands. A top attraction are The Baths, a series of boulders forming pools and grottos that attract as many shutterbugs as sun bathers. At the entrance to The Baths you can shop for clothing and tropical trinkets like shipwreck coins and mahogany and hibiscus wood carvings. You can whet your palate there as well and enjoy the panoramic views from Top of the Baths restaurant. Another earthy delight is Gorda Peak, the highest point on the island. You’ll find hiking trails there, offering magnificent views of North Sound. The area is also home to the world’s smallest lizard, the Virgin Gorda gecko, and one of the Caribbean’s last remaining dry forests.
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Cowes Still Thrills
By Linda Tancs
Cowes Week is a highlight of the British summer, one of the longest running and most successful sporting events in the country. For the uninitiated, it’s one of the oldest and most prestigious regattas in the world on the Isle of Wight, having officially begun in 1826 with just seven yachts. Today, 1,000 boats in up to 40 different handicap, one-design and multihull classes race every day for eight days. This year’s event takes place between 11 and 18 August. If you’d like a close-up view of the battle in the Solent, consider booking a place on the the official event spectator boat, which will run from Trinity Landing on Cowes Parade. 12 August is Family Day, and the price for a family of 4 (2 adults and 2 children under 16) will be at a special rate of £20, a savings of £5.
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90 Million Years in 9 Minutes
By Linda Tancs
90 million years: that’s how many years are represented in the latest animatronic dinosaur park, located in Secaucus, New Jersey. Nine minutes: that’s how long it takes to get there from New York City. The dinosaur park recently unveiled 31 robotic dinosaurs for the exhibit, Field Station: Dinosaurs. Dinosaurs from the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods hover over (and under) the tree line, including New Jersey’s own Hadrosaurus foulkii. Sounds like dino might to me.
2016 update: Field Station has relocated to Overpeck Park in Leonia, New Jersey.
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National Lighthouse Day
By Linda Tancs
On August 7, 1789, Congress passed an act for the establishment and support of lighthouses, beacons, buoys and public piers. In honor of the 200th anniversary of the establishment of the first federal lighthouse, Congress designated 7 August as National Lighthouse Day in 1989. Why not celebrate this national treasure with a stay at a local lighthouse?
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The Grand Canyon of Europe
By Linda Tancs
If you prefer your deep river canyon to have a hint of that je ne sais quoi, then you’ll find it at Verdon Gorge, France’s version of the Grand Canyon. Straddling the departments of Var and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence for 15 miles, the majestic cliffs are the result of the erosion of the Verdon River. Europe’s biggest canyon, its summertime appeal with the locals is owing in no small part to the wealth of activities that beckon from its cliffs, trails and waterways–like aqua trekking, hiking, biking, climbing, paragliding and horseback riding. Those lavender fields and cheese plates will just have to wait.
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Top Guns in the UK
By Linda Tancs
Royal Armouries is the United Kingdom’s National Museum of Arms and Armour, including artillery. The artillery–Big Guns, as they say–range from pre-gunpowder siege machines to modern-day super guns. They’re located at Fort Nelson, an historic monument strategically positioned atop Portsdown Hill, with panoramic views across the Meon Valley and Portsmouth Harbour. The Leeds branch has over 8,500 objects on display in five galleries: War; Tournament; Oriental; Self Defense and Hunting. And at the Tower of London’s White Tower is a dazzling display of 500 years of spectacular royal armour, including the imposing steel skirts and military codpiece of Henry VIII. The most surprising thing about the museum is its fourth location: Louisville, Kentucky. Thanks to a collaboration with The Frazier History Museum, Royal Armouries opened an exhibit on the museum’s third floor in 2004 to present a history of the British Isles, from 1066 to the early 1900s, through the use of multimedia displays and artifacts. This marks the first time a UK national museum has opened a branch in the United States.
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A Natural Wonder in the Philippines
By Linda Tancs
Reputedly the world’s longest underground river, Puerto Princesa on Palawan Island in the Philippines winds its way through a cave before flowing directly into the South China Sea. A clear lagoon meets the cave’s mouth, surrounded by ancient trees dominated by monkeys, monitor lizards and squirrels. The navigable river is one of seven new natural wonders of the world. And to that the locals say Mabuhay!
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