Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Author Archive
The Switzerland of Alaska
By Linda Tancs
It’s easy to understand why Valdez, Alaska, is affectionately called “the Switzerland of Alaska.” Like its counterpart in Europe, it offers unparalleled scenery. Located at the head of a deep fjord in Prince William Sound, you’ll find glaciers, mountains, a temperate rainforest and scores of wildlife. One of the best places to learn about the area is at the Valdez Museum. The facility’s permanent exhibits explore the history of Valdez, the Copper River Valley and Prince William Sound from Native Alaskan occupation to the present day.
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The Prized Home of a Playwright
By Linda Tancs
Eugene O’Neill is America’s only Nobel Prize-winning playwright. At the height of his career, he chose to make Tao House his final home. Located in Danville, California, the house and grounds comprise the Eugene O’Neill National Historic Site. This is where he wrote his most memorable plays: The Iceman Cometh, Long Day’s Journey Into Night and A Moon for the Misbegotten. Due to its location in a private, gated community, the site is only accessible via a National Park Service shuttle from the nearby Museum of the San Ramon Valley.
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A Retreat in Carolina
By Linda Tancs
One of the few remaining unspoiled treasures, Daufuskie Island in South Carolina is a true getaway. Nestled between Savannah and Hilton Head, the island is still accessible only by boat. The most popular option is the Official Daufuskie Island Ferry from Bluffton (outside Hilton Head), a town known for having some of the Lowcountry’s best seafood. Once on the island be sure to visit the historic Bloody Point Lighthouse, so named for the Native American battles that took place there in the 1700s. The name “Daufuskie” is a combination of two Muscogee, Native American words: “daufu” meaning feather, and “fuskie” meaning tip or point, the shape of the island representing the tip of a feather. Although small, the island is not walkable. Rent a golf cart, or you might consider riding horseback in Daufuskie’s maritime forest and throughout the exclusive community of Haig Point.
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Walton’s Mountain
By Linda Tancs
The Waltons was a popular, long-running drama television series about a close-knit family in rural, Depression-era Virginia, based on the experiences of series creator and narrator Earl Hamner Jr. If you’ve ever wondered where the mountain scenery depicted in the show is really located, then head on over to Schuyler, Virginia. The hamlet was home to Earl Hamner Jr., and the family home there is now a Virginia Historic Landmark. The quiet village is located 25 miles south of Charlottesville in the foothills of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountain range.
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Swiss Magic
By Linda Tancs
Lake Brienz is one of the most stunning turquoise lakes in Switzerland, and along its shore is one of the most picturesque villages in the country, Iseltwald. The fairy-tale village of around 500 inhabitants gained notoriety for the filming of a romantic scene for a South Korean drama series, drawing many Asian tourists to the region. Among its many charms is the iconic Schloss Seeburg at the tip of a peninsula, a must-see for shutterbugs. Enjoy the views from any number of piers and benches, or set out on a canoe ride around the lake and castle.
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The Great North American Eclipse
By Linda Tancs
Billed as the Great North American Eclipse, a total solar eclipse will cross North America on April 8, 2024, passing over Mexico, the United States and Canada. The path of the eclipse begins in Mexico, entering the United States in Texas, and traveling through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. The eclipse will enter Canada in Southern Ontario, and continue through Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton. This will be the last time any solar eclipse will be visible within the United States until 2045.
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A Gem of a Church in Minnesota
By Linda Tancs
The practice of using vertical posts, or staves, to construct massive wooden buildings is what sets stave churches apart from the others. Stave churches were built in and around Scandinavia from the waning years of the Viking Age (the 11th and 12th centuries) to the early 16th century. One of the oldest- remaining stave churches in Norway is Hopperstad in Vik, built in 1130. You’ll find a full-scale replica of it in Moorhead, Minnesota, located along the boundary with Fargo, North Dakota. A symbol of Norwegian heritage so prevalent in the Red River Valley, the Moorhead Stave Church offers guided tours from April to December.
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Classic New England Scenery
By Linda Tancs
Spanning 35 towns in northeastern Connecticut and south-central Massachusetts, The Last Green Valley National Heritage Corridor is a federally-designated National Heritage Corridor boasting a pastoral landscape interspersed with historical points of interest. You’ll find a plethora of museums, mill villages, rivers and quaint town centers, together with the last stretch of dark night sky in the coastal sprawl between Boston and Washington, D.C.
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Lansdale’s Log House
By Linda Tancs
The Morgan Log House stands on land originally deeded to the Commissioners of William Penn, who was granted the Charter of Pennsylvania from King Charles II on March 4, 1681. In 1708, Welsh immigrant Edward Morgan and his family (from whom frontiersman Daniel Boone is descended) became the first settlers of the property and later sold it to a German settler who built the log house that is now restored on the site. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the cabin reflects the lifestyle of colonial pioneers in the state. Access to the interior of the building is available via guided or self-guided tours.
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Pearl of the French Alps
By Linda Tancs
Annecy is affectionately referred to as the Pearl of the French Alps. The prized appellation owes as much to the purity of its lake’s drinking water as it does to the scenery. In fact, Lake Annecy (the second-largest natural lake in France) ranks first in Europe for the purity of its waters. Historically, the town was the capital of the Duchy of Geneva, a division of the Duchy of Savoy, which became part of France in 1860. Now the principal city of the Haute-Savoie region, the picturesque town just shy of the Swiss border is surrounded by mountains ringing its famous lake. Enjoy the activities that the lake has to offer, like pedal boating, cruising, sailing and even two nature reserves on the eastern and southern shores.
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