Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for U.S. travel
A Light in Sleepy Hollow
By Linda Tancs
Now just a few feet from land, Sleepy Hollow Lighthouse in Sleepy Hollow, New York, was once a half-mile off shore. That all changed after years of landfill by a now-demolished General Motors factory moved the shoreline within a few feet of the light. Decommissioned decades ago, the lighthouse has been completely renovated inside and out. It’s accessible at Kingsland Point Park via the Riverwalk path. Curator-led tours are available by registration when available.
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A Walk Through Time in Connecticut
By Linda Tancs
The Vintage Radio and Communications Museum in Windsor, Connecticut, traces the development of electronic communications from the early 1800s up to the invention of radio, television, telephone, the personal computer and other technologies. Many of the exhibits are hands-on: Tap out your name in Morse Code; tune a vintage radio; crank a wind-up phonograph; listen to a home-made crystal set; or pick a song from a working juke box. Tour at your own pace or let a knowledgeable docent guide you around. The museum is open year round.
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The Largest Covered Wagon
By Linda Tancs
Recognized by Guinness World Records as the world’s largest covered wagon, The Railsplitter in Lincoln, Illinois, measures 25 feet high and 40 feet wide with 12-foot-high wagon wheels. It boasts a seated statue of Abraham Lincoln (referred to as Big Lincoln at 12 feet) reading a law book. The structure is being prepared to be moved downtown to the Route 66 Welcome Garden on the corner of Kickapoo Street (original 1926 alignment of Route 66) and Pekin Street.
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Harlem’s Hallmark Museum
By Linda Tancs
Studio Museum is an African American art museum in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan. Following an extensive renovation that began in 2018, it has reopened in a new seven-story, 82,000-square-foot space. The museum’s new design incorporates architectural highlights like the Grand Stair, along with other features like the “Stoop,” a flexible Grand Hall for events, and a rooftop terrace. The venue’s permanent collection represents more than 800 artists and 200 years. Studio Sundays offers free admission and family-centered programming every Sunday.
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Georgia’s Famed Resort
By Linda Tancs
The hallmark resort of Georgia’s famed Golden Isles, Jekyll Island Club Resort is a remnant of the Gilded Age. Founded in 1886 by luminaries like J.P. Morgan, Joseph Pulitzer and William K. Vanderbilt, it was a private winter refuge for America’s richest families. Nowadays it’s not only a hotel but also a historical landmark, anchoring a 240-acre area with more than 30 period buildings. Its so-called cottages (one of three resort stays available) were seasonal residences for the country’s elite. Another building, Faith Chapel, boasts a stained-glass window by Louis Comfort Tiffany and is one of the few Tiffany windows known to bear the artist’s signature. The resort is now a member of Historic Hotels of America.
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Native Culture in Maine
By Linda Tancs
Located in Bar Harbor, Maine, Abbe Museum celebrates Wabanaki Nations’ arts and cultures. The Wabanaki (People of the Dawn) lived for thousands of generations in what is known today as Maine, New England and the Canadian Maritimes. Their history is showcased through changing exhibitions, special events, teacher workshops and workshops for children and adults.
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A Unique Site in Maine
By Linda Tancs
Open seasonally, Scribners Mill is a 19th-century historic sawmill and homestead in Harrison, Maine. A unique site, it’s the only sash saw mill in the U.S. that was family-owned and is located on its original site in its undisturbed rural setting. Among seven restored structures you’ll find the homestead complex, a working blacksmith shop, shingle mill and a coopers shop. Tours are free.
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Hampton Carousel
By Linda Tancs
Built in 1920, Hampton Carousel is a historic carousel housed in a pavilion, operated by the Hampton History Museum in Hampton, Virginia. One of few antique wooden merry-go-rounds still existing in the U.S., it still boasts its original mirrors and oil paintings, as well as 48 intricately decorated horses rising and falling to the strains of the original band organ. Open seasonally, it only costs one dollar to ride this precious piece of history!
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Steaming in California
By Linda Tancs
Wildflowers peak in high elevation areas between July and September in Lassen Volcanic National Park in northern California. It’s one of many things to see in summer, the park’s busiest season. Snow often lingers on park trails well into the summer months, though. Once it’s cleared, you’ll enjoy the sites the area is known for, like the bubbling mud pots of Bumpass Hell, the largest hydrothermal area in the park. Likewise, once the snow clears, you can hike Lassen Peak Trail to the summit of one of the largest plug dome volcanoes in the world. You’ll be rewarded with views of Lake Helen at the base, a high elevation lake that often has snow and ice into mid-summer. Another option is to drive Lassen Volcanic National Park Highway and enjoy the scenic vistas. A one-way journey on the 30-mile highway will take approximately one hour without any stops.
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Utah’s Largest Forest
By Linda Tancs
The largest national forest in Utah, Dixie National Forest occupies almost 2 million acres and stretches for about 170 miles. It straddles the divide between the Great Basin and the Colorado River in southern Utah. Whether you traverse it by highways or trails, you’ll be met with scenery ranging from colorful desert canyon gorges to high mountain forests, plateaus and alpine lakes. There are informational signs on trails, scenic overlooks as well as visitor centers to tell you about the area you’re visiting.
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