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
Virginia’s Watermen Culture
By Linda Tancs
Known for its watermen culture (crabbing and oystering), Tangier Island is a car-free tourist’s gem in Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay. The remote island is only accessible via boat or ferry from Onancock or Reedville in Virginia or Crisfield, Maryland. The watermen lifestyle dates to colonial times, a period that many locals can trace in their ancestry. You can learn more about it at the Tangier Island History Museum. Be sure to sample the great seafood and crab cakes at any one of the numerous restaurants on the island and consider a crab shanty tour. Whatever you do, enjoy the experience of life in a quiet fishing village. Bikes and golf carts are available for rental.
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Georgia’s Rice Coast
By Linda Tancs
Among the last remaining vestiges of 19th-century rice plantations along the Georgia coast is the Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation State Historic Site. You’ll learn about the marshes where rice planting on the Broadfield estate once flourished until the industry became unprofitable. The site was then converted to a dairy farm. The site also features Hofwyl House, a two-story frame dwelling that is not elevated, making it unique among low-country homes of the time. Located in Brunswick, the locale offers activities like birding and nature trails, hourly plantation tours and a guided house tour.
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A Spaceman on Route 66
By Linda Tancs
With more than 400 drivable miles, Oklahoma boasts the longest continuous stretch of Route 66 in any state. And what better time to explore it than in this centennial year of the Mother Road’s history. The state’s gems include its capitol building (the only one with an active oil well on its grounds) and the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum a short ride away. Of all the roadside attractions, the most imposing is a recent addition in Weatherford, a 30-foot-tall “Space Man” statue honoring native son Gen. Thomas P. Stafford, an astronaut who flew on Gemini and Apollo missions and later commanded the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. You’ll find it at the corner of Main Street and Broadway Avenue.
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Catalina’s Charm
By Linda Tancs
Anyone familiar with California is all too familiar with its legendary traffic congestion. So imagine a car-free paradise. Far from a fairy tale, you’ll find it in Catalina Island. One of California’s Channel Islands, it lies southwest of Los Angeles. Among its many charms is Catalina Golf Course, hailed as the oldest operating golf course west of the Mississippi. The long, narrow course meanders through a canyon setting toward the ocean, offering stunning views of Avalon Bay and the iconic Catalina Casino, a cultural center with a movie theater, ballroom and museum. The island is easily accessible by ferries departing from San Pedro, Long Beach, Dana Point and Newport Beach.
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A Covered Bridge in the Smokies
By Linda Tancs
A short drive outside the city limits of Sevierville (“Gateway to the Smokies”), Harrisburg Covered Bridge is one of Tennessee’s last remaining covered bridges. Built in 1875 and spanning the East Fork of the Little Pigeon River, it’s on the National Register of Historic Places and is open to vehicular traffic. It’s a popular photo stop for those visiting the Smokies but be mindful of the private residences surrounding it.
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The High Plains of Texas
By Linda Tancs
Lubbock is the hub city of the Texas High Plains, a semi-arid region with a strong agricultural heritage. It’s the ideal locale, then, for the National Ranching Heritage Center. Covering 27 acres, the center is an open-air museum comprising more than 50 original structures that document nearly two centuries of Texas ranching history. Each Saturday, ranch volunteers reenact early ranching life and give historic demonstrations. Located on the Texas Tech University campus, admission is free.
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Czech Heritage in Texas
By Linda Tancs
Eighty miles south of Dallas is the town of West, Texas. The town is named for Thomas M. West, a prominent businessman, landowner and postmaster. Once the town became a station on the Texas Electric Traction Railway it brought large numbers of Czechs to the community. Recognized as the “Czech Heritage Capital of Texas,” visitors will enjoy engaging with Czech culture this time of year at Westfest, an annual festival that takes place during Labor Day weekend. This festival celebrates with music, dance and food the rich heritage that the Czechs brought to Texas.
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From Morels to Chanterelles
By Linda Tancs
In California, autumn is the ideal season for mushroom hunting. And Salt Point State Park along the Sonoma Coast is the only California state park where mushroom foraging is allowed for personal use. Its mix of coastal bluffs, redwood forests and grasslands creates excellent conditions for mushrooms like the sought-after morel and the highly-prized chanterelle. In fact, the California golden chanterelle was officially named the state mushroom in 2024. If you’re not a fan of fungi, then avail yourself of the park’s miles of hiking and horseback trails. The area is also the site of an underwater reserve for divers.
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Musical Instrument Museum
By Linda Tancs
Realizing that most musical museums featured historic, primarily Western classical instruments, Bob Ulrich (then CEO of Target Corporation) founded Musical Instrument Museum, a new kind of museum focusing on the kind of instruments played every day by people worldwide. Thus, the facility boasts a collection of more than 7,500 instruments from more than 200 countries and territories. The experience also includes music-based learning for all ages, over 300 concerts and an interactive exhibit where guests can see the instruments, hear their sounds and observe them being played in their original contexts. Located in Phoenix, Arizona, the museum is open daily.
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Natural History in the Pacific Northwest
By Linda Tancs
The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture is the natural history museum of the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. The foremost museum of natural history and culture in the Pacific Northwest, it hosts a collection of 18 million specimens and cultural items ranging from Indigenous canoes and baskets to giant clamshells and dinosaur fossils, including the world’s most complete T. rex skull. You’ll be surrounded by active university labs where you might witness scientists conducting work in full view of visitors. Parking is limited, but the museum is accessible by light rail, bus and bike as well.
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