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
The Spy House
By Linda Tancs
During the Revolutionary War, Thomas Seabrook spied on British troops from his one-room cabin near Raritan Bay in Port Monmouth, New Jersey, earning it in later years the moniker the “Spy House.” One of the oldest surviving houses in the bayshore, it began as a small cabin in the 1700s and grew along with the prosperity of its owners, the Seabrooks and the Wilsons. The Spy House (also known as the Seabrook-Wilson House) is listed on the state and national registers of historic places. It’s also credited with being one of the most haunted houses in America, boasting up to five active apparitions. Given that the house remained virtually unscathed despite the ruinous effects of Hurricane Sandy all around it, you might think that its otherworldly visitors have been looking out for the joint.
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A Monumental Architect
By Linda Tancs
Robert Mills is one of the earliest architects born and trained in the United States. One of his most prominent designs is the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. Adhering to classical design, he focused mostly on public buildings like monuments, prisons, colleges and hospitals. A notable exception is the Classical Revival residence for merchant Ainsley Hall and his wife Sarah in Columbia, South Carolina. One of only five National Historic Landmarks in the city, the Robert Mills House is a well-kept testament to the architectural prowess of one of the nation’s best designers. Now a museum, the house boasts decorative arts of the early 19th century in styles including American Federal, English Regency, and French Empire.
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Mount Holly Boasts Historic Prison
By Linda Tancs
Burlington County Prison Museum, located in historic Mount Holly, New Jersey, is a National Historic Landmark. Until its closing in 1965, it operated continuously for 154 years, rendering it the oldest continuously used prison in the United States. It might be better known for its hauntings, though. After all, public hangings for capital crimes took place in the prison yard. Now a museum, the facility is open from Thursday to Sunday.
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The Birthplace of Country Music
By Linda Tancs
Imagine being able to step into the shoes of some of the first families of country music and record your own rendition of the songs that launched their careers. You can do that at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum. Located at the junction between Bristol, Tennessee, and Bristol, Virginia, it’s officially recognized by Congress as the birthplace of country music. The museum’s mission is to preserve and promote the 1927 recording sessions of legends like Jimmie Rogers and the Carter family, an event that Johnny Cash hailed as a seminal event in country music history. Even the Library of Congress has ranked the “Bristol Sessions” as one of the 50 most significant events in the history of recorded music. A special exhibition honoring the Carters runs through 28 February.
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Two Thousand Feet of Art
By Linda Tancs
Nestled between the northern banks of the Ohio River and east of the Scioto River is Portsmouth, Ohio. Given its location at the confluence of these rivers, it’s not surprising that great flooding over nearly a century beginning in the 1800s necessitated the building of a floodwall after the great flood of 1937. But this isn’t your ordinary run-of-the-mill floodwall. It’s an outdoor art gallery depicting the last two centuries of the history of Portsmouth and the surrounding area, extending for over 2,000 feet along Front Street in the historic Boneyfiddle District of downtown Portsmouth. Believed to be the largest known work of art by a single artist, the Portsmouth Murals can be viewed on foot with self-guided audio or from the comfort of your car.
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Getting to Know Jax
By Linda Tancs
There are a lot of interesting things you may not know about Jacksonville, Florida. Take the ostrich farm, for instance. That’s what you would have found in the 1900s at Dixieland Park, a Disney-like attraction located around the site of the present-day Hilton at Southbank. And there’s the film industry; 30 film companies and early greats like Oliver Hardy and Fatty Arbuckle made movies there until Hollywood proved more hospitable. Even the city’s St. Johns River is unique, one of the few in the world that runs north. Perhaps the most surprising fact about Florida’s largest city is that it’s also the largest city in the contiguous United States by land mass, encompassing a whopping 840 square miles. Now you know Jax.
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A Farm in Brooklyn
By Linda Tancs
Wyckoff, Wycoff, Wykoff, Wikoff or Wicoff. No matter how you spell it, the vast majority of Americans and Canadians bearing the surname can trace their lineage to a tenant farmer on a homestead located in present-day Brooklyn, New York. Their common link is Pieter Claesen, who ultimately chose the surname Wykhof (later Wyckoff) when required to do so by the British when they assumed control of what was then the Dutch-controlled colony of New Netherland. Now a museum and testament to Dutch architecture and farm life, the Wyckoff family occupied their Brooklyn homestead for eight successive generations until 1901. Wyckoff House is open to guided tours on Fridays and Saturdays. Located on Clarendon Road, the site is easily accessible via public transit.
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An American Story
By Linda Tancs
Memphis, Tennessee, the birthplace of rock ‘n’ roll, has another jewel in its crown: the National Civil Rights Museum. Chronicling the history and development of the civil rights movement, it begins with a multi-sensory exhibition concerning the slave trade. And it includes other poignant displays surrounding every historical milestone in the battle for equal rights, featuring in many instances the speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (whose birth is celebrated in the United States on the third Monday of January each year as a national holiday). The museum is housed at The Lorraine Motel, site of Dr. King’s assassination on April 4, 1968. Today marks the museum’s annual King Holiday Celebration.
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Two Heroines
By Linda Tancs
Phuket, Thailand’s largest island, is no stranger to adverse forces. Although most might best remember the damage wrought by the 2004 tsunami, this southern province has battled against adverse influences for centuries. For instance, during the Battle of Thalang in 1785 the Burmese sought control of this island paradise and might have won it were it not for the marshaling of troops led by two sisters. Driving the Burmese to retreat, the two women became local heroines and were bestowed honorary titles by a grateful King Rama I. The Two Heroines Monument is located on Krasattri Road.
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Arizona’s First All-American Road
By Linda Tancs
Short on miles but long on views. That’s what you can expect from Arizona’s Red Rock Scenic Byway, winding its way through the iconic red rock region of Sedona as well as the Village of Oak Creek. The road’s designation as an All-American Road means that it is a destination unto itself. Just a mere 7.5 miles long, the scenes include the juniper and pine-rich environment of Coconino National Forest, rock formations like Castle Rock, Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte, three golf courses and ample terrain for hikers and mountain bikers.
