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 River Runs Through It
By Linda Tancs
Minutes from Nashville International Airport and next door to the Grand Ole Opry, Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center beckons visitors with a glass atrium stretching seven football fields in length. Beneath the atrium lies a stunning display of indoor gardens and cascading waterfalls, viewable along an indoor Delta River tour aboard a Mississippi-style flatboat. Look out for Danny, the 80-pound catfish and mascot of the meandering indoor river. And what better time to visit Music City than during the holidays! The resort’s 30th annual “A Country Christmas” features more than two million lights and dozens of shows and attractions.
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A Fowl Creation in Flanders
By Linda Tancs
Things are just ducky in the eastern end of Long Island, New York–specifically in Flanders, where you’ll find The Big Duck. Created in 1931 by Riverhead duck farmer Martin Maurer as a shop for the sale of ducks and eggs, this 20 foot tall and 30 foot long duck-shaped structure sports eyes made from the tail lights of a Model T Ford and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today marks the annual holiday lighting of the duck, a tradition observed on the first Wednesday following Thanksgiving. And yes, duck memorabilia is available for sale.
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America’s First Transcontinental Highway
By Linda Tancs
Lincoln Highway, the first road across America, celebrated its 100th anniversary this year. Winding its way from New York to San Francisco, the transcontinental route comprises a patchwork of roads in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and California. Explore every mile of this historic route using the Lincoln Highway Association’s interactive map. Happy trails to you!
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A Monumental Meetup
By Linda Tancs
Who says you can’t be in two places at once? At the Four Corners Monument in Arizona, you can do that and more. Four Corners marks the only spot in the United States where four states intersect: Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. Located on the Navajo Nation, the monument’s year-round visitors’ center offers demonstrations of Navajo culture.
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The Best Connections
By Linda Tancs
We’ve discussed airlines’ on-time performance records previously, a topic that’s even more critical when a multileg flight is involved. How much connection time should you allot to get off one plane and onto another? OAG has the answer. This trusted industry resource is perhaps best known for its airline schedules and flight status databases, with future and historical flight details for over 900 airlines and more than 4,000 airports. The information is available via subscription, but to busy travelers it may represent the best dollars they’ve ever spent.
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A Dinner to Remember
By Linda Tancs
For those of you who think that a swanky dinner for two at Monte Carlo’s Louis XV is a wallet-busting experience at a mere $700 or so (not to mention a gastronomical delight), here’s one for the record books: Miami’s Fontainebleau Hotel is celebrating its impending 60th anniversary with a culinary offering to the tune of $1954 per couple. Called the 1954 Dining Experience, this culinary “journey” (appropriately named considering it costs as much as some summer vacations) begins with a bottle of Louis Roderer Cristal champagne and includes Petrossian Royal Osetra caviar, a 12-ounce Japanese Wagyu strip steak, an artisanal cheese selection and two sweet treats created by the award-winning pastry-making staff, among other things. Following the meal, you’ll be escorted to the star-studded LIV lounge for a wee dram to aid your digestion (but not your dwindling bank account).
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A Writer’s Cottage in New York
By Linda Tancs
Rolling hills, farmland, and unobstructed views to the shores of Long Island. That was The Bronx, a borough of New York City, in the 1800s. This once bucolic setting (now America’s third most densely populated county) was home to one of America’s most celebrated writers, Edgar Allen Poe. Now located at Kingsbridge Road and the Grand Concourse (following removal from its original location not far away), Poe Cottage is a small wooden farmhouse built in 1812. Poe spent the last years of his life there, where he authored various essays and poetical works like “Annabel Lee,” “The Bells” and “Eureka.” The cottage is open on Saturdays and Sundays.
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The First National Wildlife Refuge
By Linda Tancs
A host of threatened and endangered species, including Florida’s venerated manatee, call Pelican Island home. Situated in the middle of Florida’s Indian River Lagoon on the Atlantic coast, the Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge is the first wildlife refuge in the country and has the most diverse bird population in North America. Established in 1903, the site provides a habitat for 700 species of fish, 310 species of birds, and 36 endangered species. The refuge features three trails for nature lovers. The shortest hike is wheelchair-accessible Centennial Trail, a paved path that served as the centerpiece of a nationwide celebration of the refuge system in 2003. The other two mangrove-lined trails are Bird’s Impoundment Trail and Pete’s Impoundment Trail.
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Water for Elephants
By Linda Tancs
November is Manatee Awareness Month in Florida. Despite their popular nickname “sea cow,” these aquatic mammals are actually related to the elephant. This time of year, when the waters of the Gulf cool down and subject these gentle giants to cold stress, you’ll find them instead in the balmy waters of Crystal River, less than two hours north of Tampa. During manatee season, more than 150,000 people will visit the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge to snorkel and kayak among manatees, the only place where such interaction with this endangered and federally protected species is allowed.
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The Residents of Copp’s Hill
By Linda Tancs
Shoemaker William Copp once owned a spot of land in the North End of Boston, Massachusetts. Now Boston’s second oldest burying ground, Copp’s Hill is the final resting place for ordinary Bostonians–merchants, artisans and craftspeople. But how does one define ordinary? Now there’s the rub, as these grounds harbor the remains of some extraordinary people, like Robert Newman, who placed the signal lanterns in the steeple of the Old North Church on the eve of the Battle of Lexington and Concord; Shem Drowne, the weathervane maker who crafted the grasshopper atop Faneuil Hall; and Prince Hall, the anti-slavery activist and founder of the Black Masonic Order.
