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
Little River History
By Linda Tancs
The Little River is one of Miami’s four original natural rivers draining into Biscayne Bay. It’s also an important historic site, being the river crossed by Henry Flagler’s original railroad as well as being home to one of the earliest indigenous settlements in Florida. Today it winds its way through 12 miles of diverse communities and represents a thriving arts and cultural hotspot.
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Juneau’s Totem Pole Trail
By Linda Tancs
A new feature adorning the waterfront in Juneau, Alaska, is the Totem Pole Trail. Strategically located at the highly-trafficked port where cruise ship visitors arrive, the growing exhibition features the work of Indigenous master carvers. Each figure has a storyboard with a breakdown of what each symbol is and the story that the totem pole tells. It also lists the artist, their clan and clan stories.
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Molly Brown’s House
By Linda Tancs
The Molly Brown House Museum is a historic house museum in Denver, Colorado, that was the home of American philanthropist, activist and socialite Margaret Brown. She survived the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, earning her the appellation “The Unsinkable Molly Brown.” Self-guided and guided tours (from 45 minutes to one hour) are available throughout the day.
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Little Rock’s Early Days
By Linda Tancs
The MacArthur Park Historic District encompasses approximately 50 blocks in the heart of Little Rock, Arkansas. Boasting a variety of homes from the 1800s in different architectural styles, the district is centered on MacArthur Park, established as the first municipal park in Little Rock in 1892. It contains the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts and the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History, which is located in the historic Tower Building of the Little Rock Arsenal — the birthplace of General Douglas MacArthur.
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Great Blue Hills of God
By Linda Tancs
One of South Carolina’s most photographed natural attractions, Table Rock is an iconic open rockface (akin to a table) that overlooks the rolling mountains and dense forests of the Blue Ridge Escarpment region. The Cherokee tribes of the region called it Sah-ka-na-ga, which translates to “Great Blue Hills of God.” It’s the hallmark feature of Table Rock State Park, boasting nearly 3,000 acres of natural beauty that benefits from a myriad of hiking trails. In addition, the park offers swimming, fishing, kayaking, canoeing, pedal boats and even yearlong bluegrass jam sessions.
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New Jersey’s Mastodon
By Linda Tancs
Located on Rutgers’ historic Old Queens campus is Geology Hall, which is listed on both the state and national registers of historic places. It’s where you’ll find the university’s Geology Museum, collections of which date from 1836 and include minerals, fossils and geologic specimens emphasizing the geology of New Jersey and surrounding states. Arguably its most famous specimen is the fully-articulated mastodon skeleton found in 1869 in Salem County, New Jersey. Admission is free.
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The Resolute Desk
By Linda Tancs
The Resolute Desk is the desk that the president of the United States uses in the Oval Office. Its timbers hail from the HMS Resolute, a British ship that had been lost at sea in the 1800s. Recovered by an American whaler, it was restored and returned to Britain as a token of goodwill. Queen Victoria then had the timbers fashioned into a desk for U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880. You won’t see it on a tour of the White House, but you can experience a faithful reproduction at places like Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in New York.
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A Little Magic in Scranton
By Linda Tancs
A popular attraction in Scranton, Pennsylvania, is the Houdini Museum, where the magical legacy of the legendary escape artist and illusionist, Harry Houdini, comes to life. The museum tour features artifacts, rare photographs and interactive exhibits that recount Houdini’s extraordinary career. The experience also includes a short film with rare footage of the magician and a live magic show after your tour. Visit the gift shop for magic kits and souvenirs.
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Astronomy for the Masses
By Linda Tancs
Perkins Observatory in Delaware, Ohio, is reputedly the only observatory in Central Ohio that conducts hundreds of public programs for tens of thousands of people every year. Owned and operated by Ohio Wesleyan University, it primarily serves as an active research and educational facility for faculty and students of the OWU Physics and Astronomy Department. Most Friday evenings the facility is open for regular programs that include activities like telescope viewing, a tour of the observatory or a lecture about the night sky. The observatory also offers programming for telescope owners to increase their skills. The venue’s own telescope, equipped with 69-inch glass, made it the third largest telescope in the world in 1931. That telescope was subsequently moved to Arizona, where it is now a part of the Lowell Observatory and boasts a 72-inch diameter glass.
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Music for the Ages in Pennsylvania
By Linda Tancs
There’s a musical treasure trove in the small city of Franklin, Pennsylvania. It’s where you’ll find DeBence Antique Music World Museum, which houses a collection of more than 200 antique mechanical musical instruments dating from the mid–1800s to the 1950s. The collection is the brainchild of Jake and Elizabeth DeBence, who started amassing their treasures in the 1940s. Among the exhibits are music boxes, band organs, player pianos, nickelodeons, carousel organs and musical toys. A guided tour includes the chance to listen to and play instruments; the basement has quarter machines to watch and listen to music so make sure you bring some spare change.
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