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
Feeling the Heat in New Mexico
By Linda Tancs
With summertime heat gripping the northeastern U.S. these days, there’s no need to daydream about warm days and cool nights. But, hey, it’s only early spring so the day will come when the weather will match the calendar again. Then you might want to consider a dip in the 100-degree waters of Ojo Caliente, little more than an hour away from Santa Fe. The little town in New Mexico (population: 1000, give or take) lays claim to the country’s first natural spa, discovered in the 1500s by the Spaniards, who gave the place the name Ojo, or hot eye. Accommodations at the site range from garden variety hotel rooms to cliffside suites that won’t leave your wallet in tatters. So you can steep in the springs, not in the prices.
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Let’s Go Fly a Kite
By Linda Tancs
What better way to soar into spring than to unfurl a kite. But where best to harness the wind? That’s easy. It’s the Outer Banks of North Carolina where Wilbur and Orville Wright flew into history. With near perfect wind conditions year round, it’s no wonder there’s a kite event in the region for every season. This weekend the season officially kicks off in celebration of National Kite Month with an event at Jockey’s Ridge State Park in Nags Head from 10 am to 4 pm. This free, family fun gathering features general kite flying as well as stunt and power kite lessons.
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The Last of the Mohicans
By Linda Tancs
The last of the Mohicans settled in the Berkshires in the 1600s. See the nature, hear the harmony and experience the culture of today’s Berkshires. The Mohicans knew a good thing when they saw it. Visit Travelrific ® Radio for more information.
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A Capitol Idea
By Linda Tancs
Have you visited Washington, D.C. lately? Our nation’s Capitol building has a new visitor center, featuring a 13-minute film about Congress and the construction of their architecturally distinctive place of business. On Wednesdays at noon, historians and educators give free chats about the building. To date, over 2.3 million visitors have graced the visitor’s entrance since the opening of the new center. That’s twice as many tourists as they’d seen in the year prior to the opening of the new digs. If you build it, they will come, the saying goes. Indeed they have.
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Seeing Pink in Sedona
By Linda Tancs
Some may think that red and pink clash (in the sartorial sense), but in the rugged terrain of Sedona, Arizona, they’re perfect together. Pink Jeep, as the name implies, is a cadre of pink-colored jeeps scouring the red rocks and gaping canyons of Sedona, north of Scottsdale and Phoenix. The popular, off-roading tour company offers something for everyone: a descent down the “Road of No Return” for thrill seekers, an archeological expedition to the cliff art at the 700-year-old Sinaguan cliff dwelling for intellectuals, and a view of lowland desert and Ponderosa pine forests atop the Mogollon Rim for shutterbugs. Sedona sure looks pretty in pink.
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Getting Back Into Dodge
By Linda Tancs
The Old West town of Dodge City, Kansas inevitably evokes images of saloons and shootouts. The violent history underlying the early settlement of Boot Hill, in particular, can be imagined while strolling through the old cemetery and its memorials to cowboys both known and unknown. Given its legendary past, it’s easy to understand why the denizens of the day would be eager to get out of Dodge. Today all that gore gives way to gaming with Boot Hill’s casino and resort, the first state-owned and operated gambling hall in Kansas. Phase 1 of the project now offers 580 slot machines and thirteen table games including such standards as blackjack, craps, roulette and poker. Phase 2 of the resort, slated for a December 2011 opening, will feature a hotel, day spa, two more restaurants and lounges, and more game space to lose–er, donate–your cash. A veritable hodgepodge to get you back into Dodge.
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The Beauty of Late Ice
By Linda Tancs
Anglers in training take note: if ice fishing seems out of sync with winter’s transition to spring, then you’ll be missing out on some great catch, especially around Oconomowoc, Wisconsin’s lake district. Don’t worry about sledding into thin ice at the river’s heartland to jig for bluegill. Life is returning to the shallows, and so are the fish. That means you should, too.
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Weightless in Seattle
By Linda Tancs
If Virgin Galactic’s $200k price tag is a bit steep to indulge your taste for weightless travel, then consider Zero G, a company offering you a series of parabolic arcs aboard a modified Boeing 727 to create a weightless environment. Think of it as the adult version of a kiddie bounce house. Flight locations include Las Vegas, Cape Canaveral, Titusville, Seattle, Los Angeles, New York and Washington, DC. Put a little spring in your step.
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The Arts Illuminated
By Linda Tancs
There’s more than just The Alamo to remember in San Antonio, Texas. In particular, the month of March is a celebration of contemporary art, highlighted by the Luminaria on 13 March. A nationally and internationally acclaimed event, Luminaria showcases every element of the visual and performing arts in one magnificent evening downtown. Participants include several hundred artists and over 40 nonprofits. In 2009, 185,000 people attended Luminaria. Why not? It’s free. But with attendance like that, you’d better book your hotel now.
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Tourists Help Fund Travel Promotions
By Linda Tancs
As reported previously on this blog, a movement has been afoot in Congress to fund U.S. travel promotion with, among other things, fees from foreign tourists. This week President Obama signed into law the Travel Promotion Act. The multimillion dollar national marketing program administered by the Corporation for Travel Promotion will assess a $10 fee every two years on tourists from visa waiver countries . With a decades-long slip in international tourism dollars from 16% of the market to 12%, the added bump in PR revenue might not be all that significant. Good thing the private sector is allowed to contribute as much as $100 million to the cause.
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The author has not received any compensation for writing this content and has no material connection to the brands, topics, products and/or services that are mentioned herein.
