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
Arts and Crafts By the River
By Linda Tancs
The 37th season of Oregon’s Portland Saturday Market,the largest outdoor craft market in the U.S., begins on 6 March. The event, located at SW Ankeny St and Naito Parkway in historic Old Town, gives 250 or more artists the opportunity to showcase their handicrafts. While there you’ll enjoy live music and exotic foods. The kickoff includes a children’s parade at 2pm. Are you a master crafter? Maybe you should think about joining.
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Flower Power in Philly
By Linda Tancs
Winter white will mix with “Rainbows in Flight” at this year’s flower show in Philadelphia. Now through 7 March at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, the largest and oldest indoor show of its kind has amended its moniker to the “Philadelphia International Flower Show” in recognition of its past exhibitions of landscapes and plants from Asia, Europe, Africa, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. This year’s “Passport to the World” theme builds on previous celebrations of the world’s flowers and gardens. Among the many offerings, visitors can experience the Amazon, trek through an Indian wedding, peek into Zulu culture, enjoy a tribute to the orchid and giant Victoria water lilies and witness exotic displays from New Zealand’s Maori tribe among the popular Casablanca and calla lilies. All the world’s a stage here, and you don’t have to trot around the globe to see it.
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The Ice Man Cometh
By Linda Tancs
The bogeyman may make sad the heart of childhood, but the Ice Cream Man makes glad the palate when he delivers personalized sundaes to kids before bedtime at Boston’s Four Seasons Hotel. For that you’ll need to book the VIK (Very Important Kids) package. What child wouldn’t love their own bathrobe and slippers, complimentary gift from the toy wagon, toy boat filled with treats and a scavenger hunt! Childhood is a short season, as actress Helen Hayes observed. The Four Seasons makes it a little sweeter.
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Age Is Just a Number
By Linda Tancs
Age limits are arbitrary. Just ask the folks at Exploritas. Formerly known as Elderhostel (sounds a bit hostile to elders, don’t you think?), they removed their travel barriers limiting tours to those aged 60 or over. That change, of course, does not magically transform the composition of a group. So why would a millenial explore the wilds of Iceland with grandpa? Therein lies an answer: family. As it was so wisely put in the movie The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, family is the most precious gift we are given. Looks like Exploritas figured that out, too.
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Do Not Disturb
By Linda Tancs
Those Do Not Disturb signs are as yesterday as dinosaurs at Seattle’s Hotel 1000, where infrared sensors let chambermaids know whether anyone’s home. The question is: does that technology protect Fido’s privacy, too? The hotel is, after all, pet friendly. At a wallet-friendly $40 per stay, your furry friend gets a bed, food and water bowl, chew toys and custom treats, among other things. It’s a dog’s life, indeed.
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An Exit Strategy
By Linda Tancs
New Jersey suffers its share of jokes: “I’m from New Jersey. Oh yeah, which exit?” So why not make lemonade out of those lemons. Or beer. That’s what the folks at Flying Fish Brewing Company in Cherry Hill have done. They have an Exit Series celebrating the State’s highway system. In fact, Exit 4 (the others so far are 1 and 11) captured the gold at the Great American Beer Festival. What’s your favorite exit? Hit the road and find out.
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The Wizard of Menlo Park
By Linda Tancs
History buffs know that the Wizard is none other than Thomas Edison, inventor of the light bulb, phonograph and over 400 other inventions. Menlo Park is the site within Edison, New Jersey where the great innovator worked his magic. Although another museum in West Orange gets more attention (and more tourists), this little enclave on Christie Street has one of those first light bulbs and the letter to the editor giving rise to the Wizard appellation. You would have trouble finding the place but for the concrete tower topped off by a 3.5 ton bulb that rises like a phoenix above the trees on Lincoln Highway. Are you the next great American inventor? Stop by for a visit and maybe you’ll find your muse.
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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.
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Just Plane Art
By Linda Tancs
North Carolina’s Charlotte Douglas International Airport might be better known for its snow-white rocking chairs in the atrium, but it’s art that’s at the heart of the airport’s enhancements for hassled travelers. Specifically, Just Plane (not plain!) Art is an exhibition of permanent and rotating exhibits highlighting local history. Take, for example, the 1/2 scale replica of the original Wright Flyer flown by Orville and Wilbur Wright on December 17, 1903–or the 15-foot-high bronze sculpture of Queen Charlotte in the airport’s Queen’s Courtyard, located in front of the terminal. The pre-Revolutionary War city is, after all, named after King George III’s wife. So enjoy the local lore and take some tedium out of travel.
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Ride the Silver Bullet
By Linda Tancs
Airstream, affectionately known as the silver bullet, is synonymous with road travel. With over 70 years of design experience and a shelf life of 40 years or more behind it, this piece of Americana occupies a special place in the hearts of RVers. And now comes the chance to own a limited edition–in collaboration with another famed master of design and functionality, the Victorinox Special Edition Airstream is available for a lucky 125 purchasers. That’s one buyer for every year that Victorinox has produced the iconic Swiss army knife. Any takers?
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Something for Nothing
By Linda Tancs
Deep in the desert of Arizona expect to find the usual denizens: snakes, fire ants, birds of prey and assorted mammals like prairie dogs and porcupines. So don’t say there’s nothing–that is, “no thing.” And here’s something else to ponder: there’s no longer no thing in Nothing, for Nothing now has something (I’m beginning to feel like Dr. Seuss here). That would be a pizza parlor. That’s right, the little desert bowl of a town in the middle of nothing has a pizza joint that’s got the locals talking. Consider a visit the next time you’re on US 93 between mile markers 148 and 149, and send your reviews here.
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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.
