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
Christmas at Biltmore
By Linda Tancs
Biltmore House, that glorious French Renaissance chateau in Asheville, North Carolina, was opened to friends by George Washington Vanderbilt in 1895. For those of you with champagne wishes and caviar dreams, you can experience the grandiosity of a Christmas at Biltmore by visiting the seasonal attraction, now in its 35th year. Daytime tours include a walk about Biltmore House, seranaded all the while with music of the season. The event also includes a tour of the Gardens, the Winery with complimentary wine tasting, River Bend Farm and Barnyard. Of course, the illumination of the house and grounds is a must-see as well. For the past 26 years, therefore, Biltmore has offered Candlelight Christmas Evenings, a separate ticketed event. Guests tour through rooms lit by twinkling lights and firelight, reflected in thousands of ornaments. Live entertainment inside Biltmore House is included. New this year is the restoration and preservation of the magnificent Louis XV Suite in Biltmore House, the birthplace of two generations of the Vanderbilt family. Buy your tickets online and print them at home. Meet the season in high style!
Share this:
New Hampshire
By Linda Tancs
New Hampshire’s tourism website says you’re going to love it there. Well, what’s not to love? It’s a place for all seasons, and the shopping is tax free. Learn more about the Granite State at Travelrific® Radio.
Share this:
Celebrate Model Railroads in Chattanooga
By Linda Tancs
Did you know that November is National Model Railroad Month? What better place to celebrate than the Howell Day Museum of Model Railroading in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Dedicated in 2000, the museum is named for Howell Day, who proposed creating a museum entirely devoted to the history and technology of scale model railroading in 1995. There you’ll find a replica of his Lehigh Valley “Dorothy” inspection engine and the showcasing of various intricately-detailed exhibits.
Share this:
How Now Brown Cow
By Linda Tancs
Cheese aficionados, take note. If the process of cheesemaking is as interesting to you as the taste, then take a lesson or two at Shelburne Farms, a 123-acre estate in Vermont. Home of the Brown Swiss, a breed known for its high milk fat content, guests can pull an udder or two beside an accomplished milkmaid and immerse themselves in farm life, not to mention history. After all, cheddar’s origins in Cheddar, England date back to the 12th century. West of Bennington and part of the Vermont Cheese Trail, the inn on the farm offers 24 rooms with luxe accommodations (and a price to match). Are these green acres the place for you? Get moo-ving and find out.
Share this:
Where America Happened
By Linda Tancs
A National Scenic Byway designation is the highest honor that the U.S. Secretary of Transportation can bestow on a roadway, recognizing its outstanding significance culturally, historically, recreationally or otherwise. That honorific was recently granted to America’s corridor, an 180-mile long thoroughfare running from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania to Monticello in Charlottesville, Virginia–known as the Journey Through Hallowed Ground. The area represents what late historian C. Vann Woodward referred to as a route that “soaked up more of the blood, sweat, and tears of American history than any other part of the country.” Indeed, along this region you’ll find the Civil War’s hallowed grounds in and around Gettysburg as well as the Dobbin House, a Civil War hospital and reputed safe house for enslaved African Americans traveling north in search of freedom. You’ll see colonial taverns and a Revolutionary War-era prison, a historic gristmill and battlefield, superb architectural specimens of the 1800s and a sampling of presidential mansions including James Monroe and Thomas Jefferson. Of course, there’s lots more. But why should I spoil it for you? See for yourself.
Share this:
Lakes Aplenty
By Linda Tancs
To call Rangely, Maine a “lake district” is surely an understatement. This western part of the state is embraced by 112 interconnected lakes and ponds scattered throughout the region, the centerpiece of which is Rangeley Lake. A quiet village, Rangely can boast of two unusual things: no traffic light and a sign in town that places it midway between the Equator and the North Pole. Clearly a boater’s paradise in summer, year-round recreational activities include fishing, hiking, skiing, snowmobiling, wildlife watching, and leaf peeping. Add to that: watching the sunset over Mooselookmeguntic Lake. Awesome.
Share this:
Delaware’s Distinctions
By Linda Tancs
Delaware became the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. Needless to say, historical sites and artifacts abound, but Delaware’s distinctions also extend to its cuisine, unique festivities and great beaches. Learn more about the First State at Travelrific® Travel Show.
Share this:
Historic Lisbon
By Linda Tancs
Yes, Lisbon is historic. No, we’re not talking about that legendary city in Portugal with over 20 centuries of history and its capital since its conquest from the Moors in 1147. We’re talking about Lisbon, Connecticut, a small community named after its sister city in Portugal. Located along the old stagecoach route linking Norwich, Connecticut and Worcester, Massachusetts, it’s perhaps best known as a chief leaf-peeping destination given its location on Route 169, a National Scenic Byway. Thirty two miles in length, you can take in all the autumn wonder in just one day. Besides the leaves, there’s plenty more to this route, especially for history buffs. You can take a tour from Canterbury to Pulpit Rock Road Marker in North Woodstock, viewing along the way the first academy for young black women in New England, a stop on the Underground Railroad, and monuments to early settlers, war heroes, and famous legislators.
Share this:
Mohonk Still Timeless at 140
By Linda Tancs
In 1869, a Rhode Island schoolmaster named Albert Smiley purchased 280 acres and a ten-room inn overlooking a lovely lake atop the Shawangunk Ridge above New Paltz, New York. Since then, that investment has metamorphosed into Mohonk Mountain House, an idyllic retreat comprising a Victorian castle with 265 rooms, five guest cottages, three spacious dining rooms, 138 fireplaces, 238 balconies, and a half-dozen parlors. The centerpiece of a 26,000-acre natural area in the Shawangunk Mountains, the 140-year-old resort lacks for nothing in the way of amenities, like its 30,000 square-foot spa’s steam and sauna rooms. Not surprisingly, the mountain house was named a National Historic Landmark in 1986. From Sky Top Tower, you can survey the property’s namesake, Lake Mohonk, a 60-foot deep, freshwater beauty. In 1882, the New York Times reported, “There is nothing in the world exactly like Lake Mohonk.” Well, maybe seeing is believing.
Share this:
Meet and Greet
By Linda Tancs
Roman philosopher Seneca mused, “The whole world is my native land.” You, too, can have that familiar (or better yet, familial-type) feeling if you’re lucky enough to find a greeter at your next tourist destination. If the idea of finding a friendly native to take you around town for a few hours–for free–appeals to you, then you should see if the Global Greeter Network has a volunteer guide for you. A growing network, the group currently has ambassadors of all ages across the U.S. and in Europe. Why go it alone?
If you enjoyed this post, please share it on sites such as StumbleUpon, vote for it, bookmark it or Tweet it. Thanks for your support! Travelrific® was featured as Blog of the Day on NJ.com!
