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
Summer in New York City
By Linda Tancs
New York City is known the world over for its spectacular Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. But the dog days of summer give rise to lots of fabulous events, too. Find out more at Travelrific® Travel Show.
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Bethel Celebrates Anniversaries
By Linda Tancs
Hard to believe this year marks 40 years since Flower Power took to a rain-soaked field in Sullivan County, New York, site of a musical festival known as Woodstock. As if the enduring legacy of that seminal event in pop culture isn’t enough to commemorate, the pastoral town of Bethel has yet another milestone to celebrate this year: its 200th birthday. Bethel Woods Center for the Arts has lots of events on tap to celebrate the tiny town’s past, present and future. Visit the museum for a taste of their centuries-old history; this weekend, admission is free as part of Give Peace a Chance Family Day. And get your tickets now for Woodstock’s 40th Anniversary bash on August 15, starring Levon Helm Band, Jefferson Starship, Ten Years After, Canned Heat, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Mountain, Tom Constanten and Country Joe McDonald.
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Walking on Air
By Linda Tancs
Being on edge takes on new meaning at the Sears Tower in Chicago. Now premiering at the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere is The Ledge, a series of glass capsules jutting out from the 103rd floor’s skydeck. The idea certainly isn’t novel, of course; just check out the glass bridge at Grand Canyon West. However, instead of the canyon’s natural beauty you get unimpeded views of the concrete jungle. Different strokes for different folks. You’ll get a bird’s-eye view (minus the birds) of the July 4th fireworks in any event.
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Norwich, Meet Norwich
By Linda Tancs
It’s been 350 years since the British left their homes in Norwich to settle in the colonies. In Connecticut, their namesake city will be celebrating its founding by our forefathers as part of a Norfolk-Norwich World Family Gathering. Now through 5 July, the Norfolks and Norwich’s of the world (some 58 communities of varying size) will experience New England charm, topped off with a clambake, July 4 celebration, parade, tall ships viewing at Mystic Seaport and a visit with the area’s original inhabitants, the Mohegan tribe. Be like family and come for a visit.
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Bear Valley Beckons
By Linda Tancs
About an hour north of San Francisco, California, the rugged coast comprising Point Reyes National Seashore awaits your visit. Boasting 150 miles of trails, four backcountry campgrounds, several historical structures, three visitor centers, and beaches galore, you better have a game plan to tackle this national treasure. At Bear Valley Visitor Center, you can ponder the ecological and historical exhibits along with a seismograph, weather station, and auditorium for enjoying educational programs. Whatever you do, don’t miss Kule Loklo (Bear Valley), a replica of a Coast Miwok Indian village representing the earliest inhabitants of this area. If time permits, look for the herd of nearly 400 elk at the north end of the park on Tomales Point within the Tule Elk Reserve or watch for birds or whales at the Lighthouse. It seems almost trite to call 70,000 acres of dunes, sandy and rocky beaches, coastal grasslands, Douglas fir and Bishop Pine forests, wetlands, chaparral, and wilderness lakes a national park. But as British author Landt Dennis observed, a park symbolizes man’s humanity to man. And that, after all, seems pretty grand.
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A Seafaring Staycation
By Linda Tancs
A staycation is generally defined as a holiday enjoying one’s home environs. Well, why not enjoy someone else’s home environs instead–like a lighthouse keeper’s house? The United States Lighthouse Society keeps a list of lighthouses where you can keep the home lens burning. You might have to fix a window or paint a door as the price of admission in some cases, but you can’t beat the view. Ships ahoy, mate!
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U.S. Fishing Tournaments
By Linda Tancs
Sport fishing is a popular activity. Tournaments abound throughout the U.S. for this competitive pastime. Learn more about these nationwide events for grown-up peeps and pee wees alike at Travelrific® Radio.
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Wildlife in Suburbia
By Linda Tancs
If you thought the South American monk parakeet was content to keep company in the canopy of a tropical rainforest, then there’s a lot you don’t know about this little squawker. Sightings of the colorful birds, also known as Quaker parrots, have been reported from Miami, Florida to Brooklyn, New York. In fact, a cluster of them have taken up status as permanent resident aliens in the bedroom community of Edgewater, New Jersey. They brave the northeastern winter by building colossal nests with power lines as furnace heaters. Obviously, this poses a problem. Perhaps they should just dance instead to raise body temperature. Recent studies indicate that species such as this really know how to shake their tail feather. Ray Charles would be proud.
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Refuge in the Valley
By Linda Tancs
Tucked away just outside Darby, Montana lies the peaceful seclusion of Alpine Meadows Ranch in the Bitterroot Valley. Designed by the world renowned U.S. architect Frank Lloyd Wright, this 200+ acre estate offers rustic respite from city life–or suburbia, for that matter–with stunning vistas of both the Sapphire and Bitterroot mountain ranges. The prospect of communing with wildlife (viewed with safety from The Cider House) is guaranteed, considering that the property borders the largest wilderness area in the country, Selway Wilderness Area. Is there a best time of year to visit? Probably not; it is, after all, known as the Banana Belt due to the mildness of the weather year round. The Wright-designed House sleeps up to six, or cozy up in the Cabin for two. Wright’s concept of design was “of the land, not on the land.” See for yourself whether you’d agree. As another famous naturalist said, “Come forth into the light of things, let nature be your teacher.”
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California Needs Cash
By Linda Tancs
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger says the state wallet is empty. All the more reason, then, to spend some tourism cash in California. You can spend lots of it at Chateau du Sureau in Oakhurst, four hours north of Los Angeles. Live life like those to the manor born in a resplendent country-style chateau, complete with all the accoutrements of a grand house of Europe. Take your tea in the Grand Salon amidst its floor to ceiling fireplace–or retire to your room with its own embers. Around the meticulously manicured nine acres you’ll find walking paths, fountains, a swimming pool, a bocce court and a life-size chess set. And Yosemite National Park is just miles away. What more do you need? Start packing.
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