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
Lights Under Louisville
By Linda Tancs
Operating from November to early January, Lights Under Louisville is the world’s only underground drive-through holiday lights display. You’ll find it at Mega Cavern in Louisville, Kentucky. Boasting 7 million points of light illuminating the cavern’s vast spaces, the attraction features themed displays, characters, holiday music, lasers and more. You can drive your own vehicle through the cavern, choose a guided tour on an open-top vehicle, or charter a motorcoach or van.
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Surfing Santas
By Linda Tancs
Christmas Eve in Cocoa Beach, Florida, marks Surfing Santa Day, a time to assemble both surfing and Christmas enthusiasts from around the world. Hundreds of surfers donned in Santa’s best will ride the waves in the morning before 10,000 or so onlookers. Join them on the beach at the end of Minutemen Causeway.
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Little Hollywood
By Linda Tancs
Vistas of sagebrush and towering sandstone cliffs have lured filmmakers to Kanab, Utah, for 80 years. That’s why it’s become known as “Little Hollywood.” Movie posters and autographed photos abound in buildings; abandoned film sets are tourist attractions. You can experience more of frontier movie making at The Little Hollywood Movie Museum on Center Street, which reveals how Southern Utah became the backlot for some of the most spectacular movies ever made.
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Mardi Gras World
By Linda Tancs
Located along the Mississippi River, Mardi Gras World is a tourist attraction located in New Orleans, Louisiana. Guests tour the 300,000 square foot working warehouse where hundreds of floats are made for Mardi Gras parades. This all-access opportunity winds you through the massive studio, where artists and architects work year-round building Mardi Gras floats from the ground up. The facility offers a complimentary shuttle for people taking their tour, with stops adjacent to the French Quarter.
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Christmas Boat Parade
By Linda Tancs
The Christmas Boat Parade in Newport Beach, California, is an annual event where fully decorated boats cruise around the harbor in the evening for holiday light viewing. One of the largest boat parades of its kind, hundreds of decorated ships of all sizes compete for top awards in over a half dozen categories. The parade route begins and ends at the tip of Lido Isle. Bayfront estates also get in on the action and take part in their own competition called the “Ring Of Lights.” This year’s parade is from December 17 to December 21, with fireworks and other festivities opening and closing the event.
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The Longest Bridge in the US
By Linda Tancs
Spanning 24 miles over Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana, the U.S. Causeway (also known as The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway) is the longest bridge in the country as well as the longest bridge in the world over water. It was built in 1956 to connect New Orleans with the North Shore of the lake. Drive it for bragging rights and, additionally, great views over sunrise or sunset.
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Uplifting in Albuquerque
By Linda Tancs
One of the largest balloon festivals in the world, the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is a yearly hot air balloon festival that takes place in Albuquerque, New Mexico. So what better place to have a museum that celebrates ballooning. Located in the heart of town, the Anderson Abruzzo International Balloon Museum explores the history, science, sport and art of ballooning as well as other forms of flight. It also features one of the world’s finest collections of ballooning equipment and memorabilia and a shop with unique balloon-related merchandise.
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Vermont’s Lincoln Legacy
By Linda Tancs
Robert Lincoln was the only child of President Abraham Lincoln and his wife Mary Todd Lincoln to survive to maturity. Together with his wife, Robert built a summer home in Manchester, Vermont, a Georgian Revival mansion that would become a home to only Lincoln descendants until 1975, longer than any other Lincoln residence. They named the estate Hildene, formed from two Old English words: “Hil” meaning “hill” and “dene” meaning “valley with stream.” The description is an apt one, considering that the property is perched on a hill overlooking the Taconic Mountains to the west, the Green Mountains to the east, and the Battenkill River flowing through the valley below. In addition to the home and formal garden, the 412-acre estate boasts 12 miles of walking trails, a farm and a number of historic buildings. Wintertime is especially scenic at the estate and is a popular time to experience the trails.
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A Snow Globe Stroll
By Linda Tancs
Main Street in Park City, Utah, is a magical place during this festive season. Even more so thanks to the life-size snow globes decorated by local artists comprising the Snow Globe Stroll. Each globe is themed around a different holiday song. Every globe also includes hidden objects that are part of a scavenger hunt. Enjoy this free, family-friendly event!
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Jingle Rails
By Linda Tancs
An annual holiday tradition, Jingle Rails is a model train display featuring nine G-scale trains traveling through spectacular landscapes and past famous landmarks of Indianapolis and the American West. The scenes are masterfully crafted from natural materials and adorned with festive holiday decorations and twinkling lights. You’ll find this locomotive wonderland at The Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana.
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