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
Nationality Rooms
By Linda Tancs
The Nationality Rooms are a group of 31 classrooms in the University of Pittsburgh’s 42-story, Gothic-style Cathedral of Learning. Each room depicts the cultural heritage of an ethnic community that helped build Pittsburgh, using designs created by international architects, artists and craftspeople. Because the rooms are functioning classrooms, all tours of the rooms require advance registration and will be guided.
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Vermont’s Little Grand Canyon
By Linda Tancs
Perhaps Vermont’s most spectacular natural wonder, Quechee Gorge is popularly known as “Vermont’s Little Grand Canyon.” Formed by glacial activity approximately 13,000 years ago, it’s the focal point of Quechee State Park. Fishing is a popular activity at the gorge, as well as hiking and picnicking. Enjoy the vistas from Ottauquechee River, flowing 165 feet below viewing points along Route 4.
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Gallons of Fun in Atlanta
By Linda Tancs
One of the largest of its kind in the world, the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta houses over 120,000 marine animals from more than 200 species in over 11 million gallons of water. It’s the only aquarium in the U.S. to house whale sharks. In fact, the building was designed around their 6.3-million-gallon tank. You’ll also find beluga whales, manta rays, penguins, sea otters, dolphins and more spanning seven permanent galleries. Special experiences include sleepovers, face-to-face animal encounters and swims. The facility is located in downtown Atlanta across from Centennial Olympic Park.
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Fall for Ogunquit
By Linda Tancs
Known for its beaches and thriving arts community, Ogunquit, Maine, is a popular tourist destination on Maine’s southern coast. Autumn is a good time to claim a good beach walk without the summer crowds. After all, the town’s beaches have been voted one of the best in the United States! Another great activity is a hike along Marginal Way, a 1.5-mile cliff walk with a paved path, between The Sparhawk Oceanfront Resort on Shore Road and Perkins Cove. The stunning views (along with benches to stop and enjoy them) will no doubt explain why the town is named Ogunquit, a Native American term meaning “beautiful place by the sea.” This time of year also brings OgunquitFest. One of the biggest fall festivals in the Northeast, it features arts and crafts, a classic car show, a Dogtoberfest costume parade and more.
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Billed as the Great North American Eclipse, a total solar eclipse will cross North America on April 8, 2024, passing over Mexico, the United States and Canada. The path of the eclipse begins in Mexico, entering the United States in Texas, and traveling through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. The eclipse will enter Canada in Southern Ontario, and continue through Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton. This will be the last time any solar eclipse will be visible within the United States until 2045.
Be prepared! So long as supplies last, you can purchase eclipse glasses and other accessories, like a phone app and photo filter, from American Paper Optics, a NASA-approved manufacturer. The link in the preceding sentence is an affiliate link, which means that if you click on the link and purchase merchandise from the page, then I may receive a small commission.
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The Cape of Florida
By Linda Tancs
Cape Florida (also known as the Cape of Florida) was named by explorer Ponce de Leon during the first Spanish expedition to Florida in 1513. It’s where you’ll find Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park, just minutes from downtown Miami on the tip of Key Biscayne. The centerpiece of the park is Cape Florida Lighthouse, the oldest structure in Greater Miami and a veritable time capsule of state history. Dating to 1825, it’s on the National Register of Historic Places, old enough to have featured in an attack by Native Americans during the Second Seminole War. Its wrap-around balcony offers some of the most stunning views of Key Biscayne, Miami Beach, the Atlantic Ocean and Stiltsville, a collection of stilt houses perched on sand flats a mile offshore.
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Spooked in Staten Island
By Linda Tancs
It seems fitting that an allegedly haunted mansion in Staten Island, New York, should be located on Arthur Kill Road, particularly considering that the house was an actual murder scene. The property in question is what remains of Kreischer Mansion, a wood-frame house in the American Queen Anne style built by German immigrant and brick magnate Balthasar Kreischer circa 1885. The home’s ghostly vibe could be attributed to one or more unfortunate events taking place there: a suicide of one of Kreischer’s sons in the late 1800s and a killing for hire in 2005. The eeriness lends itself to an annual horror fest around Halloween as well as haunt tours.
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The Trail that Bourbon Built
By Linda Tancs
Right now almost 11 million barrels of bourbon are aging in Kentucky, the world’s foremost producer. A type of barrel-aged American whisky made primarily from corn, Congress declared it an indigenous product of the United States, meaning that no other country can make a product and call it bourbon. You can trek through the Bluegrass State on a bourbon trail that will take you to 18 distilleries. That’s a lot of sipping and savoring, so put your feet up along the way at a variety of inns and hotels like the Old Talbott Tavern (home to the world’s oldest bourbon bar) in Bardstown, where they’ve been welcoming guests since 1779.
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A Natural Wonder of Georgia
By Linda Tancs
Touted as one of Georgia’s “Seven Natural Wonders,” Okefenokee Swamp (the largest blackwater wetland ecosystem in North America) is protected by the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. A great way to tour the area is via the Auto Tour Route (also known as Swamp Island Drive). The 7-mile paved road provides access to several hiking trails as well as Chesser Island Boardwalk, where you’ll find the Owl’s Roost Tower and its unparalleled view of the swamp prairies and the Okefenokee Wilderness. There are three major entrances and two secondary entrances to the refuge, the main one being near Folkston, where the Richard S. Bolt Visitor Center will orient you to all that the site has to offer.
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Dignity in South Dakota
By Linda Tancs
Located on a bluff between exits 263 and 265 on Interstate 90 near Chamberlain, South Dakota, is a massive stainless steel sculpture honoring the cultures of the Lakota and Dakota people. Known as Dignity, the 50-foot-tall Native American woman is cast in attire patterned after a two-hide dress of the 1850s. She holds outstretched a quilt featuring 128 stainless steel blue diamond shapes that glitter in the sun. At night, LED lights cause the diamond shapes to glow in the night sky. Easily visible from the interstate, the adjoining rest area and ample parking lot make it very accessible. Enjoy sweeping views of the Missouri River and the South Dakota landscape.
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Seafaring History in Connecticut
By Linda Tancs
Sprawling across 19 acres of Mystic River shoreline, Connecticut’s Mystic Seaport is the largest maritime museum in the United States. Of particular note is its collection of historic sailing vessels, four of which have National Historic Landmark status: the Morgan (the world’s last surviving wooden whaleship in the world), Dunton (the last example of an early 20th-century New England fishing vessel), Sabino and Emma C. Berry. The site is also distinctive for its recreated 19th-century seafaring village, comprising actual trade shops and businesses from the 1800s that were transported to Mystic Seaport from locations around New England. Among other things, you’ll discover demonstrations of maritime trades, from shipsmiths and coopers to woodcarvers and riggers. About 10 miles east of New London, the venue is widely accessible via bus, boat, train, car or ferry.
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