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
The Knick in New York
By Linda Tancs
When it comes to the Knickerbocker Hotel in New York City, you get the pleasure of staying not only at a luxury hotel but also of enjoying a storied building. Affectionately known as The Knick, the glamorous, Beaux-Arts style dwelling was built in 1906 by John Jacob Astor IV, scion of one of America’s most influential families. Of course, that means that it was “the” place to be for the cognoscenti and glitterati of the day. Indeed, it was home to world-famous tenor Enrico Caruso and his family and a popular meeting place for bigwigs like John D. Rockefeller and other financiers and industrialists. After Astor’s death on the Titanic, the hotel subsequently closed until its rebirth in 2015. Designated a New York City Landmark in 1988, it remains one of Manhattan’s premier luxury hotels in Times Square.
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As coronavirus proceeds, it is likely that the vast majority of us will be limited in our travels. But this, too, shall pass. Our love for travel remains, so Travelrific will continue offering travel inspiration in this medium. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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Nashville’s Italianate Villa
By Linda Tancs
Belmont Mansion is Tennessee’s largest antebellum house, an Italianate villa in Nashville that once boasted an art gallery, a bowling alley and a zoo, among other things. Originally the summer home for Nashville socialite Adelicia Acklen and her family, the estate also served as temporary headquarters for the Union army during the Civil War and later as a women’s college. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1971, the mansion features 36 rooms over 19,000 square feet. A guided tour takes about one hour.
UPDATE: Since the scheduling of this post, the Nashville area has suffered one of the most devastating storms in its history. Please consider donating to a relief organization and keep those affected in your thoughts and prayers.
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Scaling the Heights in Monadnock
By Linda Tancs
The region of Monadnock in southwest New Hampshire is named after Mount Monadnock, the highest peak in the area. Although less than imposing at a height just shy of 3,200 feet, it’s remarkably touted as the most climbed mountain in the world after Japan’s Mount Fuji. Regardless whether you believe that claim, the views from the summit as far south as Boston attract novice and experienced hikers alike. The ascending and descending trails are both short at about two miles, but rangers generally recommend the White Dot Trail for climbing and the White Cross Trail for descending. The hike is popular throughout the year, even in winter.
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A Gem in Savannah
By Linda Tancs
Wormsloe Historic Site is a gem to behold in Savannah, Georgia. The site was once the colonial estate of carpenter Noble Jones, who came to Georgia with James Oglethorpe and the first group of settlers in 1733. The ruins of Jones’s tabby house (built in 1745) represent the oldest standing structure in Savannah, but even more breathtaking are the mile-long rows of oaks with sweeping branches lining the avenue to the estate, covering the driveway like a giant arch. Along with costumed interpretation on the nature trails, the locale offers a short film on the founding of Georgia and great views over the Skidaway Narrows, where the house was built to defend the strategic section of the Skidaway River from Spanish invasion.
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Florida’s Treasure Coast
By Linda Tancs
Florida’s Treasure Coast is located on the state’s southeastern coast. Comprising three counties (Indian River, St. Lucie and Martin), it might be best known (as its name implies) as the place where ship-wrecked coins wash up on the shores. That’s because over 300 years ago a fleet of 11 Spanish ships wrecked offshore between the St. Lucie River and Cape Canaveral while returning to Spain with riches from the colonies. You might still dig up a few gold coins today, but don’t miss the area’s other attractions, like beaches, tournament fishing and nature reserves including the nearly 12,000-acre Jonathan Dickinson State Park.
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A Little Alabama in California
By Linda Tancs
If you’re a fan of natural stone arches like those found in Arches National Park, then you’ll surely love Alabama Hills. No, it isn’t in Alabama; you’ll find it west of Lone Pine in Inyo County, California. And you’ll find more than arches (most of which bear an east/west view). In fact, you’ll be amazed at the bevy of golden granite boulders rising like sharpened pencils from the desert floor. This region of rock formations got its name from Southern sympathizers celebrating the victories of the CSS Alabama, the most successful and notorious Confederate raiding vessel of the Civil War.
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Good to the Last Drop in Nashville
By Linda Tancs
The Cheek family of Nashville, Tennessee, were successful entrepreneurs. One of their ventures gave rise to Maxwell House coffee, proclaimed to be “good to the last drop” by President Theodore Roosevelt. Thanks to their efforts, the public gets to enjoy the mansion and gardens of Cheekwood. Originally built as the home of Leslie and Mabel Cheek in 1929, the 55-acre estate is now the site of a botanical garden as well as an art museum in the mansion. The estate is also one of the finest examples of the Country Place Era, a period of American landscape architecture design reflecting the commissioning of extensive gardens intended to emulate those found among the grand manor estates in Europe. The site is less than nine miles southwest of downtown Nashville.
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A Crown Jewel of Civil War Sites
By Linda Tancs
Called “the new crown jewel of Civil War sites in America” by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian James M. McPherson of Princeton University, Pamplin Historical Park & The National Museum of the Civil War Soldier is a 424-acre historical campus commemorating people and events related to the war. Set amidst a once-threatened Civil War battlefield near Petersburg, Virginia, the site features numerous museums, a restored plantation, walking trails, encampments and costumed interpretation. The local railroad’s ability to supply Confederate forces was an appealing reason for battles in this area. You can still see the depot in Old Towne Petersburg.
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Grey Towers
By Linda Tancs
Gifford Pinchot is legendary in Pennsylvania. Son of a wealthy wallpaper merchant, he was twice Governor of Pennsylvania and the first Chief of the U.S. Forest Service. His family’s summer home, Grey Towers, is in Milford, under the care of the Forest Service. Designed in the style of a French château to reflect the family’s French heritage, it’s open for guided tours during the summer season. The stunning grounds, however, are open year-round.
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Wren’s Legacy in Missouri
By Linda Tancs
The Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury, is a 17th-century English church located in Fulton, Missouri. Designed by Sir Christopher Wren after the Great Fire of 1666 devastated London (and subsequently badly damaged during the Blitz), it was shipped piece-by-piece to its current location at Westminster College in Fulton, where it was faithfully restored to Wren’s specifications and serves as the only building in the U.S. designed by him. Beneath the church is the National Churchill Museum, honoring the prime minister’s visit to the college in 1946 and recognized in 2009 by Congress as America’s permanent tribute to him.
