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
Quebec Rural Style in Michigan
By Linda Tancs
The oldest home on Mackinac Island in Michigan is the Biddle House. Dating back to 1780 and built in the Quebec rural style, it was purchased in the 1800s by Edward Biddle, a wealthy fur trader who hailed from a prominent Philadelphia family (one of the first families of the United States). Biddle married Agatha de la Vigne, a Native American born on Mackinac Island who partnered with her husband in the fur trade. Often overlooked in island history is the fact that most residents in the 1800s were Native American. Now that the house is in the midst of a renovation, its Indian roots will be highlighted with a two-room exhibit.
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A Natural Landmark in New Jersey
By Linda Tancs
Protected and administered by Rutgers University, Hutcheson Memorial Forest Center boasts more than 500 acres of conserved land, much of it uncut forest, one of the last in the Mid-Atlantic. In fact, the old growth forest is the only uncut upland forest in New Jersey, and it appears on the National Park Service Register of Natural Landmarks. Public tours led by university faculty and researchers occur throughout the year on designated Sundays. The meetup point is at the forest entrance located at 2150 Amwell Road (Route 514), just east of historic East Millstone.
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An Iron Plantation in Pennsylvania
By Linda Tancs
Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site in Elverson, Pennsylvania, is an example of an American 19th century rural “iron plantation.” Operating from 1771 to 1883, Hopewell and other iron plantations led the industrial revolution in the United States. Hopewell and sites like it were called iron plantations because these early industrial enterprises were typically isolated, largely self-sufficient communities centered around the production of iron for sale. Comprising 848 acres, the site’s cold-blast iron furnace and accompanying community have been restored to the way it looked during its heydey in the 1830s and 1840s.
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A Village for Book Lovers
By Linda Tancs
Imagine a village with barely 500 residents becoming a center for arts and literary culture. There aren’t too many, worldwide, but one of them is in the Northern Catskills—Hobart, New York, to be precise. The only book village east of the Mississippi, the tiny hamlet boasts five independent book stores featuring second-hand and antiquarian books, prints and other works. You’ll also find art galleries, antique shops and a calendar full of writing festivals, book signings and lectures. This Thanksgiving weekend the town hosts one of two semi-annual sales drawing hundreds of book lovers and collectors.
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A Slice of Life in New York
By Linda Tancs
Statistics reveal that about 21,000 slices of pizza are sold each minute in the U.S., or 30 million every day. No wonder it’s one of the nation’s go-to comfort foods. A food that iconic should have its own museum. And it does, a pop-up variety currently exhibiting in New York City. The Museum of Pizza is an immersive experience featuring textile sculpture (Mystic Pizza), a pizza guitar, giant photographs and explosively colorful installations. In short, you’ll learn all about the fine art of pizza, literally and figuratively. Located on the street level of Brooklyn’s William Vale hotel, the museum is open until November 18.
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Herding in Fort Worth
By Linda Tancs
When Fort Worth, Texas, celebrated its 150th anniversary in 1999 the city inaugurated a cattle drive to commemorate its rich western heritage and the importance of the livestock industry to the city. Still going strong, the Fort Worth Herd is a twice-daily cattle drive taking place along Exchange Avenue in the Stockyards National Historic District. The longhorns reside in the corral located behind the Livestock Exchange Building and can be viewed there before and after the event.
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The Tenor of Things in Brooklyn
By Linda Tancs
Italian operatic singer Enrico Caruso is widely regarded as one of the greatest tenors of all time. A worldwide sensation, he performed at the New York Metropolitan Opera over 800 times alone. It seems appropriate, then, that a New York collector would facilitate the creation of a museum in Caruso’s honor. The Enrico Caruso Museum opened in 1990 in Brooklyn with the Mancusi family’s collection of over 200 recordings. Other memorabilia include rare family photos of the Caruso family, books, letters, caricatures and the death mask of Caruso. A popular attraction in the museum is the 20-seat mini theater, with chairs and décor from the old Metropolitan Opera donated by famed soprano Licia Albanese.
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Beneath the Plains
By Linda Tancs
Minuteman Missile National Historic Site preserves two facilities that were once part of a Minuteman Missile field that covered the far western portion of South Dakota from 1963 through the early 1990s. The only National Park Service unit specifically designated for the Cold War, the park’s enabling legislation states that Minuteman Missile’s purpose is “to interpret the historical role of the Minuteman II missile defense system as a key component of America’s strategic commitment to preserve world peace and in the broader context of the Cold War.” Ranger-guided tours of Launch Control Facility Delta-01 and the underground Launch Control Center are conducted throughout the year, but the elevator taking visitors down to the underground control center can only hold six visitors at a time. Fifteen miles west of the visitor center is the Delta-09 missile silo, where visitors can see a Minuteman II missile in the silo.
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Garden City of the South
By Linda Tancs
Augusta, Georgia, is affectionately known as “the Garden City of the South.” It may be best known as the home of golf’s illustrious tournament, The Masters, but Georgia’s second oldest city is a recreational haven for lovers of sports, nature, art and culture. Nestled along the banks of the Savannah River, the city’s Riverwalk offers pedestrian access to the river from a public plaza. That’s where you’ll find the Morris Museum of Art, the first museum dedicated to the art and artists of the American South. Its heritage as Garden City is evident in the number of large private gardens, a fact that no doubt would’ve pleased Princess Augusta of Saxe Gotha (mother of King George III of Great Britain), the city’s namesake. The Museum of History documents the evolution of—what else—golf, as well as soul singer and native son James Brown, among other things. Enjoy a nature ride through Phinizy Swamp Nature Park or explore the Augusta Canal National Heritage area during one of their daily boat tours offered year-round.
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Eternal Rest in Sleepy Hollow
By Linda Tancs
When it comes to historic places on the national register, cemeteries don’t necessarily come to mind. That is, unless you’ve visited historic Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in the village of Sleepy Hollow, New York. Listed on both the New York State and the National Register of Historic Places, numerous headstones and mausoleums boast the work of famous American sculptors and artists. You’ll see their work among William Rockefeller’s imposing mausoleum, Henry Villard’s exquisite sculpture, the Washington Irving Memorial Chapel and the stained glass windows in the Helmsley mausoleum. Over 85 acres in size amidst rolling hills and Hudson River views, the luminaries buried there include Brooke and Vincent Astor, Major Edward Bowes, Andrew Carnegie, Walter Chrysler, Samuel Gompers, Oswald Villard, Thomas Watson and, of course, author Washington Irving.
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