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
Seeing Green on the Big Island
By Linda Tancs
Hawaii has more naturally colored beaches than anywhere else, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that verdant landscaping is not limited to lush tropical forestry. Indeed, just head to Papakolea (popularly known as Green Sand Beach) for a matcha-like heap of sandy shore formed thousands of years ago from an eruption resulting in volcanic olivine silicate crystals. Not too far from South Point (the southernmost point in the United States) on Hawaii’s Big Island, the beach is accessible via a vigorous two-and-a-half-mile hike.
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Austin’s Ivory Tower
By Linda Tancs
One of the oldest art museums in Texas, the Elisabet Ney Museum in Austin is a crème-colored limestone castle set in a field amidst a palette of native flowering plants. The idyllic setting is but a prelude to the interior’s magnificent collection of the works of sculptress Elisabet Ney, a German immigrant who produced sculptures of legendary Texans like Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston. Ney also retrieved and assembled portraits of European notables, including King Ludwig II of Bavaria, Otto von Bismarck, Arthur Schopenhauer, Giuseppe Garibaldi and Jacob Grimm. The plaster replicas of her works abide at the castle while their marble companions are located in sites all over Texas and at the Smithsonian and the National Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C. The museum’s collection of art and personal effects also boasts over 50 of the 100 statues, busts and medallions executed by Ney. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the museum offers a range of educational programs, exhibits, special events, workshops and lectures throughout the year.
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Georgian Roots in Pennsylvania
By Linda Tancs
Historic Hope Lodge is a historic building built by Quaker merchant Samuel Morris. Located in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, it was used by Continental troops during the 1777 Philadelphia Campaign of the American Revolution. An excellent example of early Georgian architecture, historians speculate that the architect of Independence Hall might have had a say in its design. House tours are available from April to October in addition to an annual re-enactment in November to commemorate the time from November 2 to December 11, 1777, when General George Washington and the Continental Army encamped in the Whitemarsh Hills.
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Enjoy a Free Garden Visit
By Linda Tancs
May 11 is National Public Gardens Day, and more than 150 public gardens across the country will participate by providing free admission. Participants include botanical gardens in New York City, Washington, D.C. and Tuscson Arizona, and the Getty Center and Villa in Los Angeles, where visitors can watch the annual release of ladybugs and praying mantis egg cases. Even scenic nature reserves are included in the event, like North Carolina’s Southern Highlands Reserve. Guests there can take home a free native plant as well.
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Iconic Events in Reno
By Linda Tancs
Despite its competition, Reno, Nevada, has held on to its famous moniker “The Biggest Little City in the World.” Located by the Sierra Nevadas and Lake Tahoe, it’s known for its casinos, nearby ski resorts and vintage cars, to name a few things. What you might not know is that the Reno Tahoe region boasts a series of events from May to October dubbed “The Iconics.” Those experiences include a rodeo, a Shakespeare Festival at Lake Tahoe, hot air ballooning, air races and a taste of Italy.
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Daniel Boone’s Homestead
By Linda Tancs
Daniel Boone may be best remembered as the man who settled Kentucky, but he also served in the Virginia Legislature, the French and Indian War and the American Revolution. Boone was also a blacksmith and wagoneer and operated a tavern. He grew up in Pennsylvania’s Oley Valley in a one-room log cabin and spring house, where he lived until moving to North Carolina in 1750. Located in Birdsboro, the Daniel Boone Homestead is a historical site that explores Boone’s youth and the everyday life of 18th century settlers. Guided and self-guided tours are both available.
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A Big Drop in Massachusetts
By Linda Tancs
The highest single-drop waterfall in Massachusetts, Bash Bish Falls in Mount Washington is arguably the most photographed waterfall in the state. The final cascade splits into twin falls by a jutting rock, dropping in an 80-foot “V” pattern over boulders into a pool below. Enjoy the quick hike along the falls, starting at the Upper Falls parking lot for a steep climb down along the falls or alternatively from the lower trails. Go before the crush of summer crowds kicks in.
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Peace and Justice in Alabama
By Linda Tancs
Confronting a tortured past in American history, the National Memorial for Peace and Justice opens today in Montgomery, Alabama. Exploring the history of racial terrorism, the memorial is the first of its kind in America addressing issues such as enslavement and lynching. Set on a six-acre site, it uses sculpture, art, and design to contextualize racial terror, including over 800 suspended steel columns, one for each county in the United States where a lynching took place. The project was spearheaded by the Equal Justice Initiative with the hope of creating a sober, meaningful site where people can gather and reflect on America’s history of racial inequality.
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San Francisco’s Little Giant
By Linda Tancs
The Mission District of San Francisco, California, is nowadays a culturally diverse and trendy part of the city. But were it not for a working fire hydrant on April 18, 1906, it would have likely been lost to the ages. That’s when a disastrous earthquake brought the city to its knees, spawning the Great Fire left largely unquenched by a series of broken water mains—except for a certain fire hydrant on the southwest corner of Dolores Park in the western edge of the Mission District. Against all odds, the lone functioning hydrant (nicknamed “little giant”) is credited with saving the district. Each year on April 18 it receives a fresh coat of gold paint.
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Old London Town
By Linda Tancs
London Town—Maryland, that is—boasts a colonial history that was all but forgotten following a change in trade routes that basically shuttered the thriving port town by the end of the 18th century. Thanks to a revival in interest sparked by an archaeological dig, the colonial seaport just 15 miles from Annapolis is now brimming with activities and interactive exhibits staffed on weekends with costumed interpreters. The crown jewel of the historic area is the William Brown House, a National Historic Landmark. Built by merchant William Brown to be an upscale inn and tavern, the Georgian-style brick mansion later functioned as an almshouse in the 1820s and continued to shelter the destitute until 1965. The area also features more than 10 acres of beautiful woodland and ornamental gardens, a colonial-era carpenter’s shop and the recreated Lord Mayor’s Tenement on the former site of a home for low-income families.
