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
History, Horses and Hospitality
By Linda Tancs
Belle Meade Plantation in Nashville, Tennessee, is the land of history, horses and hospitality. Historically, native tribes used the woodlands and meadows as a place to hunt wild game, carving a trail over time that was eventually known as the old Natchez road by European settlers. John Harding, a skilled farmer and businessman, purchased some of those hunting grounds in 1806 for farming and thoroughbred breeding, calling the property Belle Meade (beautiful meadow). Harding expanded the family home in 1853, introducing the Greek Revival style mansion seen today. In its heyday, the old Southern plantation was a popular destination for luminaries like President and Mrs. Grover Cleveland, Robert Todd Lincoln, General U.S. Grant, General William T. Sherman and Adlai E. Stevenson. Belle Meade Plantation is open daily, with mansion tours starting every 30 to 45 minutes.
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An Epic Tall Ship
By Linda Tancs
A living testament to the “Age of Sail,” Elissa is a three-masted, iron-hulled sailing ship built in 1877 in Aberdeen, Scotland, by Alexander Hall & Company. According to a descendant of her builder, the tall ship’s name was taken from the epic Roman poem The Aeneid, which follows the story of Dido (originally a Phoenician princess named Elissa), who fled from Tyre to Africa and founded Carthage. Like her poetic counterpart, the barque is a survivor, securing a second life (following decades as a freighter) as a fully-functional vessel that continues to sail annually during sea trials in the Gulf of Mexico. She’s located at Texas Seaport Museum, Pier 21, in Galveston, Texas.
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Miracle Water in Georgia
By Linda Tancs
Aptly named, Providence Spring in Andersonville, Georgia, is a matter of divine providence in Civil War lore. The story goes that thousands of Union soldiers were dying of thirst in the summer of 1864 at a prison camp in Andersonville, one of the largest Confederate military prisons during the war. The cries of thirst ended when a spring mysteriously erupted in the stockade. The site is covered with a memorial house and is accessible via a road behind the National POW Museum, part of Andersonville National Historic Site.
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Preserving Native American Culture
By Linda Tancs
Located along the banks of the Missouri River in Chamberlain, South Dakota, the Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center tells the unique stories of the Lakota Indian tribe from the perspective of both the past and the present. An educational outreach program of St. Joseph’s Indian School, the museum strives to preserve and promote the Lakota (Sioux) culture through art, artifacts and educational displays that depict the proud heritage of the Lakota people. Admission to the center is free but donations are gratefully accepted.
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Surfing in Santa Cruz
By Linda Tancs
Santa Cruz proudly claims to be the location of the very first board surfing ever in North America, at the “Rivermouth” break in 1885. A strong surf culture still prevails today, enhanced by the locale’s dedication as a World Surfing Reserve in 2012. An initiative of Save the Waves, the program serves as a global model for preserving wave breaks and their surrounding areas by recognizing and protecting the key environmental, cultural, economic and community attributes of surfing areas. At least 23 consistent surf breaks are sited along this marine protected area, including the world-class breaks of Steamer Lane and Pleasure Point. Not surprisingly, the city hosts a surfing museum overlooking Steamer Lane tracing over 100 years of surfing history in town. Winter is always the best time for surfing consistent waves, and the breaks are rated from “expert” to “beginner.”
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An Urban Oasis in D.C.
By Linda Tancs
Officially authorized in 1890, Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C., is the third national park to be designated by the federal government. This 1,754-acre city park has over 32 miles of hiking trails and paths, a planetarium, Civil War fortifications, mills and colonial houses. Two popular attractions are Old Stone House and Peirce Mill. Situated in the midst of Georgetown, Old Stone House is the oldest structure on its original foundation in the nation’s capital. Peirce Mill was the most successful water-powered gristmill along Rock Creek until 1897 and today serves as an educational and heritage site. The Friendship Heights Metro is the closest station to the Nature Center, where you can find maps and other information about the park, which is free to enter and open year round.
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Celebrating American Writers
By Linda Tancs
Besides being celebrated American writers, luminaries like Mark Twain, John Updike, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Emily Dickinson and Lorraine Hansberry now have something else in common: they’re part of history at the new American Writers Museum. Located in Chicago, Illinois, the mission of the museum is to engage the public in celebrating American writers—past and present—and exploring their influence on the nation’s history, identity and culture. Not far from the Art Institute and Millenium Park (home of the Cloud Gate), the facility has 11,000 square feet of galleries with interesting interactive touches like the “Word Waterfall,” in which a light projection continuously reveals literary quotes on a wall of densely packed, seemingly random words.
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Drayton’s Palace
By Linda Tancs
Drayton Hall in Charleston, South Carolina, has a storied history. Home to one of the state’s leading colonial families, it was founded by John Drayton, was later saved from destruction during the Civil War by Dr. John Drayton and witnessed the presence of German Jaegers during the Revolutionary War. Known in the 1700s as Drayton’s Palace, it’s the first fully executed example of Palladian architecture in North America. The house is set amidst a lush riverside garden and the great lawn, landscaped as an expression of an 18th-century gentleman’s country seat. The home hasn’t been furnished or decorated to represent any particular era but it has been preserved in its natural state, the oldest preserved plantation house in America still open to the public. New this year is the Sally Reahard Visitor Center, including an orientation hall, education center and exhibition galleries. Professionally guided house tours begin on the half hour and last 50 minutes.
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World’s Largest Christmas Store
By Linda Tancs
It’s no wonder that Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland in Frankenmuth, Michigan, is dubbed the world’s largest Christmas store. They’ve got over 50,000 trims and gifts, decorations and gifts from 50 nations, 150 styles of nutcrackers and 100,000 lights illuminating the salesroom, among other things. If you want to go really big on the gift-giving, there’s a 17-foot fiberglass Santa Claus for $10,000. Over 2 million visitors arrive at the store each year, a sprawling complex of 45 acres with its own Christmas Lane thoroughfare. The Bronner motto is “Enjoy CHRISTmas, It’s His Birthday; Enjoy LIFE, It’s His Way.” Merry Christmas!
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Wings Over Florida
By Linda Tancs
The Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail is a network of 510 premier wildlife viewing sites across the state. Crystal River Archaeological State Park is part of that trail, offering bird watchers ample viewing from the shell midden. The park is also a National Historic Landmark, its Native American mound complex being one of the longest continuously occupied sites in Florida. In fact, for 1,600 years the site served as an imposing ceremonial center for Native Americans. The visitor center/museum contains exhibits displaying artifacts related to the site.
