Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Gingerbread Town
By Linda Tancs
Your experience with gingerbread might be of the gastronomical kind, but in Norway there’s a full-blown miniature city made of the seasonal fare. Think of it as an edible Legoland. Dubbed the world’s biggest gingerbread city, Gingerbread Town in Bergen has been constructed every year since 1991 by thousands of volunteers. The city contains everything from tiny homes to local landmarks, trains, cars, boats and international signature buildings. It’s open throughout the month and, not surprisingly, you can buy cookies there.
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Legendary Lights in Ohio
By Linda Tancs
What do 4 million Christmas lights look like? Like a blanket of color. Just head on over to historic Clifton Mill in Clifton, Ohio, and see for yourself. One of the largest water-powered grist mills still in existence, the original mill at the site was built in 1802 by Owen Davis, a Revolutionary War soldier and frontiersman miller. During the Christmas season, the mill, along with the gorge, riverbanks, trees and bridge, sparkle and glow, together with a synchronized lights and music show that features the old covered bridge. Go during the week to avoid the weekend crowds.
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A Geological Enigma in New Jersey
By Linda Tancs
One of the oldest mines in the United States, Sterling Hill was first worked before the 1730s, a source of local employment for residents of Ogdensburg, New Jersey. It is one of the most famous mines in the world and a geological enigma, with 350 different mineral species found there (a world record for such a small area) and more than two dozen of those found nowhere else on Earth. Closed in 1986, it was the last operating mine in the state and produced 11 million tons of zinc ore. It’s also famous for the abundance of mineral species documented as fluorescent, highly coveted by collectors. Named to both the state and national registers of historic places, guided tours last about two hours and include one hour in the underground zinc mine, 30 minutes in the large exhibit hall and about 10 minutes in the museum of fluorescence. Mineral collecting is also available amidst 200 tons of high-grade zinc ore, much of which contains fluorescent mineral.
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Sponge Capital of the World
By Linda Tancs
Known for its Greek culture, Tarpon Springs is a city along Florida’s Gulf Coast. Just 45 minutes north of St. Petersburg, the locale is named for the fish found in abundance in nearby waters. Greek eateries line the waterfront, a legacy of the sponge divers who settled there in the early 1900s. Walk along Dodecanese Boulevard to see docked sponge boats and shops selling sea sponges, a tribute to the city’s status as sponge capital of the world. A bit quieter is the historic downtown district, where art galleries, antique stores and specialty shops are housed in buildings dating from the late 1800s.
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The Great North Road
By Linda Tancs
You might think of the U.K.’s Great North Road as the nation’s version of iconic Route 66 in the United States—only with a lot more history attached. It was the only way of traveling the 409 miles between London and Edinburgh for centuries until it was subsumed into the A1 (the longest numbered road in Britain) and other motorways of today. In prehistoric times it comprised part of the network of Roman roads: Ermine Street led from London to York, and Dere Street from York to Edinburgh. The ancient route is lined today with rusting mile markers; its cultural significance is marked by literary giants like Charles Dickens, a frequent traveler who gave it a nod in The Pickwick Papers. There’s even an old street sign inside the rock at Gibraltar where a vehicle tunnel was dug.
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A Shrunken Head in Memphis
By Linda Tancs
One of the most enduring landmarks in Memphis, Tennessee, the Pink Palace Museum hosts an eclectic mix of artifacts bearing historical, educational and technological significance. For instance, you’ll find a life-size replica of the first Piggly Wiggly store, the forerunner to today’s self-service grocery store. That was the brainchild of grocery clerk Clarence Saunders, who later conceived of the palatial estate now hosting the museum. But perhaps the most memorable exhibit for visitors is the shrunken head sitting in the middle of the rotunda. Once owned by local businessman Abe Scharff, it was later donated to the museum and is believed to be a relic from his visits to South American tribal regions in modern-day Ecuador and Peru where head shrinking was a common practice. No one is quite sure whether the item is real, but you can read up on the process that headhunters used to get a shrunken head while you’re deciding for yourself.
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Trees of Mystery
By Linda Tancs
In the coastal town of Klamath, California, you can walk among giants. California redwoods, that is. In the heart of redwood country is the state’s original redwood nature attraction, Trees of Mystery. The family run preserve has over a mile of interpretative trail to take in the size and scope of these forest wonders, which average eight feet to as much as 20 feet in diameter and some as tall as 375 feet. For a bird’s-eye view, take the sky gondola. Have a green thumb? You can buy a seedling and try to grow your own giant.
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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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