Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!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.
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One of America’s Oldest Regions
By Linda Tancs
Virginia’s Eastern Shore is one of America’s oldest regions. Settled in 1615, it predates the landing of the Mayflower by five years. A narrow, 70-mile peninsula with the Atlantic Ocean on one side and the Chesapeake Bay on the other, the area is the antidote to commercial, blanket-to-blanket beach communities found elsewhere. Of course, there are beaches (six public ones) as well as wildlife refuges and a National Seashore. Historically, many districts in the towns are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The region also hosts the homestead of one of America’s influential colonial families and the repository for the oldest continual court records. Accomac is particularly famous for its debtors’ prison (used until 1849), a rare survivor of penal architecture of the colonial period. Highway 13, commonly known as Route 13, is the major north-south highway on the Eastern Shore. Heavily traveled in summertime, you’ll find little congestion this time of year.
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Azaleas Bloom in Tokyo
By Linda Tancs
Every year between early April and early May, Tokyo’s Nezu Shrine is ablaze in color as 100 varieties of azaleas bloom in its garden. And so marks the Azalea Festival, where visitors are treated to some rare varieties such as Fuji-tsutsuji (tiny bean-size flowers), Hanaguruma (pinwheel-like flowers) and Karafune (black azalea). Along with the flowers, there’s a plant fair, an antique fair, festive stalls and a special timed viewing of Sanjuroku kasen-e paintings.
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Rock Architecture in India
By Linda Tancs
Some of the most magnificent achievement in the history of rock architecture in western India is found in Elephanta Island off the coast of Mumbai. Located about 50 minutes away from the city by ferry, the island is known for its cave temples and sculptures from the mid-fifth to sixth centuries. The 15 large reliefs in the main cave not only constitute one of the greatest examples of Indian art but also one of the most important collections dedicated to Shiva. An added bonus is the journey to the island itself, offering spectacular views in clear weather of the iconic Gateway to India, a massive archway fronting Mumbai’s natural harbor dedicated to a visit by England’s King George V and Queen Mary.
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The Path to Wisdom
By Linda Tancs
Located in Lantau, Hong Kong’s largest outlying island, Wisdom Path follows a series of 38 wooden steles (upright slabs) containing verses from the centuries-old Heart Sutra — one of the world’s best known prayers revered by Confucians, Buddhists and Taoists alike. Rendered in Chinese and based on the calligraphy of famous contemporary scholar Professor Jao Tsung-I, the monuments are arranged in a pattern representing infinity. It’s a short walk from the largest outdoor seated Buddha statue in the world known as Big Buddha and the accompanying Po Lin Monastery.
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Sri Lanka’s Center of Pilgrimage
By Linda Tancs
A sacred pilgrimage site for 22 centuries, Dambulla cave monastery is the largest, best preserved cave-temple complex in Sri Lanka and one of its most popular historic sites. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, its assets include the 2,000-year-old murals depicting the life and times of the Lord Buddha and a collection of 157 statues of his image. Of its five sanctuaries, the Temple of the Great King is the largest, measuring 170 feet from side to side, 75 feet from front to back and 22 feet at its highest point. It’s dominated by an overwhelming mosaic of frescoes. Located in the central part of the nation, the site is about 92 miles east of Colombo.
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The Pacific Crest Trail
By Linda Tancs
One of the original national scenic trails established by Congress in the 1968 National Trails System Act, the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail generally runs along the high crests of the Sierra and Cascades mountain ranges. Beginning in southern California at the Mexican border, the trail marks a total distance of 2,650 miles through California (passing through five state parks), Oregon, and Washington until reaching the Canadian border. The trail is open to the public from April to September for foot and equestrian travel only. About 200 people attempt to hike the length of the trail each season, generally starting at the Mexican border and ending at the Canadian border. Only a few equestrians have ever ridden the entire trail.
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Rainbows in the Valley
By Linda Tancs
Washington State’s Skagit Valley is prized for its mountain and river views, but at this special time of year it’s the rainbow-colored pastures brimming with tulips that draw crowds from every state and almost 100 countries. The perennial, bulbous plant is celebrated month-long in April at the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. You will need a map of the tulip field area to help you navigate as the fields’ locations change every year due to crop rotation. Designed as a driving tour, the tulips are generally grown in a 15-mile triangle bordered by Highway 20, the Skagit River and the Swinomish Channel.
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Europe’s Cave Capital
By Linda Tancs
Budapest, Hungary, is famous for its natural underground caves, formed by thermal waters over millions of years. The Pál-völgyi cave, the longest in the Buda Hills, is famous for its unique dripstones. The Szemlő-hegyi cave, on the other hand, has no stalactites but instead is filled with several beautiful crystal formations. Its exceptionally clean respiratory environment has been used in the treatment of breathing disorders. There are about another 198 caves to explore in this cave capital of Europe, many a short bus ride from downtown.
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Apache Tears
By Linda Tancs
Thanks to its monument status granted in 2001, New Mexico’s Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument is a popular, otherworldly attraction featuring teepee-like rock formations arising from volcanic eruptions that occurred 6 to 7 million years ago. You’ll find a three-mile trail used for hiking, walking, nature trips and birding, where sandy washes are littered with black obsidian (volcanic glass) known locally as Apache Tears. Forty miles west of Santa Fe, the area is signposted starting from exits 259 (NM 22) or 264 (NM 16) of interstate 25 between Albuquerque and Santa Fe.
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