Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Horsing Around in Devon
By Linda Tancs
The Grand Western Canal in Devon was built in 1814 for use by the lime trade, deploying horse-drawn boats to transport stone to Tiverton Wharf. That heritage is preserved today by Tiverton Canal Co., which operates one of the U.K.’s last horse-drawn barges. Their wide beam, 75-seater horse-drawn barge operates a popular 2 1/2 hour return to East Manley that offers the opportunity to take a short walk to see the aqueduct and experience the bountiful wildlife among the unspoiled banks. Tours operate from April to October.
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The Castle on a Plain
By Linda Tancs
Unlike the usual hilltop or mountaintop castle, Hiroshima Castle is built on a plain in the center of the city. Developed as a castle town, Hiroshima’s pride was built in 1589 by a powerful feudal lord. Surrounded by a moat, its keep is five stories high. The keep, along with the rest of the structure, was rebuilt following its destruction from the nuclear attack on the city in 1945 during World War II. The castle is just a 15-minute walk from Peace Memorial Park and its featured A-Bomb Dome, a World Heritage Site.
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D-Day in NOLA
By Linda Tancs
Appropriately enough, the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana, opened on June 6, 2000, the anniversary of D-Day. In fact, it was originally named the D-Day Museum. Designated by Congress as the official World War II museum of the United States, it’s located in downtown New Orleans on Magazine Street. New Orleans is home to the LCVP, or Higgins boat, the landing craft that brought U.S. soldiers to shore in every major amphibious assault during the war. The six-acre campus features five soaring pavilions (and two more on the way), a period dinner theater and restaurants. Visited by over 2 million tourists from around the world, the facility is a premier research institution, offering visitors the fruits of decades-long research by the late Dr. Stephen Ambrose, the museum’s founder. He tirelessly researched and wrote about the war, Eisenhower and D-Day and collected more than 2,000 oral histories from D-Day veterans.
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Europe’s Offshore Ferris Wheel
By Linda Tancs
Scheveningen is Holland’s most famous seaside resort. Just 15 minutes away from The Hague city center, it boasts fabulous beaches, dining experiences and yearlong cultural events. Add to that Europe’s first Ferris wheel built over the sea: Skyview de Pier. Over 131 feet high, the wheel has 36 closed gondolas with air conditioning, including one VIP gondola with a glass bottom. Seating up to six people per gondola, the ride lasts 20 minutes and is open daily.
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Sculpting American History
By Linda Tancs
Daniel Chester French was America’s foremost sculptor of public monuments. One of his first and most beloved sculptures is of an image of a Revolutionary War “Minute Man,” found today at the Old North Bridge in Concord, Massachusetts. He’s also responsible for the goliath Abraham Lincoln sculpture at the monument in Washington, D.C. Inspired by the natural beauty of the Berkshire Hills, French purchased the former Marshall Warner farm in 1896 as a summer residence. Known as Chesterwood, he worked on over 200 public and private commissions there. Both a national and Massachusetts historic landmark, the studio, residence and woodlands beckon visitors to the Glendale section of Stockbridge, Massachusetts.
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A Chateau in North Dakota
By Linda Tancs
French nobleman and entrepreneur Marquis de Morès was a key player on the western edge of North Dakota. There he founded the town of Medora (named for his wife) in 1883 and pursued his legacy as a meat packing industry baron. In keeping with his station in life, he built a 26-room home just southwest of town. Now a museum, the Chateau de Morès State Historic Site contains many of the original furnishings and personal effects of the family. It’s open from May to September.
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The Last School Standing
By Linda Tancs
Fourth Ward School in Virginia City, Nevada, is the last Second Empire-style school building standing in the United States. Named for the ward in which it is situated, the school opened in 1876 to alleviate overcrowding in the heart of the Comstock Mining District. The distinctive four-story school with a mansard roof was a combination grammar and high school, designed to accommodate 1,025 students. It remained in use until a new school was completed in 1936. The Fourth Ward School Museum showcases the town’s history as one of the largest mining camps west of Denver. The venue is open from May through October.
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Iceberg Alley
By Linda Tancs
Iceberg Alley is an area stretching from the coast of Labrador to the northeast coast of the island of Newfoundland. From spring to September, the locale presents the most unusual of tourist attractions as icebergs break off in the Arctic and float down past the coast. The goliaths are most plentiful in April and May (in fact, over 600 have already appeared, with a seasonal average just under 700) but they may be locked up in sea ice, so late May and early June are best for viewing. Some of the more popular viewing locations (by land, kayak or boat tour) are St. Lewis, Battle Harbour, Red Bay, Point Amour, St. Anthony, La Scie, Twillingate, Fogo Island, Change Islands, Bonavista, St. John’s/Cape Spear, Bay Bulls/Witless Bay, Cape St. Mary’s and St. Vincent’s.
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A Wetland of International Importance
By Linda Tancs
Located along the Delaware River estuary in Pennsville, New Jersey, Supawna Meadows National Wildlife Refuge is designated a Wetland of International Importance. Vastly comprising slightly brackish tidal marsh, this unique habitat contains a mixture of fresh and saltwater plants and wildlife and is an important resting and feeding area for waterfowl, shorebirds and other wildlife. In fact, it has been identified as the most important habitat for wintering American black ducks. Two foot trails through the refuge’s varied habitats provide excellent opportunities for wildlife observation. This time of year the Forest Habitat Trail offers choruses of spring peepers and southern leopard frogs.
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London’s Secret Garden
By Linda Tancs
Founded in 1673, Chelsea Physic Garden is one of London’s oldest botanic gardens. It contains a unique living collection of around 5,000 different edible, useful, medicinal and historical plants within its sheltering walls tucked away beside the Thames. True to its roots (no pun intended) as a training ground for apprentices in the identification and use of medicinal plants, its medicinal plant display is one of the largest in the world. The theme for 2017 is Weaves and Leaves: Fabrics and the Plants That Make Them. The garden is located between Royal Hospital Road and the Thames Embankment, a 15-minute walk from Sloane Square.
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