Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!The Devil’s Teeth
By Linda Tancs
Once known as “the devil’s teeth” due to its treacherous and steep, rocky shoreline, the Farallon Islands (named for the Spanish farallón, meaning a rocky sea pillar) is a National Wildlife Refuge and home to the largest colony of nesting seabirds in the contiguous United States. Located 30 miles west of the Golden Gate Bridge in California, the Refuge comprises four groups of small islands: Southeast Farallon, North Farallons, Middle Farallon and Noonday Rock. Given the sensitivity of the avian and mammalian community living there, the islands are not open to the public, and only Southeast Farallon (a research station) is accessible by boat. Nonetheless, year-round tours operate out of San Francisco to the southeast quadrant, offering wildlife enthusiasts the chance to gawk at whales and substantial populations of sea lions, northern elephant seals, tufted puffins and some of more than 400 species of birds recorded there.
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Washington’s Only Surrender
By Linda Tancs
Fort Necessity National Battlefield is a national battlefield site in Fayette County, nestled in the Great Meadow in the Allegheny Mountains of southwest Pennsylvania. The battle at Fort Necessity in the summer of 1754 was the opening action of the French and Indian War, a clash among British, French and American Indian forces for control of a vast territory along the Ohio River between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi. The French and Indian War was the North American conflict in a larger imperial war between Great Britain and France known as the Seven Years’ War. George Washington, a 21-year-old military adjutant, volunteered as a British emissary to present notice to the French to quit their occupation of the Ohio River Valley. When the French refused to leave, Washington built his “fort of necessity” in a natural meadow while awaiting additional militia and British regulars. However, his bedraggled force was no match for the French column, and Washington ultimately surrendered to the enemy for the first and only time in his military career.
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Lava and Lights
By Linda Tancs
Where everything meets nothing. That’s the way ION Luxury Adventure Hotel pitches its peaceful respite less than an hour’s drive from Reykjavík. The “everything” is the luxury experience that awaits you at this eco-conscious hotel sporting prefab panelized construction that melds with a backdrop of lava fields. Enjoy the pampering, which includes options like a relaxation massage with Icelandic herbs, a warm soak in the sauna and the tranquility of a silent relaxation room. The “nothing” may be a bit of a misnomer, considering the property’s location at the footsteps of the UNESCO-listed Thingvellir National Park, site of a dramatic landscape formed as a result of its locale along the border between the North American and European tectonic plates. That’s part of where the “adventure” in “adventure hotel” comes in. Or you can just relax at the hotel bar, where floor-to-ceiling glass windows will give you spectacular views of the Northern Lights on clear nights.
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The 2017 European Capitals of Culture
By Linda Tancs
For over 30 years now, the European Union has designated a couplet of cities as cultural capitals for the calendar year. This year’s honorees are Aarhus in Denmark and Pafos in Cyprus. The Danes are celebrating their heritage and what it means for the future of tourism in Central Denmark in a campaign titled “Let’s Rethink.” They’ll be examining their contributions to art and culture and strengthening the identity of their region. Highlights include a unique collaboration with the Royal Danish Theatre and Moesgaard Museum to present Red Serpent – a spectacular outdoor performance of a captivating tale of a hero from the Viking Age. The year will also feature the Danish National Opera’s premiere of Janne Teller’s prize-winning Danish novel for young people, “Nothing.” The ambitious agenda in Pafos (birthplace of Aphrodite) is to open every nook and cranny of the ancient coastal city into an outdoor cultural hall—an open-air exhibition of sorts. But that’s not to diminish the indoor venues, especially in the cooler months. Look for a variety of activities in the archaeological museum, the old Othello cinema, the Markideio Theatre and the art gallery.
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If Walls Could Talk
By Linda Tancs
We often ponder what might be learned if walls could talk. Well, there’s no need to wonder. At Washington, D.C.’s National Building Museum, the walls do plenty of talking. In fact, the site is the leading cultural institution devoted to interpreting the history and impact of the built environment. Telling the stories of architecture, engineering and design, its exhibitions run the gamut from “please-touch” walls made out of different materials used in residential construction over time to advances in sustainable architecture. The museum building itself is a conversation piece. Located just blocks from the National Mall, its exterior was modeled after the Palazzo Farnese in Rome and boasts a 1,200-foot-long frieze wrapping the building and depicting a parade of Civil War military units. Inside, the soaring Great Hall is set off by colossal 75-foot-tall Corinthian columns. Free docent-led historic building tours are available daily.
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Big Sur’s Golden Gate
By Linda Tancs
Along California’s sun-kissed Pacific Coast Highway is Big Sur‘s celebrated alternative to the Golden Gate Bridge. Known alternatively as Bixby Creek Bridge or Bixby Bridge, the span is a reinforced concrete open-spandrel arch bridge. Completed in 1932, the historic structure is one of the tallest single-span concrete bridges in the world, soaring 260 feet above the bottom of a steep canyon carved by Bixby Creek. A favorite of shutterbugs, the view is particularly impressive from the bridge’s south end at sunset.
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Longest Suspension Bridge in the Americas
By Linda Tancs
Connecting Brooklyn with Staten Island, New York’s Verrazano-Narrows Bridge is the longest suspension bridge in the Americas. Now over 50 years old, the gateway bridges the Narrows, the mile-wide channel at the entrance to New York Harbor. Its span reaches four-fifths of a mile (making it the 11th longest in the world), punctuated by two towers 70 stories tall and four cables spun with enough steel wire to reach halfway to the moon. The bridge is named for 16th century Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano, the first European to discover New York and Narragansett bays. Eagle eyes will notice the discrepancy in spelling between the bridge and its namesake (the explorer’s surname being spelled with two Z’s). This typo persists since the bridge’s inception, allegedly resulting from an error in the building contract.
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Pinball Wizardry
By Linda Tancs
The world’s largest pinball collection is housed at the Pinball Hall of Fame in Las Vegas. It’s a museum of sorts but quite interactive; fun is mandatory here. Close to The Strip, it’s run by a veteran arcade operator. You’ll find 152 machines: Gottlieb, Bally, Williams and other makes. Solid-state and electro-mechanical. It’s all there, including the 1975 Bally Wizard, featuring pinball score glass art work with Ann-Margret and Roger Daltrey of The Who’s “Tommy” musical.
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A Museum for Spam
By Linda Tancs
A museum for spam. No, not the electronic kind. The facility in question celebrates a more welcome variety—the canned delight that has Americans all aflutter since its introduction in 1937. Located at the Hormel meat plant in Austin, Minnesota, the SPAM Museum includes a production toteboard (over 6 billion cans and counting), a mock assembly line and exhibits recounting everything from the can’s evolution to its role during wartime America. Don’t try to sample the exhibits. You can buy any of the 12 varieties in the gift shop.
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A Lone Survivor in Belfast
By Linda Tancs
The only major naval surface engagement of World War I, the Battle of Jutland was fought by the British Royal Navy’s Grand Fleet against the Imperial German Navy’s High Seas Fleet. Although both sides claimed victory in this indecisive battle celebrating its centenary this year, the spoils clearly go to the British as they lay claim to the lone surviving ship from the skirmish. Now open as a visitor attraction in Titanic Quarter, Belfast, HMS Caroline has undergone extensive restoration to enable visitors to experience life at sea through state-of-the-art special effects and hands-on interactive exhibits. The historic vessel rounds out the maritime experience in Northern Ireland’s capital city, which includes Titanic Belfast, located in the heart of Titanic Quarter. The world’s largest Titanic visitor experience, it tells the story of the Titanic, from her conception in Belfast in the early 1900s through her construction and maiden voyage and subsequent place in history.
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