Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Amazing Grapes
By Linda Tancs
Amazing Grapes is an annual wine auction event in New Orleans benefiting the Hermann-Grima and Gallier historic houses. These Victorian homes are two of the oldest in NOLA’s French Quarter. Taking place this Saturday at the Hermann-Grima house, the event will feature a wine tasting from Bizou Wines, a buffet by Broussard’s Restaurant and auctions featuring rare and hard-to-find wines as well as luxurious vacations and art.
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The Home of Gin
By Linda Tancs
Beefeater is the world’s most awarded gin, boasting a recipe that’s virtually unchanged since the 1800s. Distilled in the heart of London, the facility is housed in an Edwardian building in Kennington that features original Victorian pot stills and a botanical room. Thanks to a custom built visitors center, you can view the original stills, watch the distilling process and learn about premium gin making spanning over 150 years. And what would a distillery tour be without a wee sample greeting you at the end. Cheers!
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A Taste of the Mediterranean in New Jersey
By Linda Tancs
Inspired by the beauty and warmth of a Mediterranean villa, Van Vleck House & Gardens is a peaceful oasis in Montclair, New Jersey. It originated as a 12-acre private estate more than 140 years ago when successful businessman Joseph Van Vleck and his family moved to Montclair from Brooklyn in 1868. Of all the dwellings that once graced the property, the current home (built in 1916) remains and is surrounded by magnificent gardens open free of charge from dawn to dusk year round. The grounds are prized for a strong representation of ericaceous plants, particularly rhododendrons and azaleas. Other gems include the Chinese wisteria planted by Howard Van Vleck in 1939 and the stately Dawn redwood and Blue Atlas cedar in the rear garden.
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Sweets and Savories in Laramie
By Linda Tancs
Late April marks the time when invitations are sent for summer Victorian tea at Wyoming’s Laramie Plains Museum. The event is appropriate enough, considering that the museum is housed at the historic Ivinson Mansion, a Victorian-era home boasting nearly 12,000 square feet. It was the home of Edward and Jane Ivinson, early leaders of Laramie’s thriving community in the Wyoming Territory as the West expanded with the development of the Union Pacific Railroad in the late 1800s. Wyoming would later join the Union in 1890. Museum tours are regularly offered from March through December.
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A Humpback in New Mexico
By Linda Tancs
Ask anyone in northern New Mexico to name their most unusual geological oddity and they’ll likely say it’s Camel Rock. As the name implies, it’s a rock that looks like a camel—sitting down. Located in Pojoaque, this inanimate nod to an ancient mammal is a quirky attraction opposite a casino (called Camel Rock, of course) owned by Tesuque Pueblo. The big question is (no, not ‘guess what day it is’)—one hump, or two? You decide.
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The Center of the USA
By Linda Tancs
The geographic center of the contiguous United States is the point where a plane map of the 48 contiguous states would balance if it were of uniform thickness. That point has been officially established by the U.S. Geological Survey nearest the town of Lebanon, Kansas. This arguably obscure fact is commemorated by a stone monument at the end of Kansas Highway 191. The actual center is about a half mile away in the middle of a former hog farm. Another more colorful marker is a few miles away on U.S. Highway 36. At least this community can boast that it is, quite literally, at the center of it all.
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The Grand Lady of Bartlesville
By Linda Tancs
Frank Phillips was a poor farm boy in Iowa who later became an oil magnate in Oklahoma, founding Phillips Petroleum Company. His success is evident at the Frank Phillips Home in Bartlesville. Fondly referred to as the Grand Lady of Cherokee Avenue, the Neoclassical house sports intricate mahogany woodwork, silk damask wall coverings, Waterford crystal chandeliers and a 2,000-volume library no doubt enjoyed by guests like Will Rogers, Wiley Post, Elliott Roosevelt and architect Edward Buehler Delk. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the house is now owned and operated by the Oklahoma Historical Society.
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Where the Car is King
By Linda Tancs
Car enthusiasts, rejoice! Looking to find the world record-breaking SSC Ultimate Aero TT, Gumpert Apollo and Lamborghini Countach QV5000 all in one place? Then head to the London Motor Museum in Greater London, home to one of the largest collections of both classic and custom automobiles in Europe. Other jaw-dropping attractions include the Batmobile (both the film and TV versions), Hollywood icons like the General Lee and American muscle cars.
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A Chieftain’s Table
By Linda Tancs
Legend has it that South Carolina’s Table Rock got its name from a Cherokee chieftain who used a ledge of Table Rock Mountain as a dining table to feast on the bounty of his hunt. Indeed, long before this area of the Blue Ridge Mountains become Table Rock State Park (one of 47 state parks), its Cherokee inhabitants named it Sah-ka-na-ga, the Great Blue Hills of God. The extensive trail system carries hikers past streams and waterfalls to the top of Table Rock and Pinnacle mountains. Pinnacle Mountain is the highest peak located entirely within the state.
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A Memento in Budapest
By Linda Tancs
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