Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Raising a Glass in Kansas
By Linda Tancs
Prohibition was a 13-year ban on the sale of alcohol in the United States, beginning in 1920 and ending in 1933. Someone forgot to tell Kansas. Boasting some of the strictest alcohol laws in the nation, the state prohibited the sale of alcohol in open saloons until 1987. The change in law spelled good news for Free State Brewing Company, becoming in 1989 the first legal brewery in Kansas in over 100 years. The brewery is just one signature attraction on Massachusetts Street in downtown Lawrence, voted the cutest downtown street in the state. Commonly known as Mass Street, the 600 through 1200 block is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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Thirty Miles in Every Direction
By Linda Tancs
In St. Louis, Missouri, the Gateway Arch is more than just a great view (30 miles in every direction, in fact): it’s a gateway to the past. Symbolizing the nation’s westward expansion, the steel-clad monument is home to the Museum of Westward Expansion, a Lewis and Clark inspired tribute to the Old West and the explorers who helped forge a nation. Animatronic figures bring the past to life, along with interactive exhibits including a tipi and covered wagon.
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Courage Up Close
By Linda Tancs
A symbol of courage, the USS Alabama (nicknamed the Mighty A), saw 37 months of active duty during World War II, earning nine battle stars and becoming one of America’s most decorated battleships. Now anchored at Battleship Memorial Park in Mobile, you can experience courage up close. The park’s Wall of Honor inside the Medal of Honor Aircraft Pavilion honors the 9,583 Alabama citizens who have died in combat since World War I. The pavilion honors those 29 Alabama citizens who have received the Medal of Honor, the highest military honor given by the United States of America.
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A Rocky Ride in Nicaragua
By Linda Tancs
Forty-five minutes from León, Nicaragua, stands Cerro Negro (Black Hill), Central America’s youngest volcano. A mere child at nearly 165 years, its crater offers amazing views of volcanic chain Los Maribios, not to mention the sensory overload of heat and sulfur gas owing to its active nature. In recent years, it’s found favor beyond avid hikers and volcanologists: the adventure set have taken to boarding down its rocky, ash wall. Thanks to Nature’s thinly-milled rock, thrill seekers can opt for a modified snowboard ride down a forbidding slope at even more forbidding speed (50 miles per hour or more). Wear long pants, and prepare for a hard landing.
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The 2015 European Capitals of Culture
By Linda Tancs
Welcome to a new year and two new European Union capitals of culture: Mons in Belgium and Pilsen in the Czech Republic. The major exhibitions in Mons feature Van Gogh’s emergence as an artist in the Borinage, the poetic metamorphosis of Paul Verlaine, and the Battle of Lumecon in the main square where St. George slays the dragon. The opening ceremony for Mons 2015 will be held on 24 January. Like Mons, Pilsen will promote great personalities associated with the city, like Jiří Trnka (the Walt Disney of the East), Ladislav Sutnar (a pioneer in information graphics) and the architecture of Adolf Loos. The festivities officially launch in Pilsen on 17 January.
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A Sailor’s Life in London
By Linda Tancs
England’s long history as a port is revealed at the Museum of London in Docklands. In this thriving business hub, there’s little evidence of its 18th century roots–a place where dockers, merchants and sailors mixed with smugglers and thieves as countless vessels unloaded rum, sugar and coffee from the Caribbean. The area’s maritime character comes to life, though, at Sailortown, a permanent exhibit recreating an alehouse, sailors’ lodging house and chandlery, among other things. Just two minutes away from West India Quay, the museum is easily reached by tube via Canary Wharf or West India Quay on the DLR.
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Beachy Keen in the Lowcountry
By Linda Tancs
Just two islands north of swanky Hilton Head, South Carolina’s Hunting Island State Park is the antidote to overdevelopment. In fact, it’s one of the few remaining undeveloped Sea Islands in the Lowcountry. And with miles of hiking trails and one of the longest public beaches in the region, it’s easy to understand why it’s one of the state’s most visited properties. Rising above the tall palms and natural ferns is the namesake lighthouse, the only one in the state open to the public, offering irresistible views of the Atlantic Ocean, the park and the surrounding marshes.
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Remains of the Day
By Linda Tancs
Richard III was England’s last king of the House of York and last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His remains were found, quite unceremoniously, beneath a car park in Leicester’s city centre. Excavations of the site revealed an ancient friary church alleged to be the burial spot of the king after he was killed in the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. Along with the King Richard III visitor centre commemorating the find, Leicester also features the Richard III Walking Trail, tracing his journey from Leicester to Bosworth Field. Nearby the centre is Leicester Cathedral, where the king’s remains will be reburied next year.
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Peace on Earth
By Linda Tancs
More than 70 sculptures grace the property known as Pacem in Terris (Peace on Earth), a truly peaceful sanctuary in Warwick, New York. Located along the Wawayanda River on Covered Bridge Road, the grounds sport the handiwork of its longtime owner, the late dental surgeon-turned-sculptor Frederick Franck. Nursing an interest in human spirituality, Franck’s work complements his best known book, The Zen of Seeing, with the human eye infused into the large iron works of art enveloping the estate. Given its moniker, the property is appropriate to highlight on this Christmas Day although it’s only open seasonally from May to September. In the meantime, you can visit his work in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Fogg Art Museum, the Tokyo National Museum, and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.
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Nepal’s First National Park
By Linda Tancs
In south central Nepal in the sub tropical lowlands lies the country’s first protected area, Chitwan National Park. The preserve hosts a diverse collection of mammal and fish species, but it’s particularly renowned for its protection of the one-horned rhinoceros, Bengal tiger and the gharial crocodile (one of the largest of all crocodilian species). This time of year the Chitwan district (Sauraha in particular) is gearing up for the annual elephant festival, featuring soccer-playing elephants that double as beauty pageant contestants.
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