Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!The Fairy Trail
By Linda Tancs
The Lily Dale Fairy Trail sounds like the title of a children’s book, but it’s an honest-to-goodness hiking trail in Lily Dale Assembly, a religious corporation promoting spiritualism located in southwestern New York just one hour south of Buffalo. The Fairy Trail is marked by pink fairies on the trees, engaging visitors to stay alert for fairy houses, gnome houses and small villages located along the trail. Like other features of this community (Forest Temple and Inspiration Stump), the trail offers visitors the opportunity to enjoy the natural surroundings in a meditative way. Lily Dale is open to visitors year round, but visits from 29 June to 2 September require a gate fee.
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A Land for Little Vikings
By Linda Tancs
Are you of Norwegian heritage? Well now there’s a place for your little Vikings to explore their background on this side of the pond. Land of the Vikings is a year-round cultural and recreational center in Sherman, Pennsylvania. Just 35 miles east of Binghamton, New York, its 150 acres provide the perfect venue for the children’s summer camp. In addition to outdoor sports activities, the camp offers classes in the Norwegian language as well as traditions such as rosemaling, woodworking, and hardanger. The camp serves children aged 12 to 15 from 1-7 July and those aged 8 to 11 from 8-14 July.
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London’s Cultural Olympiad
By Linda Tancs
The party has gone on for four years now, commencing with the announcement of London’s acquisition of the 2012 Summer Olympics. Since 2008, the Cultural Olympiad has featured programs and projects inspired by London 2012. The culmination of the Cultural Olympiad is the London 2012 Festival, providing over 10 million chances to see free world-class events throughout the UK until the Paralympics end on 9 September. Don’t miss today’s premiere London 2012 event, the world premiere of Lakes Alive, a spectacular new show by Les Commandos Percu. It will follow the arrival of the Olympic Torch at Lake Windermere earlier in the evening and will feature musical rhythms and amazing effects as fireworks dance to a thumping soundtrack. Get the party started!
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It’s a Dog’s Life
By Linda Tancs
Well, maybe it’s not quite a dog’s life after all. Even pooches need to get away from it all, as Canine Camp Getaway of New York would have you believe. How does a vacation in the beautiful Adirondacks sound? Your faithful companion will enjoy activities ranging from frisbee to skateboarding, rewinding afterwards at the very social Yappy Hour. Don’t feel left out. You can enjoy your own pursuits, like horseback riding, zumba, and the spa. The fun lasts from 24 to 28 June at Lake George.
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Villages of the Gard Provençal
By Linda Tancs
The Gard Provençal in southern France is filled with natural attractions. For instance, La Roque-sur-Cèze was built on a rock peak overlooking the Cèze. Dominated by the traces of the former castle and its chapel, the village has sloping cobbled streets offering breathtaking view of the Cascades du Sautadet. Nearby, at a bend in the Cèze River, is the medieval village of Montclus, nestled between wooded hills, lavender fields and vineyards. From mid-June to early August the lavender prairies stretch as far as the eye can see. What are you waiting for?
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Hunker Down in West Virginia
By Linda Tancs
The Greenbrier is a National Historic Landmark, an award-winning resort located in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. Surrounded by the Allegheny Mountains, the impeccably appointed Greenbrier offers superb amenities such as championship golf, fine dining, more than 50 activities, designer boutiques, a 5-star spa and a 103,000 square foot gaming and entertainment venue. So it might seem a bit strange that in the midst of these luxurious, pampering surroundings is a bunker. Yes, a bunker–as in the Cold War era, underground kind. Once a top secret Government facility, the now declassified bunker beneath the West Virginia Wing is a unique attraction for a luxury property. Boasting such sites as a decontamination area and power plant, the bunker is a piece of living history open for tours by the public and registered hotel guests alike. The Greenbrier is easily reached via Amtrak or flights to Greenbrier Valley Airport.
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Disney’s Land of Cars
By Linda Tancs
Children of all ages, rev your engines. Tomorrow marks the debut of Disney’s Cars Land. The newest addition to Disney California Adventure Park brings Radiator Springs to life, providing head-to-head racing through the spectacular Ornament Valley. If that’s not enough of a rush for you, then head to Luigi’s Flying Tires, where you’ll literally float on air on an oversized flying tire. In true Disney fashion, the streets of Radiator Springs will come alive with music and lights once the sun sets.
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The Food Beneath Your Feet
By Linda Tancs
Now talk about “farm to table.” Usually, your food comes to you, like a nice catch at 16 feet or so below sea level. Would you like to meet your catch at the source? Ithaa Undersea Restaurant in the Maldives is the world’s first all-glass undersea restaurant. At 16 feet below sea level, you can spot your catch with 180° views of reef and marine life–no scuba gear required. Unforgettable? Be sure of that. Kind of gives new meaning to the phrase “menu is seasonal and subject to change”–don’t you think?
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Putting the Hex On in Pennsylvania
By Linda Tancs
No, it isn’t hocus pocus. The hex–at least in Pennsylvania Dutch country–is a much sought after form of folk art commonly decorating barns in southeastern Pennsylvania. On the Hex Barn Art Tour beginning in Kutztown, you’ll see the ever popular eight-point star, a design symbolizing perseverance. That’s a trait the early German settlers to the region in the 1700s would have had in spades as they set out to farm the land and create new lives for themselves and their families. As you make your way through the 28 mile, self-guided driving tour, be on the lookout for the elusive distelfinks, a pair of goldfinches symbolizing good luck and tranquility. You just might find one in, of all places, Hawk Mountain.
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Life in the Riviera
By Linda Tancs
On the eastern portion of the Yucatán Peninsula in the state of Quintana Roo lies 86 miles of coastline and Mayan culture. Known as Riviera Maya, this tourist district in the Cancun/Tulum corridor is one of the hottest destinations in Mexican travel. It’s easy to understand why when you consider the plethora of all-inclusive resorts to cater to your every whim, the silky beaches, five cenotes, archeological ruins, food and nightlife, and the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, the largest in the Northern Hemisphere. Life, as they say, is good.
Travelrific® Travel Journal 