Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Exotic Foods in West Virginia
By Linda Tancs
When you think of exotic foods, what comes to mind? Deep-fried crickets? Cock’s combs? Blood pudding? You don’t have to travel to the far corners of the earth to experience strange or exotic foods. Just head to the West Virginia Roadkill Cook-off and Autumn Harvest Festival on 24 September in Pocahontas County. There you’ll enjoy such delicacies as squirrel gravy over biscuits, teriyaki-marinated bear and deer sausage. Get ready for some grub!
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National Food Fest in France
By Linda Tancs
The late cookbook author and TV chef Julia Child referred to French cooking as a serious art form and a national sport. So it might be surprising that France has never hosted a national food festival. Until now. The inaugural La Fête de la Gastronomie will take place this year on 23 September (the first day of autumn) and will herald the start of autumn each year thereafter. The theme this year will be “la Terre” (the land), highlighting local products made in different regions of France. Famous chefs will cook on the streets, including Thierry Marx and Alain Ducasse. Bon appétit!
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Hawk Watch in New Jersey
By Linda Tancs
The time is ripe for hawk watchers to visit Washington Valley Park in Bridgewater, New Jersey. Located along the First Watchung Ridge, the park is one of the East Coast’s premier locations to watch thousands of raptors migrate south every autumn. In the Miller Lane section of this natural setting boasting over 700 acres, hawks, eagles and falcons wing their way over the treetops from August to November to points south in Central and South America. Mind you, there’s a world underfoot as well, like largemouth bass, black crappie, bluegill, pumpkinseed, and yellow perch in the 21-acre reservoir at the Newman’s Lane section. Bounded by pine and hemlock forests, open freshwater wetland marshes, and impressive rock outcroppings, the area offers some of the best hiking and mountain biking in the state.
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Persimmons Rule in Indiana
By Linda Tancs
The persimmon is an edible fruit, a large berry about the size of an apricot with a tomato-like skin. In southern Indiana the fruit is a native delight, its abundance celebrated each year during the Persimmon Festival in Mitchell, Indiana. This year’s event runs from 17 to 24 September. A major highlight, of course, is the parade on 24 September at 2 p.m., one of Indiana’s largest parades. It forms at Lehigh Field, moving west on Main Street to Seventh Street, then north on Warren, west to Eight and ending at the high school. Save your appetite for the persimmon pudding. Last year’s concoction was a mix of buttermilk, heavy cream, butter, eggs, a little vanilla and a touch of cinnamon. If that doesn’t sound gooey enough for you, then maybe you should have tried last year’s Gooey Butter Cake, winner of the Persimmon Novelty Dessert award.
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All Buttered Up in Idaho
By Linda Tancs
Just 10 miles south of Idaho Falls lies the epicenter of celebration of Idaho’s famed export, the potato. Specifically, the small city of Shelley, Idaho has hosted the annual Spud Day festival (www.ci.shelley.id.us) since 1927. The 17 September event commemorates the potato harvest and includes events like a parade at State Street, a potato picking contest, talent show and treasure hunt. Pick up your free baked potato and trimmings at City Park.
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Raising the Chocolate Bar
By Linda Tancs
They’ve raised environmental consciousness to a whole new level at Gnosis, a New York City chocolatier (www.gnosischocolate.com). Consider, for instance, that the boxes are 100% recycled, 80% post-consumer recycled, and FSC certified–with vegetable ink printing. Add to that ethically sourced raw cacao from Bali, Ecuador, and Peru and a dose of heart healthy low glycemic sweeteners, nutrient dense fruits, nuts, and medicinal herbs sourced from the Amazon to the Himalayas. The result is chocolate that is good for you, body and soul.
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Bourbon Capital of the World
By Linda Tancs
Kentucky is known for its thoroughbreds. In addition to the four-legged variety, it’s known as the epicenter of bourbon, the thoroughbred of distilled whisky. They’ve been making liquid gold in Bardstown for centuries. Today through 18 September the small town celebrates its bourbon-making heritage at the annual festival (www.kybourbonfestival.com). Over 10 bourbons are participating in the event, including such well known monikers as Wild Turkey and Jim Beam. Rest assured, there’s plenty for teetotalers, too, like a historic walking tour, hot air ballooning and some tutelage in the ancient craft of barrel making.
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Motorcycle Rentals Overseas
By Linda Tancs
Someone once said that two wheels move the soul. Easy riders know this. Now anyone with a heavyweight motorcycle operator’s license can experience moto mojo overseas through Harley Davidson’s international rentals program. Not a rider? Why not learn at the Academy of Motorcycling?
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Spinach Capital Hosts Festival
By Linda Tancs
Popeye, the fictional sailor of comic strip and other media fame, certainly made spinach look cool when he sang “I’m strong to the finich cause I eats me spinach.” The folks in Lenexa, Kansas would no doubt agree with that sentiment. Part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the city once dubbed the “spinach capital of the world” pays homage to this super green with a super-sized salad and a recipe contest. This year’s Spinach Festival takes place on 10 September from 9 to 5 at Sar-Ko-Par Trails Park. Not into greens, you say? No worries. The annual event is equal parts art, crafts and antiques, from stained glass to puzzle boxes to copper tree art.
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Scotsman Soars from Edinburgh to London
By Linda Tancs
The Flying Scotsman is arguably the world’s best known steam locomotive, having dutifully plied the route between London and Edinburgh for decades. Purchased for the nation, it found a home at the National Railway Museum where it is undergoing restoration to full mainline running condition. In the meanwhile, what’s a busy traveler between Edinburgh and London to do? East Coast has the answer. In May, the train operator introduced a Flying Scotsman express service, a four-hour jaunt calling only at Newcastle in its route between Edinburgh and London’s King’s Cross station. The new service is the cream of the puff, you might say. Other improvements include a new early-morning service from Berwick-upon-Tweed, Alnmouth and Morpeth, which connects into the Flying Scotsman service at Newcastle.
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