Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Shard Sale in Hyannis
By Linda Tancs
Bikini season may have ended at the beach, but early fall brings out beach goers for treasure hunting as sea glass washes ashore in large numbers. Whether it’s shipwrecked or household waste, the right color shard could land you big bucks if you know what you’re looking at. Not sure? Then bring it to the North American Sea Glass Association convention in Hyannis, Massachusetts this weekend. Taking place at the Resort and Conference Center, the annual event features the award of Shard of the Year. Who knows, maybe you’ll be a contender.
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Tree World Olympics
By Linda Tancs
Every October on the second Sunday of the month near the English village of Oundle in East Northamptonshire the folks go bonkers for conkers. So on 10 October make your way to New Lodge Fields where ladies and gents from 20 countries will compete in the World Conkers Championship beginning at 10:30 a.m. and ending at 3 o’clock. A conker (otherwise known as a buckeye in the USA) is the seed of a horse chestnut, which is fastened like a yo-yo to a string at the event. The aim of the competition (no pun intended) is to knock out your opponent’s conker (oh, what imagery there). You do that by wrapping the conker string around one hand and then taking the conker in the other hand and drawing it back for the strike. Releasing the conker you swing it down by the string held in the other hand and try to hit your opponent’s conker with it. No doubt this year’s championship will be a smashing success.
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Pebble Beach of the East
By Linda Tancs
Sea Island is a resort along the southeast coast of Georgia sporting ocean-view villas, a football field-sized spa, and a seaside golf course. Sounds like the perfect spot for a golf tournament. The PGA folks think so, too; that’s why the resort’s course will host a new PGA Tour event called the McGladrey Classic. Gates open tomorrow through 10 October. Proceeds from the event benefit Special Olympics, the Boys and Girls Club of Southeast Georgia and Safe Harbor. Free parking is located at McKinnon Airport on St. Simons Island, where a shuttle to the course will be provided. Need a place to stay? The resort’s centerpiece, The Cloister Hotel, awaits you with five miles of private beach to keep you busy while the pros square off.
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Rural Life in New Jersey
By Linda Tancs
Experience rural life in the late Victorian era at Fosterfields Farm, a living historical farm in Morristown, New Jersey. The first of its kind in the state, the property was bequeathed to the local park commission by Caroline Foster, a successor in title from General Joseph Warren Revere, grandson of Paul Revere. Drop by and take in the agricultural heritage of the Garden State.
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Twenty Ten Hosts Ryder Cup
By Linda Tancs
Twenty Ten, located at the Celtic Manor Resort in Wales’s Usk Valley, is the first course ever built specifically for the Ryder Cup, golf’s crowning event taking place there from 1 to 3 October. The 71-par course presents water challenges on half of its holes to complement its many risk-and-reward dilemmas. Best leave that to the pros. For the rest of us, there’s a golf academy featuring a floodlit driving range, practice range, golf shop and teaching bays and two luxurious golf clubhouses to relax and unwind from it all. Located less than three hours from London, catch a direct train from Paddington.
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A Revolutionary Event in Germantown
By Linda Tancs
On 2 October historic Germantown in northwest Philadelphia will commemorate the Continental Army’s fight against the British there during the Revolutionary War. The day’s festivities include an exhibition of maps and prints related to the war, a battle reenactment, graveside ceremony and, of course, an Oktoberfest to celebrate the area’s settlement centuries ago by German settlers. Travel time from Center City is approximately 25 minutes. Public transportation is available via the R8 (Chestnut Hill West) commuter rail line (Upsal Station) or the Route 23 bus.
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Puppet Theatre in Budapest
By Linda Tancs
Puppet theatre isn’t just for kids, especially at Budapest’s puppet theatre located at Andrássy útca 69. The show typically adapts classical musical works and dramas to puppetry using life-sized puppets operated by a crew of ten. And the fee is reasonable at $10 per person. Ask your concierge for details.
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Ostrich Rides in Oudtshoorn
By Linda Tancs
Bird watching is quite the sport in Oudtshoorn, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa some 270 miles east of Cape Town. In fact, you’ll find here the largest population of ostriches in the world. Not surprising, considering that this native has been roaming the Karoo since the 19th century. You can get up close and personal (and attempt a ride, if you dare) at Cango Ostrich Show Farm. If you’d rather eat than greet, you’ll have the opportunity to sample ostrich steak, eggs or pâté.
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Neptune Rules in VA
By Linda Tancs
The beaches at Virginia Beach in Virginia are wide–quite fitting for an imposing colossal bronze statue of the sea god Neptune to reign over. Summer may be coming to a close, but Neptune rules at the festival this weekend all across the oceanfront. The annual event covers everything from a world-class sandcastle competition to numerous athletic competitions and the famous Neptune Grand Parade. Over 275 artisans will line the boardwalk for the Neptune Art and Craft Show, combined with food vendors and lots of oceanside fun. Dive right in.
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Yachts Galore in Monaco
By Linda Tancs
The 20th edition of Monaco’s yacht show, the world’s largest superyacht exhibition, begins today through 25 September at Port Hercules. Although the economic downturn sent many yacht builders into receivership, you’d never know it by the lineup at this year’s event, sporting the worldwide debut of 30 new vessels. As the economy shrinks, the yachts get bigger, from an average 41 meters in 2006 to 43 meters this year. Eighty percent of the show’s visitors come from overseas. Will you be one of them?
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