Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Big Wheels in California
By Linda Tancs
Mountain bikers will find nirvana at northern California’s Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort, where they offer over 100 miles of trails and a season bike pass for $279. Best of all, if you don’t want to use the lifts, you can bike the trails for free. You can get your rental at the Village at Northstar. Once you’ve conquered the hills, why not entertain yourself at the Village? Through the end of August you can enjoy your favorite tunes from the 70s and 80s on Tuesdays at the roller rink, or watch a movie there after sundown. You’ve got 21 open shops and 12 places to dine, too. A good day, as they say at Tahoe.
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Montreal Celebrates the Circus
By Linda Tancs
Those seeking professional training in the circus arts have found a home in Montreal since 1981 when the National Circus School opened. Amazingly, during all that time the cultural pursuits in this artsy city did not include a festival celebrating the very talent that the metropolis attracts each year. All that changed today with the opening of the first Festival of Circus Arts, an extravaganza uniting circus artists from Belgium, Germany, Spain and Canada through 25 July. Elephants not included.
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Wild and Scenic in Idaho
By Linda Tancs
At the River Dance Lodge Ranch Resort in Kooskia, Idaho, they say dreams come true and memories last forever. Well, how could you forget whitewater rafting, fly fishing, canoeing and kayaking in the Lochsa, Selway and Middle Fork of the Clearwater River, three of the original eight rivers in the area protected over 40 years ago by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act? Hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding along the banks is available for those who prefer terra firma. Highway 12, designated an All American Highway, passes right in front of the lodge and offers easy access to the Lewis & Clark Trail. Sounds like a dream come true to me.
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One Man is an Island
By Linda Tancs
In one of English poet John Donne’s meditations, he famously wrote that no man is an island. Well, almost. Just outside the hustle and bustle of the Beltway rest nearly 90 acres of wildlife reserve accessible from the George Washington Memorial Parkway known as the Theodore Roosevelt Island. A fitting tribute to the conservationist ethos of the 26th U.S. President, the area is flush with forest, tidal marsh and wooded swamp, presided over by a life-sized presidential bronze. Teddy would no doubt approve.
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Folklife Celebrated
By Linda Tancs
For 60 years they’ve been celebrating the way of American folklife at the Kutztown Folk Festival in Pennsylvania Dutch country, and this year is no different. So you have no excuse to miss the continuous entertainment on five stages every day from 3 July to 11 July. Where else will you find a reenactment of an actual 19th century hanging, a Mennonite wedding exhibition, early farming technique demonstrations or an actual country auction all in one venue? If the activities don’t rouse you, then surely the aroma of freshly baked bread from the 19th century bread oven or the roasted ox will beckon you. Save some room for the shoo-fly pie.
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Winter Starts Here
By Linda Tancs
Ski racing is just one form of mountain mayhem awaiting you at the Queenstown Winter Festival in New Zealand, taking place now through 4 July. They’ll be skinning up the ski course at Coronet Park, mountain biking downhill and racing with their pooches. Events also include street parties, fireworks, and performances by local acts like The Cartel and Ukelele Orchestra. Get your chuckles with a comedic lineup of Jeremy Corbett, Dai Henwood, Ben Hurley, Steve Wrigley, Paul Ego, Jeremy Ellwood and Michele A’Court. Who says winter is no laughing matter?
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World’s Most Interesting Rest Stop
By Linda Tancs
Generally, rest stops are not the most interesting part of road travel, necessitated by refueling, nature calls and sundry other details. No doubt any traveler to Hangzhou Bay Bridge, linking China’s Cixi City in Zhejiang province with Jiaxing City to the north, would never view the lowly rest stop the same way again. Although damaged by fire earlier this year during renovation work, the bridge remains the longest transoceanic bridge in the world at 22 miles in length, roughly the size needed to link Britain and France across the English Channel. Its 10,000-square-meter service center in the middle offers unrivaled views of the bay and its tides at the lookout, together with a hotel, conference center and parkland to complement the usual rest area amenities.
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Jazzed Up in Montreal
By Linda Tancs
The 31st edition of the Montreal International Jazz Festival is underway at various venues throughout the city. Hailed by The New York Times as the king of Montreal’s assorted summer cultural festivals, this year’s event offers 3,000 artists from 30 countries giving more than 650 concerts, including 450 free outdoor performances. Performers include Bobby McFerrin, Herbie Hancock and the legendary Dave Brubeck, this year’s recipient of the Miles Davis award. Brubeck, the first to create a jazz album selling over one million copies, is credited with bringing jazz into mainstream music. Long live the king.
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Tourism in Beirut
By Linda Tancs
Beirut, a seaside city of 2 million, has garnered that number in tourists in recent years, a welcome surge for this war-torn nation. Find out what’s captivating visitors at Travelrific® Radio.
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Open Skies, Part Two
By Linda Tancs
Following up on an earlier post on the EU/US Open Skies Agreement, a recent accord affirms the earlier agreement between the EU and US to allow route demand to dictate service offerings between airports in the US and EU and allows EU carriers the right to fly between US cities without originating in the EU. Moreover, the revisited agreement proposes that allowances for foreign ownership of US carriers be increased beyond the current 25% cap, considering that US ownership of EU carriers is capped at 49%. Harmonization in this area will require legislation that is unlikely to be in the offing considering other global crises at present. The parties have agreed to harmonize fuel emission standards, however. Overall, reports indicate that the agreement is supposed to produce almost $15 billion dollars in economic benefits and up to 80,000 new jobs. Let’s hope so.
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