Travelrific® Travel Journal

Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!

Living in Eden

By Linda Tancs

The biblical Garden of Eden is often depicted as a paradise filled with lush greenery, flora and fauna.  That’s probably what most folks living in Sweden’s Tanto allotment garden think of their digs:  a modern day Eden, complete with pastel-hued  fairy tale cottages, picket fences, manicured hedges and gardens.  Lots of gardens.  Located south of Old Town on Södermalm, one of 14 islands comprising central Stockholm, the one-time potato farm boasts designer gardens, kitchen gardens, countryside gardens, vegetable gardens and any other kind of garden you can dream of.  Visitors are welcome.  There are frequent buses to Tanto and the nearest underground station is Zinkensdamm.

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 The author has not received any compensation for writing this content and has no material connection to the brands, topics, products and/or services that are mentioned herein.

Let’s Go Fly a Kite

By Linda Tancs

What better way to soar into spring than to unfurl a kite.   But where best to harness the wind?  That’s easy.  It’s the Outer Banks of North Carolina where Wilbur and Orville Wright flew into history.  With near perfect wind conditions year round, it’s no wonder there’s a kite event in the region for every season.  This weekend the season officially kicks off in celebration of National Kite Month with an event at Jockey’s Ridge State Park in Nags Head from 10 am to 4 pm.  This free, family fun gathering features general kite flying as well as stunt and power kite lessons.

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 The author has not received any compensation for writing this content and has no material connection to the brands, topics, products and/or services that are mentioned herein.

The Last of the Mohicans

By Linda Tancs

The last of the Mohicans settled in the Berkshires in the 1600s.  See the nature, hear the harmony and experience the culture of today’s Berkshires.  The Mohicans knew a good thing when they saw it.  Visit Travelrific ® Radio for more information.

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 The author has not received any compensation for writing this content and has no material connection to the brands, topics, products and/or services related to the Berkshires that are mentioned herein.

Great Deal for Rum Runners

By Linda Tancs

Smooth and white with a hint of coconut.  No, this isn’t just another garden variety Caribbean beach.  It’s the Malibu rum distillery at Cockspur Beach Club at  Barbados’ Brighton Beach.  If the spirits move you, then now is the time to catch a great deal from JFK to Bridgetown with new service from JetBlue.  For less than $500 per person, you can spend 4 nights in the quiet, adults-only Divi Heritage Beach Resort with private verandas overlooking exclusive St. James Beach.  Welcome to Fantasy Island.

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 The author has not received any compensation for writing this content and has no material connection to the brands, topics, products and/or services that are mentioned herein.

A Capitol Idea

By Linda Tancs

Have you visited Washington, D.C.  lately?  Our nation’s Capitol building has a new visitor center, featuring a 13-minute film about Congress and the construction of their architecturally distinctive place of business.   On Wednesdays at noon, historians and educators give free chats about the building.  To date, over 2.3 million visitors have graced the visitor’s entrance since the opening of the new center.  That’s twice as many tourists as they’d seen in the year prior to the opening of the new digs.  If you build it, they will come, the saying goes.  Indeed they have.

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 The author has not received any compensation for writing this content and has no material connection to the brands, topics, products and/or services that are mentioned herein.

Seeing Pink in Sedona

By Linda Tancs

Some may think that red and pink clash (in the sartorial sense), but in the rugged terrain of Sedona, Arizona, they’re perfect together.  Pink Jeep, as the name implies, is a cadre of pink-colored jeeps scouring the red rocks and gaping canyons of Sedona, north of Scottsdale and Phoenix.  The popular, off-roading tour company offers something for everyone:  a descent down the “Road of No Return” for thrill seekers, an archeological expedition to the cliff art at the 700-year-old Sinaguan cliff dwelling for intellectuals, and a view of lowland desert and Ponderosa pine forests atop the Mogollon Rim for shutterbugs.  Sedona sure looks pretty in pink.

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 The author has not received any compensation for writing this content and has no material connection to the brands, topics, products and/or services that are mentioned herein.

Getting Back Into Dodge

By Linda Tancs

The Old West town of Dodge City, Kansas inevitably evokes images of saloons and shootouts.  The violent history underlying the early settlement of  Boot Hill, in particular, can be imagined while strolling through the old cemetery and its memorials to cowboys both known and unknown.  Given its legendary past, it’s easy to understand why the denizens of the day would be eager to get out of Dodge.  Today all that gore gives way to gaming with Boot Hill’s casino and resort, the first state-owned and operated gambling hall in Kansas. Phase 1 of the project now offers 580 slot machines and thirteen table games including such standards as blackjack, craps, roulette and poker.  Phase 2 of the resort, slated for a December 2011 opening, will feature a hotel, day spa, two more restaurants and lounges, and more game space to lose–er, donate–your cash.  A veritable hodgepodge to get you back into Dodge.

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The author has not received any compensation for writing this content and has no material connection to the brands, topics, products and/or services that are mentioned herein.

The Beauty of Late Ice

By Linda Tancs

Anglers in training take note:  if ice fishing seems out of sync with winter’s transition to spring, then you’ll be missing out on some great catch, especially around Oconomowoc, Wisconsin’s lake district.  Don’t worry about sledding into thin ice at the river’s heartland to jig for bluegill.  Life is returning to the shallows, and so are the fish.  That means you should, too.

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 The author has not received any compensation for writing this content and has no material connection to the brands, topics, products and/or services that are mentioned herein.

200 Years of Beer

By Linda Tancs

Munich’s Oktoberfest is celebrating 200 years in 2010.  So what better way to mark the occasion than to extend the party one more day.  This year’s festivities will allow you to visit the Wiesn and imbibe the weizen until 4 October instead of 3 October.  Better reserve your tent space early.  The extra “anniversary day” is likely to bring out even more crowds.

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 The author has not received any compensation for writing this content and has no material connection to the brands, topics, products and/or services that are mentioned herein.

Bach is Back

By Linda Tancs

This weekend marks the 325th birthday of composer Johann Sebastian Bach.  In perfect conjunction is the opening of the newly restored Bach Museum Leipzig, highlighting his original manuscripts and a multimedia exhibit.  Saturday offers concerts and programming for the whole family.  Sunday’s official opening coincides with the traditional celebration of Bach’s birthday at Thomaskirche, complete with a birthday concert to ring out the festivities.

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The author has not received any compensation for writing this content and has no material connection to the brands, topics, products and/or services that are mentioned herein.