Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Crawdaddy is King in Pensacola
By Linda Tancs
They’ll be packing away pistols in Pensacola, Florida this weekend, but it isn’t what you might think. Crawfish pistolettes, a Cajun specialty, will be featured along with southern style crab cakes, gator bites, blackened mahi mahi, bang bang shrimp, shrimp creole, boudin balls, and shark on a stick at Pensacola’s Seafood Festival in historic Seville Square downtown. The highlight, of course, is the Gulf fare for which this region in northwestern Florida is famous, but you can also shop at the arts and crafts fair or take part in a 5K run/walk, cooking demonstration, or just enjoy the music. The event is organized by Fiesta of Five Flags, a community group combining tourism promotion with local history. Thus, Fiesta is based upon the founding of Pensacola by Don Tristan de Luna in 1559 and celebrates the flags of five governments that have flown over the city: Spain, France, England, the Confederacy and the United States.
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Cranfest Draws Big Crowds
By Linda Tancs
In the tiny town of Warrens, Wisconsin, cranberries outnumber humans 3 to 1 (at least). But this is the heart of cranberry land, after all, so it shouldn’t be all that surprising. However, the human population swells to over 100,000, during the world’s largest cranberry festival, which takes place during the last full weekend in September in this little hamlet (population: less than 400). Now in its 37th year, Cranfest offers three miles of booths with everything from arts and crafts, flea markets and antiques to a farm market. After all that walking, you’ll be hungry. Why not indulge in some pancakes with cranberry syrup and some deep-fried cranberry fritters. Of course, you can take a tour of a working cranberry farm, too. Best of all, the proceeds from the event go right back to the community–civic pride at its best.
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Your Daily Bread
By Linda Tancs
At the Abbey of the Genesee, you’ll be given this day your daily Monks’ Bread. Located in Piffard, New York, the abbey grounds are graced by the Genesee River to the east, golden ponds, flora and fauna (deer and wild turkeys, for instance). All that peace and serenity belies the industriousness of its permanent occupants–the Trappist monks–who make up to nine varieties of specialty breads in a modern bakery operation. A taste of heaven, indeed.
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When Pigs Fly
By Linda Tancs
Victoria’s largest public event is taking place now through 27 September at the Royal Melbourne Show in Australia. Like a county fair, the show includes livestock, rides, exhibitions, food and competitions. Perhaps the most engaging contest of all is the pig racing and diving show. Held five times a day during the entire fair to accommodate its loyal followers, the show features flying pigs aiming for a perfect score of 10 as they dive in the water. And the crowd goes hog wild, as they say.
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Bavarian Air in Breckenridge
By Linda Tancs
U.S. statesman Benjamin Franklin is often misquoted as having said, “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” Surely, though, the sentiment is agreed in Breckenridge, Colorado, home of this weekend’s 15th annual Oktoberfest. Kicking off the festival is Friday night’s Brewmaster’s Dinner; reservations are required. Those in the know have no doubt already reserved their Oktoberfest lodging package, starting at $90 per person per night and including two nights of lodging, tickets to the Brewmaster’s Dinner, beer vouchers and a reserved commemorative beer stein. Day trippers can start the party at 11 am on Saturday and Sunday along historic Main Street. As you might expect, the thoroughfare will be rife with traditional costumes, German cuisine, oompah bands, Bavarian dancers and, of course, Paulaner bier by the steinload. The largest historic district in Colorado, this mountain town offers unforgettable fall foliage to complement the festivities. Can you take all that in during the day? Maybe you should look for some last minute lodging, just in case.
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Rolling on the River
By Linda Tancs
Rafting, canoeing and kayaking get all the attention, but the simple pastime of tubing is still a family-fun way of drifting downstream through some of the greatest rivers in the U.S. All you need is a tire tube, life preserver and some sunblock! Then head to the Delaware River, for instance. You can float through historic valley towns like Narrowsburg or Minisink Ford in New York, past eagle lookouts, campsites, magnificent riverfront homes and Revolutionary War settings. Worth the price of admission, as they say, don’t you think?
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Budget Travel in Dubai
By Linda Tancs
For better or worse, Dubai is one of those places with a reputation that you need a trust fund to play there. Sure, that may be true when it comes to the super-luxe shopping malls and hotels, but you can enjoy la dolce vita at this Middle Eastern hotspot without breaking the bank. How about enjoying a museum depicting the pre-oil days of this gleaming metropolis? Or window shop at the Bastakiya historical district, where you can find a bed and breakfast in the area for as little as 350 dirhams. You can even rent your own abra (a wooden boat) at the quay to take you across the Dubai Creek for a mere 100 dirhams per hour. Are you ready, captain?
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Steering Committee
By Linda Tancs
Although Dallas, Texas may be better known for its financial wheeling and dealing, at its heart (both metaphorically and geographically) lies a monument to its pioneering past. Appropriately enough, at Pioneer Plaza in central Dallas (near the Convention Center) is a sculpture series comprising 50 bronze longhorns steered by three cowboys on horseback. Said to be the largest sculpture of its type in the world, the work is a celebration of the working life of the area’s earliest settlers. Featuring native landscaping, a flowing stream and waterfall, here’s a place for peaceful contemplation in the financial district. Feeling bullish?
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Bestival Festival
By Linda Tancs
Boutique music is celebrated again this year over the weekend at Robin Hill, a country park near Downend and Newport in the heart of the Isle of Wight. Known as Bestival, the event promises peace, love and dancing to eclectic acts like Bjorn Again, Future Sound of London and Alejandro and the Magic Tombolinos. Add to that a
campsite experience (complete with gypsy caravans and mini yurts), Bollywood Cocktail Bar and a fancy dress parade. In the spirit of keeping it green, public transport or ride share is encouraged.
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The Other Edinburgh
By Linda Tancs
Amidst the rough waters of the far South Atlantic lies Tristan da Cunha, a tiny island sharing nature’s resources with the neighboring albatrosses and giant crawfish. The most remote inhabited island in the world, this British possession is settled in its capital–and really only–locale, the very swashbuckling-sounding Edinburgh-of-the-Seven-Seas. Originally self-named by the Portuguese explorer Tristão da Cunha, the islanders live a peaceful life off the land and sea, exporting crawfish and tending to their livestock in the shadow of volcanic St. Mary’s Peak. Ah, the simple life. Alas, you can’t make it your own; outsiders can’t live or invest there. You’ll have to settle for a cruise stop, instead.
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Travelrific® Travel Journal 