Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Andalusian Provinces
By Linda Tancs
Heavily influenced by Muslim rule during the Middle Ages, the Andalusian region of Spain is well known for its Moorish architecture. Experience the grandeur of Seville, Cordoba and Granada. Listen in at Travelrific® Radio.
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Equinox Approaches
By Linda Tancs
An equinox is an astronomical event at which the sun is directly above a point in the equator. Occurring twice yearly (in March and September–the vernal and autumnal equinoxes, respectively), the practical effect is equal parts day and night. The mystical effect, however, is something else entirely. For thousands of years the Mayans have celebrated the equinox with a convergence of architectural and astronomical glory at Chichén-Itzá and Dzibilchaltun. The event begins at sunrise at the ancient city of Dzibilchaltun where the rising sun aligns with the Temple of the Seven Dolls. As magnificent as it is, nothing compares with the global audience in attendance at El Castillo, the great pyramid of Chichén-Itzá . The structure, honoring the feathered snake god Quetzalcoatl, has a staircase on all four sides, the steps of which total the 365 days in a solar year. On the afternoon of the equinox, the temple is aligned perfectly so that the sun and shadows create the appearance of a giant snake going down the side of the stairwell. Snake phobics might want to sit this one out.
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Slow Down, Move Over
By Linda Tancs
In an effort to boost the safety of first responders, over 40 states offer some version of a Slow Down/Move Over law. In a nutshell, drivers are expected to yield the right-of-way or reduce speed when approaching stationary emergency vehicles on highways. Penalties for noncompliance can be pretty stiff, ranging from a misdemeanor to a license suspension if injuries should result. All but New York, Nebraska, Maryland, Hawaii and Connecticut have some form of the law on the books. Check out the testimonial of a Virginia trooper explaining the basis for the law. Save the racing for the speedway.
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Food and Travel, Perfect Together
By Linda Tancs
The smell of corned beef and cabbage wafting through the air has me thinking about food–and travel. Or “food travel.” And what about food travel experts–that is, those who refer to themselves as such– like the folks at SSP. Who knew there was a company that delivers food and beverage experiences around the world, for 60 years no less? Lots of interesting trivia at their site, like who’s the biggest name in fish and chips? Think you know? Drop in and find out.
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Of Nooks and Crooks
By Linda Tancs
Of all the little nooks in the world, the Guinness Book has it that Scotland’s Ebenezer Street in Wick takes top honors as the world’s shortest street. Situated in the Northern Highlands, Wick owes its origin to the Vikings, who named it Vik (meaning “bay”). Measuring just two yards and nine inches, the tiny thoroughfare sports one front door. For a long and winding road, you’ll need to visit Lombard Street in San Francisco, California, where the world’s most crooked street at its crest gives visitors the most stunning views of Fisherman’s Wharf, Alcatraz and the rest of San Francisco Bay. Those with nerves of steel can drive their way through the switchbacks. The rest can get there via the city’s storied cable cars on the Powell-Hyde line.
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Pet Travel Succumbs to Economy
By Linda Tancs
Once peanuts, blankets and pillows were eyed for surcharges then you knew it wouldn’t be long until pets saw a fare hike. And so it goes, with the least expensive ticket averaging $100 each way on low-cost carriers Spirit and JetBlue. Rates on Delta and American have gone to the dogs as well. Will Fido have to sit out Disney World this year? Or more to the point–will you? Maybe so, unless you can find a better kennel rate.
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Kid Travel Made Easy
By Linda Tancs
It isn’t easy traveling with young kids, as anyone witnessing or engaging in the juggling act of strollers, carriers and car seats can attest. Checking all that paraphernalia at the gate is no fun, either. And watching it clunk down some dirty baggage carousel is even worse. So what’s a parent to do? Try Gate Check, a bright red drawstring travel bag for children’s gear. If only luggage packing could be this easy.
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Sleepy B.C. Village Energized with Tourism
By Linda Tancs
If you can’t immediately place Esowista Peninsula, you are forgiven. But give it a short while longer and everyone is likely to be talking about the quiet, little fishing village at its tip along the west coast of Vancouver Island in Canada. Named in 1792 after Vicente Tofino de San Miguel, Rear Admiral of the Spanish Naval Academy, Tofino is roughly 5 hours from Victoria, British Columbia and offers a variety of wildlife, hot springs and cultural tours. Largely dependent on tourism and aquaculture, you can count on year-round saltwater fishing opportunities, with world-class salmon fishing and flyfishing in Clayoquot Sound. Environmental preservation runs strong here. Just ask the locals to point out Eik Cedar Tree, the mascot of Tofino, an 800-year-old Western Red Cedar saved from the brink of condemnation thanks to the activism of its citizens. That may seem like nothing compared with the Hanging Garden Cedar, a living tree with a trunk circumference of 20 meters and estimated to be over 2,000 years old! A tree is our best antique, as the saying goes.
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South Pole Research Station Open
By Linda Tancs
Germany’s latest engineering triumph stands on a 200-meter thick ice shelf in the South Pole. Named Neumayer-Station III after geophysicist Georg von Neumayer, the sixteen-legged research station bests the competition by sporting rooms with a view. There’s not much to see, however, but an endless horizon of snow and the occasional penguin. Let’s hope the yearlong climate data collection it offers is worth every bit of its 40 million euro price tag.
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Getting Away From it All
By Linda Tancs
Off the florida keys
There’s a place called Kokomo
That’s where you wanna go to get away from it all
That’s what The Beach Boys sang. Never thought much about it–until today. So where, or what, is Kokomo? Apparently it’s a beach bar at Florida’s Holiday Isle Beach Resort & Marina in Islamorada, translated to mean “purple isle.” Apart from enjoying the original frozen rumrunner cocktail, what else is there to do in this neck of the Keys? Answer: sport fishing. According to the local chamber of commerce, Islamorada is known as the sport fishing capital of the world, hosting the largest fishing fleet per square mile. You can also kayak, dive, snorkel, parasail or feed a giant silver tarpon. For more of a “taste” of the four islands comprising this area, drop by the Island Fest on 4 and 5 April at Founder’s Park. So get there fast, and then take it slow.
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Travelrific® Travel Journal 