Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!A Carpet of Color
By Linda Tancs
American painter Georgia O’Keeffe once remarked, “I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way – things I had no words for.” Well, if colors could speak then there’d be a torrent of conversation taking place now through May at Keukenhof Gardens, a kaleidoscope of tulips and other flowering bulbs in the Netherlands near Amsterdam. Now in its 60th year, they say it’s the most photographed spot in the world. And why shouldn’t it be, with 7 million bulbs swaying in the breeze. Gives new meaning to the expression, ‘spring is busting out all over.’
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Frogs and Flowers
By Linda Tancs
Gunung Gading National Park in Borneo sports two interesting attributes: frogs and flowers. Its amphibious distinction owes to what some might describe as an other-worldly population of frogs. Considering the folk wisdom that the presence or absence of frogs is a barometer of environmental health, this can only signal good things. Its floral fame arises from its status as the home of the world’s largest flower, Rafflesia tuan-mudae. At full bloom this giant flower streches nearly one meter in width. The catch, of course, is to find it in bloom, an infrequent and short-lived event. Don’t let that stop you from exploring this national treasure southwest of Sarawak. From the peak of Mount Gading you can make like Lewis and Clark and survey all the flora and fauna the region has to offer.
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A Hearty Breakfast
By Linda Tancs
Surely, you’ve heard the news by now. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Now applying this to travel, I started to wonder which bed & breakfast makes the best breakfast. Of course, this is a subjective determination and, with little experience in this area of lodging, I decided to find an expert opinion. So I turned to the folks at Bed & Breakfast.com for their annual awards recap and found seven honorable mentions. And the winners, in no particular order, are:
Albert Shafsky House Bed and Breakfast Inn, Placerville, CA
Judge Porter House Bed and Breakfast, Natchitoches, LA
Cocoa Cottage, Whitehall, MI
Cornerstone Victorian B&B, Warrensburg, NY
Granbury Gardens Bed and Breakfast, Granbury, TX
Amid Summer’s Inn Bed & Breakfast, Cedar City, UT
Grace Manor Inn, Richmond, VA
What’s your opinion? I’d like to know.
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Eggs are Rolling on Easter Monday
By Linda Tancs
The custom of rolling hard-boiled eggs down a hill can be traced back to Victorian times and, if the crowds appearing at the White House are any indicator, the practice remains in full vigor. In fact, it’s a South Lawn tradition presided over each year on Easter Monday by the First Lady. The object of the event is to see which egg can be coaxed along the farthest without breaking. It reminds me of Pancake Day on Shrove Tuesday. Funny how the Easter season brings long-held customs related to running with food. Got a favorite egg-rolling anecdote? Share it here.
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London Airport is a Trendsetter
By Linda Tancs
Pillows, blankets and aisle seats. Ka-ching. Two checked bags. Ka-ching. As deficit-plagued airlines continue to dream up ways to spike revenues comes news out of London that an airport is getting in on the act. The Times of London reported that Luton Airport is assessing a 1 pound fee for airport drop-offs of up to 10 minutes. You can avoid the fee by dropping your baggage-laden beloved at the car park for a free shuttle. Let’s hope the rest of the world’s airports don’t seize onto this.
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Air Traffic Control Gets Facelift
By Linda Tancs
The Miami Herald recently heralded a new development in air traffic control. That would be a satellite-based air traffic control system, the first of its kind in the country, being rolled out at Miami International Airport. But don’t say good-bye to conventional radar just yet. It’s likely to stay in place as back-up to this NextGen air traffic technology. Will the air traffic controllers remain in place as well? This isn’t Star Trek, after all. As one commentator put it, “Technology does not run an enterprise, relationships do.”
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Spring in Willingen
By Linda Tancs
The last drifts of snow are melting away at the foot of Ettelsberg in the skiing mecca of Willingen, the Sauerland region of Germany. But that doesn’t have to portend a mass exodus from the area. The spring thaw exposes a countryside rife with nature parks, hiking trails, and moorlands, not to mention a slate mine and even a milk museum. Take it all in from the panoramic views atop the Hochheide Tower, the highest point of elevation in northwest Germany. The closest airport is the Paderborn-Lippstadt airport (approx. 50 km). Other airports are at Dortmund (97km), Düsseldorf (160km), Frankfurt am Main (175km) and Hanover (200km).
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Some Field Mice Like Heights
By Linda Tancs
Afraid of heights? Then take a lesson from one of the newly discovered inhabitants of the Andes in Peru, a species of field mouse less than four inches in length found dwelling as much as 15,000 feet above sea level in the mountainous forest north of Lima. The insect and seed-eating critter spells good news for the area’s ecosystem.
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New Jersey Welcomes Park’s Historic Status
By Linda Tancs
It’s been over 200 years since the industrial revolution put the city of Paterson, New Jersey (so named for its governor at the time) on the map. Beginning in the 18th century, its 77-foot waterfall, known as the Great Falls, powered local industry in this slice of northeastern New Jersey. Now Great Falls State Park is hailed as a national historical park, qualifying it for federal funds down the road to protect and maintain its newfound status. Now, a national historical park is not the same as a national park, both of which should be distinguished from a national historic site. Confused? Let the Park Service explain it to you.
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The Right of Passage
By Linda Tancs
Some time ago, National Geographic News reported that an Arctic thaw had opened travels between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans via the fabled Northwest Passage, which cuts through the Canadian Arctic. That the passage offers a convenient trade route for Canada, the U.S., Russia, Norway and Denmark should come as no surprise. Neither should the fact that an ice-free passage (estimated to occur by 2050) offers unprecedented opportunities for oil and natural gas exploration, which has the above-named parties jockeying for position. Canada, for instance, has claimed sovereignty over its share of the waterway, setting the stage for the international equivalent of a fight among schoolyard bullies. Not to be outdone, Russia planted a flag at the bottom of the Arctic, and President Bush officially repudiated Canada’s position in his Arctic Region Policy directive. Whether the route ultimately achieves status as an international strait is anyone’s guess, particularly if Canada persists in giving its chums the cold shoulder.
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Travelrific® Travel Journal 