Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Lost Baggage Rule Gets Facelift
By Linda Tancs
Amidst the doom and gloom of baggage mishandling comes a rainbow: the Department of Transportation has increased liability for lost baggage arising from domestic travel from $3000 to $3300, effective today. This means an airline needn’t pay you a penny more than the DOT rate for your losses. Of course, you shouldn’t be packing Sunday’s best (or–gasp–electronic equipment or heirloom jewelry) in that checked bag in any event. Chances are, you’d consider it irreplaceable, no matter how much money the DOT is willing to throw at you. The same is true for international travel, but the compensation rate is about halved.
If you enjoyed this post, please share it on sites such as StumbleUpon, vote for it, or bookmark it. Thanks for your support! Travelrific® was featured as Blog of the Day on NJ.com!
Share this:
Traveling with Santa
By Linda Tancs
In the current edition of Travelrific® Travel Show, the topic is polar travel. Discover Santa’s northern delights in and around the Arctic Circle. Find the podcast here.
Share this:
Umbria’s Big Tree
By Linda Tancs
Every year on 7 December Gubbio, Italy turns the lights on the world’s largest Christmas tree. This “tree” is a fir-like design of 1300 feet of neon lights connected by over 40,000 feet of cable, beginning at the foothills of this Umbrian town and rising to its tabernacle dedicated to the village’s patron saint, Ubaldo. Now in its 28th year, the show runs till 10 January. If you can’t make it, buy the stamp instead. The local post office commemorated its 10th anniversary back in 1990–philatelists, take note.
If you enjoyed this post, please share it on sites such as StumbleUpon, vote for it, or bookmark it. Thanks for your support! Travelrific® was featured as Blog of the Day on NJ.com!
Share this:
A Capitol Christmas
By Linda Tancs
The silhouette of the Big Sky got a little wider when Montana’s Bitterroot National Forest was selected to provide this year’s tree to Washington, D.C. to grace the U.S. Capitol’s west lawn. The locals selected a subalpine fir measuring 73 feet (when cut). They also provided about 70 other trees for various congressional agencies and offices. Don’t confuse this tree with the White House’s annual National Tree, which is no less grand. The Capitol’s tree was lit on 2 December, bedecked with ornaments crafted by children in Montana. It’s yours to behold until the new year.
If you enjoyed this post, please share it on sites such as StumbleUpon, vote for it, or bookmark it. Thanks for your support! Travelrific® was featured as Blog of the Day on NJ.com!
Share this:
Great Destinations in New Jersey
By Linda Tancs
The best kept secrets of New Jersey are now spilled all over the pages of Great Destinations/New Jersey, as well as the companion DVD. This labor of love is the result of 1017 local photographers (including yours truly) submitting 16,893 photos, which were then voted on 886,161 times to establish the best of the best of the Garden State. You can order your copy here.
If you enjoyed this post, please share it on sites such as StumbleUpon, vote for it, or bookmark it. Thanks for your support! Travelrific® was featured as Blog of the Day on NJ.com!
Share this:
Cuban Travel
By Linda Tancs
According to the American Society of Travel Agents, the Obama administration is being urged to consider lifting travel restrictions to Cuba. To be sure, Castro and his cohorts are no more antagonistic towards American ideals than the Venezuelan administration, yet there are no barriers to travel there. Perhaps the time has come to let bygones be bygones. Then you, too, can enjoy places like Hotel Nacional de Cuba and other former playgrounds of the rich and famous like Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner.
If you enjoyed this post, please share it on sites such as StumbleUpon, vote for it, or bookmark it. Thanks for your support! Travelrific® was featured as Blog of the Day on NJ.com!
Share this:
Illuminations in Virginia
By Linda Tancs
What do the cities of Richmond, Williamsburg, Newport News, Hampton, Portsmouth, Norfolk and Virginia Beach have in common? Besides their location along Route 64 in the Commonwealth of Virginia, these cities play host to the award-winning 100 Miles of Lights extravaganza. Now through early January, take advantage of the events in these host cities celebrating the season. Choose from several activities such as the drive-through lights display in Newport News, the Grand Illumination in colonial Williamsburg or the dinner cruises in Norfolk or Portsmouth highlighting the festooned waterfront. There’s no need to vote for favorites. Whatever the outcome, the “eyes” have it.
If you enjoyed this post, please share it on sites such as StumbleUpon, vote for it, or bookmark it. Thanks for your support! Travelrific® was featured as Blog of the Day on NJ.com!
Share this:
Baltimore Lights Up
By Linda Tancs
For 60 years, the Hampden neighborhood in Baltimore at 34th Street has lit up in the spirit of the season. This year is no different. Each house on the block flipped the switch the Saturday after Thanksgiving to reveal a spectacle of lights befitting an amusement park. To be sure, this show of solidarity is not unique but nevertheless attracks visitors from around the globe. Clearly, it seems to be a wonderful life on 34th Street. Discover the miracle for yourself.
If you enjoyed this post, please share it on sites such as StumbleUpon, vote for it, or bookmark it. Thanks for your support! Travelrific® was featured as Blog of the Day on NJ.com!
Share this:
Smaller Carry-ons Mean More Checked Baggage
By Linda Tancs
Falling in line with the majority, Continental recently reduced its carry-on sizing from 51 linear inches (length plus width plus height) to 45 linear inches. If it doesn’t fit, you must remit (a fee, that is, for checking it). So break out a ruler and save yourself the hassle at the airport.
If you enjoyed this post, please share it on sites such as StumbleUpon, vote for it, or bookmark it. Thanks for your support! Travelrific® was featured as Blog of the Day on NJ.com!
Share this:
Strolling Nantucket
By Linda Tancs
Nantucket’s Christmas Stroll returns this year from 5 to 7 December with the usual fare: live music, tours, crafts and Santa’s visit (with the Mrs. of course) via Coast Guard vessel on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. The Town Crier will announce their arrival and escort them to their horse-drawn carriage for the journey down Main Street. An author once wrote, “All the stories I’ll ever need are right here on Main Street.” The folks on Nantucket would surely agree.
If you enjoyed this post, please share it on sites such as StumbleUpon, vote for it, or bookmark it. Thanks for your support! Travelrific® was featured as Blog of the Day on NJ.com!
Travelrific® Travel Journal 