Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for travel writing
Pioneering in Utah
By Linda Tancs
Utah is gearing up for Pioneer Day, a state holiday celebrated on July 24 to commemorate the entry of Brigham Young and the first group of Mormon pioneers into Utah’s Salt Lake Valley in 1847 to escape religious persecution. Their trek now forms the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail, a route spanning five states where 70,000 Mormons traveled from 1846 to 1869. The Pioneer Company of 1846-1847 established the first route from Nauvoo, Illinois, to Salt Lake City, Utah, covering about 1,300 miles.
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Journey of a Music Hall
By Linda Tancs
Restored earlier this year, Wilton’s Music Hall in London’s East End is the only intact survivor of the City’s Grand Music Hall era. Of outstanding architectural and archeological significance, the arena has gone full circle—from music hall (in 1839, as an adjunct to an ale house) to mission house to warehouse and back to music hall. In its early heyday, two of its stars, Arthur Lloyd and George Leybourne (Champagne Charlie), were the first to perform for royalty. Extreme poverty in the East End in the late 1800s forced its conversion to a mission house that would last for 70 years. Once the mission closed in 1956, the building saw life as a rag sorting warehouse. When redevelopment plans came calling in the 1960s, the campaign began to save the landmark, ultimately bringing it back to life. The hall gives opportunities to emerging artists and presents a year round program that includes theatre (new commissions and classics), opera, dance, magic, music, cinema, circus, traditional music hall, comedy, puppetry and other art forms.
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Palace of the South
By Linda Tancs
Hay House (Johnston-Felton-Hay) in Macon, Georgia, is designed in the Italian Renaissance Revival style, unusual for residential architecture, particularly considering the conventions of the antebellum South. Lived in by two families over three generations, it earned the moniker “Palace of the South” during the tenure of the Feltons (extended family of the Johnstons). A private house museum and National Historic Landmark, it spans four levels and is crowned by a three-story cupola. A model of wealth and good taste, most of the furnishings date from the Hay family’s occupancy, highlighted by the 1857 marble statue “Ruth Gleaning” by American expatriate sculptor Randolph Rogers.
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Art Colony of the Midwest
By Linda Tancs
Impressionist painter Theodore Clement Steele found artistic inspiration in the scenic hillsides of southern Indiana in Brown County over a century ago. Others followed, creating an art colony in the Midwest. Steele’s life and works (not to mention five hiking trails on 211 acres) make for an interesting visit at T.C. Steele State Historic Site. Enjoy guided tours of Steele’s studio (where early morning light filters through floor-to-ceiling windows) and home, hike one of his well-trodden trails or stroll through Selma Steele’s restored gardens. The property is located in Belmont, midway between Bloomington and Nashville, Indiana.
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Britain’s Beloved Models Turn 60
By Linda Tancs
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the very first Corgi diecast model car. Introduced in July 1956, the miniature vehicles were manufactured in Wales and named after the Welsh dog breed. Eventually Corgi achieved market dominance over Dinky, the British company that ushered in the modern era of toy cars in 1933. Its prized collections include The Aviation Archive, Hauliers of Renown, Vanguards and The Original Omnibus Company. They’re celebrating their special anniversary with limited edition models of famous vehicles and liveries from the air and the road. The Hornby Visitor Centre in Kent offers visitors a journey through the history of Britain’s best-loved toys, including Corgi, Hornby, Scalextric and Airfix. The retail shop offers an array of these products as well.
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Ireland’s First School of Falconry
By Linda Tancs
At Ireland’s Ashford Castle in County Mayo you’ll delight in an embarrassment of riches. Dating back to 1228, the glorious castle on the picturesque shores of Lough Corrib set amidst 350 acres of ancient woods was once home to the Guinness family and later found fame as the respite of choice for actors in the classic film “The Quiet Man.” Now part of the Red Carnation hotel chain, the five-star property offers luxurious trappings fit for royalty (a common guest), like unique works of art, carefully sourced antique furniture, custom designed carpets and beds and exquisite towels and linens. No wonder, then, that it’s been voted one of the best hotels in the world by Travel + Leisure. Of all the estate’s activities, one of the most exciting is its falconry school. The oldest established school in the country, instruction in this ancient sport requires no previous training. Just the thing when the usual pursuits of golf, tennis, kayaking, boat cruising, horse riding, tennis or fishing just won’t do.
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World’s Largest Tree
By Linda Tancs
A giant among giants, the General Sherman in the Giant Forest in California’s Sequoia National Park is not only the largest living tree in the world, but the largest living organism, by volume, on the planet. A giant sequoia (sequoiadendron giganteum), General Sherman is over 100 feet at its trunk, nearly 3 million pounds in weight and 275 feet in height. Needless to say, it draws quite a crowd, which is why the park runs free summer shuttle buses to two separate stops, one above and one below this amazing tree.
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World’s Largest Talking Cow
By Linda Tancs
Larger than your average Holstein, Wisconsin’s Chatty Belle in Neillsville is the world’s largest talking cow. Sixteen feet high and 20 feet long, the fiberglass replica is equipped with a voice box, the operation of which has been leaving Belle much less chatty these days. So much for the dairy lecture. Her much smaller son Bullet (at a size befitting an actual Holstein) was also removed from the premises due to vandalism. What does remain nearby is the Wisconsin Pavilion from the 1964/1965 New York World’s Fair, used today as a radio broadcasting center.
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Portobello Gins Up Interest in Hotel
By Linda Tancs
What could be better than ginning up interest in—gin! The opening of a new gin distillery in London, England, might not garner that much interest but for the fact that you can eat, drink and sleep in it! That’s the idea behind a new hotel from the folks at Portobello Road Gin. Opening in November, the new venue (at Portobello Road, where else) will include not only a boutique hotel but also a gin museum, blending rooms, a Spanish style “Gintonic” bar and restaurant, an actual distillery and the “Ginstitute,” a mixologist’s delight. Better book early for this spirited respite.
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The Horns of a Dilemma
By Linda Tancs
To run or not to run? That is the question this time of year as revelers contemplate the running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain. The renowned centerpiece of the festival of San Fermin (patron saint of Navarra) takes place each day at 8:00 a.m. from July 7 to July 14. Runners (over the age of 18) must be in the running area by 7:30. The actual run stretches from the corral at Santo Domingo where the bulls are kept to the bullring where they will fight that same afternoon. Undoubtedly wishing to be spared a horn salute, the brave participants will first pray to the saint to guide them in their run, a mad dash that typically lasts three or four minutes. The most dangerous part of the bullrun is a closed curve leading into Calle Estafeta, the longest stretch. The last stretch is also very risky because it leads into a dead end street providing access to the bullring.
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