Travel and History

Vikingsholm, Lake Tahoe 087

2008-08-28T23:10:00.001-07:00

Vikingsholm, Lake Tahoe 087
Originally uploaded by JoeDuck

Lake Tahoe's Emerald Bay is one of the most scenic areas in California - some would say this is the prettiest place in the whole state. Vikingsholm is a nordic mansion built on the lake almost 100 years ago, now managed by the state park system. Inside the mansion is fully furnished with mostly original furniture and other historic artifacts, including a Steinway Rosewood Piano commissioned especially for Vikingsholm.

Frenchglen Hotel, Oregon

2008-08-28T14:25:00.000-07:00

Southeastern Oregon is one of the American West's most wide open expanses of rangelands, forests, and high desert. Here, the counties are larger than many Eastern US states. Harney County, for example, is bigger than Connecticut.

Southeastern Oregon has only two cities with much of a population - Burns and Lakeview. Both offer the charm you find from a sparsely populated area where the folks in the cowboy hats are usually ... working cowboys and cowgirls.

About 60 miles south of Burns in the tiny town of Frenchglen is a treasure of the Oregon State Parks system - Frenchglen hotel. The rooms are not glamourous but are comfortable and historic. The meals - served family style at large tables - are delicious and harken back to the day when the journey itself was a more important part of the travel experience as it took days or even weeks to travel to final destinations.

Frenchglen Hotel (Part of Oregon's State Park System but run by a private concession)

No Prohibition Building Advertisement in Fells Point, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

2008-08-26T15:18:00.001-07:00

No Prohibition Ad, Fells Point, Baltimore Harbor 265
Originally uploaded by JoeDuck

Fells Point is one of Baltimore’s most historic areas.

This faded “Vote Against Prohibition” advertisement has lasted long past the demise of Prohibition. Perhaps not coincidentally the Fells Point area is known for bars and nightly rowdiness even as it remains a "must see" during the day for visiting tourists and nearby conventioners.

Baltimore’s Inner Harbor is the perfect example of how history and travel intersect in wonderful ways. Formerly the Inner Harbor was mainly for shipping, but over the past several decades Baltimore has turned this into a convention and tourism hot spot for the entire coast.

One of the most appealing features in Baltimore are the Water Taxis which take you from place to place all day for $9, offering a cheap tour. Be sure to ask the pilots about the buildings and harbor history - most are very well informed.

Half Dome top overhang, Yosemite NP

2008-08-16T14:02:00.001-07:00

Half Dome top overhang, Yosemite NP
Originally uploaded by JoeDuck

I couldn't resist blogging another picture of Yosemite.

This shot was taken at the top of Half Dome, which is not a technical climb if you go around the back. Still, it's a long day of about 16 miles round trip with a pretty intense final push up the rounded granite of Half Dome's eastern flank.

Cables allow this final climb of about 1/4 mile to be safe, but it's so steep that you feel at times like you are dangling off the edge.

The tip shown here is visible in most views of Half Dome.

Harpers Ferry WV. Lewis and Clark?

2008-08-13T12:43:00.001-07:00

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Originally uploaded by JoeDuck

Lewis and Clark are more familar as key explorers of the American West, but here in Harpers Ferry West Virginia the Lewis and Clark expedition camped for some time while wagons and boats were made and provisions put up for their upcoming adventures. Fresh with orders from Thomas Jefferson to document and claim lands to the west of a fledgling USA, Lewis and Clark made their way to Astoria Oregon and home again in one of the most significant of all American expeditions.

Half Dome, Yosemite National Park

2008-08-13T02:22:00.001-07:00

Half Dome, Yosemite
Originally uploaded by JoeDuck

Yosemite National Park in California offers some of the most sublime and spectacular mountain scenery on earth. Yosemite was popularized by naturalist John Muir and later by photographer Ansel Adams, but the park needed no special advocates for its awesome splendor.

The hike up half dome (on the opposite side of the dome not seen in this picture) is one of the best in all the National Parks but is not for the faint of heart. The end of that hike is so steep you must pull yourself up the side of half dome via cables that are secured into the rock, though the hike does not require any technical climbing ability thanks to the cables.

French Quarter, New Orleans

2008-08-07T11:29:00.001-07:00

French Quarter, New Orleans
Originally uploaded by JoeDuck

New Orleans' French Quarter is most noted for the loud and not-suitable-for-children Bourbon Street. However most of the French Quarter is quiet with fantastic restaurants, charming small hotels, and beautiful residences that carry Spanish and French architectural traditions from pre-colonial America. Be sure to take some time off Bourbon Street to walk several blocks through one of the USA's most historic neighborhoods. Enjoy some Fried Oysters at Napoleon House, and some Biegnets and Coffee at Cafe du Monde, serving world famous pastry along the river for over a hundred years.

America's Best Fried Chicken...

2008-08-07T10:06:00.000-07:00

A short drive outside of New Orleans' French Quarter, home to some of the best food in America, is what many think is the *best* fried chicken restaurant in the USA. Profiled in national magazines and endorsed by locals from one of the countries top food destinations, Willie Mae's serves up beans and Fried Chicken you won't find anywhere else. Although the recipe of her wet batter is a secret, part of Willie's approach is slow cooking the chicken for about 20 minutes in 350 degree oil.

Hurricane Katrina destroyed this New Orleans landmark but thanks to the enthusiasm of a local restoration group the restaurant has been restored and rebuilt and now is under the management of Willie's granddaughter, one of the few people who know the secret of Willie Mae's Fried Chicken.

Here's a good profile of Willie Mae's Fried Chicken

International Market Area, Wanfujing, Beijing, China

2008-08-05T22:13:00.001-07:00

International Market Area, Wanfujing, Beijing, China
Originally uploaded by JoeDuck

For the Beijing Olympics this area will be .... busy. Even in April the crowds were overwhelming as this is a key area for food and cheap souvenirs along Wanfujing Street in Downtown Beijing, several blocks from Tianenmen Square which is considered the center of Beijing.

Here you can sample squid, scorpion, and some very nasty looking bugs on a stick. More traditional treats are Chow Fan and Chow Mein (fried rice, fried noodles).

Shanghai McDonalds, China

2008-08-02T13:24:00.001-07:00

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Originally uploaded by JoeDuck

Heading to Shanghai for business or as part of your Bejing Olympics China touring? Sky West Magazine has a nice printable file with a very quick Shanghai introduction:
http://delta-sky.com/ginc/sas/pdf/Sky08_Shanghai.pdf

Surprisingly to me, the big cities in China were very accessible and pretty easy to navigate after a day of orientation. This is especially true for Shanghai and Hong Kong, which front waterways and have huge buildings that give you a great orientation feature.

This picture was on Nanjing Road, one of Shanghai's popular shopping areas which intersects with the Bund on the river.

In Shanghai the "Bund" is the old district along the river, developed during British domination some 100 years ago. Across the water is the Pudong Area which is the hopping new business district, complete with several of the world's tallest buildings such as the Jin Mao Building, Pearl Tower, and World Financial Center.

Fells Point, Baltimore Maryland

2008-07-29T18:17:00.001-07:00

VirginiaBaltimore08 263
Originally uploaded by JoeDuck

Fells Point near Baltimore's Inner Harbor is one of Maryland's most historic neighborhoods. Now a popular tourism area Fells point was an early neighborhood of Baltimore, near the industrial harborside. Now this charming, cobblestoned area of several city blocks is home to restaurants, the Broadway Market, a few hotels, and the water taxi service to nearby Baltimore Inner Harbor.

Baltimore Inner Harbor 294

2008-07-27T12:58:00.001-07:00

Baltimore Inner Harbor 294
Originally uploaded by JoeDuck

The USS Constellation, a three masted sailing ship, is anchored at Baltimore's Inner Harbor. The beautifully planned inner harbor region blends Baltimore's seafaring history with modern restaurants, shops, and hotels, and is the regions top tourism hot spot as well as a key Convention area for the USA.

Water taxis are $9 for unlimited rides all day, and offer a great informal tour of the entire harbor as well as a way to jump around from place to place.

Do not miss "Fells Point", Baltimore's charming historic area which is only minutes from the main Inner Harbor by car or Water Taxi or a moderate walk. Check out the Broadway market at Fells point for fresh seafood or head to "Little Italy" nearby which is very popular with locals or for a spectacular $28 seafood buffet consider "Philliips" right at the heart of the Inner Harbor.

A great first stop is the excellent information center at the Inner Harbor where an orientation film and extensive information will get you going quickly.

Budget Travel: Great New World Attractions

2008-07-26T23:25:00.000-07:00

Budget Travel profiles eight amazing upcoming attractions for the traveler who has seen everything. From Space Travel by Virgin Galactic to the Burj Dubai which will be the world's tallest building, topping the competition by about 1000 feet.

Read more

Harpers Ferry - John Brown Plotted Here

2008-07-26T15:17:00.001-07:00

Harpers Ferry - John Brown Plotted Here 156
Originally uploaded by JoeDuck

Harpers Ferry West Virginia featured prominently in US History for over a century. Thomas Jefferson visited this area at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers. Lewis and Clark were outfitted here after a long stay preparing for the trip west.

But the most famous event was the slave rebellion of John Brown here in Harpers Ferry. At the "Secret Six" Tavern plans were made for the overthrow of the US Government. Brown assumed his uprising at Harpers would catalyze enslaved Americans to rebel and begin a chain reaction of rebellions throughout the south that would overthrow the Government. This was not to be, and after several days Brown was captured and many of his key followers were executed.

VIetnam: Make Miss Universe Pageant, Not War

2008-07-13T22:17:00.000-07:00

Some 40 years after the bitter conflicts in Vietnam between North Vietnamese, South Vietnamese, and the USA, it is encouraging to see that country hosting the Miss Universe pageant.

After decades of near economic ruin, Vietnam is enjoying a fast paced renaissance, attracting new foreign investment as well as a renewed interest in entrepreneurial activity throughout the country.

The Miss Universe Pageant is held at the Diamond Bay Resort in Nha Trang, Vietnam.

Womens Army Corps Poster, WWII era

2008-07-11T09:36:00.001-07:00

WACS POSTER 0001
Originally uploaded by wacs62

Poster art played a large role in the campaigns to enlist and build morale in the US Military during Word War II. Posters were also used to keep public morale high as well as encourage, for example, neighbors to report suspicious activity.

Our current sensibilities make many of the old style approaches seem heavy handed or in some cases racist, sexist, or otherwise questionable, but it is also hard to put the US WWII War effort into any relevant modern context. Arguably the future of the world was at stake in the 1940s and it is extremely unlikely we'll see any kind of conflict like this again.

Great Travel Blog

2008-07-10T22:31:00.000-07:00

A great travel blog to check out is by a Canadian Couple who travel for a few months each year... and write about it.

India is the latest adventure...

Check them out here

Check out India9.com, our companion travel webite.

Tour de France ... in England?

2008-07-07T09:50:00.001-07:00

Tour de France Prologue 07
Originally uploaded by boarderstu

The Tour de France is by far the world's best known cycling event. Although most of the event is in France, covering some 2200 miles over some three weeks of "stage" racing, the racing sometimes includes other countries.

The Tour de France is a household name in sport, but few know the fascinating historical origins of the race, which stem from the tensions in France over the Dreyfus affair. Dreyfus was a French military man accused of providing secrets to the Germans. A popular sports newspaper called Le Velo maintained Dreyfus guilt while a major advertiser disagreed to the extent they started their own sports newspaper and sponsored an event to promote that new publication. Hence, in 1903 the Tour de France was born as an advertising promotion following a historical controversy.

Dreyfus was eventually exonerated.

Concord, Massachusetts History Parade

2008-07-07T09:41:00.001-07:00

Concord, MA
Originally uploaded by JoeDuck

Concord has an excellent parade that follows the superb reenactment of the battle for the North Bridge, often considered the starting point of the Revolutionary War. Locals dress in traditional minuteman costumes for several events in April that showcase the life and times and conflicts that led to the Revolutionary War and a new nation. Minuteman National Park runs from Lexington to Concord and offers wonderful walks through this historic countryside.

Lexingtonians several miles away generally argue that Lexington Green, where Americans gathered earlier in the day to challenge the British, is the true starting point. The North Bridge's fame stems partly from the poem written and read by Ralph Waldo Emerson at a Concord Bridge memorial years later where he called this the site of the "shot heard 'round the world"

Beijing Olympics Notes

2008-07-06T18:23:00.000-07:00

Here are some very interesting stats from the New York Chinese Consulate about the upcoming Beijing Olympics:

Official Olympics Website is here

Beijing will host the 2008 Olympic Games on August 8, 2008. Now Beijing is making a great effort to use every day available to ensure that it will be a "High level Olympic Games with distinguishing features." The following are some issues about the 2008 Olympics which you may be interested in.

Olympic venue construction is one of the fundamental works for a successful Olympiad. The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games will begin on August 8, 2008, and will run for 16 days. Throughout this period, athletes from 203 National Olympic Committees will compete in 28 sports to win 302 gold medals. All these competitions will be held at 37 venues. Six of them are located outside of Beijing in the city of Hong Kong for equestrianism, Qingdao for sailing, and Shanghai, Tianjin, Qinhuangdao and Shenyang for football preliminaries, whereas the remaining 31 are all in Beijing, including 12 new venues, 11 renovated venues and 8 temporary venues.

At present, Olympic venue construction is in good progress. All of the construction projects will be completed by the end of 2007. Various test events will be held to ensure their readiness for the Olympics.

As for ticket sales for the Olympic Games, according to BOCOG (Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the 29th Olympiad), there are 9 million tickets available. Over 7 million tickets from these will be available for sale. About 20 to 25 percent of these tickets will be sold abroad. According to the ticketing policy, the prices for sports sessions will range approximately between 4 to 130 US dollars. For preliminary competitions, the price will be between 4 and 40 US dollars, while for the finals, the range will be between 8 and 130 US dollars. The lowest priced ticket for the Opening Ceremony will be about 25 US dollars, while the highest priced ticket will be 650 US dollars. The lowest price for the Closing Ceremony will be about 20 US dollar, and the highest will be 400 US dollars.

For the preparation of accommodations, it is estimated that about five hundred thousand (500,000) to five hundred and fifty thousand (550,000) foreign visitors will go to Beijing during the Olympic Games. Fifty thousand (50,000) of them will be members of the Olympic family, and about two hundred and sixty thousand (260,000) to three hundred and twenty thousand (320,000) visitors will be spectators. They will be joined by about one hundred and fifty thousand (150,000) to two hundred thousand (200,000) regular visitors. In view of these, visitors' accommodation has become a concern.

However, Beijing has the necessary accommodation capacity to satisfy visitors' needs for the Olympics and more. Beijing currently has a total of 4723 accommodation facilities. 700 of them are star-rated tourist hotels and 4023 of them are not rated properties. In addition, 80 hotels are under construction and renovation, and will aspire to become star-rated properties. All together, the daily accommodation capacity for Beijing will be over two hundred eighty six thousand and nine hundred (286,900) rooms or five hundred seventy two thousand and five hundred (572,500) beds.

Room rates: from the 112 properties contracted by the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the 29th Olympiad (BOCOG), the average rate for a five-star hotel room will be about US$429 per room night and US$353 for a standard room, while that for a four-star hotel room will be US$305 and US$272 for a standard room, and for a three-star US$193 per room night and US$176 for a standard room.

As for transportation, Beijing is constantly improving the transportation facilities. Beijing is upgrading and enlarging its international airport, and is building a new subway system and 8 new expressways to ease traffic. In 2008, there will be 718 kilometres or 446 miles of expressways-up from the present 500 kilometres or 311 miles; and the total travel distance of the subway and light-rail system will increase from 114 kilometres or 71 miles, to 300 kilometres or 186 miles. In addition, the traffic management department of Beijing City will adopt a plan to allow for special dedicated traffic lanes for the Olympics. This will ensure that people can quickly and safely get to and from the competition venues in good time.

About the General Policy for Volunteers of the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games: A total of 70,000 volunteers are required for the Beijing Olympic Games while about 30,000 volunteers will be needed for the Paralympics. Volunteers for these games will mainly be recruited from college students studying in Beijing. There will also be a certain number of volunteers from the overseas Chinese community, foreigners and international students in China, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and the various provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions of China. The volunteer application has started from August 2006 and shall end in March 2008. Applications from the overseas Chinese community, foreigners and international students in China, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan will start only from March 2007. Although this last group of volunteers is an integral part of the Beijing Olympic and Pralympic Games, their specific numbers shall be determined based on situational needs.

For more information about the 2008 Beijing Olympics, please visit en.beijing2008.cn

Lassen National Park, Northern California

2008-07-06T15:47:00.000-07:00

Sunset Magazine is profiling Lassen National Park in Northern California, showcasing Lassen as a hidden treasure of the west. Although I'd agree that Lassen is a neat place to visit on an extended stay in the west, for me Lassen simply does not match the superlatives of Yosemite or Redwoods National Park the Oregon Coast, or many more of the amazing natural wonders here in the American West.

If you love National Park trips you'll want to consider flying in and out of San Francisco and then driving southeast to Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks they share a border), then up to Yosemite, then Lassen, then North to Oregon's Crater Lake. You can visit these five national parks in a week although you'll probably want to spend more time.

Pictures on Flickr

2008-07-05T13:45:00.000-07:00

Flickr is my favorite photo service and a great place from which you can do some superb armchair travelling. Here at Travel and History I'm going to start showcasing some of the great photography series from Flickr where the photographer manages to capture a city or region in scenery and spirit.

"Justb" has a wonderful series of scenic pictures from Canada, Washington, and more. Not sure if he's a professional but these are really great shots.

Wisconsin's Shipwrecks

2008-07-03T14:36:00.000-07:00

Wisconsin is hardly the state that conjures up images of Shipwrecks in the deep, but surprisingly some 700 shipwrecks from the past line Wisconsin shores. The great lakes are really inland seas, and can threaten sailors and boatmen with cold, storms, and waves up to 30 feet high. Over the past 100+ years Wisconsin was a major shipping region as boats brought cargo in and out of the great lakes waterways. Most made it in and out safely, but those that perished mostly still lie in the cold deep water, preserved.

Stonehenge Travel Tips

2008-06-21T14:57:00.000-07:00

Stonehenge is one of the world's most intriguing places, with carefully placed, massive stone monuments celebrating some of the world's most ancient religious traditions.

Danny Sullivan has a great set of travel tips to Stonehenge because until recently when he was not running search conferences around the globe he was ... living near Stonehenge.

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2008-06-19T19:02:00.000-07:00

USS Missouri Surrender Deck, site of the end of WWII. The surrender was signed here and the actual documents lie in a case to the left. Battleship tours run from the grounds of the USS Arizona memorial. Arizona is free but Missouri tours are 16 per adult as of spring 2005.

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