USA Travel Blog

Many tourists who visit Florida each year head out to the theme parks and southern beaches. A few smart ones head instead to the central Panhandle. The sun may not be as warm here, but the bountiful Apalachicola offers diners with the best seafood. The town of Apalachicola, seventy five miles southwest of Tallahassee is the ideal place to set up camp. Apalachicola has long been famous for its oysters and of late for its character: it was once a notable fisherman’s refuge with galleries and stylish inns and entrenched Old South roots. The locals refer to it as Apalach; it dates back to the 19th-century when lumber and cotton barons and sponge divers first settled here. Their descendants now fish the waters for crabs, fish, oysters and shrimp. Visitors can still see the old Victorian and Georgian Mansions – they have been restored – along the bay. The old cotton warehouses have been turned into fashionable boutiques, antique stores and cafes. The barrier islands beaches are bathed in smooth white sands and are so quite, the natives swear that you can hear the crabs as they pass by.

Spending a whole week rapt with your children on a boat is a not something many people would like to experience, but day and a night cruise would be more palatable for most. Discovery cruise lines have cruise packages tailor made for parents who want to bring there children along and they are pocket friendly too. A five hour cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Grand Bahama Island starts at $ 40 for children aged 6 to 12 years for a night if accompanied by an adult, children under 6 sail and stay for free.

A family of four (with 1 child under 6 and another under 12) can have two days sailing and beaching for approximately $450, and that’s including meals on board, the additional charge for the older child and taxes and fees. Additional nights on Grand Bahama Island are $35 extra per night per person. Bahamian departure fee, fuel charges and taxes are not included. In the low cost cruises children have to sleep in same room with there parents.

The everglade is a wide shallow river flowing southwards for about 80 miles and emptying into the Atlantic. Flow rate is very very slow about one mile per day. The local Calusa Indians called named it Pa-hey-okee. The everglades wet lands are teaming with wildlife, there are over 300 species of birds, 190 types of fish and many varieties of trees and plants bottle nose dolphin are also residents of the everglades as well as the ubiquitous alligator.

Visitors to the everglades National Park must be willing to venture into the mangrove-lined waterways and saw-grass plains. First time visitors are advised to start off with the short, organized trips on the more navigable creeks, led by park naturalists like Mr. Ettling. Experienced paddlers can plunge right into water and enjoy self guided trips, camping on sand spits or raised “chickee” platforms.

The Everglades endured decades of damming, draining, diverting and pollution before being recognized as an important ecosystem. The everglades National park was established in 1947 on the southern portion. The Big Cypress National Preserve is another park in the everglades located to the north; it sits on the site where the Miami International airport was to be built in the 70’s. The wickedly fun, high speed air boats are to be found here but are not permitted in the National Park because of the damage the cause to the local flora

One hundred fifty years ago, most of the territory from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and the Canadian border all the way up to the Gulf of Mexico was all pristine grassland. Nomadic herds of pronghorn antelope and bison roamed the never ending waves of wildflowers and grasses, these precious landscapes are largely gone today. The prairies along Interstates thirty five and eighty are being preserved. The preservation includes sowing wildflowers and native grass in corn and soybean fields. A great place to start your journey into the prairies is Chicago, Chicago has been at the forefront of grass land preservation for more than 40 years; there are several prairies to be found around Chicago.

Goose Lake Prairie State Natural Area is located about 8 miles south of Exit 112 of I-80. It is a crown jewel in the treasure chest of American prairies. The state of Illinois was covered in thirteen million acres of tall grass prairie; Goose Lake; at 2,537 acres is the largest of the remaining areas. The best time to visit Goose Lake Prairie State Natural Area is in late summer and fall. The grass can reach 8 feet; there are seven miles of hiking trails to take in the grandeur of the grass land and a visitor’s center where you can enjoy displays and numerous interpretive programs.

The Finger Lakes, New York attract an interesting crowd every year; they come to catch lake trout. Lake trout has been derided by fishing enthusiasts as a boring fish to catch that offers no challenge. even so, lake trout has its devoted fans, some of them so devoted not only to spend much of their leisure time trying to catch one, but also to buy cottages or houses fronting on the deep, chilly bodies of water where lake trout flourish.

The shores of the six major lakes are lined with weekend and vacation homes, on the road leading to the lake there are several vineyards too. Fishing is not the only recreational activity on the lake; there is sailing, boating, swimming and water skiing. Those not fond of physical activities can enjoy themselves by sitting by the shoreline sipping on the local wines.

Ohio’s landscape was shaped by the ice age; most of Ohio’s 45,000 square miles are flat; however a small section of it was untouched. On the southwest corner lies a heavily wooded area called Hocking hills padres.A sparsely populated area of rugged hills and spring-fed brooks and waterfalls. The hills are generously covered in walnut, hickory and cherry forests. Hocking hills spreads over 500 square mills into several counties. Residents of Columbus and other surrounding towns and cities have for years flocked to the hills for weekend long retreats. Most have bought or built second homes here while others have gone on to retire here.

Hocking Hills is all about being in the open. Cross-country skiing, hiking and fishing are the main recreational activities. The area has a number of state parks and protected areas, which include waterfalls and caves. Other activities include the washboard music festival held in June each year and is sponsored by the Columbus Washboard Company draws washboard and jug bands from all over the country. The annual spring cleanup of route 56 is the main social event for the second home owners and is held on the Saturday before Easter. The largest festival is the lily festival held annual in July showcases local musicians and artists.

Those familiar with Mount Baker will not hesitate to give you direction to the mountain; there is only one to get there. Washington State Highway 542 is a cul de sac so to speak that leads to the mountain. Turn east from Bellingham and drive for 56 miles. Mount Baker has been a skiing locale for close to 60 years; and has remained unspoiled over the years; there are no homes to buy or hotels to spend the night. It is all basic down to earth mountain terrain. Every February it is home to the best professional snow boarders.

Mount Baker was amongst the very the first ski spots to allow snowboarding on the West Coast. Mount Baker is celebrated for consistently deep snowfall, in the 1998-99 winter season it recorded 1,140 inches of snow. The mountain has 1,000 acres of skiing terrain to challenge even the very best snow boarders and a vertical climb of 1,500 feet.

Woodstock, the pictorial historic village located twenty miles east of Killington. Woodstock has a rich legacy when it comes to winter sports. In the early twentieth century visitors came here to enjoy the town’s illuminated toboggan run, as well as snowshoeing and sledding. In ‘34, a few local enthusiasts used a Model T Ford engine to make the first ski tow in America at the base of Gilbert’s Hill. A couple years later, a small ski area called Suicide Six opened, on a peak a few miles north of town. Suicide Six, is currently part of the Woodstock Inn and Resort complex woodstockinn, and has a loyal following among families who treasure its relaxed and out fashioned feel.

At Suicide Six you can enjoy many of the pleasures of big-mountain skiing without the troubles that go with it. There are twenty two trails, two double chairlifts and a J-bar, a ski school, a snowboarding half-pipe, a lodge with a bar and cafeteria and a rental shop. The place is reasonably priced; all-day lift tickets during the high season are $39; $25 for children. Beginners can hope on the J-bar for $7, all day long. Guest can ski for free in the middle of the week except during the holidays. The resort has family ski packages which can be viewed on the resorts website.

Winter Park, Colorado’s 4th largest ski resort runs a Ski for Free program, in which interested skiers volunteer to help run the resort’s racing events and in return they get to ski for free. Volunteers who work 4 hours receive a free lift ticket which they can use on any day of their choice; those who work fewer hours get a pass which can be used on the same day only.

The ski-racing season usually begins in late November and runs till the end of March. The resort is also open in summer and volunteers can work in summer bicycle races and still earn vouchers for use in winter. Volunteering is a great way to save money during the holidays, a one day adult lift pass can set you back seventy dollars. Visit winterpark, for more information about the program.

The shore the shore, is the named adopted by many Minnesotans for the north shore of Lake Superior. The area of Lake Superior has been a tourist site for many years. In the early days local fishermen took guest in summer that traveled from Duluth North on the postal boat.

The North Shore is open to visitors all year round. In summer, it’s a retreat for climbers, hikers and swimmers. In fall, the leaves change color and transform the shore into a breath taking scene. Lake Superior’s sheer cliffs and granite coves, the birch, pine and fern forests, are redolent of the coast of Maine. In winter, Snowmobiling, cross-country skiing and downhill skiing at the top of the most vacationers list.