http://www.offbeattravel.com/ Explore the Offbeat in Travel en-us All contents copyright 2009 OffbeatTravel.com Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:20:48 EST Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:20:48 EDT http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://www.offbeattravel.com/tji-city-garden-st-louis.html A public garden with spectacular landscaping and internationally renowned modern and contemporary sculpture in a completely open, accessible downtown setting http://www.offbeattravel.com/tji-city-garden-st-louis.html http://www.offbeattravel.com/tji-zipline-ohio.html Ozone Zipline Adventures is now open for ziplining in the Little Miami River valley in Ohio. http://www.offbeattravel.com/tji-zipline-ohio.html http://www.offbeattravel.com/napa-valley-wineries Arriving late one night at a highly touted Napa riverside resort, our headlights expose hitches and wheels of cottage-style house trailers squatting in the dark. But scenarios from the Trailer Park Boys are swept from our minds when next morning a sunny breakfast orientation reinforces our plan to ‘drink in’ Napa’s beauty and natural wonders. http://www.offbeattravel.com/napa-valley-wineries.html http://www.offbeattravel.com/tji-nova-scotia-wineries.html One of our neighbors to the north may be the next destination for oenophiles. Nova Scotia, one of the four provinces of Atlantic Canada, is producing award-winning wines and inviting visitors to come taste new vintages, learn about winemaking, and even stomp the grapes. http://www.offbeattravel.com/tji-nova-scotia-wineries.html http://www.offbeattravel.com/tji-baby-whale-vancouver-aquarium.html Aurora, a 20 year old beluga whale, gave birth today at the Vancouver Aquarium. http://www.offbeattravel.com/tji-baby-whale-vancouver-aquarium.html http://www.offbeattravel.com/tji-hemingway-look-alike-florida-keys.html Each year, stocky white-bearded Ernest Hemingway look-alikes make an annual pilgrimage to Key West. As many as 125 aspiring "Ernests" are expected at the island city to compete in the "Papa" Hemingway Look-Alike Contest set for Thursday through Saturday, July 23-25. http://www.offbeattravel.com/tji-hemingway-look-alike-florida-keys.html http://www.offbeattravel.com/england-lake-district-bowness-windermere-beatrix-potter.html Bowness-on-Windermere town center lays a little north of the lake docks and inclines at a gentle angle with charming hotels and inns overlooking the lake. The streets are lined with storybook slate and stone buildings dating back hundreds of years. These buildings house intriguing little shops that offer gourmet British foods and teas, clothing, books, sporting goods, gifts, traditional pubs and the famous World of Beatrix Potter Attraction. http://www.offbeattravel.com/england-lake-district-bowness-windermere-beatrix-potter.html http://www.offbeattravel.com/england-lake-district-grasmere-rydal-keswick.html To continue your exploration of the Lake District, journey north to Rydal and Grasmere, located a few miles north of Windermere. This area of Lakeland is absolutely beguiling. Hand-built slate stone walls constructed hundreds of years ago, run endlessly across deep, green hillsides that cordon off grazing sheep and their lambs. http://www.offbeattravel.com/england-lake-district-grasmere-rydal-keswick.html http://www.offbeattravel.com/tji-artificial-reef-key-west.html A retired U.S. Air Force missile-tracking ship has been intentionally sunk to create an artificial reef in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, and it's now opened for public use. http://www.offbeattravel.com/tji-artificial-reef-key-west.html http://www.offbeattravel.com/norway-arctic-circle-cruise.html We sailed into the Arctic Circle one morning with such excitement. There is a large globe perched on a tiny atoll to mark the point of passage and as is customary, King Neptune, in full regalia, presided over the event outside on the main deck. http://www.offbeattravel.com/norway-arctic-circle-cruise.html http://www.offbeattravel.com/grapevine-texas-wineries-wine-events.html With a name like Grapevine, focusing on wine is a natural. And there are wineries and wine-centered events throughout the year. http://www.offbeattravel.com/grapevine-texas-wineries-wine-events.html http://www.offbeattravel.com/grapevine-texas-sculpture-trains.html With a name like Grapevine, focusing on wine is a natural. But there’s also a lovely historic center, a historic train depot, and and, an artist-in-residence, sculptor Archie St. Clair, whose art graces the streets and adds a touch of history and whimsy to an already charming town. http://www.offbeattravel.com/grapevine-texas-sculpture-trains.html http://www.offbeattravel.com/california-gold-rush-jamestown-angels-camp.html In the late 1840s the discovery of gold in the Sierra Nevada foothills area of California brought on a rush of gold seekers. The once over populated bustling towns are now part of small town America with their historic past on display as a chronological record of American development. This last in the series focuses on the towns of Jamestown and Angels Camp. http://www.offbeattravel.com/california-gold-rush-jamestown-angels-camp.html http://www.offbeattravel.com/tji-heidelberg-illuminations.html On Saturday, June 6, Saturday, July 11, and Saturday, September 5, 2009, Heidelberg's traditional Castle Illuminations will bathe the Neckar city in a glow of light. All the time, enjoy the new lighting on Old Bridge. http://www.offbeattravel.com/tji-heidelberg-illuminations.html http://www.offbeattravel.com/hanoi-vietnam-exploring-shopping.html I emerge from the comfort of my air-conditioned hotel into the sweltering, teeming streets of the Old Quarter. The narrow road is home to a traditional street market. Tanks of wriggling fish, buckets of plump frogs, mountains of fleshy mangos, and stacks of jumbo papayas combine to create a tangy aroma that is not totally pleasant, yet strangely intriguing. http://www.offbeattravel.com/hanoi-vietnam-exploring-shopping.html http://www.offbeattravel.com/fredericksburg-texas-day-trips.html Not only does Fredericksburg have charms of its own, it is superbly located to explore the Texas hill country wineries, Enchanted Rock, musical Luckenbach, and LBJ history. http://www.offbeattravel.com/fredericksburg-texas-day-trips.html http://www.offbeattravel.com/north-dakota-attractions.html Low-hanging black clouds fill the sky as I drive from Bismarck to Medora. Fields of sunflowers flank both sides of the interstate, their stalks rising more than five feet tall, brown-centered heads reaching for the sun. Golden wheat ruffles in the wind, awaiting harvest. "I like this country for there is room to move about without stepping on the feet of others," said Marquis de Mores, the French nobleman who founded the town of Medora, named for his wife, in 1883. The land inspires contemplation. http://www.offbeattravel.com/north-dakota-attractions.html http://www.offbeattravel.com/tji-free-summer-fun-south-walton-florida.html Lots of activity is taking place this summer in Beaches of South Walton, 15 beach communities located along Northwest Florida's Gulf Coast. Here are some that are family-friendly and no-charge. http://www.offbeattravel.com/tji-free-summer-fun-south-walton-florida.html http://www.offbeattravel.com/greystone-inn-lake-toxaway.html The historic Greystone commands a peak on the largest private lake in North Carolina. The inn, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, opened in 1985; it’s a family-run business. Every evening at 5 p.m, general manager Clark Lovelace captains the hand-built Miss Lucy for an hour-long champagne. http://www.offbeattravel.com/greystone-inn-lake-toxaway.html http://www.offbeattravel.com/key-west-nancy-forrester.html The beautiful parrots were bantering back and forth; giant palms obscured light from above; large leaf exotic plants obstructed the path. I felt like a Lilliputian in a land of overlapping green giants. How did this tropical rainforest end up in Key West in the backyard of Nancy Forrester http://www.offbeattravel.com/key-west-nancy-forrester.html http://www.offbeattravel.com/england-lake-district-kendal.html The rolling green hills and gentle birdsong mingle with the late afternoon sun, stealing away the travel tension; while the storybook stone houses and surrounding countryside transport you back in time. You have arrived in England’s stunning Lake District. http://www.offbeattravel.com/england-lake-district-kendal.html http://www.offbeattravel.com/california-gold-rush-columbia.html In the late 1840s the discovery of gold in the Sierra Nevada foothills area of California brought on a rush of gold seekers. The once over populated bustling towns are now part of small town America with their historic past on display as a chronological record of American development. http://www.offbeattravel.com/california-gold-rush-columbia.html http://www.offbeattravel.com/cumberland-plateau-tennessee.html Head for the hills, traveling the byways and highways of the Cumberland Plateau in Middle Tennessee the Big South Fork area in the northern part of the plateau. There is enough to keep you there for, well, for rest of your life. http://www.offbeattravel.com/cumberland-plateau-tennessee.html http://www.offbeattravel.com/fredericksburg-texas-attractions.html Settled by German immigrants in the 1840s, the town of Fredericksburg maintains its German heritage, adding a unique flavor to a charming, prosperous town and popular tourist destination. http://www.offbeattravel.com/fredericksburg-texas-attractions.html http://www.offbeattravel.com/travel-luggage.html We love the Pocketbag by Swany. Read why. http://www.offbeattravel.com/travel-luggage.html