You will find southern charm incorporated with a bit of the exotic when you visit Amelia Island in Florida. The hustle and bustle of the former seaport can be found in the exotic shops but when you want to relax, you can find the perfect spot for that. Amelia Island’s Fernandina Beach escaped the mass commercialization of the 20th century and boasts a beautiful 50-block historic district with many original structures dating back to the late 19th century, including many Victorian-style mansions and Victorian cottages. Amelia Island is located at Florida’s northeastern shore, just 15 miles east of Interstate 95, and is a short, 30-minute drive from Jacksonville International Airport. It is connected to Florida’s mainland by two bridges.
The history of the island is remarkable. There are live oak trees everywhere on Amelia. One particular tree was saved by a resident of the island. She loved that tree and no one, with a mind intent on progress, was going cut that tree down. Not if she had anything to say about it. She said plenty as she stood on her front porch with a loaded shot gun. That tree stood watch over Kate Bailey’s stately Queen Anne home for years. It still stands today.
For more stories and a wonderful vacation visit, check out Amelia Island.
Living in the midwest has led us to many fun and interesting places. I love the midwest. There are so many festivals held all over Indiana that you could stay busy every weekend. There is the pork festival, the circus festival, the egg festival and the covered bridge festival to name only a few. We have been to many and always eat great food and have a good time.
When our daughter joined the military, it gave us a reason to travel outside the midwest. Her first base was in Grand Isle, Louisiana. We visited New Orleans and even went on an alligator cruise.
When she graduated from basic training in Cape May, New Jersey, we found ourselves staying in a beautiful and historic area called Wildwood. The Wildwood hotels motels and bed and breakfasts are wonderful. Most are in historic homes with the large wrap around porches and beautiful architectural features. We were thrilled to discover Wildwood Amusement park. Little did we know that this is one of New Jersey’s best amusement parks. We ended up there because it was close to Cape May! Morey’s Piers is a terrific place for a family beach vacation that your kids will never forget. Morey’s Piers offers weekly specials to enhance your visit. On Mondays they offer Magical Mondays where a lucky guest will be offered a fun prize. On Tuesday their All-You-Can-Ride wristbands are offered. There are specials every day of the week! What a great place.
My sister and her friends who ride, went to the Natural Tunnel near Kingsport, Tennessee. It looks like a beautiful area and a fun place to ride their Harleys.
Natural Tunnel, called the “Eighth Wonder of the World” by William Jennings Bryan, has been attracting sightseers to the mountains of southwestern Virginia for more than 100 years. Today it is the focal point of Natural Tunnel State Park, a park which offers visitors not only spectacular sights but also swimming, camping, picnicking, hiking, a visitor center, an amphitheater and interpretive programs.
The creation of Natural Tunnel began more than a million years ago in the early glacial period when groundwater bearing carbonic acid percolated through crevices and slowly dissolved surrounding limestone and dolomite bedrock. Then, what is now Stock Creek was probably diverted underground to continue carving the tunnel slowly over many centuries. The walls of the tunnel show evidence of prehistoric life, and many fossils can be found in the creek bed and on tunnel walls.
I want to go back to all the places we took the children when they were small. I love looking through pictures that remind me of all the vacations we took. Some of our most memorable vacations were spent camping. It was fun and stressful to take small children to some places. One year we had Kennedy space center discount tickets through a friend who works for NASA. The kids were at that antsy age where it was hard to stand in line. When I think about it now, it seems so funny. Back then I was ready to rip my hair out!
These days it is easy to get great ideas for vacations and even weekend travel. The Trusted Tours newsletter keeps us up to date on all the new places to visit. We always learn new things about some of the new features of the places we have been. That makes us want to go back all the more. Right now is the perfect time to sign up for a Trusted Tours newsletter. They are offering a $150 Magellan’s Gift Certificate just for signing up for the newsletter. Wouldn’t that be cool to win?! Online travel guides have certainly made traveling easier. I am thinking it might be time to go back to Las Vegas since hubby won $100 in the slots on Saturday. Who knows, he might be on a winning streak.
Yesterday when we visited the casino in Anderson, Indiana, we were lucky to happen upon a jazz festival being held on the grounds. The Hoosier Blues & BBQ Fest was being held at the Hoosier Park Racing & Casino. Since I don’t really get into playing the slot machines as much as my husband, I was thrilled to listen to the different groups perform. When we walked out onto the grounds where the bands were playing, we were given blues brothers sun glasses to help us get into the mood of the blues. The Gordon Bonham Blues Band from Indianapolis performed first. I enjoyed them as they sang clear and rhythm filled blues. Tom Harold played the harmonica and oh my gosh could he ever make that instrument sing. Next, a group from Chicago, Steve Specter & The Bluebirds played. I didn’t enjoy them as much because they played more instrumentally filled songs. That was until their featured acts began showing their stuff. Jimmy Johnson and “Brother” John Kattke showed what playing the blues was all about. They had so much fun. I didn’t hear the last two bands because hubby had won a hundred dollars and wanted to leave before he was tempted to put it back into the machines. I was ready to go before the mosquitoes began to feast on me.
It cannot possibly be that a month has gone by since my vacation in Tennessee. It seems like last week when we went river rafting.
There is a thriving business along the Pigeon river in Tennessee. It is river rafting. Many companies up and down the river offer guides, boats and equipment for rafting. We chose a company because our dog groomer recommended it.
When we arrived, I was amazed at how many people were going rafting that day. The ages of rafters were as young as 8 and up to 80. Everyone was fitted with helmets and life vests. Don’t we look chic in our pink helmets. I am hidden behind my daughter. She and my niece are the paddlers in the front. The life vests are aired out rarely and are very stinky. We listened to instructions as to how to hold the paddle and how to use it. It was important not to bonk each other in the head. We learned how to pull someone back in the boat if necessary. We boarded an old rickety school bus for our trip to the place where we would start our adventure.
After a twenty-minute ride, we were in North Carolina. We stopped at a dam and waited for the boats to be unloaded. The rafts had been placed on top of the bus. The order and manner in which the rafts were stored on the bus was precise and methodical. The guides knew what they were doing and had done it countless times that summer.
We had ten people in our group so we were split up into groups of five. The guides could have done a better job dividing us because my husband’s raft was full of the guys. Needless to say, their raft got stuck on the rocks more than our raft full of ladies and our male guide.
We were off on our trip down the river! I’ll tell you more about the actual rafting trip in another post.
When we visited Pigeon Forge last month I noticed how much influence Dolly Parton has had in the area she calls home. Dolly’s birthplace, Sevierville, is next to Pigeon Forge where Dollywood is located. Dollywood hosts nearly 2.5 million visitors annually. It began in 1961 when it was called “Rebel Railroad”. The small park featured a steam train, general store, blacksmith shop, and saloon. In 1966, Rebel Railroad was renamed “Goldrush Junction”. in 1970, the Cleveland Browns football team purchased the attraction. In 1976, Jack and Pete Herschend bought Goldrush Junction, and in 1977, renamed it “Silver Dollar City Tennessee” as a sister park to their original Silver Dollar City near Branson, Missouri. I can remember friends of ours traveling to Silver Dollar City every summer.
On May 3, 1986, Dolly Parton became a co-owner, and the park was renamed “Dollywood”. New attractions were added such as The Rivertown Junction area, The Back Porch Theatre; Aunt Granny’s Dixie Fixins’ Restaurant; and the Tennessee Mountain Home, a replica of the cabin where Dolly grew up. Also new was “Rags to Riches: The Dolly Parton Story”; a museum featuring articles and mementos from Dolly’s life and career.
An interesting fact about Dolly’s partner in the theme park business, Herschend Family Entertainment is that they also own several other theme parks. HFE operates Atlanta’s Stone Mountain Park in conjunction with the State of Georgia, and owns Wild Adventures Theme Park in Valdosta. HFE owns Ride The Ducks amphibious tours in Branson, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Seattle. Ride The Ducks is also an attraction inside Stone Mountain Park in Atlanta.
HFE also owns and operates two aquariums: Newport Aquarium (Newport, Kentucky across the river from downtown Cincinnati) and Adventure Aquarium (Camden, NJ across the river from downtown Philadelphia). Other properties include Branson, Missouri’s Silver Dollar City theme park, Showboat Branson Belle lake attraction, White Water water park, Talking Rocks Cavern, The Wilderness at Silver Dollar City campground and Celebration City theme park.
We have only been home from our vacation in Tennessee for a few short weeks and hubby is clamoring to hit the road again. There is a new casino in Indiana and it is bothering him that he has not checked it out. Located near Elizabeth, Indiana is the new Horseshoe Casino and Hotel. The casino consists of over 100 gaming tables and 2,000 slot machines, Boasting 503 luxurious rooms and suites, the legendary hotel is accented with a fitness center, Aroma Café & Bar, and an indoor pool. Outside, their fitness trail features 18 workout stations and a scenic woodland view for exercise and nature enthusiasts alike. I only care if they have Wifi.
While visiting in Tennessee, we explored Pigeon Forge which is home to Dollywood. If you have ever driven on the strip in Las Vegas, you have experienced the same type of congested traffic found in Pigeon Forge. There are hundreds of outlet stores and a mall dedicated to outlet shopping. The parking lots are full of spenders.
Another aspect of Pigeon Forge that many enjoy is playing Putt Putt golf, riding carnival rides and driving go carts on a track. People were lined up at each place. I would love to drive a go cart and make the steering box zing as I turned quickly from left to right. It is not wise to do that on the freeway in my car. The track is one place to get that buzz and not put myself or my car at risk!
I have seen a few crazy drivers drive like they are on a race track. They need to know about Discount Steering.com. This website is a good place to find the power steering rack and other steering parts you need. People who like to work on cars have found this site to be great when looking for quality steering parts that used to be available only to dealerships.
There are so many things to do in Pigeon Forge. I think we spent most of our time eating at different restaurants. You will find every type of food in Pigeon Forge. From pancakes to ribs, you will find something to satisfy your appetite.
If you have always wanted to visit the Holy Land here is your chance. You can visit the Holy Land Experience in Orlando, Florida. This interactive display will make you feel as though you have stepped back in time. Enter the walls surrounding Jerusalem and walk the streets where Jesus walked 2000 years ago.
I get goosebumps thinking of visiting the Garden Tomb where Jesus was buried. I think the experience would be humbling and awesome. I’m sure it must be an emotional experience to see the place where Christ died and rose again.
Also displayed are the Qumran Dead Sea Caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. A greater insight to the intricacies of the temples and their significance is easier understood when you see the models of the Great Temple and and Wilderness Tabernacle.
Visit the Holy Land without crossing the ocean.
