Williamsburg in Virginia

1 April 2016 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Architecture, Museums, Exhibitions, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  8 minutes

Governor's Palace © Larry Pieniazek/cc-by-2.5

Governor’s Palace © Larry Pieniazek/cc-by-2.5

Williamsburg is an independent city in Virginia, with a population of 15,000. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. It is bordered by James City County and York County. Williamsburg was founded in 1632 as Middle Plantation as a fortified settlement on high ground between the James and York rivers. The city served as the capital of the Colony of Virginia from 1699 to 1780 and was the center of political events in Virginia leading to the American Revolution. The College of William & Mary, established in 1693, is the second-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and the only one of the nine colonial colleges located in the South; its alumni include three U.S. presidents as well as many other important figures in the nation’s early history. Along with nearby Jamestown and Yorktown, Williamsburg forms part of the Historic Triangle, which attracts more than four million tourists each year. Modern Williamsburg is also a college town, inhabited in large part by William & Mary students and staff.   read more…

The Everglades National Park in Florida

19 February 2016 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Miami / South Florida, Museums, Exhibitions, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks, Environment, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  7 minutes

Everglades National Park World heritage plaque © Daniel Schwen/cc-by-sa-4.0

Everglades National Park World heritage plaque © Daniel Schwen/cc-by-sa-4.0

Everglades National Park is a U.S. National Park in Florida that protects the southern 20 percent of the original Everglades. In the United States, it is the largest tropical wilderness, the largest wilderness of any kind east of the Mississippi River, and is visited on average by one million people each year. It is the third-largest national park in the lower 48 states after Death Valley and Yellowstone. It has been declared an International Biosphere Reserve, a World Heritage Site, and a Wetland of International Importance, one of only three locations in the world to appear on all three lists.   read more…

Mount Rushmore National Memorial in the Black Hills

31 May 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  7 minutes

Mount Rushmore during sunset © Chaitanya Polumetla/cc-by-sa-3.0

Mount Rushmore during sunset © Chaitanya Polumetla/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore near Keystone in South Dakota. Sculpted by Danish-American Gutzon Borglum and his son, Lincoln Borglum, Mount Rushmore features 60-foot (18 m) sculptures of the heads of four United States presidents: George Washington (1732–1799), Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) and Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865). The entire memorial covers 1,278.45 acres (5.17 km2).   read more…

The museums island Ellis Island

17 May 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions, New York City, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  10 minutes

Ellis Island, as seen from Liberty Island © Daniel Schwen/cc-by-sa-3.0

Ellis Island, as seen from Liberty Island © Daniel Schwen/cc-by-sa-3.0

Ellis Island, in Upper New York Bay, was the gateway for millions of immigrants to the United States as the nation’s busiest immigrant inspection station from 1892 until 1954. The island was greatly expanded with land reclamation between 1892 and 1934. Before that, the much smaller original island was the site of Fort Gibson and later a naval magazine. The island was made part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument in 1965, and has hosted a museum of immigration since 1990. A 1998 United States Supreme Court decision found most of the island to be part of New Jersey. The south side of the island, home to the Ellis Island Immigrant Hospital, is closed to the general public and the object of restoration efforts spearheaded by Save Ellis Island. The island has been closed to the public since Hurricane Sandy in October 2012 with re-opening date at some point of 2014.   read more…

The Santa Fe National Historic Trail

7 July 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon voyage, Museums, Exhibitions, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  8 minutes

Map of Santa Fe Trail © US National Park Service

Map of Santa Fe Trail © US National Park Service

The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century transportation route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, it served as a vital commercial and military highway until the introduction of the railroad to Santa Fe in 1880. At first an international trade route between the United States and Mexico, it was the 1846 U.S. invasion route of New Mexico during the Mexican-American War.   read more…

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