Tag: vacation ideas

Categories
Tips USA

Helen Keller’s story: the “Miracle Worker” at Ivy Green

Helen Keller water pump at Ivy Green, Tuscumbia, Alabama (photo by Sheila Scarborough)There are only a few days left to see it, if you’re near Tuscumbia in northwest Alabama before July 11….

Every summer at Ivy Green, the birthplace of the amazing author, speaker and writer Helen Keller, there is a professional outdoor production of The Miracle Worker, William Gibson’s drama about Keller’s early life and relationship with her teacher, Annie Sullivan.

For those unfamiliar with the story, Ms. Sullivan (almost blind herself) had a “tough row to hoe” in the Keller household as she tried to teach a spoiled, deaf, blind, mute but brilliant Helen that language could be expressed by hand gestures, or sign language.

To see the two-hour play on the grounds of Helen’s own house is a special experience.

Like a knucklehead, I forgot to put up a post in time to also tell you about Tuscumbia’s annual Helen Keller Festival held in late June, but get it on your calendar for next year.

The state’s tourism Web site has more ideas for northern Alabama travel with kids.

Categories
50 State Series Texas

Family travel in Texas

In (believe it or not) December, my son at a Texas Christmas tree farm (photo by Sheila Scarborough)Every Tuesday until we run out of states, I plan to post about family-friendly vacation ideas, attractions and events in each one of the US states, taking input mostly from Twitter and Facebook.

Yes, I know how to search for travel ideas on a destination or attraction Web site, but a tweet or a Facebook Wall recommendation is a much more engaging and public way to spread the word.

Please don’t email suggestions to me;  that’s nice but it is one-to-one communication. Tweet me and/or Facebook me, so that all of our networks can see what’s cool about your state.

We’re going in alphabetical order but started with the end, so our first state for the series was Wyoming, then we investigated Wisconsin , West Virginia , Washington, Virginia, Vermont, Utah and now we’re moving on to my current home state….Texas!

I could not find their state tourism organization on Twitter. I did find @VisitAustinTX, @VisitHoustonTX, @VisitSanAntonio, @GalvestonIsland, @PadreDude (South Padre Island) @BeaumontCVB and @SportsCapital (the city of Round Rock, just north of Austin.)

Texas state tourism is not on Facebook (that I could find.)

When I asked for ideas, here’s what came in….

Twitter Travel Tips for Texas

***  From the Round Rock CVB (Convention and Visitor’s Bureau) via @SportsCapital on Twitter  —  Round Rock TX has tons of family-friendly activities: inexpensive water parks, great baseball games & miles of hike/bike trails!

***  From John Q. Pope via @JohnatDell on Twitter  — Might consider two classic Texas swimming holes for your post: Krause Springs in Spicewood and the Blue Hole in Wimberley.

***  From Shawn Freeman via @shawnthinks on Twitter  —  Enchanted Rock, Hamilton Pool, Schlitterbahn [water park,] Sea World, Six Flags, Dallas Aquarium, Dell Children’s Museum [in Austin.]

***  From Andrea Schulle via @andreaschulle on Twitter  — If you ever go to Brownwood, eat at Underwoods. It is a throwback and the food is delish. Best rolls EVER!

***  From the San Antonio CVB via @VisitSanAntonio on Twitter  — We just launched a SA savings blog – Great, great savings each week and updated too! Also, see San Antonio’s Family Fun Attractions.

***  From Mozies Bar and Grill via @MoziesGTX on Twitter  —  Hi, Sheila! We are a family-friendly restaurant in Gruene, TX just outside of San Antonio near New Braunfels. Across from [the historic] Gristmill!

Continue reading “Family travel in Texas”
Categories
Photos USA

Video of the Week: Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta

It’s almost time for that amazing annual event in the desert, the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, New Mexico October 4-12 2008.

I went to Fiesta last year, and it was simply incredible. Do get the family there before sunrise at least one day, to see the flames lighting up all of the brightly-colored balloons.  Later that day, do NOT miss seeing special performances at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center there in Albuquerque; they always have lots of activities during Fiesta that are kid-friendly.

Here’s a short video by Edwin Villanueva from the Viddler site (Viddler is another site like YouTube for sharing videos.) I thought he did a nice job of showing the variety of balloons, and how many there are.

Check the Balloon Fiesta video page for even more.

Categories
Tips USA

3 surprising US travel destinations (and an honorable mention)

Surprise! (courtesy karynsig at Flickr CC)Travel fun for me is having no particular opinion about or knowledge of a place, and then suddenly learning that it is pretty darned cool, and deciding that I must go there!

I’m still sorting through the mounds of information, photos, links and brochures from the recent Travel Media Showcase conference in Kansas City, but I wanted to note that after quick interviews with dozens of representatives from various tourist bureaus, there were 3 places that surprised me.

They were not what I’d expected, although how that can be possible when I had zero knowledge of them anyway, I do not know.

Ready?

  • South Dakota — All I knew about it was the Corn Palace, but there is also Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Horse Memorial (still under construction,) the Black Hills, the Badlands, the town of Deadwood and famous people like Custer, Calamity Jane, Wild Bill Hickok plus the Laura Ingalls Wilder home in De Smet.
  • Columbia, Missouri and nearby Lake of the Ozarks — Another interesting, culturally-rich college town (with significant ties to Lewis and Clark expedition history) and a lake that is one of the biggest tourist destinations in the Midwest.

I must give an honorable mention to Boise, Idaho, for their active Basque community. Yes, as in the Basques in Spain.

Who knew?

Hopefully I’ll be able to visit all of them someday, to see if they are as surprisingly great as they appear. I welcome comments from any readers who have first-hand knowledge of these travel destinations; please leave a comment below.

Surprise me!