Haunted Florida
Florida's sunny climate and tourist attractions draw plenty of visitors--some of whom never leave. This compilation of supernatural tales shows Florida to be a state rife with eerie occurrences and ghostly denizens. Stories include the spirit of Uncle Charlie at Fernandina Beach's Palace Saloon, the infamous Chupacabras of south Florida, a count's strange obsession with his dead wife, and the mysterious Skunk Ape of Collier County.
Beach Chair Diaries
For Beach Lovers from Maine to Maui. From learning to surf in Maui to walking the beach in Nantucket, eating lobster in Maine and riding the perfect wave in Martha's Vineyard, this collection of short, humorous essays will give you summertime anytime, even while reading it in the midst of winter. And at the end of each essay, Low Tide Times, provides a list of questions to help the reader remember their summer time memories and relax.
The Story of Big Bend National Park
A breathtaking country of rugged mountain peaks, uninhabited desert, and spectacular river canyons, Big Bend is one of the United States' most remote national parks and among Texas' most popular tourist attractions. Located in the great bend of the Rio Grande that separates Texas and Mexico, the park comprises some 800,000 acres, an area larger than the state of Rhode Island, and draws over 300,000 visitors each year. The Story of Big Bend National Park offers a comprehensive, highly readable history of the park from before its founding in 1944 up to the present. John Jameson opens with a fascinating look at the mighty efforts involved in persuading Washington officials and local landowners that such a park was needed. He details how money was raised and land acquired, as well as how the park was publicized and developed for visitors. Moving into the present, he discusses such issues as natural resource management, predator protection in the park, and challenges to land, water, and air. Along the way, he paints colorful portraits of many individuals, from area residents to park rangers to Lady Bird Johnson, whose 1966 float trip down the Rio Grande brought the park to national attention. This history will be required reading for all visitors and prospective visitors to Big Bend National Park. For everyone concerned about our national parks, it makes a persuasive case for continued funding and wise stewardship of the parks as they face the twin pressures of skyrocketing attendance and declining budgets.
Literary Circles of Washington
Perfect for the book-loving vacationer to our nation's capital, this attractive book provides walking tours to literary history. Learn about Washington, DC's culture, authors, bookstores, colleges, and literary meeting places. Take one along when you travel or settle back for an armchair tour.
Kiss the Sunset Pig
In this lyrical, poetic, and charmingly funny book, Laurie Gough drives from Ontario to California reflecting on a life spent travelling in search of new experiences and familiar sensations. Heading towards a half-remembered cave on the Pacific coast where her younger, more adventurous self once stayed, she recalls adventures in Sumatra, the Yukon and many places in between--and wonders what compels her to keep moving through life while everyone else has found a place to belong.
Blue Bug, Red Road
"This wonderful narrative by a retired history professor takes us back through the time and space of his ancestors and his own youth. Weaving between present and past, it offers a unique blend of nostalgia and incisive commentary about the imprint of Americans on the land and on each other. Gaines Post Jr. shares with us an odyssey that is at once personal and universal."-James McPherson, Emeritus Professor of History, Princeton University, and author of Battle Cry of Freedom On a solo trip in 2002, Gaines Post Jr. drives his 1966 Volkswagen Bug from California to Wisconsin and back, traveling so slowly that the land and its history seep into his bones. Crossing old trails kindles his imagination of the westward expansion that attracted his ancestors and shaped America's national character. In South Dakota, he visits Red Cloud's grave and hears the great Lakota leader whisper that Post is not at the end of his path. While working cattle on a Wyoming ranch, Post recalls his grandfather, born during Red Cloud's War. Part travelogue, part memoir, and overflowing with history's natural wonder, Blue Bug, Red Road speaks to those with a wandering spirit searching for quiet layers of time and memory within the American landscape.
Journeys Through the Inside Passage
Writer and fisherman Joe Upton recounts the riveting stories of explorers of the past and seafarers of the present in JOURNEYS THROUGH THE INSIDE PASSAGE. His chronicle offers events vivid in their telling: the journey of widow Muriel Blanchet, who solo navigated a small vessel in the 1930s with her five children; the failed meeting of explorers Alexander Mackenzie and George Vancouver in 1793; countless sinkings; and tales from the author's own experiences plying this legendary waterway.
Poor Man’s Provence
For over a decade, syndicated columnist Rheta Grimsley Johnson has been spending several months a year in Southwest Louisiana, deep in the heart of Cajun Country. Unlike many other writers who have parachuted into the swampy paradise for a few days or weeks, Rheta fell in love with the place, bought a second home and set in planting doomed azaleas and deep roots. She has found an assortment of beautiful people in a homely little town called Henderson, right on the edge of the Atchafalaya Swamp. These days, much is labeled Cajun that is not, and the popularity of the unique culture's food, songs and dance has been a mixed blessing. The revival of French Louisiana's traditional music and cuisine often has been cheapened by counterfeits. Confused pilgrims sometimes look to New Orleans for a sampler platter of all things Cajun. Close, but no cigar. Poor Man's Provence helps define what's what through lively characters and stories. The book is both personal odyssey and good reporting, travelogue and memoir, funny and frank. This beguiling place is as exotic as it gets without a passport. The author shares what keeps her coming home to French Louisiana. And as NPR commentator Bailey White observes in her foreword, "Both Rheta's readers and the people she writes about will be comfortable, well fed, highly entertained, and happy they came to Poor Man's Provence."
Great Destinations Galveston, South Padre Island & the Texas Gulf Coast
Distinctive for their accuracy, simplicity, and conversational tone, the diverse travel guides in our Explorer's Great Destinations series meet the conflicting demands of the modern traveler. They're packed full of up-to-date information to help plan the perfect getaway. And they're compact and light enough to come along for the ride. A tool you'll turn to before, during, and after your trip, these guides include: Chapters on lodging, dining, transportation, history, shopping, recreation, and more! A section packed with practical information, such as lists of banks, hospitals, post offices, laundry mats, numbers for police, fire, and rescue, and other relevant information. Maps of regions and locales. From the sea border with Mexico to the Louisiana shore, the coast of Texas is rich in history, recreation, and natural and architectural beauty and is a major destination for both Texans and non-Texans alike.
Choose Florida for Retirement
This thoroughly revised guide provides retirees detailed information about settling or vacationing in the Sunshine State, from real estate and health care to cultural opportunities and cost of living.
Literary Trails of the North Carolina Mountains
This guidebook is the first of three regional volumes that invite residents and out-of-state visitors to explore North Carolina while reading literature from our state's finest writers. Organized geographically through a series of eighteen half-day and day-long tours in the western part of the state, the book directs curious travelers to the historic sites where Tar Heel authors have lived and worked. Along the way, travelers can read outstanding excerpts from the writers, evoking the places, customs, colloquialisms, and characters that figure prominently in their poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and plays. More than 170 writers from the past and present are featured in this volume, including Sequoyah, Elizabeth Spencer, Fred Chappell, Charles Frazier, Kathryn Stripling Byer, Robert Morgan, William Bartram, Gail Godwin, O. Henry, Thomas Wolfe, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Anne Tyler, Lillian Jackson Braun, Nina Simone, and Romulus Linney. Each tour provides information about the libraries, museums, colleges, bookstores, and other venues open to the public where writers regularly present their work or are represented in exhibits, events, performances, and festivals.
Trails of the Triangle
The book offers close to 250 different trails within a 60-mile radius of the Triangle (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, NC)
Footsteps of the Cherokees
This book divides the Cherokees' eastern homeland into 19 geographical sections and explores many of the historic Cherokee sites.
The the Best in Tent Camping the Smokies and the Southern Appalachian Mountains
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park attracts millions of people per year. The allure of the Smokies often overshadows special areas adjacent to the park. This book covers not only the Smokies, but also the highlands of eastern Tennessee, western North Carolina, northern Georgia, and western South Carolina. The only guide to the Smokies and Southern Appalachian's best tent camping features newly designed campground layout maps and UTM and latitude/longitude coordinates for each campground entrance. Descriptive text and ratings for security, quiet, and beauty make this new edition a must-have for every tent camper's library.
50 Hikes in Southern Virginia
The Roanoke Times calls Leonard M. Adkins "a great hiking writer," and for this edition of Explorer's Guide 50 Hikes in Southern Virginia he has thoroughly updated all of the hike descriptions. Working in concert with the administrative personnel of the many national forest ranger districts, state parks, national wildlife refuges, wildlife management areas, and national parks, he re-hiked many of the trails, and four of them are so completely different that they qualify as entirely new outings. Closed services and facilities have been deleted, new ones have been added, and relevant Web sites are now included in the contact information.
Our Vanishing Americana
Someone once said, "If you start forgetting how things began, you stop beginning things." With undaunting energy and perseverance, Mike Lassiter spent six years traveling across the state of North Carolina, looking for the lifeblood of small towns, community icons and historic businesses--the beginnings of Tar Heel commerce, livelihoods, family enterprises. At first it was old storefronts and signage that captured his imagination; soon he became enamored with the people inside the buildings and their stories. In the old days, before big box retailers and interstates, folks relied on mainstays within their communities. Pretty much whatever anyone needed they purchased at the general store. (As they say at Mast Store, the granddaddy of all N.C.'s general stores, "If you can't buy it here, you don't need it.") Back then, folks gathered their news while sitting around a pot-bellied stove at the hardware store, or in a chair at the barber shop. The local druggists whipped up cures for whatever ailed their customers (or their customers' livestock); likewise they created some of the tastiest confections known to youngsters, ice cream sodas and orangeades. For entertainment, nothing beat the picture show or a meal out. Today, some of these institutions still survive--a few thriving, others mere skeletons of their former selves. Often, just a faded signpost or abandoned marquee is all that's left and must suffice to conjure a memory of how life used to be. This book explores not only beginnings, but continuations, and sadly a few endings, too. It showcases second-, third- and, in a few rare cases, fifth-generation businesses. Nine chapters, each devoted to one business genre--from general stores to barber shops to theatres-- include an informative and entertaining essay and numerous photographs. A county-by-county index follows, making Our Vanishing Americana a testament to North Carolina's unsung heroes and an indispensable guide to the state's treasures.
Road Cycling in Central Virginia
For all those who have considered going for a ride after seeing cyclists pedaling pleasurably through the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Shenandoah Valley, Sue George's new guide provides all the information necessary either to get started or to increase an existing knowledge of local routes and conditions. A guide for road cycling enthusiasts on both sides of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Road Cycling in Central Virginia introduces readers to some of the most agreeable and scenic road riding on the East Coast.The guide's introduction covers basic information relevant to the area, such as climate, road-marking conventions, what to take on a ride, availability of convenience stores, and local road hazards. Then follow detailed descriptions of road riding routes and maps geared toward riders at beginning and intermediate levels. Divided into sections by geographical area, the book describes excursions venturing from Charlottesville, Harrisonburg, Waynesboro, and Staunton and into the country roads of Albemarle, Greene, Augusta, and Rockingham counties. Most rides cover between ten and thirty miles, making this guide the perfect companion both for visitors to the area and for local residents wanting to discover the best and safest spots to get out on the road.
Insiders’ Guide Scenic Driving North Carolina
From the sandy beaches of the Outer Banks to the rugged mountains of the Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina offers something interesting around every turn. Author Laurence Parent describes thirty drives covering the state's most fascinating and beautiful places.
Cherokee Heritage Trails Guidebook
Enriched by Cherokee voices, this guidebook offers a unique journey into the lands and culture of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in the mountains of North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia. Every year millions of tourists visit these mountains, drawn by the region's great natural beauty and diverse cultural traditions. Many popular aspects of Cherokee culture are readily apparent; beneath the surface, however, lies a deeper Cherokee heritage--rooted in sacred places, community ties, storytelling, folk arts, and centuries of history. Cherokee Heritage Trails Guidebook is your introduction to this vibrant world. The book is organized around seven geographical hubs or communities within the original Cherokee homeland. Each chapter covers sites, side trips, scenic drives, and events. Cherokee stories, history, poems, and philosophy enrich the text and reveal the imagination of Cherokees past and present. The Museum of the Cherokee Indian in Cherokee, North Carolina, is the main interpretive center for the Cherokee Heritage Trails. Among the many other featured sites are Kituhwa Mound, origin of the mother town of the Cherokees; Junaluska Memorial and Museum, with a preserved gravesite and medicine plant trail; and Unicoi Turnpike Trail, part of the Trail of Tears and one of sixteen national millennium trails in the United States.
Passporter’s Treasure Hunts At Walt Disney World and Disney Cruise Line
Countryman 25 Bicycle Tours in & Around Washington, D.C.
This edition includes new trails, tours and the post-9/11 access information you need to glide past gridlock and into the natural, cultural, and historic treasures in this bike-friendly region. Washington, D.C. resident Anne Oman, a seasoned cyclist, writer, and historian, is your guide to the trails and the natural and human histories that shaped this region's gentle terrain and rich heritage. Most tours begin and end at Metro stops, so you can leave your car behind and cruise along tree-shaded pathways to the monuments and resting places of famous, infamous, and ordinary Washingtonians; to places of Revolutionary War intrigue; and beyond the beltway to apple and horse country. The 25 tours range in length from 7 to 70 miles and offer trips for cyclists of every ability. Each tour includes a map, mile-by-mile directions, and the fascinating stories behind the scenery along the way.
Weekend Walks on the Delmarva Peninsula
Open this all-new guide and you'll discover deep forests, secluded beaches, and unexpected wild landscapes. Author Jay Abercrombie deftly weaves his expertise in biology and ecology with a boundless interest in the ebb and flow of the human tide through the centuries. The Delmarva Peninsula dangles close to the Baltimore-Washington-Maryland megalopolis, but it has always remained apart from the fast-paced urban world, maintaining a charming agrarian and maritime flavor with strong colonial roots. The walks in this book range from easy strolls to a challenging backpacking trip. They meander through old millpond areas, 18th-century villages, historic forts, and a rich diversity of natural habitats. A mild winter climate makes this region inviting for exploration all year 'round.
Hiking And Backpacking Trails Of Texas
A guide for hikers and backpackers seeking adventure throughout Texas with detailed information on location, facilities, activities, special features, layout, fees and cautions. Photos give the flavor and attractions of many of the sites.
The Movie Lover’s Tour of Texas
Texas movies are as vast as the Lone Star State. This book offers readers the chance to visit Texas vicariously by viewing movies filmed in and about the state that reflect Texas history, cultures, and landscapes. Suggested itineraries, maps, and lists of unique shooting locatiosn make this book a travel guide. Anecdotes about the experiences of the movie makers during the filming add unique interest for the movie fan.
Gardens Across America
Gardening is one of America's most popular hobbies, and attendance at public gardens and arboreta continues to rise. Gardens Across America is a comprehensive two-volume guide to nearly 2,000 gardens. Each entry in this state-by-state guide contains such basic information as hours of operation and directions as well asa listing of activities, educational programs, and any unique botanical features. Gardens are also indexed by type (Japanese, children's etc. and by designer; another index lists plant species and where they can be found. Twenty-four pages of color plates round out this portable directory of America's public gardens.
Carolina Whitewater
The ultimate guide to paddling whitewater in the western Carolinas, Carolina Whitewater has guided paddlers to the best creeks and rivers in the Tar Heel and Palmetto states for over 30 years.Detailed creek and river profiles include: Topographic-based mapsShuttle directionsGauge locationsKayakers and canoeists will find expanded and updated information for the classic rivers, like the Nolichucky, Nantahala, and French Broad, as well as for several new steep runs, such as Rockhouse Creek, Hurricane Creek, the Gragg Prong, and Big Hungry River. You'll also get vital information on clubs and organizations, state water trails, and national and scenic rivers.Waterway data for each run includes: Class of difficultyLength of the runTime to paddleWater level needed to paddlePermits required (if any)Gradient of each runRatings for sceneryDavid and Bob Benner have been paddling the Carolinas for decades. David resides in Morganton, NC. Bob Benner is retired and also lives in Morganton.
Eugenia Price's South
A lifetime friend of Southern novelist Eugenia Price, Mary Bray Wheeler offers a unique guidebook to the historical places and people that give Price's novels their special Southern flavor. Travelers, sightseers, and history buffs-whether in cars or their reading chairs--will discover anew Price's treasured coastal Southeast. Maps and photographs.
Exploring Dallas With Children
Exploring Dallas with Children guides families to parks, museums, farms, playgrounds, camps, and festivals. It also includes rainy weather ideas, birthday party suggestions, up-to-date ticket/reservation hotlines, lists of free activities, and the top ten places to visit in Dallas.
Exploring Texas History
Combining fascinating stories of Texas history with travel adventures around the state, Exploring Texas History: Weekend Adventures suggests where to go and what to see by tracking historical characters and events. The travel destinations echo the settlement of Texas, the battle for independence, the Alamo, cowboys, vacqueros, Buffalo Soldiers, shipwrecks, and cattle drives. Each chapter includes history, travel routes, best sights, best times to visit, lodging, dining, and sources for additional information. Families, visitors, travelers with a love of history, and teachers and students studying the required curriculum of the fourth grade in Texas schools will find this guide practical and user friendly.
The Shenandoah Valley & the Mountains Of The Virginias
With visitation levels that rival Orlando and New York City, the southern Appalachians draw a huge array of weekenders, adventurers, and long-term visitors. This book offers historical insight, outdoor adventure, and all the information most travelers need to plan and enjoy their journey. This guide also serves as an insider's handbook to the nine national parks, offering active travelers the best access points and trailheads for kayaking, biking, and hiking excursions. In addition, this comprehensive guide to the region includes opinionated listings of inns, B&Bs, hotels, and vacation cabins; hundreds of dining reviews, from barbecue to four-star cuisine; up-to-date maps; an alphabetical "What's Where" subject guide to aid in trip planning; and handy icons that point out family-friendly establishments, wheelchair access, places of special value, and lodgings that accept pets.
Backroad Bicycling In Kentucky's Bluegrass
When you think of Kentucky, Daniel Boone and horse farms usually come to mind. What most people don't know is that the area's easy accessibility from major cities, quiet backroads, gentle terrain, and stunning river views make it an ideal place to explore by bicycle. Whether you're going out for a day trip or two-day ride, cyclists of all abilities will find many opportunities to explore this beautiful state. With detailed maps, mile-by-mile directions, and fascinating historical commentary about what you'll see along your ride, author George Garber will lead you along winding rivers and through covered bridges and pastoral farmlands, in addition to such places as: Frankfort, the state capital Lexington and horse country Kentucky Vietnam Veterans' Memorial Harrodsburg, the first Anglo-American settlement west of the Alleghenies Camp Nelson, a Civil War site Kentucky River Gorge Big Bone Lick State Park, home of fossilized woolly mammoths ...and much more. In addition, cyclists can ride a portion of the Transamerica bike route that runs from Virginia to Oregon, and that traverses almost the entire length of Kentucky. 25 black & white photos, 26 maps.
Backroad Bicycling Near New York City
Most people's impression of the New York City area is that of a vast metropolitan and polluted environment, with heavy traffic, suburban sprawl, and bike-unfriendly motorists. Author Gerry Brooks has taken a closer look and discovered the many delightful quiet country roads and lanes that can be reached in a less than a two-hour drive from New York City. From the Connecticut shoreline to the riverbanks of Bucks County along the Delaware River, these 25 cycling tours in the tristate area can easily provide exercise and relaxation for hurried urbanites/suburbanites of Philadelphia and the New York City region. All tours are rated for their difficulty-from "easy" to "more difficult"-and range from the little known to the well traveled. Each ride description includes mile-by-mile directions, a combined map and mileage cue sheet, and tour options to shorten or extend a route. Road safety, of course, is also emphasized.
Motorcycle Adventures In the Central Appalachians
Motorcyclists who think they have the mountains of Virginia and West Virginia all figured out have another thing coming. In his third guide, Hawk Hagebak takes riders from bustling Market Square in downtown Roanoke, VA to the giant ridgetop windmills outside rural Davis, WV, and from the scenic wonder of the Natural Bridge to the engineering wonder of the New River Bridge. Outlining 25 routes, Hagebak chronicles a classic feud over a county seat, how French engineers came to build a road across Virginia, and the way coal mining changed the face of West Virginia for better and for worse. In between the tight turns, sweeping curves, covered bridges, tiny towns, and mountain passes of the Central Appalachians, he imparts tips on where to eat, stay, play, and relax.
