Category Archives: Travel

Vintage Road Trips: 1966 Ford Country Squire Station Wagon Drives The Mississippi River Valley

From a Wall Street Journal Off Duty Travel article by By Matthew Kronsberg::

The Country Squire in the Stockholm, Wis. PHOTO ACKERMAN + GRUBER FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNALChoosing a landscape for a car is like choosing a wine for a meal. The Country Squire—which, I discovered, handled with all the nimbleness of a riverboat—felt like a natural pairing for the Mississippi River valley south of the Twin Cities. The curves would be gentle, and the views sweeping: high bluffs on one side of the car, water on the other. My family and I would pick up Highway 61 in St. Paul, hopscotching between it and Wisconsin’s fantastically scenic Great River Road, exploring the small waterfront towns along the way. We’d stop for the first night in Red Wing, Minn., and the next in Alma, Wis., 98 miles downriver. The car came with a 150-mile-a-day allowance, and a request that we not venture farther than 100 miles from Minneapolis, should anything happen.

To read more click on the following link: https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-road-trip-with-retro-charmand-a-car-to-match-11565352147

To rent the Ford Country Squire: http://morriesheritage.com/cars/1966-ford-country-squire/?portfolioCats=1077%2C1078%2C1079%2C1081

Top New Travel Videos: “Wayag’s – Raja Ampat” Island Chain Directed By Michael Fletcher (2019)

Filmed, Edited and Directed by: Michael Fletcher

Wayags - Raja Ampat Aerial Travel Film By Michael Fletcher 2019

Music by: Luke Richards (“It’s Happening”)
Whale Shark footage by: Oliver Oldroyd

Wayags - Raja Ampat Aerial Travel Film By Michael Fletcher 2019

Filmed whilst travelling on the M/V True North through the breathtakingly beautiful Wayag Island chain in the greater Raja Ampat region of West Papua.

Wayags - Raja Ampat Aerial Travel Film By Michael Fletcher 2019

Now a marine sanctuary, the Wayag’s are number one in marine biodiversity throughout the world. For this reason it is a mecca for marine biologists and recreational divers.

Wayags - Raja Ampat Aerial Travel Film By Michael Fletcher 2019

Website: https://www.facebook.com/Fletcher-Visuals-322799744798520/

Top Hikes In Washington: Discovery Park In Seattle Is An “Urban Gem” Located On The Puget Sound

From a Curbed.com online article:

Located in the corner of northwest corner of Magnolia, Discovery Park is an urban gem. The former Army Post has forest, meadow, a beach, a lighthouse, and old officer housing. And you can get there via the 19, 24, and 33 Metro buses.

Discovery Park Seattle Map

The classic choice is the 2.8-mile Loop Trail which takes you through the woods and meadows to the park’s literal and figurative highpoint: a bluff overlooking Puget Sound that offers a great view of the downtown skyline. If you’re looking for more you can drop down to the beach and lighthouse before hiking back up to the Loop Trail.

To read more click on following link: https://seattle.curbed.com/maps/best-seattle-day-hikes-trails

Theme Park Nostalgia: Disneyland’s “Victorian Era Magic” Haunted Mansion Turns 50

From a Curbed.com online article:

Disneyland Haunted Mansion Turns 50When Disney died in 1966, the mansion was still being planned as a walkthrough experience. As imagineer Rolly Crump recalled in a 2005 interview, visitors would be escorted through its rooms by a “ghost host” who would provide a backstory for the house’s mysterious hauntings.

This format would allow for meticulously timed illusions, impossible to pull off with guests moving through the attraction on a track. Crump and fellow designer Yale Gracey devised a series of clever apparitions to enthrall guests throughout the experience. Most of these relied on an old trick used by magicians and hoaxers of the Victorian era.

The Haunted Mansion was never supposed to be a ride.

The iconic Disneyland attraction, which turns 50 today, was first conceived as a walkthrough tour—somewhere between a carnival’s house of horror and a visit to San Jose’s spectacular Winchester Mystery House. Its development took nearly 20 years, and plans for the project changed constantly as designers fought over what park visitors might find within the walls of the neoclassical estate.

To read more click on following link: https://la.curbed.com/2019/8/9/20794585/disneyland-haunted-mansion-ride

Top New Creative Videos: “Mini Landscapes 2” By Clemens Wirth (2019)

Filmed, Edited and Directed by: Clemens Wirth

Mini Landscapes 2 Directed by Clemens Wirth 2019

Music originally composed by the wonderful echoic studio in Bristol (echoicaudio.com)

Mini Landscapes 2 Directed by Clemens Wirth 2019

In this shortfilm I’ve tried to recreate some of the nature great events our beautiful planet has to offer, but in a much smaller scale. Every scene was carefully crafted by hand in miniature. Please see a little bonus making of at the end.

Watch original Mini Landscapes below:

 

Architectural Day Trips: The Glass House Designed By Philip Johnson In New Canaan, CT (1949)

From an Architectural Digest article:

The Glass House PresentationsThe Glass House, designed by architect Philip Johnson in 1949, when floor-to-ceiling windows were a novelty even in office buildings, is a work of art in itself. But there’s much more art to be found on the lush grounds of this famous home in New Canaan, Connecticut. Amble on over to the Painting Gallery, which houses large-scale works by Frank Stella, Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, and Cindy Sherman, among others, or the Sculpture Gallery, featuring works by such artists as Michael Heizer, George Segal, Frank Stella, and Bruce Nauman. 

 

http://theglasshouse.org/

Top New Travel Videos: “The Rhythm Of Mumbai” By Dennis Schmelz (2019)

Filmed and Directed by: Dennis Schmelz

The Rhythm of Mumbai - A Vibrant Megacity in India Directed by Dennis Schmelz 2019

Edited by: Tabo Hartog

The Rhythm of Mumbai - A Vibrant Megacity in India Directed by Dennis Schmelz 2019

Welcome to India: Bombay, now known as Mumbai, is home of over 12 million people. It is a thriving cosmopolitan, multi-cultural city and the heart of the Bollywood film industry. I visited this stunning metropolis in March 2018 for a commercial project and was able to capture also some B-Roll of the city life.

The Rhythm of Mumbai - A Vibrant Megacity in India Directed by Dennis Schmelz 2019

Website: https://dennisschmelz.de/index.php

Top European Road Trips: Granada To Almería, Spain Is Two Weeks Of Historic And Spectacular Sights

From The Guardian online article by Sorrel Downer:

Spain Road Trip Granada to Almeria The GuardianThe Alhambra marks the start of a drive taking in historic cities, a river valley and mountains – and ends in Almería’s spaghetti western desert.

Granada is dominated by its mighty Moorish fortress, the Alhambra. Book ahead and visit early, at its least-crowded, and then spend the afternoon meandering the narrow streets and plazas of the old town – the Albaicín….

….On day six drive the spectacular route (A-319, 17km) up and over mountains into the dappled valley of the Guadalquivir River, passing La Iruela (with its castle on a crag), and down into a tranquil enclosed world, thick with birds, smelling of pine, dominated by the wide, clear, burbling river. Allow four days here as there’s so much to explore….

 

…Day 12: The drive from Guadix to Almería (A-92, 113km, around 1 hour) passes through the pink and orange peaks and ravines of spaghetti western country, the Tabernas Desert, and several theme parks recalling the glory days of Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns.

Spain Road Trip Granada to Almeria The Guardian

To read more click on following link: https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2019/aug/07/spain-road-trip-granada-alhambra-almeria-spaghetti-western

Automotive Nostalgia: 25th Annual Woodward Dream Cruise On August 17 In Detroit Will Feature Over 40,000 Classic Cars

From a Curbed.com online article:

Four Ford Thunderbirds at the 2014 Woodward Dream Cruise - ShutterstockEnthusiasts and spectators will soon be out showing off their rides for the 25th Annual Woodward Dream Cruise, which rolls through the northern suburbs along Woodward Avenue on Saturday, August 17. The world’s largest one-day automotive event is an enormous draw—last year an estimated 1.5 million people attended and 40,000 classic cars were on the roads.

While the main event takes place from Pontiac to Ferndale, Detroit also has a few offerings for visitors this year. Here’s where to go if you want to watch—or avoid—the festivities.

Time

Officially, the Woodward Dream Cruise runs Saturday, August 17 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Events have already started, and an official ribbon cutting will take place on Friday at 5 p.m. in Ferndale.

To read more click on following link: https://detroit.curbed.com/2018/8/16/17690358/woodward-dream-cruise-2019-traffic-parking-route

Travel Innovations: Marriott Launches New Airport Shuttle Tracker

From a Wall Street Journal article:

Airport Shuttle Tracking App Illustration by Rob Wilson for WSJAirport shuttle tracking amounts to a big “it’sabout time” for frequent travelers. Hotel companies are playing catch-up on otherconnected functions, trying to modernize operations through phone apps.

Marriott International, the largest hotelier, is launching shuttle tracking through its app. Already in use at 15 hotels at four airports, with 200 hotels planned by the end of the year, travelers can watch a van icon move along its route and getan estimated arrival time at your stop, just like waiting for your Uber, Lyft or package delivery.

To read more click on following link: https://www.wsj.com/articles/wheres-that-darn-airport-hotel-van-finally-an-answer-11565170200