Category: Culture & Historical Sites
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5 Hours in Oaxaca
The café is quaint and quiet. Powder blue walls are lined with dark shelves, displaying white teacups painted with pale pink and lavender flowers, filled with eclectic books—Dune in Danish, The Moon Guide to Pacific Mexico, and a copy of Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s Émile,—or On Education in Spanish. There are only three small, wooden tables, pressed…
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Punta Gorda, Roatan, Honduras
Author’s Note: Please note that this post was reviewed and corrected by Nerissa Webster, referenced below, and published with her permission. We arrived at Punta Gorda — a village founded by the Garifuna people after being exiled from nearby St. Vincent Island and being deposited on Roatan, Honduras on April 12, 1797 — that sits…
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Roman Volubilis, Morocco
Situated among the fertile agriculture fields outside Moulay Idriss, one stumbles upon the ruins largely from the Roman 2nd and 3rd centuries, a place where olive-oil based wealth funded high-status homes and decorations. Once the home of Juba II, husband of Cleopatra’s daughter Cleopatra Selene II, 10,000+ Romans, and 20,000+ Moroccans, the region then as…
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Laurel Bluffs Trail along the Eno River (Durham, North Carolina)
OverviewLocated in north Durham, the Laurel Bluffs Trail offers a roughly 5-mile out-and-back hike along a beautiful stretch of the Eno River. The route begins from Eno River State Park’s Pump Station Trail and continues to Guess Road. For most of the way, the trail hugs the river closely, climbing up to ridge tops only…
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Chinqua Penn Hiking Trail (Reidsville, Rockingham County, North Carolina)
Note: This site is now closed. Overview: Located about 30 minutes north of Greensboro, Chinqua Penn Plantation once consisted of 22 acres of gardens, a short hiking trail, and one of North Carolina’s architectural treasures: the Chinqua Penn home. Built in the 1920s, the English-style house includes 27 rooms filled with antique furniture from around…
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Near the Mouth of the Cape Fear River (Brunswick & New Hanover Counties, North Carolina)
Overview: On November 8, 2008, my husband and I were able to take a fascinating boat tour of the magnificent mouth of the Cape Fear River. The tour originated on Oak Island in Brunswick County, North Carolina and ended miles upstream in Carolina Beach, New Hanover County, North Carolina. This tour was offered at the…
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Chicago Wilderness & The Grove (Cook County, Illinois)
Introduction: As a native midwesterner, autumn rarely feels official until I’ve breathed in the cool, crisp air of the north and feasted on views of golden sugar maples and russet burr oaks. This year was no different than most; my natural wanderlust led me back home to northern Illinois. Historically, northeastern Illinois is home to…