Travel

If you are a fan of our country’s national parks, you’re in good company. More than 300 million people – about equal to the entire U.S. population – enjoy the National Park system every year. And 2016 is a special year, because the National Park Service is celebrating its 100th anniversary. The words “national parks” often conjur up images of soaring landscapes and dramatic terrain, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. Among the more than 400 units in the park system are smaller, lesser-known sites around the country that have their own special appeals. They include magnificent scenery, overlooked chapters of American history and intriguing learning experiences.

As the pounding of the sheriff’s wooden staff calls the court to order, James Hubbard prepares to defend his client. He is an orphan’s guardian who stands accused of squandering his charge’s estate. Centering his neat wig and smoothing the frilly lace sleeves of his shirt, the attorney bows to the bench and begins to plead his case. This scene is repeated today in the same place where it occurred during the 1770s. That is when James Hubbard lived and practiced law in Williamsburg, at a time that the town served as the capital of the Virginia colony.

A Mayan ruin   By Victor Block Much about the island says Mexico. Archeological sites hint of the rich Mayan civilization that once flourished there. Parts of...

The platter was covered with what resembled small piles of leaves from a fall lawn raking. The brown, green and black heaps hardly invited sniffing, much less tasting. Yet sniff and taste I did.

The latest fad with the 50-plus generation is taking a recreational vehicle for vacation instead of getting hotels. It is a way of getting away from all the hustle and bustle of the cities and getting back to the small town scenic view. With more time available, you can take longer trips to see more of the country instead of flying over it and being rushed. You get to explore places you have only seen in magazines and on television. Being able to control your destination has become the ultimate trip. This is a way of testing the waters to see if you want to sell your house and be on the road full time.

A view of the Czech Republic countryside Photo/submitted   By Victor Block Part two of a two-part series Last month, we visited the majestic city of Prague, one of...

Most visitors to the Czech Republic confine their stay to Prague, and with good reason. Known as “the city of a hundred spires,” although it’s actually decorated by nearly a thousand towers and steeples, it challenges the most magnificent capitals of Europe in its beauty, and boasts a history that stretches back over a millennium. In addition, since the Middle Ages Prague (Praha) has been recognized as one of the most vibrant cultural settings on the continent.

Some vacationers soak up sun on beaches with white, black and even green sand. Nearby, skiers speed down snow-covered slopes of a dormant volcano. Other people check out a surreal moonscape of hardened pitch-black lava and hike through a lush tropical rainforest. If this sounds like a continent-wide choice of activities, it’s because the island of Hawaii in ways resembles a miniature continent. Since it shares its name with the state, it’s often referred to as the Big Island to avoid confusion, and with good reason. It’s almost twice the size of the other Hawaiian islands combined.

In Gilroy, California, people line up to purchase watermelon, ice cream and chocolate, all of which are laced with fresh, pungent garlic. Underwater divers off Florida’s Looe Key are serenaded by sounds ranging from a song sung by the Beatles to the high-pitched call made by humpback whales.

Planning a visit to Poland, where his ancestors had lived, Bernard Janicki went online and tracked down the parish priest in the village where his mother had been born. When he arrived in that small town, the pastor helped him examine church records dating back to the early 20th century.