Tag Archives: Travel
Travel | Sky high fun in Sevierville
By Debi Lander
mail@floridanewsline.com
Old style leather flying helmet on my head, goggles over my eyes, and a scarf wrapped around my neck: I’m ready to take flight, feeling like Amelia Earhart and those 1920s barnstormers. Actually, I am ready for my photo op. Pilot Marc Hightower at Sky High Air Tours, based in Sevierville’s Gatlinburg Pigeon Forge Regional Airport, snaps my pic.
Travel | Stetson Mansion Christmas Spectacular shines
By Debi Lander
mail@floridanewsline.com
Most folks think of cowboy hats when they hear the name Stetson, but founder John B. Stetson made a fortune selling all kinds of hats, manufactured in his Philadelphia plant. He discovered DeLand, located north of Orlando and west of Daytona Beach, on a trip to Florida and fell in love with the area. He had his DeLand mansion built in 1886, and also established a college — now Stetson University, home to some beautiful Victorian brick buildings and 3,000 students.
Travel | A visit to the Wild Turkey Museum
By Debi Lander
mail@floridanewsline.com
Turkeys dominate holiday images, advertisements and dinner tables in November. We tend to forget that this symbol of Americana has an elusive cousin — the Wild Turkey. Ben Franklin preferred the turkey as the nation’s symbol over the eagle, considering the latter “of bad moral character.” He considered the turkey “a much more respectable bird” and an American original.
Travel | Asheville for the Holidays
By Debi Lander
mail@floridanewsline.com
Visions of sugarplums danced in my head as I drove to the Omni Grove Park Inn in Asheville, N.C. I made the trip last December to the historic Blue Ridge resort to view the winning entries in the National Gingerbread House Competition. My trail of crumbs led me to displays stopping me dead in my tracks — wide-eyed and childlike. Much more than elaborate houses and cutesy cakes, these creations were architectural masterpieces and stunning works of art. This contest takes gingerbread to the highest level of culinary art.
Travel | Touring Louisiana plantations
By Debi Lander
mail@floridanewsline.com
Before the Civil War, cotton was king and sugar reigned as “white gold.” The South’s economy depended on their production. Wealthy barons established large plantations where slaves worked the fields.
