U.S. Army Museum Opening June 2020
Posted on 08/29/2019, 5:30 PM
The United States Army has set an opening date for its new museum honoring the oldest branch of the U.S. military.The National Museum of the United States Army will begin welcoming visitors on June 4, 2020, according to a news release. The glass-and-steel facility is currently under construction in a publicly accessible part of Virginia's Fort Belvoir, located about 30 miles south of Washington, D....
Key West Hotels Introduce "Underwater Library" with Waterproof Books
Posted on 08/26/2019, 1:00 PM
Reading while lounging next to bodies of water is so popular it spawned a whole literary genre. But here's the thing about beach reads: There's a very real chance you'll ruin the book if you get it wet.Two hotels in Key West, Florida, have devised a clever solution to this perennial vacation problem: waterproof books. The new "underwater library" is an aquarium tank stocked with fully submerged cla...
New Paris Museum Chronicles Liberation from Nazis in WW2
Posted on 08/20/2019, 6:15 PM
Sunday, August 25, marks the 75th anniversary of the Liberation of Paris from its Nazi occupiers during World War II.On the same day, a new museum will open permanently to chronicle that momentous 1944 event. The facility's name is a mouthful: the Musée de la Libération de Paris-Musée du Général Leclerc-Musée Jean Moulin, but most English-speaking people will call it the Liberation Museum.Dedicated...
Closed for Three Years, D.C.'s Washington Monument Finally Has a Reopening Date
Posted on 08/19/2019, 8:00 PM
The Washington Monument in America's capital will reopen to the public on Thursday, September 19, the National Park Service has announced. The 555-foot-tall marble-and-granite obelisk on the National Mall has been closed for elevator repairs since 2016. Before that, visitors were barred from entering the monument for more than two years starting in 2011, when an earthquake rattled the structure. Ac...
Liquor and Spirits: San Diego to Get a Cemetery Speakeasy
Posted on 08/18/2019, 8:00 PM
San Diego's El Campo Santo cemetery was established in the city's historic Old Town in 1849, and according to ghost hunters, the spirits residing there have been riled up almost ever since. A streetcar line was installed right through the middle of the burial site in the late 19th century, disturbing the eternal rest of those interred there (small brass markers in the street indicate gravesites tha...
Museums Across the USA Will Be Free on Sept. 21—Here's How to Get Your Tickets
Posted on 08/15/2019, 8:00 PM
A big reason why Washington, D.C., is one of the world's best cities for museum-going is that the Smithsonian Institution's attractions—including the National Air and Space Museum, the National Museum of Natural History (pictured), the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and many more—charge no admission to see their impressive collections.On Saturday, September 21, museums acr...
You Can Now Rent Hertz Cars in Europe with a Debit Card—but Should You?
Posted on 08/08/2019, 7:45 AM
Rental car company Hertz and the two brands under its corporate umbrella—Dollar and Thrifty—have begun accepting debit cards as a payment option for car rentals in Europe. Previously, a credit card was required, but that is no longer the case at Hertz, Dollar, and Thrifty locations in Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Slovakia, mainland Spain, and the...
New Zealand Unveiling Epic New Hiking Trail
Posted on 07/29/2019, 12:30 PM
New Zealand's officially designated, government-maintained Great Walks give hikers access to the country's premier scenery—and that's saying something in New Zealand, whose North and South Islands serve up enough ruggedly beautiful landscapes to put even watercolor virtuoso Bob Ross to shame. On December 1, the 10th Great Walk—and the first to receive that designation in more than 25 years—will ope...
Living the Good Life (Affordably) In and Around Traverse City, Michigan
Posted on 07/25/2019, 9:15 PM
In some ways, the Inn at Black Star Farms recalls Tara from Gone with the Wind. Guests are greeted in a marble-floored lobby embedded with a black star (hence the name) in front of a grand curved staircase wide enough for hoopskirted damsels to make a glam entrance. The property is not, however, from that era or located in the South. It's in Michigan's Leelanau County and was built in the 1980s fo...
Amtrak Introducing New Nonstop Rail Service Between NYC and DC
Posted on 07/25/2019, 8:00 PM
Starting on September 23, Amtrak is offering direct rail service between New York City and Washington, D.C., aboard its sleek and speedy Acela trains.That trip currently takes about 3 hours and requires five intermediate stops in Newark, New Jersey; Philadelphia; Wilmington, Delaware; and Baltimore. The nonstop journey, on the other hand, will shuttle you between Amtrak's two busiest hubs—New York'...
