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More M&M magic in the Mediterranean
Asked to name islands in the Mediterranean Sea, many people may start to run dry after Sicily (Don Corleone), Elba (Napoleon) and maybe Malta (Humphrey Bogart and that famous falcon). Others – the fortunate ones – would add Mallorca and Menorca from personal experience.
May 20, 2022 • By Tom Adkinson |
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Mallorca in Pictures
Mallorca, one of Spain’s islands in the western Mediterranean, will drive a photographer crazy. It’s a good crazy, but it’s still crazy. The reason? There is too much to photograph.
There are beaches, mountains, ancient cathedrals, winding cobblestone streets, country lanes, textiles, markets and sidewalk cafes. There are caves, wineries, statues, marinas and infinity pools overlooking the sea.
May 13, 2022 • By Tom Adkinson |
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M&M magic in the Mediterranean
Mallorca isn’t big, but it is packed with ancient architecture, one of Europe’s few circular castles, mountains that rise to 4,711 feet, sandy beaches, open countryside, walking trails and seafood, pastries and wines that are impossible to resist.
It is a compact 1,405 square miles. That’s not quite three times bigger than Knox County, Tennessee, but less than one-third the size of Los Angeles County, California.
May 6, 2022 • By Tom Adkinson |
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Alabama’s sports heroes live on in downtown Birmingham
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – With honored names such as Bear Bryant, Shug Jordan, Bo Jackson and Pat Sullivan, football commands a great deal of attention at the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in downtown Birmingham, but an eye-catching piece of sculpture from track and field draws you to an important corner on the first floor of the multi-level attraction.
April 29, 2022 • By Tom Adkinson |
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Oxford: Small, mighty and welcoming
OXFORD, Mississippi –- Even if you hate Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin, you still can fall in love with Oxford, the crown jewel of northern Mississippi and a destination with surprises around almost every corner.
April 22, 2022 • By Tom Adkinson |
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Amble across ‘the most beautiful river on earth’
JEFFERSONVILLE, Indiana – “The Ohio is the most beautiful river on earth. Its current gentle, waters clear, and bosom smooth and unbroken by rocks and rapids, a single instance only excepted.” |
Major Taylor: The world’s first black sports superstar
INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana – Marshall “Major” Taylor generated excitement and controversy as a Black athlete long before Jesse Owens excelled in front of Adolph Hitler, Jackie Robinson got his first hit as a Brooklyn Dodger or Charlie Sifford teed off as the first Black golfer in the PGA. |
Huntsville’s Lowe Mill: From textiles to jungle boots to art
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama – Lowe Mill is a massive complex of hulking red brick industrial buildings whose appearance belies its current incarnation. It opened in 1901 as a textile factory, shifted into warehousing, became a shoe factory (the source of jungle boots for the Vietnam War), returned to warehousing and only then morphed into the home of 150 studios where 200 artists demonstrate their creativity. |
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Not just ‘March Madness,’ but all-year basketball bonkers in Kansas City
KANSAS CITY, Missouri – March may be the month for basketball madness (the NCAA has even protected the term “March Madness” for its three-week tournaments), but people go basketball bonkers all year long in Kansas City. |
Two decidedly different winter scenes 4,800 miles apart
Images of winter couldn’t be more divergent than these two photos – one from Saint Lucia in the sunny eastern Caribbean, and the other from the end of the WP&YR railroad line in Skagway, Alaska. |
Take a break from the interstate to hike beside Tennessee’s Burgess Falls
SPARTA, Tennessee – The Falling Water River on Tennessee’s Cumberland Plateau comes by its name honestly. Want proof? There’s a well-worn trail in Burgess Falls State Park and Natural Area that takes you beside four waterfalls in less than a mile. |
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He survived a lynching and left a legacy
MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin – James H. Cameron Jr. missed his appointment with death – the rope was around his neck for a lynching that claimed the lives of two other Black teenagers when he was saved – and Cameron recounted that gruesome story for the rest of his life. |
Nashville tunnel becomes a ‘tubatorium’ when musician toots his horn
NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Joe Hunter doesn’t mind afternoon rush hour traffic. In fact, he’s happy when the intersection of Thompson Lane and Nolensville Road, one of the busiest in Nashville, slows traffic to a crawl. |
Explore San Juan’s fortress that took 248 years to build
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – If you’ve ever been frustrated by a construction project’s slow progress, just be glad you weren’t waiting for completion of Castillo San Filipe del Morro (El Morro, for short) in San Juan. |
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For Valentine’s Day or any other sugary event, check out Sweet Charlotte
CHARLOTTE, Tennessee – Whether for Valentine’s Day or any other occasion when sugar is one of your quests, there’s a little shop in the small town of Charlotte just northwest of Nashville that can satisfy your craving. |
Stopping by a state park on a snowy evening
BURNS, Tennessee – At least twice already this winter, it would have been easy to channel poet Robert Frost on a snowy hike through the woods at Montgomery Bell State Park |
The other wild side of New Orleans
JEFFERSON PARISH, La. – There’s certainly a well-known wild side to New Orleans, one that involves partying in the streets and adult beverages, but there’s a second wild side to explore, too. |
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Wichita’s Nightly Ring of Fire
WICHITA, Kansas – Johnny Cash may have sung “Ring of Fire” more times than he could count, but Wichita lights up a real ring of fire every night the elements permit to cast a special glow on a towering sculpture called the Keeper of the Plains. The statue is a tribute to Native American cultures. |
Hiking along the Devil’s Backbone on the Natchez Trace Parkway
HOHENWALD, Tenn. – A hike of reasonable length on a brisk winter day can be invigorating, especially if the trail has an intriguing name and is part of a larger travel experience. |
Recalling ‘The King’s’ birthday every January
TUPELO, Mississippi – Elvis Presley was born Jan. 8, 1935, in Tupelo and died August 16, 1977, in Memphis, Tennessee. Maybe it is winter’s cold that makes the marking of his birthday so much more subdued than commemorations of his death. |
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Hoping for warmth and a nice fish on a Florida pier
CLEARWATER, Florida – Many a Florida visitor has had to bundle up in unexpectedly chilly weather, but this angler came prepared and is eager to make the acquaintance of a hungry fish, all under the watchful gaze of a nearby stoic pelican. The angler is on Pier 60 in Clearwater on Florida’s west coast. |
Art of the edible kind in downtown Paducah, Kentucky
PADUCAH, Ky. – The fabric art at Paducah’s National Quilt Museum is known internationally, but not three blocks away is art of a completely different kind that has been building a reputation since 1873. |
Nashville’s cascade of stone steps entices nature lovers, exercisers
NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Ask a Nashvillian for directions to the Allée, and you may get a blank stare. However, if you ask for directions to the big stone steps in Percy Warner Park, you’ll get an instant spark of recognition. |
 Experience a train ride into river gorges, through historic tunnels, and along some of the most beautiful landscapes in America
Journey through the Carolina Mountains and some of the most beautiful landscapes in America. Ride into river gorges, across valleys, and through tunnels carved out of majestic mountains.
If you have been waiting to ride a train behind a century-old steam locomotive, here is your chance. Ride along one of the original railroad lines in Chattanooga, crossing four bridges and passing through pre-Civil War Missionary Ridge Tunnel, which was completed in 1858 and on the National Register of Historic Places.
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 Tennessee Riverboat Cruises: Romantic Cruises or Family Adventures
Tennessee offers a variety of leisure riverboat cruises on its waterways. Chattanooga, Knoxville, Nashville, and Memphis all have riverboats or steamboats to take you on Tennessee rivers to view beautiful scenery and wildlife, enjoy live entertainment and a great meal, or learn about the history of the Civil War in our great state. Archaeological evidence along the cruise routes tells the stories of the various Native American cultures who inhabited this river valley for over 10,000 years. Cruise in the wake of the early pioneers who had to overcome rapids, shoals, whirlpools and the formidable Chickamaugas. See the famous Body Farm. Pause and reflect in remembrance of the many that perished on the Trail of Tears.
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