The East Iowa Herald Travel & Adventure

Features and Series : Travel & Adventure

Last Updated: Nov 13, 2008 - 2:30:58 PM

Posted in: Travel & Adventure
American Notebook: Getting into the spirit of things - Nov 13, 2008 - 10:24:48 PM

On the (artificial) corner of Spiritualist Street and Mediumship Way is a house that is almost certain to be the home of a Medium in Cassadaga, Florida. Photo illustration by Mitch Traphagen

CASSADAGA, FLA – There was a weird vibe to the place. It wasn’t unpleasant, but it wasn’t anything that put out warm fuzzies, either. Unsettling, perhaps, is the word to describe it.

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Posted in: Travel & Adventure
On the Snowbird Trail - Oct 2, 2008 - 8:03:45 PM

It seems the true snowbirds don’t even begin their migration until December. In October, it’s easy enough finding a camping spot up north - as shown by this nearly empty Illinois campground. Mitch Traphagen Photo

RUSKIN, Fla – The day dawned bright and clear in the Midwest. Outside it was a brisk 32 degrees and a layer of white frost covered everything – including the little RV I had packed and ready to drive south. Surely, I thought, the temperature was a sign for snowbirds to begin their annual migration.

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Posted in: Travel & Adventure
In Search of Iowa: The Magic of Nowhere - Jul 17, 2008 - 11:47:39 PM

The Modernaire Cafe just outside of the Iowa-Missouri border makes for an interesting stop on a ride to nowhere. The burgers are good, at least. Mitch Traphagen Photo

The pavement ends at Farson. Main Street is a gravel road that ends at someone’s driveway. There was a school here once - the building remains, now a home for ghosts and memories. The air streams through the broken windows. It is quiet.

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Posted in: Travel & Adventure
American Notebook: Sailing into the Past - Apr 10, 2008 - 9:51:47 PM

The Queen Mary, permanently berthed in Long Beach, Calif. after making more than a thousand Atlantic passages. Mitch Traphagen

Stories:
The Queen Mary
A Ghost Story
Photo Gallery
Cheap Travel Requires Patience... and Luck

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Posted in: Travel & Adventure
American Notebook: A Ghost Story - Apr 10, 2008 - 8:59:41 PM

In 1966, Queen Mary crewman John Pedder was killed by this watertight door. His spirit is said to roam the ship today. Mitch Traphagen Photo

Four of us sat in the pitch black of the forward cargo hold of the 80-year-old ship. Two others remained behind – too nervous to face the darkness. We were 40 feet below the waterline at the very bottom of the ship.

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