• Donna M. Airoldi
  • Calista Chandler

Historic America 

The timing of the announcement couldn’t have been better—Independence Week. Though our country and culture is officially only 232 years old, a mere blip on the history road map compared to many Asian and European nations, there is much that is historic to see and celebrate in these 50 United States. Williamsburg and Jamestown, Va., held a series of festivities last year in honor of the latter’s 400th anniversary of being founded as the first British colony. The events even drew a visit from Queen Elizabeth II. 

Our content this week focuses on all things Americana, including historical sites, kitschy “only in America” venues and festivals, and family favorites. Debbie K. Hardin tackled our cover package on Williamsburg, Virg., sharing her family tips for planning a visit to the popular colonial site, along with articles on historic guesthouses, traditional colonial dining and a day trip to Jamestown. We also feature pieces on Mount Rushmore National Monument, Michigan’s Traverse City and Mackinac Island, and a book review column on two types of historic/educational guidebooks about the states.

General Features and Columns 

New articles this week also include a Back Page column on baby gear rentals, fun and funky U.S. food festivals, a feature on the growing water park industry and our weekly Travel Deals column, with discounts for a Williamsburg stay.

This week marks the introduction of Travel Tips, a new column, with a focus on finding affordable airfares. Future columns will cover what you need to know about travel insurance, finding hotel deals, and more. Send us your suggestions for tips topics you would like to see covered to tips@travelmuse.com.

And don’t forget to check out our blogs! TravelMusings includes a round-up of the Top 10 Fireworks Displays in the United States, and Calista Chandler, one of our photo editors, shares her tips for how to take photographs of fireworks in our TravelMuse Photo Blog.

We hope you enjoy this week’s coverage and get inspired to plan a historic vacation of your own this year. TravelMuse won’t be publishing new content next Friday, but look for our San Diego issue, going live on July 18.

Happy Fourth!

Donna M. Airoldi
Editorial Director