Vacation Station

On this shared episode, travel writer Mary Farah joins Big Blend Radio's "Food, Wine & Travel" Podcast with IFWTWA to share her mom-and-daughters getaway to Carlsbad, California.  Mary traveled with her daughters, Mabel (5) and Mavis (8 months), over spring break. She shares what worked for a family trip: a kitchen-equipped suite, a beach-front stay in Carlsbad Village, and plenty of places to eat, from the Windmill Food Hall to Parakeet Cafe, GelatoLove, Knockout Pizzeria and Señor Grubby’s.  They also cover the free Agua Hedionda Lagoon Discovery Campus, the Museum of Making Music, the Flower Fields, LEGOLAND, Michelin-starred dining and Carlsbad Food Tours. 📖 Read Mary’s article, “Visiting Like a Local in Carlsbad”: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/visiting-like-a-local-in-carlsbad-california  🌎 Plan your trip: https://visitcarlsbad.com/  🌐Follow Mary Farah’s blog, Along Comes Mary: http://www.alongcomesmaryblog.com/  🎧 Hear more episodes of "Food, Wine & Travel": https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/food-wine-travel-ifwtwa  📰 Check out the "Food & Wine & Travel" Digital Podcast Magazine: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/travel-food-wine-magazine  🌎 Learn more about the International Food Wine Travel Writers Association: https://www.ifwtwa.org 

Hitch up the buggy and head to Indiana’s Amish Country for the holidays! This shared episode of Big Blend Radio’s "Food, Wine & Travel" Podcast with the International Food Wine & Travel Writers Association (IFWTWA) takes us to Shipshewana with Sonya Nash, CEO of the Shipshewana/LaGrange County Convention & Visitors Bureau. About two hours east of Chicago and two and a half hours north of Indianapolis, Shipshewana is home to the third-largest Amish settlement in the U.S., and at Christmas the whole town glows. Sonya explains how the Amish celebrate a faith-based holiday while still enjoying the beauty of the lights, then walks us through everything there is to see, taste, and do. In this episode: - Shipshewana’s Lights of Joy drive-thru display, plus more than a mile of hoop lights decorating the sidewalks downtown - Horse-drawn buggy rides, including a lit buggy ride, for couples and families - Handmade gifts and crafts: baskets, pottery, mugs, Amish furniture, and leather goods - Why Shipshewana calls itself the RV capital of the world, with free factory tours - Breakfast with Santa and holiday photo ops - Shows and concerts at the Blue Gate Performing Arts Center - Pie, comfort food, and the My My American Pie Trail - Where to stay, from the Blue Gate Garden Inn and Farmstead Inn to the Van Buren Hotel - Menno-Hof, the Amish Mennonite Interpretive Center, plus quilt shops, local makers, and barn quilts - The free gingerbread village at E&S Bulk Food Store, an “Amish Costco” - What to do after Christmas: the Spicy and Icy Festival in January and Pajama Days in February - A hot chocolate with a cause at Das Kaffee Haus, and the story behind Ben’s Soft Pretzels - Tips for visiting Amish Country respectfully, including why to leave extra time for buggies on the road Whether you’re planning a holiday getaway or just want an armchair trip to a real-life Hallmark town, this one will put you in the Christmas spirit.  LINKS & TRAVEL RESOURCES: - Plan your Shipshewana getaway: https://visitshipshewana.org/  - Learn more about the International Food Wine & Travel Writers Association (IFWTWA): https://www.ifwtwa.org/  - More "Food, Wine & Travel" episodes with IFWTWA: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/food-wine-travel-ifwtwa  - Big Blend Radio Travel, Food & Wine Digital Podcast Magazine: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/travel-food-wine-magazine 

This shared episode of Big Blend Radio’s "Wanderers Compass" Podcast heads to Slovenia, a small Central European country with big mountains, fairy-tale castles and a story of independence that is still young.  Travel writers Joelle Machia and Ryan Slough have visited twice and take us from the lively riverfront of Ljubljana to Lake Bled, the quieter Lake Bohinj, and the hairpin turns of the Vršič Pass in the Julian Alps. Along the way you’ll meet the Lipizzaner horses at Brdo Park (yes, you can pet them), wander Ljubljana’s dark and fascinating public art, and find out why Slovenia is such an easy, affordable and safe place to travel. They also talk about how a country that has seen so much history is now protecting its rivers, forests and bees, and what travelers can learn from that. LINKS & RESOURCES: - Read Joelle and Ryan’s Slovenia article, plus resources and links: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/slovenia-small-country-extraordinary-story  - More epsiodes of Wanderers Compass Podcast: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/wanderers-compass-podcast  - Wanderers Compass Digital Podcast Magazine: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/wanderers-compass-magazine  - Follow Wanderers Compass: https://www.wandererscompass.com 

Skagit Valley is famous for its Tulip Festival, and this conversation touches on it, but it covers so much more. On this shared episode of Big Blend Radio's "Sip, Savor & Travel" Podcast, Linda Kissam, the "Food, Wine & Shopping Diva," sits down with Kristen Keltz of the Skagit Tourism Bureau for a warm tour of this Pacific Northwest escape.  They cover year-round whale watching and kayaking out of Anacortes, farm-to-table dining, oysters and Samish Bay cheese, pumpkin farms, a chamomile tea farm stay and historic theaters. They also cover holiday parades, art festivals, snow geese and eagles, and a few "ultimate days" in Skagit. Come for what you already know, and stay for what you didn't expect. About our guest: Kristen Keltz, IOM, CDME, is CEO of the Skagit Tourism Bureau, where she and her team work with local businesses and communities to share Skagit Valley as a year-round destination. 📖 Read Linda's article, "Skagit Valley: Tulips and Beyond": https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/skagit-valley-tulips-and-beyond  🌷 Plan your visit to Skagit Valley: https://www.visitskagitvalley.com  🎧 More Sip, Savor & Travel Podcast episodes: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/sip-savor-travel  📚 Sip, Savor & Travel Digital Magazine: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/sip-savor-travel-magazine  🍷More from Linda Kissam: https://foodwinetravelchix.com 

This shared episode of Big Blend Radio's "Jo Goes Everywhere" Podcast takes you on a road trip through South Carolina's Old 96 District. Travel writer Jo Clark picks up where last month's Ninety Six National Historic Site episode left off, with stops in Spartanburg, Pelzer, Greenwood, Ninety Six, Abbeville and Edgefield. Along the way: historic inns (including a night in a caboose at Clevedale Historic Inn and Gardens), a winery visit that came full circle at City Scape Winery, a James Beard-honored meat-and-three at Wade's Restaurant, a Greenwood barbecue festival, candied pecans at the 96 Pecan Company, Abbeville's Veranda on Main and Belmont Inn, Indigenous Underground, and Edgefield's pottery, peaches and farm-to-table dining.  Jo also shares why these smaller towns reward a flexible traveler, and why South Carolina pecans and wine make great holiday gifts. LINKS & TRAVEL RESOURCES: - Jo's full guide, "The Ultimate Old 96 District Trip: B&Bs to Battlefields": https://recipestravelculture.com/old-96-district-spartanburg-upstate-trip/  - Last month's article, Ninety Six National Historic Site: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/ninety-six-national-historic-site  - Jo's earlier stop at Francis Beidler Forest: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/audubon-francis-beidler-forest-center-sanctuary  - Jo Goes Everywhere podcast: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/jo-goes-everywhere  - Jo's digital magazine: https://online.fliphtml5.com/yhwzg/kkbr/  - Have Glass, Will Travel: https://haveglasswilltravel.com/ 

Snow is already falling in places in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, the lights are going up in Visalia, and Exeter is getting ready for Santa. On this shared episode of Big Blend Radio's "California’s Sequoia Country" Podcast with the Sequoia Tourism Council, producer Lisa D. Smith talks with Holly Streit of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, Suzanne Bianco of Visit Visalia, and Shannon Schroth of Experience Exeter.  You’ll hear about: - Winter in the parks: layers, road conditions, tire chains and ranger-led snowshoe programs in Grant Grove and at the Giant Forest Museum - The Pear Lake Winter Hut with Sequoia Parks Conservancy, with reservations expected to open November 12 - Visalia’s 80th Candy Cane Lane Parade on November 30 and the holiday market at Kaweah Oaks Preserve, December 4-6 - Exeter’s Christmas Thursdays (December 3, 10 and 17), Santa at the farmers market November 18, and chamber gift certificates - The North Pole Market at the International Agri-Center in Tulare on December 12 - Sequoia Parks Conservancy’s 25% off shop sale through December 31, the Christmas Bird Count on December 19, and the Trek to the Nation’s Christmas Tree on December 13 - Cozy holiday weekends: cocoa, cookies, soup, gingerbread houses and a good book LINKS & TRAVEL RESOURCES: - Explore the region: https://www.discoverthesequoias.com  - Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks: https://www.nps.gov/seki  - Visit Visalia: https://www.visitvisalia.com  - Visalia Holiday Guide: https://www.visitvisalia.com/articles/visalia-holiday-guide  - Visalia Winter Weekend Getaway: https://www.visitvisalia.com/articles/visalia-winter-weekend-getaway  - Experience Exeter, Exeter Chamber of Commerce: https://exeterchamber.com  - Sequoia Parks Conservancy (shop sale 25% off through Dec 31): https://www.sequoiaparksconservancy.org  

Step inside one of the South's grand historic hotels with this shared episode of Big Blend Radio's "Travel with Terri" Podcast. On location in downtown Mobile, Alabama, travel journalist Terri Guthrie sits down in the lobby of the Battle House Renaissance Mobile Hotel & Spa with General Manager Margo Gilbert, who has led the hotel since 2004. Margo shares the hotel's remarkable story: built in 1852, lost to fire in 1905, rebuilt in 1908, shuttered in 1974, and brought back to life as a Historic Hotels of America member and AAA Four Diamond property. You'll hear about the two-story lobby and its hand-painted trompe l'oeil portraits, the whispering arch where there are "no secrets in the lobby," and the Crystal Ballroom, where Mobile locals still stop by to remember their proms. Terri also explores the amenities: 238 rooms, restaurants and bars, a 10,000-square-foot European spa, a pool deck with pickleball and tennis, and a location right on the Mardi Gras parade route. Along the way, Margo shares the movie stars who have stayed here, and Terri explains why this one is now a favorite. This episode is part of Terri's Mardi Gras Train series along Amtrak's route from New Orleans to Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, and Mobile. Coming up next: what to see and do in Mobile. LINKS  & RESOURCES: - Battle House Renaissance Mobile Hotel & Spa: https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/mobbr/  - Start the series with Knox Ross of the Southern Rail Commission: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/mardi-gras-train-gulf-coast-amtrak  - Last time, Bay St. Louis by Train: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/bay-st-louis-mississippi-mardi-gras-train  - Plan your ride on the Mardi Gras Train: https://www.amtrak.com/mardigras  TRAVEL WITH TERRI - Travel with Terri on Big Blend Radio: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/travel-with-terri  - Travel with Terri: https://www.travelwithterri.com  - The Luxe Explorer Digital Podcast Magazine: https://www.travelwithterri.com/magazine 

Pittsburgh has long carried a reputation as a gritty steel-mill town with not much to see or do. Travel writer Debbie Stone grew up in Chicago hearing exactly that, but she kept hearing whispers that the city had changed, so she went to see for herself. On this shared episode of Big Blend Radio's "Global Adventures" Podcast, Debbie shares the museums, art and views that changed her mind. Debbie takes us through the Heinz History Center, where six floors cover everything from Pittsburgh's inventions to the Mister Rogers' Neighborhood puppets, the story behind Heinz's 57 varieties and an eleven-foot ketchup bottle. Then it's the seven-story Andy Warhol Museum and his famous silver wig, the Mattress Factory's site-specific installations, and the colorful public art of Randyland. Debbie also explains why Pittsburgh is the city of bridges, shares tips for getting around, and visits the Fort Pitt Museum and Point State Park. She rides the historic Duquesne Incline up Mount Washington, cruises the three rivers with Gateway Clipper, and stays at the Drury Plaza Hotel, a historic Federal Reserve Bank building. RESOURCE LINKS: - Read Debbie's article and see her photos: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/pittsburgh-buzz-worthy-museums-attractions  - Plan your Pittsburgh visit: https://www.visitpittsburgh.com  - More from Debbie Stone: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/debbie-stone-travel-writer  - Global Adventures Podcast: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/global-adventures-debbie-stone  - Global Adventures Digital Podcast Magazine: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/global-adventures-travel-magazine  New episodes of Big Blend Radio's Global Adventures Podcast with Debbie Stone air every 4th Tuesday at 7pm ET.

October means one thing on English Connection: it’s time for ghost stories. On this shared episode of Big Blend Radio's "English Connection" Podcast, Glynn Burrows takes us on a tour of England’s spookiest corners, and England has no shortage of them. Glynn takes us down into the dungeons of Norwich Castle, where prisoners were once held for years. He tells the story of a public hanging in 1849 that drew crowds from all over. He also explains how plaster casts were made of executed murderers’ heads so phrenologists could “read” their bumps, and why those casts are still on display. From there it’s Norfolk’s legendary Black Shuck, the big black dog of East Anglian folklore. We wander through churchyards, battlefields and family vaults. We also get to the story Glynn loves to tell: Anne Boleyn arriving at Blickling Hall in a coach driven by a headless coachman and pulled by headless horses. Along the way: Guernsey, the underground hospital below Dover Castle, and the question of why some old places feel so strange. It’s warm, a little eerie, and full of history. LINKS & RESOURCES: - Glynn's article: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/haunted-england-spooky-tours  - English Connection Podcast: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/english-connection  - English Connection Digital Podcast Magazine: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/english-connection-magazine   - Keep up with Glynn and learn more about his custom tour services: https://www.englishconnection.uk/  - Follow the English Connection on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61594366433338 

The Jefferson Highway begins in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and runs all the way to New Orleans. In this shared episode of Big Blend Radio's "Jefferson Highway" Podcast, producer Lisa D. Smith and Jefferson Highway Association (JHA) president Roger Bell travel north with Lou Erickson of the Morris & District Centennial Museum and JHA Board Member Derek Thille of Winnipeg.  You’ll hear how a 1919 garage photo sparked a whole town’s Jefferson Highway pride, from a parade float to the first official Jefferson Highway Association sign in Manitoba in a hundred years. Derek shares his Emerson-to-Morris road trip, and we cover old cars in snow, the Morris Stampede, Winnipeg’s must-sees, and where to eat. RESOURCE LINKS: - Morris & District Centennial Museum: https://www.morrisdistrictmuseum.ca/  - Morden’s of Winnipeg chocolate: https://www.mordenschocolate.com/  - Jefferson Highway Association: https://jeffersonhighway.org  - Get the guide, listen to more podcast episodes, and subscribe to the Jefferson Highway Dispatch: https://jeffersonhighwaytravelguide.com