Travelsmartplanet

Starting way back in the 1950’s New Zealand artist Colin McCahon used words to create paintings. Many of these word paintings related to his faith and take texts from the bible. To emphasize thoughts, he uses capitalization, density and cursive writing, to suggest to you how you might read the text. This painting is thought to be his last one as it was found upside-down on the floor after he died.

What is pop culture without pop music? At MoPop in Seattle, this floor to ceiling column of guitars by Trimpin is called Roots and Branches and is made up of 700 instruments, 40 custom-made. It is computer controlled – self- playing Trimpin’s compositions.

After the 114-mile train journey through forests, passing lakes and rivers, you descend 500 feet down the canyon wall for 10 miles to the floor of the canyon. You have a chance to get out and explore the Agawa Canyon Park.

Standing 113 floors high and looking through a glass floor, you can see the Toronto Raptors Jurassic Park, where fans hang out. In 1995, the CN Tower was declared one of the  Seven Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

The newest, highest tourist spot in London is called the Shard. You go up up up to the floor 68, 69 and 72 to find a garden of Eden, with a snack bar and plenty of photo ops. Since it is almost twice the height of any other view in the capital, it offers wowy 360-degree views for up to 40 miles. Free on the London City Pass.

Celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday by visiting the our home and native land. Parks Canada is offering all Canadians a FREE 2017 Discovery Pass so there will be no cost to visit any of their sites. You have the option of visiting 148 locations everywhere in the country. You probably think  they’re all about national parks but Parks Canada is way more than that – their mandate includes marine conservation areas and national historic sites.

You could visit the wreck of the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror in Nunavut, view Canada’s highest peak, Mount Logan in Kluane National park, ice fields in Jasper, our country’s birthplace within the fortifications of Quebec, Alexander Graham Bell’s inventions,  walk amongst the flower pot rocks on the ocean floor in the Bay of Fundy, Haida Heritage sites, or even Anne of Green Gables‘ writer, Lucy Maude Montgomery’s house.

Here’s a challenge: See how many of their iconic red Adironack chairs you can find and Instagram them. If you want to drool – and – plan ahead, get copies of the National Geographic books Guide to the National Parks of Canada and Guide to the National Historic Sites of Canada.

Yes, you can camp, but you can also reserve a yurt, a goutte d’Ô which resembles a water droplet, a micro cube, large modern houses called oTENTiks or be one of the first to sleep in a hanging Cocoon in Cape Breton.

www.parkscanada.gc.ca
Tel: 888-773-8888

Colleton Museum & Farmer’s Market was re-purposed from a former grocery, the Colonial Food Store, and it explores the history of Colleton and is home to thousands of objects from Colleton County and South Carolina.

The outside window offers a peek into inside exhibits, like the old time general store, the story of the Tuskegee African American WWII pilots, animals of the ACE basin, a postcard and Coca Cola collection and local silhouette artist Canew Drew’s cutouts. We marveled at the shoe-fitting Adrian X-ray fluoroscope machine which showed you, your Mom and the salesman how the bones of your feet fit into your shoes.

You can watch a video about rice plantation culture and how the black slaves brought the techniques and tools that made their masters rich. See if you can find the snake, turtle and fish painted into the floor. There’s a gift shop and a yummy cafe. The range of exhibits are free and open to the public.

Location: 506 E. Washington St, Walterboro, SC 29488
Hours: Tues 12-6 pm, Wed-Fri 10-5 pm, Sat 10-2 pm
Tel: 843-549-2303
colletonmuseum.org
For Regional Accommodations, Restaurants & Attractions:
walterborosc.org

Here is the magnificent ballroom of the Flagler mansion, in its heyday and today. You can see carved moldings, electric chandeliers, arched doorways and windows and polished wooden floors.

Here is the magnificent ballroom of the Flagler mansion, in its heyday and today. You can see carved moldings, electric chandeliers, arched doorways and windows and polished wooden floors.

In the magnificent Queen’s Lantern, the glass open space at the top of the Museum of Nature, what looks like a giant jellyfish is hanging. You can see it from afar outside the museum, and inside as you navigate between floors. The windows with stone dividers provides a beautiful view both of the outdoors and inside the museum.