Travel – Page 5 – THE TRAVELING SENIORS

December 6, 2018

FLORA-BAMA

Flora-bama! Is it a state, a tv show or a town? It is none of the above! Flora-Bama is a one-building lounge located in Perdido Key, Florida on the state line of Alabama and Florida! Known as a honky-tonk and roadhouse, Flora-Bama is on Alabama State Route 182 and was built in 1964. When it was established in Escambia County, Florida, the county was “wet” while across the state line, Baldwin County, Alabama, was “dry”. When you go, ask for the “Bushwacker” drink. Before Hurricane Ivan, Flora-Bama had in the range of 20 bars on site and up to 4 live bands playing at once. Right on the Gulf…

written by Barb Bradley - Posted in 2018, Alabama, Blog, Florida, Travel

November 26, 2018

FORT PICKENS: Santa Rosa ISLAND, FLORIDA

Fort Pickens National Park is at one end of the Florida National Scenic Trail on Santa Rosa Island in The Gulf Islands National Seashore. The Fort is an historic and scenic treasure! This part of Florida has the largest collection of 1800s forts and batteries open to the public of any national park. It doesn’t matter if you are looking for history, nature, hikes, sugar white sand beaches, fishing, biking or birdwatching-Fort Pickens has it all. Don’t forget to take your grandchildren! This is a great stop for seniors with their extended families! HISTORY A Military Strategy After the War of 1812, the United States decided…

written by Barb Bradley - Posted in Blog, Florida, Travel, Trip Planning

November 15, 2018

THE BOLLINGER MILL HISTORIC SITE IN MISSOURI

We enjoy finding out-of-the-way and rural surprises. There is so much American history down dirt roads and backroads! Take a backroads trip down Highway 55 to Bollinger Mill Historic Site in Missouri! This mill is four stories high and was the center of the settlements nearby. Early in our country’s history, towns grew up around water-powered mills. The Bollinger Mill dates back to the Civil War era in Missouri when corn and wheat were ground into flour and meal. In 1800, George Frederick Bollinger built both a log dam and the mill bearing his name on the Whitewater River in Missouri. By 1820, a road linked Bollinger Mill with…

written by Barb Bradley - Posted in Blog, Missouri, Travel

October 29, 2018

THE HISTORIC CITY MARKET IN Kansas City

The historic City Market in downtown Kansas City really bustles when farmers come to town to sell produce! The City Market (sometimes called the River Market) dates to 1857. Today, it is one of the region’s largest City Markets with more than 140 farmer stalls. Shops surround the stalls with meats, fresh produce, specialty goods, flowers, and baked goods from America, Africa, Europe, the Middle and the Far East. The City Market is located at the site on which Kansas City was first founded. A group of settlers created the “Town of Kansas” in 1850 which became the “City of Kansas” in 1853. In fact, the southern…

written by Barb Bradley - Posted in Blog, Missouri, Travel

October 25, 2018

A TRIP TO HISTORIC ARROW ROCK, MISSOURI

Take a trip to historic Arrow Rock, Missouri! This entire town has been designated a National Historic Landmark with the town’s history inter-twined with Westward Expansion, artist George Caleb Bingham and the Santa Fe Trail! HISTORY OF ARROW ROCK, MISSOURI According to writer David Wolfe Eaton in 1918, Arrow Rock was named because of a flint-bearing bluff on the Missouri River. This name appears on a French map from 1732 as “Pierre a Flèche” meaning “Rock of Arrows.” Eaton wrote that the bluff was a landmark and Lewis and Clark passed by on June 9, 1804. In 1808, William Clark passed through the area again and called…

written by Barb Bradley - Posted in Blog, Missouri, Travel

October 22, 2018

Kansas City’s COUNTRY CLUB PLAZA

I couldn’t wait to show Stu the Country Club Plaza! Kansas City’s Country Club Plaza was the first shopping center in the world designed for shoppers coming by automobile in 1922. The “Plaza” was also one of the first shopping centers in the country to be designed with a unifying theme and architecture. The Country Club Plaza was named for the nearby Kansas City Country Club (now Loose Park). Developer J.C. Nichols began purchasing the land for the “Plaza” in 1907. The development project was the butt of local jokes since no development of its kind had ever been undertaken. The site was marshy and was next to a…

written by Barb Bradley - Posted in 2018, Blog, Missouri, Travel

October 18, 2018

TAKE A BACKROADS TRIP TO BLACKWATER, MISSOURI

Take a backroads trip to Blackwater, Missouri which had a population of 162 in the year 2000! This charming village is only three miles off Interstate 70 and is full of 1800s buildings on The National Register of Historic Places. The entire downtown is one-block long and is a tiny town adventure. HISTORY OF BLACKWATER Blackwater was founded in 1887 after the Missouri Pacific Railroad developed a coal refilling station between St. Joseph, Missouri and Kansas City. Travelers who stopped in Blackwater kept the town bustling in the late 1800s.The post office has been in operation since 1873. BLACKWATER TODAY The Iron Horse Hotel & Restaurant was once…

written by Barb Bradley - Posted in 2018, Blog, Missouri, Travel

October 15, 2018

TAKE A TOUR: Kansas City, MISSOURI

Take a tour of Kansas City, Missouri and you’ll discover that the city is more than you might think! Stu and I spent a fascinating few days exploring the city where I grew up. THE LIBERTY MEMORIAL Our first stop was the Liberty Memorial and newly-designated National World War I Memorial and Museum. The Liberty Memorial is America’s official memorial for the men and women who served and died in World War I. Momentum to build the Memorial ballooned shortly after the Armistice in November 1918. Soon after the end of the war, a group of 40 Kansas Citians raised more than $2.5 million for construction in…

written by Barb Bradley - Posted in 2018, Blog, Missouri, Travel

October 8, 2018

THE SHAWNEE INDIAN MISSION IN FAIRWAY, KANSAS

The Shawnee Indian Mission in Fairway, Kansas served as a manual training school for children from the Shawnee, Delaware and other Native nations between 1839-1854 and continued as a school without manual training until 1862. The Shawnee Mission also served as a supply point on the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails. THE SHAWNEE NATION The Missouri Shawnee were the first Native Americans removed to Kansas Territory, which was then set apart for emigrant tribes by the treaties of June 1825, with the Kanza and Osage. By a treaty made at St. Louis, Missouri on November 7, 1825, the United States granted… “to the Shawnee tribe of Indians within the…

written by Barb Bradley - Posted in 2018, Blog, Kansas, Travel

October 4, 2018

THE BIRTHPLACE OF Route 66: SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI

The birthplace of Route 66 is said to be in Springfield, Missouri. The “Mother Road” began in the 1920s as Americans moved west. Construction work on a 17-mile long, 20 foot wide concrete road, later Route 66, was national front page news in 1929! A mere five months later, “Black Friday” and the stock market crash changed America forever. By 1931, the winding, two-lane Highway 66 was called, “The Main Street of America.” The road’s completion was cause for a huge celebration in Rolla, Missouri. That year, Highway 66 ran from Chicago to St. Louis and extended in and out of Rolla, Missouri to Lebanon, Missouri and into Springfield’s city…

written by Barb Bradley - Posted in 2018, Blog, Missouri, Travel