Mary Ann Anderson –

In the heart of LaGrange is Lafayette Square, named after Gilbert du Mortier, who was known as the Marquis de Lafayette. He compared the landscape around LaGrange to that of his wife’s ancestral estate in France. (Ashley Blencoe/Visit LaGrange/TNS)

Georgia town of LaGrange preserves 2 centuries of history amid gleam of Southern charm

September 18, 2024 at 5:00 a.m.

In Lafayette Square, the centerpiece of LaGrange, it is still the 1890s. As I walk the entirety of the red-bricked circular pathway around the square and admire the massive fountain...

The Northern Explorer, owned and operated by Great Journeys of New Zealand, makes several stops on its journey between Wellington and Auckland, including Ohakune, Tongariro National Park, Otorrhagia and Hamilton.

Northern Explorer is a captivating rail ride through heart of New Zealand — no Wi-Fi needed

December 6, 2023 at 5:36 p.m.

On a bright, clear fall morning, the train from Wellington to Auckland clatters away from the rail station precisely as scheduled at 7:55. The temperature hovers coolly in the mid-50s,...

Patoka Lake Marina, edging the 8,800- acre Patoka Lake, offers houseboats, cabins and floating cabins for overnight accommodations.

Head to southern Indiana for fertile vineyards, historic hotels

March 23, 2023 at 10:54 a.m.

Standing at the edge of Patoka Lake in the southern reaches of Indiana, I gaze through a scrim of oaks toward the sparkling blue-gray water, its hue affected in part...

Former President Bill Clinton grew up in Hot Springs and graduated from Hot Springs High School in 1964. The historic Gothic Revival building closed as a high school in 1968 but has since been renovated for other purposes, including loft apartments.

Arkansas’ Hot Springs is perfect place to do a little exploring

March 10, 2020 at 1:20 p.m.

That Hernando de Soto. He sure got around. The intrepid Spaniard commenced to explore and trade in the West Indies and Central America before trundling down to Peru to conquer...

Garvan Woodland Gardens, originally a native pine and hardwood forest, is now a lush University of Arkansas botanical garden of 210 acres that includes flower-lined walking paths, azalea bowls and waterfalls.

Arkansas’ Hot Springs is perfect place to do a little exploring

March 10, 2020 at 12:17 p.m.

Hot Springs honored the well-traveled explorer Hernando de Soto with a life-size statue at the Fordyce Bathhouse on Bathhouse Row in Hot Springs National Park.

Allen Benton of Benton's Smoky Mountain Country Ham produces gourmet hams and hickory smoked bacon from the small town of Madisonville.

Old-fashioned road trip leads to East Tennessee culinary gems

August 30, 2019 at 8:22 a.m.

The tastes of Tennessee are much more than its iconic confectionary delights of Goo Goo Clusters and Moon Pies and the savory taste of Bush's Baked Beans, all of which...

Teresa Stephens owns Lubbock's Cast Iron Grill, a hometown restaurant known for its arsenal of pies and Texas-big country breakfasts and lunches.

Lots to love in Lubbock, a West Texas town with a cowboy past and a bright future

July 19, 2019 at 1:22 p.m.

Lubbock is a long way from anywhere, and even in this West Texas town with a population of just over a quarter-million, because of its remoteness it still somehow feels...

Cranes create a Great Plains spectacle

August 23, 2019 at 11:11 a.m.

Just before sunrise, in the hourglass heart of the North American continent, the temperature has dipped to 15 degrees on the Platte River. I'm shivering in a wooden blind, even...

Martell, one of the oldest major cognac houses in the cognac region, dates to about three centuries ago. More than 20,000 visitors a year pass through its visitor center, where the story of cognac is told through colorful exhibits, including hundreds of bottles of the liquid.

Beyond wine, take a spirited journey across France

May 12, 2019 at 3:47 a.m.

Light mist cloaked the ancient hills in Upper Normandy, and from somewhere within this tapestry of seaside cliffs and pastures of flowers, I expected a fire-breathing dragon or a white-haired...

Oakland Cemetery, Margaret Mitchell's final resting place since her untimely death in 1949, is as much garden as it is graveyard with elaborate funerary art and architecture. More than 70,000 are buried here on almost 50 acres.

Tara may not be real, but Georgia’s Gone With the Wind trail is

May 12, 2019 at 3:45 a.m.

HAZLEHURST, Ga. - Atlanta. June 1936. A few patches of the horse-and-buggy Old South remained as the once slow-moving city first named Terminus and then Marthasville began emerging into the...

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