There’s a small brick basement in Philadelphia that is to mystery and horror fiction what the basement clubs of Liverpool are to rock n’ roll and the Beatles. Stories penned here portray drunken insanity, deprivation, axe murders, dismemberment and premature burial. This is, of course, the house of Edgar Allan Poe.
Nearly half of all American vehicle trips are under three miles, according to the Federal Highway Administration. Most people consider five miles a reasonable distance to travel on a bike. But thanks to their motors, e-bikes make even ten-mile errands easy.There’s no doubt the switch to e-bikes is picking up speed. According to the Light Electric Vehicle Association (LEVA), which tracks e-bike imports to the U.S., 880,000 e-bikes came into the country in 2021, up from about 450,000 in 2020. Data from Bloomberg and Deloitte show that e-bikes outsold electric cars in the U.S. and in Europe in 2021. Indeed, U.S. e-bike sales are expected to reach three million annually by 2025.
After two years of pandemic-induced inactivity, the War of 1812 erupts anew the first weekend in August when hundreds of historically costumed reenactors take the field to recreate the Siege of Fort Erie. The 210-year old battle, the bloodiest in Canada’s history, was one of a series of skirmishes along the Niagara River at the end of the War of 1812. America hoped that seizing the British fort might lead to the annexation of Upper Canada. Unfortunately, the US advance into Ontario coincided with Britain’s burning of Washington.
By Jian Huang Subiaco, Arkansas is small even for a small town. Located about 100 miles northwest of Little Rock, Subiaco is surrounded by winding country roads and open pastures with grazing cattle and horses. According to the 2020 census, the town has a population of 401 people. The closest interstate is an hour’s drive…
Count me among the droves of disappointed summer travelers whose vacations were devastated by long airport lines, canceled flights, indifferent travel agents and lost luggage. My intention was to become acquainted with port wine and fado music in exotic Portugal. Instead, I settled for the intimacy of small-town charms in Iowa, a welcoming Midwestern state that has more attractions than I ever imagined.
When I first moved to Portland, Oregon, in the early 1990s, one of my first friends was a man who self-published a high-brow zine about amusement park rides. He eschewed car ownership, although he was happy to ride in mine. When we played Scrabble, he favored long, obscure words over point value. For all of my friend’s quirks, he turned out to be a surprisingly typical Portlander. Those who found Portland too self-consciously hip could laugh at its liberal excesses as immortalized in Portlandia. But these days, Portland has acquired a layer of grit. Homeless camps and boarded-up buildings covered with graffiti dot the whole city. Does the promise of Portlandia live on? For the sake of journalism, I decided to take an unflinching look at my city. Read More
In 2013, when Detroit declared bankruptcy it was plagued by violent crime and racial division. Today, America’s Motor City is cruising in the fast lane. It has entertaining ethnic enclaves, a vibrant downtown, a tourist-friendly riverwalk and a growing local economy that is a source of civic pride.
Pilot shortages, rising fuel costs, constantly changing schedules and erratic weather have lessened the enthusiasm for flying. So why not hit the road for a summer vacation using one of these three diverse itineraries.
The best children’s museums transfix kids, introducing them and their attentive parents to the surrounding world. There are more than 200 children’s museums throughout the U.S. Here are some places perfect for youngsters you can stop on your summer vacation.
You’re familiar with Purdue and Princeton. You know about Penn State and Pitt. But are you aware of Poupon U? It’s a small culinary institute in Middleton, six miles outside Madison, WI. You won’t find it on U.S. News & World Report’s Best College Rankings but, rest assured, all its students can cut the mustard. At the center of Poupon U sits the Mustard Museum, a repository of more than 6,300 different mustards.