Category: Photo of the Week

Experience Close Encounters at Rolling Hills Zoo

Rolling Hills Zoo, west of Salina, is home to 100+ animal species, plus a world-class immersive Wildlife Museum. Experience interactive exhibits, tram rides, playgrounds, and special events during your visit.

Falling Spring Falls in the Alleghan Highlands of Virginia

Photo of the Week brought to you by: Alleghany Highlands of Virginia

Falling Spring Falls is a breathtaking 80′ cascading waterfall that is one of the most visited and photographed spots in the Alleghany Highlands. The scenic waterfall is located on Route 220 in Alleghany County, just five miles north of Covington, Virginia. Plan your trip at: Alleghany Highlands of Virginia

 

Location

Hot Springs Rd

Covington, VA 24426

 

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Feelin’ Peachy in South Carolina’s Old 96 District

Brought to you by the Old 96 District—South Carolina

Did you know South Carolina produces more peaches than Georgia 

and is the nation’s second-largest producer of peaches behind California? In addition, the largest peach grower on the East Coast is Titan Farms, right here in Edgefield, SC, with 6,200+ acres of peaches in production! With 60 percent of South Carolina’s peaches grown in the Old 96 District — encompassing Abbeville, Edgefield, Greenwood, Laurens, and McCormick counties — it’s no wonder that we’re excited about peach season and all the delicious and fresh peachy treats available during the early summer months.

Celebrate the peach in the Old 96 District this summer! Here are some peachy events and spots you won’t want to miss. 

Visit the Johnston Peach Blossom Festival 

This year’s annual celebration will be held on May 6 in Johnston, SC, the Peach Capital of the World. The festival features a parade, arts and crafts, food vendors, live music and children’s rides and games. 

Visit the Ridge Peach Festival

Running the third weekend of June for over 50 years in Trenton, SC, this June 17 festival celebrates heritage and peaches in a nostalgic way that will make you feel like you came back home. Watch the morning parade and then browse through booths with arts and crafts, antiques, fresh peaches, peach ice cream, desserts and preserves.

Stop By a Farmer’s Market

Just-picked peaches, berries, vegetables and other goodies are waiting for you. Start with Jackie’s Market and Cook’s Roadside Market. Stop at Titan Farm’s roadside stand and Sara’s Fresh Market in Trenton for homemade peach ice cream. Order a Titan Farms’ Carolina Beauty Peach Giftbox – 13 gorgeous peaches – for a friend or family member. A farmer’s market visit is the perfect celebration of peaches in the Old 96 District!

Sip Tiger Creek Peach Wine At Three Star Vineyard And Orchard

Order a sweet, dry or wine slushy flight or purchase wine by the glass at this Johnston, SC, vineyard. Listen to live music from 1-3 p.m. on Saturdays from March through October. Come for Food Truck Friday Night and live music on the last Friday of the month.

Tour Carolina Moon Distillery

Find out how this downtown Edgefield distillery makes its moonshine with a free tour and tasting, from 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. The peach-flavored moonshine, rum and whiskey are made with peaches from J.W. Yonce & Sons, Inc. Big Smile Peaches in Johnston.

And finally, surprise your friends and family with 10 Peachy Fun Facts you may not know! 

  1. All peaches are native to China, where the only wild peaches still grow today. 
  2. Documentation of the first cultivated peach was recorded by the Chinese in the 10th century. 
  3. The peach is closely related to almonds, cherries, and plums. 
  4. A peach tree can grow from 13 to 33 feet in height. 
  5. Flowers appear on the tree before leaves. They consist of 5 pink petals. 
  6. Peaches are a rich source of vitamin C, A, and E. 
  7. First fruit will appear on the peach tree after 3 years. The plant will usually live around 12 years. 
  8. All varieties of peaches can be divided into two groups: clingstone and freestone peaches. 
  9. It was early American Indian tribes who spread the peach tree across our country, planting seeds as they traveled. 
  10. Peaches have been an important commercial crop in South Carolina since the mid-1800s, around the introduction of the railroad. 

Feelin’ Peachy? Visit our website for more markets, fruit stands, sips and samples, recipes, and more ideas on how to enjoy our fresh, delicious local peaches on your next trip to South Carolina’s Old 96 District! 

Enjoy Life in an Historic Way in Springfield

This summer History Comes Alive returns for its 14th season as Abraham and Mary Lincoln lead a cast of characters for a trip back in time that you won’t want to miss. Meet the Lincolns at historic sites throughout the city, like the world-class Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, where you can learn about their lives in Springfield. Hear Lincoln deliver some of his most famous speeches or enjoy an ice cream social at Edwards Place, where the Lincolns would visit their friends, Benjamin and Helen Edwards. From June 2-August 6, seven day a week, you can make your own history and memories!

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POTTY WITH BON JOVI

Enjoy this great story from our current issue, then take a test drive to see how you can have full digital access for less than a cup of java! There’s something about the songs of rock superstar Jon Bon Jovi, with lyrics such as “freedom was a tank of gas…to drive, just drive,” that has always felt like a road trip set to music. And now there’s another reason to air guitar in your car—especially if your travel plans take you through New Jersey.

 

A Garden State Parkway rest area, at milepost 123 in South Amboy, has been renamed in Bon Jovi’s honor, thanks to a collaboration between the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and the New Jersey Hall of Fame.

Sayreville, New Jersey—The Jon Bon Jovi Service Area has all the conveniences of a typical rest stop—restaurants, bathrooms, gas—in a setting that feels like you’re visiting Jovi at home. There’s a framed platinum record from the artist’s personal collection, commemorating a million copies sold of Bon Jovi’s 1987 mega-smash album Slippery When Wet. There are also banners adorned with inspirational quotes, a gigantic lit-up guitar, and a life-size hologram of Bon Jovi himself that talks and answers big questions, such as whether it is etiquette in North or South Jersey to put ketchup or mustard on pork roll.

The plaza is one of nine Garden State Parkway rest stops to be named after Jersey’s famous sons and daughters. Others will soon include the Whitney Houston Service Area near Union, New Jersey; the Toni Morrison Service Area at Ocean View; and the Frank Sinatra Service Area in Galloway. (And, fun fact, Frank Sinatra was actually Bon Jovi’s great-uncle on his father’s side.)

The Jon Bon Jovi Service Center is two miles from Bon Jovi’s childhood home —16 Robinhood Drive in Sayreville— where the singer also lived as an adult while his band was recording its first three records. Between those walls, Jon Bon Jovi wrote his band’s first No. 1 hit song, “You Give Love a Bad Name,” which is featured on that same platinum record on display at his eponymous rest stop.

New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy says she hopes the service area “inspires the next Jon Bon Jovi.” But even if it doesn’t set you down the road toward rock ’n’ roll stardom, it will allow you the chance to answer an over-tired kid, who’s asked for the hundredth time how much longer the road trip will be, by singing, “Ooooooh, we’re halfway there! Take my hand, we’ll make it I swear!”
—Eric Spitznagel

Jon Bon Jovi Service Area
Milepost 123, between exits 124 and 125

The rest stop is near Sayreville, the Jersey borough where the future rocker was born and raised

Explore the Alleghany Highlands of Virginia on a Scenic Road Trip

Photo of the Week brought to you by: Alleghany Highlands of Virginia

Explore the Alleghany Highlands of Virginia with a scenic road trip through the heart of Virginia’s Mountain Region. There are numerous ways to enjoy all that the Alleghany Highlands has to offer! Many visitors choose to explore on foot, bicycle or horseback on our hundreds of miles of trails. In addition, the unique perspective of paddling in a canoe or kayak on the Alleghany Highlands Blueway is very popular. Others choose to wander the beautiful back roads of a scenic drive, enjoying beautiful mountain vistas, National Historic Monuments and much more along the way. Plan your trip at: Alleghany Highlands of Virginia