The Hills Are Alive With The Sound Of . . . Syrup

When the Trapp Family (inspiration for the ‘Sound of Music’) fled Austria ahead of WWII and Adolph Hitler, they ultimately settled in Stowe, Vermont.  Today, as part of the larger Trapp Family Lodge, there’s a traditional ‘sugar-house’ operation to visit and experience.  Every March through April, when the days become longer and warmer, the tradition of maple sugaring begins again.  The folks at the Lodge still “sugar” the old-fashioned way, using buckets to collect sap and a wood-fired evaporator to boil off the water and produce, a pancake’s best friend, Vermont maple syrup.  It takes an astonishing 40 gallons of sap to make just one gallon of syrup.  The production varies from year to year, depending on the weather and other variables. Currently 1200 tree taps are set annually, averaging 300 gallons of syrup per year.

Lights . . . Camera . . . Cactus!       Florida’s Singing Tower

       The Hills Are Alive With The Sound Of . . . Syrup 

Find Out More - Maple Sugaring at the Trapp Family Lodge, Stowe, Vermont

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Lights . . . Camera . . . Cactus!

For any of you who have always wanted to spend time on a movie or TV set and get in touch with your inner gunfighter, here’s your chance.  From shootouts and breakneck stunts to musical entertainment, Old Tucson Studios offers an exciting day in the Old West. Your guide, on this visit, is a character straight out of an Old West movie going by the name of ‘Tincup’.

Explore the streets that many of the best known television and movie stars have acted on in over 70 years of film and television history.  This is a day of memorable shootouts, stunt shows as well as a Wild West saloon filled with can-can dancers and cowboys. 

Florida’s ‘Singing’ Tower

For anyone who remembers ‘Old’ Florida, that would be pre-Disney, Bok Tower Gardens was a charter member of must visit destinations.  Florida may have exponentially increased visitor attractions since then but Bok’s Tower is still a sensory feast for the eyes and ears.  Edward Bok (1863-1930) has to be one of the truly great American success stories. The editor and Pulitzer Prize-winning author, was born in Den Helder, Netherlands.  He came to the United States at the age of six not speaking a word of English. Through raw determination and effort he worked hard to ultimately become one of the most innovative editor’s in American publishing. Under his management, The Ladies’ Home Journal became one of the most successful and influential publications in America and the first magazine in the world to have one million subscribers. Bok wished to thank America for his success.  The result was the creation of one of the most beautiful public gardens in the country.  Even with all the natural beauty of the Gardens, Bok believed something was missing.  Remembering the glorious sound of carillons in his native Netherlands, he decided to build a beautiful ‘Singing (carrilon) Tower’ as the focal point of the Gardens.  On February 1, 1929, then President Calvin Coolidge dedicated the Gardens in Lake Wales, Florida, that Edward Bok had made as a gift for visitation by the American people in gratitude for the opportunity they had given him.

Sneak Preview . . .

In the coming year, ‘Out To Find’ is heading to the Maine seacoast and delivering the mail, via high speed jet-boat to one of the most isolated areas in the continental US, Hell’s Canyon. Best of all, you’re invited to join us.  From  Florida to California and Maine to Arizona, we’re on location with stories on unique activities and the people who make them special.  There are trips to America’s most legendary and some not so well-known National Parks as well as visits to off-the-beaten-path festivals.  Plus much, much more.  Plan to join us, from the comfort of your computer, for these adventures on a monthly basis.  Plus we always provide easy to use contact-links so you can make plans to see and experience everything for yourself. Sign up now to make sure you don’t miss a single exciting destination. 

March 2010

Contact:

John A. Smith

email: producer@mediaresourcesinc.com

Media Resources, Inc.

Find Out More - Old Tucson Studios, Tucson, Arizona

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Find Out More - Bok Tower Gardens, Lake Wales, Florida

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