On no levels is Gettysburg, which is commemorating its 150th anniversary, just a battlefield. The site in south-central Pennsylvania, run by the national park service, carries a big wallop even for those who find the History Channel a bore. A few years ago I went to find out how re-enactors decide who “dies” first during mock battles. To be honest, learned next to … Read on
The Civil War is 150, which means four years of particularly robust re-enactments and a lot of new Civil War books. Even a CD or two. Here are two things I recommend doing to tribute the occasion: 1. WATCH ‘SHERMAN’S MARCH’Do you know this 1986 documentary? At nearly three hours, it’s way too long, but simply impossible to stop looking at once you … Read on
Yesterday I appeared on ABC News Now to discuss some of the lists made in Lonely Planet’s new Best in Travel 2011. Talked about Albania’s Ottoman-era houses, Japan’s $40 guesthouses, the notion of ‘communism travel’ and re-enactments from the upcoming 150th anniversary of the Civil War (here’s my video on how they decide who dies first). Yes, I squeezed out a Will Ferrell … Read on
WHAT TRAVEL TEACHES If you’re like me at all, you’ve spent countless nights burning trying to solve an immortal question: at Civil War and other battle re-enactments, who dies first? Are newbloods asked to shed theirs as the cannonballs begin to fly? Or do those tardy with dues drop early? Or is it just the unlucky, the worn out, or — after a … Read on
