In celebration of Black History Month, the TripCart crew is campaigning to promote travel sites in the US that explore and educate about the struggles and successes of the African American community, from slavery, through the civil rights movement, until today.

Check out our last post for a list of museums and memorials in the northeast, and read on for the continuation of sites in the rest of the country that celebrate African American history and culture.

• African American Historical Cultural Society – San Francisco, California
• African American Firefighters Museum – Los Angeles, California
• Oran Z’s Pan African Black Facts and Wax Museum – Los Angeles, California
• Buffalo Soldier Museum – Houston, Texas
• DuSable Museum of African American History – Chicago, Illinois
• Black World History Museum – St. Louis, Missouri
• Idaho Black History Museum – Boise, Idaho
• Black Archives Research Center and Museum – Tallahassee, Florida
• Ritz Theatre & LaVilla Museum – Jacksonville, Florida
• Napier’s African American Museum – Atlanta, Georgia

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February is Black History Month, and we at TripCart have done all the work for you and compiled a list of sites in the U.S. that are dedicated to the history and culture of the African American community. (You can thank us later.) So now that you don’t have to even do the research, you have no excuse not to visit one of these museums or historic monuments during the month.

From fantastic exhibits of slavery in America at the United States National Slavery Museum to a survey of African art at the Museum for African Art to a memorial honoring a historic black leader at the Booker T. Washington National Monument, you’ll learn more this month throughout your travels than you learned during all those years at grade school.

Got the kids with you? They’ll particularly like Oran Z’s Pan African Black Facts and Wax Museum, the African American Firefighters Museum, and the Bronzeville Children’s Museum (located at the Plaza Shopping Center in Evergreen Park, Illinois), the only children’s museum in the country dedicated African American history and culture.

The list is a bit long, so for today we’ll share all the sites in the northeast (down to Virginia), and next post will continue with the rest of the country. Enjoy!

• Museum of Afro-American History – Boston, Massachusetts
• Museum of African American History – New York City, New York
• Museum for African Art – Long Island City, New York
• African American Museum in Philadelphia
• USS Constellation – Baltimore, Maryland – Special tours are available on the weekends during Black History Month.
• African American Civil War Memorial – Washington, D.C.
• The Black Fashion Museum – Washington, D.C.
• United States National Slavery Museum – Fredericksburg, Virginia
• Museum and White House of the Confederacy – Richmond, Virginia
• Black History Museum and Cultural Center – Richmond, Virginia
• Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site – Richmond, Virginia
• Booker T. Washington National Monument – Hardy, Virginia

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day! This is a day where we in the travel world take a step back and are able to see the wide influence that Dr. King has had on our nation. Some of the most popular historic sites are dedicated to the memory of the man who changed the face of race relations and civil rights forever.

A man who believed in equality and in peace, the day commemorating the life and work of Martin Luther King, Jr. is a day to reflect on the principles he stood for – human rights, racial equality, and believing in your dreams.

It’s also a great time to visit some of the sites where Dr. King spoke, taught, and spread his influence. Below is a list of great spots where you can learn more and appreciate more this great man:

• Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site – Atlanta Georgia
• Ebenezer Baptist Church – Atlanta, Georgia – Three generations of Kings preached at this church and on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day there’s a special service.
• Sweet Auburn Historic District – Atlanta, Georgia – This is the neighborhood where MLK grew up.
• Washington National Cathedral – Washington, D.C. – Dr. King delivered his final Sunday sermon here, just days before his assassination. His memorial service was held here as well.
• Abraham Lincoln Memorial – Washington, D.C. – MLK delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963.
• National Portrait Gallery – Washington, D.C. – You can see a nice portrait of Dr. King here.

Follow your dreams!

• Historical Sites in Washington D.C, Annapolis, Gettysburg, Alexandria, Virginia and Baltimore, Maryland
• Historical Sites in Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head, Charleston, South Carolina, Atlanta, Savannah, Georgia
• Family Vacation Ideas for Washington D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland
• Family Vacation Ideas for Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head, Charleston, South Carolina, Atlanta, Savannah, Georgia
• Tings to do in the US
• Atlanta Takes the Title as America’s Busiest Airport
• Avoid Atlanta Immigration

In continuation of our goal to promote the vote in our Political Orientation Month, we thought we’d highlight some of our nation’s memorial sites that celebrate the lives of past presidents. The question on hand now…in a hundred years from now, will there be a presidential memorial for Obama or McCain?

In the meantime, visit these sites to boost your political IQ and gain an appreciation for the men and women (though, really these sites are just of the men…) who have helped shape American political history.

• The Washington Monument – Washington, D.C.
• George Washington Memorial Parkway – Arlington, Virginia (D.C. Area)
• Thomas Jefferson Memorial – Washington, D.C.
• Abraham Lincoln Memorial – Washington, D.C.
• General Grant National Memorial – New York
• Ulysses S. Grant Cottage State Historic Site – New York
• James A. Garfield Monument
• McKinley National Memorial
• Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site – New York
• Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site – Buffalo, New York
• Mount Rushmore National Memorial (George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt) – Keystone, South Dakota
• Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial – Washington, D.C.
• John F. Kennedy Library and Museum – Boston, Massachusetts
• Lyndon Baines Johnson Memorial Grove on the Potomac – McLean, Virginia
• Ford’s Theatre National Historic Site – Washington, D.C.
• Ronald Reagan Presidential Library – Simi Valley, California

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Yes, that’s right. It’s that time of year again, and this year’s featured spooky spot is Salem, Massachusetts. What better way to celebrate the darkest day of the year than to walk in the footsteps of witchery and torture! Obviously, by now we know that the real atrocities were done by the witch hunters and not the “witches”, that the true horrors were the persecutors, not the persecutees.

Take some time to learn the REAL stories of these “witches” at the Witch History Museum in Salem. The witch hysteria peaked in 1692-1693. Over 150 people (mostly women) were arrested and accused of practicing witchcraft. About 20 people were finally convicted and executed. The only way out was to point a finger at someone else to take your place.

You can visit the Salem Village of 1692 when you enter the Witch Dungeon Museum. Chilling stories are told of the wrongful imprisonment and persecution of innocent people who were believed to be evil. You’ll learn who the real evildoers were….

Another compelling way to explore this chilling story is at the Salem Wax Museum. Experience Salem witch history through the medium of wax—see Colonel John Hawthorne, the merciless Witch Trials judge, and Tituba, one of the most famous “witches”. You’ll also see non-witch figures like Nathaniel Hawthorne (from the area) and the pirates of New England.

Happy Halloween, and remember that real witches may not be who you think they are…

• Halloween Horror Nights
• Scary Scholarship
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• Search for Scary
• Tourist Information for Boston, Cape Cod, Newport, Connecticut, Massachusetts
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• Guided Tours in Boston, Cape Cod, Newport, Connecticut, Massachusetts
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• Historical Sites in Boston, Cape Cod, Newport, Mystic, Connecticut, Massachusetts
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It’s an exciting time in our nation with the upcoming presidential elections. I’ve heard this election called the most crucial ever—but don’t they say that every year? But with the crashing economy, Wall Street, the war in Iraq, gas and oil prices, Iran, terrorism, and increased healthcare problems, it really does become clear that CHANGE is in order. So wherever you think that change should come from, go out on Election Day and make your voice heard!

In preparation, we’d like to designate this time as U.S. Political Orientation Month. Now’s the time (if you haven’t already, of course) to get out there and start learning about the people and parties who formed this country and who keep it alive and running. Here are a few places in the U.S. that can help you orient yourself in U.S political affairs.

• National Museum of American History – Washington, D.C.
• Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site – Washington, D.C.
• United States Capitol Building – Washington, D.C.
• The White House President’s Park – Washington, D.C.
• International Spy Museum – Washington, D.C.
• John F. Kennedy Library and Museum – Boston, Massachusetts
• New York City Hall – New York City
• New York Historical Society – New York City
• Financial District – New York City
• Ronald Reagan Presidential Library – Simi Valley, California
• Virginia Historical Society/Museum of Virginia History – Richmond, Virginia
• Museum and White House of the Confederacy – Richmond, Virginia

States are closing their doors for registration ANY DAY NOW…so register, educate yourselves, and VOTE!

• Historical Sites in Washington D.C, Annapolis, Gettysburg, Alexandria, Virginia and Baltimore, Maryland
• Historical Sites in Boston, Cape Cod, Newport, Mystic, Connecticut, Coastal Massachusetts and Rhode Island
• Historical Sites in Richmond, Virginia Beach, Williamsburg, North Carolina’s Outer Banks
• Historical Sites in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and New York City
• Historical Sites in San Diego, Laguna Beach, Los Angeles, Malibu, Santa Barbara, Southern California
• Barack Obama vs. Sarah Palin

We are smack in the middle of National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 – October 15) and museums all around our nation’s capital are celebrating the life and history of the 44 million people in the United States who are of Hispanic origin. Check out these exhibits in some of Washington, D.C.’s finest museums to learn about the culture and history that has significantly helped shaped America today.

At the National Gallery of Art:

• Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya
• The Cubist Paintings of Diego Rivera: Memory, Politics, Place
• Picasso: The Early Years, 1892-1906

At the Library of Congress:

• Spanish Missions
• The Cultures and History of the Americas: The Jay I. Kislak Collection
• Ethnography and Folklore: Alan Lomax Collection
• Parallel Histories: Spain, the United States, and the American Frontier
• Puerto Rico at the Dawn of the Modern Age
• Hispano Music and Culture of the Northern Rio Grande: The Juan B. Rael Collection
• Hispanic Americans in Congress
• The Spanish-American War in Motion Pictures
• The World of 1898: The Spanish-American War

At the Smithsonian Institution:
Legacy: Spain and the United States in the Age of Independence

These exhibits are brought to you by: The Library of Congress, National Gallery of Art, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.

(Thank you Library of Congress for the list of exhibits!)

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October is just around the corner and with the cooler weather and the changing scenery comes fall-time festivals, contests, and parties. So grab a sweater and head out to the great outdoors for some serious celebration! Obviously there are many, many more, but this is a sampling of ones we found interesting. Enjoy!

• Big Bear Lake Oktoberfest, September 13 – October 25, 2008, Big Bear Lake, California
• Duke Ellington Jazz Festival, October 1-7, 2008, Washington, D.C.
• California Avocado Festival, October 3-5, 2008, Carpinteria, California
• Mount Vernon’s Wine Festival, October 3-5, 2008, Mount Vernon, Virginia
• National Gospel & Harvest Celebration, October 3 – November 1, 2008, Dollywood – Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
• National Yo-Yo Contest, October 4, 2008, Chico, California
• World Senior Games, October 6-18, St. George, Utah
• Texas-Style Musicfest, October 12, 2008, Gruene Historic District, New Braunfels, Texas
• Maryland Renaissance Festival, August 23 – October 19, 2008, Crownsville, Maryland
• Apple Harvest Festival, October 18, 2008, York, South Carolina
• Fall Festival of Houses & Gardens, October 24-26, 2008, Beaufort, South Carolina
• Hogeye Festival, October 25, 2008, Elgin, Texas
• Punkin Festival: “Carving for a Cause”, October 25, 2008, Avery County, North Carolina

See you there!

• Great Lakes Beer Festival – This weekend!!!
• Kids are in School, Airfare is Down – Fly to US for Fall Foliage