If you’ve got the money and you’ve got the time, then there’s no better way to welcome the autumn season than with a cruise that focuses on the beautiful, changing colors of fall. Fall foliage cruises are relaxing, you don’t need to worry about getting a sunburn out on the deck, and you get to sit back and revel at some of the year’s most spectacular scenery.

Fall foliage cruises and tours are gaining popularity and sometimes you need to book a spot well in advance. So here’s a sneak peek at some of the best foliage cruises in the U.S. this coming fall:

1. American Cruise Lines is your ticket to New York State fall foliage. The cruises take you through NY ports to see breathtaking Catskills and Hudson Valley fall foliage, as well fall foliage with a city backdrop along the island of Manhattan. NY foliage is some of the best, especially once you get out of the city and remember that there’s so much more to NY State than just the Big Apple!
2. Board the Lady Katharine and cruise down the Connecticut River for Lunch and Sunday Brunch Fall Foliage Cruises. You’ll see some of the best fall foliage in New England as you enjoy a classic Sunday brunch.
3. The Isles of Shoals Fall Sightseeing Cruises highlight the best of the best of New Hampshire fall foliage. This is sort of a three-in-one cruise that also shows off New Hampshire’s stunning islands and historic lighthouses.
4. Get up close and personal with Maine fall foliage with the Maine Windjammer Association Fall Cruises. Unlike most other fall foliage cruises which offer one day excursions, the Maine Windjammer Cruises, aboard historic ships, offer four day trips in September and October.
5. New England’s not the only place where you can cruise for views! In fact, you’ll be wowed by colorful aspens and maples along the Rocky Mountains. Early October is peak viewing time for fall foliage in Colorado, so you better act quick before the snow start pouring down on the Rocky Mountain area and it’s too late to enjoy the Colorado fall colors!
6. You can experience Virginia and Maryland fall foliage by cruising through the Chesapeake Bay with American Cruise Lines (same fleet as number one). You’ll also see lighthouses along the way.

Book your fall foliage cruise soon and you’ll be well on your way to experiencing first hand what makes the United States so special in the fall.

• West Virginia fall foliage
• fall foliage PA
• Adirondack fall foliage
• Massachusetts fall foliage
• New Mexico fall foliage
• Pittsburgh fall foliage
• National Parks Blog
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• Presidential Memorials Blog Post

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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