American Nomad Blog
About this blog
American Nomad covers the best of U.S. travel—from vacation deals to festivals, weekend getaways, travel tips, and more. A seasoned traveler and Moon author, Laura is the perfect guide to help discover new gems when traveling domestically.
Recent Posts
- A Southern Girl's Wintertime Adventure in Yellowstone
- One Novelist's Odyssey Across America
- Gearing up for a Family Camping Trip
- Mint Juleps and More at Oak Alley Plantation
- Avoiding Identity Theft While on Vacation
- Money-Saving Travel Tips from Nomadic Matt
- Fashion, Fun, and Convenience for the Modern Traveler
- In Search of Irish Museums Across America
- The Inspiring Journey of a Solo Kayaker
- Getting Fit for Treks in Yosemite and Elsewhere, Part 2
- Getting Fit for Treks in Yosemite and Elsewhere, Part 1
- Experiencing Yosemite with YExplore
- Two Travel Contests Worth Mentioning
- A Word About the TSA's No-No List
- A Reader's Advice About Airport Security
U.S. Travel Secret #1: The Magic Castle
In early November, Katie of Tripbase blogged about her three “best kept travel secrets,” then tagged five other travel bloggers to do the same. Since then, this challenge has been making the rounds on the Internet, and just last week, the hilarious mind behind The Word Wire tagged me to offer three secrets of my own.
Now, in keeping with this blog's theme, I've prepared a three-part series to highlight some of my favorite places or events in America. Naturally, I hope you'll consider them the next time you hit the road. more >>
Frankenmuthʼs Shops, Water Parks, and Famous Chicken Dinners
Last week, I gave you a little tour of Bronner’s CHRISTmas Wonderland in Frankenmuth, Michigan. But, as incredible as the world’s largest Christmas store is, that’s not all Michigan’s Little Bavaria has to offer visitors, especially families on vacation. more >>
Christmas Delights in Frankenmuth
Before I'd ever stepped foot in Frankenmuth, a Bavarian-style village in the Thumb region of Michigan, I'd heard about Bronner's CHRISTmas Wonderland (25 Christmas Ln., 989/652-9931, 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Mon.-Sat., noon-7 p.m. Sun. June-Dec., 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Mon.-Thurs. and Sat., 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Fri., noon-5:30 p.m. Sun. Jan.-May), billed as the world's largest Christmas store. As a New Orleans native, I'm familiar with holiday extravaganzas – the Big Easy is after all home to Blaine Kern's Mardi Gras World, a large shrine to floats of the past, present, and future. But, despite my own holiday experiences, I was still woefully unprepared for my first tour of Bronner's. more >>
Green Footsteps in America’s Parks and Wildlands
Earlier in my writing career, I wrote a short-lived online column (called "Green Footsteps") for The International Ecotourism Society (TIES), a non-profit organization founded in 1990 that endeavors to unite conservation, communities, and sustainable travel (i.e., “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people”). Through researching and writing my former column, I learned a lot about taking care of the environment while traveling.
Recently, fellow Moon blogger Christopher P. Baker reminded me of such travel ethics when I read his post “Ten Pointers for Ethical Tourism in Costa Rica,” which focuses on the cultural aspects of ecotourism. As a companion to his helpful post, I’d like to offer some advice for traveling with environmental care, too. more >>
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