Tag: Southbound

Situated at the intersection of the mighty Shenandoah and Potomac rivers, the West Virginia park boasts more than 200 historic structures. Though the West Virginia town of the same name is home to fewer than 300 full-time residents, it welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.

a writing assignment about silent travel has brought me to a Trappist monastery in rural Kentucky for a week. You don’t have to be Catholic to stay here (I am not), but you do have to be totally quiet. Trappist monks live much of their lives without speaking, as a form of contemplative prayer and a means for tuning their senses to God. Retreatants are invited to experience this way of life—and refrain from imposing the opposite. For me, this doesn’t just mean not talking to anyone here; it also includes turning off all technology, all week long.

House-made drinking chocolate, artisan candy bars, and selections of craveable bonbons offer a taste of the sweet life.

Plus: 100 years of the largest hotel in Arkansas, Mississippi's first Black-owned B&B, and three new stays across the region.

Far from the major art capitals, works by internationally reputed artists and local standouts can be found in galleries on unassuming Southern streets. Indeed, many of the treasures in these locations couldn’t have emerged anywhere else. From Alabama folk art to Lowcountry landscapes to North Carolina crafts, a strong regional sensibility runs through the collections of the 10 galleries recommended here, as well as a relaxed, approachable vibe and a true sense of place.

Brian Griffith grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee, where he says Chinese food in the 1990s meant sweet and sour pork or shrimp fried rice that came in waxy takeout boxes. Now, after years of cooking in cities from Copenhagen to San Francisco, the chef has returned to his home state to open Choy, a chic Chinese-American eatery in Nashville designed to evoke mid-20th century Shanghai.

Celebrated painter and filmmaker Bo Bartlett was born and raised in Columbus, Georgia. Today he and his wife, artist and musician Betsy Eby, live in his childhood home in the city’s historic district. Here he shares his perfect day in the city that shaped him.

In 1766—a decade before America’s founding—Captain Thomas Bullitt built the Homestead, an 18-room Shenandoah Valley retreat where visitors could “take the waters.” Holding the title of America’s oldest resort, this Hot Springs, Virginia, grande dame hotel has been in operation for more than 250 years.

When you find your place in Key West, whether it’s a full-scale Lisa Frank–esque immersion or a dingy, rum-soaked dive, you understand why people seek this place out: No matter who you are, there’s a seat waiting for you at the bar. You just have to find it.

The first Gibson instruments, mandolins designed as an after-work hobby by company namesake Orville Gibson, date back to 1894. Headquartered in Nashville since 1984, Gibson Guitars, now one of America’s oldest musical instrument manufacturers, has produced an extensive collection of electric and acoustic models.