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LOUISIANA
Like many other places in the U.S., Louisiana in recent years has become a land of casinos, lots
of casinos. But unlike some areas, Louisiana has plenty of other attractions to complement gambling.
In fact, we find it hard to stand in front of a slot machine when there are so many other things
to experience. There's New Orleans, of course, one of the country's most distinctive cities and
the home of extravagant carnival traditions, transcendent restaurants and exceptional music. Cajun
Country is a land unto itself and another place where food and dancing are a way of life as much
as they are sustenance and entertainment. Practically anywhere you go in the state, Louisiana's
heritage figures prominently, visible in restored antebellum homes and in the small towns that line
the Mississippi.
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| Forget the neat grids of modern urban America; the twisting streets clustered around Boston Common
are a reminder of how the nation started. There are more than one hundred
universities and colleges, the most famous of which, Harvard University, actually stands in the city
of Cambridge, just across the Charles River and is fully integrated into the tourist experience thanks
to the area's excellent subway system. Quincy Market has served as a blueprint for urban development
worldwide, and with its busy street life, imaginative museums and galleries, fine architecture and palpable
history, Boston is the one destination in New England there's no excuse for missing. |
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| "The past is never dead," said William Faulkner, "It is not even past." The author's famous quote could
be used as a slogan for his home state's tourism department. With a legacy of turbulence and grandeur,
Mississippi's history takes center stage for visitors. You can see the antebellum homes created by the
riches of the slave era, and then revisit the Civil War battles that brought an end to the plantations.
You can learn about the great stories and songs that seem to grow from the state's troubles, everything
from Faulkner's Southern Gothic fiction to the raw blues of Robert Johnson. You can also hit the casino.
Mississippi's more recent history includes a boom in gaming establishments, and while they may be less
romantic than the state's pillared mansions, they draw a lot of travelers. Mississippi's short but attractive
shoreline along the Gulf of Mexico shouldn't be overlooked, either. It offers busy resort areas and the
quiet preserves of the Gulf Islands National Seashore. |
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MARYLAND
Maryland's "watermen," those who make their living pulling seafood from Chesapeake Bay, are a romantic part
of the state's appeal. But in a sense, all residents and visitors to the state become watermen. In a state
with this much coastline, spending a lot of time by the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean is almost inevitable.
Pleasure boaters ride the waves alongside the professional fishing crews, while others relax on the beaches
or shop and sightsee in the shore towns. The inland regions of the state have their own kind of beauty, as
well, ranging from the pastoral mountains of the western panhandle region to the rolling farmland of central
Maryland. All areas of the state are rich in historical landmarks, a result of Maryland's central role in the
development of the United States. Because the state is relatively compact, it's easy to enjoy both the shore
and the hills without spending a lot of time going from one to the other.
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