Stuckey’s Bridge on the Travel Channel

Posted on September 28, 2018 by Lori Crane

Stuckey’s Bridge and yours truly will be on “Most Terrifying Places in America” on the Travel Channel on the dates and times below. Mark your calendar. Tell your friends.

SUNDAY
Sep 30
11pm ET | 10pm CT

MONDAY
Oct 1
2am ET | 1am CT

THURSDAY
Oct 4
2pm ET| 1pm CT

SUNDAY
Oct 21
2pm ET| 1pm CT

THURSDAY
Oct 25
12pm ET| 11am CT

I’m so excited!! I think the history of Stuckey’s Bridge is very compelling. Enough so, that I wrote a book about it. I’m glad the Travel Channel called me to do the show, as it means someone love the legend as much as I. Strangely enough, I seem to be the resident expert.

Check out my brand-spankin’-new audiobook of The Legend of Stuckey’s Bridge, narrated by the amazing J. Rodney Turner. I’m sooooo very pleased with it!!

It’s available at Audible, Amazon, and iTunes. Here’s a sample:

Tuesday Travel – Old San Juan

Posted on February 2, 2016 by Lori Crane

san juan

Here’s one of my favorite places – Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. The walled city dates back to the 16th century, so it’s loaded with historic treasures to explore.

city

fort2 Castillo San Felipe del Morro, built in 1539, sits guard over San Juan Bay, and on the other side, Castillo San Cristobal guards the land.

Castillo San Cristobal

The old city with its cobblestone streets seems to have a lot of Spanish influences, but I also felt a bit of Italy in the architecture (Naples, in particular.) This was all until I got to the food. Sorullitos won my heart and made me want to stay. Sorullitos are a cheese-filled deep-fried sweet corn bread, and I could have eaten a dozen of them. They reminded me of a South American treat.

I didn’t make it to the Cathedral of San Juan, where Ponce de Leon is buried, so I’ll have to go back again someday. Cheers to Old San Juan!!

pina colada

Gone ’til ’16

Posted on November 21, 2015 by Lori Crane

Howdy, everyone!

I’m sailing back and forth between NY and Nassau for the rest of the year, so I’m going to take a blogging break and be AWOL until the new year. Have a great holiday season with your family and friends, and I’ll see you in 2016! Holy cow, time moves fast. I remember being in elementary school and calculating how old I’d be in 2000. Now, I’m 16 years older than that. 🙂

In the meantime, here are some NY/Bahama photos from my last trip down there.

IMG_20131215_161830221_HDR IMG_20131215_162115836_HDR IMG_20131205_133338862 IMG_20140102_114718150_HDR IMG_20140601_153506410 IMG_20131215_155749975 IMG_20150816_221644

Travel Tuesday – Bermuda

Posted on October 20, 2015 by Lori Crane

If you don’t know, I have two jobs. I’m an author and I’m a musician. The musician part takes place mostly on Norwegian Cruise Lines. Here’s my office…

Here’s my desk…

This month, I’ve been sailing back and forth between NY and Bermuda. This is one of my favorite runs because we get to stay in one place for three whole days. Over the years, I’ve made quite a few friends on the island. It’s a quaint place. It’s clean, the people are friendly, and the cops don’t even carry guns because there’s no crime.

There are two things I love about Bermuda. First – the beaches.

Second – the history. I always spend a day touring some old place. The first picture is St. Peter’s Church built in 1602. There’s a cemetery behind it filled with ancient headstones. The second picture is the National Museum at the Royal Navy Dockyard.

Travel Tuesday – Naples

Posted on October 13, 2015 by Lori Crane

Everyone told me Italy was beautiful…well, except for Naples. They said Naples was dirty and there were lots of homeless people and pickpockets. They said enjoy every other city, but don’t expect too much from Naples. Upon my arrival at the Port of Napoli, I thought it beautiful, but perhaps close up, they were right. Let’s go see.

I crossed the street from the port into the city, which is an adventure in itself with tiny cars and motor scooters whizzing by you. Don’t stop walking or you’ll get run over. Just walk. Keep walking. Don’t hesitate. The first site we saw upon surviving crossing the street was an old castle. It was cool.

We entered a mall. Yes, this picture is the inside of the local mall. It’s what you get when you mix ancient architecture with capitalism. Upon exiting the mall, we took the funicular up to the top of a hill. We followed some signs through cobblestone streets toward a castle. We met a nice man named Giuseppe who was walking back to work following his lunch. He is a fourth generation cameo maker, so we stopped by his shop and met his brother and admired the work they do. We then walked up to the next block and came upon this sight of the city with Mt. Vesuvius in the background. Wow.

You’ve got to be kidding me. It was magnificent. How could anyone ever scoff at the beauty that is Napoli? Down in the city, every building is ornate and there are statues everywhere. It was like walking around the set of a Roman movie. Up in the hills, the people were awesome and the views were stunning.

There’s nothing better to break up a long day of sightseeing than FOOD! That was the best part. Apparently, this is the city where pizza was invented. I could live here. Calamari, bruschetta, prosciutto, oh, Napoli has stolen my heart.

Travel Tuesday – Pisa

Posted on October 6, 2015 by Lori Crane

Pisa is a 90,000-person town in Tuscany. It’s the capital of the Province of Pisa in central Italy. It’s been around since at least the 5th century BC, so it hosts twenty historic churches, several palaces, and some beautiful bridges, but the thing Pisa is most known for is the Leaning Tower, which is the bell tower of the cathedral. Everyone ventures to the Piazza dei Miracoli (square of miracles) to take the obligatory photos of each other holding up the tower.

If you venture to Pisa, don’t focus on the tower, focus on the tourists. They are a lot more fun!

Travel Tuesday – oui, oui , en France

Posted on September 29, 2015 by Lori Crane

Yes, yes, in France!

Cannes, pronounced Can, is on the French Riviera surrounded by glamorous names like Monte Carlo, Nice, Monaco, and St. Tropez. It’s a resort town with a curved coast line filled with sandy beaches and palatial hotels. If you choose to do anything except walk along the beach, be prepared to pay the big bucks. It’s not filled with exclusive boutiques for nothing. And if you venture to Monte Carlo to gamble, wear a tux. They won’t let you anywhere near the place unless you pull up in a Rolls.

The only things one needs to know about the South of France is they dress better than anyone else on the planet and they have amazing quiche! I have more pictures of quiche, but I’m sure you get the idea. The outdoor cafe, Maison Lafayette, was pretty much my Friday quiche ritual for eight weeks straight.

Travel Tuesday – When in Rome…

Posted on September 22, 2015 by Lori Crane

Is there any place more awesome than Italy? The food is amazing, the people are gorgeous, and the sites are…well, straight out of a history book. I spent the fall of 2014 working on a ship in the Mediterranean, bouncing back and forth between Barcelona, Naples, Civitavecchia, Livorno, Cannes, and Majorca. I can’t wait to go back next fall!

A co-worker and I took the train from Civitavecchia to go to Rome and see the Colosseum. We were told to take the train to Termini, but another friend said if you get off a few stops before, you can go to the Vatican. Since we return to the port each Wednesday, we decided to go to the Vatican the following week. I looked at the train route but couldn’t make heads or tails out of which stop would be the Vatican. I asked an elderly Italian man by pointing at the train route map and asking “Vatican?”

He shook his head as he didn’t understand.

I continued. “The pope?”

No.

Not one to give up. “Jesus?”

No.

I even tried to make a cross with my fingers, but he didn’t understand. How about “Sistine Chapel? Michelangelo?”

He took the map and pointed to each stop, saying each name as he did so. He said “San Pietro.”

“San Pietro! Yes, Saint Peter! Graci, Graci, Graci!” I took the map and showed the stop to my companion. “San Pietro!”

A few stops later, we were at San Pietro. I thought the man was going to give himself a heart attack trying to push us off the train. “No, no, we’re going to Termini. San Pietro will be next Wednesday.” I’m sure he didn’t understand me and probably told his wife about the stupid Americans who got lost trying to find the Vatican.

Anyway, we stopped at Termini, boarded the Metro to Colloseo, and behold! This is the site we saw upon climbing out of the subway.

We turned left and saw this!

The inside of the Colosseum was incredible!

The Forum was amazing!

After touring the Forum and the Colosseum, we went across the street for some gnocchi! Viva Italia!

52 Ancestors – #28 Elly Hays

Posted on July 9, 2015 by Lori Crane

This challenge is set forth by No Story Too Small and this week’s theme is Road Trip.

Elly Hays was sixteen when she married James Rodgers in Tennessee on 20 Dec 1790. The document to the left is their marriage license. She birthed twelve children.

In 1811, the family packed up and moved to the eastern Mississippi Territory – a place now called Alabama, which wouldn’t become a state until 1819.

You know how difficult it is going on a road trip with little kids in the car? Imagine being on a covered wagon for two months with a dozen of the little rug rats and not a McDonalds in sight.

This was a time in history when the U. S. was flexing its political muscle and tensions were escalating, leading up to the War of 1812. And little did the Rodgers family know, they were moving into Creek territory. Not only were the Creek Indians fighting the U.S. Government, they had also broken into two factions and were fighting among themselves in a civil war called the Red Stick War. The Rodgers family moved into the middle of a hornet’s nest. They were harassed for years by the marauding Indians, who taunted them and stole their livestock, and the final straw, burnt down their home.

Eventually, in 1818 the family took another long road trip and moved west to Lauderdale County, Mississippi, to the land of the friendly Choctaw Indians.

James died in Mississippi eight years later, and Elly moved back to Clarke County, Alabama and probably lived with her daughter. She died in the 1830s in her 60s in Grove Hill, Alabama. The exact date of her death is unknown. Her burial place is unknown.

Her story is told in detail in my book Elly Hays available at Amazon.

She’s Baaaaccckkk!

Posted on November 15, 2014 by Lori Crane

Hi everyone! I’ve been gone

for. ev. ver!

I’ve been sailing since the middle of September, and I’m so glad to be home, even if it’s only for a week. I’m headed to NY on Sunday for the next six weeks. I’ve spent the last nine weeks in Europe and took a few pictures….

Here’s where it all started…

Some pictures from Barcelona. The guy on the top of the pole is Christopher Columbus, and thank goodness, he was pointing to my ship.

Next up was Corsica, but we didn’t stop. I only saw it from the Mediterranean.

I went to Naples six times. The mountain out there is Vesuvius. I kept my fingers crossed that she would remain sleeping every time I saw her.

I ventured to Rome. Made it to the Colloseum and the Forum, but I couldn’t see the Vatican up close. I saw it from the train a few times, but I was only there on Wednesdays, and the Pope speaks on Wednesday mornings. I just couldn’t take the crowds.

Made it to Livorno/Pisa/Tuscany/Florence area, but I had to work those nights, so I didn’t see much.

Next up was the French Riviera. Cannes is where we docked, but all the cool little towns are right there…Monaco, Monte Carlo, St Tropez, Nice…such a beautiful place…with amazing quiche!

I went to another place in Spain…the island of Mallorca! So pretty. This was a cool little outcropping of an island called Dragonera.

After going round and round in the Mediterranean for six weeks, I sailed through the Straights of Gibraltar. Here’s a picture of the Rock of Gibralter…at night! LOL!

Spent the day in Madiera, Portugal…not to be confused with Mierda. LOLOLOL!

A week in the middle of the Atlantic was fairly psychologically weird for me. I just tried to keep my mind off it.

I finally ended up in St. Maarten. The first land sighting in a week! Gives a whole new meaning to Land Ho!

Stopped off at St. Thomas, too…

And finally to Miami, where I caught the first plane home. Sigh! Glad to be home!!!

Lori Crane

award-winning author. musician. cute shoes.

Category Archives: travel