Jim Thorpe, PA has been called the “Switzerland of America,” located in a picturesque, mountainous area at the gateway to the Poconos.  Budget Travel magazine labeled Jim Thorpe one of the top 10 Coolest Small Towns in America.  Visitors can take advantage of nearby white water rafting, mountain biking, paintball, and hiking.  Disney and architecture fans alike may recognize the Harry Packer Mansion, the inspiration for Walt Disney World’s Haunted Mansion.  May 28 is the birthday of the town’s namesake.

Olympic gold medalist and all around athlete, Jim Thorpe was born May 28, 1888.  He grew up in the Sac and Fox nation in Stroud, OK and played football, baseball, and basketball.  At the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm, Sweden, Thorpe became the gold medalist in the pentathlon and decathlon events.

Although his titles were revoked in 1913, when it was discovered that he had previously played  professional baseball, Thorpe went on to have a long professional career as a football, baseball, and basketball player.  Thorpe died in 1953.  In 1983, Thorpe’s supporters succeeded in getting his Olympic titles and medals reinstated.  Following his death, a town in Pennsylvania was renamed in his honor.

Today, in the athletic tradition of the original Jim Thorpe, the town of Jim Thorpe is home to the Anthracite Triathlon, an Olympic distance triathlon.  Contestants swim in Mauch Chunk Lake, bike through the nearby mining towns, and run along the former alignment of the historic switchback railroad.

While visiting Jim Thorpe, stay at the Inn at Jim Thorpe.  Built in 1849, after a fire consumed many of the town’s buildings, the contemporary structure was restored to its original splendor in 1988.  The Inn features 45 rooms, spa services, free WiFi, and the newly renovated “Broadway Grill & Pub.”

Jim Thorpe, PA is just a one tank trip from Philadelphia or New York City.  For more one tank trips and gas savings specials anywhere in North America, check out our specials page.

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These days, we travel without thinking.  We fly thousands of miles for a weekend getaway and complain about legroom, security checks, and movie choices.  It kind of makes you wonder what Lucky Lindy would think of air travel today.  On May 21st, 1927, Charles Lindbergh became the first solo-flyer to successfully fly non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean.  Lindbergh flew a single-engine, single-seat monoplane called the “Spirit of St. Louis.”  The flight took 33.5 hours and the in-flight movie was terrible!

Lindy flew from Roosevelt Field, NY to Paris, France.  In honor of Lindy’s hop across the pond, here are some European bed and breakfasts.

Bienvenue a France! Located on the French Riviera, between Monaco and Nice, is the picturesque town of Villefranche-sur-Mer.  The bay here is one of the deepest natural harbors of any port in the Mediterranean Sea and it was used as a port by the Greeks and then the Romans in classical times.  These days, Villefranche is primarily a tourist town featuring sailing and deep sea diving, 18th Century churches, and gorgeous beaches.  While visiting, stay at the Hotel Villa Vauban.  The nine guest rooms have en suite bathrooms and most have balconies with jaw-dropping views of the Citadel and the bay.

Benvenuti in Italia!  Visit Perugia, Italy, capital city of the Umbria region, famous for its artists and chocolates.  See frescoes from the teacher of the famous Renaissance artist Raphael, Perugino.  Come for the chocolate festival in October. Settled more than 300 years BCE, Perugia features plazas from the Renaissance, churches from the Middle Ages, and a lustrous botanical garden.  Spend your nights at San Felicissimo Bed and Breakfast on the lovely hill of Poggio Pelliccione.  Swim in the large swimming pool surrounded by typical Umbrian countryside.

Willkommen auf Deutschland! Munich is the third largest city in Germany; their motto is “München Mag Dich” – Munich Likes You!  The city was founded by Benedictine monks and today is a grand mixture of modern and antique.   Munich is home to the BMW headquarters, numerous public parks, the Deutsches Museum – one of the oldest and largest science museums in the world, the Frauenkirche – cathedral for the Archdioceses, and more.  Visit for Oktoberfest. When you do, be sure to stay at Private Bed & Breakfast.

For more international bed and breakfasts, check out our world map.

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With Memorial Day fast approaching, picnic season is upon us.  Here is a delightful menu, perfect for outdoor eating:

Gazpacho (from Big Mill Bed & Breakfast in Williamston, NC)

Ingredients:
1 28-ounce can of whole tomatoes or 3 1/2 cups chunked fresh tomatoes with the cores removed. It is not necessary to peel the tomatoes.
¼ cup white vinegar
3 cloves garlic, peeled
5 Tablespoons olive oil
1 slice stale rustic or French bread
1 green bell pepper, cored and seeded
1 large cucumber or approximately 1 ½ cups peeled and cut into chunks
1 small cucumber, diced for garnish

Directions:

Place tomatoes, vinegar, garlic, olive oil, bread, green bell pepper and the peeled cucumber chunks into a blender and blend until pureed. Pour through a sieve and press with spoon or mallet to extract the juices. Discard seeds and skins.

Chill and serve with the diced cucumber as garnish.

Tuna and Olive Sandwich (from Charlesview Suites in Cambridge, MA)

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Ah the lovely state of Maine, famous for its lobster, coastline, and desert . . . Desert? That’s right, just a few miles inland of Freeport, ME has its own desert. Plus, it’s an easy one tank trip from Boston, MA.

In the late 18th century, the Tuttle family owned a farm on this property. Overgrazing and land clearance unearthed a dune of glacial silt, which looks a lot like sand. The exposed patch gradually overtook the entire farm; all that’s left of it is the Tuttle Barn, now the Farm Museum.

The actual desert is 40-acres, making it the world’s smallest desert. During the summer, the “sand” actually raises the temperature in the area. Caused by glaciers during the last Ice Age, the silt is as much as 80 feet deep in some places. The desert was opened as a tourist attraction in 1925 and brings in about 30,000 tourists per year. Visitors to the Desert of Maine can take a 30 minute educational tour ride, follow hiking trails, and camp out. There are tons of kid’s activities like sand art lessons and gem stone hunts. See living trees half covered in sand, towering sand dunes, also visit the forest that surrounds the desert.

When you’re done exploring this New England Sahara, relax at a bed and breakfast in nearby Freeport. There’s the beautifully restored Queen Anne – Brewster House Bed & Breakfast, the lovely gardens and quiet elegance of Captain Briggs House Bed & Breakfast, and the gourmet meals at the White Cedar Inn.  Freeport is also famous for its outlet stores; these inns are within walking distance of L. L. Bean!

For more one tank trips and gas savings specials anywhere in North America, check out our specials page.

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On the Western Lakeshore of Michigan (only a tankful of gas away from the major metropolitan areas of Chicago, Indianapolis and Detroit) is the beautiful town of Saugatuck. As you exit from the rush of the freeway into this lovely little vacation town, your heart rate slows and your spirits rise. As you leave your car you realize that you really are somewhere else, a place that you can explore and discover at your own pace and leave your car behind.

Saugatuck Streetscape

Along Butler Street, you’ll find many quaint, owner operated shops, galleries, restaurants and artist studios. Friendly shop owners will be happy to share their knowledge of the area with you. You can rent bikes and scooters or bring your own. The boardwalk along the Kalamazoo River beckons you.  Walk along the waterfront and see the many beautiful boats docked there. Take a ride on the Star of Saugatuck, a genuine paddlewheel boat that travels down the river and out the channel into “Big Blue”, Lake Michigan. If you prefer, you can charter a fishing boat with a qualified crew and have an experience you won’t forget!

Saugatuck’s Oval Beach

In the immediate vicinity of Saugatuck you will find many artist studios and galleries, so many that this area is known as “The Art Coast of Michigan”. You can pick apples, peaches, and blueberries at local orchards, or visit the farm markets in the area for the freshest produce you can find anywhere!

Relax by the gazebo in Wick’s Park for an evening of live music! You can attend a concert or Broadway-caliber play/musical at the Saugatuck Center for the Arts.  Watch classic movies at The Red Barn. There are several world-class golf courses in the area.

Spend the day at Saugatuck’s beautiful Oval Beach on Lake Michigan, walk along the breathtaking protected dunes, or just sit on the sand and watch the sunset!   You can take the Interurban door-to-door for just a buck!

Serendipity Bed and Breakfast

While visiting Saugatuck be sure to stay at Serendipity Bed and Breakfast, located downtown. They offer classic bed and breakfast rooms, one and two-bedroom suites, and a cozy cottage, all within walking distance of everything Saugatuck has to offer. Guests can enjoy a home-cooked delicious breakfast served in an elegant dining room or delivered right to the door of all suites and the cottage. Enjoy our beautiful flower gardens.

So using very little gas, visit Saugatuck.  Get there and enjoy this vibrant town, while barely using your car at all.

This blog was contributed by David Langley and June Spriggs, who, in their copious spare time (ha), tend the gardens and paint things! For more One Tank vacations and gas savings specials anywhere in North America, check out our specials page.

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There are so many fun things to do in Eureka Springs, AR: see The Great Passion Play; visit Thorncrown Chapel; tour the Eureka Springs & North Arkansas Historic Railway; go bass and walleye fishing in Beaver Lake; go fishing in the White River, filled with rainbows and browns ready to catch and release or fry up for breakfast. The best part?  You can get to Eureka Springs round-trip on one tank from Tulsa, OK; Springfield, MO; Little Rock, AR; or Fayetteville, AR.  Eureka Springs is just a couple of hours away from these cities, but you’ll feel like you are light years away from the stresses of the urban world.

For its original Victorian buildings and 52 miles of hand-cut stone walls, the entire Historic Downtown of Eureka Springs is on the National Register of Historic Places and has been designated by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as one of America’s “Dozen Distinctive Destinations.”  Not long ago, USA Today did a front-page article on B&Bs in America and found Eureka Springs had 125, more than any other city in America, seconded only by San Francisco with 119.  With more than 4,000 weddings performed annually, Eureka Springs has just been designated the “Wedding Capital of the South.”

Ceremonies can be performed here at an inn, in a cave, a garden, on horseback, in a canoe, or a horse drawn carriage.  It’s the perfect place for a stress-free elopement at one of the many B&Bs.  Cliff Cottage Inn, the only B&B in the heart of Historic Downtown, has been offering couples an all-inclusive elopement package for 20 years.  “Many are all still happily married,” says the innkeeper who enjoys welcoming the couples back year after year to celebrate anniversaries.

Bigger weddings and interested tourists will be excited about the famous Thorncrown Chapel. This 48-foot glass chapel nestled in the woods with 425 windows and more than 8,000 sq. ft. of glass was recently named #4 on AIA’s list of top ten buildings of the 20th century!

American Style Magazine has named Eureka Springs as a “Top Twenty-Five Arts Destination.” The natural beauty of the Ozarks and the peaceful ambiance of this little mountain village make Eureka Springs a perfect place for artists of all types. In the early 1930s, Louis and Elsie Freund began an arts movement in Eureka Springs.  Years later, locals and visitors alike can enjoy the arts at the Eureka Springs School of the Arts, which offers workshops and classes year-round.

Eureka Springs has the nation’s second-largest municipal park surrounding Lake Leatherwood, a spring-fed waterway situated on 1,600 acres.  The park features master trails, paddle boats, fishing derbies for kids, the annual XTERRA Off-road Triathlon, and the Fat Tire Festival. Eureka Springs also offers horseback riding, bicycle races, water-skiing, wilderness hikes, motorcycle tours, garden tours, golf, cruises on Beaver Lake, and guided tours through Cosmic Cavern, one of the prettiest caverns in the Ozarks.

Annual festivals include car festivals, music festivals like Opera In The Ozarks, Mardi Gras, Chocolate Lovers Festival, Antiques Festival, Kite Festival, May Festival of the Arts, and the Native American Pow-Wow!

Eureka Springs is home to “America’s Most Haunted Hotel.” Take a historical tour through the town’s cemetery, where locals dressed in period costumes act out the roles of some of the town’s more colorful past residents.

Foodies will find some of Arkansas’ best restaurants.  There are more than 75 bistros, coffeehouses and restaurants offering everything from fine French or Italian cuisine to New York-style pizza or fried catfish!  Innkeeper Sandra of Cliff Cottage says “I learned to cook in France on an 18th-century wood-burning stove and I’m real fussy where I eat.  There are more than a dozen fine restaurants here that I wouldn’t hesitate to patronize and to recommend to my guests, and they are all within a few minutes’ walk from the inn.”

Wherever your days take you, a great place to spend the night is the Cliff Cottage Inn.  Enjoy a glass of white wine and an in-room aromatherapy massage. Cliff Cottage Inn has been pampering guests for two decades now under the same innkeeper. It features three historic homes in a row with two spacious and very private Jacuzzi suites in each, all meticulously restored by the current innkeeper and filled with exquisite furnishings, antiques, and art that she has collected from her world travels. Cliff Cottage is Sears’ very first kit home built in the 1880s for Eureka Springs very first mayor. The inn also has two historic stand-alone cottages and is the only inn with an elf that delivers a full-gourmet breakfast on a silver tray right to your suite. There’s always a complimentary bottle of Champagne or white wine chilled and waiting in your fridge.

So, if you want to get away from it all without spending a fortune on multiple tanks of gas or pricey airline tickets, check out Eureka Springs, AR.  Plan for a getaway that will refresh, recharge and rejuvenate your mind, body and spirit and won’t leave you out of gas

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