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CNN Live Today
Look at Some Hot 4th of July Getaways
Aired June 26, 2002 - 11:47 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Summer heat means hot 4th of July getaways. After September 11th, many families are looking at destinations that have a patriotic appeal to them.
Melissa Klurman is editor of "Fodor's Travel," and she joins us from new York this morning, and she's going to give us some suggestions of patriotic places to visit on the 4th of July.
How are you?
MELISSA KLURMAN, "FODOR'S TRAVEL": I'm great, how are you?
HARRIS: I'm happy that you're with us this morning.
Let's start right from the top, what do you think would be best, most patriotic place to go to. First of all, let me put a caveat here, not New York City, all right. We know that's going to be on the list. But how about some other places?
KLURMAN: OK, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) caveats.
We're not going to do Washington D.C., which everyone knows and loves, Philly, Boston. There is just so many other great destinations in this country. I'm starting right outside of Boston. Within an hour, we have Lexington, Massachusetts and Portsmouth, New Hampshire, both which are very patriotic. Lexington is where Paul Revere was, at Buckman Tavern. And Portsmouth, we have an incredible living history museum where they cover three centuries of history with demonstrations, and it's great for kids, very inexpensive and totally different than some place you might have been thinking of.
HARRIS: What kind of thing for kids?
KLURMAN: All sorts. Churning butter. There are people in costumes, that kind of thing. What you would picture, you would see a colonial Williamsburg for maybe a tenth of the price. so you can go with your whole family.
We are trying to do destinations that also you can drive to. I know a lot of people want to go on vacation this summer, certainly for 4th of July, a little bit nervous about flying perhaps or want to stay closer to home.
So I have things all around the country. If you are on the east coast and further south, let's say, Savannah Georgia, which is one of my favorite cities. Have you been, there?
HARRIS: Same here. That's a beautiful town. A little hot this time of year, but it's beautiful.
KLURMAN: It as little hot. It's a little hot in New York today, too, so it's all relative, but they have the best historic district in the country, with pre-Civil War and Civil War architecture.
HARRIS: I agree with you on that.
KLURMAN: And if you're traveling with kids, did you know it's birthplace of July Gordon Low, who is the founder of the Girl Scouts. And her home is there, with all sorts of memorabilia and her diaries, and I know little girls love that. Little boys might like it, too. So that's something a little different, and also part of our history.
HARRIS: How about the Midwest?
KLURMAN: Midwest, going a little west, Cincinnati, Ohio. Not everyone thinks of it as a patriotic destination. It's a very important stop on the Underground Railroad, and actually where Harriet Beecher Stowe set up home with her husband. There is a lot of tributes to abolitionists there, and a very important chapter in our history, and so much to see in Cincinnati. Very easy to get to, inexpensive. So that's a great spot.
Also in the Midwest, did you know that you could you take the Delta Queen all the way down the Mississippi. You can start in Minneapolis and end up in New Orleans. You can also get on at any point in between. And you can see the routes explorers took going across America. So that's really scenic and really great.
HARRIS: Melissa, by mentioning Cincinnati, you put yourself on Bill Hemmer's Christmas list. I don't think you know that, but...
KLURMAN: That's good to know.
HARRIS: You're in New York, you'll find out. We have to go, we have to move on because of breaking news this morning.
Melissa Klurman, from Fodor's travel, thank you very much. We appreciate it, and we will get you back a little later on.
KLURMAN: It's been great being here. Thanks.
HARRIS: Happy holiday to you, too.
KLURMAN: Thanks. You, too.
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