Tag: National Steinbeck Center

Unique and Tasty Celebrations to Add to Your Calendar

Whether you’re heading there this month or planning a trip for another time of year, these destinations are always brimming with charm, offering unforgettable experiences and local flair year-round!

November 1: Celebrate famous American authors like Ernest Hemingway and John Steinbeck on National Author’s Day or anytime you’re glamping in the area of two of America’s most treasured writers. To learn about the life of John Steinbeck, who wrote classics including Cannery Row and East of Eden, book a glamping tent at Marina Dunes RV Park and visit the National Steinbeck Center in nearby Salinas. Or find out some interesting things about the man who wrote the timeless novels like A Farewell to Arms and The Old Man and the Sea and explore the Hemingway Home and Museum in Key West (book a stay at either Encore Sunshine Key or Encore Fiesta Key).

Sunshine Key Tiny House Village
Sunshine Key Tiny House Village

November 5: It’s National Donut Day – on this day or any other day you prefer, check out the donuts at Fox’s Donut Den in Nashville (glamp at Natchez Trace Tiny House Village) or Donnie’s Donuts in Daytona, Florida (glamp at Encore Sunshine Holiday Daytona). Both were named to USA Today’s list of the 10 Best Donut Shops, coming in at #3 and #2, respectively.

Natchez Trace Tiny House Village
Natchez Trace Tiny House Village

November 10: I scream, you scream, we all scream because it’s National Sundae Day. According to Food & Wine, some of the best ice cream shops in the US include Molly Moon’s Ice Cream in Seattle; Fat Cat Creamery in Houston; and Screamin’ Mimi’s in Sebastopol, California. For nearby glamping, check out Tall Chief Campground (near Seattle); Thousand Trails Lake Conroe (near Houston); and Thousand Trails Russian River (near Sebastopol).

Cabins at Thousand Trails Lake Conroe
Cabins at Thousand Trails Lake Conroe

November 17: National Baklava Day was created to honor this tasty pastry of Greek and Turkish origins made with phyllo dough, chopped nuts, and honey. If you’re glamping down in the Florida Keys (Encore Fiesta Key or Encore Sunshine Key), head to The Baklava in Key West whose name says it all!

November 18: Mickey Mouse turns 96 this year! So, head out to your favorite Disney location and celebrate the life of the amazing Michael Theodore Mouse (yep, real name) who first appeared to the American public in the animated short, “Steamboat Willie” which premiered on this date in 1928. Choose to celebrate our favorite big-eared rodent at Florida’s Disney World (stay at Encore Tropical Palms in Kissimmee) or Disneyland (stay at Thousand Trails Wilderness Lakes).

Cottages at Encore Tropical Palms
Cottages at Encore Tropical Palms

November 27: It’s Small Brewery Sunday so raise and glass and check out some of the best small breweries near your glamping adventure. California’s Russian River Brewing Company (stay at Thousand Trails Russian River) or Deschutes in Bend, Oregon (stay at Thousand Trails Bend-Sunriver).

Read More:

Book Tour

Exeter, New Hampshire, birthplace of John Irving, the novelist.

National Read A Book Day is observed annually on September 6. We’re feeling a little bookish this month and are ready for an adventure that’s one for the books!

Take a page from our Book Tour travel guide, and head to these cities that were either the setting for a famous book or the hometown and/or inspiration for some of the most famous authors in the US.

Cozy cabins at Narrows Too in Bar Harbor, Maine.

One of the most prolific writers of horror and supernatural fiction, Stephen King was born in Portland, Maine. Plan a trip to Maine and stay with us in a cozy cabin at our Bar Harbor resorts, Mt. Desert Narrows and Narrows Too, and then head about an hour northwest and explore the town of Bangor. In addition to seeing King’s current residence, you can check out some sites related to King’s novels in Bangor that include the Paul Bunyan Statue located in Bass Park that was featured in It, and Mount Hope Cemetery which was featured in Pet Sematary.

Fisherman’s wharf in Monterey, California.

John Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California, and the area became the inspiration for so many of his classic novels. Book a stay in a cabin, cottage, or ultra-unique safari tent at Morgan Hill RV Resort and you’re less than 50 miles from Steinbeck’s California. Visit Monterey, the setting for his acclaimed Depression-era novel Cannery Row, which depicted life in the town known as the Sardine Capital of the World. Don’t miss the Cannery Row tour. The town was also the setting for Tortilla Flat, the novel that earned both commercial and critical success for the author. Steinbeck’s home and the National Steinbeck Center can be found in Salinas.

The town of Exeter, New Hampshire.

John Irving, author of many novels including The World According to Garp and Hotel New Hampshire, is a native of New Hampshire and attended the University of New Hampshire. If you’re considering a stay with us at the Tuxbury Tiny House Village in South Hampton, you’ll be less than 10 miles from Exeter, which is not only Irving’s birthplace, but also the model for the town of Gravesend, featured in the bestseller, A Prayer for Owen Meany. Fans of the movie Cider House Rules, which was based on Irving’s novel of the same name, will be interested to know that three scenes from the movie were filmed at the Northfield Drive-In in Hinsdale, which is still in operation and is about 100 miles from the Tuxbury Tiny House Village.

Tiny house Lucy at Sunshine Key Tiny House Village in Big Pine Key, Florida.

Ernest Hemingway and Key West, Florida, pretty much go hand in hand. Not only did he write about Key West in his novel To Have and Have Not, but he also spent many years living on the island. Undoubtably one of Key West’s most famous residents, the town honors Hemingway every July during Hemingway Days. Book a stay with us at the Sunshine Key Tiny House Village (where we have a tiny house named after him!) and head down to explore Hemingway’s Key West. The Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum, which is located in the house in which Hemingway lived for over 10 years, offers tours of the home and garden. The Blue Heaven saloon was a favorite of the authors and visitors today can enjoy breakfast or lunch here. Another favorite Hemingway haunt was Sloppy Joe’s. Famous for its sandwich of the same name, the bar pays tribute to Papa with an annual look-alike contest.