Travel stirs the soul and motivates the muse of even the most inartful explorers.
“People don’t take trips . . . trips take people,” proclaimed author John Steinbeck, who famously captured rough times on the road from the Oklahoma Dust Bowl to golden California in his 1939 novel “The Grapes of Wrath.”
New lavish landscapes, first-time flavors and curious cultures inspire an itch among wide-eyed wanderers to capture the joy of new discoveries in photos, journals, social media posts and even the time-honored art of penning postcards.
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For the most gifted and most inspired travelers, new discoveries inspire words, books, songs, images and art that plant themselves in popular culture.
Here’s a look at five landmarks of American travel inspirational enough to shape the national culture.
Big Sur reminds visitors that California, the most populous state in the union, still boasts awe-inspiring natural beauty.
State Route 1 hangs precariously between the Santa Lucia Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, offering dramatic and sometimes nerve-wracking vistas of land, sea and towering redwood forests.
Jack Kerouac, already famous for “On the Road,” helped popularize the rugged coastal scenery with the 1962 novel “Big Sur.”
The Beach Boys, Alanis Morissette and Johnny Rivers have all performed songs with “Big Sur” in the title, while several movies have been filmed there. Famed novelist Henry Miller lived for many years in Big Sur, where the Henry Miller Memorial Library still celebrates his legacy.
Millions drive the 70-mile stretch of road through Big Sur each year, but it remains remarkably isolated, with few permanent residents or roadside amenities. Landslides frequently make Big Sur inaccessible by auto, including here in 2024.
The Florida Keys begin just south of Miami and extend more than 100 miles west into the Gulf of Mexico.
The spectacular archipelago of coral islands offers one of the most stunning drives in the nation, with the feeling of skimming across the ocean as autos leap from one island to the next.
The road ends in Key West, an adult paradise of boozy singalong bars, seafood shacks and leisurely nightlife. The most popular activity in Key West is watching the sun set gloriously each night from Mallory Square.
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Key West has probably inspired more books, songs and hangovers per square mile than any city in America.
Musician Jimmy Buffett turned this real-life “Margaritaville” into an entire sub-genre of tiki-cocktail flavored, sun-soaked pop tunes. Kenny Chesney and Bob Dylan, among many others, sing rapturously of Key West.
Ernest Hemingway lived in Key West when he wrote many of his famous novels, including “A Farewell to Arms,” “For Whom the Bell Tolls” and “Death in the Afternoon.” His Key West home is one of America’s most popular literary landmarks.
The 18th-century south thrives today amid the verdant squares of Savannah.
Visitors love the slow-paced city, nearly 300 years old, for the colonial cobblestones of River Street; delicious restaurants highlighting the best of southern fare, such as Paula Deen’s flagship eatery The Lady and Sons and its historic layout of leafy downtown squares.
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Savannah had newfound popularity following its haunting, captivating portrayal in the 1994 bestselling book “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.”
That same year, Savannah set the stage for one of biggest movie hits of all time. War hero and tech tycoon “Forrest Gump” narrated his amazing tale while waiting for a bus in Chippewa Square.
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Savannah also claims to have inspired one of the most popular tunes in world history. James Lord Pierpoint, a Savannah church musician, wrote “Jingle Bells” in the 1850s.
New Jersey’s boardwalks fuel a festive American carnival-like culture up and down the Garden State coast. The boardwalk in the juke-joint town of Asbury Park may be the most iconic — offering scenic ocean vistas, easy access to New York City and notable contributions to American pop culture.
Bruce Springsteen burst onto the American cultural scene with his debut album, “Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.,” helping to fuel the city’s rep as a rock music haven.
Today’s attractions include the Silverball Retro Arcade, the Stephen Crane House, which was the home of the author of the famed Civil War novel “The Red Badge of Courage,” and celebrated music venue The Stone Pony.
“Did you hear the cops finally busted Madam Marie / for telling fortunes better than they do / For me this boardwalk life is through,” Springsteen croons to Sandy in his 1973 hit “4th of July, Asbury Park.”
Yet fortune-teller Madam Marie’s stall remains and New Jersey’s boardwalk scene still thrives.
The American-born art form of rock ‘n’ roll fused artistic and cultural influences in the years after World War II. It would light the fire of global pop music in the 1950s.
The best performers of the genre are immortalized within the I.M. Pei-designed museum in Cleveland.
The Rock Hall was sited on the banks of Lake Erie in deference to Cleveland’s role in shaping the future of pop culture.
Cleveland, among other contributions, was the home of celebrated DJ Alan Freed. An enthusiastic promoter of the new genre, he is credited with coining the globally known term “rock ‘n’ roll” itself.
Freed also hosted the Moondog Coronation Ball in 1952, widely proclaimed the first rock concert.
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The Rock Hall now wraps its arms around many other genres, including rappers (Grandmaster Flash), country stars (Bob Wills), soul crooners (Al Green) and pre-rock-era icons (Louis Armstrong), among others.
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