Travel Marketing

   This morning I received an email from Travelzoo for which I am grateful because it gave me an excuse to avoid doing anything other than sitting around on a rainy day reading emails. Until now. The email suggested a detour I shouldn't miss -- Northern Virginia -- which is dubbed "Virginia's Cultural Region." Perhaps it is because I grew up on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, which back then was regarded as a rather uncivilized place, that I perceived a slight to those who live in the very large southern part of Virginia, which apparently lacks culture, or at least the culture one associates with the arts and intellectual achievements. I suppose it won't matter because those living in Virginia  far below Fairfax have the closer option of going to North Carolina, which is also better in that it is farther from Washington. 

"Virginia is For Lovers"
   I don't want to pick on the marketing people at Virginia tourism, but I never liked that one which has been around for over 50 years and has earned its own Wikipedia entry and is as well known and liked as the Budweiser Clydesdales. If it is raining where you are, read that entry, where you will learn that the slogan is "iconic" and was inducted into the Madison Avenue Advertising Walk of Fame. Earlier suggestions - "Virginia is for History Lovers," "Virginia is for Mountain Lovers," and "Virginia is for Beach Lovers" - were rejected as being too limiting. More recently the vagueness of "Virginia is For Lovers" proved useful in the promotion of LGBT tourism and the possibilities are endless. 
   
The Bonus:
   We recently chose to stay in Virginia, the more southern part, and it is not without culture. See, Staunton, where you will find the American Shakespeare Center, the Heifetz International Music Institute and the Staunton Music Festival. If it is still raining, read about Russell Baker who was born in Loudon County.