Spotlight on America's Favorite Towns in 'Best of the Road' & Other TRAVEL CHANNEL Hilights - Week of July 23

via press release:

**TUNE-IN REMINDER – ALL-NEW EPISODES FOR THE WEEK OF JULY 23**

TRAVEL CHANNEL SPOTLIGHTS AMERICA'S FAVORITE TOWNS IN NEW SPECIAL "BEST OF THE ROAD"

HOSTED BY "TRIP FLIP'S" BERT KREISCHER

PREMIERING WEDNESDAY, JULY 25 AT 8PM ET/PT

SEASON FINALE OF "BAGGAGE BATTLES" TAKES VIEWERS TO NORTH CAROLINA FOR A FREIGHT AUCTION BIDDING WAR

DESTINATION SUMMER IS IN FULL SWING WITH NEW EPISODES OF "BIZARRE FOODS AMERICA," "TRIP FLIP,"

"XTREME WATERPARKS," "INSANE COASTER WARS"AND MORE

(Additional information, including airdates and times, listed in chronological order)

BIZARRE FOODS AMERICA

Monday, July 23 at 9:00p.m., ET/PT

Sexy beaches and a vibrant nightlife are what come to mind when most people think of Miami, but this coastal city is also a hot spot for food!  The blend of old-world immigrants and new-wave trendsetters are bringing a mix of flavors to the city's multicultural cuisine.  Whether it's making traditional Cuban fare, hauling in fresh stone crabs or exploring the excess of some of the city's priciest restaurants, Andrew Zimmern tracks down the iconic treasures and hidden delights that make Miami's food scene so special.  With everything from roasted pig brains to salt cured fish eggs to a fruit that feels like glass in the throat, the Miami food scene is rich with tasty temptations!

Series Synopsis:  Andrew Zimmern ditches his passport and explores the bizarre foods and cultures in America's own backyard in the sixth season of "Bizarre Foods America" with Andrew Zimmern.  

  

HOTEL IMPOSSIBLE

Monday, July 23 at 10:00 p.m., ET/PT

Anthony Melchiorri travels to the charming Vermont Inn in Mendon, VT, where absentee husband and wife owners are in dire need of his help.  With a staff that lacks experience, the inn is unable to consistently fill rooms.  If Melchiorri can't help them turn things around, the owners could lose their business and put their own family out of work.  In order to get them on the road to profitability, Melchiorri must teach these new owners how to rebrand their bed & breakfast as an idyllic and desirable destination wedding venue.

Series Synopsis:  Anthony Melchiorri, a hotel "fixer," turns struggling hotels into bustling tourist destinations.  Each episode features a hotel that is having problems or not living up to its potential.  Melchiorri secretly scouts the property, identifies its biggest problems and meets with the staff – from front desk receptionists to the owners themselves.  After coming up with a plan and prescribing the changes that need to be made, Melchiorri revamps and re-motivates the staff and transforms the hotel.  

BEST OF THE ROAD

NEW SPECIAL: Wednesday, July 25 at 8:00 p.m., ET/PT

The search is on!  The one-hour special "Best of the Road," with host Bert Kreischer, takes viewers across the country on a road trip to find the best small town in America, capturing Rand McNally and USA TODAY's second-annual Best of the Road^® cross-country road rally.  With over 650 towns nominated across different categories, America voted for their favorites, narrowing it down to the top five contenders in each category.  Now three road-tripping teams travel across the country to visit the finalist towns in the categories of "Most Fun," "Best Food" and "Most Beautiful," and discover what makes these U.S. towns so extraordinary.  At the final judging in Seattle, the teams present their findings to the judges and award the winning towns for Fun, Food, and Beauty.  Will it be your hometown?

  

ADAM RICHMAN'S BEST SANDWICH IN AMERICA

Wednesday, July 25 at 9:00 p.m., ET/PT

Recommended by Minnesota resident and famous chef, Andrew Zimmern, Adam Richman is in Minneapolis for a taste of Tilia's fish taco torta: a crunchy combo of fried mahi mahi, tortilla chips and creamy peppadew slaw.  Then it's off to Green Bay for a bite of Kroll's prime rib sandwich, where Richman adds sautéed onions, mushrooms, peppers and butter-infused au jus to the savory prime rib.  It's a tough decision between these two contenders, but there's one more sandwich Richman needs to sample and judge.  He heads to Detroit for one of his favorites, the Yardbird sandwich at Slow's Bar-BQ:  juicy smoked chicken breast topped with mustard sauce, mushrooms, cheddar cheese and piled high with crispy bacon.  As the competition gets tighter, Richman must decide which of these delicious sandwiches moves on to the finals to be crowned the best sandwich in America!

Series Synopsis:  Adam Richman is crisscrossing the country to find the best thing since sliced bread ON sliced bread.  Using his own BITE SCALE (B=Bread, I=Interior, T=Taste, E=Eating Experience), Richman samples and judges the three most mouthwatering masterpieces a region has to offer.  After naming a regional favorite in 10 geographical locales, each winning sandwich moves to the finals, to face off against each other – and two secret wildcards – for the title of "Adam Richman's Best Sandwich in America." 

BAGGAGE BATTLES

SEASON FINALE: Wednesday, July 25 at 10:00 p.m., ET/PT

The North Carolina Freight Auction sells over five million pounds of lost or misplaced freight a year – often on large pallets.  Auction experts Billy Leroy, Mark Meyer and Laurence & Sally Martin travel south of Greensboro, NC to bid on items at this freight auction that has seen such unique items as caskets and dead cats in formaldehyde!

Series Synopsis:  Viewers get a glimpse into the very profitable business of bidding, buying and reselling unclaimed luggage from airport auctions, freight auctions and police auctions.  Three teams of savvy auction experts travel to some of the most important and unknown auctions, and bid on items lost in transit or confiscated by the police – from airports and mass transit systems around the world.  And their bids are all based on sight-unseen instincts!  They don't know if it's junk or a jackpot until they win the bid and open the suitcase or freight container.  

TRIP FLIP

Thursday, July 26 at 9:00p.m., ET/PT

Bert Kreischer gives two lucky tourists in Cancun the chance of a lifetime as they throw out their plans and let him take the lead on an all-expense-paid three-day dream vacation.  It includes cave repelling, Mexican wrestling and driving Ferraris.

Series Synopsis:  Bert Kreischer turns the tables on would-be vacationers and offers them a fantasy vacation of a lifetime.  All they have to do is say "yes" and enjoy the adventure.  Each episode features Kreischer surprising two people with the most unbelievable trip beyond their imaginations, convincing them to seize an opportunity of a lifetime and add a large dose of spontaneity into their lives.  Kreischer becomes the ultimate tour guide providing an all-expense-paid three-day vacation that goes well beyond any normal travel guide.  

TOP SPOT

Thursday, July 26 at 10:00p.m., ET/PT

One couple is in search of the perfect Las Vegas vacation.  First, they gamble on a luxury high-rise hotel on the Vegas strip.  Then it's off to explore a resort in the beautiful Red Rock desert.  And lastly, they tour a vintage Vegas classic hotel on Freemont Street.  Which spot will they choose?

Series Synopsis:  How do you plan the perfect vacation?  In each episode, travelers reveal their ideal vacation and test drive three different locations.  From hotels with private cabanas just steps away from the Miami beaches to the rich culture of London, each destination will be exciting…making the choice VERY difficult.  Viewers play along by guessing which vacation will be chosen.  The winning spot is revealed at the end of each show, along with whether or not the travelers stayed on budget.  

XTREME WATERPARKS

Sunday, July 29 at 8:00 p.m., ET/PT

Check out the world's largest indoor waterpark located in a blimp hangar in Germany.  Then, travel to San Antonio, TX and cruise the world's longest water ride.  Finally, in Denver, CO, take a ride that sends you back to the pre-historic ages.

Series Synopsis:  Hold on to your trunks, because Travel Channel is taking viewers on an all-access, adrenaline-filled ride on the wildest, over-the-top and exhilarating water rides in the world!  From a high-speed, gravity defying water ride in Orlando, Florida to the world's tallest water slide in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, audiences will trot the globe to see the most insane, nail-biting waterparks that even the greatest adrenaline junkies will be thrilled!

INSANE COASTER WARS

Sunday, July 29 at 9:00 p.m., ET/PT

Terrifyingly tall coasters will take you to Extreme Heights!  Going as high as 456 feet up in the air, these rides will send you soaring through the clouds...and drop you back to earth at stomach-churning speeds.  Experience the shriek-inducing drops of Intimidator at the Carolina's Carowinds; get swept into the heavens on the wings of Millennium Force at Ohio's Cedar Point; ride a towering serpent on Diamondback at Kings Island in Ohio; and drop from over 40 stories high on the daunting steel tracks of Kingda Ka at Six Flags New Jersey.  With breath-taking heights and death-defying drops, these sky-scraping coasters will give you some serious altitude!  Fans all across the country have voted and now we will find out with colossal thrill ride towers above the rest.

Series Synopsis:  Roller coasters promise a terrifying trip full of death-defying drops, spine-torqueing twists and stomach-churning inversions.  But which ride is better?  "Insane Coaster Wars" invites thrill-seekers everywhere to vote for their favorite coasters.  Each episode features four coasters in a total of six different categories.  Coaster experts will argue the pros, cons, advantages and weaknesses of each ride, while viewers experience the ride firsthand through specially mounted cameras.  The fan-favorites will be announced at the end of each episode, and a countdown of the top ten coasters with the most votes will be revealed in the one-hour finale!

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About Destination Summer

Destination Summer is Travel Channel's multi-platform programming initiative that embraces all the fun and adventure that the season offers.  As part of the Network's continued mission to inspire its travel-centric viewers, new original series will roll out this summer, and will be complemented by multiple on- and off-air programming events.  The new original series anchoring Destination Summer include "Xtreme Waterparks," "Insane Coaster Wars" and "Top Spot."  All summer long, viewers can go to TravelChannel.com for a variety of engaging summer-themed travel content including: vacation and hotel planning tips, summer festivals and events, insane rollercoaster polls, exclusive road-trip video, extreme RV photos, a Rate-My-Beach community, grilling tips, national parks info and more.  Plus, Travel Channel hosts will be sharing their summer favorites – from beaches and summer road trips to ice cream and theme parks.

About Travel Channel

TRAVEL CHANNEL (http://www.travelchannel.com) is a multiplatform travel lifestyle brand with the core mission of providing inspiring and compelling programming that takes viewers beyond their everyday destinations, making the unfamiliar familiar, whether it's around the world or around the block.  A dual feed network that is also available in HD, Travel Channel is the world's leading travel media brand, and is available in over 94 million U.S. cable homes.  Owned and operated by Scripps Networks Interactive (NYSE: SNI), Travel Channel has offices in Chevy Chase, MD, and New York, NY.  Scripps Networks Interactive (NYSE: SNI) also owns and operates HGTV, DIY Network, Food Network, Cooking Channel and Great American Country.

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