Travel Rambling

Ode to the States

2011-07-04T23:05:00.006-04:00

I'm not really a patriotic sort of person. To me, the Fourth of July means a day off from work and a lot of Twilight Zone. I didn't wear red, white, and blue today and I skipped the end of the fireworks because I wanted to get back to the Twilight Zone. I don't really like fireworks anyway. But I was thinking about what I could do, blog-style, in honor of today. After all, I have a travel blog and I've visited a lot of places in the United States. So I thought I might share a quick memory about all the states I've visited (plus DC) rather than saying "Yay America" or getting all political. I really just mean a I'll write a sentence or two about a particular memory or place, something quick. And random because in some cases I have lots of great memories. Lest you think I'm partial to my own country, I promise to post something nice about France in ten days. I also may make posts like this a regular feature in an effort to post more. I keep coming up with those though my ideas never really seem to work. Worth a shot, I guess. So here goes, alphabetical order, and I'm doing this in stages. DC is last, just cause. I will be skipping Alaska and Hawaii since I haven't visited either. Ditto for all those other places around the world.

Alabama: Driving along I-10 right on the coast. The road is often causeway-ish and the openness with the water is beautiful (well it was, don't know how it looks now, sadly).

Arizona: The Grand Canyon, misty in the August rain. I was cold and wearing a very large t-shirt--long sleeves on a six year old--because the gift shop didn't sell sweatshirts.

Arkansas: Getting amazingly dirty at Crater of Diamonds State Park. It was hot and muddy and so much fun. I still have the rocks though, sadly, no diamonds.

California: Panning for gold/taking a tour of a gold mine. The drive to the mine entrance was terrifying and I really think we almost went off a cliff. Obviously we didn't.

Colorado: Exploring the cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde. Ladders were involved as were steep cliffs, both of which I'm very afraid of. Worth it.

Connecticut: Visiting friends who used to live there. Boring, huh?

Delaware: I remember a very clean bathroom at a rest stop somewhere. Sorry Delaware.

Florida: Wakulla Springs with its alligators, manatees, and lush canopies of trees. Snakes too, but I don't much like them. Cool, refreshing, and beautiful, worlds away from Disney. Not that I don't love Disney... it was a toss-up between this and the original Figment ride at Epcot.

Georgia: Southeastern Georgia is so flat and open it can be a little eerie. During a thunderstorm, I mean. Streaks of lightning light up the purple sky. Driving through that was both scary and incredible.

Idaho: Nice train tracks, very straight and even. I assume, as the train did not derail.

Illinois: The Art Institute of Chicago. Great museum, somewhere I still have a Degas print from their gift shop.

Indiana: The shore along Lake Michigan; the Great Lakes are incredible.

Iowa: Prairie Lights, great independent bookstore right in Iowa City. If you find yourself there, don't miss it!

Kansas: Fields and fields of sunflowers. Words don't do it justice, neither does the picture:

Okay, I'm done for now. I know this was pretty pathetic but, believe it or not, it kinda helps me organize thoughts. So there you have it. The rest to come.

Future Homes: Brighton Edition

2011-06-11T10:02:00.001-04:00

Okay, so it's really just one home. But it's one really big, really cool, really tacky home. This home that I'd like to call my own is the Royal Pavilion built by King George IV but before he was actually king. In his case, Prince Regent. His father was mad, you know. As with lots of those great historic homes out there (including some others I'll be posting about soon), pictures of the inside aren't allowed. So I guess I'll have to do some describing.

A little more history: the Pavilion began life as a farmhouse, much more modest than the sprawling giant you'll see today. The Prince Regent wasn't necessarily too terribly wealthy at the time on account of recent unpopular spending and was only able to expand when funds permitted. And when they permitted, expand he did, in several stages over many years. The current building was basically designed by John Nash and completed around 1822. Let's just say George wanted it for the location's health benefits. Now on to my visit, the important part.

Starting from the beginning. My aunt, cousin, and I took the train down to Brighton on our first full day in England. The ride isn't that long but the change in atmosphere is dramatic: Brighton is a seaside resort city with beaches (rocky), a pier, and one fabulous royal home.

It's a little hard to get a picture of the whole thing.

We visited the Pavilion, my future home, first. The inside feels long rather than tall and is filled with lots of elaborate, brightly colored stuff. Some rooms aren't exactly full of furniture, the music room for example, but that's perfectly okay: instead there's a carpet as thick as a really thick carpet and very cool lotus-shaped chandeliers. Speaking of chandeliers, one room has a massive chandelier that basically looks like it's held by a dragon. A dragon, and an enormous one at that. That one's also got lotus flowers. It's amazing and I want it. Even though it probably wouldn't even fit inside my apartment. And you know? People used to eat under that thing. I totally wish I had a picture because it's awesome. There are some online but I'm all about posting my own pictures and stuff so do your own Googling. Seriously.

Anyway, the building is full of great chinoiserie* items and, er, designs like, you know, dragons and lotus flowers. There are also beautiful high ceilings, glass domes, and, of course, passageways so no one has to see the servants.

The Pavilion stayed in the family for a little while but apparently Queen Victoria wasn't such a fan. Great for the rest of the world since now we can all visit! Plus, lots of stuff inside is on loan from the current queen. I totally want this house as is though I admit that's for the chandeliers more than anything else. Also for the fact that it looks ridiculously out of place in England. That just adds to the charm.

If you want a better idea of what this place looks like inside, try Google imaging "Brighton Pavilion interior", there are some results there. I'd do some linking but I'm lazy.

Brighton is one of those places I'd always sort of planned on visiting but for some reason I never actually got there. Until this last trip, that is. While the Pavilion is a major historical attraction, there are lots of other fun things about the city. First of all, the pier. Oh, the pier. Brighton is, well, a bit of a tacky seaside resort. Not as seedy as Atlantic City, certainly, but "classy" maybe isn't the first word to come to mind when thinking of Brighton. I loved it.

So, right, Brighton Pier. Arcade games galore, ice cream with Flake, impossible to unfold sun chairs just there for the sitting.

Note the stack of chairs in the background. And a special thanks to the lady who helped me unfold the chair. Really, it was hard.

The good news: despite being hopeless at the first two arcade games I/we (that's my aunt and I) tried--that included dolphin racing, just for the record --our luck finally turned at the "Hook a Duck" booth. Never mind that every game at that booth wins a prize. I worked hard and my lovely duck, George, was the result. He was willing to pose for a picture but he's, uh, currently visiting relatives so no picture. He's bigger and fluffier than all of these ducks:

This guy operates the booth. How gracious of him to pose for a photo!

The bad news: I was really hoping to find a pinball machine in honor of Tommy. Who's Tommy? Yes, that's right. Sadly, I saw no pinball anywhere, just crazy modern video games. Where have all the classics gone? Sigh.

The day in Brighton ended well, if tiringly. A seatmate on the train ride down told us of the best fish and chips in the world, located just steps away from the Brighton train station. Well, it wasn't steps. In fact, if felt like miles and it was down a large hill (only really problematic when it came time to go back up). But oh, it was worth it. And I don't even especially like fish and chips. I mean, I don't especially like the fish. Love the chips.

One endless walk to the train station later and our Bright(on) day was over. Fortunately, there were more adventures to come and don't worry, I'll be writing about all of them.**

Up next: the theatre post. It has to be.

Er, one last note: I've debated writing with British spellings instead of American for these England-centered posts. Would that make me delightfully quirky or ridiculously pretentious? I'm guessing the second. Note the American spellings.

*Spellcheck tries to correct this word to either miniseries or trichinosis. What?

**Don't even try to tell me you weren't worried.

Week in London

2011-05-19T03:29:00.002-04:00

So I really had planned to write and stuff while away (I'm in London, remember?) but I didn't bring my computer so I've been kind of borrowing those of other people plus I've been really tired. I'm only annoyed about all this because I don't want to forget details! So I'm writing this now as a reminder of what I've done over the past week; more detailed posts plus pictures are coming.

So, the highlights: Thursday, Hampton Court. Friday, Brighton. Saturday, Covent Garden. Sunday, British Library. Monday, Cambridge. Tuesday, the V&A. Tuesday, Hever. Today, hopefully the Tate. Britain, that is.

Okay, that's one little thing for each day hopefully to jog my memory. Just a teaser for the rest: I'm bringing home a duck, I saw a famous former doctor up close, and... well, I can't think of much else for now. So thus ends my first and only (pathetic) post from across the Atlantic.

Quick Update and a Picture

2011-05-10T21:57:00.005-04:00

So, yeah, I've been absent from the internets lately. Luckily no one noticed. I'm trying not to be so absent so here's just a very quick little post. Remember how I made those vow thingies back in like January or something? No? Well, I did. And one of them was that I would go to London this year.

I leave tomorrow. Whoohoooooo! I plan to document parts of my trip on this here blog somewhat as they occur. That may or may not actually happen. It probably won't happen. Seriously, though, I'm really gonna try.

I've done a few kind of fun things lately and I will post about them. To tide my imaginary readers over, here's a picture from one of my "adventures" at a festival that takes place approximately 2 1/2 blocks from my house:

Please tiptoe. And have a happy week! I know I will.

Your Roads Less Traveled

2011-03-07T19:57:00.006-05:00

A few weeks ago, I was lamenting the fact that I haven't really been anywhere interesting lately; my life pretty much consisted of going to work, returning home (exhausted), falling asleep watching episodes of Frasier on YouTube, and shoveling snow. Such is life in the wintry Northeast, especially for those of us lacking lots of money and decent, covered parking spaces. In the grand scheme of things, these aren't terrible problems and believe me, I know that. However, they were driving me a little crazy and on one of February's nicer days, I was driven to do something about that; and so I drove. Er, a different way home, that is.

I was leaving work mid-afternoon, the sky was blue, and I had my camera with me. While it wasn't quite the same as going on vacation, not even close, it was a fun and interesting afternoon. I viewed my city in a new way, saw places I had never seen before, and even in places that were familiar to me I found new things to look at. Here are a few of the results:

I drive past this building pretty often, actually, but I had never before noticed the clock. I don't know why I find that so fantastic but I totally do. Someday I think I'd like to own a building with a clock set into it.

I call this one Irony. I know it's not terribly exciting but I had never noticed the sign in the window: "Celebrating 40 Years". Of a boarded up gas station/convenience store? I'd suggest someone remove the sign but I do enjoy that it's there.

That's Nipper, the RCA dog. I'm used to seeing him from a distance but generally not up close. He doesn't live in the nicest neighborhood: it's full of warehouses and old, abandoned-looking buildings. I wouldn't go there at night or anything but I found the area interesting if sketchy during the day. I realized I love taking pictures of old buildings and don't really mind the curious looks from people driving by.

This old church is literally down the street from where I work and until a couple of weeks ago, I had no idea it was there. Again with the old buildings, right? There's just something about it.

Okay, this one's stretching it a little. I live in a city with a port (on a river) but I, like most residents I suspect, don't really think about that. I've known about it for a long time, seen the signs, etc. and, in fact, I remember learning about its existence from my father. But I never thought about its impact on the city or area, what it was like, or even where, exactly, it was. So, knowing full well that ports tend to be kind of gross and have limited access, I decided to sort of kind of check it out. Without leaving my car. Or really seeing anything. I did see a few historical markers but couldn't actually read them. Considering I do actually read those things, I'd kind of like to go back. The whole place felt a little eerie though so maybe I'll stay away. I do think it's strange to think that this place is maybe two miles from where I live and until a few weeks ago, I hadn't actually processed that it's there.

That's it for pictures though I did see a few other interesting things like a drive-in movie theater I always saw listed on Fandango but didn't actually believe existed. All in all it was an interesting experience and one that's convinced me that taking a different route every now and then is worthwhile.

With that in mind, I offer you a challenge. For anyone reading this, I challenge you to, just once, find a new way home (or to work, the store, a friend's house, whatever). This could mean taking the bus instead of the Subway, walking instead of riding, or taking back roads instead of the highway. See something different. And if you do, tell me about it. Comment, Tweet, post a picture, write a blog post, whatever. All it takes is 140 characters. If you do it, you just might win a prize. Plus, you might learn something or find a new favorite store, restaurant, whatever. Or do it because my birthday is this week and therefore I should get what I want.

Kidding. But seriously, it's fun.

Happy New Year, Late of Course

2011-01-10T10:55:00.008-05:00

First of all, happy new year!

Yeah, I know. The year started over a week ago. Well, I've finally caught up and am just now, er, finalizing my resolutions. Because this is my travel blog, these are my Official Travel Goals of 2011; I feel like if I get 'em in writing (or typing or whatever) they'll be more likely to happen. And I'll have a nice little reminder. Also, if you read this and have been to any of the places or done any of the activities I mention, please comment! Or if you aren't crazy and want to join in or something...

First, blog related: I said it last year and I'm saying it this year. I will post more. For me as much as for the approximately three people who read the blog (and like it? I hope?) and oh, I'm pathetic. But really, more posting. Now on to the real list!

1. I'm going to London (England. Not, say, Ontario or Kentucky. England). Yup. Now that it's in typing, it's definitely going to happen. Hopefully in April. Yes, I've been there before but at the moment I have a place to stay there and I must take advantage of that. Plus, it's a really fabulous city. Since I must always incorporate pictures, London-related pictures:

Hampton Court Palace. It's close.

A crappy picture but a special one to me, this was the view out of my window of the lovely New Cross area of London.

2. Related to number one, on that same trip over to London I'll definitely leave the metropolitan area, hopefully to go to Normandy. Yes, I know that Normandy is so far from Metropolitan London that it's across the Channel in another country. I've also been there but not to Mont St. Michel, Bayeux, Rouen, or the D-Day beaches. For example. I have a nice little Normandy rant if anyone's interested. Basically, I went on a school trip to Lille when I was in eighth grade. We went to the aquarium in Boulogne, one random monument, and not much in the way of historical or cultural sites. I do have many fond memories of that trip but I still don't understand why we went to the aquarium. I love a good aquarium as much as the next person but, seriously, there are fish everywhere. The world only has one Bayeux Tapestry.

Monet's Garden in Giverny. It's related.

Again, now that this is all typed out, it's more likely to happen.

3. Walk/hike some part of the Appalachian Trail. I was just thinking about this today (fine, yesterday) as I drove underneath a small section of the trail (where it crosses I90/the MassPike in case you were wondering. You weren't? Oh). I'm not much of a hiker and I'm not totally at one with nature but I do totally support nature and I think the AT is an awesome thing so yeah, one mile, one hundred miles, or one thousand miles (it'll be closer to one), I want to hike part of the trail.

I've actually walked a tiny section of the AT before; part that's on the border between North Carolina and Tennessee. But I was young and we didn't go very far. Next time, slightly more.

4. Hike the Indian Ladder Trail in John Boyd Thacher State Park. This is probably the closest to home for me and you've probably never heard of John Boyd Thacher State Park. It's in New York, by the way. I hadn't heard of the park until maybe a year ago and I was pretty amazed when I visited last summer. I actually wrote a little about Thacher State Park on my crappy little website here. The Indian Ladder Trail is pretty famous (supposedly it was used by Native Americans a long time ago) and it's supposed to be really beautiful. I didn't hike it because I'm afraid of heights and I thought I might fall off the edge. Hopefully I'll manage it this year.

5. This one's much more of a maybe. Seattle. I hope to go there (again).

I know it seems a little silly and self-indulgent to write out the whole post of stuff I want to do but there is a reason behind it. Last year, although I didn't post about them, my goals included visiting Boldt Castle in the Thousand Islands and Almanzo Wilder's boyhood home near Malone, NY. And wouldn't ya know? I managed to do it. Uh, Laura Ingalls Wilder-themed post still to come. Someday.

A Bridge in Spain

2010-11-11T11:48:00.000-05:00

Ever since I made my fancy header thingy at the top of this page, people have been asking about the picture. Yes, really. I swear I'm not making that up. So I've decided it's time to tell that story: where that bridge is, why I was there, and why I chose it to, er, represent my blog.

First, the location. The bridge is located in a tiny Spanish town called Barco de Avila (I'll just call it Barco. It's easier). The town is located in the province of Avila (hence the name) and is known for its beans. You can't make this stuff up. So why was I in this little, middle of nowhere-ish town? I actually stayed in a hotel called Puerto de Gredos just outside of Barco while participating in a program called Englishtown. Now I guess I have to explain what that is.

(That building on the left is where I stayed.)

Englishtown is an English immersion program aimed at Spanish (and I think now Italian) businesspeople. With a one-to-one ratio of English and Spanish speakers, people basically spend a week just talking (and playing Trivial Pursuit which is the best) in order to improve the Spanish speakers' English. It's not the best way to see Spain but it is a fun week in a four star hotel*. For those of us used to hostels, that was a welcome break. Would've been better if you didn't have to pay to use the pool. And if it was open for more than, like, an hour a day before breakfast. I signed up for Englishtown during my semester abroad; I had a month-long holiday which I mostly spent traveling around. My plan was always to end the month in Spain (I had a place to stay in Madrid for a few days) and I decided that I wanted to relax a little rather than staying in a different city every few nights. Englishtown, which is free for "Anglos" (the English speakers, obviously) provided a way to do that.

Ultimately, spending a week at Englishtown meant a week of a lot of talking and just a little sightseeing. We did get to take nice walks through the countryside--the Sierra de Gredos (mountans)--which was pretty stark, but, then again, it was April. I don't exactly know when spring comes to west-central Spain.

One of the not-highlights of the Englishtown program is Fiesta Night. Well, it wasn't a highlight for me because I (confession time) got approximately the drunkest I've ever been in my life. It was miserable and it totally wasn't my fault. I blame the elementary school principal sitting next to me at dinner who kept refilling my wine glass. Yes, I'm totally serious about that.

Fiesta Night was about halfway through the week; supposedly it's some kind of magic turning point for the Spanish speakers and there's a fancy dinner/~~satanic~~ weird ritual/dance party to make that all happen. Unfortunately, that special dinner turned out to be really gross (baby squid on a stick? No thanks) and I pretty much just ate bread and not much of that. I didn't even think to order my absolute favorite Spanish food ever (which also, fortunately, happened to be an option for practically every meal) which is the amazingly delicious tortilla de patatas. So, no, I didn't enjoy Fiesta Night.

For some reason, the day after Fiesta Night is the Day of the Walk to the Village. It's a miserable experience since people tend to be a bit on the hungover side. I think the powers that be (the powers that be being a man appropriately named Richard. Figure it out) do that on purpose in order to torture us but I really wish they hadn't done it: I, for one, actually wanted to enjoy the visit and it wasn't nearly as much fun as it would've been under, uh, different circumstances.

The walk into town felt interminable, though not nearly so much as the walk back. Fortunately for me and my also hungover roommate, we had a large bottle of Diet Coke to sustain us on the way back. I braved a store with hanging animal carcasses in order to make that happen. TMI? Moving on. The town itself wasn't too impressive; it had many typical Spanish town features including:

A nice town square.

Old men sitting around in said town square.

A castle.

A church with a mystical past. If you want the story I'll try to remember it. Some other time.

Also like lots of good old towns, Barco de Avila is on a river. And that, dear readers, is where the bridge comes in. Most of Barco is on one side of the river, that church I just mentioned is on the other side. In order to get there, one must cross a bridge. Not just any bridge, but the bridge all my lovely readers (both of 'em!) see when they visit my blog.

A view from the bridge!

And there you have it. Where the bridge is and why I was there. Oh, wait, I said I'd mention why I chose it to represent my blog. You don't want to read a bunch of made-up symbolism crap, do you? I didn't think so.

*I seem to remember reading that the program doesn't use Puerto de Gredos anymore. Whatever.

Gambling and Ghosts

2010-10-28T23:07:00.001-04:00

In honor of Halloween and my Bat Mitzvaversary, I hereby present a post on my home town. I've mentioned before that I enjoy visiting places close to home and posting on them, especially since I haven't really been able to go anywhere fun or new lately. So, Ghost Hunters recently featured a building called the Canfield Casino (yes, it used to be an actual casino, no, you can't gamble there anymore). I knew the building was supposedly haunted; everyone knows that. Another fun fact about the Canfield Casino? I had my Bat Mitzvah there, sixteen years ago (I feel old) last week. So of course I have to post on it.

The Casino (as it shall be known hereafter) is located in my home town of Saratoga Springs, NY, in Congress Park, right in the center of town. While I don't exactly understand the concept of "home town pride" (you don't choose where you're born and you probably didn't choose where you grew up), I have to say there are a lot of great things about Saratoga. One of those things is Congress Park, where the Canfield Casino is located. Just for fun, I headed to the park last weekend to enjoy the fall weather, take a few pictures, and be a temporary tourist, even though I wasn't seeing anything new.

I think Congress Park is pretty special; it was designed (or at least enhanced) by Frederick Law Olmstead, famous for Central Park in New York City. Cooler than the park itself is some of the stuff found there including a sculpture by Daniel Chester French, he of Lincoln Memorial fame. His sculpture/reflecting pool, The Spirit of Life, is a memorial to a prominent summer citizen, Spencer Trask. I'll be writing about him later (for a good reason, I promise). I was hoping to capture The Spirit of Life in all its reflecting pool glory but alas there was no water.

However, this post is supposed to be about the Casino, and so it shall be. As I mentioned, the Casino used to be an actual gambling hall. Gambling has a long and proud tradition in Saratoga, continuing to the present day though, to my knowledge, the Canfield Casino is the only former casino still standing and recognized as such.

Ordinarily, I might not think the building is so deserving of its own blog post despite being pretty cool. However, its recent appearance on Ghost Hunters definitely elevates the cool factor as well as the building's visibility. Today, the building houses the local historical society/museum which I visited in full for the first time last week. Like many local museums (and I've been to more than my fair share, in many places), this museum offers a mish-mash of local history and artifacts with some not-so-interesting "historical" details thrown in along with some relevance to the rest of the world. Interesting to me since I recognized buildings and aspects of local life and culture but not necessarily so interesting to people unfamiliar with the area. That said, the town is pretty famous (there's a famous racetrack (I told you gambling is big), you may have seen Saratoga water for sale or even tried it, etc.) so maybe some people do kind of sort of care. Maybe.

The most interesting and relevant to this post parts of the Casino/museum are a recreated gambling room and a former mansion that was sort of transferred from its original location to the Casino. These are the areas where the ghosts are supposedly found. I'll start with the Walworth Mansion, formerly a house called Pine Grove, now approximately one floor of the Canfield Casino. I'm not an expert in ghostology (is that a thing?) but I don't understand this: supposedly this floor of the Casino is haunted by members of the Walworth family. But they never lived there! Just their furniture and some family history is found at the Casino. Now, granted, if I were a member of the Walworth family, I'm not sure I'd want my dirty (and it is dirty) laundry aired in public, dead though I'd be since I think the family has died out. Or that branch has, anyway. But really, who wants people to know about a family member who shot (and killed) his father? Perhaps not so exciting is the stepsister and brother who married a la Clueless. Never mind the fact that he was abusive and the marriage didn't last. Interesting though their furniture is--and it is, being of a certain period in history and all--despite their having been a prominent local family, I confess to being a little baffled regarding their place in the local historical society. Sure, the last family of the member wanted the stuff preserved but is that really so unusual?

Anyway, Pine Grove was sort of relocated to the Casino and is supposedly haunted by members of the Walworth family. I guess they decided the gas station located where their house used to be just isn't worth haunting. While I saw no sign of any Walworths, I know I wasn't there at the right time. They've started having late-night ghost tours of the Casino/museum which I'm guessing would be better for history and chance of ghost-sighting for any believers. I haven't been yet but ghost tours are a lot of fun (I may post about York before Halloween. Maybe) so I think it'd be a good time. Hopefully they'll keep 'em up.

Another supposedly haunted room is that reconstructed casino room. There are random audio clips throughout the museum and so the sound of a spinning roulette wheel is generally audible in that particular room. I was hoping it was a ghost but no dice. Remember? I said roulette.

I wish I could report that being in that building was really creepy but it just wouldn't be true. Maybe at midnight. After all, I'd already been there many, many times without even thinking about the whole ghost thing. Still, fun experience so no regrets there. Sorry for the lack of pictures, photography isn't allowed in the museum. Somewhere I do have Bat Mitzvah photos though... and if I'm remembering correctly, part of the movie Seabiscuit was filmed there.

Lastly, thanks to a pseudonym-less friend for telling me about the whole Ghost Hunters thing. If you're interested, here's part of it:

I Could Live There, Thousand Islands-Style

2010-09-12T23:55:00.002-04:00

It's finally time for the second post on houses I want to live in. Rules/background on this here. In a nutshell, I post about really cool houses. The two featured in this post are quite near each other; both are in the Thousand Islands, a region once known as a major summer destination for very rich people. I suppose a little background on the Thousand Islands--where the salad dressing was invented*--might be appropriate. So.

The Thousand Islands region is in the St. Lawrence River, between New York and Ontario. There are actually way more than one thousand islands there, the number is closer to 1,800. The region is technically an archipelago, stretching for about fifty miles. Some of the islands are protected or parks, many contain homes, and one is even owned by Skull and Bones. Since we're talking about a river here, boats have always been pretty important. A lot of shipping occurs through the St. Lawrence though shoals (basically (mostly?) underwater islands that don't count as islands) make that a little difficult which means there are a lot of shipwrecks around. A more fun boat fact is that a lot of alcohol was smuggled over the border from Canada to the US during Prohibition. Enough?

Although the area is not too far from my home, I had only been to the Thousand Islands once, on a family trip to Toronto, and we just drove through without stopping. This summer, I decided it was time for me to finally go back and actually see the place. I had wanted to visit the area for a long time because I really wanted to see Boldt Castle, number one on the houses list:

1. Boldt Castle, Heart Island

If you're not familiar with Boldt Castle, it's an unfinished mansion located on Heart Island (originally spelled "Hart") which, thanks to George Boldt who owned the island and had the home built, actually is somewhat heart-shaped. In fact, the whole island and the house incorporate a heart theme, perhaps appropriately since George Boldt had the home built as a gift for his beloved wife, Louise. Sadly, four years after construction on the house began, Louise died. George was so grief-stricken, he immediately ordered that all work on the Castle be stopped and he never set foot there again.

Unfinished, the building lay in disrepair for many years (along with other buildings on the island) until it was acquired by the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority in 1977. In the following decades, a lot of work has been done to restore the Castle and it has seen many visitors. There are, however, a few conditions regarding the building. One is that it can never be finished. Another is that no one may ever spend the night inside the Castle because George and Louise never did and (supposedly) no one ever has. The cynic in me thinks that condition's a little unlikely since the structure did just sit there for about seventy years. Plus, I have to wonder if maybe that condition might be revoked in the event of some kind of disaster.

On to the building itself. Since Boldt Castle is on an island, the logical way to reach it is by boat. It's very close to the mainland; you can see the building from Alexandria Bay, the mainland NY "gateway" to the Thousand Islands region. There is a small replica of the Arc de Triomphe (with, I think, deer on top) through which visitors were initially expected to pass in order to reach the island. The arch was never used during the Boldts' lifetimes and so it has not been used since. Visitors now approach from the side.

One of the most impressive features of the building is the beautiful glass, domed ceiling that dominates the main entryway. I think the ceiling is about six stories high and, walking up the grand staircase through the center of the building, it's hard not to look up. Rooms and hallways are built around the open center of the building, many offering glimpses of what life might've been like for the very rich in the early twentieth century. This is done both through furnishings in the style of the time and through background information and artifacts of the Boldt family. The result is an interesting mix of historical home and museum.

Even more of an interesting mix results from the various stages of completion of the house's rooms. It seemed to me that the higher up one goes, the worse the rooms look. Much of the building is not restored and, presumably, some of it never will be. It's very strange to see a perfectly painted and furnished room followed by a room with boards everywhere and graffiti all over the walls.

Heart Island also has very impressive grounds. There are other buildings on the island including a funny-looking tower where the Boldt family actually did live while on the island. Unfortunately, it wasn't open so I couldn't go inside. I did walk around, though, visiting the gardens and other island buildings:

Pictured above is the Power House, meant to supply the island with power, which is now a museum. It also isn't exactly original; the building had a bit of a run-in with some fireworks with rather disastrous results. A nearby island contains the Boldt Yacht House, that's apparently very impressive though I wouldn't know. I had hoped to go there but it had started to rain and it was getting kind of late. Next visit.

2. Singer Castle, Dark Island

When I first decided to visit the Thousand Islands, as I said, I really wanted to visit Boldt Castle. I had never even heard of the less well-known Singer Castle. Reading about the boat trips around the region, I found one that went to "Singer Castle on Dark Island" and knew that I absolutely had to take it. How could I not? And I'm so glad I did as it turned out to be the highlight of my trip.

Singer Castle was built during the late 19th/early 20th century for Frederick Bourne, then president of the Singer Company, you know, the one that makes sewing machines. Hence the name Singer Castle. As in other homes both in the Thousand Islands and elsewhere (Newport, Rhode Island comes to mind), Singer Castle was originally and often referred to as a cottage. I wonder what that makes my studio apartment.

The castle's architect, Ernest Flagg, based plans for the castle on Sir Walter Scott's book, Woodstock. The result is a bizarre but amazing building with secret passages, tunnels, and even a dungeon which was not, as the tour guides joke, for punishing Bourne's children.

Another interesting fact about Singer Castle is that, although it's in the United States, it is literally just over the border. In fact, Bourne's daughter Marjorie (who owned the castle after the death of her father) kept her wine on a nearby Canadian island. Pretty ingenious considering that was during Prohibition.

Unlike Boldt Castle, Singer Castle has been cared for continuously since it was built. As a result, the whole building is furnished and in good condition, as though people still live there. In fact, the building can actually, in a way, be lived in. It's possible to book the Castle as though it were a hotel and, so they say, basically get the run of the place. I'm rather desperate to do that! As interesting as the tour/main visit was, it was only possible to see some of the passages and "secrets" built into the home.

Well, that's it for now. I do have quite a few more pictures of both "castles" but, as always, posting pictures can be a bit of a pain. If there's another (better) way to post pictures with Blogger, I'd love to hear about it

*Wikipedia doesn't necessarily think the dressing was invented in the Thousand Islands. But who cares what Wikipedia thinks?

Cohoes Falls. Again.

2010-08-28T00:09:00.008-04:00

Since I'm currently working on a pretty long post, I figured I'd just take a few minutes to post something quick, keep the blog going, you know. So here goes. A few months ago, I wrote about Cohoes Falls, a powerful but not particularly scenic waterfall near where I live. I mean, there's often not that much water, there are power lines all over the place, and perhaps because the waterfall spans the width of a wide river and isn't as high as the gorge surrounding it, it doesn't look as tall as it actually is and dry spots throughout kind of diminish the effect.

The last time I posted, I mentioned that the "good" falls-viewing area wasn't yet open for the season. After thinking about going back for several months, I finally did it. Today. Okay, technically it was yesterday. Close enough. And I don't know if it was the beautiful weather (blue sky, puffy white clouds), the better vantage point(s), or the fact that I now have a much better camera, but this visit was a lot more exciting than the last. Also, I kind of expected the waterfall to be a lot drier than it was. It hasn't rained much lately and this waterfall is usually much more powerful in the spring. But it looked pretty good today.

The areas from which I viewed the falls were considerably closer than the open-year-round park I visited last time. While the waterfall is still somewhat far away, the seasonal park is probably a quarter of a mile closer to the falls and that does make a difference. There are several viewing areas there, two that are about even with the top of the falls, one that's close to the base (in height) but still a little far away (in distance), and one that's often closed (it was today) which I'm assuming is much closer. I wouldn't actually know since I haven't been there.

I did view the falls both from the top viewing areas and from the lower one which meant climbing down some stairs into a gorge. It's an easy "hike" and worth it for the view but a large fence makes it hard to see the falls well and harder to take a good picture.

Okay, back to work on my other post...

Snapshot: Lake Ontario

2010-08-11T17:05:00.004-04:00

I don't have much to say about this but I wanted to get something on the blog. So here's a picture of Lake Ontario. I went on a mini-vacation recently and figured I'd just keep things going by posting a picture. Anyway, I happened to be in a small town called Pulaski, NY which is just a couple miles from Lake Ontario. I figured I'd just take a quick ride over to the lake because, well, I like lakes. And Ontario is a great one. Anyway, the way the sun's rays were beaming towards the water was incredibly beautiful.

So here it is:

Anyway, other parts of the trip were more interesting blog-story-wise. Expect a post on structures called castles and, hopefully, a multi-blog extravaganza with a Laura Ingalls Wilder theme. I know, try to be patient.

Trapped at Yosemite

2010-07-27T00:45:00.000-04:00

When I began this little blog thing almost a year ago, I had a few particular memories I wanted to include. The following is one of them; it's one of my most vivid travel memories which is kind of amazing considering it's from twenty years ago, almost exactly. I've been thinking about this post and writing it in my mind (posts always sound better there) for just about a year now so I'm feeling just a little pressure to do this thing justice. Wish me luck? Here goes:

Wait, stop. Before I actually begin, I have to make a few things clear. 1. I was six when this happened. If the writing sounds like someone who's six, that's why. 2. Since I was six, I may not remember every little detail exactly as it happened. I think most of it's pretty close (if not totally accurate) but if it isn't, I'm sorry. I tried. 3. The pictures are scans of slides, hence the not-so-good quality. Also, some may be backwards. Also, some may not be Yosemite. Again, um, I tried. 4. Due to a request from my brother, this post has been edited.

From the time I was six until I was about fourteen, my family took a two-week vacation every summer. Our first trip, twenty years ago this August, was to California and Nevada with a quick side trip to the Grand Canyon. One of the places we visited early in the trip was Yosemite National Park, an area of almost 1,200 square miles in the Sierra Nevada in California. My family didn't actually plan to stay in the park but in the nearby town of El Portal (funny that I should remember the name of the town); we drove into the park each day taking in famous sites like Yosemite Falls--but wait, I'll get to that. We'd return to our motel each evening to go swimming and eat dinner: I actually remember eating chicken fingers. Twenty years ago. So far, basically your average family vacation.

At the time of our visit, Yosemite was 1. very dry and 2. plagued by forest fires. In regard to how dry it was, I remember in particular visiting, as mentioned above, Yosemite Falls. In order to show what Yosemite Falls usually looks like, I would have to borrow a picture from some website. So, um, try Google. There are tons.

I think that's a stream. Now read the next paragraph. Please.

For me, walking to the falls involved walking by an almost dry stream bed and crossing a bridge with little water flowing beneath it. Close to the falls, signs offered warnings such as, "Beware: Dangerous Waterfall" (or, uh, something like that) and other similar words of caution. I remember that approach clearly, even seeing that rocky, dry terrain in my mind, right up to viewing that powerful, gushing waterfall.

See the waterfall? It's backwards, I think. On the left (should be right?)

Except that last part never happened. My short, six year-old self looked up, and up, and up, hoping to see the terrific force of nature of a thundering waterfall and instead seeing a small stream of water falling lazily over a rock. But the point of this post is not Yosemite Falls or even the lack of it. No, what I remember most about Yosemite involves the fires.

By reading about the 1990 fires at Yosemite I've learned that, as a park visitor, I was never in any actual danger. I wish someone had told me that then. Views of the park's famous mountains and valleys that summer often included an unexpected sight: there were apparently several large fires in addition to many smaller ones that announced their location with plumes of gray smoke. Although the fires were very real and obvious, the didn't ruin our trip. *In fact, my brother noticed and reported a fire which was a great thing to do and a definite positive memory. Way to go, my brother!* (Ah, that sounds silly. Oh well.)

I don't remember how many days we spent in Yosemite but I do remember driving in each morning and out each night, spending the days in a nature center and walking along trails. Well, that's how it was until our final (planned) day there. I think that last day was really only supposed to be half a day. In fact, my parents debated whether or not to go in that day at all. They decided that since we were there, we might as well make the most of it and go. Maybe that was a mistake.

I think my brother and I attended some kind of children's nature program that day. I know I spent some time coloring, only going out of the lines twice! In my (possibly not accurate) memory, that's where I was when I heard the news: all roads in and out of the park had been closed. All the people inside the park were stuck there.

What happened next is slightly blurry in my memory. I know my family split up; I went with my father to try to arrange some cot-sleeping situation for the night while my brother went with my mother with the hope of getting a room at The Ahwahnee Hotel*. More on that later.

Although I was an impatient six year-old at the time, I don't really remember the waiting that must have come next. Instead, my memory jumps forward to my father discussing some sort of lodging arrangement (I think cots, emergency style, or so I've been told) with someone official. It was at that moment that my brother ran up to us and told us not to bother with that: we had gotten a room at The Ahwahnee.

The Ahwahnee, in case you're not familiar with it, is Yosemite's very luxurious, very expensive hotel. Back then, rooms were about $200 per night (now they're about $500) which was, well, slightly more money and slightly more luxury than a family that often stayed at the Holiday Inn was used to. I think the available rooms were due to cancellations and, although staying there wasn't exactly the greatest experience ever, we were lucky to get the room. I just learned that the room-getting situation was a bit more complicated than that and made possible by a helpful stranger. Thanks, stranger, twenty years later.

Once again, my memory jumps forward a bit. Suddenly it was dinnertime and our option was the hotel's fancy restaurant. Thinking about it years later, I realize the restaurant's patrons probably weren't wearing tuxedos and ball gowns and we probably weren't the only family wearing jeans and t-shirts. And yet, I remember feeling awfully out of place--not to mention grubby--walking into that dining room.

Other than that, dinner is mostly a blur as is the evening. What I do remember is that there was a fruit basket in the room; I'd never seen that before (or since?) and, I don't know, I may have thought it was, like, for decoration or something. It wasn't. In my memory, that night didn't involve much sleep. For one thing, I was just a bit scared (I'm the scaredest of scaredy-cats) and I know I wasn't the only one.

As I mentioned before, the fires were numerous and I really didn't know that the people in the park weren't in any danger. At that point, I think I had only seen smoke and ash but there had been plenty. And we were literally stuck inside the park which made the whole fire situation seem even more dire. Additionally, we had seen the fires on TV which certainly didn't make being stuck in the park more pleasant!

When we went to bed that night, we didn't know how long we'd be stuck in the park. At about 6 the next morning, the phone rang and we found out: the park was being evacuated. I remember sitting in the backseat of the rental car as we inched our way out of the park in a long line of traffic. I think I was sitting on the right side, behind the passenger seat. There were brush fires and ash by the side of the road and, even though we were leaving the park, there was still an eerie feeling about the whole situation. I think parts of this story may have been embellished in the many tellings since it actually occurred; I don't know if there were really scarred and scared animals watching the cars leave or if there was just sympathy for all the creatures in danger.

Oddly enough, that's where my memory ends: driving out of Yosemite. I don't even remember exactly where we went next (Fresno?**) although I remember a whole lot more about that trip. But, again, we'll get there.

*The capitalization of "The" is theirs, not mine. I'm willing to go with it but I do think it looks a little weird.

**Confirmed. It was Fresno.

Sorry, Blog-World. Have a Snapshot

2010-07-12T12:39:00.004-04:00

Well, my high hopes for productivity have basically been dashed thanks to a stressful couple of months including a major computer crash and no current internet access. Fun, huh? So, contest winners coming soon, I promise.

Meanwhile, I'm on a public computer and therefore if I post for real cannot add pictures. Damn. Not that my own computer currently has any pictures on it (thanks, crash) though luckily I didn't lose any.

Well, I've just realized that I do actually have a few pictures handy--as of about two months ago, I can email pictures from my phone without a charge. So let's all pause for a moment while I do that.

I have pictures from several rather varied places on my phone: the Lincoln Tunnel (expect those in a future post, yes, really), a nearby lake, and a not-quite-as-nearby park with caves and waterfalls. Unfortunately for that last one, my better pictures are on my real camera. So, we'll just stick with one picture for now. This one:

I recently purchased a book called Trails with Tales (I think? I don't have it with me) which consists of walking/hiking trails with neat stuff either geologically or historically or both. The book is published by a company near where I live and as far as I know, they publish a few similar books that I believe are all focused on this area (upstate NY). Perfect for me. I'm hoping to cover a lot of the "trails" both in person and on this here blog.

So far, I've done a couple including the place featured above. I don't remember the name of the park; it's in central NY and it's somehow connected with a school. The park is absolutely beautiful: it consists of several easily walked trails leading to streams, caves, and waterfalls. Of the places I've been, this area reminds me most of a place in Israel called Tel Dan. I'll be writing about that some day. Cool even in the hottest weather, fresh-smelling, full of rushing water and soft breezes. The waterfalls are especially beautiful, but maybe that's just because I love waterfalls.

The picture above is the glare-filled view from inside one of the caves. I don't know how deep the caves are because I didn't bring a flashlight and because I got dripped on. Someday, a braver me may return to explore further. I know I'm not doing this justice so I'll just leave it there for now. And as I sit in my miserably hot apartment, well, I'll be thinking of a cool oasis full of waterfalls.

Oh, Goodness, It's CONTEST Time Again!

2010-05-14T21:32:00.005-04:00

It's been a few months since my last contest so I think it's time for another! Unfortunately, I believe in hard work and I therefore do not just give things away for nothing like many blogs do. No, my giveaways are a little harder. Not much though. I hope. AND I've EDITED. So here's the new and easier version!

This week, you'll be competing to win one of five BEAUTIFUL New York City T-shirts. I'd post pictures but I'm lazy so, two are pretty classic "I heart NY"s, one has an apple, one has some other stuff, and so on. If you win, I'll offer pictures etc. For anyone who might live in NYC or already own a T-shirt or something, I'll consider digging through the prize closet for another decent prize. If you just don't heart NY, you're SOL. Sorry.

Okay, here's how to enter: I will post a bunch of clues that all point to one particular place. It can be anywhere in the world although it's more likely to be somewhere I've been. Not that that's especially helpful. You can have up to FOUR tries to guess the place. If you're sure of the answer, you can make the same guess up to four times. Make sense? The goal here is to be pretty easy so don't make fun at me if you think the answer is really obvious. If it's hard, I'm sorry. As with volcanoes, one never knows with these types of things. Here's how you earn each guess:

1. Just comment with your answer. First one's free.

2. Be a follower. I don't care if it's through Google, Facebook, RSS, or whatever. Up to you. I'll even accept Twitter for this one (I'm @travelrambler hint hint). Just let me know where you're following if it isn't obvious.

3 and 4. Broadcast. Post about this contest/giveaway on your blog, Twitter, Facebook, or whatever. Post once, get one entry. Post twice, get two. Post three times, get two. Sorry, no more than two.

After all that explanation, here are the clues. First hint, this has something to do with an upcoming post:

1. Although you may know that I am in the United States, you might be surprised if I told you in which state I'm located. I know I was when they told me.

2. I used to have an interesting job; I was kind of a bouncer. When I got the job, I replaced a guy named Clinton. (Full name: either Castle Clinton or Fort Clinton. Come on guys, approximately 30 seconds on Wikipedia--bad me--will give you the answer).

3. I met lots of people through my job including many of this blog owner's relatives (ancestors, really). Even though I'm retired now, lots of people visit me. They like my old stories.

4. One of my neighbors is a really (like really) famous woman who also happens to be, er, rather large. Make that incredibly large. In fact, I can't think of a larger woman.

5. I am a gateway.

6. ~~I am a rock.~~ I am an island.

I AM.......

Comment moderation is on for the duration of the contest which ends at 12:01 AM on WEDNESDAY, MAY 26. Happy guessing!

Snapshot: Leon Sinks

2010-05-09T23:40:00.000-04:00

In an effort to post more often, I'm doing what I discussed here. I've decided to be a little cutesy and sort of name types of posts a little. So this is called "snapshots". PLEASE comment or something if you've got a better name. Thank you.

So here's my latest:

I lived for a short amount of time in Tallahassee, Florida. Although it's the capital, it's not what you'd call touristy as much of northern Florida isn't. Topographically, a lot of northern Florida isn't really what people generally think of when they think of Florida: there are lots of hills, pine trees, and, at least around Tallahassee, few of those endless, white, sandy beaches that grace "normal" Florida. And nothing even remotely Disneyfied--in fact, I don't even think there's a Disney store at the mall.

I've actually talked a little about this before so instead of writing endlessly about the amazing geography of Florida, I'll just briefly mention that there are a lot of sinkholes in the northern part of the state.

Just a few miles south of Tallahassee is a park called Leon Sinks. A short drive from Capital Circle, Tallahassee's ring road brings you to an easy to miss turn-off with a small sign pointing to Leon Sinks. Like many parks in the area, parking/visiting costs a few dollars but it's sort of honor system--no parking attendants. Technically you're supposed to put a hangy-thing on your rear-view mirror but I never saw anyone check for them. The park itself is pretty much right off the road--you're already in the wilderness.

Of the park itself, I remember a long walking trail that loops around offering a nice walk of maybe two or three miles. I think? Some of that is on wooden walkways because of the sinkholes and the fact that some of them are basically lakes or something. So anyway, the picture above is one of the water-filled sinkholes. It's not very large but I honestly have no idea how deep the water is. It's my understanding that the worn-away rock that essentially creates the sinkholes creates a vast network of caves and tunnels underground. I know I read about some exploring of those caves and I must look for details because it was interesting. Really.

What else can I say about Leon Sinks and sinkholes? Although I clicked on this picture randomly, it's actually one of my favorites because of the way the sky is reflected in the water. Although it's possible to see alligators there, I never did and I'm not sure if I'm disappointed or not. Despite the threat of alligators, walking through the park was peaceful, serene, tranquil, and just about any other synonym you might think of. The light breeze ruffles the green leaves, the sun gently warms without beating down (except in the summer, I think), and, as far as I can tell, it's rarely crowded.

Warning, after all that happy, floaty talk, I'm about to sound insane. Maybe it's just me, but Leon Sinks and the places like it around northern Florida seem just the tiniest bit sinister. Part of it is that the Earth could literally, like, yawn up a gaping hole at pretty much any time. Not that it's likely (I hope) but it is possible. And while I think there are sinkhole/lakes with swimming and boating access, the lakes seem the tiniest bit bottomless-pitesque to me. I know they're not bottomless even if they are part of a major cave network. And Loch Ness which totally has sinister connotations and caves etc. scares me not at all. I just think it's awesome.

So, does anyone think the lake looks nice? Peaceful? Scary? Jekyll? Hyde? I just can't decide.

Next up: a contest, a post on New Jersey (yes, really), the rest of BSC in the USA, and Yosemite. Hopefully all this month. I'm working on being motivated.

The Other Niagara Falls?

2010-05-02T09:56:00.003-04:00

While I have lately been truly sucking at posting things, I haven't stopped thinking about things to post. Or having great and fabulous (read: pretty boring) adventures. So while I know I need to finish BSC in the USA and I really have to post about Yosemite, I figured better to just get a little something up on here, even if no one reads it.

In a recent conversation, I casually remarked that I wished I lived near a decent waterfall or two, since, you know, I absolutely love wateralls. I was indignantly informed (technically reminded) that one of the biggest or widest or most powerful waterfalls in New York is actually pretty close by. Maybe I knew that, but past viewings of the falls were unimpressive enough that seeing it (them?) didn't make much of an impact.

Suspense effectively built? I'm talking about Cohoes Falls, on the Mohawk River just before it dumps into the Hudson (remember the Hudson? I talked about that one). Just for fun, I decided to take a look at the Wikipedia page for Cohoes Falls (remember kids, never, ever cite Wikipedia. I'm going straight to hell for this) where I read that in the 18th century, Cohoes Falls were considered, in beauty, second only to Niagara. Bear in mind, Niagara Falls, beautiful or not, are extremely famous and visited simply for being waterfalls. Further "anaylsis" revealed that Cohoes is better than the American Falls but "not as good" as the Canadian Falls. Bloody Canadians, getting the good waterfall and the good town.

After reading important comparisons between Cohoes and Niagara, I realized it was time to go back to Cohoes Falls. Even though it's close to home and I've driven by countless times, I have much more vivid memories of Niagara Falls. I don't know, maybe it's the rainbow. Or the commercialness. Or the fact that the Canadian/Horseshoe Falls is actually kinda pretty. Cohoes, on the other hand, is really just a waterfall in a city, small viewing area, usually empty of people.

While the city isn't exactly on my way home from school/work, it isn't really out of the way either. So, one warm and sunny day, I felt the open road calling me away from my usual highway exit and into the city of Cohoes. As a city, Cohoes apparently used to be quite something; I'll call it the (former) Venice of New York (I'm guessing no one else ever did) because it used to be full of canals. At one time, Cohoes was a thriving industrial city, I think there were a lot of mills there, all powered by water. Cohoes also essentially has the end of the Erie Canal, you know the one with the mule named Sal, right?

So, anyway, my visit. The time was early spring, the water was high and the air warm and breezy. All very good things, especially the water since, at times, the falls runs almost dry. There's a theory that the name for the falls (and city) comes from the "potholes" that appear when the water is low. As you can imagine, this really isn't always the most stunning waterfall.

I parked on the street, right next to the little Cohoes Falls Park. A short walk led to the year-round viewing area; a closer walkway doesn't open until sometime this month, I think. Since it's close by, I may go back and check that out. My impression? Didn't change all that much from the last time I saw the falls. Sure, there was more water, I know it's higher than it looks (somewhere between 70 and 100 feet) and it looked kind of powerful. But honestly? It's not the most beautiful waterfall, not by a long shot. I have an upcoming post about a waterfall in the Adirondacks (I said I've been adventuring) that was much more exciting. Don't believe me? Check out the picture:

BSC in the USA: Team North

2010-03-28T23:30:00.006-04:00

Now that we're done with Team South, it's time to head north with the Schafers and the BSC members that matter. (Seriously, how ridiculous is it that the original members all ended up going north? I'm thinking of crying racism, anti-semitism, and everyone-hates-malloryism.) Just to recap really quickly, in the northern RV we have the following people and destinations: Jack Schafer (San Francisco), Jeff Schafer (rock climbing), Dawn (a ghost town), Kristy (baseball stadiums), Claudia (Art Institute of Chicago), Mary Anne (Maynard, Iowa), and Stacey (Seattle). On with the trip!

First stop for Team North is Cleveland so Kristy can visit the stadium where the Indians play (Official Kristy Stadium Count: 1). Who's impressed that I know which baseball team is from Cleveland? Stacey doesn't, and she's actually there. After a lame joke about Cleveland Indians versus Native American Indians and Stacey's statement that basketball players are way hotter than baseball players, we're treated to a long look inside Stacey's head; she tells us she's only met her BF Ethan once and that "coffee shop" is New Yorkese for "diner". That's funny, I thought I could speak New Yorkese. Actually, I think the language she's speaking is McGillese, a language which frightens me more and more with each passing day. Frankly, I'd rather be watching the baseball game which is exactly what Kristy wants to do. Jack (easier than Mr. Schafer) agrees, against the wishes of almost everyone else, and in they go. Fortunately for Stacey, she learns that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is in Cleveland and thus a side trip (that's not so side) is born.

It's 9:53 and therefore time for a rant. They just learned about the Rock Hall? Seriously? First, it's a pretty famous place. Second, way to open a guide book, guys. Did no one ever think to look up fun stuff to do/see in the places they were planning on visiting before ever leaving Stoneybrook? I mean, I'm all for discovering new things along the way but seriously! As we'll see later, it's like no one put any thought into this trip at all.< /rant>

So. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It's a fun place to visit. The building itself is all glassy and modern so that's cool, I guess. The hall of fame part isn't all that extensive but worth visiting. Most of the building is really a museum with a lot of rock and roll history and rotating exhibits. When I was there, one of the exhibits was actually about music and baseball. Too bad Kristy missed that. Anyway, I thought I took pictures of the Rock Hall but I can't find any so I guess I didn't. Oh, well.

The next chapter is Claudia's, leading up to her destination in Chicago. She tells us that so far they've stopped in Cleveland and Detroit. First of all, Detroit? Really? Was that a strictly baseball stadium stop? That puts the Official Kristy Stadium count at 2. Plus, Chicago is pretty much directly west of Cleveland. Detroit is west of Cleveland but also quite a bit north. As in, definitely not on the way. How obnoxious of Kristy.

Meanwhile back in the RV, we learn that Dawn eats wormy apples, Kristy washes her hair with soap, and Mary Anne likes to knit. Except we already knew that last part. We also learn that Stacey is a bitch (only we already knew that too). She yells at Claudia for reading her journal even though Claudia was just looking for a sketchbook. By the way, their fight continues all the way to Washington... The other really annoying person in the RV is Jack who makes jokes/mean comments about Mary Anne's father. Okay, I know Mary Anne's father is married to Jack's ex-wife but you don't do that to a thirteen year-old. Seriously.

So, the next stop is Chicago. There is a stadium stop (Official Count: 3, presumably ignoring the fact that Chicago has two baseball teams) though that actually comes after the visit to the Art Institute. Claudia especially wants to see the Impressionists (as does Mary Anne) which, sure, whatever.

I, too, have been to the Art Institute of Chicago but that was a long time ago. Sorry, no great insights there. Um, it was nice. So, yeah, back to the BSCers. Before leaving Chicago, they ate at Pizzeria Uno. Why, I ate there just last week!

Oh, they ate at the original one. Humph. I guess they also went to Water Tower Place while in Chicago. Apparently mall visits on cross country trips are all the rage, who'da thunk it. I'm pretty sure this mall stuff is mostly a set-up for Mary Anne's storyline so I'll just pretend they aren't idiots for going to malls, which, for the most part are generally fairly similar to each other.

After Chicago/Illinois, the next stop is Milwaukee. Why, you ask? Whose destination was in Wisconsin? Not to mention, the stop after that is Minneapolis. You don't remember someone wanting to go there either, do you? Well, it's time to up the Official Stadium Count to 5. No, not 4, 5. I think it's time for my major Kristy rant!

Okay. Everyone on the trip got to pick one place to visit. One. At this point (maybe halfway across the country?) Kristy has visited FIVE places. THREE of them were out of the way! After Chicago, the next destination should've been Mary Anne's grandmother's house in Maynard, Iowa. Now, I don't know if the real Maynard, Iowa (which does exist) is the same as the one in the book. If so, Maynard looks pretty much west of Milwaukee which isn't so bad. Of course, that's assuming the roads go that way, too (I'm almost positive the Interstates don't) but it still seems like a pain. What the hell, Kristy? Why are you so damn special? Okay, I get that she wants to go to the field where the Brewers play, her stepfamily's name being Brewer and all. But honestly, the whole thing is pretty ridiculous. And Minneapolis is definitely out of the way. Not to mention, there are still more ballparks to come. Sometimes I just hate you, Kristy. < /rant>

All of this driving way the hell out of the way (and all of these visits to malls which Mary Anne can't stand) mean they'll be late getting to Iowa. When Mary Anne calls her grandmother, Granny Baker (not what Mary Anne calls her but I like it) insists on meeting them in Minnesota. Because Iowa is OUT OF THE WAY and because Midwesterners like to drive. Where do they meet? At Granny Baker's suggestion, they all go to the Mall of America! Just what Mary Anne wants!

While I do think it's pretty silly to visit malls all over the country, I would make an exception (hell, I have made an exception, though it wasn't my idea) for the Mall of America. Why? Because it's like the mall to end all malls. Yes, there's an amusement park inside, yes, there is a roller coaster, and yes, the mall is huge. Because I can't find any pictures of the MoA (can you imagine taking pictures of a mall?) I'll offer you a video instead. Yes, I know this takes place in Canada but if you get the context, you'll know that someone wanted to get married at the Mall of America. So I say it fits.

Back to BSCWorld. At the MoA, Dawn gets the award for Most Obnoxious Person Ever by leading everyone to a health food restaurant for lunch. Okay, maybe it's just that I was taught manners so I expect others to act like decent human beings but couldn't they have at least discussed where to eat lunch? Or maybe, just maybe, considering that was Mary Anne's day, she or her grandmother could've picked a place to eat? Instead, they were stuck eating seitan which is apparently supposed to taste like steak but doesn't. We're told as much and I'd like to know how the vegetarians that are telling people to eat this crap even know what steak tastes like. FYI, seitan is wheat gluten which sounds about as appetizing as the sweatshirt I'm wearing.

The best thing that happens in this chapter is Granny Baker telling off Jack for making fun of Richard. The worst is that Mary Anne the Doormat thinks it's her fault they ended up at the MoA even though her grandmother suggested going there. Look, it's a miracle of modern medicine! See the girl without a spine! Mary Anne's logic (or lack of it) is confusing me so I'll just press on.

So Team North skips Iowa. I will therefore skip Iowa as well; my poor loyal readers will just have to wait for my great Iowa stories. I know it's tough. Since I'm skipping Iowa, I'll just offer a few more notes (and pictures!) from earlier in the trip. First, since Mary Anne basically didn't get her destination, I think she's entitled to another. As we find out from the discussion of where to visit in South Dakota, Mary Anne is a Laura Ingalls Wilder fan and would be interested in visiting the LIW site. Okay, first of all, there are quite a few LIW sites out there, so, way to be specific, Lerangis. Second, they weren't all that far from the LIW site in Pepin, Wisconsin. The museum in Pepin, not the actual cabin of which I only have one picture and it contains me so I'm thinking maybe I won't post it:

That's Little House in the Big Woods for any non-fans who may have at least heard of the books. Though, sadly, the Big Woods aren't there any more. But wait, this is a BSC post not a Laura Ingalls Wilder post so I guess I have to move on.

To Minneapolis! Now, I don't remember much of Minneapolis. Walkways between buildings, right? I do remember this unusual sculpture:

(Quick note: some pictures may be backwards. I haven't quite figured out my scanner yet...)

It's part of the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. Apparently this sculpture has become quite the symbol of Minnesota. If I'm remembering correctly, it doesn't even look out of place in the sculpture garden. By the way, I think the garden is part of or somehow affiliated with the Walker Art Center (it's modern art, FYI). Maybe Claudia would've liked to visit? Or maybe a visit would've resulted in Claudia wearing spoons with glued-on cherries as earrings. Which would've looked completely ridiculous on anyone else.

Next up for the BSC is South Dakota. I'll have to depart from the BSC narrative again for a few minutes in order to talk about how great South Dakota is. Dawn (the current narrator) tells us that, when she thinks of South Dakota, she thinks of nothing. The implication is quite obviously that South Dakota sucks. Which it most certainly does not. Now, I'm generally a city person (not so much in South Dakota) but I think I can appreciate some nature-y stuff now and then and that is something SD has in abundance. The state has the Black Hills, Custer State Park, cool caves, mountains with presidents and Native American chiefs carved into them, and the Badlands!

Plus Wall Drug. Here's a little preview since they do get there:

(Don't worry, I'll use this same exact picture in the next BSC post.)

But that rant's coming. Stay tuned! (Or just tune in. Please?) I'd really hoped to finish Team North in one go but, due to some technical difficulties, that's just not happening. Stopping for now, hopefully back very soon to finish!

BSC in the USA, Part the Second

2010-03-16T22:48:00.005-04:00

Taking a break from my fascinating life, here we finally have the long-awaited second part of BSC in the USA. I'm sorry to say this'll probably be part two of three, mostly because of all the pictures that'll hopefully be coming up. Please cross your fingers or something to make that happen.

When we last visited Team South, the BSCers and Co. were just leaving Graceland. The next stop for them is Dalton, Mississippi, Jessi's destination. I have to say I find it a little hard to be snarky in this chapter. Jessi's destination was the plantation where she thinks her ancestors worked. Apart from the obvious reaction of 'what kind of eleven year old chooses to visit a plantation and what kind of parents does she have?' I kind of have to respect her wanting to learn more about her ancestors. I don't know much about mine, either, and I understand why she'd be curious. However, aside from a warning something along the lines of, "Uh, Jessi, there might be some, uh, difficult stuff there" from her grandmother, I don't think anyone prepared Jessi for what she might find. And the Dalton plantation had a museum with it with some pretty nasty stuff (pictures of lynchings, for example) and yet, no warning that maybe, just maybe the material would be tough for an eleven year old to handle? Not to mention, Jessi, Mal, and Abby were the only kids visiting. Maybe shoulda been a clue.

Anyway, Jessi meets a woman named Annie who's doing research at the plantation. She says her ancestors were slaves there, too and Jessi figures they must be related. In the part of the book I usually skip (the postcards and stuff at the end), Jessi writes to Annie and mentions that they may actually be related. Too bad we don't get Annie's response though in my head it's something along the lines of, "Leave me alone you crazy stalker. We aren't related. Please get a life. Love, Annie." One other thing about Jessi's visit: she didn't seem to know that slaves weren't allowed to read or write. I'm pretty sure I knew that long before sixth grade so learn your history! C'mon Jessi, being black is one of your two personality traits! Own it, girl.

Next stop after Dalton is Lester, Oklahoma, home of Watson's college roommate, Chet Romney. Watson and Chet (the roommate, obvs) hadn't seen each other in ten years and I'm still trying to figure out this timeline. Have they seen each other since college? If not, Watson would only be about 32. If so, well, Chet's wife just had a baby and Watson's kids are pretty young... meh, I don't care. Whatever. It's been a long time and they're visiting. Hooray.

So. Anyway, first up is lunch. A very large lunch. Reading about is making me just a little bit hungry... And then everyone decides to go to the bathroom together (well, this is a Lerangis book).

No, no, not like that (try explaining that to Andrew). Because the BSC can't go five minutes without being involved in something exciting or dangerous, there's a tornado. Of course there is. The Romneys don't have a basement or shelter or anything, despite living in Oklahoma, so it's into the bathroom they go. Something about the plumbing protecting the "young ones". Except Karen. She's given a long metal pole and sent onto the roof to play lightning rod. Unfortunately, that's only in the book in my head.

Picture taken in Oklahoma, of Texas. So, really, it's both states.

After a Wizard of Oz reference or two, the tornado is over and it's time to move on. Next stop: Ten Gallon, Texas home of the Walkin' Tall Rodeo. A quick Google search tells me that neither that place nor that event actually exists. Shame. So anyway, no one likes the rodeo. They last all of five seconds before leaving. Mal, Jessi, and Abby spend the whole time playing soul-sucking, murderer-inducing video games while David Michael rides a mechanical horse. Yup.

This one is all Texas. I must find/post more pictures. These aren't so great.

After that, it's on to New Mexico. Because everyone loves continuity, the travelers go out of their way to visit Zuni, the Native American reservation that had a penpal program with Stoneybrook Elementary. Anyone remember the one with Dawn and the sleepover? I think that was Lerangis's first book! So, yeah, the Zuni school burned down, Dawn rebuilt it single-handedly, and Kristy's family and co. went to collect Dawn's official Lifetime Achievement Award. Don't worry though, Dawn was able to get to Oslo to collect her Nobel Peace Prize.

Moving on. Karen's destination of choice was Four Corners, which, considering the Zuni detour, was no longer on the way. Being the brat that she is, Karen insisted on going there anyway and for once, I kind of don't blame her. Four Corners really is a fun place to visit (I've covered this on the blog before http://mytravelrambling.blogspot.com/2009/10/to-possible-disappointment-of-karen.html). I wish I could find pictures of Four Corners, I know they're in my house somewhere! I may add them later.

The next stop for Team South is the Grand Canyon. This is Elizabeth's (or should I call her Mrs. Brewer) destination, despite Abby's best efforts to get Liz (easier, no?) to change. Why? The Grand Canyon was the favorite destination of Abby's father who was killed just before the family's scheduled Grand Canyon vacation. So naturally that makes it a bit difficult for Abby, though of course she doesn't say anything to anyone. Honestly? The whole thing is kinda sad so I'll focus on my visit to the Grand Canyon instead. Hooray! Everything is about me!

First of all, I visited the canyon in the summer, just like the BSC did. In fact, I'm guessing their visit was in August as mine was. It's my understanding that August tends to be a rainy month in Arizona; it was raining and COLD when I visited the Grand Canyon and, from what I've read/heard, that's pretty normal. Not so in this book.

Since this is all about me, I'll just mention that my experience getting to the canyon was just a little different from theirs. I flew in one of those tiny little planes from Las Vegas and over the canyon. Since I was six years old at the time, I either didn't think to say "HELL NO" or I just didn't have the option. I actually remember those flights pretty well (one there, one back, get it?) I know that each seat on the plane had a radio and I listened to the Spanish station. I think six year old me thought they might play La Bamba. I was wrong. I think I do remember the view out the window; I'm pretty sure it was kind of misty and so the canyon wasn't all that clear. What I know for sure is that I'll never do that again. Are we sick of me talking about me? I'll continue and possibly post pictures later, if I find them.

Ugh, I thought that was it for Team South but it turns out there's one more destination: Andrew's pick, the San Diego Zoo. Poor, forgotten Andrew... So, yeah. The San Diego Zoo. When they get there, who should the Brewers/BSCers run into but the annoying Hoyers from back in Virginia! So, basically, they all visit the zoo together and it's not terribly exciting. Andrew was especially looking forward to the pandas, one of which was due to give birth around the time of their visit. Unfortunately, no one knew that the panda was being sent back to China so that the baby could be native Chinese. Can't risk that panda running for president. While panda cubs have been born at the San Diego Zoo, it does make sense that this one was born in China. So we'll go with that. However, it turns out the panda hadn't left yet so everyone got to see the pandas after all (minus the Hoyer brat who complained and left early with her grandparents). Andrew seemed to not understand the difference between bamboo and chopsticks and I have to say, considering how dumb Andrew usually seems, I'm surprised he even made the whole chopstick connection. Congratulations Andrew, even though you said something stupid you aren't all that dumb.

Hey, I've been to the San Diego Zoo, too! And somewhere I must have pictures... but that's enough for now. I'm fading. And that's basically it for Team South. Northerners coming soon.

A Little Bit Petrafied

2010-03-05T02:02:00.006-05:00

My poor, neglected blog. I feel like I should post something, just to well, keep things going or something. So a quick (and hopefully painless) post it shall be. How am I going to do that? Well, I've come up with a new method for (some posts). Basically, I went to my "pictures" folder and clicked randomly until I managed to open a picture, taken by me, of a place I've visited. Here's the picture I ended up with:

This picture was taken at Petra, in Jordan. While I do plan to write a whole post on Petra, I'm much too tired for that now. And I have better pictures. So what can I say about this one? Well, not much actually. It's a ruin. It's very cool. It was disgustingly hot when I was there.

Okay, I'll talk about it just a little. If this post ends up not making sense, bear in mind I'm writing it at two in the morning. Petra, for anyone who might not know, is an ancient city in Jordan. It consists of sort of buildings built into rock (including this most famous one, the Treasury, which actually has nothing to do with money):

Recognize that from Indiana Jones?

There are also some more freestanding buildings (like the one above). Um, Petra is in a valley but it's mostly pretty open, if that makes sense. It's very sunny and someone got a bit sunburned and quite dehydrated there.

So, moral of the story? Don't go to Petra in July, if you can help it. If you do, wear a hat. And bring water. Be careful though, water does not stay cold.

Petra is, however, a really neat place to go. I really must try harder.

New Blog and Loo of the Year

2010-02-23T15:28:00.006-05:00

Since one blog I forget to update isn't enough, I now have another! This one's all about books. Check it out here: http://bigboxesofbooks.blogspot.com/

Since I'm posting, maybe I should make time for a quick travel story. Okay, I'm too lazy to bother with a real story. Instead, a comment on the awesomeness that is Scotland. Did you know that they have a Loo of the Year award? Yes, an actual award honoring really nice bathrooms. I was lucky to find myself in two of the winners and, let me tell you, they deserved it. One was in a restaurant called The Green Welly. I don't think I have any pictures of the bathroom but I did take one of the sign:

The other winning bathroom was even nicer but sadly I don't have a picture of that one either. That was in a hotel on Loch Ness. I believe that hotel was also the home of the "official" Nessie gift shop. With that in mind, Loch Ness:

I Could Totally Live There (part 1)

2010-02-05T23:13:00.008-05:00

While thinking about possible posts, I decided it would be fun to do a top ten list of sorts. In this case, ten houses (or castles or palaces, really) in which I wouldn't mind living. As it turns out, there are way too many to limit this to ten. So I'll just start with a few and go from there, every so often. Plus, it’s a huge pain to upload all the pictures.

Anyway, the keyword here is ostentatious. I'm really only talking about ridiculously grand, fabulous, waaay over-the-top places. And, since we're civilized here at Travel Rambling, there are a few rules:

1. These are all places I've been. And generally been inside. I may bend that part a little.

2. They must be habitable. As in, there must be a ceiling and enough walls to keep out rain/animals/ax-wielding psychopaths etc.

3. They have to at least be somewhat open to the public. No (currently) private houses.

4. All these places are or were meant to be lived in.

Okay, on with the list!

Number 1: Pena Palace, Sintra, Portugal

Since this amazing palace actually inspired this post, I figured it would be a good place to start. Located on a mountain in Sintra Portugal, this is one of the most bizarre looking buildings I've ever seen. It was built in the mid-19th century but I think there was a monastery on the site before the palace was built and that was somehow incorporated. The result is strange but really amazing. I honestly think the building looks like it belongs in a fairy tale or something. First, the exterior colors are varied and bright. Some of it's red, some yellow, and some blue and white tile. There are numerous towers built in various styles. Also, the thing is absolutely enormous. I don't think I could ever see the whole thing, let alone fit it all in a picture. Unfortunately, photography is prohibited inside but there are some pictures (worth seeing) on the Wikipedia page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pena_Palace). I can't seem to find any pictures of the part I liked best which consisted of rooms opening out into a courtyard.

Even better than the palace itself (maybe…) is the incredible view. I do have pictures of that:

Note the Moorish castle on the top of another hill. I’m not sure if the palace is as precarious as I remember it. I’m a little (or a lot) afraid of heights and walking around the walled perimeter was just a little bit scary. In fact, I think one woman in the group had to turn back. So, maybe avoid that part in bad weather.

Number 2: Versailles Palace, Versailles, France

(Yeah, that's just a corner...)

Sure, everyone knows Versailles, Louis XIV's palace in France. How could I not include it? It's not only huge and fancy but a symbol of the French monarchy. Located just outside Paris, Versailles would be an ideal home for someone who likes the suburbs. A little bit country, a little bit ~~rock and roll~~ city. Close enough to count.

What is there to say about Versailles that hasn’t been said? Well, the grounds are pretty fabulous:

Not to mention the interior:

And the front gates are pretty imposing. Good for scaring off the peasants who don’t travel in large packs (if that’s a concern).

For another, slightly less fancy royal chateau in France, try number 3:

Number 3: Fontainebleu Chateau, Fontainebleu, France

What’s there to say about Fontainebleu? Well, it’s big. It’s grand. It’s got a great front yard.

Fontainebleu’s setting is much more rural than Versailles’s is. If you’re royal and in need of a palace but would prefer a country setting, Fontainebleu would be a great choice.

Number 4: Graceland, Memphis, Tennessee

Graceland (where Elvis lived, remember?) is definitely worthy of a high rating on the Tack-O-Meter and therefore worth a mention here. Yes, the kitchen is carpeted. Since Graceland was already covered here (http://mytravelrambling.blogspot.com/2010/01/bsc-in-usa-part-1_14.html), I won’t go into detail.

I just have to say, it’s really tough to upload a lot of photos. If anyone knows of an easier/better way than the standard Blogger way, please let me know!

ANDORRABLE

2010-01-18T20:33:00.006-05:00

We interrupt our previously scheduled program to bring you a special guest post! The following is an account of a visit to the tiny country of Andorra, written by my travel mentor who also happens to be my mother.

Andorrable

Well…not completely. The Principality of Andorra is the sixth smallest nation in Europe, having an area of 468 km² (181 sq mi) and an estimated population of 84,484 in 2008. If size qualifies a location as “adorable”, there it is. But wait, there’s more.

Why travel to this tiny sovereign country nestled in the Pyrenees between France and Spain? Because it is there? Ali’s dad thought so, and since he: 1. Drives our rental cars and 2. Does not usually request specific destinations, leaving those decisions to me (to our mutual benefit) it was off to Andorra we went, by way of Montserrat, one of the most fantastic places in the world . Go there when you visit Barcelona and plan to spend the day.

Until 2006 I had no idea that Andorra has a capital city and that the name is Andorra La Vella (Andorra the Old in Catalan, more on that shortly). I learned that fact from my daughter, the owner of this blog, in a trivia game. (Yes I am a librarian.) Andorra La Vella is not an attractive city. Its dual purposes appear to be to hide copious amounts of currency (a la Switzerland) judging from the number of international banks lining the streets and to facilitate large tax free purchases of alcohol and cigarettes for Europeans. We were not in the market for either of those items; still we were stopped by Spanish customs officers upon our exit. Andorra is not a member of the EU and apparently the tax free issues are taken seriously by the border patrol. Once they heard our American accents and my poor attempt at speaking Spanish and non-knowledge of Catalan, they waved us on and we were on our way back to Spain.

Andorra La Vella does have a tiny old town (well the whole place is tiny) that is reachable by hiking up a mountain or taking an elevator. Guess which option was taken by 50somethings in the dusk and drizzle. Old Town does have a certain charm, including the smallest parliament building in Europe which was locked, although the woman in the TI told us it would be open. It was Saturday night, dark by then with a more steady rain, so we purchased a copy of Harry Potter in Catalan for Ali’s cousin who collects Harry Potter in as many languages as possible, found a non-descript cafeteria for a quick bite and headed back to the charmless New Town.

In a departure from my usual, nay obsessive research I chose the first hotel I could find in my online search, the Andorra La Vella Crowne Plaza. Not a good choice, virtually indistinguishable from any other CP in the world, and expensive to boot. It turned out that there are quaint looking small hotels in Old Town. However parking our rental car/lugging our suitcase up the mountain might have been problematic.

By Sunday morning, a difficult time to find things to do in many smaller places in Europe, it was snowing lightly, and despite that the fact that we were heading up a mountain we decided to visit Ordino, a small Pyrenean village which IS charming. Ordino is also distinguished by two tiny museums housed in the same building, right on the main street. At this point the snow was really coming down, but since we are intrepid upstate New Yorkers who know how to deal with snow, we decided to visit one of the two museums, both founded by a Ukrainian named Nicolaï Syadristy who found himself in Andorra. The Museum of Russian Icons looked interesting but we had just been in Russia six months earlier, so we chose the Museum of Micro Miniatures. In reading about this museum in the tourist brochure—my only source of information since this librarian could not locate a travel book dedicated to Andorra—we pictured some of the small portraits in tiny perfect frames that we had seen in other museums. NOT SO. This museum had miniscule objects and scenes in gold leaf—the one that immediately comes to mind is a desert scene complete with camels and pyramids. It fits in the eye of a needle. I later learned that this scene is the favorite among museum visitors. There are powerful monoculars to view these objects. We could not comprehend how they had been created.

We could have spent hours studying these fascinating creations but at this point the snow was really heavy and discretion won out. We headed down the mountain and into Spain where the sun was shining. We had originally intended to exit through France since we like to travel in a circle, but were dissuaded by the snow and by the admonition of the TI lady in Andorra La Vella that it is “really far”. Actually nothing is truly very far in Andorra.

About the Catalan language: it is an amalgamation of all the other Romance languages however it sounds like none of them. In spite of our experiences traveling in Barcelona and the rest of Catalunya, I had no idea that Catalan is the national language of Andorra. And French appears to be #2. To my admittedly non-linguistically trained eye Catalan most resembles Portuguese in its written form. Since I speak decent French and have a basic reading knowledge of Spanish and even a smattering of Portuguese (from one visit) and Italian (from travels, but mainly from opera) I thought I would pick up some Catalan phrases. Here it is: “Si us plau”—that’s “please”. And that’s it.

Even though not a member of the European Union, the unit of currency is the euro since Andorra has no currency of its own. Prior to the advent of the euro Spanish pesetas and French francs were both accepted.

There are also no airports anywhere in the county, nor is there a train station. You must fly to Toulouse, France or Barcelona, Spain . The best way to get around is to rent a car. The roads are good, although frequently snow-covered. We were there at the beginning of November and the snowstorm we encountered did not seem to be a rare occurrence.

Do we expect to visit Andorra again? Nope. There are too many other places on our bucket list. Are we sorry we went? Nope. We’ve visited other places “because they were there”. It makes for interesting party conversation. On to Liechtenstein!

BSC in the USA (part 1)

2010-01-14T16:03:00.002-05:00

I've talked about it long enough. It's time for me to join the world of snark. For your reading pleasure, it's BSC in the USA, the absolutely ridiculous Baby-Sitters Club super special in which the whole club (unless you count Logan and Shannon) and a few family members travel across the country in two RVs. For the BSC uninitiated: http://www.scholastic.com/annmartin/bsc/index.htm, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Baby-sitters_Club

There are many fabulous blogs out there (promotion anyone?) that recap BSC books, snark the ridiculous, and discuss the finer points of the series. My purpose is slightly different. Since this blog is supposed to be about travel, I'll be covering the books that are about, well, travel. And hopefully adding some of my own experiences where they fit. And I figure a good place to start is the ~~horrible~~ ~~wonderful~~ horrible BSC in the USA. One quick note: my current plan is to go chapter by chapter so as not to miss anything. This also might take a few parts to finish... So now, without further ado, let's begin!

BSC in the USA opens with some handwriting from Dawn. At this point in the series, Dawn lives full time (minus vacations and summers) in California. She's currently in Stoneybrook for the summer, but that's about to be cut short as her father has agreed to drive an RV cross country for a friend. Despite Dawn's environmental protests, she agrees to go along, as does Jeff. When Dawn mentions the trip to the rest of the BSC, they're so excited about it they want to join in. Because Watson somehow can't help stealing vacation plans, he decides that a cross-country trip would be just the thing for the Thomas/Brewer clan. Minus Sam and Charlie. And Emily Michelle. And Nannie. What Watson lacks in desire for family togetherness he gains in generosity to Kristy's friends. And thus, the rest of the baby-sitters are invited along.

Not to be outdone, Jack (Dawn's father, remember? No?) insists Dawn invite friends as well. Basically, all the BSCers get to go. Each person gets to choose a destination. Just for the sake of simplicity, the RVs are divided up as follows:

Heading north with the Schafers: Jack (driving, San Francisco), Dawn (a ghost town), Jeff (rock climbing), Mary Anne (Maynard, Iowa, home of her grandmother), Kristy (major league ballparks), Claudia (Art Institute of Chicago), and Stacey (Seattle).

South with the Thomas/Brewers: Watson (driving, Lester, Oklahoma), Elizabeth (someplace scenic), Karen (Four Corners), Andrew (San Diego Zoo), Mallory (Chincoteague), Jessi (Dalton, Mississippi), and Abby (Graceland).

First off, half those places are fictional. Second, you'll notice that quite a few people had trouble with the concept of picking a place to visit. But we'll get to that.

Anyway, there's a lot that's snarkable in the first few chapters (before anything actually happens) but I'm skipping most of that because it's boring. On with the trip!
The first chapter on the road belongs to Jessi on account of the southern RV stopping for a visit with Jessi's relatives in Oakley, NJ. In case you didn't already know Jessi's black, her grandparents have an "African theme" to their house and her grandmother has provided a large meal consisting entirely of soul food. I just find all of that... a bit interesting I guess.

The only thing remotely interesting that happens in this chapter is that Jessi accuses Mallory, her best friend, of racism. Way to go Jessi! I mean, I get that racism is something she's dealt with and that's definitely not cool. But, seriously? Her best friend? Anyway, since I haven't been to the fictional town of Oakley, NJ, it's time to move on.

Sticking with the southerners, their next stop is Chincoteague (or, in Kristy's spelling if I remember correctly, Chinkateeg. Sure it's a hard word, but, you're not Claudia, Kristy.) This is Mallory's destination. Well, to be more precise, Assateague is. For the non-horse book fans (like me, and Mal and Jessi would so not approve) these islands have something to do with books. See Misty of Chincoteague for more info if you actually care. I don't.

While on Chincoteague, they get into an accident. It's not Watson's fault (or so we're led to believe, dun dun dun) but as a result, the group meets the annoying Hoyer family and their brat granddaughter Felicitas (or as she would say, "It's Liz, dammit!"). I wouldn't mention it except it sort of comes up later.

From there, Team South (as I think I'll call them from now on) head over to Assateague, where the wild, make that feral, horses actually are. Even though the island is big and visitors are only allowed on a tiny part of it, they get to see the horses. Of course they do. Mallory cries. (C'mon Mallory, you're not Mary Anne!)

Next stop, Graceland. Now we're getting somewhere. Graceland is one of those places I've actually visited. I therefore know exactly how ridiculous it is that Watson and Elizabeth leave the kids and take some "time off". In Memphis. A big, unfamiliar city. Five kids 13 and under (Abby, the oldest, being the only 13 year old) are left to visit Graceland by themselves. Honestly? If I had seen a group of young kids alone at Graceland, I probably would have... made an idle threat. But seriously, that's kinda cause for concern.

Abby, the supposedly ultimate Elvis fan actually doesn't seem too thrilled with Graceland. It seems like she's more interested in convincing the others that Elvis is still alive. Abby, you're already in a cult. You've sworn allegiance to the BSC, participate in ~~ritual sacrifices~~ "meetings" three times a week, and devote most of your free time to brainwashing America's youth through the power of Kid Kits. You don't have room in your life for this.

On to the house! Graceland is amazing. Amazing in an unbelievably tacky way. Rather than describe it, I'll let the pictures do the talking. Check this out:

The outside, obviously. I couldn't get a good picture thanks to the constant influx of people and tour buses.

The living room, I think. I think the style is called tacky fabulous.

Dining room.

Kitchen, complete with carpet.

And finally:

In particular, Abby comments on the tackiness of the den, noting its "jungle decor". Uh, they call it the jungle room for a reason, Abby. Some Elvis fan you are. That room's famous. I actually plan to talk about the Graceland house in more detail in an upcoming post so enough about that for now.

Moving on, Abby et. al. decide to stalk an Elvis impersonator (who may or may not actually be Elvis) by following him to a motel. I really do hope it's the Heartbreak Hotel. Yes, there is one literally right next door to the whole Graceland complex. I have to say, though, it looked kind of seedy to me. Maybe not the best place for a bunch of kids to be wandering around? Well, no one's offered Watson and Elizabeth any parent of the year awards, at least as far as I can tell.

The kids supposedly meet up with the grown-ups at the mall "across the street from Graceland". Here I have to rant a little bit. Now, I don't know how much Graceland changed in the ten or so years between the publishing of this book and my visit. However, as it is now, the mansion, a museum, some Presley graves (Elvis is buried there) and some other things (property owned by Elvis) are on one side of a street. The information center, some other museums (maybe newer museums?) gift shops, etc. are on the other side. If the layout is the same as it was, saying "across the street" really doesn't make sense. The tickets are bought and the tour starts from that side of the street. (Does that make sense? I'll consider clarifying... eventually.) And I don't know what "mall" they were talking about. Strip mall of Elvis gift shops, maybe. Personally, I think maybe Watson and Elizabeth were just trying to ditch the kids. Considering one of them is Karen, I really wouldn't blame them.

Are you fed up with this yet? I am. For now. Thus ends part one. Part two hopefully coming very soon!

(Sidenote: I'm doing this from memory so please feel free to correct any details!)

Bannerman (Okay, Pollepel) Island: Hudson River Part 2

2009-12-29T09:41:00.006-05:00

Because I finish what I start, I have to do a second post about the Hudson River. And because 2009 is the 400th anniversary, I have to do it before Friday. Bugger. So this is gonna be a short one.

The subject? An island I always thought was called Bannerman. Turns out it's called Pollepel but I don't think I'll really bother with that.

Anyone who's taken the train north from New York City, along the Hudson, as far as the <>lovely destination< /sarcasm> of Beacon may have seen an interesting sight oh, maybe a third of the way across the river (maybe a little less?) or so. Yeah, I know that's probably not very many people but honestly, it is a worthwhile sight. What is it? Why, it's ~~Bannerman~~ Pollepel Island, of course!

And what is this island other than just an island? It's a supposedly haunted island that now has some ruined castle-like buildings on it. And I mean really cool castle-y buildings. I've taken that along-the-Hudson train many, many times and that island is something I've always watched out for and, as I child, something I was always curious about.

The people who eventually owned the island (the Bannerman family, though they weren't the first owners) and did all the building there owned some kind of munitions business. I have some vague memory that they also had something to do with fireworks or something? Maybe just ammo? I think some of the buildings were eventually destroyed thanks to some kind of explosion or something. I keep saying "or something" because I really don't remember, their website isn't specific, and I'm feeling a bit too lazy to actually do the research.

The point: Bannerman Island is a really cool place with some ruined castle buildings on it. Why am I going on and on about it? Because I've been there.

A few years ago, it became possible to visit the island on a boat tour. I think my mother thought it would be a nice family excursion (I know I agreed) and so we went. The visit begins with a nice boat ride but that's the boring part.

Once on the island, everyone has to wear a hard hat. I know the island's buildings aren't stable but I have to wonder if the whole hard hat thing maybe isn't somewhat of a gimmick. The island is overgrown and it can be hard to walk, even on the paths. Unlike many castles I've visited, it isn't possible to go into or really very close to the buildings. They don't build 'em like they used to, I guess.

For some reason, I don't remember this island visit in all that much detail. I certainly remember being there, I know what it looked like, and I definitely learned some history. It's still a little fuzzy, though. This is especially strange since this visit was, at most, six years ago.

Unfortunately, no one brought a camera that day. I really wish I had because it really is a neat-looking place. I'd post some pictures from elsewhere on the internet but I'm still a little scared of that "may be subject to copyright" thing. Instead, here's a link to the Bannerman Castle Trust with more info and some pictures: http://www.bannermancastle.org/

Here's one picture, I think it's kind of old and it doesn't really do it justice:

According to an article I just read, the Bannerman family that owned/developed the island were descendants of the MacDonald clan that mostly got slaughtered at Glencoe. I may be the only person who finds that interesting but I do. That might only be because I've been to Glencoe, though. And just FTR, those MacDonalds were (mostly?) killed by members of the Campbell clan. They went on to make soup. According to my tour guide in Scotland, many people still think of them as traitors... Just thought I'd pass that along, no judging here. (For those who like history: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacre_of_Glencoe Apologies for using Wikipedia.)

Since I have been there, here's a picture that might be of Glencoe:

Edited to fix my sadly unrecognized "sarcasm" html code and to add the following:

While there is more info about the island itself out there, I do think I should mention that part of the castle just collapsed. There's a fund to stabilize the buildings and the need for that is currently more urgent than usual.

And the Winner Is...

2009-12-23T23:54:00.005-05:00

Me!

No, wait. YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK!

No, wait, Sadako and Sabrina!
Expect email/comments soon and thanks again all for participating.

As everyone was able to guess, the answer was in fact Yellowstone National Park. Which will be featured in both a post of its own (some day!) and in BSC in the USA, the snark/recap of which I'm working on.

In other news, I am actually a winner, too! I have a lovely Beautiful Blogger Award courtesy of Sadako! Thank you very much, Sadako. And I'm actually gonna try to do it (can there be blog overlap? I hope so...)

Here are the rules that came with the award:

1) Thank the person who nominated me for this award.
2) Copy the award & place it on my blog.
3) Link to the person who nominated me for this award.
4) Tell us 7 interesting things about yourself.
5) Nominate 7 bloggers.
6) Post links to the 7 blogs I nominate.

As I said, from Sadako, of the amazing Dibbly Fresh: http://dibblyfresh1.blogspot.com/

Hmm, interesting things...
1. I have perfect pitch (I'm told this is interesting).
2. I am a somewhat crazy collector of autographs/slightly stalkerish fangirl. (Might waiting for Bebe Neuwirth at 1 in the morning be a pretty good story? It wasn't cold but it was late...) I often have a most excellent partner in crime for this so it's all good.
3. I once (co-)won a bottle of port thanks to my knowledge of countries and their capitals and my competitive spirit. (The capital of Liechtenstein is Vaduz, in case you were wondering.)
4. I probably (re)read about as many kids books as I do adult books. Especially BSC. Because they are amazing(ly bad). Except they're actually fantastic.
5. One of my goals is to visit all 50 states. I'm at 48. Stupid Alaska and Hawaii.
6. Even though I love to travel, I really hate flying. I'd never do it if the other ways weren't so slow. (eh, that's not that interesting. It's true, though.)
7. I play the viola. Even so, I think I have quite a few brain cells.

Blogs I nominate:
1. Get a Pencil and Your Casebook: http://pencilcasebook.blogspot.com/ See what I did there? It is a great blog...
2.Not That Kind of Girl: http://notthatkindofgirl.net/ Am I cheating? It's all the crazy stuff I know I could never do and funny.
3. Psyched on the Prairie: http://psychedontheprairie.blogspot.com/ More fun than a long winter. (Careful though, that book hasn't been reached yet.) I might be cheating again.
4. BSCAG: http://bscag.blogspot.com/ Baby-Sitter's Club and continuity. New but great.
5. Are you there youth? It's me, Nikki: http://whatireadbackthen.blogspot.com/ Fun book blog!
6. Luke's Diner: http://coffeeatlukes.com/Lukes/ Yay Gilmore Girls!
7. BSC Chronologically: http://bscchronologically.blogspot.com/ Isn't the BSC great? Book by book and everything!

Contest/Chance to Win Stuff!!! WHERE AM I?

2009-12-16T20:21:00.003-05:00

Inspired by some great blogs out there and filled with holiday spirit (kidding, sort of), I've decided to have a CONTEST with a chance to win PRIZES! Actually, I plan to do this fairly often and eventually I'll be offering stuff from my prize closet (yes, I really have a prize closet. If virtual closets and real shelves/boxes count). For this contest, the prizes are a bit more specific. And they are:

1. The Food Prize. Consists of one Peppermint Pig (http://www.saratogasweets.com/), a Christmas/New Year Victorian tradition. They are delicious and totally unique (like, in the world) to my hometown. Aaaand a box of potato chips. But not just any potato chips, original recipe potato chips like they were when they were invented. Which happened in my hometown. (Or so they say, and believe me, they do say. Did that make sense?)

2. The Book Prize. One copy of Bill Bryson's amazing book A Walk in the Woods (http://www.amazon.com/Walk-Woods-Rediscovering-Appalachian-Official/dp/0767902521). One of these days I'll do a whole post on it. I did pick that book for a reason (other than it's general awesomeness) but if you win and you ~~don't like it~~ have already read it, we'll work something out.

BTW, two prizes means two winners! I'll mention here that winning takes some work. My contests are trivia based (20 Questions-ish) and may require a little research sometimes. I think this one's pretty easy, though.

Next up, how to enter:

Anyone reading this can have up to three entries in the contest.

Entry one: the freebie. Everyone gets one just by leaving a comment (and, uh, guessing).

Entry two: Be(come) a follower. Whether through Google, Facebook, RSS, or whatever, I don't care. If it's RSS, mention in a comment.

Entry three: All about networking. Post about the contest on your blog, Facebook, Twitter, or wherever you like (with a link please!) and mention in a comment. Please.

I have turned on comment moderation for the duration of the contest (I hope) so no cheating that way! When the contest ends (at 11:59 on 12/22), all correct entries (and remember you can have three and if you are sure of the answer, using it three times does increase your odds. Otherwise, three guesses means one might be right!) will be put in a hat and two winners will be selected. Make sense? On with the contest!

The contest itself is, as I said, sort of like 20 Questions. I pick a place somewhere in the world (for now we're staying on Earth), probably a place I've been though that might not be much help. I'll give a series of clues that lead to the one (hopefully) specific answer. I think I'm starting with a pretty easy one and just for the record, this place will be featured in an upcoming post. On with the contest.

Where AM I?

The Grand Canyon is not located within my borders.
My visitors like things that are faithful.
Part of me can be described as mammoth.
One might ask me, "What's the story, Morning Glory?" (The author of this blog thinks I should respond with, "What's the tale, nightingale" but that's not really relevant.)
I sit on a massive supervolcano.
Most of me (though not all) is found in one U.S. state.

I AM.....................

The contest is open until 11:59 on Tuesday, December 22. Happy guessing!

400 Years of the Hudson River (part 1)

2009-12-02T20:29:00.007-05:00

Once again, I'm adding a new feature to the blog. I'm from (upstate) New York and I've decided to (re)visit interesting places near where I live and to then post about them. Why? Because it's fun, for one. And to, well, point things out to people who may not be aware of what there is to see in my (and possibly their) part of the world. So, if you're from NY, um, hello neighbor? And if not, here's why you should visit:

First up, the Hudson River. 2009 marks the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson sailing up the river that now bears his name. On his ship, the Half Moon, Hudson sailed up the river as far as Albany which is about 150 miles north of what's now New York City. There's a lot of interesting history about the area, the Native American tribes that lived there, and the eventual Dutch and English settlements. I, however, am going to skip most of that. For now. I may expand upon the history in later posts but for now, I'm going to focus on me.

Before I do, here's a little geography. The Hudson River begins (some sources say) at Lake Tear of the Clouds which is on Mount Marcy, the tallest mountain in New York. I remember being taught that the lake is at the top of the mountain. It isn't. I know that because I've been to the top of Mount Marcy and also because I've since read about it. The river meanders downhill and south, often as little more than a wide stream. Driving through upstate NY's Adirondack Mountains (something I'll post about later), you may cross the river often or simply drive along it. The river eventually widens, flattens, curves a bit, and flows down to New York City. Enough for now?

For most of my life, I've lived within ten or so miles of the Hudson River (and much closer, like within two blocks, when I was in college). As a result of that, I have many fond memories, pictures, and experiences that somehow involve the river. Here are a few of them:

Growing up, I often traveled to Poughkeepsie, NY to visit my grandparents who, for some unknown reason, decided to stay there even after retiring. On these visits, I always noticed a tall, imposing railway bridge slightly north of the Mid-Hudson Bridge which is used by cars. Somehow, I always knew that that railway bridge had "burned down" although I never quite understood that. How could something burn down and still be standing? I guess "caught fire" might be a better description, and that's certainly true. There was a fire on that bridge, in 1974, that stopped trains from crossing the bridge after nearly a century. In 1992, efforts began to turn the bridge into a walkway. On October 3 of this year, that walkway opened. The bridge/walkway is now a state park, allowing pedestrians to cross the Hudson between Poughkeepsie and Highland (places you may have never heard of).

I visited the bridge and crossed it (both ways) just a few weeks later. The leaves were at their peak (changing color, remember?) and the view was clear and colorful: blue sky, blue water, red and gold leaves, and enough sun to make the water shimmer. Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera.

Not just a walkway and a state park, the bridge also contains information panels detailing the history of the bridge and the area as well as the kinds of fish found in the water. Even more than that, there's a cellphone guide where visitors can call a number and hear all sorts of information. I learned a lot including that the bridge was considered a technical wonder when it was built. It doesn't seem so special now! I seem to remember also learning that a Native American name for the river means something along the lines of "the river that flows both ways" because the river is tidal for many miles, I've heard as far as Albany. As I said, that's 150 miles.

More Information (and pictures!): http://www.walkway.org/index.php

Next up, the Hadley Parabolic Bridge (sometimes called the Hadley Bow Bridge). I hear what you're saying already: that's over the Sacandaga River, not the Hudson. You were thinking that, right? Well, if you were, you are correct. So why am I writing about it? 1. It happens to be right next to a no-longer-in-used railroad bridge. Weird, huh? 2. It's considered a technological oddity of sorts. 3. It's within spitting distance of the Hudson.

This bridge was built in a somewhat unusual style and is quite unique. It's now on the National Register of Historic Places. I'd rather not go into the technical details and history of the bridge (much too complicated and I'm not sure I completely understand it all) so instead, here's the Wikipedia page. Not that I recommend Wikipedia or have any idea if the information is accurate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadley_Parabolic_Bridge

Once again, I hear what you're saying. You want to know why I visited this bridge, right? Well, I was actually driving along on a road parallel to the road with the bridge (the old road's replacement, basically) when I saw a sign for the "parabolic bridge". Naturally, I was curious. Wouldn't you be? Having decided to check it out, I found this neat looking little bridge:

The railway bridge River!

Sign!

Today's third Hudson River mention is very close geographically to the parabolic bridge. On the same day I visited the bridge, I saw Rockwell Falls (name courtesy of this fabulous site: http://www.angelfire.com/ny4/waterfalls/home.html), a small but powerful waterfall in the Hudson River.

Waterfall?

The river below the falls (I think).

More on Hudson 400: http://www.hudson400.com/
Part 2 coming soon! Along with Seattle (/Washington), BSC in the USA and Yosemite.

Happy Thanksgiving: Plimoth Plantation

2009-11-25T20:37:00.005-05:00

First I was planning on writing about Yosemite, next it was going to be BSC in the USA, then someone suggested I write about Seattle. Then, Thanksgiving came around. And I figured I should probably write a little something about a place somewhat relevant to Thanksgiving. With that I give you this (relatively short I think) post on Plimoth Plantation.

I visited Plymouth, MA (and the plantation and the rock) eighteen years ago. Because of that, my memory is a little bit fuzzy. I do remember a few things about the visit. One, Plymouth Rock. I remember looking down on it and I think it was separated from visitors by some kind of net or fence. Many people try to drop coins on it, maybe they make wishes, I don't know. And I have a little trouble believing a rock can grant wishes. Maybe if there's a troll or something living under the rock... but I've never heard of that.

Moving on to Plimoth Plantation which is a museum/recreated village. I think. I remember wooden buildings, demonstrations about living/eating/cooking etc. during Pilgrim times. The space is "set" in the year 1627 (did you remember that the Mayflower arrived in 1620? That little bit of trivia once won me a free glass of juice at Denny's! Come on, you know you're jealous). My most vivid memory is, I think, learning about tomatoes. If I'm remembering correctly, people didn't eat them back then. I think people used to think tomatoes were poisonous (or just unfit for eating). I did actually just try to verify this which led me to this, uh, interesting website: http://www.tomatoesareevil.com/index.html Try the tomato shooting gallery, it's decent stress relief.

Quite honestly, I don't remember much else. I think I also visited the Ocean Spray factory or museum, or store, or whatever the hell that thing was. Not nearly as much fun as the Hershey Factory, that's for sure. But hey, cranberries are totally relevant to Thanksgiving. And that's all she wrote. Happy Thanksgiving!

Blogger is being extremely obnoxious (or maybe it's my computer...) Pictures to be added soon!

Gulliver's Travels

2009-11-15T11:07:00.000-05:00

While procrastinating recently, I decided to watch one of my favorite movies from childhood, the animated version (from 1939) of Gulliver's Travels. How I came to have and love this video I really don't know but it definitely is a classic. The movie was, I believe, the first American, non-Disney, animated movie. And it's pretty awesome. I actually found it on DVD pretty recently (for very cheap) and this was probably my first time watching the movie in about a decade.

Gulliver's Travels is based on the Jonathan Swift book of the same name, though it is, being a children's movie, not much like the book (although I must confess I haven't actually read it... yet).

The movie takes place entirely in Lilliput, a land of tiny people. Lemuel Gulliver (seriously? Lemuel?), the traveler, finds himself shipwrecked there and though the locals (Lilliputians, they're called) are scared of him at first, they all end up friends. And no one gets eaten. Of course, there's more to it than that including a big fight over a couple of songs, a king I always thought was the queen, and some very sneaky guys who help start a war and stuff. In the end, Gulliver pretty much fixes everything and everyone lives happily ever after. I am curious about how these things go in the book (I'll get to it someday!) because I know what Swift was like with his satires. I will mention one scene from the movie in which Gulliver helpfully puts out a raging fire with a little bit of water. Apparently this also happens in the book (I'm guessing in a similar scene) although he, well, doesn't use water. Just thought I'd mention that. My point is that the movie does seem to care about what happens in the book but totally overlooks the messages and/or social commentary presented. Well, it is meant for kids.

While I naturally thought a movie with the word "travels" in the title was appropriate for my blog, I can actually relate this in another way as well. When I went to Ireland, I decided that instead of flying, I would take the ferry from Holyhead, Wales to Dublin. Why am I mentioning this? Because the name of the ferry was the Jonathan Swift. See, here's where the ferry company decided to be cute. The Swift is the fast ferry so the name is quite appropriate, if slightly groan-inducing. And I say that as a great lover of all kinds of word play. I think they actually had a contest to name the boat and that was the winner. Clever.

I actually do have more to say about Jonathan Swift and his post as Dean of St. Patrick's in Dublin. That will have to wait for another day, like when I figure out which church pictures in Ireland are which. Or maybe around Christmas when it makes sense to write about Handel's Messiah which also has ties to St. Patrick's. We shall see. Meanwhile, here's some water in Ireland:

New Toy!

2009-11-05T18:02:00.002-05:00

The day we've all been waiting for has arrived! I bought a slide scanner! See, back in the days before digital cameras, people had to use this stuff called "film" to take pictures. And people who wanted to be artistic took these things called "slides". Well, for a long time, my father was one of those wanting to be artistic people. And therefore, many of my family vacations are now documented with hundreds of (until now) useless slides. I should mention here that many of the pictures-from-slides I'll post were taken by my father. Credit where it's due, I guess.

So, since I'm here to write about the places I've been and include photographic evidence, it's fallen to me to get those slides into a useable format. Hence the slide scanner. Long story shorter, I'm in the process of converting old slides to digital files. They're fun to look at (for me anyway) and hopefully they'll um, illustrate my posts. Unfortunately, the quality isn't fantastic. I'm trying to edit and work with this scanner thing to make things better but no real success yet. And really, I don't know if the issue is the slides or the scanner. I do know that I've accidently scanned some slides backwards though I haven't decided yet if I'm going to rescan them in the name of accuracy or leave them as they are and call them "artistic". Thoughts? Anyone? Bueller?

Good news? BSC in the USA coming soon!

The Hills Are Alive with The Sound of Salzburg...er, Music

2009-11-02T01:51:00.016-05:00

Set and (partly) filmed in Salzburg, Austria, The Sound of Music must be one of the most visually stunning movies ever. In my opinion. Since it also happens to be one of my all-time favorite movies, I naturally jumped at the chance to go to Salzburg and see the setting for myself. And it really is so beautiful that it has stood out as one of my favorite ~~things~~ places.

First, a test of my recapping abilities for the benefit of anyone who lives under a rock or really hates musicals and therefore hasn't seen The Sound of Music. TSOM is the fictionalized account of a real Austrian (turned Vermontian) family that fled Austria and the Nazis before World War II. Basically, an enthusiastic but hopeless nun becomes governess of seven at-first-obnoxious-but-eventually-lovable children and falls in love with their strict, naval captain father who falls in love back. Most of this is accomplished with singing. They escape from the Nazis. The end! Since I like accuracy, I'll just point out here that the movie is quite different from the real story. Okay, moving on.

As I mentioned, a lot of the movie actually was filmed in and around Salzburg. (Check this out for some recognizable city sights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCq92OKg9jE&feature=related I wish I knew how to just post the video.)

And even now, more than forty years later, you can still tell. Salzburg is both beautiful and well-preserved and, although the lack of Nazis was a clue, I wouldn't have been surprised to see Maria kicking her heels up and singing or the kids hopping up and down steps in Mirabell Gardens. Actually, that would have been pretty awesome. I wonder if they do reenactments.

I think I took this picture right from the bottom of the steps.

For those of us that love TSOM, there are Sound of Music tours that visit all the places featured in the movie. Sadly, I did not have time for one of those tours and I'm still upset about that! I'm determined to get back to Salzburg though, and next time I'll definitely do it. Even so, I got to see quite a few places featured in the movie. Some examples:

This is used as the back of the von Trapp house. Note the lake, look for a capsized boat and waterlogged children with their governess. Maria has confidence here.Last time I saw this, people were skipping through it...

And I do have one neat little fact about the von Trapp's great escape to Switzerland to share. Actually, several little facts:

First of all, as many people already know, it never happened. Yes, the family fled the Nazis. No, they did not walk to Switzerland. For one thing, it's much too far. For another, they didn't have the manufactured drama of a movie to deal with and were able to just leave. I believe they took the train to Italy. And on a related note, the other side of the mountain crossed in the movie is, in fact, in another country. Switzerland? No, remember? I already said it's not Switzerland. Could be Italy, right? Well, it could be but it isn't. Believe it or not, it's Germany. Yes, the von Trapps technically escaped the Nazis by running right to... the Nazis. Oops. Even more than that, one of Hitler's houses was just over on the German side of the mountain. Double oops.

Salzburg is "alive with the sound of music" in other ways as well. (I'm sorry I went there. Truly.) Mozart was born there and in fact, the Salzburg airport is named for him. I love that. Both houses Mozart lived in are now museums and nice places to visit. Many people know that Mozart's grave is unknown, though there are some myths surrounding his burial and grave. His sister Maria Anna, however (also a musician), is buried in Salzburg, in the cemetery of St. Peter's Abbey:

This cemetery is notable for other reasons, including the inspiration for the part of TSOM where the von Trapps literally hide from the Nazis in a cemetery. Yes, this really is a cemetery and it's actually really impressive--those openings are part of a cliff that borders the cemetery and (I think) houses the catacombs.

Well, if I didn't manage to convince anyone else that Salzburg is fabulous, I certainly convinced myself. Time to go back, I think.

To The Possible Disappointment of Karen Brewer

2009-10-19T23:20:00.006-04:00

As I may have mentioned, I'm a huge fan of the great Baby-Sitters Club series (which shall hereafter be abbreviated with the usual BSC). Part of the vision here at Travel Rambling involves writing about travel books or books that are somehow related to travel. With that in mind, I've been thinking about one of the best/worst BSC books out there, a perfect one for this blog: BSC in the USA. At some point, I'll get to a full-on snark/recap/rant about my experiences at the places visited by the BSC but that's for later. For now, I'll just hate on Karen Brewer, which is something I really enjoy.

In BSC in the USA, each person chooses a place to visit somewhere in the continental US, between CT and CA, north-ish or south-ish depending on with whom they're traveling. Basically. Karen (step-sister of BSC president Kristy for anyone not in the know) chooses Four Corners, the place where Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico meet. As it happens, her choosing of this particular place isn't exactly presented well... there's this idea that they won't be able to find the spot which makes no sense. After all, if it isn't a monument, how does Karen know to call it Four Corners? That is an official name after all. All stupidity aside, they actually do go there. Well, I too have been to Four Corners. Noting that the title of the post indicates disappointment, here's what's sort of wrong-ish with visiting Four Corners.

The Four Corners monument is in the wrong place. Well, kind of. The location of Four Corners has in recent months brought the monument into the spotlight and sparked a lot of discussion. I believe the official answer/solution is that the monument is in the right place although the location may technically be slightly off, though less than originally thought. The real explanation is waaaaay too technical and I'm not even going to go into it. Now that I've gone on about pretty much nothing, I realize this post doesn't really make a whole lot of sense. To bring things back to the BSC and obnoxious Karen, the character of Karen likes accuracy and insists on things being correct. If she were real, I would expect this location discrepancy to really bother her. (Oh dear, I'm putting way too much thought into what a fictional character might think...)

Anyway, all issues with location aside, Four Corners is a fun place to visit. In addition to the four states, two Native American Nations (Ute and Navajo) have boundaries at the monument. The monument is, I believe, maintained by the Navajo Nation and there are souvenirs available since nothing completes a monument visit like a little shopping.

The best thing about visiting Four Corners is the opportunity to be in all four states at one time. It's so much fun, people wait in line to do it (leaving someone back in the picture-taking area of course). A marker stands on the spot, listing each state with crossing lines marking the exact boundaries (I think that's the case... that's how I remember it!) To once again mention BSC in the USA, Karen wanted to stand in all four states and wave toward Connecticut which seemed to be somewhat difficult as she expected to need all hands and feet on the ground. However, she thought of the same thing I did (to my great shame): put half a foot in each state. In my defense, I hadn't read the book then. In fact, it may not have even been published when I visited Four Corners. I certainly hope that's the case.

Jennifer's Body Made Me Do It

2009-10-05T21:15:00.004-04:00

Okay, I admit it. I went to see Jennifer's Body and I paid for it. More than that, I actually kind of enjoyed it! So, slight spoilers ahead for anyone who may read this and hasn't seen the movie.

Jennifer's Body takes place in a town in Minnesota called Devil's Kettle. The town is named for a waterfall that drops into a pothole and ends somewhere unknown. Since I happen to really like waterfalls, I naturally wanted to find out if this one was for real. As it turns out, it is. There actually is a waterfall called Devil's Kettle located in very northeastern Minnesota. (The town is fake.) Although judging by the pictures I saw and my memory of the movie, the waterfall used in the movie isn't the real one. That doesn't surprise me since visiting the waterfall requires a hike with lots of stairs. In addition, the actual waterfall is really two: one flows on as a river and one disappears. Since I've never been there, I dont have any pictures. I could probably, uh, borrow some... but there are lots out there. Anyway, from what I've read, it seems like the general thought is that the water from the waterfall eventually flows into nearby Lake Superior.

*****MOVIE SPOILERS HERE******

That isn't the case in the movie. Okay, it's not that major a spoiler. And anyway, this whole thing just makes me wonder if they couldn't just throw some kind of tracking device down the waterfall or something. If they really care. And if it would work underwater.

*****END MOVIE DISCUSSION*****

Anyway, thinking about this waterfall got me thinking about the concept of a waterfall where no one knows where the water goes. As it turns out, I've had a couple experiences with waterfalls somewhat like that. One was at a state park in Florida (yes, that Florida, the one most people seem to think is completely flat) and one (sort of) in a cave in upstate New York.

First up is Falling Waters State Park, which is located on Florida's panhandle. Northern Florida, unlike the rest of the state, actually has some hills. In my recollection, a lot of the changes in elevation are due to sinkholes (created by the gradual wearing away of rock) that are very common in that part of the state. Some of these sinkholes are dry, some have water in the bottom, and some are basically lakes. And then there's Falling Waters. Falling about 73 feet into a 100 foot deep pit, Falling Waters is Florida's highest waterfall. The waterfall flows over some rocks and into what is basically a bottomless pit. In my memory, it really isn't possible to see where the water flows meaning not all 70 feet are visible. And as with Devil's Kettle, no one knows where the water eventually ends up. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of Falling Waters. However, more information can be found here: http://floridastateparks.org/fallingwaters/default.cfm

The second waterfall I thought of as somewhat similar to the movie is in Secret Caverns, a cave near Cobleskill, NY. Secret Caverns is the less commercial, darker in atmosphere, and more natural neighbor of the more famous (well, in NY at least and maybe beyond) Howe Caverns. Someday I'll do a post on caves... Moving on. Secret Caverns has a few draws (such as a natural entrance rather than an elevator) but its biggest and most famous draw is the 100 foot underground waterfall. Unlike the previous falls, everyone knows where this water flows. If I'm remembering correctly, a tour of the cave basically ends at the pool of water into which the waterfall flows. Although they say the waterfall is (over) 100 feet, you certainly can't see that far up. After all, caves are dark.

While I'd love to say that the origin of the waterfall is unknown, that isn't the case. I don't remember if it's a lake or river or what and I don't really remember the process of how it gets underground, but I do know that the water's origin is known. In fact, there have been experiments to determine how long the water takes to get from basically where it starts to the pool (or river or whatever) in the cave. I seem to remember it being about 20 minutes but I'm not sure about that. Hey, give me a break, I visited this place about seven years ago.

Once again, I have no pictures. And besides, it's apparently very difficult to take good pictures of the falls. Here's the website with more information (obviously) and some pictures:

http://www.secretcaverns.com/index.htm

The conclusion? Waterfalls are very cool and sometimes really mysterious. Since I'm posting about waterfalls, I may as well post a picture of one. This waterfall is located in Ein Gedi which is an oasis in Israel. Although the falls isn't very high, it's a great place to visit. It's possible (and extremely relaxing) to lean against the rock over which the water flows. Plus, it really cools you off.

Somewhere I have a very short video of a waterfall in Scotland. If I find it, I'll post it.

Wales at Last

2009-09-15T00:39:00.010-04:00

I'm done putting it off. It's time to talk about Wales. Wales (Cymru in Welsh which I think is pronounced something like "kim-ree": what a neat language) is, as most people know, part of Great Britain. Basic location: west of England. I was only in Wales for a few days but found it a beautiful and interesting place I'd love to explore further. However, my main interest in Wales has been in its architecture. Specifically, castles.

Wales is a country of castles with many existing in various states (some are still lived in while others are ruins). With limited time and transportation, I was only able to visit one Welsh castle: Conwy Castle, found in the town of (guess!) Conwy.

Conwy Castle was one of several castles built by (or rather, for) King Edward I. It's a massive structure and much of the castle is open to the elements though some "rooms" remain. Although it's well preserved, the castle seems to have survived years of gentle decaying; moss and plants grow in cracks in the stone, helping the castle seem like an impressive feature of the landscape. Like any good castle, Conwy has many towers that can be climbed.

They offer views of the nearby landscape out to the sea as well as the castle and town of Conwy.

(Not the greatest picture I know, but it is what I'm trying to show.)

Like many European towns, Conwy is walled. The walls are there for the walking; it's an interesting way to see a town for sure. My time on the walls was mostly limited to the area near/entrance to the castle itself. Still, an enjoyable walk.

Initially, I actually approached the castle from across a river, the River Conwy actually. Although the town has a train station, few trains stop there and I think it's necessary to tell a train worker if that's where you want to get off. For simplicity's sake, I walked from Llandudno Junction (I think) which is just across the river. The extra exercise was worth it: the castle lay directly across the Conwy Suspension Bridge, appearing as an imposing feature of the town.

I was there in late April and the blue sky, green grass, and gray (or should I say grey?) stone complemented each other to form a vibrant picture that remains a vivid memory.

Exploring a castle is always a fun activity. Personally, I really enjoy the ruined ones--you might find a stairway leading nowhere or a passage opening into a cavernous (if roofless) room. Definitely an adventure.

Coming soon: Yosemite if I ever get a slide scanner, BSC in the USA (same condition), otherwise hmm, maybe a post about NYC again. Or maybe not.

Oh, Bologna!

2009-08-30T10:41:00.001-04:00

Well, I lied about my next post being about Wales. Oh, well. Why? Because I remembered a recent Jeopardy episode answer/question about an interesting fountain in Bologna, Italy. If my memory is correct and my vision as good as I think it is, I've been to that fountain. And they definitely didn't show the most interesting part. I guess that makes it my job.

Come on, how much fun is that? Bologna is worth a visit just to see the fountain. Well, maybe.

As long as I'm posting, a few other notes about Bologna. I visited the city while spending a semester in England. A friend and I went on a weekend trip to Italy (Bologna and Florence) in the extreme cold (okay, it wasn't that bad) of February. Thanks to the greatness that is Ryanair, plane tickets cost close to nothing though the out-of-the-way airport isn't the most convenient. Whatever. Basically, our trip there was somewhat like a random pin in a map. (Other country? Check. Low airfare? Check. Gelato? Check.)

Bologna is a city of towers. Apparently, there used to be over two hundred though now I think about twenty remain. These two are (obviously) right next to each other, right in the middle of the city. I love the idea of random medieval buildings suddenly appearing.

No, your eyes and my photography are not deceiving you; they are leaning. That's right, leaning towers in Italy are not unique to Pisa.

Also notable about Bologna? The walkways, or porticos, I guess. Basically, a lot of "downtown" Bologna is connected by covered walkways that help shield people from rain, snow, sun, and the like. The city is famous for them and they are nice to walk through.

Once again, my post isn't as detailed as I'd like. Maybe my upcoming post about Wales will be better.

SHARK! For real this time.

2009-08-28T21:44:00.000-04:00

Here it is, the long-awaited, much anticipated (ha!) aquarium post! Hooray! I've actually visited two aquariums recently so what is it with me and fish? Anyone who may have actually read my blog knows I went to the New England Aquarium just last week. While that's a great aquarium, it's not the one I'm writing about today.

On my recent weekend trip to New York City, my good friend Sadako (I'd turn that into a link if I knew how) and I ventured out of Manhattan, across all of of Brooklyn, to that strange remaining vestige of a bygone era: Coney Island. Ah, yes, Coney Island. Home of the Cyclone, the sideshow, and the New York Aquarium (oh, and a kick-ass merry-go-round). Our main destination was, as one could probably guess, the aquarium.

The journey there started with a long ride on the subway. (Did we take the Q? I think so.) Here's where I recommend 20 Questions as a fun game for long trips. Okay, back to the ~~trip~~ adventure. I'm trying so hard to make this sound interesting. Sigh.

After getting off the train, it was only a short walk to the aquarium. The New York Aquarium is not huge, not flashy, and not, to my knowledge, a big tourist destination. It does have its charms, though.

The aquarium is actually a series of buildings and outdoor tanks (often with indoor viewing areas). This is nice because the noise level is generally not too bad and, even in a small-ish space, things don't get too crowded. The design also helps designate types of animals and exhibits.

This aquarium visit brought out the movie-maker and photographer in Sadako and the results are a sight to behold. First, maybe my favorite: the jellyfish. The jellyfish building (there are a lot of jellyfish at the NY Aquarium) uses blacklight (I think) to create a cool, underwater effect. It's actually pretty eerie though the sound on this video might not demonstrate that. I still love it though:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6AH58MlmH0&feature=channel
I wish I knew how to just post the video here...

The NY Aquarium is also, as the title of my post suggests, a good place to see sharks. In captivity. Where they can't hurt you. Or something. Here's their video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZ45hKA722g&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eyoutube%2Ecom%2Fuser%2FSadakogirl&feature=player_profilepage
Fun, huh? Even if someone lied about a seal.

For your viewing pleasure, one more video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xt7MP8kNSc8&feature=channel
Impressive, isn't it? There are some great pictures as well. I should probably post them...

Anyway, the aquarium was, as always, lots of fun. Pretty fish, scary sharks, and so on. Definitely worth a visit.

More information: http://www.nyaquarium.com/

Up next: Wales, for real this time. After that I'm thinking Yosemite, if anyone cares. I have a pretty good story there.

Sidenote to Sadako: sorry if I didn't do this justice... Too tired.

Coming Soon

2009-08-27T01:12:00.000-04:00

Confession time! Occasionally when boredom strikes, I do crappy jigsaw puzzles online. Some of them result in pretty cool pictures and there's the option of linking them to blogs. And so we have a new feature here at Travel Rambling: The Upcoming Post Post. It's a game! Where everybody wins!

What's the point of this? Well, I'll sometimes post a puzzle that relates to something I'll actually be posting about soon. For the bored, it's a quick way to fill a little time. For anyone who may ever actually read my blog, it's a teaser for an upcoming post. So, here's the first one:

Let's hope this works...

SHARK! no, wait... WHALE!!!

2009-08-20T14:15:00.000-04:00

I'm cheating. I was supposed to post about the NY Aquarium. Oh, well, screw that (for now. I'll get to it very soon along with the New England Aquarium.) Why? Because I went on a whale watch yesterday and it's totally worth posting about.

Given my love for crappy kids books and the BSC in particular, eventually I'll get my snark on and post about Dawn's Family Feud, a fabulous book including a trip to Boston and, yes, a whale watch. But for now it's all about me.

Lots of companies offer whale watches from Boston/Gloucester/eastern MA. I went on the New England Aquarium's whale watch which leaves right from Boston. Convenient. And a decent deal with a combo ticket to the aquarium. For about $50, I got to visit the aquarium and spend almost four hours on a boat. I even saw some whales. Hooray!

The trip begins with a slow-ish half hour, getting out of Boston Harbor. It's quite nice, offering great views of the Boston skyline and nearby islands.

After that, it's the open ocean. Thanks, I think, to plankton, the North Atlantic of the MA coast is pretty green. Not the prettiest ocean around but that's okay. I do have to say it's really nice on the open water. To me, it didn't feel rough at all (they said waves were 1-2 ft.) and the ride was really pleasant.

Our whale watching destination was Stellwagen Bank Marine Sanctuary, home of lots of marine life. It takes about an hour on the open ocean to get to Stellwagen and the trip is relaxing. Whale sightings are guaranteed (if you don't see whales you get a voucher for another trip) and yesterday's trip was not a disappointment. We saw three different kinds of whales including minke whales (apparently they're usually very shy but they seemed to be quite frisky yesterday!) and I think a fin whale. Plus one other. I'll check the log when it's up.

http://www.neaq.org/visit_planning/whale_watch/log/index.php

In my experience, contrary to the depiction in books, whale sightings are often pretty brief. Maybe you'll see a spout, a huge dark shape surfacing and disappearing, and that's about it. All from a distance. Which isn't to say it isn't exciting. It is. Whales are wild animals, they're huge and impressive, and it's pretty cool to see them in their natural habitat. I definitely tried to get pictures of the whales but I'm not sure I ever really succeded. Here's one possibility, the dark dot in the middle might be a whale. I think. Or maybe this is the wrong picture. Well, here's a picture of the open ocean:

The actual whale watching portion of the trip lasted about an hour. We traveled a bit through the ocean based on where whales had been sighted recently. The part I found really exciting (honestly) was searching the water and every so often spotting a whale and, along with others on the boat, pointing and shouting. Hard to describe I guess... I think I mean that although there was a naturalist on board, whales would often be seen first by people on the boat. Like me. And it's oddly thrilling.

After the watching of the whales, it was time to head back to Boston. The trip back was really just like the trip out so nothing particularly exciting there. All in all, a fun experience.

Coming up: a post about Wales.

More information: http://www.neaq.org/visit_planning/whale_watch/index.php

Digging for Diamonds

2009-07-28T15:17:00.000-04:00

As someone from New York, I've rarely given much thought to the uneven square-shaped southern state that is Arkansas. For a long time, my knowledge of Arkansas was limited to Bill Clinton and Hot Springs National Park (which I've never visited). However, there's quite a bit more to Arkansas than that. With that in mind, let's talk about Arkansas.

With the nickname The Natural State, it's obvious that much of what Arkansas has to offer somehow involves nature. And I guess a state park/diamond mine does fit into that category. I first learned about Crater of Diamonds State Park, apparently the world's only public diamond mine, from the side of a U-Haul truck. As soon as I realized you could dig for real diamonds in a real mine and keep what you found, I knew I had to go there. Several years later, while driving from Colorado to Florida, I finally had my chance.

Crater of Diamonds is located near the tiny, pretty much middle-of-nowhere town of Murfreesboro. It's a little hard to get to but definitely a worthwhile trip. First stop? The diamond discovery center. Featured there is an exhibit with the history of the mine and the park, some samples, and information about diamonds. After that, it's off to the rental desk. (I think I skipped the paying admission part... Oops. It's cheap though.) After acquiring a bucket, digging tools/shovels, and sifters and a quick mining lesson, it's off to the mine.

I know when I hear the word "mine", I picture a shaft, darkness, and those funny little carts. Well, Crater of Diamonds is not at all like that. In fact, it's a plowed field that looks more like this:

At Crater of Diamonds, there are two digging methods: the wet method and the dry method. When I was there, only the wet method was allowed and oh, it was messy. Here's the basic process:

1. Fill a large bucket with dirt.

2. Lug the bucket (and sifters) to a nearby pavilion with giant tubs of water for sifting.

3. Fit your two sifters together and place them in the water along with a clump of dirt.

4. Work through the dirt (now mud) to filter the grains of sand out and leave the rocks behind.

5. Repeat.

6. (unofficial) Talk and share stories with your fellow miners. Some of them might be regulars with good advice.

7. Once you're fed up (or have found some diamonds), wash off at the uh, washing off station. You will be gross.

All in all, it's a good way to get really dirty. What could be more fun than that? Plus, there's a nice pool right there, perfect for the hot summer months, like when I was there.

So, did I find any diamonds? Sadly, no. Neither did anyone else while I was there. I did find some nice rocks though and their on-hand expert told me what I had found. Since it's finders keepers, I did keep the rocks but as souvenirs, they don't quite live up to diamonds. Oh well, maybe next time.

More information: http://www.craterofdiamondsstatepark.com/

First post!

2009-07-25T21:12:00.000-04:00

I love to travel. I have always loved to travel. And I've always meant to write about it. No, I'm not talking about fancy published travel books or the NY Times (as much as I love both of those things). I just want to remember the places I've been and to relive the good, the bad, and the funny.

Quick confession: I can't keep a diary. Never could no matter how hard I tried. Granted, I usually didn't try very hard... So instead I create an online diary, available to all (you're welcome), which might actually motivate me to write down some things. That's the plan, anyway. So here goes:

My name is Ali and I love to travel. I love to read about it, plan it, and hear about it. Over the last quarter century or so, I've visited a few places. I have a lot of stories (warning: some of them might be pretty boring to people who aren't me) and many great memories, not to mention a ton of pictures. With any luck, here's where it all comes together.