I’m not sure what I was thinking when I added a trip up the Duquesne Incline to our Pittsburgh itinerary. Maybe I didn’t realize quite how high or how steep the ride was. Or maybe it’s because I didn’t realize the thing has been operating since 1877. Once we got to the station, however, there was no turning back. We bought our tickets and chugged along up the very steep hill, all the way to the top of Mt. Washington. Read More »
Plastic people streamed endlessly down the sidewalks carrying shopping bags heaped with pretty things purchased with another kind of plastic. They hurried past scores of art deco buildings, glitzy hotels, and neon-lit bars, destined for yet another shop, yet another cocktail party where the beautiful people congregate. Miami Beach, and South Beach in particular, seemed artificial – like a movie set where the buildings are two-dimensional facades propped up by 2×4’s.
Entrance to Espanola Way, where streets are blocked off to vehicle traffic
To find a respite from this sense of unreality I diverted one afternoon to the Historic Spanish Village known as Espanola Way. From the moment I arrived at the corner of Washington Street and Espanola Way I realized this tiny neighborhood, with its peach painted buildings and green and white striped awnings, was different from the rest of Miami Beach. Customers filled sidewalk cafe tables, but here they were relaxing over a leisurely Read More »
Mosaics floors and stained glass decorated stairways make this gallery especially fun to wander
Miami’s South Beach may be famous for its retro art deco architecture, but where art and culture are concerned, contemporary takes center stage. Planted firmly in the center of this movement is the ArtCenter/South Florida, which works to advance contemporary visual arts and culture in South Florida through education, exhibition and public outreach programming and provides affordable work-space for outstanding artists.
Wandering through on a recent trip to South Beach, I was impressed by the sheer variety of creative work in the gallery. In one studio the artist had stuffed hand-blown glass balls into multi-colored sheer pantyhose and suspended them from the ceiling by their reinforced toes.
Further along, I discovered the paintings of Willard Andre Allen, which are painted on the ‘opposite’ side of clear glass, resulting in a melange of color that incorporates and reflects light when turned over to its rightful side.
Another resident, Adriana Carvalho, began sculpting with the only materials available in her native town of Taquaritinga, Brazil: tin, wire, wood, mango seeds, sugar cane sticks and corn. Her organic sculptures now incorporate recycled materials and merge the spirituality of her native country with the two U.S. cities where she has lived, Chicago and Miami Beach. Read More »
Minneapolis is well-known for its “chain of lakes”–Calhoun, Harriet, Lake of the Isles–and theparks, trails, and parkways that surround these lakes, meandering along the Minnehaha Creek, looping around Lake Nokomis, and then finding their way to beautiful Minnehaha Falls.
Although we spend a lot of time in “the Cities,” the last time I had been to Minnehaha Park and Falls was just after we were married, when my husband and I rented a tandem bike in the Uptown neighborhood near Lake Calhoun and rode around the lakes and along the creek to the falls. This summer, we finally took our children to see Minnehaha Falls, arriving by mini-van instead of bicycle, and viewing the falls through the eyes of a family rather than honeymooners.
It’s beautiful no matter how you look at it.
Minnehaha Falls can be viewed from the side or from the bridge crossing the top of the falls . . .
Minnehaha Falls
or from below. It’s about 100 steps down to bottom of the falls, with a handrail and concrete stairs. Read More »
To the right of the entrance gate at Peace River Wildlife Center in Punta Gorda is a small wooden box where injured animals can be dropped off any hour of the day or night. Sometimes local residents find distressed animals on the roads or in the water; sometimes they drop off pets that have worn out their welcome. Whatever the reason for their appearance, the wildlife center takes them all in, nurses them back to health, and, if possible, reintroduces the animals back into their natural habitat.
Most are successfully rehabilitated and released, but for various reasons, others live out their remaining days at the center. Among the current permanent residents are a pair of bald eagles with amputated wings and a fish crow named Spirit who “quacks” like a duck - the eagles cannot fly and would soon perish in the Read More »
Minot, North Dakota, is proud of its Scandinavian heritage; even McDonald’s is decorated with flags and memorabilia from Scandinavia. Each fall, Minot’s fairgrounds are home to the Norsk Hostfest, a cultural celebration involving people in native dress, good food, and music.
In the center of Minot, however, is perhaps the most visible indicator of the city’s Scandinavian heritage: The Scandinavian Heritage Park.
Every afternoon, as if pulled by some invisible magnet, residents and visitors are drawn to Mallory Square at the northern terminus of Key West’s famous Duval Street to pay homage to the setting sun. It has been so for decades; Tennessee Williams is said to have been the first to toast the sunset at Mallory Square, with gin and tonic firmly in hand. Ernest Hemingway and John Audubon both expounded upon the island’s spectacular sunsets.
Unicyclist ends his act by juggling flaming torches
Today the sunsets are just as gorgeous as ever but the celebration is no longer the soul-soothing, spiritual event it once was. In the late 1960’s, hippies in search of paradise descended upon Key West. They too flocked to Mallory Square to witness the sunset, usually high on LSD or some other mind altering drug. Read More »
There is no place in the world that I would rather be during the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons than in New York City. I can say this wholeheartedly and without a doubt in my mind, because I have spent many holiday seasons in many places around the world, but despite the wonderful sites elsewhere, I stand firm to my belief that this is definitely the place to be.
Right now, the streets are filled with tourists. Fifth Avenue, Times Square, and Herald Square are almost impossible to walk through, no matter what day of the week, but the shopping is good, the streets are festive, and celebration is in the air. Some say it starts right after Halloween, and this year that pretty much seemed like the case with some retailers showcasing their best Holiday displays. But, truthfully, the celebrations really begin the day before Thanksgiving with the inflation of the Thanksgiving Day Parade floats. This event has gotten crowded over the years, so if you are heading over to Central Park West (between 71st and 81st St) with the little ones, get there early and avoid the crowds. The inflating of the floats happens between 4:00 and 8:00pm.
In a former restaurant on the old main drag of Dickinson, North Dakota, you will find the humble yet interesting Ukrainian Cultural Institute. The Ukrainian Cultural Institute preserves the history of the many Ukrainian people who settled in North Dakota and shares it with new generations.
When we visited, the woman on duty was happy to tell us about the Ukrainian people and explain to us the examples of her culture that were on display. She let my children touch some of the objects, then showed us a video of how pysanky (Ukrainian Easter Eggs) are made. The Ukrainian Cultural Institute has a beautiful collection of these eggs on display. Read More »
With the World’s Largest Buffalo, World’s Largest Sandhill Crane, and World’s Largest Holstein Cow, North Dakota is known for some pretty big things along I-94. The Enchanted Highway is no exception.
The Enchanted Highway runs from I-94 at Gladstone south to the town of Regent, 32 miles away. The road itself is not spectacular; it’s straight and hilly and somewhat scenic, but the road is not the primary attraction. What is unique about the Enchanted Highway is the series of larger-than-life metal sculptures that line the drive.
“Geese in Flight” greets drivers on Interstate 94, and at 110 feet tall, holds a spot in the Guinness records as the world’s largest metal sculpture. Other sculptures follow, every few miles, between Gladstone and Regent. “Fisherman’s Dream” and “Teddy Rides Again” were our family’s favorites. Read More »
