Tag: Travel

A Little Bit Of Asian Culture-Corpus Christi, TX

Posted in Art, Museums, Texas, Uncategorized, United StatesTagged , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

I love it when you stumble upon a place that is unexpected and it turns out to be a feast for the eyes. The Texas State Museum of Asian Cultures in Corpus Christi is just such a place. Located within walking distance of several of the city’s tourist gems, this hidden treasure celebrates the art and culture of such countries as Koran, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Laos.

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Founded in the 1960’s by local Mrs. Billie Trimble Chandler, the museum while small, houses collections of the ordinary as well as the extraordinary. While the museum has amassed a sizable collection of paintings, pottery, textiles and more, it also welcomes traveling exhibits from a variety of Asian countries. The museum also offers educational classes for both locals and tourists alike.

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When I was there I saw several intricately embroidered and colorful kimonos on display and the collection of jade from China was vast and diverse. Since I am a collector of Korean Celadon Pottery I appreciated the intricacies of the ones that were shown.  I was also amazed at the berth of the clay Hakata Dolls collection from Japan. How one woman could have collected all of these treasures during her 17 years spent teaching in Japan is beyond me!

 

 

One of the biggest assets this small museum has is it’s people. The staff is extremely knowledgable and will spend time pointing out particular pieces and answering any and all questions. Even the hard ones. In fact, I had a question that they staff was unable to answer but researched and emailed me the information that they discovered. Talk about service!

The Texas State Museum of Asian Cultures is located at 1809 N. Chaparral St, Corpus Christi, TX. It is open Tuesday-Saturday 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Entrance fee is $5 per adult and less for students and children. It is about a one hour stop.

Small museums like this are priceless and deserve our support. Stop by…you will be glad that you did!

 

 

Bloomingdale’s Medinah-Chicago, Illinois

Posted in Architecture, Art, Free Site, Historical, Illinois, Uncategorized, United StatesTagged , , , , , , , 3 Comments

One of my favorite places in Chicago to browse (notice I said browse not shop) is at Bloomingdales Medinah store on Wabash Avenue.

I remember the first time I saw it. I was so stunned that my jaw slacked and my mouth dropped open in surprise as I stared in awe this totally unique and fascinating piece of architecture. It’s not often you run across Moorish Revival Architecture  with onion domes and horseshoe-shaped arches in the middle of an American city but here stood this jewel and I was lucky enough to be able to go in and take a look.  Needless to say, I was intrigued front entrance  where I saw the words “The is no God but Allah” written in Arabic.

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According to information provided by the store the building was built in 1912 and its intended use was as an auditorium seating over 4,000 people on three levels as well as a meeting hall for the Shriners. The Shrine Circus took place here complete with elephants, tigers and clowns to thrill the crowd. Because the acoustics were so superb, the venue was used for recording by the Chicago Symphony. Concerts and plays were another favorite crowd pleaser.

Like most good things which must come to an end beginning in 2000 the building was gutted and turned into a home furnishing store by Bloomingdales.

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It is a real treat to “shop” here. Everywhere you look there is something interesting to see. From the domed ceiling to ornate stained glass there are clues to this wonderful buildings past that surround you. And ladies some of the best stained glass windows can be found in the restroom.

If you would like to view some historic photographs of the building visit:

http://westsuburbanshrineclub.org/History-Wabash.htm

Weirdest Airline Flight-Khartoum, Sudan

Posted in Cheap Ways To Travel, Foreign Lands, Sudan, Uncategorized, Unexpected DetoursTagged , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

Several years ago I was flying to Ethiopia when over the loud speaker the captain told us we were making an unscheduled stop in Khartoum, Sudan. Needless to say this made the entire plane go silent. Eerily so.

If you have ever read the book or have seen the documentary of The Lost Boys of Sudan you know that this was a place where you did not want to stop…ever…for any reason. Murder, Mayhem and Mob Rule immediately came to mind as did a certain Iran hostage crisis in the late 1970’s. I wondered just how much my husband would pay to get me back should the need arise. The figure I arrived at was not reassuring.

As the Khartoum came into view the first thing I noticed was that the entire area, as far as the eye could see, looked like it was covered in a sticky inescapable dark brown mud. It’s a color you wouldn’t be caught dead in. The second thing noted was the number of mosques that dotted the city. They were tall and regal against the desert landscape. But what really caught my attention were the guns and missile launchers that lined the runways. They were big and they were plentiful. Not something one usually sees alongside a runway. What were we doing here anyway?

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As we were taxiing a very tense stewardess made an announcement that went something like this:

“Ladies and gentlemen there will be no picture taking while in Khartoum (too late in my case) You will stay in your seats while we are on the ground and no one may use the restroom at this time. Please refrain from making sudden movements and loud noises. We are here to let a UN representative disembark.”

The taste of fear welled up on my tongue…its flavor somewhat salty and bitter.This was hardly the greeting I had expected when arriving (unexpectedly) in a foreign country. Where were the peanuts? Where were the lei’s? Where was the old man playing the oud to make visitors feel welcome? All we could see were armed soldiers prowling around everywhere with numerous UN planes remained parked in their berths.

After about 20 minutes of ear splitting quiet, we were told we would be leaving momentarily…and then sat on the tarmac for another 15 minutes. Then we shoved off leaving Khartoum and all its mysteries behind.

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While this “side adventure” was interesting to say the least, what I will always remember about this trip it was the only country I have ever visited but never got to see.

Borax Visitors Center-Boron, CA

Posted in California, Cheap Ways To Travel, Free Site, Incredible Vistas, Museums, Trucks, Cars and Big Machines, United StatesTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

For the past 10 years driving along desolate Hwy 58 running between California and Las Vegas out in the Mojave Desert; I have seen the sign for the Boron Museum and promised myself that I would stop “next time.” Well, that “next time” always came and went waiting for the “next time” to appear. This weekend I stopped. I’m glad I did.

It’s a little creepy taking a road to “nowhere.”  While you see the Boran Operations ahead, the road to the museum goes straight past and up a high gravel road to the top where the Borax Visitor Center sits. It’s a strange and lonely drive.

Once there we explored the outside first where a life sized replica of a Twenty Mule Team is hitched up to carts of Borax ready to make the dangerous ride down the mountain and through the high desert. You will also find a 100 ton truck tire, picnic shelter, and the headframe from the original underground mine. Climb the small hill at the back of the center for stunning view of the open pit mine which descends an amazing 850 ft down. Hard to believe this was an underground mine until the 1950’s!

The Borax Visitor’s Center is small but educational. Retired miners act as guides through the mining process and do they ever know their stuff. Ask them any question and they have the answer. From huge rocks of Borate, to displays of all the products that contain borate, and models of the different parts of the plant below; this is the place you want to go to learn all about borate mining.

The only thing I didn’t care for was the short film that was shown in the theatre. While very educational it felt more like a company promotional piece than a sincere desire to teach visitors more about the mining process. But the highlight of it all was the opening of the back curtain to see the vast 2 mile long mine which mines over three million tons of ore every year. It truly is an amazing site.

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This is one of those short off-road breaks. Give yourself about an hours time to look around, visit the gift shop, view the films and the displays.

Just a few of the products that use borates:

Space Shuttle tiles

Cleaners

Cosmetics

Teflon Cooking Utensils

Sparklers

Fertilizers

Cosmetics

Shower Curtains

Fiberglass

Motor Oils

 

The Visitors Center is located in Boron, CA and is open seven days a week from 9 a.m.- 4:45 p.m. excluding major holidays. This is a FREE museum and they even give you your own sample of Borax to take home with you!

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Dragon’s Breath Zip Line-Labadee, Haiti

Posted in Beaches, Haiti, Incredible Vistas, SportsTagged , , , , , Leave a comment

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Okay, I am cheating here because I am not following the idea of blogging about all the wonderful places I have been. Instead this post is about a place I have never been to but desperately want to experience.  It is the Dragons Breath Zip Line in Labadee, Haiti. I guess this is what happens when you challenge your fears as I did last week in the skydiving incident. It makes you want to test those fears again in the different way.

As you know I am desperately afraid of heights but when I saw this I immediately thought, “Now that it something I want to do!” So I researched it. And I found out I have to take a cruise to partake. A Royal Caribbean cruise in particular. This definitely is a problem. I get severely sea sick.

Once we took a three day cruise from LA – Catalina Island, Ca – Ensenada, Mexico. I literally couldn’t walk straight for two days and could not climb at ladder for a week. This on some of the smoothest seas known to man. SIGH. I swore then that I would never go on another cruise. And I haven’t.

But if you are planning on cruising around the Caribbean anytime soon you might want to put this adventure on your list. After all, if zipping over the seas surrounded by beautiful scenery doesn’t make your heart go BOOM then probably nothing ever will.

 

 

The Best Graveyard-Stirling, Scotland

Posted in Architecture, Free Site, Gardens, Historical, Religious Shrines, Scotland, UncategorizedTagged , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

If you are like me and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE genealogy than you will understand this post. Otherwise, you just might not.

Sometimes the perfect place to visit is the cemetery. Some people talk to loved ones and some take along picnic lunches. I love to look at the stones. Especially the ancient ones. Usually they are a piece of artwork and often the artists behind them have their own story to tell. I take pictures of these headstones and put the pictures of them up on http://www.findagrave.com so people can connect to the relatives in their past. To date, I have contributed over 5,000.

My favorite graveyards happen to be in Scotland. I am going to introduce you to the one in Stirling known as Old Town Cemetery. It’s a great place to go. Sitting atop a hill between the huge Stirling Castle and the Church of the Holy Rude it is the only cemetery in the UK that was laid out to celebrate the establishment of Presbyterianism. It is a vast place containing graves from the 1600’s up until the present. Because it encompasses so many eras you can really see how headstones change with the times.

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There are many Key Stones contained within the cemetery including Martyr’s Monument which recognizes those who suffered martyrdom in pursuit of religious and civic freedom in Scotland. The Reformer Statues stand in honor of those ministers who fought King Charles who was attempting to establish Episcopal teachings throughout the country. Here you will also find the ornate monuments of local businessmen who carved enormous headstones to honor their families.

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But my favorite monuments are the small unique ancient ones. Often devoid of names it is the unusual carvings that capture my fancy. Skulls, ancient symbols…they are all there.

So next time you are visiting a city take a trip to the local cemetery. It usually has a great view and you just might “meet” some interesting people too!

Kepaniwai Heritage Gardens-Maui, Hawaii

Posted in Federal, State and City Parks, Free Site, Hawaii, HistoricalTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Nestled in the Iao Valley on the island of Maui is a park dedicated to the native people of this Polynesian island and the immigrants who settled within her arms. It is a peaceful hamlet of lush tropical plants contained within the memorial gardens and traditional homes/buildings of the Koreans, Portuguese, Chinese, New Englanders, Japanese and native Hawaiians.

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This beautiful park was established in 1952 and within you will find such items as a New England Salt Box, a Hawaiian grass hut, a beautiful Chinese moon gate and many other treasures as diverse as the people who settled here.

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You will also find small waterfalls and ponds that are fed by the Iao stream which meanders through this county park.  This is the perfect place to picnic, cook a few burgers and just chill out from the “stress” of a Hawaiian vacation. While not maintained to the high caliber you would expect of such a unique and national treasure, nevertheless it is a place to relax and learn a little more about the peoples who grew this island to what it is today. Hopefully in the near future Maui will step up and give this park the attention and showcase it deserves.

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Ross Errilly Friary-Headford, County Galway, Ireland

Posted in Architecture, Foreign Lands, Historical, Incredible Vistas, Ireland, Magical Places, Religious Shrines, UncategorizedTagged , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

This is one of those stories that show the importance of being spontaneous when traveling. We had never even heard of Ross Errilly Friary when we first saw it in the distance as we were traveling to our next hotel in Ireland. It certainly was not on our agenda.

I said to Dave, “Quick. We have got to go there. Turn us around!” Now he wanted to keep going to our hotel but he indulged my whimsical nature and he turned us around: past a few homey looking come-on-in sort of bars, past a dozen or so Irish cows ripping shoots of new green grass from the earth, and eventually following a small narrow road through the outskirts of Headford. As we came closer the enormity of the place became exceedingly apparent. This place is HUGE.

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As we parked and left the car walking towards the Friary we became engaged in a conversation with a gentleman who was removing out-of-place looking fence posts from the place.  Seems a movie had just been shot using the location less than a week ago. Unfortunately, he couldn’t remember the name.

Ross Errilly is a medieval Franciscan friary and is considered to be one of the best preserved monastic relics in the entire country of Ireland. It is believed that the friary was begun somewhere between the mid 1300’s to the mid 1400’s but when the first stone was laid is a mystery to this day.

The sheer size of the bell tower is the first thing that captures your attention as you walk through a small courtyard-like area.

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A small well preserved central cloister with recent burials contained within its walls. The sun reflecting and resulting shadows make this area magical and mysterious. There is also a second cloister located on the grounds.

At the north area of the complex you will find a huge kitchen complete with a water tank which once held live fish for the evening’s supper and enormous ovens. A massive dining room is nearby.

Huge altars dot the inside of the yard and many gravestones can be found littering the walkways, on walls and covering those altars. One can just imagine those movie actors brandishing swords and jumping from stone to stone as they dueled to the end.

Due to political and religious upheaval the Franciscans were forced to abandon the abbey many times during its history but by the end of the 18th century the friary was all but a neglected ruin. By 1866 it has become a well-known site where locals left the remains of the dead without proper burial and mounds of skulls and bones were could be found littered throughout the place.

Today it is operated by the Office of Public Works and is open to the public free of charge.

This one was of the best ruins in Ireland and for some reason it really spoke to my heart. When we arrived it was raining but as soon as we exited the car it stopped and didn’t begin again until we arrived back and hour later. Obviously,  history was kind to us that day and so were the Gods. I am thankful for the discovery it all.

 

Mushroom Houses-Charlevoix, Michigan

Posted in Architecture, Beaches, Historical, Magical Places, Michigan, UncategorizedTagged , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

In the beautiful resort town of Charlevoix, Michigan lie an amazing array of “mushroom” homes designed by Earl Young (1889-1975). For a span of 52 years this insurance man/realtor spent time designing and/or building over 30 homes in the area. Following Frank Lloyd Wright’s philosophy that a home should fit into the landscape of the area; Young crafted his “hobbit” or “fairyland” houses of local stone many with “hidden” doorways. He refused to remove trees in order to build, instead, incorporating them into his designs. He also employed the use of multiple curved lines in his masterpieces foregoing the traditional use of straight lines and angles.

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Many of Young’s houses can be found in the Boulder Park area of the city. Each home is unique; some large and ornate while others are more mouse-house sized. During the summer there are occasional tours of these homes but brochures which offer a self-guided walking tour can be had at the Charlevoix Chamber of Commerce.

But if visiting the inside of a Young building is on your bucket list  you can always head over to the Weathervane Terrace Inn and Suites. Located on the Pine River overlooking Round Lake it is the perfect place to explore Young’s sense of play in his creations.

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Today, new houses are springing up in the area reminiscent of the ones designed by Young. Below is a beautiful example that I saw being built last summer (2015). Utilizing thatch like many of Young’s early homes, it gives this unique and stately beauty the sense of being an old English manor located somewhere on that great Island.

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While there are many other things to do in Charlevoix  besides house gazing there are few places you will ever visit that has such a wonderful legacy available to anyone on a drive-by. So slow it on down and head into town. It’s definitely worth a stop.

 

 

 

Conquering The Fear

Posted in Amusement Parks & Sporting, California, Great Fun For The Kids, Money Saving Hints, Sports, Uncategorized, United StatesTagged , , , , , , Leave a comment

 

Okay, I am not a big spender. I prefer things that are FREE and I plan my vacations to take in as many of these as humanly possible. But today I splurged. After an eight hour doctor visit I decided my son had earned a big reward so we went to iFLY- the place that gives you a taste of skydiving courtesy of HUGE indoor wind tunnel.

I had not planned on going. It was against everything thrifty in my nature but after arriving I decided “Damn, I am going!”

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There was a reason for my reluctance. I am deathly afraid of heights.  Relinquishing control in any way, shape or form to someone else is also a big NO-NO in my book. But I decided that this would be a way to kill two birds with one stone….or just me anyway. So I shelled out $139 for two people (which includes your two videos) and watched the group before us take to the sky. Frankly, watching them scared the living **** out of me and several times I almost went back up to the cashier to get my money back. But my mind was changed for me when K said, “I am so glad we are doing this together. It will be a great memory.” GULP. There was no way I was going to back out now!

One half-hour before our 6 p.m. fly time we were called back to watch the instructional video where hand signals were discussed as well as the way to enter and exit the tunnel. It appeared to be easy peasy! I just prayed I didn’t knock the guy unconscious with my big feet and float to the top slamming my body against the walls all the way up. After all, there must be a reason they make you sign a release stating you have never dislocated your shoulder!

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Next we suited up and were provided with goggles and helmets. A few quick selfies and it was into the chamber we went looking like lambs being lead to slaughter.  I was the last to go and by then I had watched who flew well and who didn’t so I had the position engraved into my mind. WHOOSH! I was in. Chin up. Check. Arms bent and out in front of face. Check. Legs split. Check. And off I flew…kind of. At first I would say I vibrated and rocked like a baby on a rocking horse. After a few seconds though I got the hang of it…all except that drooling thing. I think spit must have been flying everywhere!

All in all it was a lot of  short time indoor fun for a lot of hard earned money but I am not complaining. Nor am I looking to go skydiving from a plane anytime soon. I am just happy to have had the experience and to have let go of a few of those fears. In that vein, iFLY is cheaper than a session with a shrink!

iFLY has multiple locations throughout the United States and the world. HINT: Coupons are available to make your first fly cheaper. Costco has discounts available.