Recently in Travel Category
Blue Spring Te Waihou walkway to open ahead of summer - NZ Herald
One of the most beautiful places my family and I have ever been: Water so crystal-clear you can see the plants waving in the current at the bottom of the stream, surrounded by a canopy of tall evergreens. Soon to reopen after being closed for a year because of a rockslide at the end of the trail with a parking lot.
"Work to restore public access to the Blue Spring / Te Waihou Walkway is underway, almost a year after the track closed. South Waikato District Council awarded the project to build a new track at the Leslie Rd end of the walkway to Keir Landscaping and Structures earlier this month."
The St. James was our last civilized night's sleep before our near-100-mile Philmont trek, and our first real meal off the trail this past July. Glad to see the tradition going on. "Situated in Cimarron, New Mexico, at the entrance to the Enchanted Circle, the St. James Hotel is more than just a lodging destination; it offers an invitation to immerse oneself in the history, flavors, and rugged charm of the Old West. Originally under the stewardship of Bob Funk Sr. and the Funk family since 2009, the reopening under Chad and Alyse Mantz will ensure the family's love for Western heritage continues into the future. With their leadership, this historic hotel and its acclaimed bar and restaurant are set to reclaim their status as New Mexico's premier destination for adventure, hospitality, and unforgettable dining experiences."
A neat way of tracking her travels, going back to 2008.
What is the Wada Hoppah? The proposed Charles River ferry could ease Boston traffic. - CBS Boston
The proposed water shuttle route would run from Watertown to near North Station, with stops along the way. (They need an MIT stop.) I love this idea. Brisbane has ferry service along its river -- a long route from the University of Queensland to the cruise ship terminal at Hamilton, a shorter route focused on the CBD, South Bank, Kangaroo Point, and New Farm, and three short-hops to carry people directly across the river.
Mojave Desert ghost town Amboy fights to survive on Route 66 - Los Angeles Times
"AMBOY, Calif. -- It's a Friday afternoon in mid-May and a Czech biker is eating an ice cream cone at the counter of a gas station along a desolate stretch of the Mojave Desert. Outside, his entourage crowds around a towering Atomic Age sign for a group photo before speeding away along Route 66.
"A British couple sip hot tea, though the mercury is pushing 100 degrees. A young woman in a crop top sits cross-legged in the middle of the street while a man films her, seemingly oblivious to the traffic whizzing by. On some days, small planes land on the dirt airstrip so their occupants can grab a root beer float or chili dog.
"'It's in the middle of nowhere in the desert, but you see a multitude of different types of people in Amboy,' said Kyle Okura, 31, who owns Roy's gas station, along with the rest of the ghost town, after inheriting it from his father last year. 'That's what's so amazing. You hear stories from all different parts of the world.'"
The Coffee House Club, St. Louis
Before about 2010 you couldn't always count on having internet access, much less high speed internet, in hotels. When traveling, I would always keep my eyes open for coffee houses with free wifi, particularly coffee houses that stayed open late, somewhere I could work on blog entries and catch up on email.
A comment on social media about the lack of late night dining options nowadays brought The Coffee House Club in St. Louis to mind. It was open noon to midnight weekdays, noon to 3 a.m. on weekends. When I visited, probably in 2007, but possibly 2009, it was at 6319 Clayton Ave. in a one-story building with a red brick facade, with the words COFFEE HOUSE inlaid in square letters of blonde brick. I'm not sure how I found it -- possibly through the Riverfront Times, the local alt-weekly, possibly through the late lamented IndieCoffeeShops.com crowdsourced map. It was comfortable and quiet; the only thing I didn't care for was that smoking was allowed.
"Not only is it the The Coffee House club the greatest cup of coffee on the planet, it is also the most relaxing. Its the only place in town to go to when you just need someone to talk to, there is always someone available! So please join us for a fresh cup of coffee and wholesome conversation!"
The Coffee House boasted a nightly AA meeting. A later version of the website stated: "Jeanarae first opened the doors to The Coffee House in St. Louis city in 1994. Her mission was to provide a safe entertainment venue for the people in St. Louis' recovery community. For over 15 years, The Coffee House has been proudly serving Jeanarae's Exclusive House Blend!" The location moved to 2625 Abbott Place, and I've found a reference to 4305 Bingham Ave on a food review website. Jeanarae Booth is mentioned as the owner in a 2001 story about a Dogtown neighborhood nuisance.
Breezewood - The Rise and Decline of a Highway Rest Stop
"Section 113(b) and (c) of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 that created the Interstate system. Section 113(b) stated that an Interstate can have direct access through an interchange with a toll road as long as access to a free alternative is available. Section 113(c) allowed for interchanges to be built with federal funds as long as the toll road operating agency agreed to retire tolls once their bonds were paid off. The other option was for the Turnpike to fund and built their own interchange. In short, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission didn't want to spend its own funds on an interchange - they had feared that the not yet complete Interstate 80 to the north would cut deeply into their revenues - and the unique setup that would give birth to over 50 different roadside businesses and services was set in stone."
"Remember, remember the Fifth of November." Early November is bonfire season in England, commemorating the discovery and thwarting of Guy Fawkes' Gunpowder Plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament. Sussex and Surrey, south of London, host the biggest celebrations, which also commemorate the 36 Sussex Martyrs who were put to death for their adherence to the Protestant faith during the reign of Bloody Mary Tudor. The town of Lewes, Sussex, holds the biggest bonfire celebration, so big that town officials close the train station and the roads and strongly discourage outsiders from coming to town.
At a co-worker's suggestion, I attended the bonfire in Brockham, Surrey, in 2018. There was a mile-long torchlight parade down country lanes leading to the bonfire in the center of the village green. An effigy of Guy Fawkes was hoisted to the top of a three-story-high pile of kindling in the middle of the village green, and torchlight bearers thrust their torches into the pile to start the bonfire. Live music, beer and mulled wine, a hog roast, and fireworks, all around a massive bonfire, on a clear, crisp night on an English village green.
The Secret Life of Beatrix Potter | The New Yorker
Review of a new book about Beatrix Potter. In 2018, our family visited the gallery in the office of Potter's lawyer husband, in Hawkshead, Lancashire, in the Lake District.
"In early adulthood, Potter observed her pets closely, inventing narratives about them, and filling her letters to the children of friends with their adventures. Her dispatches are playful and alive, illustrated with pen-and-ink drawings of rabbits.... Potter sent the Moore children story after story in illustrated letters, until Noel's mother suggested that she try to turn them into books. (The children had saved their copies.) In 1901, Potter self-published the first edition of 'The Tale of Peter Rabbit,' which appeared almost exactly as she had written it to Noel, down to Peter's 'blue jacket with brass buttons, quite new.'... Potter believed that her first books found an audience because they were written for real children. 'It is much more satisfactory to address a real live child,' she wrote. 'I often think that that was the secret of the success of Peter Rabbit, it was written to a child--not made to order.'"
From the American Guide Series, a look at Texas in 1940.
