There is much to see and do in San Antonio. Lots of history and culture and even a beautiful garden or two. And it is a city that takes good care of it's tourists: lots of signage (see Seattle), lots of hotels and shops and restaurants in the historic downtown...
The River Walk in San Antonio is 13 amazing miles of wonderful!! It is so varied- so interesting - so peaceful - so vibrant - so beautiful - that you can walk and walk and never run out of things to see and do and enjoy. I've never seen such a...
I am in San Antonio, Texas for a conference, and walked over to the Alamo yesterday afternoon, only about 2 blocks from my hotel. The first surprise is that it is right in the very heart of San Antonio. The second surprise was all the touristy things that have been...
My cousin Doug told me that San Juan Island was one of their favorite places, and after our time there I would have to agree. A very pleasant place and very pleasant people. We stayed in Friday Harbor, the one town on the island, but we rented a car for 24 hours...
There are over 40 major islands in Puget Sound, and many smaller ones, and I seem to have managed to take photos of most of them!! That's an exaggeration but we did pass a lot on our way out to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. Another beautiful sunny day, and the...
Dale Chihuly is an absolutely amazing artist in blown glass. My sister Sandy introduced me to his work, and I have seen pieces he has done at the Botanical Gardens in Atlanta, GA and at the Art Museum in Naples, FL. He was born in Tacoma, Washington, and has...
Our first morning in Seattle was HARD WORK! No tourist information in the train station, and not even a sign as to where we could leave our luggage. We finally figured that out, and decided to walk over just a few blocks to the Gold Rush Museum that the "Trails and...
Our final train journey. It has been a wonderful experience, and I can't praise Amtrak and their staff highly enough. Another overnight, but before it got dark we saw Glacier National Park again from the train, and into Idaho. In the morning we were in...
Today its time to explore Browning, where we have been staying. It is on the Blackfoot Reservation with a population of 9,000. Our guide on Saturday told us there were 16,000 members of the Blackfoot Nation. As with most reservations I have seen it looks poor and...
Another beautiful day weatherwise, and more beautiful scenery as well. Today we drove over to the West Glacier Entrance of the park, about 60 miles from where we are staying in Browning. We went down and around the bottom edge of the park, the opposite direction...
What a day I have had! We took a tour through Glacier National Park, up to the highest levels where there is a paved road. The taller mountains still towered high above us. I saw two glaciers (my second bucket list item on this trip - the train west being the...
Next stage on my western train adventure is the Empire Builder itself! We got on the train in Chicago at 2:15 pm and headed west. We settled into our sleepers and did a little exploring. The train was very full - this is a popular trip. The observation car was...
Navy Pier is over 3,300 feet and 50 acres of shops, restaurants, museums, and meeting venues. It is a true Chicago Landmark. Originally begun in 1916 it had a number of uses in its early days. During WW2 the Navy used the space, and after the war much of the space...
Step 2 on my Great Train Adventure is Chicgo - we spent the morning on the University of Chicago campus and visiting the Oriental Museum. Last visit to the Oriental Museum was about 37 years ago - Scott found a game still being sold that I had bought him back then -...
The first stop on my Great Train Adventure that will take me all the way to Vancouver, British Colombia is: Washington DC. After an overnight from Savannah, GA I was walking towards the Mall by 8:00AM. From Union Station past the Capital Building to the Museums...
Savannah, Georgia is a beautiful, historic southern city, with much charm and many stories to tell. There are almost 250 years of such stories. After living here 9 years, I still appreciate how much Savannah has to offer. Let me share with you some of my favorites:...
i want to preface my remarks by saying that slavery is a terrible, de-humanizing institution and is always morally wrong. But, saying that, the lives of those on the rice plantations were quite different from slaves on the cotton plantations of inland Georgia...
Yes, here I am again on yet another of Georgia's barrier islands. I've been coming to Jekyll Island for over 20 years now, and it is by far my favorite of the barrier islands. Fortunately for me, it is only about 1 1/2 hours drive from my home in Savannah,...
The Georgia Sea Turtle Center opened in 2007 in the historic district on Jekyll Island. It is a rehabilitation, research, and educational facility. It usually has 8 - 12 sea turtles in its tanks suffering from illness or injury. Many are loggerheads, as they are...
I went down to Jekyll Island on Friday, July 8 specifically to see 3 sea turtles released. I have been a supporter of the Sea Turtle Center for a number of years, and was excited to finally see a release. The two smaller sea turtles were Kemps Ridleys, and had only...