How do you describe a place that is intentionally ugly, intentionally horrible, intentionally built that way? How do I describe a place that having visited a couple of years ago, still haunts me? The Eastern State Penitentiary Museum and Historic Site initially captured my interest in the early 1990s, when I worked at the American […]
Month: February 2014
Singer Castle
Who can resist exploring a castle? And that’s a problem with America for us castle-lovers — there simply aren’t enough of them around. So when you get to tour one, even if it isn’t five centuries old, I jump at the chance! I’d like to say that even Boldt Castle isn’t castle enough — it’s really […]
1000 Islands Visited: Sunset Dinner Cruise on the St Lawrence River
I’m a sucker for beautiful sunsets, dinner is always a winner, and who doesn’t like a cruise on a lovely river? This “day trip” had all three — a Sunset Dinner Cruise on the St Lawrence River, touring the Thousand Islands. Lovely scenery and the food wasn’t half bad! That morning we’d driven 8 hours […]
Valentine’s Day Special: Boldt’s Castle Is the World’s Best Love Letter
In honor of Valentine’s Day, I decided to write about a visit to Bold’s Castle in New York’s Thousand Islands region — one of the most extravagant valentine’s day gifts ever! Middle class men give Hallmark cards to their wives; multimillionaires build castles. George C. Boldt started work on his love letter to his wife […]
Thousand Islands: Light Houses
This week’s blog will be different than other weeks. Last weekend I didn’t do anything worth blogging about, unless you want to hear about replacing bathroom light fixtures (with some really cool 1970 retro lights) and re-organizing my closet… No, didn’t think so. So over this week and the next, I’ll post several blogs, starting […]
American Museum of Visionary Art
One of the burdens of motherhood is wanting to expose your sons to experiences that will enrich and expand their outlook, and having that desire go not just unappreciated, but aggressively scorned and despised by the intended beneficiaries of your maternal wisdom. But I continue to fight the good fight. That’s why, when I learned* […]
Winter Walks
A warmer than usual day beckoned the beagles and I outside this past weekend. There are those who preach the outdoor winter gospel, but I am an admitted fair-weather wimp. However, I’ve been reading up on the benefits of winter walking, and I learned that outdoor walking in cold air benefits your bones, mood and waistline. […]