This ride at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, N.J. reminds me of three-year-olds twirling themselves to dizziness and then collapsing on the ground in laughter. Why do we go to such great heights to drive ourselves dizzy? When does a three year old’s dizzy giggle become an 80-year-old’s dizzy spell? Spinning feels like flying,…
Category: United States
Recreational Learning: Las Vegas
Las Vegas mystifies me with its round-the-clock gambling venues (breakfast and a roll of the dice?), pedestrian routes geared toward moving more walkers through casinos, and homeless people sleeping on walkways. Even in the spare-no-wattage glare of Sin City, real-world misery cannot be obscured. Despite all the reckless indulgence and its aftermath, pleasant surprises await….
Must-Sees in Chicago: Willis Tower’s Skydeck
The Brawny Sherpa and I get up early one weekend morning and head to Willis Tower with the hope that we’ll beat the crowds up to the Skydeck. We are lucky, and we do. Up we zoom to the 103rd floor to get some good glimpses of Chicago’s skyline. I was last here on stop…
A Closet History at the Eastman House
Hat Boxes and the Past in Rochester, N.Y. Should visitors to Kodak founder George Eastman’s house in Rochester, N.Y. feel nosy upon peeking into closets at the old place? What would someone find if she were to glance into mine? Unfolded laundry, racks packed with too many clothes, wire hangers. Looking into George’s mother’s…
Buckling Up in Ridgefield, Conn.
Amusing Signs around the Planet Photo credit: M. Ciavardini An eye-catching reminder on exiting the Ridgefield Playhouse: extra-terrestrials must be safely strapped in. —Lori Tripoli Like Connecticut? You might be interested in these posts: The Revolution Comes to Keeler Tavern in Ridgefield, Conn. Mapleshade Cemetery and Revolution in Ridgefield, CT Danbury: Revolution, Hats, and a…
La Crème de La Crémaillère
Contemplating all things France lately (or, mostly, Joan of Arc as I read Kathryn Harrison’s 2014 biography of the Maid of Orléans), I glide on the arm of the Brawny Sherpa into La Crémaillère in Bedford, N.Y. one gray, soggy evening wondering what medieval maidens ate. I am quickly transmogrified from the 1430s to the…
Reason to Go to Yonkers: Vanilla Stout
Living in the far northern part of Westchester County, N.Y., I somehow don’t often breach what has been referred to as “the great 287 divide”—a phrase referring to the interstate highway that bisects the county. Those living north of it tend to stay north, those south, south. Invited to a networking event at Yonkers Brewing…
Margaritas, Straight, Salt: Southeast
If you seek the perfect margarita in the North Suburban vicinity, look no further than Las Mananitas restaurant in Brewster, in the town of Southeast. The food is pretty good, too; the fire in winter is warming, the patio in summer is serene. After your meal, order the special coffee made at your table. You’ll…
Running across History
Taking in Nuggets of Information A monument to the soldiers of the Confederacy in Arlington National Cemetery. A visitor might marvel at its size given the cause for which the soldiers were fighting. Photo credit: L, Tripoli Traveling back in time: On Feb. 22, 1862, Jefferson Davis was inaugurated as president of the Confederate States…
To Which Eiffel Tower Will You Go?
Eiffel Is Everywhere—Orlando, Las Vegas, Paris With the turrets of the Excalibur in view, passing the Statue of Liberty of New York New York, cruising past the dancing fountains of Bellagio, taking in the singing gondoliers at the Venetian, the Brawny Sherpa and I finally agree on a destination for brunch: We’ll be eating in…