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…
Dizzy Spell
Tag: brawny sherpa
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…
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…
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…
Bathroom Etiquette 101
Convenience in Cusco
Our stay in room 114 at the San Agustin International is short and functional. In Peru to see Machu Picchu, we stay in Cusco a couple of nights after our great adventure on the mountain. After a couple of pisco…
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…
A Romantic Dinner in Cusco
By the last evening of our whirlwind adventure in Peru, the Brawny Sherpa and I are running short on time and energy—despite our new affection for coca tea and our hopes of entering a time warp to extend our brief…
A Spiritual Altitude Adjustment at Machu Picchu
I am so concerned with the physical challenge of Machu Picchu—how much will the altitude affect me? will my head hurt? will I be able to breathe?—that I don’t spend as much time as I should contemplating the spirituality of…
Peruvian Effigy
A little disconcerting to this North American visitor are the colorful effigies hanging from trees and lampposts in southern Peru. The Brawny Sherpa and I are in Cusco, the Sacred Valley, and Machu Picchu at the end of February, when…