Blog

Brief observations on the road, in the garden and at home.
Things don’t always go according to plans. That’s when I learn a lot about myself in how I handle situations.

Olana State Historical Site Captures America’s Idyllic Nineteenth Century

After spending time with the Roosevelts in the early mid-twentieth century, the next day we drove north along the Hudson River and stepped back further in time to the mid-1800s at Olana State Historic Site.
I confess I wasn’t familiar with the Hudson River School art movement before this trip. Yet the river’s mist that envelopes the Hudson Valley’s towns, vistas, and historic places, especially in the evening or after a rainfall, evokes the dream-like landscapes created by artists of

Read More

Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum Earmarks Critical Time in American History

Some of you might be wondering, “Why would he go there? Sounds boring.” Museums that open my eyes to a greater understanding of why my world is the way it is, and manage to entertain me at the same time, capture my attention. History geek that I am, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Museum and Library located in Hyde Park on the river’s east bank, fascinated me with its interpretive and interactive exhibits about

Read More
The grounds at Storm King

Storm King Art Center Embodies Monumentality

Back to the beginning of our week-long road trip that began in New York’s Hudson Valley, the Storm King Art Center set a high bar for our expectations over the next six days. Located near West Point Military Academy on the river’s west bank, this 500-acre pastoral landscape of woodlands, wildflower and native grasses…

Read More
Mohawk Trail Berkshires

Eye-Popping Fall Scenery Dazzles Along the Mohawk Trail

Red maples, red oaks, sugar maples, sweetgums, sassafras trees, and ashes are among the most colorful October show-offs. The 69-mile Mohawk Trail now Route 2, winds its way from the New York border in northwestern Massachusetts east to Millers Falls on the Connecticut River. Indeed, originally the trail was a major east/west footpath for the Mohawk and other Native American tribes.

Read More
A Fall Road Trip to the Hudson Valley and Berkshires

A Fall Road Trip to the Hudson Valley and Berkshires Stimulates the Senses

The Valley holds substantial riches. Majestic rolling landscapes form the banks of the river. quaint towns and villages charm travelers. Stately mansions of the nineteenth and early twentieth century’s rich and famous industrialists and a former U.S. president dot the river’s east side. Historic formal and contemporary gardens exemplify horticultural excellence. Public and private collections of historic and contemporary art surprise and excite visitors.

Read More
Forever Susan lilies

June is Gardeners’ Most Celebrated Month

“June is bustin’ out all over!” So goes the refrain of the Rodgers and Hammerstein’s tune from the Broadway musical Carousel. For weddings, Father’s Day, high school graduations, and now the annual celebration of emancipation from slavery, June brings the most beautiful weather of the year.

Read More
Amalfi Cathedral

A Ferry Ride to Southern Italy’s Amalfi Cathedral

Crew members secure the ferry to Amalfi’s dock and lower the gangplank. I disembark, along with my tour companions, after the 45-minute sail from the town of Positano along Southern Italy’s acclaimed Amalfi Coast. We pass the queue of tourists and locals eager to board the boat and grab our now empty seats for the continued trip farther down the coast to Salerno and beyond.

Read More

Sailing Through Isle of Capri’s Faraglioni Rocks

One of three rocks off the Isle of Capri in the Bay of Naples, the trio are faraglioni, or sea stacks, coastal and oceanic formations eroded over centuries by wind and water. Waves bored a giant hole through the center of mezzo, large enough so that modest-sized pleasure crafts can sail through safely.

Read More
santiago de cuba photo

A Chance Encounter in
Santiago de Cuba Rewards Me

I get up early and leave the casa particular (a Cuban version of Air B&B) in Santiago de Cuba on the island’s east end to sit in the Parque Cespedes to write in my journal. The bright sun already begins to heat up the humid mid-summer air. In a short while, three of us will embark on a weeklong cross-country road trip to Havana with our hired driver Umberto at the wheel in his late model Toyota.

Read More

Olana State Historical Site Captures America’s Idyllic Nineteenth Century

After spending time with the Roosevelts in the early mid-twentieth century, the next day we drove north along the Hudson River and stepped back further in time to the mid-1800s at Olana State Historic Site.
I confess I wasn’t familiar with the Hudson River School art movement before this trip. Yet the river’s mist that envelopes the Hudson Valley’s towns, vistas, and historic places, especially in the evening or after a rainfall, evokes the dream-like landscapes created by artists of

Read More

Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum Earmarks Critical Time in American History

Some of you might be wondering, “Why would he go there? Sounds boring.” Museums that open my eyes to a greater understanding of why my world is the way it is, and manage to entertain me at the same time, capture my attention. History geek that I am, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Museum and Library located in Hyde Park on the river’s east bank, fascinated me with its interpretive and interactive exhibits about

Read More
The grounds at Storm King

Storm King Art Center Embodies Monumentality

Back to the beginning of our week-long road trip that began in New York’s Hudson Valley, the Storm King Art Center set a high bar for our expectations over the next six days. Located near West Point Military Academy on the river’s west bank, this 500-acre pastoral landscape of woodlands, wildflower and native grasses…

Read More
Mohawk Trail Berkshires

Eye-Popping Fall Scenery Dazzles Along the Mohawk Trail

Red maples, red oaks, sugar maples, sweetgums, sassafras trees, and ashes are among the most colorful October show-offs. The 69-mile Mohawk Trail now Route 2, winds its way from the New York border in northwestern Massachusetts east to Millers Falls on the Connecticut River. Indeed, originally the trail was a major east/west footpath for the Mohawk and other Native American tribes.

Read More
A Fall Road Trip to the Hudson Valley and Berkshires

A Fall Road Trip to the Hudson Valley and Berkshires Stimulates the Senses

The Valley holds substantial riches. Majestic rolling landscapes form the banks of the river. quaint towns and villages charm travelers. Stately mansions of the nineteenth and early twentieth century’s rich and famous industrialists and a former U.S. president dot the river’s east side. Historic formal and contemporary gardens exemplify horticultural excellence. Public and private collections of historic and contemporary art surprise and excite visitors.

Read More
Forever Susan lilies

June is Gardeners’ Most Celebrated Month

“June is bustin’ out all over!” So goes the refrain of the Rodgers and Hammerstein’s tune from the Broadway musical Carousel. For weddings, Father’s Day, high school graduations, and now the annual celebration of emancipation from slavery, June brings the most beautiful weather of the year.

Read More
Amalfi Cathedral

A Ferry Ride to Southern Italy’s Amalfi Cathedral

Crew members secure the ferry to Amalfi’s dock and lower the gangplank. I disembark, along with my tour companions, after the 45-minute sail from the town of Positano along Southern Italy’s acclaimed Amalfi Coast. We pass the queue of tourists and locals eager to board the boat and grab our now empty seats for the continued trip farther down the coast to Salerno and beyond.

Read More

Sailing Through Isle of Capri’s Faraglioni Rocks

One of three rocks off the Isle of Capri in the Bay of Naples, the trio are faraglioni, or sea stacks, coastal and oceanic formations eroded over centuries by wind and water. Waves bored a giant hole through the center of mezzo, large enough so that modest-sized pleasure crafts can sail through safely.

Read More
santiago de cuba photo

A Chance Encounter in
Santiago de Cuba Rewards Me

I get up early and leave the casa particular (a Cuban version of Air B&B) in Santiago de Cuba on the island’s east end to sit in the Parque Cespedes to write in my journal. The bright sun already begins to heat up the humid mid-summer air. In a short while, three of us will embark on a weeklong cross-country road trip to Havana with our hired driver Umberto at the wheel in his late model Toyota.

Read More

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