April 2008 Archives

I've seen these cute little drive-thru coffee shacks on two different trips now -- in and around Anchorage and also Seattle.

They look like garden sheds, only spiffed up. You'll find them in suburban shopping mall parking lots and tucked around the bend on country roads.

This isn't one of the better ones I saw, just the one I saw when I had my camera in hand. Some are shaped like coffee pots. Others have cute names that play on coffee words like mocha and espresso. They're often decorated with crazy bumper stickers and/or signs.

It must be a Pacific Northwest thing. But seriously, why don't we have these on the East Coast?

We have drive-thru everything else these days.

Are you looking for something fun to do this weekend? Silly question -- of course you are. What about something fun with live entertainment, educational exhibits and exercise?

I'm talking about the Great Green America Fest taking place Saturday and Sunday on the grounds of the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire.

Learn ways to protect the environment and conserve energy as you stroll among the rows of vendors and exhibitors at the Mount Hope Estate & Winery. Listen to live folk music. Sunday, bring your bicycle and get some exercise by joining the metric bike ride.

I did it last year and survived to tell about it.

I'm bummed that I won't be able to make it this year (they moved it from July to May), but if you get there, leave a comment upon your return and tell us how it was.

It seems like this is the year of things getting worse just when you think they can't get any worse.

The horrible housing market. Layoffs. Gas prices that leap by quarters and dimes every day with seemingly no end in sight.

Lately, you can add air travel to that list.

Not only do you have to jump through security hoops that make you wonder how secure we really are, but the planes are more crowded. The airlines are charging more and offering fewer flight options. Delays and cancellations and lost luggage are becoming the rule rather than the exception.

The past few weeks have been filled with news about maintenance oversights and bankruptcies among the big carriers. It seems small airlines are dropping from the skies.

And you can't just say you'll drive instead of paying fares that rose eight times already this year, because you really can't afford to do that either.

For once, I don't envy people with plans to fly this summer because they say it will be so miserable that you'll probably need a vacation to recover from the hassles of getting to your vacation.

It seems our country's transportation system is failing and failing miserably. Who is going to take responsibility for this? What can be done to fix it? How's a traveler to survive in the meantime?

Virginia Hobbs took Ella Hobbs, 3, Lexi Rosario, 8, and Ethan Hobbs, 5, on a walk around their Thornbury Hunt neighborhood in Manchester Township Monday to pick up trash.

On Tuesday -- Earth Day -- they distributed fliers to more than 80 homes in the neighborhood with a photo of what they collected and a reminder to help keep the neighborhood and planet clean.

If you're reading this blog, it probably means you care about travel and the outdoors and keeping the precious places we enjoy in good shape. Earth Day is a reminder that without individual efforts like these, we wouldn't have clean lakes, parks and natural wonders.

Did you do anything to mark Earth Day? What do you do on a regular basis to do your part in caring for the environment? Post a comment and share.

Since Sunday's storms (April showers, what do you expect?), the weather around here has been absolutely wonderful.

It makes it hard to stay in the newsroom and do my work. I'm looking for any excuse to get out, drive around, enjoy the weather and talk to people for stories in person rather than by phone.

I keep seeing people cycling along the roads and I want to get out on my bike! (Haven't gotten to it yet -- bad me!)

What are you doing outdoors these days? What's your preferred method for enjoying such perfect weather? Post a comment and share!

... of art in these last few posts, I thought I'd share a few examples of public art I ran across while in Seattle.

For starters, they have the Olympic Sculpture Park along the waterfront (Puget Sound). An extension of the city's art museum, it transformed a nine-acre industrial site into green space and art space.

Other pieces pop up randomly around town, offering pleasant surprises for visitors, such as this line of cement balls.

I was a big fan of the eyeballs, which double as benches for folks to stop and take a rest.

(Double click on any of the photos to see them larger)

York's parking meters, tile mosaics and murals are a good start, but historical monuments are still the norm. How should York spice up its downtown art scene? Any suggestions?

If I'm not interested in something, my attention span can be shorter than that of a fly.

When it comes to museums -- especially art museums -- I tend to think my eyes will glaze over and I'll be waiting by the door for my companions to finish their visit.

Yet each time I have visited an art museum, I have spent hours inside and left impressed by how much I enjoyed and learned from the experience. It happened a couple years ago when I visited my friend Em in Cincinatti.

And it happened again a few weeks ago in Seattle.

(Doubleclick on the image to fully appreciate it)

OK, so yeah, it's kind of gross. But in a fascinating kind of way.

When I learned I'd be spending four days in the Seattle area, I somehow became obsessed with seeing this Wall of Gum in Post Alley near the Pike Place Market downtown. I can't even recall where I read about it during my pre-trip research, but it sounded weird and quirky enough to merit a look.

The local folks we were visiting hadn't even heard of it, but humored me nonetheless. I thought the wall was pretty cool -- could probably even classify as public art. Art by the people, for the people. Something like that.

Sure beats gum on your shoe.

(Once again, doubleclick on photos to see larger)

Sometime last Tuesday afternoon -- in the air between Seattle and Detroit -- my body started to ache. By the time I boarded a late-night flight to Harrisburg, I felt as banged up as my luggage.

Travel, a time difference, a change of climate and seasons -- I attributed my malaise to all of the above and showed up at work Wednesday feeling not-so-hot.

You see, calling in sick when you come back from vacation isn't really an option. Bosses tend to think you're trying to extend your time off. You're so behind in your work that you can't afford to lose another day of productivity.

I'm sure all you loyal readers of this blog have been unable to sleep at night, worrying why there have been no new posts here for an entire week, wondering if maybe I fell into a Great Lake somewhere between my trip to Seattle and this entry.

Well, rest assured, I arrived home safe, but more sick than sound, and the blog has suffered. But I'm starting to feel more alive than dead, so look for lots of new posts -- on everything from sick days to Seattle and everything in between.

Sorry for the lapse.

I thought it was just me, but this story from the San Jose Mercury News proves that carry-on space in airplane overhead bins is at a premium everywhere these days.

I typically carry a purse large enough to fit my laptop and a backpack with my camera stuff in it onto the plane.

I'm not the kind of passenger who jumps into line at the gate the second they announce boarding. I'd rather relax than stand in line.

Lately though, I've started thinking maybe I had better because by the time I get onto planes, all of the overhead space is spoken for. Flying to Seattle this weekend, I had difficulty even finding a small space for my mini camera backpack.

I have considered how I will respond should a flight attendant ask me to check my camera backpack. And I don't think it would be pleasant.

Have you ever been asked to check a carry-on for lack of space in the overhead bins? How did you deal with it?

Check out this picture I snapped while traveling through the Detroit airport.

We went into what felt like a tunnel and got on the moving walkways, but the walls and ceiling flashed a rainbow of funky colors in time to a jammin' rhythmic percussion beat. Made the long trip between terminals feel, well, almost fun!

This weekend marks the grand re-opening of a museum I've been waiting more than half of my career as a journalist to visit -- Washington, D.C.'s Newseum.

The former Newseum, across the Potomoc River in Arlington, Va., closed in 2002 -- just three years after I started working as a full-time journalist, so I never got there. I've eagerly followed construction updates and announcements about delays.

This weekend, it's finally opening.

With seven levels and 14 galleries, I'm hoping it will make the $20 adult admission fee (steep compared to the free-yet-awesome Smithsonian museums that dot the nearby National Mall) worth every penny.

Check out this story from USA Today with all the deets.

A bunch of us from YDR are planning to take a field trip to visit The Newseum the first weekend in June. If you get there before then, please post a comment and let me know what you thought!

David Smeltzer of West Manchester Township snapped these two pictures while driving from Seattle to San Diego.

Most of the summer 2007 trip, which he did with his daughter, Donna Mabry, was along the Pacific Coast highway, except for an inland visit to Mount Hood, Oregon, shown in the one shot.

His travel tip: Stick close to the coast the whole way down because it’s so beautiful you can’t believe it.