What to Do, What to Do?

Posted on February 23, 2017February 23, 2017 by Dusty Roads | 2 Comments

Now that my globetrotting is temporarily on hold the age old question rears it’s ugly head. What am I going to talk about until my next trip (which isn’t until June by the way)?

If I were on a TV show you’d get to watch reruns for the next couple of months and I may dip into some of my older posts to share but I don’t plan to do that every day.

In hopes of finding topics I googled the Top 10 things to do in Boston. If the weather holds out maybe I can try to cover some of those.

According to Trip Adviser the number 1 thing to do is visit Fenway Park. That won’t work. The Sox are in Fort Myers Fl. for spring training.

#2. Is a visit to the Museum of Fine Art.

Well, I’ve been there and it is beautiful. I attended the special exhibit for the glass blowing artist, Dale Chihuly.

Chihuly

His work is amazing!

Chihuly

I also love the statue out front. Appeal to the Great Spirit.

Appeal to the Great Spirit at the MFA

#3. The Freedom Trail.

Get out your walking shoes because if you want to walk the whole thing it will take you awhile. The Freedom Trail is a 2.5-mile-long (4.0 km) path through downtown Boston that passes by 16 locations significant to the history of the United States. Marked largely with brick, it winds between Boston Common to the Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown. Of course while you are at the Bunker Hill Monument you’ll want to climb the 294 steps to the top for views of the Boston Harbor. Bunker Hill Monument is a National Historical Park.

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#4. Boston Public Garden

This is one of my favorite places in Boston but not in February. In the spring there are flowers everywhere.

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Swan boats cruise the little lagoon and there’s always the Make Way for Ducklings sculpture. Of course in the winter there’s skating on the Frog Pond but it’s been so warm I bet all of the ice has melted.

#5, Boston Common

I really don’t distinguish between the Boston Common and The Public Garden. They are all sort of one big park.

According to Wikipedia they are a pair of public parks in Boston. I’m sure my friend Joe would be quick to point out the differences to me. He is far more of a “Bostonian” than I am even though he’s lived in the south a number of years now.

Well that’s about all I have time for in this post. I guess we’ll have to finish off the last 5 another time.

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Beautiful Bellagio

Posted on March 9, 2015March 9, 2015 by Dusty Roads

I don’t know Vegas well enough to say what is the most beautiful or the most sophisticated or the most anything. Everything we’ve seen and experienced so far in Vegas has been over the top but I did love everything about the Bellagio, from it’s dancing fountains to the Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.

I have a video of the fountains but so far have not been able to complete an upload so until then here is a still photo to share the experience with you.

Chihuly in the lobby

The Gardens decked out for Chinese New Year.

Chihuly Gardens

Posted on July 17, 2013July 17, 2013 by Dusty Roads

I’m back at the Space Needle and the first thing I did was purchase my ticket to the Chihuly Gardens. Many of the exhibits were familiar.

They had been part of the show that visited The MFA but now they appeared to be permanent exhibits. Although some were inside in exhibit halls many of the larger pieces were outside including my favorite one.

My favorite is a made up of purple “candles” placed around a fallen log.

Next to the log a pod of black glass “things” seem to be swimming out from under the log. It made me think of seals or maybe dolphins. I checked this out from all sides. It is definitely my favorite.

The thing about Chihuly is that all of his pieces are beautiful and amazing.

I still had plenty of time before sunset but most of the other places were closing for the day so I headed back up the Space Needle. I might as well enjoy the views while I wait for sunset.

I saw other photographers with their tripods.

I didn’t bring mine this trip but I wish I had.

Without a tripod I would have to hand hold and the darker it got the harder that would be.

I hope these photos of Chihuly Gardens convey a little of it’s magical quality.

Space Needle

Posted on July 15, 2013July 15, 2013 by Dusty Roads

I perused the Seattle Guide books while I was in my room each night and was amazed at the number of things to do in the area. But in my humble opinion the number 1 thing to do is visit the Space Needle and not just to see it. You need to experience it. Take the elevator up the side and explore the 360 degree observation deck.

So here I was boarding the mono rail to check out the Space Needle. You can see it from all over Seattle. It looks like a big space ship landing on the high rises.

The mono rail is pretty neat too. It was built for the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair to shuttle fair goers from the downtown to the fair grounds. After the fair ended the mono rail lived on.

It takes less than 5 minutes to go from one station to the other! It took me 3 times that just to walk to the station from the hotel!

It’s in great shape. Clean and well maintained. If only our Boston subway cars looked as good. Today, the trains carry approximately two million passengers every year. The Monorail has become an important fixture in Seattle for locals, who use the trains during major festivals and sporting events. Seattle Center Monorail is one of the few fully self-sufficient public rail transit system in the nation yet a one way ticket is only $2.25. Someone is doing something right. Maybe we should ship the MBTA execs out for training.

The mono rail runs on an elevated track right down 5th avenue past my hotel. I spent some time sitting on a cement wall watching it go overhead.

Ticket in hand I grabbed a seat for the short ride. It wasn’t crowded and in a blink of an eye we were pulling into Seattle Center right at the base of the Space Needle.

No mistaking me for anything but what I was, an awestruck tourist. As I stepped off the Mono rail platform I know my mouth was hanging open while I reached for my camera. The Space Needle is amazing up close. You can get a stiff neck looking up to the top.

As I got my bearings I saw an unmistakable sight. A Chihuly Glass sculpture. I recognized it from the exhibit I’d seen at the MFA in Boston.

Since it was early I headed toward the sculpture first. It was sitting behind locked gates and there was a big glass building behind it with another familiar glass exhibit.

I followed the path around only to find out the Chihuly Garden was closed for the day. The Sign on the door said they would be open until 8pm the next day. I knew right then that I would be back.