World music, cold water and lots of sunshine. Welcome to the International Fountain.

The Seattle Center (in Seattle, WA, duh) is home to the Space Needle, the Center House (home of the Seattle Shakespeare Co.), the Experience Music Project/Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame, a fairly shady amusement park and the Pacific Science Center, among others.

Pictured is the International Fountain which was built in 1962 for the World’s Fair. It shoots music timed to a programed soundtrack that is changed monthly.  The fountain is open all year, but the summer months (which in Seattle stretch through September) are all about the kids. Also, naked bicyclists. Seriously.

Grand Central Station - New York, NY

I recently wrote about how I managed to vacation in New York City for just $60 a day, including all meals and entertainment.  A big part of my cost saving strategy was to use public transportation and walking as much as possible.  I spent a week touring Manhattan and paid for a cab only once for the ride out to Newark to catch my flight home.  I went everywhere else by train or foot at all hours of the day and night.

Taking advantage of mass transit when you visit cities that are smart enough to have it available is a great way to save money, but it can also be intimidating.  How will you know what bus to get on?  Are there signs telling you which trains go where?  Who will tell you when it’s time to get off at your stop?  These tips will help take some of the mystery (and terror) out of navigating public transportation in a new city.

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Why did it have to be snakes?

A few weeks ago, there came a day that a mother fears – the day when her five-year-old son declares that he wants a snake for his birthday.  Especially if on that same day his father declares that yes, this is a possibility.

Oh, really.

So far, the five-year-old is just “totally into” snakes and lizards.  At a friend’s birthday party recently, there was a Lizard Lady, who brought several cages of reptiles and showed them to the children, telling the crowd a little bit about each animal.  There were lizards, turtles, small snakes, and a 75-pound Burmese Python.  AT A CHILD’S BIRTHDAY PARTY.  The Lizard Lady had the gall to invite parents to wrap the 75-pound snake around our shoulders for a photo opportunity.

I wouldn’t have considered the notion.  But when I saw the look of rapture on my son’s face when she said that, I naturally stepped forward and volunteered to be the first. What else is a mom to do?

Our next reptilian adventure will take place in a far safer environment, which will not include any bodily contact between the snakes and myself. Read More »

The old ladybug and the sea...

Just north of Cannon Beach along the breathtaking Oregon coast we encountered a beach full of ladybugs. There’s a story to it, but I can’t share here. This is a Wordless Wednesday post.

Photo by Whit Honea