It’s time for another rousing edition of Travel Around the Internet! It’s like exciting.
Here are just a few of the items that have shuffled across our inbox lately:
LAST CHANCE! If you have a kid, a camera and access to water you could win a $500 Best Western gift card at Babble Playground. The contest ends tomorrow so get that kid wet, stat!
Disneyland in Anaheim, CA feels pretty patriotic on the 4th of July.
Photo by W. Honea
This weekend the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. will be honored and celebrated across America. There are most likely events happening in your area, but should you decide to take advantage of the long weekend and leave home here are some ways to remember Dr. King around the country.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Seattle
In Seattle you can visit the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Park. It is (from the website): “a four-and-a-half acre City of Seattle park on the east side of Martin Luther King, Jr. Way, between South Walker and South Bayview Streets. The park is designed around a black granite ‘mountain’ — a dramatic, thirty-foot sculpture inspired by the civil rights leader’s “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech, made the day before he was assassinated in 1968.” (Photo from ArtToday.com) More Seattle events honoring Dr. King are available here.
In the greater Detroit area there are a number of activities scheduled, from luncheons and lectures to walks and concerts. A list of events is available here.
Los Angeles hosts its 24th Martin Luther King, Jr. Parade. More L.A. area events can be found here.
Phoenix will observe the holiday with a parade, a march and various other events ranging from sports tournaments to unity and multi-cultural celebrations.
Raleigh, North Carolina offers its annual King Celebration: Three days of dialogue, tribute and celebration. Visit the website here.
There will be a lot going on in Washington D.C. with the inauguration on Tuesday and many of the annual King events adopting the presidential ceremony into the celebration. Among the highlights will be a concert hosted by the Kennedy Center and Georgetown University “in a free Millennium Stage event featuring Aretha Franklin, Nuttin’ but Stringz, and the Let Freedom Ring Choir.” Other events in Washington D.C. can be found here. By the way, the National Memorial is still a work in progress.
The University of Chicago celebrates MLK Week. The city of Chicago offers many choices, among them a series of events held in parks around the area. The schedule is available here.
Atlanta will be busy with many tributes to Martin Luther King, Jr., among them a screening of the animated film Our Friend Martin.
In San Francisco the Yerba Buena Gardens has a beautiful memorial to Dr. King and events are scheduled around the Bay Area.
Across the country communities will also be participating in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service making the holiday “a day on, not a day off… where people of all ages and backgrounds come together to improve lives, bridge social barriers, and move our nation closer to the “Beloved Community” that Dr. King envisioned.”
Obviously this list is just a very small sampling of what is available. More places to remember Dr. King can be found here. Check your local newspaper for events in your area. If you are using the internet to search further please consider adding this toolbar that donates to the MLK National Memorial fund every time you use it.
However you plan to celebrate the holiday please be safe.
Architecture is an important part of travel. It is the postcard out your window that lets you know you are here. You’ve arrived. You know you are in Russia when surrounded by onion domes, New York when you can only see skyscrapers and Seattle when you can’t see anything because there is rain in your eyes. That’s the role of architecture, and to a lesser extent, weather.
Here is a group of ten fantastic, incredible and weirdly, wonderful buildings in the U.S. that are worthy of a visit if you are on vacation or just happen to be in the neighborhood. More than one of them make me think of Star Wars.
Longaberager corporate Headquarters is a picnic basket.
1. Let’s start with my favorite which is found in Newark, Ohio, the picnic basket aka Longaberger corporate headquarters. This fanciful creation was the dream of the Longaberger Basket company’s founder Dave Longaberger. It is said, most people (employees, bankers, architects and builders) didn’t take him seriously at the time. I wonder why.
Kansas City Public Library
2. This was designed by Dimensional Innovations and it camouflages the parking garage. The fantastic book titles were suggested by Kansas City residents. See the building and read the classics! Photo courtesy of: ChicagoEye.
Robert Bruno
3. This award winning home in Lubbock, Texas took 28 years to complete and is designed by Robert Bruno. It doesn’t really say “come in and take your shoes off,” though, does it? But it is engaging and I do want a peek inside.
Aqua Building, Chicago, Illinois
4. The Aqua Building was on a list from Syed Mobin Architects. It is scheduled to be finished in 2009 and is in Chicago, Illinois. Design is from Studio Gang Architects.
Kettle House, Texas
5. Kettle House, in Galveston, Texas – I wonder, when the wind comes sweeping ‘cross the plains, does it whistle?
Shoe House, Hallam, Pennsylvania
6. Shoe House in Hallam, Pennsylvania was not built by an old woman but was built by a shoe millionaire and it is a real house. No word on the number of children, if any, that reside in it.
Air Force Academy Chapel
7. This chapel falls into the wonderful category. Its stark beauty could soothe a soldier’s soul. It is located in the US Air Force Academy in Colorado.
Oakley Headquarters
8. This awesome futuristic building is the corporate headquarters for Oakley. What do you think? I love the description, “Oakley’s design bunker is where inventions are conceived, developed, perfected and manufactured. In addition to the hidden catacombs of research labs and proving grounds, the architectural design of Oakley President Colin Baden includes an NBA basketball court, a 400-seat amphitheater, and absolutely no adult supervision.” I wonder if they’re hiring.
Story Book House in Ollala, Washington
9. Built in Ollala, Washington, this looks like it belongs in a Grimm’s fairy tale (or Disneyland) . Photo courtesy of Unusuallife.com
Coit Tower, San Francisco
10. My final choice from all the weirdness of American architecture is Coit Tower in the beautiful city of San Francisco. They say this San Francisco icon isn’t a fire hose nozzle, but those of us who know the story think otherwise. The story is told a need-to-know basis. Beautiful photo courtesy of http2007.
So what did you think? Pretty cool, right? If you have any weirdly, wonderful buildings that you think we should add to our travel itineraries, let us know. Just leave a suggestion in the comments.
America. Nothing says it more than a visit to a historical landmark. And what better way to ease the kids back into school than with a late-summer trip somewhere that is fun as well as educational!
In the midwest, there are several great options from which to choose. The first landmark that most people probably think of in the US’s midwest region is Mount Rushmore. From the Mt. Rushmore government site:
“This epic sculpture features the faces of four exalted American presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. South Dakota’s Black Hills provide the backdrop for Mount Rushmore, the world’s greatest mountain carving. These 60-foot high faces, 500 feet up, look out over a setting of pine, spruce, birch, and aspen in the clear western air.”
Mt. Rushmore offers plenty of family fun, including sculpture workshops, guided tours, and opportunities for volunteering, youth programs, and internships. They also have great things for kids to do, so be sure to get them involved!
People probably also think of St. Louis and the Gateway Arch. My family and I were there several months ago and it is truly something to behold. From the Gateway Arch’s web site, linked above:
“The Gateway Arch reflects St. Louis’ role in the Westward Expansion of the United States during the nineteenth century. The park is a memorial to Thomas Jefferson’s role in opening the West, to the pioneers who helped shape its history, and to Dred Scott who sued for his freedom in the Old Courthouse.”
Once there, one thing that everyone….except me….wants to do it take the tram to the top of the arch. While the more adventurous were doing that, I watched Monument to the Dream, the movie that uses live footage of the building of the arch to tell the story of how the idea became a reality. The monument also houses the Museum of Westward Expansion, and nearby you can take a ride down the Mississippi on a riverboat and visit the Historic Courthouse.
Whether you visit one of these landmarks or opt for another, be sure to enjoy what is left of summer here in the Midwest. It won’t be long before we’ll be picking apples and pumpkins and planning our Halloween parties, so take the family and get away for one last weekend. Be safe, have fun, and be sure to tell George Washington I said hello.
© UpTake Networks, Inc. 2009
