Of Mice and Moments

Sure, Valentine’s Day is more about romance of the couples variety — and it’s on a Tuesday, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use the excuse of a candy-filled holiday to take a mini-vacation. Am I right?

Personally, I’m a fan of the family theme park outing. Disneyland and Walt Disney World (dinner at Victoria and Albert’s, anyone?) always have something up their, um, glove(?) for Valentine’s Day, which means fun for the whole family. What? Disney is totally romantic. Read More »

Native American dedication ceremony at the Grand Canyon.

If you’re going to visit the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona this summer make sure to stop by the Mather Point Amphitheater and Landmark Feature. The new area will allow people an opportunity to view the canyon from seats of native limestone. I highly recommend sunrise or sunset for all your mental picture needs — it’s breathtaking. Actual photos should be pretty cool then, too.

This above photo is from the dedication of said amphitheater and landmark feature, which honors the native peoples affiliated with the Grand Canyon National Park. Pictured is Diana Sue Uqualla of the Havasupai People.

This post is supposed to be a Wordless Wednesday entry, but I’m a talker.

Photo by Grand Canyon NPS via Flickr

As far as I could tell, the instruments were for decoration.

Walking into the Crescent San Francisco Hotel is like walking into the den of hipster vampires. In a good way. They call it “a new interpretation of an original Victorian era.” I call it bold and haunting.

The lobby is bright and open and the staff is friendly and accommodating (although they were unable to provide me with a reputable tattoo parlor in the area after I stumbled in from the nearby Irish Bank Bar — actually, that’s probably a good thing).  Upon first impression of the hotel I was pleased and comfortable. Then things got different.

There is one small, quaint, and very old-school elevator that actually requires the rider to manually open the door — something that made me, and I hope assume other guests, stand there like an idiot for a moment too long. This isn’t a complaint mind you, just a PSA to any potential visitors. Learn from me, people.

And then there was the hallway. It was dark in the daytime and glowed with hues of red. Strolling the corridor alone I couldn’t help but feel that I was checking into my own private screening of The Shining. When I passed the very cool, very hip bar called The Burritt Room (named after the murder scene in The Maltese Falcon) I glanced at the bartenders and gathering patrons — none of them seemed to be ghosts, so I bellied up and had a pint(s). Read More »

The Transept, Grand Canyon North Rim

The Grand Canyon gathers the most visitors at the South Rim, probably because it’s the easiest to get to. Though it’s only ten miles away if one could fly across the canyon, driving from the South Rim to the North rim is a 215-mile trek via car. However, there are benefits to visiting the North Rim that you might not be aware of.

1. Less crowds. The North Rim gets only a fraction of the visitors that the South Rim does. So there is no competition for the best viewpoints, and you can really take your time to appreciate your surroundings.

2. Unique photographic opportunities. Everybody and their uncle have photographed the views of the Grand Canyon from the South Rim. But the photographic opportunities from the North Rim are less common. Point Imperial and Cape Royal are easily accessible, whereas Point Sublime requires a bit more determination and a four-wheel-drive vehicle.

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