Living Root Bridges

Living Root Bridges, Mawlynnong, Meghalaya, India

The last time I went back to India, my brother James took me to Mawlynnong to see a few of the Living Root bridges created over the years by weaving the roots of trees until they cross a river forming a bridge. It was an amazing sight to see. Here are a few links for more information: 

National Geographic: Living Root Bridges

BBC: India's Amazing Living Root Bridges

On the road - Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO

MO Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO

I love Botanical Gardens and St. Louis has a great one. What a treat. The heat let up a bit and we enjoyed the day. It is an extensive garden so we caught the trolley to experience the entire property in a short visit. They had a lovely Japanese garden and a Ottoman garden. We had lunch in the cafe and tried not to trip on June brides. I believe we spotted close to ten weddings during the course of our visit to St. Louis!

On the road - Phoenix, Arizona

Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, Arizona

Good morning! It is good to go away and good to be back in my own bed. I whisked directly from an action packed day at work on Friday to hop on a plane to Phoenix, Arizona to attend the gathering of the clans of managers of volunteer programs in healthcare. It is an annual conference which I missed last year because of hurricane Matthew. Luckily my tuition rolled over to this year's event and saved a few bucks.

My meetings were held at the Sheraton at Wild Horse Pass so it was more of a conference center setting. Normally I like to dash out between meetings and see new sights and the setting made that impossible. My daughter had given me the heads up on the Desert Botanical Gardens so I rallied a few companions and caught an Uber cab. It was such a treat! We were there for sunset with desert mountains around us walking along paths with giant cactus and desert flowers.

The final night (last night) we moved into a hotel next to the airport and luckily landed near the cool Tempe neighborhood. We were able to walk around and sit outside enjoying the wonderful weather.

The conference was worthwhile and I am bringing home some creative ideas although the general impression is that nothing, I tell ya, nothing, gets easier. Everything requires more paperwork, more documentation, more meetings to document safety of volunteers in healthcare. I am grateful that I have such a wonderful team of dedicate volunteers who have been willing to jump through the required hoops to offer the service that they are so known for.

I am off to today to catch my breath and back on the bandwagon tomorrow.

Church Photo in Lieu of Attendance - Jekyll Island, GA

Faith Chapel, Jekyll Island, GA

I was on the road this weekend and a bit worried about it considering all the ominous traffic warnings as folks head to eclipse viewing territory. We aimed for Brunswick, St. Simon's and Jekyll Island on the coast of Georgia. It was all new territory for me so I was in my glory. I never tire of seeing new sights.

This Sunday's Church Photo in Lieu of Attendance is the sweet Faith Chapel on Jekyll Island.

Jekyll Island is a small barrier island on the southeast coast of Georgia. It was purchased in 1886 by a group of wealthy industrialists (including J.P. Morgan, William K. Vanderbilt, William Rockefeller, and Marshall Field) and developed into the Jekyll Island Club, a private winter retreat. A clubhouse was completed in 1888, and members built 'cottages' the size of mansions nearby. 
With all the growth on the island, the members needed a place to worship. A chapel was built, but quickly outgrown; Faith Chapel was completed in time for the 1904 resort season.
The chapel's Gothic-influenced design, exterior gargoyles, luxurious carpeting, and rich stained wood interior are enough to impress. But the west wall, on the chapel's front, features a rare treasure. The stained glass window on this wall was designed, installed, and signed by Louis Comfort Tiffany, reportedly one of only five such pieces known to exist.

Luckily we found smooth sailing all the way with no traffic issues at all. We met with friends, had lunch on Jekyll Island, dinner on Brunswick Island and had a lovely water front walk along St. Simon's.

On the road - Conway, SC

Conway, SC   

Almost two hours up the coast Conway, SC has a nice river walk along the Waccamaw black river and is the perfect distance for a day trip. After a lazy start on Sunday we arrived just in time for lunch at the Bonfire Taqueria and sat on the porch watching the boats go by. The smoked bbq was delicious and the portion too generous to clean my plate.

Shops on Main St. were closed but it looks like a lively downtown with a theater, bakeries, boutiques, historic City Hall and churches.

On the road - Greenville, SC

Reedy Falls, Greenville, SC   

Who gets a wonderful waterfalls right in the center of town? Seriously, what a gift the Reedy Falls park is to Greenville, SC. Right smack dab in the middle of town. Family picnics, romantic couples, kids hopping from boulder to boulder, fathers and sons swimming (signs say "Swimming Discouraged" but not forbidden) and live theater in the park. I ate fresh trout and sipped French wine at the cafe overlooking the park and it all seemed like a perfect fantasy town.

I read a quote from the mayor saying that they concentrated on improving the lives of their citizens and thought, oooops, perhaps Charleston has concentrated a too much on the experience of our tourists rather than our own citizens.

On the road - Tybee Island

Tybee Island, GA

Quick trip down the coast to Tybee Island to pay a visit to the Tybee Island Lighthouse. Those photos are uploading but here are a few fun random shots. Tybee Island reminds me of a mix between Edisto Beach and Folly Beach. It was a bright sunny day and folks were having a good time.

On the road - Toronto

Toronto Harbour, Ontario

I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. I headed up to Canada for the gathering of the Perry clan for my father's 90th birthday. Seven of my eight siblings were in attendance and I got to see many of my relatives. I started my journey meeting up with my sister Shirley from Edmonton in Toronto and we made the most of our brief stay.

First off I was able to pay for my hotel with Marriott points. Yipee! I never feel like I really get anything from collecting points but this time I did. Go Marriott Courtyard! I am now a fan. We took the zippy train directly from the airport to Union Station and walked up Yonge St. to our hotel. Can't get better than that. We had one full day so we bought tickets for the Hop on Hop Off bus and hit the touristy highlights. I went to college in Toronto but haven't had a chance to run around for many, many years.

We made stops at Casaloma, ate lunch at the top of the CN tower, took the harbour tour around Toronto Island, checked out Kensington Market, checked out the Tattoo exhibition at the Royal Ontario Museum and the next morning had lunch at the distillery district before catching our Megabus to Kingston.

On the road - Aiken, SC

Aiken, SC  

I enjoyed a day trip to Aiken, SC this weekend. It is the perfect distance for a bright and sunny Saturday drive - especially when I am the lazy passenger.

We parked (free parking - thanks Aiken!), had a tasty lunch at Betsy's on the Corner, wandered through a few antique stores (tried to buy some some soup bowls but they were part of a set so free shopping - thanks Aiken!), and walked through beautiful Hopeland Gardens (free - thanks Aiken!).

On the road - Ridgeway, S.C.

Ridgeway, S.C   

With all the political chaos of the primaries going on in town I hit the road on a day trip and found myself in sweet little Ridgeway, S.C. We arrived in time for lunch at the former Town Hall restaurant but the other option for lunch was Laura's Tea Room and  caught these ladies leaving after their formal tea. Luckily they had an assortment of antique shops and I was able to type up this blog entry on the road.

World's smallest Police Station!

On the road - Hotel Nacional de Cuba

Hotel Nacional de Cuba, Havana, Cuba

I tend to travel modestly and don't always dedicate my travel budget to high-end hotels so when I got around to reviewing my Cuba itinerary and looked up the hotel I was to stay at in Havana the historical significance blew me away. Wow. We were booked to stay at the Hotel Nacional de Cuba where important heads of state, movie stars, revolutionaries and gangsters had stayed. I was so excited I could hardly stand it. 

After we learned what room we were to stay in (we stayed in the room Walt Disney had used), and had our welcome mojito, it was amazing to wander and absorb the history of the place. Everything was still there - walls full of black and white pictures from meetings and events, the Lansky brother's roulette wheel, Peter Frampton's guitar (?) laying out in the open with a sign asking us not to touch it. Two cannons are still in the yard. The bar on the patio was open twenty four hours a day and members of the Bueno Vista Social club play on certain nights of the week. The place was swarming - with busloads of US tourists arriving one after another. The breakfast buffet in the basement was like a United Nations of trying to please every nationality. Large patios opened to the wind blowing through the royal palms from the ocean. What a grand spot. 

The decision to build a luxury hotel was taken in the late 1920s. The American firms McKim, Mead & White and Purdy & Henderson Co., tasked with the planning and construction, completed the palatial edifice in 14 months.
The hotel exhibits an eclectic architectural style, reflecting Art Deco, Arabic references, features of Hispano-Moorish architecture, and both neo-classical and neo-colonial elements. There are even details from the centuries-old Californian style. The resulting unique example of so many schools of architecture is the most unusual and interesting hotel in the Caribbean region.

The HOTEL NACIONAL DE CUBA was opened on the night of 30 December 1930. The party to celebrate the opening, attended by leading lights of the time, was held in the ballroom.

October 1933: the hotel was bombarded, following the stationing there of officers of the army elite of the deposed president Gerardo Machado, in a revolt by lower-raking officers - Batista among them - in protest at the privileges of high office. Guests of the hotel in this decade included: Johnny Weismuller (Tarzan), Edward VIII (prince of Wales), Jack Dempsey, Tom Mix, José Mujica, Buster Keaton, Emilio Roig, Amadeo Barletta, Rita Montaner, José Raúl Capablanca, Tito Guizart, Trío Matamoros, Ñico Saquito, Errol Flynn, and the mobsters Santos Traficante (father) and Meyer Lansky. The last-mentioned arranged with Batista the future business of the casinos.