Mike and I went on a cruise on the Mexican Riviera and in Cabo San Lucas, we went whale watching on the Caborey catamaran. They didn’t disappoint, because we saw a lot of whales playing in the water.
It was really hard to get good pictures of the whales breaching, but I got some video. You can see it here:
We went on the Caborey, which is a large catamaran that you can buy tickets to ride. Here is a video about it:
I saw this vintage advertisement and it made me think of Las Vegas.
The best way to win it big in Las Vegas is EASY. Here is the secret:
DO NOT GAMBLE!
If you go to Las Vegas, stay in a nice hotel for a low price, eat at the fancy restaurants for nearly nothing and enjoy the museums, exhibits and attractions without gambling, then you come out a winner every time.
Photo via: vintage_ads: Winning Big In Vegas
The Library of Congress posted these old photos of Asbury Park, New Jersey.
It doesn’t seem that different today:
Asbury Park fell into disrepair during the 1980’s and 1990’s, but recently has been cleaned up. After the renovation of Convention Hall, people started visiting more often.
Where: Asbury Park, New Jersey: Google Map
The Library of Congress uploaded some old prints of Aberystwyth, Wales from over a hundred years ago.
It surprises me how similar things look today:
You can see all the photos from that set in this slideshow:
Where: Aberystwyth, Dyfedunstarred, UK: Google Map
Here is the announcement of the formation of Zion’s National Park in the New York Tribune back in 1907.
It reads:
Wonderful natural bridges and other wild scenery to be included in two new national parks.
It’s nice to see how people viewed our national parks one hundred years ago. Instead of complaining that the government is “stealing” our land, the press was excited to share the beauty of the areas that the parks protected. Because of that foresight, we can see these sites even now.
This weekend, you can hike, camp and enjoy at over 100 National Parks for FREE! They offer fee free weekends a few times a year and there are a couple left. You can find out more here:
Mark your calendars for fee-free weekends this summer:
Mike and I enjoy several of the nearby National Parks. The photo shown is from a trip to Lake Mead in southern Nevada (near Las Vegas and the Hoover Dam), which is on the list of free parks this weekend. You can see all the photos of that camping trip here:
If you are feeling the financial squeeze this year, take advantage of the parks that your tax dollars go toward maintaining and try them out this weekend free of charge.
My friend, Jere, is the author of the most wonderful blog, Blind Prophecy. This Memorial Day, he went to the Cincinnati Zoo.
He was looking for an inventive and enjoyable way to fit exercise into his day.
Since my gym was closed, I decided to get my day’s exercise by visiting the Cincinnati Zoo. It’s about a 3 mile walk each direction, plus I spent the whole day on my feet. Despite a bit of rain and some very humid air (which made the rain forest section seem especially realistic), it was a very pleasant day. As our friend Nick put it tonight, “the zoo is one of the rare things about Cincinnati that doesn’t suck.”
I love to see people enjoying the cities in which they live. Sometimes it seems like we don’t spend enough time being tourists in our our towns. Congratulations to Jere for making this Memorial Day memorable!
You can see all the photos here:
Here is a beautiful collage from Whimsy’s Quill:
In the collage is an afternoon of us walking about the pier, various photos of downtown, and of the Underground Tour.
I love to see photos of people’s trips to various places, but I especially love this 5 By 5. It’s a great snapshot of a weekend in time.
Mike and I are planning a trip to Yellowstone National Park soon, so we were interested to see if we were going to be buried in six feet of snow again this year. Fortunately, the lovely Roland K. Smith visited Yellowstone on opening day this year and gave us a bunch of photos to see how our trip might be.
For some strange reason we didn’t get to Yellowstone Park once last year. We decided we were definitely going to change that this year and further determined that, if possible and the weather permitted, we would go to Yellowstone on the first day that vehicular traffic was allowed into the Park.
Last year, Mike and I went to Yellowstone on opening day and we got a FAR different welcome.
The snow was piled higher than our ears. I don’t think we’ll run into that again this year. Thanks, Roland, for scoping it out for us!
To see more of Roland’s Yellowstone Photos:
To see more of last year’s Yellowstone trip:
Hiding in the heart of the warehouse district of Portland is a museum of toys. Protected behind glass to keep them safe from little hands, lies the childhood of many. A true piece of history is in each toy telling us stories ranging from the late 1800’s to the 1930’s. Ward Jenkins visited the museum with his two children and was surprised at what he found.
They simply don’t have the money or space to have the entire Kidd’s toy collection available to the public. But what is available to view is quite impressive.
A fascinating place. And better yet, it’s free!
Oh, and I have to say this: visiting the museum offered the opportunity for me to talk to Ava about racism. Hadn’t planned on it, but hey, no time like the present.
You can see all of his photos from the visit here:
Where:
Kidd Toy Museum
Google Map
1301 SE Grand Ave
Portland, OR 97214
(503) 233-7807
Powered by WordPress
(c) 2005-2017 Michael Moncur, Laura Moncur, and Starling Studios