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.All Trips / D.C. / North America / Southeastern USA
The Museum of the American Indian, Washington DC
The National Museum of the American Indian is just one of the many terrific Smithsonian museums in Washington DC. As its name implies, the museum exists to share information about Native cultures. There is an extensive collection of Native artifacts, photographs, and media of tribes ranging from the Arctic to Patagonia.
The Museum of the American Indian is one of the newer buildings on the National Mall, having opened in September 2004. The five-story 250,000-square-foot building was designed by Douglas Cardinal (an architect of the Blackfoot tribe). It is covered in golden Kasota limestone and has a wavy shape designed to mimic natural rock formations shaped by the erosive effects of wind and water. The museum is situated on a 4.25 acre (17,200 m2)-site and …
“Pic of the Week”, November 1, 2019: An uncommon mailbox, Fort Lauderdale
We came across this unusual mailbox outside the Fort Lauderdale Antique Car Museum. It seemed such an appropriate customization for a car museum — complete with wheel rims and spark plugs!
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Oct 31, 2019
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.All Trips / Florida / North America / Southeastern USA
Visiting an Ancient Spanish Monastery — in Florida??
How could an old Spanish Monastery be located in North Miami Beach? Herein lies the interesting background of this story.
This Monastery was built between 1133 – 1141 A.D. near Segovia, in Northern Spain. It became known as the Monastery of St. Bernard de Clairvaux. — St. Bernard was a Cistercian monk and influential church leader, and the founder and abbot of the Abbey of Clairvaux. Cistercian monks lived in this Monastery for nearly 700 years. After a social upheaval in the 1830’s, the Monastery’s Cloisters were seized and converted into a granary and stable.
Ancient Spanish Monastery, North Miami Beach
Enter legendary American publisher, William Randolph Hearst (of California’s Hearst Castle fame). In 1925, Hearst purchased the Cloisters and the Monastery’s outbuildings (the church was not part …
Tagged ancient, Cloisters, Hearst, monastery, North Miami Beach, Spain, William Randall Hearst
“Pic of the Week”, October 18, 2019: A Swirl of Color
I walked past this scarlet macaw preening itself, and had to stop and enjoy a display of nature’s palette. Scarlet macaws are amazingly beautiful birds! In the act of cleaning itself, the bird’s multicolored feathers were moving and beautifully displayed. I tried to capture some of this brilliance in these images — hopefully with at least an element of success.
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Oct 17, 2019
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“Pic of the Week”, October 4, 2019: White Ibis, Florida
I’d never seen White Ibis before visiting Florida years ago. It’s a rather common bird in the Gulf Coast region, extending from the Mid-Atlantic coast to Mexico. The white ibis prefers living around marshy and swampy ground. It’s obviously a white bird, with pale facial skin and pink beak and legs. Apparently the legs turn scarlet during mating season. Males are larger and have longer bills than females.
Their diet consists primarily of small aquatic insects and fish, including crayfish, although these freeloaders were enjoying a meal provided by Flamingo Gardens.
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Oct 3, 2019
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.All Trips / North America / South Carolina / Southeastern USA
A Visit to St. Michael’s Church, Charleston
Sitting prominently on the corner of Broad and Meeting, across from the old Post Office building, St. Michael’s is the oldest church in Charleston. Today’s church stands on the site of the first Anglican Church built south of Virginia. It’s a National Historic Landmark and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
In the 1680’s a small wooden church was built on this spot and named St. Philip’s. By 1727 the church had become too small for the growing congregation and a new larger church was built on Church Street, but it was destroyed by fire in 1835 and had to be replaced.
St. Michael’s Church, Charleston
By 1751, St. Philip’s was again too small for its flock so a larger structure — named St. …
Tagged Charleston, church, St Michael's
.All Trips / North America / Southeastern USA
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge
During our last visit to Florida, my father and I drove from our base in Orlando to explore some of Florida’s east coast. Our destination for the day was the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, not far from Titusville.
This is a massive preserve, some 140,000 acres (57,000 ha), situated on the same island as the Kennedy Space Center. Because of its close proximity to the Space Center, there are rare times when NASA restricts access to this National Wildlife Refuge (e.g. when the space shuttle was landing in Florida).
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge
The topography of the refuge is flat, but still there are a mixture of habitats including saltwater and freshwater marshes, dunes, forests and scrub. Here …
“Pic of the Week”, December 21, 2018: The National Christmas Tree, Washington DC
I felt lucky to have seen the National Christmas tree beautifully decorated and lite up during a visit to Washington DC. The National Christmas Tree is situated in President’s Park, right across from the White House. For almost a century a beautiful tree has been decorated and illuminated at this site and it has become part of the nation’s Christmas tradition.
The tree contains over 75,000 individual LED bulbs (donated by GE). It’s lite every day from dusk until about midnight. The walkway surrounding the National Christmas tree features 56 smaller state and territory trees, each decorated with unique hand-made ornaments. Musical groups from across the country provide entertainment. And, like many things in DC, it’s completely free.
Merry Christmas to all!
(Click on …
