I recently decided to leave Brooklyn and head out West to make San Francisco my new home. Since I have no specific time I need to be in California, I decided to take a picturesque three day train ride across America instead of just a boring six hour flight. The train goes from NYC to DC to Chicago then straight to San Francisco with a few short stops in places like Winterpark, Colorado and Salt Lake City, Utah.
I have never driven across the country since I am not equipped with a fancy license like the majority of the people in this country, so I look forward to the ride as my own way of road tripping across America.
I am excited to write about it and take as many photos along the way as I can! Here is what it might look like.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
hakone: a few hot springs and a sculpture garden
Hakone, Japan
I spent a month in Japan in 2009 and fell in love with this quirky country. Though it feels very western in so many ways- no square inch is missed as an opportunity for advertisement, men and women wear the trendiest of clothing, and there is a Denny's and 7/11 on every street corner in every major city-there are still things that felt extremely foreign to me.
One thing for instance is public bathing. In Japan it is popular to go to the public baths as a sort of spa (though I was told in Tokyo the public baths are strictly for men if you know what I mean). I visited the public baths in various places across Japan and always enjoyed it. The baths are gender-specific and usually contain local fresh hot spring water. Sometimes there are multiple baths with varying temperatures.
One has to shower before entering the baths to avoid contaminating the public waters. But, even in private Japanese homes, it is common that one has water drawn for a bath for the week for the entire family, and again, one showers before entering the bath to ensure the water stays clean for everyone else.
I traveled to a small village in the mountains called Hakone for a few days towards the end of my trip because it had been recommended as one of the top hot springs destinations in Japan. I've never been so relaxed in a foreign country where I cannot communicate in the native language as I was there (yes that is saying a lot). Waking up the beauty of the place was breathtaking enough, and it didn't hurt that I was staying at one of the oldest resorts in Japan, the Fujiya Hotel. And there are plenty of things to do in this small town besides visit the famous hot springs. One day I took lovely cable car ride to a tram ride to a boat ride across Lake Ashinoko, taking in the views of Mount Fuji along the way.
Hakone also has a lovely open air museum with an extensive collection of Western and Japanese artwork, including a sizable amount of Picasso pieces. Strolling through the sculpture garden, breathing in the mountain air, you'll wonder why anyone in Japan chooses to live in the city.
I spent a month in Japan in 2009 and fell in love with this quirky country. Though it feels very western in so many ways- no square inch is missed as an opportunity for advertisement, men and women wear the trendiest of clothing, and there is a Denny's and 7/11 on every street corner in every major city-there are still things that felt extremely foreign to me.
One thing for instance is public bathing. In Japan it is popular to go to the public baths as a sort of spa (though I was told in Tokyo the public baths are strictly for men if you know what I mean). I visited the public baths in various places across Japan and always enjoyed it. The baths are gender-specific and usually contain local fresh hot spring water. Sometimes there are multiple baths with varying temperatures.
One has to shower before entering the baths to avoid contaminating the public waters. But, even in private Japanese homes, it is common that one has water drawn for a bath for the week for the entire family, and again, one showers before entering the bath to ensure the water stays clean for everyone else.
I traveled to a small village in the mountains called Hakone for a few days towards the end of my trip because it had been recommended as one of the top hot springs destinations in Japan. I've never been so relaxed in a foreign country where I cannot communicate in the native language as I was there (yes that is saying a lot). Waking up the beauty of the place was breathtaking enough, and it didn't hurt that I was staying at one of the oldest resorts in Japan, the Fujiya Hotel. And there are plenty of things to do in this small town besides visit the famous hot springs. One day I took lovely cable car ride to a tram ride to a boat ride across Lake Ashinoko, taking in the views of Mount Fuji along the way.
Hakone also has a lovely open air museum with an extensive collection of Western and Japanese artwork, including a sizable amount of Picasso pieces. Strolling through the sculpture garden, breathing in the mountain air, you'll wonder why anyone in Japan chooses to live in the city.
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| View from Lake Ashinoko |
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| Mount Fuji |
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| Graphic Art by a Japanese Artist at the Hakone Open Air Museum |
the tree that escaped the crowded forest
Bartlesville, Oklahoma
Bartlesville,Oklahoma doesn't have much going for it these days. A few Sonic drive thrus, a mall housing fifteen or so chain stores, and a Walmart with an extensive gun department.
But that wasn't always so. Bartlesville was a booming oil town back in the day thanks to Frank Phillips, a barber turned oil industrialist, who set up the headquarters of Phillips 66 Petroleum in this small ranching town north of Tulsa. My father and his six brothers and sisters grew up in Bartlesville where their father was a geologist at Phillips. That is why I visit this town of 30,000 people in the middle of the country at least once a year.
This past New Year's we stayed in a hotel downtown and it was the first time I really took note of what a ghost town Bartlesville really is. Most of the storefront windows were vacant, boarded up, or had a 'for sale' sign slapped on the door. Even the Phillips (now Conoco-Phillips) buildings seemed half in use.
But one building does stand out and that is the Price Tower designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Wright's one and only skyscraper was commission by Harold C. Price (another oil industrialist who owned a pipeline business). The tower was completed in 1956 intended for mixed use as office space and residential apartments. Shooting up to the sky with green-tinted copper planes glittering in the sun, a lonesome vertical masterpiece among the flat prairie lands of Oklahoma, Wright called it "the tree that escaped the crowded forest".
If for some reason you are ever passing through Bartlesville, Oklahoma, the Price Tower is a sight worth seeing. It is also worth a look inside the building and meandering around the arts center located on the lower floors. Bartlesville has the highest concentration of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture in the country as he designed several homes for the Price family in addition to the tower. Bartlesville, though a dying oil town, certainly has a unique place in the architectural history of America.
Bartlesville,Oklahoma doesn't have much going for it these days. A few Sonic drive thrus, a mall housing fifteen or so chain stores, and a Walmart with an extensive gun department.
But that wasn't always so. Bartlesville was a booming oil town back in the day thanks to Frank Phillips, a barber turned oil industrialist, who set up the headquarters of Phillips 66 Petroleum in this small ranching town north of Tulsa. My father and his six brothers and sisters grew up in Bartlesville where their father was a geologist at Phillips. That is why I visit this town of 30,000 people in the middle of the country at least once a year.
This past New Year's we stayed in a hotel downtown and it was the first time I really took note of what a ghost town Bartlesville really is. Most of the storefront windows were vacant, boarded up, or had a 'for sale' sign slapped on the door. Even the Phillips (now Conoco-Phillips) buildings seemed half in use.
But one building does stand out and that is the Price Tower designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Wright's one and only skyscraper was commission by Harold C. Price (another oil industrialist who owned a pipeline business). The tower was completed in 1956 intended for mixed use as office space and residential apartments. Shooting up to the sky with green-tinted copper planes glittering in the sun, a lonesome vertical masterpiece among the flat prairie lands of Oklahoma, Wright called it "the tree that escaped the crowded forest".
If for some reason you are ever passing through Bartlesville, Oklahoma, the Price Tower is a sight worth seeing. It is also worth a look inside the building and meandering around the arts center located on the lower floors. Bartlesville has the highest concentration of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture in the country as he designed several homes for the Price family in addition to the tower. Bartlesville, though a dying oil town, certainly has a unique place in the architectural history of America.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
the american geographical society
This past Monday I began work at the American Geographical Society. AGS was established in 1851 and is the oldest geographical society in America. I am not sure as of yet what exactly this non-profit does, but as I gathered thus far, it archives journals of explorers past and present, has a library of any and all books on geography (at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee), as well has provides trips with an accompanying lecturer to various locations throughout the year (Cuba is one of the upcoming trip). AGS also publishes two journals-Focus on Geography and The Geographical Review, as well as a newsletter called UBIQUE, which in Latin means "everywhere"-Get it?? I am not sure how great the circulation is on these publications, especially with National Geographic monopolizing the mass market, but I do believe they still have weight in the academic world.
The first project I gave myself is updating their ancient website. This website was created in 1998 and looks like it has not been updated since. The website seems to me to be a testament to AGS as an entity: a society that was important during the age of exploration, but since then has failed to stay relevant in the 21st Century. I am making it my mission to make this place relevant because geography should always be relevant.
Now I just need to learn how to design a website from scratch...
The first project I gave myself is updating their ancient website. This website was created in 1998 and looks like it has not been updated since. The website seems to me to be a testament to AGS as an entity: a society that was important during the age of exploration, but since then has failed to stay relevant in the 21st Century. I am making it my mission to make this place relevant because geography should always be relevant.
Now I just need to learn how to design a website from scratch...
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| The AGS's Fliers and Explorers Globe on which pioneers of exploration signed their name alongside the route he/she traveled. |
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
lighthouse at the end of the world
Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse, Augusta, Western Australia
Cape Leeuwin is at the end of the world: it is where two oceans meet-the Southern and the Indian-it is one of the closest geographical point to Antarctica from Australia, and it lies directly on the opposite point of the globe as New York City. Located on the most southwesterly tip of Australia in Augusta, Western Australia, it is the perfect place to look out onto the infinite blue waters and think you are truly at the end of the Earth.
I travelled here one summer (winter in Australia) while on a break from my job in Margaret River (another incredible region on this continentcountry). A local told my companions and me to stop at a fish and chips shop in Augusta on the way to the cape-‘best fish and chips in all of Australia’. We were worried we wouldn’t be able to find it, but he laughed and assured us it would be the only shop around.
When we finally saw the restaurant we understood why he had laughed: it was the only establishment we had seen for the hour-long drive to the cape and had a massive sign boasting that it was “the last eating house before the Antarctic”. The Restaurant, called The Colourpatch, is located a mere 5439 kilometers from the South Pole. The place was a proper fish and chips shop-not exactly suitable for sit down customers, loads of different varieties of fish for your choosing to fry, and your meal was served in newspaper to absorb the excess grease. The shop also served as a very mini mart, selling ice cream, crisps, and anything else you might need for the road down.
The lighthouse at cape Leeuwin is a shining white tower among pristine azure waters. Plaques in and around the lighthouse tell interesting tidbits about its history and facts about the surrounding area. Worn-out wood pathways lead up to wild brush and massive boulders that make up the beach, which give way to water all the way to South Africa. You can spend hours here watching the water crash up on the rocks, soaking up the brilliant Australian sun (even in the middle of Winter). It is a truly magnificent place with truly magnificent views. Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse is a place where you can feel you are at the end of the world, if only for a few hours.
For more information on Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse go to: http://www.westernaustralia.com/en/Pages/Attraction.aspx?pid=9000830
For more information on Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse go to: http://www.westernaustralia.com/en/Pages/Attraction.aspx?pid=9000830
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| The Colourpatch Eating House |
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| Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse |
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| View from Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse |
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