Tagged With "Christmas Tree"
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Dec. 24, 2013: Madonna and Child, Chartes Cathedral, France
Thanks, Dr.Y. Same to you and your lovely family!
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Jan. 09, 2014: Roadside produce stand, Southern Sri Lanka
The best part of any journey is tasting the just picked fresh fruit ! When my daughter was living in Greece I would go up to the flat roof. A Lemon Tree was overhanging and laden with fruit. As large as an Orange. The Lemon skin had a glorious citrus perfume to it. Just scrape your thumbnail across it. And the flavour was so sweet ! Unlike a store bought lemon that we call "winky"... hard to eat without closing one eye ! Oh yes - I love eating Lemons ! GREEK LEMONS
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Re: Pesuta Shipwreck, Naikoon Provincial Park, Haida-Gwaii, British Columbia
Like the tree pics. I picked up all of my glass floats a bit farther south - on the seaward side of Vancouver Island and on the western shore of the Olympic Peninsula. I think it was always in the summer. Maybe the tides and winds bring different material at different times of the year.
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Re: Where in the World is Gumbo #17
This reminds me of desert in the American Southwest, maybe Death Valley or Joshua tree or Baja California. I imagine it's pretty hot out there on a summer day!
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Re: Gallery: Hapuna Beach Prince Resort, Hawaii
Some resorts have a rule that the tree line is the maximum building height. Blends in with the local landscape much better. Looks like this hotel was built to fit the local landscape. With the gardens it looks wonderful.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Jan 21, 2015: Burmis Tree
I've driven past this tree dozens of times and always enjoyed looking at this landmark. I had no idea of the fascinating story behind it, nor how the people who live near it love it so. Thanks for sharing these great images.
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Re: Granville Island Market, Vancouver. 1) The Produce
WOW!! Some amazing colours and sights there DrF, So vivid it could be 3D. Shame it wasn't scratch and sniff ! I could spend all day just looking at all that fresh stuff. So much nicer than what you get in a big Supermarket. Fruit is so much nicer when you can eat it within 24 hours of plucking it off the tree.
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Re: More Life at the Edge: What’s in a Name?
It's an interesting topic, PortMoresby (and I always assumed you'd named yourself after the New Guinea city). We are given names by our parents that some of us change but most of us keep for a lifetime as part of our identity. But an alias is clearly of our own choosing and it makes you think sometimes about what's behind that person's choice? Equally interesting to me are the avatars some folks use, or don't choose (please, if you have an "empty head"avatar, load a photo into it!) Your...
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Re: Philly's "Rocky Steps" Endangered?
PHeymont, as any true fan of the Rocky movies knows, the first time Rocky tackles the steps he does not run. He ascends them at the speed of a sick sloth climbing a tree. The running comes after he has trained for his title fight with Apollo Creed. I think it is the transformation that appeals to many of the movies fans. I'd kind of like these steps preserved, part of Philly and movie culture.
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A tropical oasis: Wahiawa Botanical Garden, Oahu
I'm fond of exploring parks and libraries in the cities I visit, for different reasons. Libraries are fun because I love and collect books, and because the quality of a city's libraries tells me a lot about that city's priorities. ...
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Gumbo's Pic of the Day, December 24, 2014: Santa's Wonderland
Santa's Wonderland in College Station, Texas, has evolved over the past 17 years into the largest Christmas light display in the entire state. In addition to the spectacular light show is Santa's Town featuring gift shops, restaurants, hourly...
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Gumbo's Pic of the Day, February 9, 2015: "Teddy Bear" Cholla
When you see a group of them at a distance in the "Cholla Cactus Garden" (Joshua Tree National Park), they're a memorable site. With their arms outstretched, these cacti seem rather fuzzy, almost soft, and hence the name "teddy...
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Gumbo's Pic of the Day, December 11, 2014: Jeffery Pine, Sentinel Dome
Yosemite National Park is one of my favorite places. A remarkable and grand landscape of granite mountains, sheer valleys carved by glaciers, thunderous waterfalls plunging thousands of feet and several groves of majestic Sequoia...
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Gumbo's Pic of the Day, December 10, 2014: Black Arctic Ground Squirrel
Ground Squirrels are fairly common in western North America. Many people call them gophers but this is not correct. A gopher is an animal that lives underground and stays there. Most people have never seen one. Ground...
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Cruising through the holidays
Every year thousands of passengers find out warm tropical breezes and Christmas festivities mix well aboard a Princess Cruise Line ship. “We install more than 347 Christmas trees fleet wide. Each vessel has a showcase tree in...
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Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Dec. 25, 2014: Macy's Christmas Tree, Union Square, San Francisco
A few years ago I had the pleasure of visiting San Francisco. I had visited this city a few times before, but this was the first time I was there at Christmas time. San Francisco is a beautiful city throughout the year, but...
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The Bear Blog
I had a hunch when Shelly and I were planning our 59 National Park in 59 weeks tour that wildlife would be center stage. I knew that the buffalo would roam in Yellowstone, that the tropical fish would dance...
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Verona: More than Romeo & Juliet
Verona from the hills, looking toward St. Anastasia and the Ponte Pietra My visit to Verona last summer was almost an accident—but a lucky one. It wasn’t on the original plan for our three weeks in Northern Italy, but online...
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Washington State’s Long Beach Peninsula
For most travelers, the southwestern corner of Washington state is easy to bypass. It lies well over an hour’s drive from the busy I-5 Interstate Freeway. The broad mouth of the Columbia River limits access from the Oregon...
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Washington Oaks Garden: a Peaceful Paradise in Florida
With all that Florida has to offer, you'd think it would be hard for anybody to pick a favorite place in the state. In my case though, it's not. By a mile,my favorite place is Washington Oaks Gardens State Park. Washington Oaks is one of the most...
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The Living Desert Wildlife and Botanical Park, Palm Desert
Palm Desert's LIVING DESERT offers a place to see several desert ecosystems, as well as an interesting assortment of animals from the Americas and Africa.
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Under the Cirio Tree
One of the strangest plants I have ever seen is the Cirio Tree. It is a bizarre tree found mostly in the Baja California peninsula in Mexico. A few also grow in mainland Mexico and in Arizona. It is also known as the Boojum...
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El Yunque: A visit to the rain forest
When we began planning a trip to Puerto Rico, and planning to include our 14-year-old granddaughter, we sent her some of the material we were gathering and asked her what her priorities were. She, and we, both had El Yunque right near the top of the...
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San Juan: Two Markets, Old and New
As Gumbo readers know by now, a lot of us who write these pieces are suckers for markets, large and small, wherever we go. If an army travels on its stomach, an army of bloggers stocks up at the public market. So, on our recent trip to Puerto...
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San Juan, Puerto Rico: Outside the Walls
Because Puerto Rico was the first freshwater island for 16th-century travelers from Spain, and because it guards the entrance to the Caribbean, its Spanish masters went out of their way to defend it, not only with the huge fortifications at the...
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A summer trip to Valencia, Spain
Last Summer, in 2014, I went on an internship program in Valencia, Spain. My internship took place in a nice hotel near the center of the town and lasted 3 months. While I was there I could visit and enjoy many touristic points while also...
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Road Trip, Day 4: Fort Mason, San Francisco
March 12, 2015 I drove south through Sonoma and Marin Counties, past the houseboats on the bay at Sausalito, across the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco, and arrived earlier than the hostel’s official 3:00 check-in...
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Oh, to be in England! Now that April's...snowing!
Netweather.tv illustration from the Telegraph (UK) Robert Browning wouldn't be very happy with this week's April weather forecast for much of Britain. A "polar plume" is expected to arrive, bringing sub-freezing temperatures to Scotland and...
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Brooklyn's Spectacular Botanic Garden (Where Gumbo Was #112)
The Brooklyn Botanic Garden, a pint-size treasure that always seems bigger than it is (and which occupies an outsize place in botanical research) was this week's answer to Where in the World is TravelGumbo? Because the Garden presents an array...
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"Kona Coffee": Greenwell Farms Coffee Tours
Kona coffee is world famous for its full-bodied, non-bitter, bold flavor. Hard to put the taste into words, but it's good coffee! The micro-climate just south of Kona, around 1000 - 2000 ft above sea level, is perfect for...
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Walking the Burgundy Canal
Several years ago, after the completing 100+ miles of England’s Cotswold Way, over hill and dale and, at times, experiencing painful difficulties, I resolved to give up hills in favor of walking along waterways, of which there are many,...
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Amtrak's Auto Train - Relax your way to Sunshine
There is a rhythm to train travel that is different. This is especially true when you are taking a train for a long distance. I recently took a round trip excursion on Amtrak’s Auto Train. And it immediately reminded me why I enjoy train travel...
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Cruising California's 17 Mile Drive
There are a lot of famous road trips in the USA, like California's Pacific Coast Highway and Montana's Going to the Sun Highway . One of the best known drives in America is scenic 17-Mile Drive (actually distance depends on how you...
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Route 66 - Pasadena to Needles
Last summer I had the opportunity to do something I had always wanted to do - drive a significant portion of Route 66. Having spent 4 days in LA, I started a drive to Albuquerque to meet up with The Amazing Ms. D. Instead of rushing down the...
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A Busy Weekend in Philadelphia
A few weekends ago, my fiancé, my best friend and I decided to go to Philly for an overnight trip. Our goal for the weekend was to see all the touristy parts of Philadelphia. When we got to Philly from NYC, we headed straight for the L...
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Historic Route 66 (pt 3) - Flagstaff to Gallup
The next leg of my trip was the shortest distance I had to drive, but it took the longest time. There was a lot to see along the way. Flagstaff AZ I was last in Flagstaff 20 years ago. It was a dismal depressed town in which nothing was...
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Parc des Buttes Chaumont, Paris: A Park with a Past
Like so many of the great parks, Paris' Parc des Buttes Chaumont, seems to be at one with nature, or even to be nature itself. But while this park is beautiful, and a favorite of Paris families in the northeastern part of the city, it has a...
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Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Factory Tour
Much like lei made of tropical blossoms, or Dole pineapples, Mauna Loa macadamia nuts have long been a symbol of Hawaii for me. As a child I recall family friends returning to the frozen White North from Hawaii, bringing small cans of...
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Enchanted Village: a hotel for hobbits?
The Enchanted Village, a new hotel at the Alton Towers resort and amusement park in Staffordshire, England might have a familiar "ring" to it for fans of the Lord of the Rings. It's designed to reflect the visual sense of the movies based on J.R.R....
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Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Reserve
My adventure in Kenya begins in Maasai Mara, widely considered to be Africa’s greatest wildlife reserve. With more than 200 square miles of open plains, woodlands and riverine forest, the Mara is joined by privately-owned...
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Visiting Sicily: An introductory overview
Travel guru Rick Steves likes to say (and I'm paraphrasing) that Italy either gets better or worse as you head south from Rome, depending on what you like. If you like a quieter people, trains running almost on time, etc. head...
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Columbus Antiquities Discovered in the Unlikeliest of Places
Who would have thought a great collection of Christopher Columbus artifacts could be found in a small Pennsylvania town. Stephanie Kalina-Metzger shares her discovery!
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Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage (Part 1)
Lisa Day presents the first in a two part series on hiking and experience the Kumano Koda, a pilgrimage trail in Japan.
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Finding Nature in England: Holkham National Reserve
Kirsten Hines continues her voyage of natural discovery in England, this week with a stop at Holkham National Nature Reserve.
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May 11, 2017: Spring Ice Storm, Thunder Bay, Ontario
It's spring, and if you live in the Great White North, you never know what type of weather Mother Nature will spring on you.
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June 1, 2017: Voted the UK's #1 Favourite Bird.
In a recent UK poll the Robin was voted as the wild bird we most like to see in our English Garden. This little chap stays all year. He gets food and clean water all winter. And in the summer months he keeps my apple tree free from greenfly and bugs that like my apples too. A timid little fellow - but he will attack any other Robin that invades his territory. He has a little family now and they make plenty of welcome noise.
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Out-Of-The-Box Last Minute Weekend Getaway Ideas
After a long week of fast life and pressure at work, you just want to unwind. Andrew Lowen has some ideas for how you can do it.
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Il Capo: Palermo's Ancient Market
One of Palermo's best attractions is this open-air market that's been doing business every day for a thousand years.
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Eastern Europe Rail Odyssey: Budapest to Kiev
Do you love unusual train journeys as much as Wilbur does? Check out this fascinating adventure through eastern Europe.