Tagged With "Point of Pride"
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Re: November 24, 2016: Enger Tower, Duluth, Minnesota
Did you count the steps up ? Looks like an Olympian task !
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Re: November 24, 2016: Enger Tower, Duluth, Minnesota
Hi Garry I never thought of counting the number of steps to the top of Enger Tower for I was too preoccupied with the beautiful scenery; However, thanks to your question I did some internet investigating and discovered that apparently there are 105 steps you must walk to get to the top of Enger Tower (therefore 210 steps in total to get up and down the tower). You really don't need to be an Olympian to get to the top of Enger Tower. Although the number of steps sounds like a lot, and the...
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Re: November 24, 2016: Enger Tower, Duluth, Minnesota
Thanks Ottoman. Thanks for the reassurance. I did have a fear of a thousand tourists behind me - pushing to ascend the stairway - and all at the gallop. The intervals are all well spaced and welcomed. That's why older people carry a camera !
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Re: Marriott buys Starwood for $12.2 billion...what's in it for loyalists?
Received this e-mail this morning. Today we're excited to share the news that Starwood Hotels & Resorts will join together with Marriott International to create the world's largest hotel company. For our Starwood Preferred Guest® (SPG® members, this will mean even more choices in even more places, giving you access to 1.1 million rooms across 5,500 hotels and resorts in more than 100 countries. We will work to bring you the very best of SPG and Marriott Rewards®, two of the most...
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Re: Marriott buys Starwood for $12.2 billion...what's in it for loyalists?
I'm hopeful, since I think the last thing in the world Marriott should want to do is to signal Starwood loyalists that they aren't valued. Wonder how long before SPG rewards will book Marriott rooms...that could be a quick thing to do!
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Re: Marriott buys Starwood for $12.2 billion...what's in it for loyalists?
As I'm also a Marriott rewards member, I wonder when I'll get an e-mail from them.
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Re: Cuba - a step back in time !
I recall as a boy my dad's best friend had a Pontiac like this. It was a beautiful car and the pride of his life. It ended up being totaled in a car crash (he survived), but I still remember his pride in showing off the polished beauty! His was two tone brown, I think.
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Re: Lighthouses of Lake Havasu – Part 2 of 3
Makes me want to go out, buy an RV and go see all the lighthouses in the world! I love lighthouses, and to have so many in one place, even if they're "just" replicas, is great! Thanks, Samantha.
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Re: Lighthouses of Lake Havasu – Part 2 of 3
Cool idea, lighthouses all over. Do boaters on the lake count on them, or just for fun?
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Re: Lighthouses of Lake Havasu – Part 2 of 3
They are cool to see. Some are just for fun, but many of them do actually light up to help the boaters.
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Re: Coastal California: The Pigeon Point Hostel
Any travel tale that starts with a road trip following giraffes (nice pic, BTW), includes a lighthouse, the surf, goat cheese and cute granddaughters, is top rate in my book! Can't wait for the lighthouse tour!
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Re: Coastal California: The Pigeon Point Hostel
My life in a nutshell, DrF! I cannot complain. And thanks.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, June 9, 2014: Protea, South Africa
These are such amazing specimens of this flower. Beautiful pics...
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Re: Impression about Perth, Australia
I've actually visited Perth, attending a medical meeting there some years back. I really enjoyed the city. Mostly modern, but with historic colonial era buildings. Very friendly people, especially considering they're all descended from convicts (a point of pride and good humor with them, I found). Perth was a good springboard for a road-trip around southwestern Australia, including a drive up to Shark's Bay, through the wildflower way (am I remember that name correctly), down to the large...
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Re: A visit to Normandy: exploring the D-Day beaches
Thank you, thank you, for this, Dr. F. This is an excellent time (November 11, Remembrance Day tomorrow) to be reminded of the D-Day assault. We were in Normandy in 1994, when they were marking the 50th anniversary of D Day, and one night we were having dinner in a restaurant and struck up a conversation with a young couple. They were a bit rough looking, a couple of Brits who were starting on a tour of France on their motorcycle but they had stopped off in Normandy at the beaches to "pay...
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Re: A visit to Normandy: exploring the D-Day beaches
Thanks for your comment, Arion. It's hard not to be moved by D-Day. The vastness of the assault, the staggering loss of life (civilian and military). What most impressed me is that the local people remember. Not French people away from the coast, but those whose relatives went through the assault make a point of teaching their children and grandchildren the price paid to liberate them from the Nazi fascists. The Juno Beach Center, built by the Canadian Beach, really did a great job of...
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Re: A visit to Normandy: exploring the D-Day beaches
Thanks DrFumblefinger, It's been way too many years since I've seen the Normandy beaches. Your photos are very moving .
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Re: A visit to Normandy: exploring the D-Day beaches
My Father received this from Dwight D Eisenhower at the start of D-Day:
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Re: A visit to Normandy: exploring the D-Day beaches
That's an interesting and historic document, GarryRF. Many of those who landed on the D-Day beaches never spoke of this with anyone -- so horrible was the experience, so many wounded and killed among them. I'm curious --did your dad ever share these experiences with you?
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Re: A visit to Normandy: exploring the D-Day beaches
Yes - my Dad and lots of other guys told me their stories! My Dad was in the Royal Navy and was taking landing craft full of soldiers from ship to shore - several times - under heavy fire! A guy I was doing work for had lots of photos and souvenirs on the walls of his house. Medals and maps. Newspaper cuttings and Badges. All in frames. I asked him how much he remembered of D-Day. "Every minute of every hour. Me and my mate had been together since the outbreak of war. Nearly 5 years. We were...
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Re: A visit to Normandy: exploring the D-Day beaches
Several vets I know say that the Normandy beach landings as portrayed in the movie "Saving Private Ryan" are the way they remember it. Madness, chaos, noise, death, fear, adrenaline, more fear. And yet they ran into the madness. It takes a type of courage that's hard for us to imagine in the 21st century. Thanks for sharing that story, Garry.
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Re: A visit to Normandy: exploring the D-Day beaches
When I was a little nipper and hadn't started school we would visit family at the weekend. No TV. No money. 1950's -you get the picture. So socialising with Dad's 9 brothers and sisters was as good as it got ! If you mentioned the War in some homes you'd be out the front door quicker than a Rat up a Drain pipe ! Others would tell you tales to make your hair curl. Tails of unbelievable bravery, absurdity and stupidity. The Ladies would tell the tale of how the American and Canadian GI's would...
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Re: A visit to Normandy: exploring the D-Day beaches
Thank you mr fumblefinger for your poignant description and photos. Our family lost my uncle at Omaha Beach. He was one of those young men caught up in the drama of war who did his best in a very bad situation. Several times during the 1980s and early 1990s, I made my way to northwestern France to visit the D-Day landing sites. At that time, I was struck by three things - the immaculate grounds and air of respect, the gratefulness of the French people and the fact that there were very few...
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day. September 10, 2013: African Penguins, Boulders Beach, South Africa.
I really like penguins!
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day. September 10, 2013: African Penguins, Boulders Beach, South Africa.
Yes, think about what items would fit well for thumbnail images that people could use as avatars. We can create a bunch, and I do have a number of penguin photos that fit the bill.
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Re: Coastal California: Pigeon Point Lighthouse
We must have passed Pigeon Point on our way to see the seals on a February visit to SF about 10 years ago...I wish I had known! Besides the seals, the highlight of that trip was breakfast in a roadside diner surrounded by avocado farms...a product reflected in practically every breakfast on the menu!
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Re: Coastal California: Pigeon Point Lighthouse
In that part of the coast, it's more likely to have been artichokes, grown there and all the way down to Salinas/Monterey. Avocados are a Southern California crop.
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Re: Coastal California: Pigeon Point Lighthouse
When I lived in So California, an acquaintance was an avocado farmer. He informed us that at the time about 10% of the avocado crop was stolen each year -- probably higher now. The most stolen crop in America, and impossible to trace I love old lighthouses and their setting on the roughest places on the coast. Thanks for sharing this one with us, PM.
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Re: Coastal California: Pigeon Point Lighthouse
I'm not surprised about the avocado theft, guacamole being one of the CA food groups.
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Re: Coastal California: Pigeon Point Lighthouse
I didn't mean to imply purloined produce...just that as a local product, they had a high place on the menu. From the conversations around us, it appeared that many of the others were growers...
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Re: Coastal California: Pigeon Point Lighthouse
PHeymont -- did not mean to imply that your restaurant proprietors were thieves. Just to point out that the crop you were surrounded by is a target of theft.
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Re: Coastal California: Pigeon Point Lighthouse
Gentlemen, I think you missed my point somewhere above. Artichokes grow in Northern California, avocados in Southern California. As far as I've observed, never the twain shall meet. Just to confirm, is this it? If so, not avocado.
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Re: Coastal California: Pigeon Point Lighthouse
No, really, we know the difference. And we saw the avocados and ate them. I haven't found production figures yet for San Mateo County yet, but it is significant.
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Re: Coastal California: Pigeon Point Lighthouse
I see no mention of avocados: https://agwm.smcgov.org/sites/...26%20PDF%20Print.pdf
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Re: Coastal California: Pigeon Point Lighthouse
Great. I will be in Santa Cruz in a couple of weeks with HS friends and suggest we go thePigeon Point lighthouse! thanks again for a wonderful journey! Denia
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Re: Praan Prathistaa Ceremony - A Legacy for Granny
What a wonderful story! Thanks for sharing this with us. The photo sequence is great and made me feel I was part of the procession. Your Granny must have been bursting with pride at what you all accomplished for her.
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And life was never the same again: How Barcelona stole my heart
Can you recall a moment from your travels that has really shaken your soul? A moment that has changed you forever? Well, here's mine. As I sat watching that sun set over Barcelona from the incredibly beautiful Parc Güell earlier...
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Charleston and its Single Houses: Where Gumbo Was #79
TravelGumbo member Club2013, by e-mail, was the only one to correctly place Gumbo’s secret destination: Charleston, SC. He found the special characteristics in an almost generic “old town” streetscape, and hit the nail on the head....
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Ottawa – NOT the coldest Capital in the world!
Ottawa is a vibrant and charming small city — so pleasant that it’s hard to believe it’s home to soooo many politicians. Of the national capitals I've visited, Ottawa seems the most livable to me (ie. if...
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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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Casas Particulares in Cuba
Visiting Cuba has forever changed the way I view accommodations when I travel now. For one I was always a chain hotel kind of girl racking up my points and being loyal to said luxury chains. I had the option to book luxury hotels in Havana...
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Road Trip, More Day 2: Point Cabrillo Light Station
Not quite recovered from the long drive the day before, and having just walked a couple of miles around the Mendocino Coast Botanical Garden, had I realized the extent of the hike required to get to and from the the lighthouse at Point...
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Gumbo's Pic of the Day, April 18, 2015: A Rainy Morning at Point Arena
Leaving Elk on the Mendocino County coast, I turned left onto California Highway 1 and drove south under a heavier-than-foggy sky. The plan was to make a couple of stops for pictures, then turn inland and head into wine country for an...
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Emirates JFK-Milan $650 summer sale(but you have to buy 2)
Good time to take a spouse or good friend to Italy for springtime; Emirates is running a brief sale that closes March 26 for flights June 7 to August 22...$650 apiece in economy and $1900 in business class. The sale is basically to celebrate Emirates...
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Bombardier's new plane takes off into murky skies
Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier, which along with Brazil's Embraer, has dominated the market for 100-seat and under regional jets for years, has completed the first successful test flight of its CS300, a plane that can be configured for...
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OpenTable "re-brands" and spreads its reach
OpenTable, the online restaurant reservation service acquired 9 months ago by Priceline, is starting to show off its new directions and ambitions. First up, a new logo and slogan. The logo is a stylized round table and seat; the slogan gives a broad...
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Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Mar. 15, 2015: The Tea Lady, Istanbul
Tea, we discovered in our week in Istanbul, is a necessity of nearly every meal and occasion, and one fraught with ritual. It must be made with the right tea, it must be steeped for a long time and then diluted to the right color, and served in small...
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Three historical cities to visit in the winters for travel enthusiasts
The chilling weather of India glorifies the beauty of many cities. The three top cities are calling you to experience their beauty. These towns can be an escape from the spine-chilling weather or the thrust to kiss the warmth of the sun. Jaipur: Jal Mahal The capital of the royal state of India, Rajasthan, Jaipur is best suited to visit in winters. The city was founded in 1726 by Maharaja Jai Singh II and is popularly known as Fort City of India. Amber Fort, the Star attraction of the city,...
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May 25, 2017: Superior Entry Lighthouse, Superior, Wisconsin
This interesting and attractive lighthouse has stood guard protecting ships entering and exiting Superior Bay since 1913.
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The Bikaner Mail
Bob Cranwell shares the story of a most memorable train journey -- an experience uniquely Indian.