Above-ground vaults

Because New Orleans rests only a bit above sea level, burying bodies, coffins, and caskets below ground presents a challenge. Water pressure tends to push sealed vessels up out of the ground. The extra water in the earth also makes a mess of remains that aren’t sealed. Hence New Orleans historically placed their dead above ground, in vaults like those in Lafayette cemetery.

Fort

The mission served as a safe retreat for the missionaries and their converts. Walking around the walls, you could feel that this was a close community, but that quarters in the mission were probably nicer than most of the area. The support facilities, like the kitchen, are spacious and clean, although a bit claustrophobic inside the walls.

Nelson House

Joy and I love visiting old houses. The house of Thomas Nelson stands in Yorktown in a prominent position. The rooms have tall ceilings like most grand house of the period. The walls are coated with thick paint. The house seems barren without furniture, but the window seats are open for sitting.

Canadian River Walk

After an easy passport control check, we went straight to Skylon Tower for the best view of the falls. Two ferries take passengers into the mists of the falls, one from the American side and a sister from the Canadian side. We walked along the riverside after riding up the tower, and spent the evening touring the city looking for dinner.

Niagara Falls, New York

The American side of the falls feels like a tourist trap. The main attraction consists of a large state park and the concrete jungle of junk shops that abut it. The roar of the falls amazes bystanders, and visitors get very close on the American side.

Posing next to the statue of my hero, Nicola Tesla, made one of the highlights of my park visit.

Night Lights

We tarried on the Canadian side of the falls in expectation of the show. As night fell, giant spotlights blazed forth across the river. The ever-changing red, white and blue colors made for a very patriotic display, for an American at least.

A Big Party

The size of the festivities surprised me. I couldn’t count the number of cars arrayed in the open field. The scene appeared more like tailgating outside an NFL game than the modest and slightly geeky gathering I expected. There were film crews and safety crews and TV crews rows of food trucks selling barbeque and beer. Everyone seemed in excellent spirits, especially the men seated on a couch perched high above the bed of their truck.

Riverfront

Our first night in town we ate in the trendy Station Square shopping district. After dinner, we meandered through downtown, looking at facades of skyscrapers, churches, banks and theaters, crossing two bridges on our walk back to the hotel.

The Steelers

I wanted to see a pro football game. Pre-season tickets can be had for a reasonable price, so we took a trip to Pittsburgh to see the Steelers play. All sorts of watercraft moved along the river or moored alongside the stadium. We spent the day enjoying parks and historical sites along the river, then crossed a bridge and ate dinner in a local restaurant near the sports complexes. The sun slid behind Mt Washington as we joined the river of fans flowing toward the stadium.

Tenement Museum

Immigrants defined the Lower East Side of Manhattan during the 19th and 20th centuries. Communities like Little Italy and Chinatown gave the area distinctive qualities of culture and class. The Tenement Museum seeks to capture this history of working class immigrants. Joy and I took the Irish Outsiders tour. The old building, with ruined and restored sections, feels like it still holds the ghosts of the people who lived and died there. After the tour, we walked the neighborhood, down Grand St in Chinatown, before heading north to Central Park.

Central Park

Since it was such a beautiful day in New York City, people flocked to Central Park to get some sun and outdoor time. Joy and I walked across the park from the 81st entrance to the MET on the east side. People walked and ate and lay on the green grass. We especially liked seeing the Castle in the park, as it had been featured on CSI New York. We couldn’t find any restaurants on the west side of the park, so we settled for a pretzel and a bottle of water from a food truck.

Metropolitan Museum of Art

No one can do the The MET justice in a day or a paragraph. The museum hosts a giant collection of Egyptian art which I am always excited to see. Not one, not two, but three structures are recreated in the museum; a tomb, a temple, and a gateway. The statues and artifacts range from large to huge, but the exhibits shortchange any close examination in favor of spectacle. Suffice it to say, I found the museum showy but merely whelming.

9/11 Memorial

Joy and I visited the World Trade Center site in 2002. Then it was a rubble filled hole in the ground. Now it has been transformed into two holes in the ground dotted with trees. I can’t understand why the Twin Towers were not rebuilt. It makes perfect sense to me.

Two square pools cascade water into deep, black stone pits. The 9/11 Memorial feels like a large paved park, combined with enough surveillance cameras and armed guards to manage a prison. That makes visitors the inmates. Visitors should not be surprised that security is as tight as an airport, with x-ray machines, bag checks and ID screens. At least shoes can remain on.

I’m glad I requested tickets to the first entry group to the site Sunday morning. Our first few moments at the pool felt intimate. Only the new blue skyscraper peered over our shoulders as we looked down into the falling water.

Round Tower

The view from the top of the Round Tower rivals that of St. Paul’s in London. Built to house an astronomical observatory as part of the new university, it still has a telescope at the top. The coolest feature is the spiral staircase, which winds around the inside of the tower in place of a stairway.

Reaching the Top

Prepare for a long climb when you come to Camelback Mountain. We started the trail in the middle of winter wearing our ski jackets. By the time we stopped our shirts were more than sufficient against the cold. Those who try for the summit in the summer must be crazy and dehydrated. Often the path becomes a climb with foot and hand holds.

Jurassic Park

Video monitors show clips that would have been shown to a visitor of Jurassic Park while waiting in line for the next ride. We floated through the park in a big boat. One of the passengers screamed as each dinosaur appeared.

Wizarding World

Universal Studios makes each section of the park feel authentic. Even though Hogsmeade wasn’t yet open, the entrance to the new Dragon Challenge roller coaster was a very detailed mine shaft. Much of the new Harry Potter section could be seen over the walls from the adjacent sections of the park.

Walking Around

Universal Studios is a huge park with several distinct area. We spent 12 hours walking, looking, waiting in line, and eating. There is a good mix of outdoor and indoor spaces. The days are sunny in Florida and we got a lot of sun on our day out.

Hollywood Backlot

The Hollywood section has all sorts of celebrities stolling the streets. I really enjoyed the Terminator 3D show. Joy stopped to be part of a paid survey from one of the companies in the park while I enjoyed the air conditioning. At the end of our day, we rode the Men In Black ride twice. Of course, we got our picture taken with the Simpsons.