Travels in the 2nd half

The Hollywood Walk of Fame To be honest, Los Angeles is not my favorite city. I have always felt that it is more of an over sized suburb rather than a city. You know, the kind of place where no one ever walks, and the car is king. However, about 5 years ago one of my daughters moved out here, and in my time visiting her, I have discovered some parts of the city where walking can be fun and interesting. Hollywood Hollywood stretches East from La Brea and north from Santa Monica., but its most famous and tourist heavy section is along Hollywood Blvd. from La Brea to Highland. La Brea and Hollywood is the start of the famous Walk of Fame. At this intersection there is a little pavilion to commemorate the start of the Walk.    The four pillars of this "gate" are tributes to four famous actresses who represent the actresses of all races: Mae West, Delores Del Rio, Dorothy Dandridge and Anna May Wong Dorothy Dandridge Mae West Delores Del Rio ...

I hate areas filled with tourists. Not just in NYC but wherever I travel. They are crowded. People just stop walking in the middle of the sidewalk. No one is really paying attention to what is happening around them. Unfortunately, sometimes I just have to bite the bullet and dive in. If you want to see Piccadilly Circus, the Parthenon, Florence or the Mona Lisa you are going to have to be part of a crowd of tourists. Here in NYC, if you want to go to see a Broadway play you are going to be part of a crowd of tourists. It is unavoidable. On a recent Saturday I had a ticket for a Broadway play so I decided to head down early and see what has been happening in Times Square. Now I grew up in NYC during the 60's, 70's and 80's. A time wen some people feel that Times Square was at the nadir of it's existence. From www.baldpunk.com On 42nd Street, the theaters were divided between "third-run" movies and porno. The street had its share of drug dealers and othe...

There are so many beautiful place in the world. However, the Catskills have always been a place that tugs at my heart. It is the place where my earliest memories of vacation reside. From the time I was little my parents rented a bungalow at a bungalow colony called Mirth in the tiny village of Mountaindale NY. I remember tree covered roads and lakes with turtles and streams with salamanders.  The Amazing Ms. D and I spent a weekend in the Catskills when she was invited as a participating writer at the 2nd annual  Festival of Women Writers in the town of Hobart NY . Hobart is a small hamlet in the north-west corner of the Catskill Mountains. It is the "Book village of the Catskills" with 6 bookstores in a town of around 440 people. The stores range from high end antiquarian and rare books to mass used mass market, and there is a wide range of choices. Blenheim Hill Books Mysteries and More The Amazing Ms. D in Mysteries and More Liberty Rock Books...