Travels in the 2nd half

  Dragon Boats are a paddled, canoe style craft that have been used and raced in China for over two thousand years. They are festive and colorful. Race days in China are a celebration of competition and teamwork. The Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in New York has become a yearly tradition here since its founding in 1990, and this year I attended with the goal of people watching and enjoying the races. In China, dragons are thought to be the rulers of all forms of water, so the idea of the boat races was to honor them. Traditionally, the races take place on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese calendar, which usually falls near the months of May and June, somewhat near the summer solstice. Both dragons and the sun are considered to be male in traditional Chinese mythology. They are thought to be at their most potent at this time of year. Thus, the tradition of dragon boat festivals as celebration near the summer solstice has a long history. Attributed to Li Zhaodao Drago...

Many people visit New York City, and never leave the island of Manhattan, except when they fly into or out of one of our airports. That is a shame. The four other boroughs of the city offer a treasure trove of museums and galleries to enjoy. One great place to visit is Flushing Meadows - Corona Park in Queens. Flushing Meadows is near the eastern border of Queens, and it takes about half-an-hour to get there from mid-town. It is a trip worth taking. The park was created in the early 1930’s to provide Queens with a park to rival Central Park, and it is a beautiful place. It is most famous for hosting two world’s fairs, in 1939-40 and in 1964-65. Today it is home to the USTA National Tennis Center, home to the U.S. Open, a small zoo, a botanical garden, and to two museums, both with ties to those world’s Fairs. The Unisphere The Unisphere and the NY State Pavilion The Queens Museum is an art museum that occupies the New York City Pavilion, built for the 1939 fair. From ...