I love the southwest for the scenery; the desert, cacti, vast expanses and endless sky are magnificent. But between the open spaces are slews of interesting towns. Here are just a few of my favorite towns in the southwest. Jerome, Arizona is just a few miles away from the far better-known Sedona. At one point […]

Cannon Beach in Oregon has a population of about 1,500. You don’t go there for the town, but for the beach, which is among the most beautiful on the west coast. When I first went there it was so foggy I couldn’t even see the famous Haystack Rock. Then it cleared and was spectacular. Nearby […]

I decided I needed to get out of the city, even if only for a few days. So, I’m spending the weekend in Cold Spring. It’s a charming Hudson River town. And, in many ways fits in with my recent posts about quirky American towns. For many years I lived close enough to come for […]

This morning, I traveled a short way upriver to Beacon. When I was younger, I often hiked in the area. Just driving past reminded me of the difficulty of those trails, including the aptly named Breakneck Ridge trail. As I watched rain dripping down rocks, I imagined how slippery the trail must be. Even on […]

Yesterday I headed home after my brief stay in Cold Spring. Driving back there were hints of spring—daffodils, weeping willows swathed in pale green, buds ready to burst. But, for the most part, branches remained bare and there was a grayness that contrasted sharply with the intense blue of the sky. My first start was […]

Even though it’s not nearby and has hills, Fort Tryon Park holds the title of my favorite Manhattan park. Why? First, it is a ten-minute drive and has loads of free parking. Second, I’ve never seen it crowded, a rarity in the city. Third, and perhaps most germane to my visit there yesterday, it has […]

The last time I visited Bushwick to explore street art was during one of the worst parts of the pandemic. Streets were devoid of people but filled with fabulous art. This time, people swarmed the neighborhood. And, because marijuana is now legal, pot shops were everywhere, including a slew of pop-up shops and mobile weed […]

Even if you think you’ve seen whirligigs, you’ve never seen anything like the Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park in Wilson, North Carolina. I’m visiting my cousin in Raleigh, and we took a drive because she knew I’d love the park. Anything hinting of the unusual is attractive to me. This place blew me away, literally—the wind […]

Today my cousin and I went to see an exhibit at the NC Museum of Art: To Take Shape and Meaning – Form and Design in Contemporary American Indian Art. I’m fond of both traditional and contemporary Native American art and have seen a lot of it over the years. This was a small but […]

A growing trend is using recycled materials to create art. Think of the quilts created in Gee’s Bend with old clothes and fabric scraps. Scrap metal is a favorite of many artists, as are abandoned plastics and construction materials. Cassette tapes, CDs, old tires, books and much, much more are also used to create beautiful […]