Transit Tuesday – The Elevated in NYC

The El still lives on in Chicago – I’m not sure that they could live without it. But the El once was a vital part of New York transportation, an improvement on surface railways, pre-dating the underground subways, and discarded … Continue reading

Wanderlust Wednesday: Dusseldorf

Last week found me in Germany and Luxembourg. Dusseldorf, like many cities affected by World War II, is a new city, with glimpses of old fabric in surprising places. As in other European cities, the pedestrian mall of the 1950s … Continue reading

Feeling Swank: The Green Mill, Chicago

During our recent trip to see Jeremy W.(of Le Cafe Witteveen) and Tina S. in their Chicago stomping grounds, we got to check out some incredible local spots. One of them was The Green Mill, a nightclub paused during its … Continue reading

Wanderlust Wednesday: Cold Spring, NY

Dr. V and I took the week off a couple of weeks ago, and finally followed through on a plan to go hiking. Most modern Americans expect to hop in their car in order to achieve reaching a remote wooded … Continue reading

Wanderlust Wednesday: San Francisco

San Francisco is the city where I started to learn to look, compose, and photograph. I feel the town’s scruffiness when I’m there – I still think that the mother lode gold discovery is still expected any day. I suppose the … Continue reading

Wanderlust Wednesday: Hagerstown

Hagerstown? Where’s that? I recently attended a living history event at Fort Frederick State Park in Big Pool, Maryland. Restaurants are few and far between in western Maryland, but one of my favorites anywhere is the Schmankerl Stube in Hagerstown. … Continue reading

Transportation Tuesday: Fred Harvey Is Your Host

I just finished Appetite for America: How Visionary Businessman Fred Harvey Built a Railroad Hospitality Empire That Civilized the Wild West by Stephen Fried (visit his website here). Combine my nerdiness for railroad nostalgia with food and you have my ideal 515 … Continue reading

Wanderlust Wednesday: Chicago’s a Classy Town

As I mentioned before, there’s a certain wail of the horn still going in the Windy City. The city sprawls outward from the lake, lacking the huge geographical divides that drives Manhattan skyward. Beyond the Magnificent Mile, a staggering number … Continue reading

Museum Monday: The CCC Museum at Fort Frederick State Park

Acronym Quiz: What does CCC stand for? The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942.  While most noted for civil engineering projects like Hoover Dam and the creation of woodsy infrastructure inside … Continue reading