W Hotel in Santiago Chile, First in South America

 

W has opened its 33rd hotel and it is in Santiago, Chile, the first of the brand in South America. New York designer Tony Chi partnered with Chilean designer Sergio Echevarria to capture the country’s landscape and traditions. W Santiago has 196 guest rooms and 16 corner rooms as well as 20 suites. Very soon I will be at the Red2 One rooftop bar with Santiago spread out below and a pisco in my hand.

Karl Marx was Born Here

 

One of the smallest museums I hit in the recent past was the house where Karl Marx was born in Tier Germany. It is small but mighty interesting, under the Nazi’s it was confiscated from the SPD party. The re-inauguration was June 9th and the museum gets about 32,000 visitors a year, about a third of them are from China.

The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways. The point however, is to change it.
Karl Marx

If Happiness is Fleeting Pursue It

 

Is happiness fleeting, hardly, it just seems so sometimes. On balance this planet has abundance of goodness sometimes buried but often in obvious splendor. A simple stranger’s smile or a fascinating glimpse of a picture perfect scene while driving down a country road. Recently I’ve had the pleasure of reconnecting with family and friends some from way back and then some brand spanking new, amazing. A week from today I head to a place long ago visited Argentina, and then a brand new destination, Chile. If happiness is fleeting then I intend to vigorously pursue.

A Muse in my Pocket

 

I got a great surprise in the mail today a book. Not just any book but one called The Pocket Muse… ideas & inspirations for writing. It came in the nick of time as I have a large plate to deal with lately. The clever and wonderfully designed book by Monica Wood looks like a wonderful way to get juices flowing and better yet came as a total surprise. It came from out of the blue from an old friend I haven’t been in touch with for quite awhile. It also reminded me that not all communication is via email and Facebook, the good old US Post has its place. Even the publisher Writer’s Digest brought back memories of when I began, I read their magazine constantly. Thanks dear old friend for finding things out and following a lost tradition, looking forward to getting the mail. Now I’ll try using a telephone again, one that is a land-line!

Shooting Shots

 

I don’t do it very often but when I sell a picture I always get a thrill. Over the last few years I have carried a camera or two every place I have been, a lot of lugging. When traveling I usually end my nights down loading the days catch hoping for that one shot that will make my day. Though I must admit that I am still in the throngs of my love affair with FB and it is eating up some of the night time.

I got to talk to professional shooter Clark Day when he and old college friend Marie came to visit last week. It was great to speak with a long time pro and ask question after question about the profession. That’s how you get the true ups and downs, the inside scoop. Thanks Clark for all the advice.

Help Keep Athens Cool, It is in the World's Best Interest

 

I haven’t heard about it till now really but I now have Athens on my mind, the fires burn hot and bright near the cradle of civilization. I had a chance to explore the wonderful city at the beginning of this summer and loved it. The new Acropolis Museum was the purpose of my trip but I spent a lot of time walking Athens and its fantastic meld of ancient and modern. It was dry, hot and breezy then but that is all bad now, the fires cover an area more than 25 miles wide north of the city. Firefighters, soldiers and citizens are banding together to fight the spread and countries are sending aid in the effort. It is in the World’s best interest to help in anyway, a couple of hours there will convince anyone!

Cape Ann Looking for the Perfect Storm

 

Sebastian Junger was a part time lumberjack with an injury when he headed to Gloucester Mass. for a bit of R&R. The pounding of the waves on the shore due to an off shore storm made him think about being on a fishing boat during a storm. He then was inspired by a local newspaper article about the fate of the boat Andrea Gail to write a 50 page account of the boat in that storm for Outside magazine. From that article a book offer and eventually a movie deal was given titled The Perfect Storm.

Though Hurricane Bill has caused the Mass coast to be under tropical storm warnings it looks pretty calm and Bill is heading out further to sea. Still the chance to just kick around a place is always one of my favorite things to do. After telling some local fishermen about being on a boat and bringing up a blue lobster at a small bar, my acceptance factor grew. With lobstermen only getting around $2.25 a pound the costs for operating have steeply risen. The fact that at many restaurants in the big cities a lobster can go for around $25 made me think of the Perfect Rip Off.

Amish Morning in PA

 

Americana unparalleled, back roads through rich earth at a pace matching a horse and buggy. In fact you are sometimes slowed by a horse and buggy often happens in the area around Lancaster, PA. The Amish thrive in the area as does a cornucopia of produce, eating and eating a lot works here. The best part though is an early drive just after the sun rises.

Eastport Commons, Writing Retreat or Just Pleasure

 

Around this time last year I stopped by whim in the town of Eastport Maine, on my way home from St John, Canada. I liked the feel immediately and rented a small house in the center of town overlooking the harbor. On walking around I could see the revitalization happening and not the big corporate type. It actually was a grass roots effort promoted by nine local ladies and centered around a store/ lodging place called the Commons. Over 90 Maine artisans show their work there. In my quest for a repeat of a peaceful fall week on the Maine coast I saw a bit about the Common and Eastport in the New England Travel Guide ’09. Watching the sun rise at the first place in the US for a week, heaven, writer sabbaticals are offered off season!

Woodstock 40th, I would Rather Listen to Levon Ramble

This weekend will be the 40th anniversary of the Woodstock Concert in 1969; the concert was actually miles away in Bethel NY. Yet for some reason Woodstock NY has made a living over the event for the last 40 years. Tye dye tee shops and patchouli oil palaces fill the town’s streets and it seems the days of fine craft shops have disappeared. Though I live close to Woodstock I rarely go up there anymore, I did actually live on top of Ohayo Mt. during the late 60’s but was a kid and actually at Boy Scout Camp when the 69 festival was happening. I am amazed when visitors come and ask to go to Woodstock but I oblige, the area is beautiful. A far better sense of Woodstock is gained by going to one of Levon Helm’s Midnight Rambles at his farm with 200 others. You just better know someone.

Liberace Lobsters

Having trouble posting picts but here is a link to strange lobster finds http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/195366/Rare_blue_lobster_caught

Confessions of a Travel Writer, I do Not Think So

I finished my piece on La Marche today. I was there for an earthquake with a 6.3 magnitude that shook Italy and caused a lot of deaths. I happened to be in Ascoli Piceno that night in April when 50 miles away the town of L’Aquila in Abruzzo was flattened. I was shaken out of my bed at around 3:30 that morning, a first for me. At breakfast we writers shared our tales of mid-night ramblings somewhat laughing; we had no idea of just really happened. As we learned more about the tragedy I tried to find out more; one US writer I came into contact with who lives in Italy was Courtney Clonard Walsh. We hadn’t, and still haven’t, met face to face but I followed her coverage on TV, via FB and email. Her take was real and heartbreaking. It was an event that made a connection. As blogs about the new travel show Confessions of a Travel Writer are covered I wondered how I would include info about a tragedy in my piece. The copy of the April 7 2009 International Herald Tribune sits next to my computer now. I’ve yet to see an article that mentions quakes in California. I think I should mention it, would you? What would Charles Runnette do, I do not care!

Swelter in the City

It was a long and satisfying day in NYC despite the heat and humidity, reminded me of days when I worked mid summers at the upper eastside JG Melon’s. Except this time I had bigger aspirations, long time ones. It began with a meeting for a project begun some ten years ago and now the actual work begins. What was so different was that it felt like a time to clear out the old and begin a new chapter, putting 15 years of globe trotting into perspective. I have studied human reactions in a worldwide lab; the plusses always outweigh the minuses. I have been a lucky man to have met so many good people in so many amazing places. I only hope that the Verizon MiFi 2200 can keep up, it sure did today.

Out of Africa, Not Out of Ideas

As the thunder and darkened skies passed this late afternoon we put on one of my favorite movies, Out of Africa. It has been years since I’ve watched it and I once again loved it. I was reminded by so many things both about Africa and life. Awhile ago I had a chance to visit the home of Isak Denison, better known as Baroness Karen Blixen, in the film. It also made me think of people who decry, “oh that place is so overdone”. I thoroughly enjoyed visiting her home of seventeen years and the memories she wrote about it.

It has become an overused phrase, like the cool dip in the ocean off the Hamptons or coastal Maine is no longer worthy of doing. I am so sick of the critique of visiting popular places; there is a reason that spaces entice. Just bring your own sense of place—I trust feelings. Overcome crowds—they have a right to be there. I would have loved to be the first traveler to enter Petra. I have twice, and both times felt amazed in different ways. The world gets smaller so expand your mind. I guess if you can watch a play by Shakespeare out in Tanglewood or in the Met, you get what I am saying.

Inn at Stone Ridge, Needed Tonight

The dining room has reopened at one of my old favorite haunts in my neck of the woods, the Inn at Stone Ridge. I couldn’t be happier, it is a mid eighteenth century manse and stunning in its beauty. While there are a few great choices nearby the grounds of the Inn are filled with flowers in the summer and make for a perfect weekend place to go. The weekend mix of New Yorkers and locals is lively; I have even shared a cig and laughs with Steve Buscemi on the peaceful front porch once. A cocktail made by the owner Dan in the pub like bar is a good beginning for a great night with friends, needed tonight!

Hanging with the Girls, You Bet

I had to chuckle a bit when I read a comment from my great friend Becca on my FB page. Basically it stated that all comments to me were from women. I went back and checked, she was right, I then thought about it, was it because in my line of work, I tend to meet more women then men? I certainly played rough and tumble with the guys growing up, I got the scars and aches to prove it. I love laughing with the guys on the golf course or sitting in Dill’s back yard. Perhaps it is just because I have been so lucky in meeting some of the best women the world offers. The conversations go far beyond scores or posturing, they usually revolve around real life events and meaningful topics. Do I have a feminine side, god I hope so. That would make me closer to human than I could ever wish for.

One More Down

Another year passes and a notch on the belt noted. It is funny but sometimes I forget age and that is a very good thing. I look more grizzled than I used to but feel pretty young. I still am amazed at what comes my way and love it. I find it irresistible to watch people go by and try to figure out their stories. Life has its ups and downs, the ups win hands down!

Corea Maine, Jean Symonds and a One in Three Million Lobster Catch

Her eyes are as blue as the rare blue lobster found in one of Jean Symonds' 600 traps off Corea Maine. They say that the chance of getting a blue is a three million to one shot. I say spending time with lobster person as great as Jean is even bigger odds. Time spent on the Finest Kind II and in Jean’s nearby house is an experience that personifies a lobster person’s life. Jean is a female somewhat rare in the lobster world and at 76 the woman has the energy found in most 20 year olds.

Corea Maine is all about catching lobsters and the village is better than any movie set Hollywood could create. Jean is a star in my eyes. After our blue lobster adventure a meal of fresh caught lobster at Jean’s house was just perfect in every way. A great book about the lobster fishing way of life is called the Lobster Coast: Rebels, Rusticators and the Struggle for a Forgotten Frontier, by Colin Woodward. A bit about Jean can be found on page 270. A great place to stay in the little village is the Black Duck Inn, great friends of Jean. This is a Maine that all should see!