This is going to seem pretty corny after the descriptions of museums, geographical places, and natural phenomena, but I thoroughly enjoyed Stingray City off Grand Cayman. (And this is from a SCUBA diver who got to see a giant ray broach the surface near the North Wall the day before.)
I had been a couple times myself and then took my wife and two adult step-children. It’s all they talked about for the next couple days.
For me, the profound surprise wasn’t David.(After all, I already knew what it looks like.)
What totally blew me away were the other statues -the half-finished “prisoners”. I had never heard of the these, and I entered the museum just expecting to see the classic David for a few minutes. Instead, I spent an hour or two staring at the prisoners.
I cant imagine the creative process going on in the artist’s mind. If I were going to cut a sculpture, I would roughly shape the whole figure, and then go back and polish the details. But Michelangelo did exactly the opposite.
When your favorite band plays at Red Rocks, in Morrison Colorado, go!
I know someone who was invited to see a show there, and didn’t. Turns out it was The Second Biggest Mistake they made.
I like homes of leaders.
The best was FDR’s in New Brunswick Canada (Campobello International Park). The family can play croquet just as, and where, his family did. Roosevelt’s home in Hyde Park NY is also good.
Chiang Kai-Shek’s Shilin Residence In Taipei is controlled by his supporters. Still worth it.
David Ben-Gurion lived in admirably modest homes in Tel Aviv and Sde Boker.
I met Mother Divine, since deceased, about ten years ago in Woodmont, the suburban Philadelphia home she shared with Father Divine.
The location of one of my better photos from 2022:
I went for a bit of a tour around the lower 48 in the middle of last year.
Certainly didn’t disappoint. Saw many outlandishly spectacular things (if I was required to name just one, Custer SP) and quite a few interesting people.
Thinking of doing it or similar again.
Would be a shame if you lot went and blew it all up first.
Yes! Those are amazing. I didn’t know they existed, but my wife did, and insisted we see them. I was a little skeptical, but I’m glad I did. I overall enjoyed our day at the Art Insitute of Chicago, but those Miniature Rooms stand out.
Also in Chicago, I believe it was the Historical Society that had an exhibition of Norman Rockwell originals when I was there. My gosh, those blew me away! Sure, I was familiar with his work from seeing it in books, but to see the actual paintings–wow! You don’t realize just how powerful “The Problem We All Live With” is, until you see it in its full 36" by 58" size.
If you like miniature models/displays, I highly recommend the Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures in Tuscon.
I’ve lived in Arizona for 41 years, and never heard of that before!
I agree. One of my favorite places. It’s for tourists but done really well. The tour with the Yeoman Warder is one of the best I’ve done.
I got to see a large number of Van Goghs when an exhibit came to the Philly museum of art. A picture of the paintings don’t come close to giving you an idea what they are like. The paint is so thick they are more like sculptures. That brings up another one. The Philadelphia Museum of Art. It’s not just the Rocky steps. Get a picture with the Rocky statue, run the stairs and see a great view of the city. Then go inside and see a world class art museum.
Sedona is spectacular. I ignored the New Agey crunchy bullshit and enjoyed the incredible scenery.
Agree. Saw Tom Petty there. Easily the best concert I’ve ever seen.
Night snorkel in Hawaii with manta rays. My wife and I are (well used to be) SCUBA divers. Seen plenty of rays, sharks and all kinds of stuff. But having those HUGE rays, again and again and again come with in touching distance is really something. They get within a foot or two (not kidding) make a sudden turn and dive back down.
Basically, a surf board is put in the water with a lite shinning down into the water. You grab the edge of the board, and just hover on the surface. The rays all come to the light to eat plankton.
Lol! I said we visited, not that we took the RV. We also have a private plane and we’ve gone many places in it as well(still not Hawaii!)
It’s a wonderful little museum; I live not far from it.
Jamestown. The reenactment is fine and worth a quick trip. Down the road a bit is the historical site run by the
National Park Service. I remember going there as a kid when they thought that the original fort was lost to the river. Sometime after that they found the original site and the excavation began. Now you can walk the dig site and there is a great archeological museum next to it.
I also enjoyed Yorktown. I knew about the battle of course but until I walked the battlefield I didn’t have a good idea what actually happened.
There was an accident with the Amtrak Zephyr outside of Denver near a small town called Keenesburg. Was the Zephyr mentioned here or in another thread?
Anyway, that reminded me of the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg. It is not just some sad roadside zoo. It is a real rehabilitation and home for wild animals taken from sad roadside zoos. It ended up with many of the animals from the Tiger King show.
It is also not cheap, at $50 for an adult. It is, however, the best experience I’ve had viewing captive animals. Most of them are in very large, open air enclosures that you view from an elevated walkway. Bring binoculars or a good zoom lens.
“Rub my belly, I promise it’s not a trap.”
They’ve got Hobbes! I have to visit.
I didn’t realize my timing was so good. This place was on 60 Minutes last week. Here is a link to the full episode, and to an online only segment.
This churcu in Georgia (the country) https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/gergeti-trinity-church