Category: Event
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Belgium (September 1998)
Grand’ Place, Brussels The Grand’ Place serves as the center of Brussels (map). Museums, Guild Houses and restaurants line the sides of the city square. These beautiful old buildings, decorated with elaborate stonework and gold leaf provide a spectacular visual setting. Guild Houses served as the headquarters and meeting places for various groups of craftsmen…
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Butte du Lion (“Lion’s Mound”)
Waterloo Battlefield, Braine-l’Alleud, Walloon Brabant, Belgium (1993, 1998) A great battle raged on June 18, 1815 just south of Brussels, Belgium near Braine-l’Alleud and Waterloo (map). The Duke of Wellington commanding allied troops from several nations defeated Napoleon Bonaparte and his fearsome army after a punishing eight-hour conflict. Historians recognize this as one of the…
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Return to Seattle
Everett to Seattle, Washington (May 16, 1998) It promised to be a pleasant day as we drove the short distance into Seattle straight to the waterfront. Coincidentally the Seattle Maritime Festival was held that weekend and there were many activities to keep us busy. We started our tour by taking a ride around the harbor…
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Golden Spike National Historic Site
Promontory Summit, Utah, USA (July 2011) Most of us remember the Golden Spike, Promontory, Utah and the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad. They featured prominently in long ago history classes when we were kids. Now we arrived in northern Utah. There was no doubt that we’d have to stop at the Golden Spike National Historic…
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Finishing Pennsylvania, Part 4 (Western Loop)
Only five of Pennsylvania’s sixty seven counties remained to be visited. They all aligned neatly to the west of our base in Clearfield. I felt pretty excited that morning. I knew I’d finish the statewide quest within the next few hours. Once again my older son decided to come along on the journey while the…
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The Big Obsidian Flow
Deschutes County, Oregon, USA (July 2012) The Big Obsidian Flow has an appropriate albeit unimaginative name for this geological structure in central Oregon, just east of the Cascades. It is indeed a big obsidian flow. It forms part of the vast Newberry National Volcanic Monument, founded in 1990 within the Deschutes National Forest, and specifically…
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Demolition Derby
Upperco, Baltimore County, Maryland, USA (photos a composite of races 2004-2007) We tried to make it to the demolition derby at least once a summer back in the day when the kids were young. For those who may be uninitiated to the concept, the main goal is to keep your vehicle running while attempting to…
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Bermuda Shorts, Part 1 (Follow the Leader)
I’d never seen Bermuda. It simply never rose to the top of my travel list. I never thought much about it actually. I wanted to see so many other places. Nonetheless, the opportunity dropped into my lap so I took it. My wife the runner who worked for a race company went there on business.…
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Sitka National Historical Park
The City and Borough of Sitka, Alaska, USA (August 1995) Sitka National Historical Park became the first park in Alaska to become Federally designated (map). It commemorates the 1804 Battle of Sitka that took place between the native Tlingits and agents of the Russian-America company. The 113 acre park also features totem poles placed at…
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Australasian Adventures, Part 10 (Breweries)
Longtime readers probably guessed that eventually I’d talk about beer and breweries that I found during the trip. I’m so predictable. Naturally I focused some research on this topic ahead of time so I’d be prepared. I did find one surprise, though. It turned out that beer trends in the United States seemed to cross…