A Pause Between Posts

I'm taking a breath between posts to catch everyone up on what's happening in real time.  Real time, today's date, is September 21, 2011.  My travel posts are currently reflecting what we were doing in June 2011.  Between my last post and now, I am about 20 some entries behind.  The last seven months have been quite the whirlwind tour of the Southeast side of our country, with short stays wherever we landed, lots of touring, and very little time left over to keep up with the blog.
 

We've now been to 38 State Capitols, 13 major league baseball parks, and Washington DC. Over the summer we dodged tornadoes, suffered through record breaking heat waves, and lost our refrigerator.  We visited with friends in Florida, Arkansas, Nebraska, and Colorado. We visited with family in Michigan, Virginia, Maryland, Arkansas, Washington State, and California. We toured a Budweiser Brewery in Florida, Celestial Seasonings Tea Company in Colorado, the Arcata Tofu Company in California, the Hershey Chocolate Factory in Pennsylvania, and visited The Farm Community in Tennessee.  We've been in the desert, walked on ocean beaches both east and west, camped in the mountains, and in the forests.  I think the only thing we didn't deal with (recently) is snow.

At times it's been hard to remember where we were last month, last week, or even yesterday.  So now we are settling down for a few months near the Sacramento area to regroup and take a breather.  I need to get some dental work done that will span several months.  What better place to be than near family while I'm getting this taken care of?  In the meantime, we will regroup and figure out what comes next…

Stay tuned, the next 20+ entries will be coming along, and before long the blog will be up to date.  Hopefully before Dan gets hitch-itch again!

Philadelphia's Mural Mile, Part Three

Mural Mile of Philadelphia, Part 3:

#12 - Spring

#13 - Theater of Life

#14 - Gimme Shelter

#15 - Crystal Snowscape

#16 - Autumn

#17 - Mapping Courage

Philadelphia's Mural Mile, Part Two

Mural Mile of Philadelphia, Part 2:

#6 - Garden of Delight

#7 - Philadelphia Muses

#8 - Women of Progress

#9 - Pride & Progress

#10 - Taste of Summer

#11 - Mural at Dirty Franks

Philadelphia's Mural Mile - Part One

Spending two weeks in Philadelphia turned out to be such a good idea, as there was so much to see, much of it off the beaten track and not the attractions usually touted in the travel guides.  One such treasure was the walking tour of the Mural Mile, 17 of the city's most iconic murals (out of literally hundreds) arranged along a walking route through downtown Philadelphia's commercial and residential streets.  In most of the pictures I posted, if you look closely, you will see parking lots, cars, other buildings, or actual people reminding you these really are paintings on the outside walls of buildings.  These murals were so beautiful and multi-dimensional you could stare at them for hours, forever picking up a bit of detail you hadn't noticed before.  I've divided the 17 pictures up over the next three posts.  In this first post you will find:

#1 - Legacy

#2 - A People's Progression Towards Equality

#3 - Tree of Knowledge

#4 - Finding Home

#5 - Building the City

Philly PrideDay Parade

Little did we know that when we picked June 12, 2011 to tour downtown Philadelphia, we chose the same day the Gay Pride Parade was scheduled.  No problem, we love a parade!  Instead of trying to find our way out of the fray, we decided to just kick back and enjoy the festivities. And it really was much more than the guys in leather bike shorts, drag queens, and flamboyancy. The Philadelphia Gay Pride Parade also celebrated Family Pride, various religious groups and several political and special interest groups. There were AIDS-related groups, ethnic groups, businesses, and talented performances.  What was really nice was seeing so many people, from so many diverse walks of life, joining together to celebrate a great time, regardless of background or affiliation.

Philadelphia June 2011

No trip to the City of Brotherly Love would be complete without a visit to some of the more famous landmarks, including the original Liberty Bell, the famous LOVE sculpture, the Rocky Statue at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and just enjoying the unique architecture sprinkled throughout the city.  We also took the time to visit Longwood Gardens, a beautiful expanse of flowers, fountains, and rolling green hills.