North Beach in San Francisco

5 December 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, San Francisco Bay Area Reading Time:  7 minutes

© panoramio.com - Almondox/cc-by-3.0

© panoramio.com – Almondox/cc-by-3.0

North Beach is a neighborhood in the northeast of San Francisco adjacent to Chinatown, the Financial District, and Russian Hill. The neighborhood is San Francisco’s “Little Italy” and has historically been home to a large Italian American population, largely from Northern Italy. It still has many Italian restaurants, though many other ethnic groups currently live in the neighborhood. It was also the historic center of the beatnik subculture and has become one of San Francisco’s main nightlife districts as well as a residential neighborhood populated by a mix of young urban professionals, families, and Chinese immigrants. The American Planning Association (APA) has named North Beach as one of ten “Great Neighborhoods in America”.   read more…

USS Arizona Memorial

1 December 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, House of the Month Reading Time:  9 minutes

USS Arizona Memorial © Victor-ny/cc-by-sa-3.0

USS Arizona Memorial © Victor-ny/cc-by-sa-3.0

The USS Arizona Memorial, at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii, marks the resting place of 1,102 of the 1,177 sailors and Marines killed on USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and commemorates the events of that day. The attack on Pearl Harbor led to the United States’ involvement in World War II.   read more…

Cathedral of Rum in Cataño

19 November 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions Reading Time:  6 minutes

The Cathedral of Rum © panoramio.com - Jose L. Dominguez/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Cathedral of Rum © panoramio.com – Jose L. Dominguez/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Cathedral of Rum in Cataño, Puerto Rico, is the world’s largest rum distillery. The Bacardi Distillery is located on 137 acres and consists of forty-four buildings and structures, twenty-four of which contribute to its historical character. It can be accessed from and is located at the intersection of PR-165 and PR-888. For visitors, the most important buildings are the Casa BACARDI, the Bacardi Family Museum, the Bacardi Distillery and the Bacardi Pavilion.   read more…

The Canadian

18 November 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Hotels Reading Time:  8 minutes

Park Car bar and table © Kosboot/cc-by-sa-4.0

Park Car bar and table © Kosboot/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Canadian (French: Le Canadien) is a transcontinental passenger train operated by Via Rail with service between Union Station in Toronto, Ontario, and Pacific Central Station in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Before 1955, the Canadian was a Canadian Pacific (CP) train connecting the cities of Toronto and Chicago. Transcontinental service was provided on The Dominion.   read more…

Gainesville in Florida

17 November 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Universities, Colleges, Academies Reading Time:  11 minutes

Hippodrome State Theatre © soulbust/cc-by-sa-4.0

Hippodrome State Theatre © soulbust/cc-by-sa-4.0

Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, and the largest city in North Central Florida, with a population of 141,085 in 2020. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, which had a population of 339,247 in 2020. Gainesville is home to the University of Florida, the fourth-largest public university campus by enrollment in the United States as of the 2021–2022 academic year. The university is represented by the Florida Gators sports teams in NCAA competitions.   read more…

Pearl Harbor on Oahu

7 November 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Pearl Harbor and Ford Island © U.S. Navy - Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Dylan Lavin

Pearl Harbor and Ford Island © U.S. Navy – Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Dylan Lavin

Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands are now a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the United States Pacific Fleet. The U.S. government first obtained exclusive use of the inlet and the right to maintain a repair and coaling station for ships here in 1887. The surprise attack by the Imperial Japanese Navy on December 7, 1941, led the United States to declare war on the Empire of Japan, making the attack on Pearl Harbor the immediate cause of the United States’ entry into World War II.   read more…

San Cristóbal de las Casas in Mexico

6 November 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Palacio Municipal © dr.arturocancino/cc-by-sa-4.0

Palacio Municipal © dr.arturocancino/cc-by-sa-4.0

San Cristóbal de las Casas, also known by its native Tzotzil name, Jovel, is a town and municipality located in the Central Highlands region of the Mexican state of Chiapas. It was the capital of the state until 1892, and is still considered the cultural capital of Chiapas.   read more…

Gulf Islands in Canada

2 November 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks, Environment Reading Time:  10 minutes

View from Baynes Peak on Saltspring Island © Michal Klajban/cc-by-sa-4.0

View from Baynes Peak on Saltspring Island © Michal Klajban/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Gulf Islands is a group of islands in the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the mainland coast of British Columbia. The name “Gulf Islands” comes from “Gulf of Georgia“, the original term used by George Vancouver in his mapping of the southern part of the archipelago and which before the San Juan Island dispute also was taken to include what have since been called the San Juan Islands. While geopolitically divided, the San Juan Islands and Gulf Islands geologically form part of the larger Gulf Archipelago.   read more…

Sphere at The Venetian Resort in Paradise

2 October 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Architecture Reading Time:  8 minutes

The Sphere imitating the Moon © flickr.com - Cory Doctorow/cc-by-sa-2.0

The Sphere imitating the Moon © flickr.com – Cory Doctorow/cc-by-sa-2.0

The Sphere at the Venetian Resort, previously referred to as MSG Sphere, is a spherical music and entertainment arena in Paradise, Nevada, United States, near the Las Vegas Strip and east of the Venetian resort. Designed by Populous, the project was announced by the Madison Square Garden Company in 2018. The 18,600-seat auditorium is being marketed for its immersive video and audio capabilities, which include a 16K resolution wraparound interior LED screen, speakers with beamforming and wave field synthesis technologies, and 4D physical effects. The venue’s exterior also features 580,000 sq ft (54,000 m²) of LED displays. The Sphere measures 366 feet (112 m) high and 516 feet (157 m) wide at its broadest point.   read more…

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