Faerie Worlds (Eugene, Oregon)

Faerie Worlds Festival Faerieworlds (www.faerieworlds.com) is an international festival inspired by the artistic works of artist Brian & Wendy Froud and the musical talents of “Woodland”. Each year, hundreds to thousands of musicians, artists, authors, craftspeople, and faerie enthusiasts gather together to celebrate the realm of faerie. Put on annually by Brian Froud, Woodland Productions, and Imaginosis … Faerie Worlds is a unique and celebrated festival of its own accord. Faeries, pixies, satyrs, dragons, gnomes, tree people, mermaids, and God/desses of all kinds can be found playing, frolicking, dancing, walking, and hanging out at this event. Attending the 2005 Faerie Worlds outside of Eugene, Oregon was mind blowing and mesmerizing. Excellent bands, good entertainment, great vendors, incredible artists, and yummy food. A 5 stars out of 5 event. Highly recommended. Every year in July. See Web site for details ….

Dragon Tales

Ain’t Nothin’ Like a Zoo in Summer

In retrospect, it’s probably a bad idea to expect much out of a zoo in the summertime. I mean, the animals are as hot as the humans. They want to be lounging in whatever speck of shade their caged homes provide, and doing as little as possible besides.

But a recent visit to the Tulsa Zoo, supposedly voted America’s Favorite Zoo, probably by people who hadn’t been there in the summer, was disappointing for more than just the sleepy animals.

I don’t know how many exhibts inside were missing, but there were a lot. Maybe 20? Ranging from snakes and creepy crawlies to huge birds, there were signs everywhere pointing out the obvious fact that the exhibits were empty. And we paid good money to see all those lovely signs!

The only high point of the day was the rain forest exhibit, which was appropriately steamy and involved some cute little monkey-like creatures (not being a zoologist, I don’t know what they were) that were allowed to run around.

OK, the birds were pretty cool too. But everything else, not worth the $6.04 admission. I’ll leave you trying to figure out where they got $6.04.

Two Tarts Bakery (Seattle, WA)

Two Tarts Bakery 5629 Airport Way S. Seattle, WA 98108 206-767-8012 http://www.twotartesbakery.com/ Cruising home to my loft in Georgetown, I decided to try the little bakery I noticed down from Stellar’s on Airport Way. A small little hole-in-the-wall, known as “Two Tarts” is a little charming neighborhood bakery with a slice of Georgetown personality. Carries a French name, but far from French or even Euro for that matter, as they have a American array of pastries, cookies, muffins, cakes, scones, tarts, and baked goods. Apparently they have a popular lunch as well. A little high priced for my tastes, but good nonetheless. A ham-n-cheese tart, a sweet tart, and a muffin with a hot chai did me for breakfast. http://www.seattleweekly.com/features/0318/food-cassidy.php for a good review. I however give it a Rating: 4 stars out of 5.

Stellar Pizza (Seattle, WA)

Stellar Pizza & Ale 5513 Airport Way South Seattle, WA 98108 206.763.1660 / 206.768.2752 fax www.stellarpizza.com

Stellar Pizza is a artsy pizza/pool/pinball and pub restaurant that is nestled in Seattle’s artistic industrial south end neighborhood known as “Georgetown”. Intermingling with industrial businesses, warehouses, and little artsy shops … Stellar’s is probably one of the most popular venues in the hood. A family owned full-service pub with eight microbrews on tap with a selection of beer, wine, and cider amidst a plethera of cultural artifacts expressing Georgetown’s history and pop culture. Behind the bar is a giant letter “S” recycled from an old Esso sign gives an artsy charm not seen much these days. Excellent food and hand-tossed pizzas make the slow wait well worth the venture. The pizza is excellent with chewy thick crusts combined of an assortment of toppings to local flavored pizzas to the exotic or create-your-own compositions. They also have an excellent Eggplant parmigian, calzones, and pastas as well. A must visit stop while in Seattle. One of the few places that make Seattle very memorable for me. Good times always had there. Rating: 5 stars out of 5.

Biscayne National Park - Coral Reefs and Snorkeling …

Biscayne National Park “Biscayne has the simple beauty of a child’s drawing. Clear blue water. Bright yellow sun. Big sky. Dark green woodlands. Herea and there a boat, a bird. Its a subtropical place where the mainland mangrove shoreline, a warm shallow bay, small islands or keys, and living coral reefs intermingle.

Together they make up a vast, almost pristine wilderness and recreation area along the southeast edge of the Florida peninsula. The park, located 21 miles east of Everglades National Park, was established as a national monument in 1968. In 1980 it was enlarged to 173,000 acres and designated as a national park to protect a rare combination of terrestrial and undersea life, to preserve a scenic subtropical setting, and to provide an outstanding spot for recreation and relaxation.” ~ Biscayne National Park brochure

El Senorial, Restaurant Peruano E Internacional, Miami, FL

El Senorial
Restaurant Peruano E Internacional
1750 S.W. 3 Ave. Coral Way, Miami, FL
305.856.2188

A quaint little Peruvian restaurant nestled off Brickell on SW 3rd Ave, is the home of “El Senorial” where you can find a great and affordable meal. Good service, good food, El Senorial will tantalize your palate. I ordered the Seafood Ceviche aka Ceviche de Mariscos and an appetizer of sliced yucca covered with cream of cheese milk (aka Yucca a la Hunacaina). The meal was delicious! 4 stars out of 5.

The CocoWalk Rip-Off

Sunday, 17 July 2005
Coco-Walk, Coconut Grove - Miami, Florida

How on earth do the shops and businesses at the infamous “CocoWalk” in historic Coconut Grove make any money? The parking garage beneath, unlike those found in Los Angeles with similar artsy and fashion-based shopping centers with a mish-mash of bars, nightclubs, movie theaters, restaurants, cafes, clothing stores, and trendy shops with free parking like you find in alot of metropolitan cities … unlike Miami where parking is not cheap. But the splendor of the AMC @ Coco-walk provides you with a movie parking validation coupon good for 0-4 hours. However, they fail to mention, as parking manager “Steve” puts it … if you go over the 4 hours, you “have to” pay the full day flat rate of $8.00. What a rip-off! They don’t ethically give you the first 4 hours with the validation, and charge you the hour rate … they want to rob you of every penny they can. So as much “fun” you can have at Coco-Walk I have to say “not recommended” if you are driving. Avoid it like the plague. Especially with non-compassionate managers like Steve running the operation. This is something they should rectify immediate because the businesses who rent from Coco-Walk are gonna start losing business. Review by darkleaves @ gmail . com.

Smallwood Store - Everglades City, Florida

It was 8:30 am, and decided to do some exploring before heading back to Miami. Drove to the Florida Heritage site of the “Smallwood Store” which unfortunately was closed so didn’t get to venture in. The place was thick with mosquitos though … so was eaten alive. Got to see some fiddler crabs on the beach which was nice and good views. Smallwood Store Built and founded in 1906 on Chokoloskee Island by C.S. Ted Smallwood - A pioneer in Collier County. The building served as a store, a post office, and Indian trading Post. Ted remained postmaster until his retirement in 1941. His business was with early settlers and Seminole Indians. Road access came to the island in 1955. The store was placed on the National Register of historic places in 1974. Restoration of the store as a museum was started in 1990 by the Nonprofit.

Master of Make-Believe

San Diego, California is one of the lucky locations where the Maxfield Parrish, Master of Make-Believe touring exhibit stops this summer. Visitors will have the opportunity to view more than 80 treasures organized by the Trust for Museum Exhibitions in Washington, D.C. The exhibit at the San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park features a “complete survey of Parrish’s” career, including his ppular calendar and book illustrations, his signature classicized paintings, and the 18-foot long mural painted for Gertude Vanderbilt Whitney’s Long Island Studio. Parrish was an American artist who lived between 1870 and 1966. The museum is open from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and 10 a.m. until 9 p.m. on Thursdays. The address is 1450 El Prado, San Diego, CA. The exhibit is available from July 16 to September 11, 2005.

Summer in Paris!

Where better to be in summer than in Paris? The Tuileries are abloom with spring flowers. A visit to Paris would not be complete without a stroll along the banks of the Seine. What a pleasure to leisurely walk along the “quais”, discovering old books on the shelves of secondhand bookdealers, admiring artists’ works as they try to capture the scene, and enjoying the spectacular monuments and bridges. Another means of visiting this open-air museum is to ride in a “bateau mouche”, (see the two below) found at the Alma Bridge, or on other boats available from the Pont Neuf or the Iena Bridge, at Notre-Dame Cathedral or near the Eiffel Tower. The bridges provided the workshop from which hydraulic energy was derived, necessary for the functioning of the watermills and various machinery that once powerd old Paris, and they’re still outstanding instances of architecture through the ages.

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