World Car Free Day - It Does Exist!

So here's an article I meant to post ages ago (and if I have, and I've forgotten, I apologize for the repeat but really I'm too lazy to go back through all my other posts to check).

Written by a columnist at the Washington Post, who comes to some interesting and sometimes obvious conclusions. Well, obvious to someone who doesn't own a car, at least... Anyway, here it is.

The only thing I'm not sure about, at least in Washington, DC, is whether or not it's cheaper to commute via public transportation, or via personal vehicle. I know Boston's T costs less for commuters than our Metro, and that sort of variation can make an enormous difference in how affordable public transportation is. Furthermore, I suppose it would depend on what kind of car one drove, and whether it qualifies as "green machine" or alternatively as "gas-guzzling monster".

Uno, Due, Tre, Quattro, Cinque, Sei...

In light of this past weekend being Labor Day Weekend, and because my restlessness has not so slowly been increasing lately, I invited a couple girlfriends to go to a wine tasting in horse country yesterday.

The usual happened: saw great views of the hills, drank lots of nice wine, got tipsy, chatted... and then something unusual happened. As we were in the middle of tasting, and the table was right by a path, this couple walked by on the path. The lady was speaking, and it took me a moment to choose between Spanish and Italian, but the consonants were too hard for the former. She just about craned her neck to look at us, and after I mentioned to my friends (and within earshot of my tasting neighbor, who was standing about three inches from my elbow) that she was speaking Italian, I noticed that she was counting. Counting us. "Uno, due, tre, quattro..." I forget how many she counted before she would've had to completely turn around and walk backward as she passed us, but she never finished. We were a group of at least twenty.

In other news, I know vacation season is over, and most people (all people?) have already been on holiday, but some advice from the experts on visiting archaeological sites. I figure it goes well with the topic of my blog, which I've admittedly been ignoring lately, as being green really is all about preservation. Preservation of our planet, our lifestyle (those of us who are fortunate), and our heritage. Read it, and view it, here.

Continuing a Hands-On Education

Found an article this morning on Preservation Nation, the National Trust for Historic Preservation's website, which gives hope for the future of skilled craftspeople and the building arts. In fact, I'm personally interested in the American College of the Building Arts, and if I hadn't already received a bachelor's degree and thought I had some (any) talent working with building materials, sketching and mathematics, I'd want to attend classes there.

Because the opposite is true, I'll just pass on the article for others to enjoy:

http://www.preservationnation.org/magazine/2009/september-october/hands-on-education.html

A Mid-Day Cultural Experience - Would You Skip Lunch?

So this is interesting. WaPo's Going Out Guide has put out a list of 5 things to do during lunch hour - they call it "Power Lunch", aptly named for this most powerful city.

If you can skip your sandwhich + chips any day of the week (one day? all days? It only depends on how centrally you're located and how much time you have), there are multitudinous opportunities for cultural enlightenment and just plain fun.

How many of us would rather stay in the office/cubicle for lunch when there are so many reasons to leave during lunch?

One of my favorites is Ford's Theatre's mid-day offering: two one-act history plays focusing on the era just after President Lincoln's assassination.

I wonder how many other cities have cultural events during the day, not only accessible to tourists but also locals who need a break from the work day. It could be well worth the time to check out your favorite cultural institutions, or to find the closest SmartBike rack to the office to take a short ride. Once the idea has been presented (or maybe you knew about it all along), how could you not be interested? There must be nearly endless possibilities.

If The Bike Fits...

How to make sure a bike fits correctly (yes, bikes are not one-size-fits-all):

http://tinyurl.com/5m5gyy

Courtesy, REI.

Future Vacation Destination: Vancouver Island

Next time I make it out to the West Coast, you can bet I'll make time for Vancouver Island. Read this article to find out why.

If, beyond the article, you have any more suggestions for places to go and things to see on Vancouver Island, what would they be? Any favorites not listed here?

Philadelphia, Revisited

The truth is, I'm finally reading through my WaPo and NYTimes emails, and am coming across some very interesting articles in the WaPo travel section.

The second one comes mighty close - geographically and ideologically - to my recent trip to Philadelphia - while there, I visited Penn Manor, and the question of Quakers came up in a chat with one of my coworkers. It's also, might I add, related to this year's bicentennial of President Abraham Lincoln's birth (you know, the tall guy, with the tall hat and beard, who abolished slavery in the (just) United States).

Getaway to the Great Smoky Mountains

Is anyone else eager to get away for a weekend vacation? I know, I know, I just came back from L.A., and before that, Philadelphia, but this article here makes me want to get away again - more cheaply, this time.

A weekend getaway to the Great Smoky Mountains would roll several of my interests into one vacation: a bit of a road trip, wildlife, outdoors (particularly hiking) and history - I love the idea that visitors can just walk through peoples' former homes! Although it does feel a little intrusive, the article describes the remains of houses still in nearly the same condition in which they were left, 70-odd years ago. With the addition of a few more layers of dust and some decay, I'm sure.

And that's only one National Park.

To Read: A WaPo Article.

This is an article I found very interesting, given the current financial crisis and the new administration's attempts to buoy the economy.

Big Lessons

What are your thoughts?

Good News from Britain

Evidently, Great Britain has been taking care of its waterways, and British otters have taken note. Who'll drink out of the Thames, now that it's good enough for otters? :)

Interesting fact: Otters can grow to be four feet long. That's almost four-fifths the height of the average American woman.