Fairmount Park System in Philadelphia
Whenever you travel to one of the nation’s historic cities, such as Philadelphia, you may wish for two things — a wonderful park system, such as Fairmount Park and a wonderful room in which to stay . Cities can easily be overwhelming when you see nothing but tall buildings and concrete sidewalks and asphalt streets. In Philadelphia, five squares are devoted to providing a touch of nature to the city. Once known by points on the compass (such as Centre Square, Northeast Square, and Southwest Square), they were later renamed Penn Square, Franklin Square, Logan Square, Rittenhouse Square, and Washington Square. All of these squares are contained within the Fairmount Park system.
Fairmount happens to be one of the biggest and oldest of city run park systems in the country; it contains 9,200 acres and within it you’ll find over 63 regional and neighborhood parks.
The park system contains over eight museums, including the Academy of Natural Sciences, the Fairmount Water Works, the American Swedish Historical Museum, the Franklin Institute Science Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Rodin Museum , the Please Touch Museum and the Ryerss Museum and Library.
It also contains a number of historic sites and buildings, such as the Strawberry Mansion, Wissahickon Hall, and the Ohio House. There are three centuries worth of architectural history within the park, and the Fairmount Park Commission is making efforts to maintain and manage these buildings. While many buildings have been preserved, more money and help is needed to continue these efforts and the Fairmount Park Commission is making an appeal, seeking out the support of the legislature and community groups to sustain their efforts.
Any visitor to Philadelphia could easily spend all his or her time inside the park system alone — especially considering the number of museums available — and have a terrific vacation in the city. Considering, too, that there are 36 great hotels to choose from, hotels which mirror the charm and atmosphere of the historic city, most visitors will truly find Philadelphia an excellent destination.
Shag’s Hawaii Style
Honolulu is a land of adventure, and it’s a place that’s desperately in need of conscious appreciations, where the links between the biodiversity in the area and the survival of the species are more concrete. At least for outsiders, because it’s something that the locals seem to have understood for a few generations now. It’s still one of the most magnificent spots on the planet, and visiting can bring an amazing sense of calm and wonder.
With the next wave of greening on the planet now in motion, it’s a good time to learn more about these places, and to understand their precarious balance in the scheme of things. Travelers coming to spend some time enjoying the great lodgings in Honolulu can experience all the wonder and still leave knowing more than when they came. This could be an important generation in terms of Hawaii’s history, and it would be a good benefit for the planet if consciousness was more widespread about these issues.
There is something of a fad for conspicuous consumption here, or at least, that’s the image that gets projected to the world, but it doesn’t have to be a living idea. The work of graphic artist Josh Agle is one fascinating place where image and reality can balance in a very unsettling way. The artist grew up here and in Southern California, where he is now based, and there are plenty of stereotypical Hawaiian themes running through his work.
The cartoon characters in his world are always consuming, eating, drinking, using lots of gas, and are seen at the most stylish spaces and having the most stylish of adventures. Shag , as he is better known, makes these worlds with a careful eye to situate them in an imaginary past. When we look at the colors and the patterns, it’s a brilliant moment for the eye and the mind. We see things that we like to see, and want to be the people in the scenes he’s creating, but it takes a little time before it sinks in that this is a vapid universe, and the smiles on the people are phony. Or, if there’s anything genuine happening here, it’s always being watched by wolves.
These are careful artistic statements, presenting an irony that is never enough in itself, and seem to be provoking the viewer toward reflection, and even action.
Singapore’s Mermaids
When I am tired, in a good way, I like to think about mermaids and how they might like travel as much as anyone. This is the kind of tired that happens not after a trauma, and not after a sleepless night, but after a long and busy day. The days that revolve around exploring and following the nose, as if there were something around every corner. In Singapore, there are enough moments where this is true, and there are enough corners to keep it in the realm of the fantastic. On this particular afternoon, there was a mermaid’s fan that reminded me of you, and that’s all it took for me to start looking.
I would imagine that it’s probably likely that you’re far from here, and much farther than I would like to imagine right now. I have to be able to look with a small chance that I’ll be lucky enough to succeed in my search. I think you remember what I mean. There were times when we would argue about sea lions and dugongs , and how I thought they were close enough to mermaids to inspire a search. You always thought it was a moment of wishful thinking on the part of the lonely sailors, but a moment that lasted less than a moment usually lasts.
Singapore is always shorter than it seems. The city shows frayed ends before the trip is ever over, and time gets strange. One last look at the art, one last Chinese Lunch , and one last look at the water. There is something here, always, just below the surface. It’s like the way I catch sight of you on every corner, and see your boots just as you’re turning away, and before I can get to the corner, everything has changed, and you are gone. It doesn’t matter here, on this sleepy day, when the things of dreams might bring mermaids back to shore.
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