Discover Kansas City

Known as the “Heart of America”, Kansas City doesn’t just get its nickname because it is located within 250 miles of both the geographic and population centers of the nation; the city will charm you with its big-hearted graciousness and hospitality. And the heart of KC is the Central Station. Start your discover from here!

Quick Tip: KC is a city that doesn’t take care of boundaries. Be sure, at least in the first day here, where the hotel is. It is not good at all, after 23 hours trip, to take a cab, to know that your hotel is near 100-th Street and the taxi driver to ask:
      110-th? Where?
      In Kansas City, OF COURSE!!!
      Yes, but in Missouri or in Kansas?
I answer, in doubt, according with what I knew from a searching engine: "MO". But the address was on the other... state.

From Pacific to North Sea

San Francisco, city and port, coextensive with San Francisco county, northern California, U.S., is located at the northern end of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay. It is a cultural and financial centre of the western United States and one of the country's most cosmopolitan cities. Economic life in San Francisco is dominated by service industries, many of which are geared toward the city's large numbers of tourists. Finance and international trade also constitute important parts of the economy.

Serving as the constitutional capital and principal city of the Netherlands, Amsterdam lies on the IJ (an arm of the IJsselmeer). It is divided by canals into about 90 islands joined by about 400 bridges. Almost the entire city rests on a foundation of piles driven through peat and sand to a firm substratum of clay. Amsterdam is Europe's second largest port and one of its most important commercial centers. Leading industries in the city include shipbuilding, sugar refining, publishing, and the manufacture of heavy machinery, paper products, textiles and clothing, porcelain and glass, aircraft, cars, and chemicals. Amsterdam has been an important centre of European cultural life since the 17th century.

The link between these two towns? A KLM direct flight plus 10 and a half hours journey.

Remembering Monterey: Touch of ocean life

We all (I hope) imagine a world in which the oceans are healthy and people are committed to protecting the integrity of Earth’s natural systems, which sustain us all. To help make this vision a reality, Monterey Bay Aquarium creates a program that introduce people to the wonders of the marine world, from Monterey Bay to the vast oceans beyond. The exhibition focus on living exhibits and seeks to maximize opportunities for visitors to encounter, discover and observe ocean life.

The aquarium project was initiated in 1977 by a group of four marine biologists at Stanford's Hopkins Marine Station in Pacific Grove and was opened October 20, 1984 in Hovden Cannery factory. (The cannery closed in 1972. The sardine fishery had collapsed, and the market for canned squid was insufficient to support continued operation of the cannery.)

Almost 300,000 individual plants and animals, approximately 550 species, 1.5 millions liters of water only in one aquarium, 30 centimeters glass thick, 1.8 millions of visitors per year. These are only few figures on this impressive exhibition.

Monterey Bay Aquarium is a real touch of ocean life!

(Notes from a trip in March 2002)

Remembering Yosemite: Mist Trail

Yosemite Park is famous for its majestic waterfalls. Most notably are Bridal Veil, Vernal and Yosemite Falls. The best time to see them is in late spring, when winter snows melt into surging runoff and a raging plunge of mist and rainbows.

Vernal Falls is a little difficult to get to, but the spectacular views are well worth it. Make sure to take a poncho, as the spray is tremendous and you will definitely get wet.

The nearest parking is at around 3.1 km from the top of the Vernal Fall. You can divide your trail in 4 parts: 0.7 km to the rout sign (it is like a promenade in a town park), 1.3 km to Vernal Falls bridge (the “nothing” part), 0.6 km to the point where you’ll need the poncho (the “something” part) and the rest 0.5 km (the real trail). Good luck!

(Notes from a trip in April 2002)

I was there...

A strange location... Liquids don't always stay in their tubes... If fumes get thick, you can't open a window for fresh air... 378 km away racing by at 7.5 km/s.... kind of an ecologist's dream house... operates as a "ship in a bottle," cut off from the outside world... on Nov. 2, 2001 - one full year of continuous international human presence... grown from a 70-ton to a 150-ton complex with more volume than a three-bedroom house. This is the largest international engineering project ever undertaken in space. This is ISS (International Space Station).

And YES, I was there... from he comfort of an Earth seat, from the comfort of IMAX theatre.

Unlike traditional flat-screen IMAX theaters features a giant eight story domed screen and six-channel, digital wrap around sound with 13,000 watts of power coming from 44 speakers. It seats 295 people in special reclining chairs that accentuate the feeling of actually being in the movie. The Hackworth IMAX Dome Theater is the only theater of its kind in Northern California. It is located on The Tech's new home, a stunning landmark in downtown San Jose's skyline.

Welcome to bear country!

In 1851, a battalion of Indian fighters wandered into Yosemite Valley as the first non-natives to see this landscape. Their descriptions of it ensured they would not be the last. Yosemite Valley is today the centerpiece of California's Yosemite National Park. Sprayed by thousand-foot waterfalls and framed by monumental granite spires, it is a famous glacially carved landscape in the world.

Lights in the night in San Francisco

A night ride always has a perfume of mystery...

Near sky

A non-expensive place to have a bird-eye view of San Francisco is Bank of America Building. You pay for a coffee, you drink it and you admire the near-sky-images.

Giant Dipper Santa Cruz

The Giant Dipper, a wooden roller coaster built in 1924, with speeds up to 55 MPH, create an amazing ride almost for everyone. (When Arthur Looff built the Giant Dipper, he envisioned a coaster which would be a "combination earthquake, balloon ascension and airplane drop".) Come and take a ride! (Sorry for not having photos from the ride: I manage only till first peak...)

Symbol

Golden Gate Bridge, symbol of San Francisco, is the subject of many photographs. How can you visit San Francisco and not see it?

For many years, the only way to get across San Francisco Bay was by ferry, and by the early twentieth century the Bay was clogged with ferries. In the 1920s, engineer and bridge-builder Joseph Strauss became convinced that a bridge should be constructed across the Golden Gate. The construction began in 1933 and it was completed in 1937.

The best way to explore the Golden Gate Bridge is to walk across the bridge if you can. The traffic is noisy, but you can’t really appreciate the bridge unless you’ve walked on it, at least a little way. At mid-span you are 220 feet above the water's surface. Pedestrians are allowed on the bridge during daylight hours. The pedestrian bridge is on the city-facing side of the bridge, while bicyclists are restricted to the ocean-facing side.

If you drive a car, you’ll find a free parking lot on the north side. Note that there is no toll on the bridge going north (out of the city), but there is a toll southbound.

Drop, twist, bank and curl

Earthquake, balloon ascension and airplane drop... spinning pendulum... interactive pilot... blast into space... adventure experience... quick hairpin curves... up and down thrilling camel-back hills... high-flying... 360-degree vertical loop... zero gravity roll... and much more. This is PARAMOUNT'S GREAT AMERICA in Northern California, the most thrilling theme park with more than 50 thrill rides, coasters and other attractions free with admission.

Birds invade Santa Cruz!

The film, "The Birds", was directed by Alfred Hitchcock and was released in 1963. Two years earlier, a real life "invasion" of birds occurred in Santa Cruz. The event was reported in the Santa Cruz Sentinel on August 18, 1961.

"Residents, especially in the Pleasure Point and Capitola area were awakened about 3 a.m. today by the rain of birds, slamming against their homes. Dead, and stunned seabirds littered the streets and roads in the foggy, early dawn. Startled by the invasion, residents rushed out on their lawns with flashlights, then rushed back inside, as the birds flew toward their light. . . .

When the light of day made the area visible, residents found the streets covered with birds. The birds disgorged bits of fish and fish skeletons over the streets and lawns and housetops, leaving an overpowering fishy stench. . . .

The most learned explanation of the bird tragedy came this morning from Ward Russell, museum zoologist at the University of California. He said the shearwaters generally live in the southern hemisphere. As far as they are concerned this is their winter flocking area. Often when they are disturbed while feeding they will rise in flocks from the water. A blinding fog covered the coast last night and this morning.

'They probably became confused and lost and headed for the light', he said. The only light available was the street lights and overnight lights in some homes and businesses. . . .

Russell said that this is a fairly rare phenomena and it takes certain atmospheric conditions to cause this confusion. He said that during very foggy conditions the lighthouses along the coast are struck by the thousands of seabirds."

Hitchcock made "The Birds" in the Bay area.

Fisherman's Wharf

Fisherman's Wharf was built in 1846 for the many trading vessels bringing goods from around Cape Horn. At that time, Monterey was the major port on the Pacific Ocean. In the following years, the booming whale industry took over the pier, but it was the tiny sardine that made Monterey an industry leader. Now Fisherman's Wharf plays host to visitors seeking a taste of history and the finest fresh seafood dinners, it is a place for whale watching and fishing trips. It should come as no surprise that the wharf is one of the best places to buy fresh fish!

Pacific Sunset

"There's a sunrise and a sunset every single day, and they're absolutely free. Don't miss so many of them." - Jo Walton

Mystery

I took a flight from San Francisco CA to Amsterdam (The Nederland, Europe). About two hours after takeoff, I made these photos. (I’m not an American and it was my first flight on this route, so I don’t know where I was on that moment). What can it be? Any idea?

Answer: The green circles are typical of irrigated land or fields where the irrigation equipment pivots around a well pipe. The spray equipment slowly revolves, but only sprays water under the area reached by the spray heads. Since it is anchored on one end, it can only revolve in a circle. This pattern is very typical of midwestern areas of USA not possessing natural abundance of water from rainfall, but having underground sources that can be used for irrigation.

Pier 39

PIER 39 is located on the northernmost point of the San Francisco peninsula. It provides visitors with unique views of Alcatraz, the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges, the San Francisco Bay and the City skyline.

PIER 39 celebrated its 32nd Anniversary Extravaganza on October 4, 2010, a fun-filled day of reminiscing about what led to making PIER 39 its present day success as the premier festival marketplace on San Francisco Bay.

Green Path in Redwood

Try for one day to change the town asphalt with the beautiful of the nature: the same difficulty for a walk, but with fresh air and handsome surroundings. All these, in San Jose vicinity: Big Basin Redwoods State Park, the California's oldest State Park, established in 1902, home to the largest continuous stand of ancient coast redwoods south of San Francisco. The park has over 80 miles of trails. Pick up a map at park headquarters before your hike. Good luck!

Spring in Santa Cruz

Spring is probably the most beautiful season on Earth. It is the beginning of new life, the beginning of new love...

Fish and History

Abundance of fish and wildlife plus other natural resources attract people from old time to live in Monterey Peninsula. Very little things are known about the First People who settled here. Several of their village sites have been identified and preserved.

Historical records indicate that Monterey was "discovered" again by Spanish on 1542. In December 1602, Sebastian Viscaino officially named the port "Monterey", in honor of the Viceroy of New Spain who had ordered his expedition. In 1776, Spain named Monterey as the capital of Baja (lower) and Alta (upper) California. In April, 1822, the people of Monterey learned that Mexico had seceded from Spain; California pledged allegiance to the Mexican Government. While Spain had not allowed foreigners to trade with California, Mexico opened up the area to international trade, and Monterey was made California’s sole port of entry. The booming trade, especially with New England, brought a number of Americans to Monterey. Many of them married into Mexican families, and became Mexican citizens. In 1842 the United States established a consulate in Monterey and Thomas Larkin was appointed its first consul.

In July, 1846, Commodore John Drake Sloat’s flagship arrived in Monterey Bay and his troops raised the American flag, claiming the region for the United States. This began a period of American occupation that lasted until the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed in 1848, making all of Alta California part of the United States. This included the land now known as California, Utah, Nevada, and parts of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming. In 1850, the U.S. Congress voted to adopt California as the thirty-first state of the Union.

The Monterey modern history is very closed link with sardine and cannery.

A Chinese fishing village was established in the early 1850's and was devastated by fire in 1906. Monterey's first major canning operation had begun next to "Fisherman's Wharf " when F.E. Booth's sardine canning experiment was matched with the skill of Sicilian fishermen and "lampara" fishing techniques. Booth's early development of sardine packing depended on innovative and inventive personnel, many of whom went on to own or operate other canneries, all of which were forced to locate away from the harbor, along a rocky stretch of coastline out toward the Chinatown near Pacific Grove.

The rutty, unpaved coastal road from Monterey to Pacific Grove grew to host the sardine factories that for half a century would dominate Monterey history and commerce. But decades of warnings and urgent appeals for study and conservation had been ignored, ridiculed and discredited. Wartime patriotic fervor had done little to encourage either conservation or attention to what scientists knew too well: Cannery was about to commit suicide. The last sardine catch was packed in 1964, with the last operating cannery, the Hovden Food Products Corp. (now the Monterey Bay Aquarium) closing its doors in 1973.

Wine Trail

Napa County is situated in Northern California at the northeastern tip of San Francisco Bay. The county's primary industries are winegrape growing, wine production and tourism. There is little development in the county itself. The result is an attractive place for residents to live and tourists to visit.

The original inhabitants of the valley were the Wappo. The name Wappo was given by the Spanish and probably derived from the Spanish word "guapo", meaning "handsome." The natives were here at least 4,000 years before the Spaniards arrived. In 1831 there were an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 living in the valley. Most later lost their lives to cholera and smallpox, as well as to attacks by white men. There are still surviving Wappos in Napa, Sonoma and Lake counties.

The first American settler in the Napa Valley was George Yount. He arrived in 1831. He planted the first grapevines in the Napa Valley. The vines were from Mexico; but only in 1860’s the higher quality European winegrapes were introduced.

The wealth of post-Gold Rush San Francisco created a huge demand for wine, and by 1891 there were 619 vineyards throughout the valley. The wineries survived economic depression and the disease of phylloxera but were no match for Prohibition, the United States' "Great Experiment" of declaring alcoholic beverages not just immoral but illegal. Prohibition closed almost every Napa Valley winery. The few that survived provided medicinal wine or sacramental wine for churches. Vineyards were ripped out and replaced by prune and walnut orchards. Today there are more than 200 wineries throughout the county. The wine is always delicious.