One of the biggest and most famous landmarks in New York City throughout the US is the iconic Empire State Building. It attracts over 4 million visitors every year, which in comparison is about half as many people that live in the entirety of Manhattan. If you are doing your math, that means that around 11,000 visitors go up the ESB every single day. This means a whole lot of elevator rides. What it also means is that the Empire State building … [Read more...]
The Bar with no Name – New York City
Coming to loggerheads with an obvious British actor at an anonymous Irish bar in TriBeCa is like slumming it for a short story. . . . “What do you call this place anyway?” I asked over a pint of Harp at an attractive antique bar with no name in TriBeCa on West Broadway below Canal Street. “We haven’t decided on a name yet.” The bartender, who resembled Tom Jones, was drying glasses. His name was “Seamus” (as in Seamus Heaney, translator … [Read more...]
Los Angeles Exploration and Public Transportation
Los Angeles and public transportation seem to be diametrically opposed, but the City of Angels does have a well-placed system of buses accessible from numerous reaches of this large metropolis. Yet, the use of public transportation here, unlike many other major cities is unfortunately rooted in classism; people of a certain social strata do not take the bus. This bias seems frivolous, as the buses are clean, cheap and fairly easy to access and … [Read more...]
Charles Addams Family Values
John M. Edwards, a paparazzo of the paranormal, stalks the The New Yorker’s most famous and fiendish poltergeist cartoonist back to his moody hometown: Westfield, New Jersey. “Give me a place to stand on, and I will have the earth.” --ARCHIMEDES In Westfield, New Jersey, I finally found the moody manse of cartoonist Charles Addams, probably The New Yorker’s most famous and fiendish cartoonist, and also the inspiration for the TV series … [Read more...]
The El Is Swell @ New York City’s High Line Park
Manhattan Island’s newly reopened urban greenway “High Line Park,” perched on an abandoned “el” track stretching back into time, boldly reclaims renewal by rescuing ruins. “I love it: It’s a piquino paradise in the sky!!” raves Zoraida Robinson, a hard-working Puerto Rican immigrant with an eye for al fresco retreats. “Here we can get away from the city without leaving the city.” The aerial Eden that Zoraida is praising is Manhattan … [Read more...]
A Fine Bit of Madness
Near the end of the film, Zorba the Greek, Zorba dances by himself. His arms are spread out and his hands are open towards heaven. He shouts, “Everybody needs a little madness.” Well, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. I had just spent five days camping at a Good Sam rally in Centreville, Michigan. Although the staff members were welcoming, the participants warm and friendly and there were plenty of activities and lots of entertainment, … [Read more...]
Stowe’s Simple Surprises
Sometimes luxury is in the simple things. Driving the last ten miles along Route 100 toward Stowe, Vermont, I was entering another way of life. There are no sky-scrapers, no fast-food chains, no billboards or even back-lit signs. There are independent little one- and two-storey shops, selling cheeses and maple syrups and cider doughnuts. I pulled into the parking lot at the recently renovated Topnotch Resort and Spa and quickly ducked … [Read more...]
Postcard from Cahuita: Wish You Were Here on the “Rich Coast” (Costa Rica)
John M. Edwards succumbs to the lures and snares of Costa Rica’s Caribbean “ecotourism,” instead of “narcissism,” in a relatively wealthy country translating literally as “Rich Coast.” I stood in a state of stupefaction, eavesdropping on a few randomundocumented locals who looked like they were engaging in a slapping fight—except with warm smiles of nonrecognition on their faces, maybe ganja buzzes. “Hey, mon, wha’appen!” “Wa’appen, … [Read more...]
I Left my Box in San Francisco
Chocolate lover John M. Edwards muses over why the travel magazine "trips" went out of business in San Francisco, apparently because of a typo, as well as some other funny ass shit. In Haight-Ashbury, once the center of the 1960s Hippy Flower Power Movement, I came upon a hawker selling unique chicken-claw pipes. I purchased one and held it up in the light as he passed me a tape of Ry Cooder, the famous slide guitarist who taught Keith … [Read more...]
5 Honolulu Highlights
After several visits to Kauai, Maui, Molokai and the Big Island of Hawaii, I finally had a chance to visit Oahu, the most populated of the Hawaiian Islands and home to the state capital of Honolulu. My travel opportunity came with an invitation to Honolulu to attend the launch of the new Hawaiian Airlines World Elite MasterCard issued by Barclaycard. Although primarily a business trip, I got a wonderful taste of what Honolulu has to offer leisure … [Read more...]
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