The Big Apple

                                                           

I have a lot of friends and family who’ve traveled to the bustling city of New York City on many occasions. They all come back praising the city and eager to share their adventures there. I can say honestly say that until this past Sunday, I was unable to give an honest opinion about the place...oh I’ve been there...or close to it...many times, but never dipped my toes, so to speak.

                                                      

                    

The first time I had the chance, ‘had’ being the operative word here, to visit NY was almost forty-seven years ago. I was newly married to husband #1. We decided to join his cousin and his wife one night for dinner and somehow the plan was hatched to take a quick ride to New York and check out the sights. This was before google maps and GPS devices. The car we rode up in was already exhibiting signs of an early death, but when you’re young...you’re adventurous and stupid.

                                                       

Did we take a map? Nope! Did we have enough gas? Yeah, right!  No, we just jumped into the car and headed north. We had been on the road for some time when cousin shouts out, “I think that’s the Brooklyn Bridge.”

Wow, the Brooklyn Bridge! I was so excited to see the bright lights and the fabled Times Square. Did I mention that we didn’t take a map? After the fourth time of driving over the Brooklyn Bridge and not knowing where the hell we were, or why we kept winding up at that stupid bridge, we gave up and headed home.

Big Apple Part 2

My second husband had no desire to visit New York, ever. He was a Philadelphia Fire Fighter until he retired and also had a side job as a truck driver. His experience with traffic, as a truck driver, had turned him off to ever visiting the place. Luckily, I was working at the Academy of Natural Sciences and our volunteers were treated to a yearly outing. One of the outings was to New York’s Museum of Natural Sciences. I had finally made it to the city, but because we were on a schedule, did not get to see the city itself.

Big Apple Part 3

Would I ever get to see the city? I had another opportunity to go to New York a couple of years ago, when my granddaughter, Allie Gilbert, was attending Moore College of Art and Design. She was part of their big yearly fashion show and needed some swatches. She wanted me to keep her company. I was so excited to be asked to go with her, but while on the Mega Bus, it began to rain...let me rephrase this...it was a monsoon! Luckily I had an umbrella, but that was lost quickly in the crowd. My velour jumpsuit was soaking wet and hanging from my body as my granddaughter dragged me from one fabric store to another.

                                 Camden Comic Con                             

We were on a tight schedule as the bus did not wait for anyone and Allie had to be back in time for a class. At one point, I asked, “Allie, are we near Time’s Square?”

Her reply, “It’s that way, Grandmom, but we don’t have the time to visit.” She took hold of my hand and continued pulling me from one street to the next. Big sigh...I arrived back in Philly, soggy, cold, and doomed, so I thought, to never enjoy New York.

Big Apple Part 4

My friend, Jean, and her husband Rich travel to New York all the time. Rich was born and raised there and, Jean had worked and lived in the city for many years. Traffic did not bother them; they were experts at dodging crazy drivers. Jean needed to visit two big beads shops in order to make charms for dog and cat collars. This is something she is planning on selling. I'll let you know when.

                                                                 

Jean asked me if I would like to come spend the day with them. “Will we actually be able to walk around and visit some of the tourist spots,” I asked, as flashbacks of the ‘swatch’ collecting debacle flashed through my mind.

                                     Jean & Marie at the Grand Central Station                     

Jean’s assurance that we would see as much as possible sealed the deal and I went with her. I had a ball! We did visit the two stores and then visited Grand Central Station, Rockefeller Plaza, St. Patrick’s Cathedral and finally had drinks at the Tavern on the Green in Grand Central Park. We even met the very hospitable Proprietor of the Tavern, Jim Caiola.

                                                             

                          

I finally got to see the Big Apple in style and, I’m going back with Jean to visit even more places once this heat wave passes. I loved New York City, but guess what? NYC reminded me a lot of my own home town, Philadelphia. The City of Brotherly Love has pretty much all the razzle and dazzle that the Big Apple offers, only smaller and less congested.

                                                                 

 

I’m going to visit the Big Apple again, but you can bet that I’ll be encouraging the people of New York to come visit our Little Apple.

                                                           

                    

Dockside Comdominiums And Waterfront History with Harry Kyriakodis

                                                          

Yesterday I headed out to the beautiful Dockside Condominium as a guest of Harry Kyriakodis, a fellow writer. Harry was there to promote his book, “Philadelphia’s Lost Waterfront” and he invited me to sell my apocalyptic book, Roof Oasis, after he was done his presentation.

                                                                 

This was my first time at the Dockside and I was quite impressed with the building’s exterior and interior design. The meeting room on the fourth floor where Harry and I were to do our presentation has the most stunning view of the waterfront.
                                                                    

  
I only took inside photos of the view because it was too windy and way too cold to go on the large balcony; next time, I’ll brave the outdoors.

                                                                     

            

The lovely people in charge of events at the Dockside had a wonderful buffet of sandwiches and desserts for this presentation. The room was packed with people interested in learning about Philadelphia’s lost waterfront history that was primarily done away with when interstate 95 was built, which is sad considering the history that was covered up by progress.

                                                                         

Harry proceeded to give an in-depth history of the ports of the Delaware River from the time of William Penn to present day. Philadelphia became the first major shipping port in North America, but Harry’s presentation which included a historical slide show was more about the people, rich and poor, who made their livelihood from the businesses that grew because of the seaport trade. 
 

                                                                     

I love history and this was one of the best presentations I’ve seen in a while. Due to time constrictions, I am being invited back to the Dockside to do a book signing at a later time. I will let everyone know when I do. You’ll want to see this beautiful building that sits on the very dock that was part of Harry’s historical presentation.

                                                                          

To learn more about my friend Harry Kyriakodis, check out his website, Hidden City, on Facebook and on Twitter.

And to learn more about the Dockside Condominiums check out their website.

My book, Roof Oasis, is the first in a series of books about the apocalypse, but with a twist. Think of it as Romeo and Juliet meet "The Walking Dead" written by Jules Verne. You can find the book on Amazon and Amazon/Kindle. Book two, Saving Solanda, will be out this summer.

You can find my writing on my blog and on Biff Bam Pop

Bloody Boo Boo's & History Done Funny

                                                        

For those of my readers that already don’t know this about me, I’m a member of the Zombie Squad. That said, I’ve made sure that my house is equipped and ready to ‘Bug In’ and in case I need to leave the house; I have a ‘Bug Out’ bag.

Every home should be equipped with the needed supplies to survive at least for two weeks in case of a major disaster; think of hurricane Katrina, or more recently, Sandy. If a disaster occurs, be it natural or human, you might not be able to count on the Government to get to you in time. Be Prepared! I have all my supplies, plus a generator in case we lose power for long periods. I'm all set, but I needed to update my 'Bug Out' bag so I purchased a small axe and a good compass. Did I mention that I'm accident prone? I am, and when I tried to take off the leather case that covered the axe, I almost took off my thumb.

                                                                 

It took a very long time to stop the bleeding. My husband was not amused. “You’re going to kill yourself before the first zombie makes an appearance.” He might be right. I finally stopped the bleeding after what seemed like forever and then wrapped my thumb in three Band-Aids.

                                                                    

                                                                                                  

I had plans to go out with my friend and editor, Patti O’Brien, to visit with her friends, Trish and Andy Maunder of Philly Tour Hub, which is the umbrella organization for Awfully Nice Tours, Urban Adventures and Philly by Segway.

                                                                     

Andy Maunder

You can check out everything they have to offer at: http://www.awfullynicetours.com/Home.aspx It was their grand opening at a new site and the Maunders, on this special occasion were presenting a free show called "History Done Funny" www.historydonefunny.com  by the fabulous team of Owen Timoney and Kaylah Fitzgerald.

                                                                      

                                               Kaylah Fitzgerald and Owen Timoney

Owen and Kaylah, who are part of the Madcap Theater, put on two shows this past Friday night. I love History, but it was so much fun to hear Owen and Kaylah tell the story of our country's beginnings. They did a great job of explaining important events with humor, costumes, music, and the participation of the audience.

                                                                        

 

Patti and I were not only fortunate to be part of the audience, but we even had bit parts in the show. I got to play George Washington and Patti played a proper British woman. We had a ball. Owen and Kaylah were amazing.

                                                                           

 

                                                            

After the show, Patti and I enjoyed the sights and sounds of  Philly's First Friday Event  http://www.visitphilly.com/events/philadelphia/first-friday/ There were vendors, musicians, and artists selling their wares and the night was alive with excitement. You have to go to the next First Friday Event. You won't be sorry. Patti and I even had our faces painted. Meow!!!

                                                                 

Before heading home, we stopped into a store known for its excellent ice cream sundaes and milkshakes. Patti had a milkshake while I did a mini ghost investigation. I sensed a spirit there, and one of the staff did confirm some strange occurrences. Patti was surprised that I had sensed the spirit, but the dead always find me. The man (ghost) had worked as a sailor when alive. Why he was haunting the ice cream store, I'm not sure. Didn't have time to do a good investigation, but if I was going to haunt anything, it would be an Ice Cream store:)

                                                                        

I'll be back at the Philly Tour Hub soon, to promote my apocalyptic book, Roof Oasis, which you can buy from Amazon. My granddaughter will be visiting me from Sheridan Wyoming and I know just the place to take her for a Segway ride through the city. Check out Philly Tour Hub and book an adventure. You won't be sorry.

Dan the Snowman

                                                                         

My husband is a retired Philadelphia Fireman/Paramedic; served thirty-four years and loved every minute. We moved to Audubon, New Jersey after he retired. While living in South Philadelphia, we would often get knocks on our door during all times of the day and night. Neighbors knew he was a paramedic and would seek his help if one of the younger neighbors overdosed or if someone was having chest pains. Things haven’t changed that much since moving to New Jersey.

                                                                  

Our neighbors here have also called on Dan for help whenever they needed help, be it lifting a fallen spouse or in the case of another neighbor; finding their spouse unresponsive. Dan has the aura about him that lets people feel comfortable when in trouble.

                                                                     

A few years back, I was worried about my husband using a shovel to dig out from under a particularly heavy snowstorm back in 2009. I bought him a large snow blower so he wouldn’t kill himself shoveling. Funny thing happened. As soon as I bought the snow blower, we stopped getting snowstorms. Oh sure, we had snow, but nothing like we’ve had so far this year.

                                                                      

This year was different. Too much snow and no breaks in between. We have a few neighbors that are unable to shovel this snow due to a litany of health reasons. Every time we’re hit with another storm, my husband gets out the snow blower, and after doing our house, does our neighbors houses too.

                                                                           

Today we got hit hard and sure enough, my husband was out there with the snow blower. The neighbors are happy and so is my husband; he likes helping.

                                                                   

                                                          

Me…I’m ready to move south of the border. I’m not a snow bunny.

Searching for Gems At The Wissahickon Creek

                                                                        

I wrote a blog about a good friend of mine, Cathy Young, who runs the Mid-Atlantic Fossil and Nature Adventures. She has the most amazing trips and if you want to learn about nature, geology, fossils and minerals, then this is the site for you.

                                                                              

This past Saturday and the last day of August, my two ghost hunting buddies and I joined several other people in the parking lot of the Valley Green Inn at Wissahickon Creek in Philadelphia. This area is part of the larger Fairmount Park System. The Wissahickon Creek is known for its unique rock formation called Wissahickon schist. This is the predominant bedrock underlying the Philadelphia region. This is a Precambrian and Cambrian stone that has flecks of mica and small garnets. The creek is also known for its Triassic sandstone and shale along with layers of quartzite and metamorphic rocks. What’s really neat is that these rocks were all pushed up when the continent of Africa was colliding into North America. 

                                                               

Okay, we’re done with the science lesson and now back to the trip. Karenne Snow, who is a Geologist and author of New Jersey Wildlife Viewing Guide and the  co-author of, Gem Trails of Pa and NJ started off the adventure by showing us the different types of rocks we would be looking for. We headed out on the first leg of the hike, all excited and geared to gathered as many garnets and maybe some kyanites as we could carry.

                                                                              

The trail started off easy, but then got steeper… for me at least. This was how the hill appeared to me and my friends:
                                                                                      

                                                                                  
                                                                  
                                                                           Actual hill size

                                     This was going to be harder than tackling wayward spirits.

                        We stopped to look for garnets, which were all over the site.
                                                                                

                                                Rita, Karenne, and the group looking for garnets
                              

                                     Rita and I huffing and puffing after reaching the top of the hill
                                                                         

                                                     Rita and Jean planning our escape
 The other members of the group had to practically carry us down the hill, brave souls. Thank you Sue and Don and Karenne!

                                                                 

Did I mention that Rita had a bad knee and I can’t walk and chew gum at the same time?  Even Jean, who is sure-footed like a mountain goat, was wiped out by the time the group made their way  down to level ground. Maybe it was because I kept knocking Jean down as I tripped over every pebble in the trail.  I'm so out of shape!

                                                                          

When the group broke for lunch, and before heading to the other side of the bridge for the second leg of the expedition, Rita, Jean and I escaped!
                                                                              

We were scruffy looking, dirty, sweaty, and in need of sustenance. We decided to have lunch at the Inn; a liquid lunch.
                                                                           

                                                                          
You had to see the expression of the hostess and waiters' faces as we entered the restaurant.
                                                                      

                                                                          
                          I hope the others aren’t still looking for us, but thankfully, the drinks did help. 

                                                                              

There will be more trips coming up and we intend to go to the next one, but if there are hills to climb, we have two choices; get into shape, or....wait for them at the bar. Only kidding, I love hiking. Below you'll find information on our illustrious and knowledgeable guide.


Karenne Snow became interested in geology in High School in Oklahoma, where she took her first class.  She majored in geology in college at Rutgers.  She worked in Malacology at The Academy of Natural Sciences, then went to the Museum side and became a Teacher/Naturalist, and then Public Programs Coordinator.  While with the Academy, she led many trips – “Expeditions for Everyone.”  She mainly ran birding and canoe trips for them at that time.

Karenne also ran programs and trips for the Pinelands Commission of NJ, and the Nature Conservancy.  She’s the Past President of the Burlington County Natural Sciences Club.  She has run programs for the Burlington County Earth Fair and the Burlington County Park System.

 With Cathy Young, with both The Academy of Natural Sciences and for Med-Atlantic Fossil and Nature Adventures, she has led many mineral and fossil collecting trips, and birding and canoe trips.  She’s even leading a mineral and gem trip for Cathy in NC this summer.


Karenne is the Past President of the Philadelphia Mineralogical Society, Author of NJ Wildlife Viewing Guide, and Co-Author of Gem Trails of PA and NJ.

Hope to see you on the next trip!!!!

 

         

 

Under Glass, A Victorian Obsession

                                                                  

Calling all lovers of science! The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University is hosting a free event featuring Author John Whitenight on Tuesday, October 8th at 6:30 p.m. The event will take place at the Academy of Natural Sciences on 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19103

 

 

                                                                      

 

 

 

Spend an evening at The Academy of Natural Sciences with author John Whitenight as he explores the role that natural history played in the everyday lives of people from the 19th Century. During that era an obsession developed with the natural world which has never been surpassed. Mr. Whitenight will be sharing images and information from his book, Under Glass, A Victorian Obsession, which is a comprehensive study of the incredible array of objects that were created and presented under glass. Included will be botanical arrangements made from wax and sea shells as well as domes and cases filled with beautiful birds of every description. The focus will be on how the Victorians not only embraced natural history but included it in their home décor.

 

                                                                          

 

John Whitenight was born over 50 years ago in a small upstate Pennsylvania town. By the time he was five years old he had developed an avid interest in art. This continued into his teenage years when he decided he would explore this talent further and ultimately share it with others by pursuing an Art Education degree. Upon graduation he began his art teaching career in a senior high school where he remained for the next 30 years eventually becoming the chairperson of the department. During this period he also acquired a Masters equivalence in decorative arts-related studies in Philadelphia where he now resides.

                                                                          

Always a collector of Victoriana, one fateful day in 1973 friends gave him a small glass dome containing three canaries. The following decades have been rich with the study of the why and wherefore of these lovely domed items. Currently, the author’s collection contains over 175 domed displays ranging in height from four inches to some over a meter in height.

http://www.ansp.org/Visit/Events/Details/?eid=3610&iid=12123


I'm sending a shout out to all my Steampunk friends; this is a lecture that would interest you. To all my Facebook, Twitter and Google friends, check out the Academy of Natural Sciences' site for the listing of all their family friendly events. Tell them Steampunk Granny sent you.

Steampunk's Awesome "The Gilded Festival" in November

                                                                  

Okay, my little Steampunk aficionados, I have some big news. No! The zombie apocalypse did not begin. Don't worry, I have my katana ready. This news is about the big festival coming up at the end of November. The brains behind this big event is our ever talented Gil Cnaan. He's responsible for Dorian's Parlor, and the very popular Steampunk events held in Philadelphia. I had the chance to interview Gil about "The Gilded Festival" and I'm excited to share the big news with you.
                                                                        

You all know how much I love Steampunk and in fact I posted about the last Dorian's Event on Biff Bam Pop! But this is really big news and I'm so excited.


                                                                     

                                                                                                                             


Now, my lovelies, let me introduce you to the one and only Gil Cnaan, Mr. Steampunk, himself!


What is “The Gilded Festival? Where? When?

The Gilded Festival is what happens when the staff at Dorian's Parlor say "We love doing this event, and wish it would never end!  We also wish that we could be open to a broader variety of ages, and have more performers, and more vendors, and more food, and more of everything!"  It will occur on Thanksgiving weekend, Friday November 29-Sunday December 1, at the Doubletree of Valley Forge/King of Prussia.  

 

What performers and venders can we expect to see at the Gilded Festival?

The list of performers and vendors is constantly being updated, but our preliminary performers include:

Voltaire

Mr. B. The Gentleman Rhymer

Walter Sickert and the Army of Broken Toys

The Divine Hand Ensemble

Coghead (DJs Kiltboy, Dave Ghoul, and Cub)

Psyche Corporation

Steampunk Boba Fett

Phineas Phlensing, Esq.

Countess Lenora

and many more.

In addition, we are looking at the potential of having multiple fashion shows, as well as an interactive panel about the historical fashions that influenced modern Steampunk styles, as well as a variety of other interactive experiences.  There will also be clockwork egg hunts, as well as a whole track of family oriented programming that is currently being worked on by the director of programming while this interview is happening. 

We will also have two catered events that we are very excited about.  The first of which will be a kickoff dinner, The Orphan's Dinner, which will be a Thanksgiving style meal for those who are around Friday afternoon.  On Saturday, we plan on serving a high tea.  We are currently negotiating menus and prices with the hotel, and hope to announce those soon.

What inspired you to create this event?

I've always enjoyed doing weekend events, and felt that waiting a full year for Steampunk World's Fair to come back again was just unbearable, so I thought it might be nice to have something 6 months away, so that there's always a big event to look forward to.


What will the visitors see when they arrive?   

Hopefully they'll see a bustling group of people going to various exciting shows (2 stages, an interactive room, and various wandering performances), patronizing exciting vendors (3 vendor rooms are currently planned for), socializing with each other, and having delicious food and drink.

Will this be something that you'll be doing each year?

If this goes well, not only am I planning to continue this as an annual tradition, but there are several other weekend events I am looking at launching.  So if people want to see more great weekend events in the greater Philadelphia area, get tickets, and get them soon.  The sooner I sell enough tickets, the sooner I can start programming more events.

Gil, I want to thank you for not only updating all the people involved in the intriguing world of Steampunk, but also, for people who want to learn what Steampunk is all about.

You can keep updated on the latest news of the Gilded Festival at this site: http://gildedfestival.com/



Purchase your tickets now at this site:
    http://doriansparlor.ticketleap.com/gilded-festival/t/GildedFestival/