My World and Welcome to It
Spent the weekend in the circle of my cartooning hubby at a triennual event, The Festival of Cartoon Art, in Columbus, Ohio – not somewhere I’d ever thought of as a vacation destination. Most of the event was by registration only, seminars by leading cartoonists and such, and I skipped that part to do a little writing and poke around the city. However, I attended the evening events, starting with a reception at the Thurber House in downtown Columbus.
Here’s a bizarre car covered in cartoons, just outside the house … I never found out who it belonged to. If you visit, you’ll see a sampling of cartoon art from Ohio cartoonists on the walls. Being there reminded me of the TV series which was around when I was a kid, starring William Windom as a version of James Thurber. I remember the animations better than the storyline.
Mammoth? Gargantuan!
Wish we had more than a few hours to spend inside Mammoth Cave, but the History Tour, one of many different tours available to explore the largest known cave on earth (327 miles of passages and counting!), was an excellent introduction to one of the world’s top geological wonders.
From the waterfall arcing over the historic entrance (just downhill from our room at the Mammoth Hotel, which is NOT gargantuan but is a fine National Park stay) to the enormously wide passages carved by ancient underground rivers to the “Bottomless Pit” and Mammoth Dome, in which we climbed a 5-story observation tower to exit the room, it was an oversized experience … except for a couple of squeezy passages that involved a good bit of ducking and bending. The tour is a two-mile hike underground, and isn’t for everyone … but it’s not to be missed. As for the photo: that walkway is broad enough to drive a pickup truck down, if you could get it down here.
Underground Toilet
Couldn’t resist this one … 300 feet underground, a ladies room in Mammoth Cave, three-quarters of the way through our tour. I couldn’t believe it. Note the ceiling…!
(Can’t) See Rock City
For years, I’ve seen the signs: “See Rock City!” The birdhouses, the barns, the billboards, up and down the heart of Tennessee and beyond, encouraging us to visit this offbeat attraction in Chattanooga. And hey, I love rocks, so why not?
The opportunity arose today to get to the top of Lookout Mountain to See Rock City … and darned if the whole place wasn’t socked in a cloud. To top it off, it started to pour the moment we stepped out of the car. So … the mysteries of Rock City await for another visit. Meanwhile, we’re off to look at more rocks…
The Invisible Woman
Here’s a visual writing prompt for my friends.
What happened here, that I stumbled across at noon yesterday? En route to lunch, I discovered I was only a block away from Barack Obama, who was giving a speech at Monona Terrace to over 4,000 people … and darned if many of them didn’t crowd into the restaurant too.
A Taste of Nepal
It’s been nearly a decade since I had a dinner of dal bhat, the Nepali national meal, so tonight was a real treat. I’m canvassing the foodie-friendly city of Madison, Wisconsin for great restaurants and shopping to include in a magazine article, and came across this sign on State Street after spending a good half hour browsing Shakti, a shop where incense, minerals, pithy bumper stickers, and philosophical and religious tomes share space. What a delight to find Chautara, to enjoy a steamy spicy bowl of dal followed by bhat tarkari, a celebration of spices amid a curry of tomatoes, onions, eggplant, green beans, and fiery potatoes. Yum!
My latest musings
- Three Sisters at Niagara Falls December 15, 2011Dug this photo out of my scanned image archives and couldn’t help but smile. Here’s my sister Susan (with the hood on) and Sally (with the hood off) on the […]