GADLING’S TAKE FIVE: Week of February 11

by Adrienne Wilson on

It’s Friday which means it’s time to lean back and reflect on some of this week’s goodies. Without delay here they are:

5. New Gadling Writer Bios:
Some of us have been here forever and some are just getting started. Either way check out the new writer bios to get a taste at what makes the writers tick, itch, scratch or where they like to play when they are not blogging for Gadling.

4. Washington’s Caribbean Phase:
Are you a history buff in need of a break away from stuffy and dusty library shelves? Why not head off to Barbados to retrace the steps of President George Washington who spent some time there himself. Read this piece to see what exactly it was old George did on the island and learn about the upcoming museum opening celebrations.

3. Bob Marley’s Legacy Continues:
Here’s one for all Marley fans to unite over and experience a day or two of one love-ness. Jaime points out upcoming Reggae music fests worth looking out for if not attending. Attending is always better in my book.

2. Baseball Travel Guide:
Now that we’ve covered some history and music trips worth a look, let’s move onto sports. If you’re into baseball you may wish to use it as an excuse or real good reason to get away from the office for a few days to see the boys in training. Check out this guide on where to go to get fired up on America’s favorite past time.

1. Fatpacking: Weight-Loss Backpacking:
If you’d rather be losing weight over watching very in shape ball players do what they do best plan a sports like hiking or fatpacking trip of your own and bring sexy back this spring.

Zoo Sex Tours

by Erik Olsen on

OK, granted this would have been a better post for Valentine’s Day, but better late than never I always say. I mean, it’s about the information ,right? You seek knowledge and edification, don’t you dear gadling readers? And if the question before us is one having to do with the bids and the bees…aka, how animals do it…then we shant pass up any opportunity to learn more. Who knows what lessons for our own lives lurk in the behaviors of other species? Can you say doggy style?

Ahem.

And so I take you to this article from AP on the rather interesting phenomenon of Zoo Sex Tours. Yes, you read that right. Zoos are taking advantage of our prurient interests and offering tours whereby gawkers can observe the various and multitudinous mating habits of animals. Oh, the places you’ll go. Like the San Francisco Zoo, where you can spy penguins doing it in a fashion that has been desribed (by the concept’s brainparent no less) as “bowling pins making love.” If that doesn’t make you hot, I don’t know what will. Or, did you know that manatees have orgies? That they are bi-sexual?

You see, these are the valuable tidbits we offer you on this chilly Friday. Aren’t you glad you stopped by?

Related article: SF Zoo Sex Tours

Detour Worth Making: Nieu Bethesda’s Owl House

by Willy Volk on

Of all the side trips I’ve taken, the most interesting was a visit to Helen Martins’ Owl House. Born in 1897, “Miss Helen” suffered through a failed marriage, the death of her parents, and then, in her 40s or 50s, found herself alone in the dry, dusty, desolate Klein Karoo of central South Africa. Surrounded entirely by brown, Miss Helen decided to transform her environment. She hired local workers to install large panes of glass in her modest home. She began casting concrete-and-glass figures — playful, haunting, flat, but passionate — that she assembled around her property…maybe to keep her company. All 300+ of the figures face east.

Simultaneously, Miss Helen began collecting colored glass, grinding it to a fine powder, covering the interior walls of her home with glue, and spraying them with the glass. The effect — brilliant, shiny, kaleidoscopic, and dreamy — was more striking than paint. Unfortunately, it was also more dangerous, as her eyes, damaged from fine bits of flying glass, soon failed. In 1976, she committed suicide by swallowing caustic soda. Athol Fugard wrote a play, The Road to Mecca, about her, and This Is My World is a photo-essay of her dreamscape-home.

Today, the Owl House stands as a tribute to this reclusive yet inspired woman. Smack in the middle of still-tiny Nieu Bethesda, this rural community has grown into a small but thriving artist’s colony. Though hours from the coast, it’s absolutely worth an overnight.

Washington’s Caribbean Phase

by Erik Olsen on

We all know of George Washington as the steadfast, brilliant general who led a nation to independence. He was a fair outdoorsman, sure, doing a little cold water paddling across the Delaware, chopping cherry tree wood to pass the time. But did you know old Georgie kicked it old school down in the islands? Yup, our first President spent several months down in Barbados when he was young to sniff the fresh air, get a sun tan and likely to sip a few tasty Daiquiris (rum being, of course, a key export).

Washington came to Barbados at age 19 with his older half-brother Lawrence (aka: “L Dubya”), who had TB. Larry Washington’s doc said that the islands would be good for him, and George figured he’d tag along. George (known in the islands as “Da Wash”) spent two months riding his horse around the islands, apparently he caught his first fireworks shows and he hung out a bit with the governor and some generals. He also caught smallpox, and thus became immune to the disease for the rest of his life.

I guess the long and the short of it is that all this now gives history buffs a good reason to head down to the Caribbean. And to do so quickly, because February 22 is Da Wash’s birthday, and admission to the new Washington museum will be half-price. They will also have birthday cake and songs may be sung, especially when the rum gets broken out, as you know it will.

I cannot tell a lie, that sounds like a pretty good time.

Hotel Fauchère: a Historic Luxury Hotel Perfect for Nurturing Your Muse

by Jamie Rhein on

If it’s true that buildings have an aura based on the people who have stayed in them, then Hotel Fauchère in Milford, Pennsylvania must be crackling with energy–the good kind. Ever since 1880s when the hotel first opened, the likes of Ogden Nash, Mae West, Babe Ruth, Robert Frost, Andrew Carnegie, three American presidents and more have tucked in here for the night.

Besides the guest list catching my eye, the collection of Hudson River School paintings on display on the hotel’s walls are attention grabbers. This is the artistic movement started in the 19th century with an aim to capture the essence of the Catskill Mountains and the Hudson River Valley in upstate New York. Basically, everything about Hotel Fauchère makes me want to join the guest list. Besides fine linens, there is fine dining. If there is more than a few of you, the hotel is also geared up for groups, conferences and retreats.

The town of Milford also looks to be the kind of town I’d like to poke around for a few days. Basically, any town that is steeped in history and has a love for the people who used to live there is fine by me. The Columns Museum, operated by the Pike County Historical Society, is a perfect example. This is a historic mansion turned museum that houses treasures of Pike County residents and artifacts not seen elsewhere. For example, the museum has the flag that is thought to have cushioned Lincoln’s head after he was shot. There are other galleries, antique shops and the Zane Grey Museum also made for savoring.

As I browse the creamy richness of Hotel Fauchère’s website, I can imagine myself having a fine visit with my muse here-or maybe Robert Frost’s.