Rutherford B. Hayes and the Easter Egg Roll connection

by Jamie Rhein on

When Rutherford B. Hayes was the 19th president,of the U.S. he started the tradition of the Easter Egg Roll on the White House lawn. The tradition has since carried over to Hayes’ estate in Fremont, Ohio. Every year, kids show up at Spiegel Grove with hardboiled, colored eggs in hand to participate in egg related contests and scarf down Easter goodies. This year, it’s March 22. So, that’s one afternoon. What about the rest of the year?

The estate, part of the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center, has the original gates from the White House and is where Hayes and his wife Lucy are buried. Other points of interest are the presidential library— the first ever presidential library, in fact. Also, there are Hayes’ and his wife’s 31-room mansion, and a museum that chronicles Hayes’ life, presidency and Ohio history to add to a trip here.

For some reason, unknown even to me, (and I’ve written about this place before), I left the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center out of my U.S. presidents with Ohio connections round-up post. So, if you’re going to head to the spots where U.S. presidents lived, head here. It’s part of the Ohio Historical Society’s several landmark holdings, and one of the state’s signature places.

Mardi Gras beads by the handfuls: What to do with them?

by Jamie Rhein on

I’ve never been to Mardi Gras but I have beads. My first few came from a good college friend of mine who came back from New Orleans with a smile on his face and tales of forgetting that he’s from a “nice” family. Not really, I do know he had a grand time and bought beads back for everyone.

Acquiring lots of beads and trinkets is one way to measure how much of a good time one had at a Mardi Gras parade. I imagine the experience is like a giant pinata that takes forever to empty–all those colors flying.

These beads have been part of Mardi Gras since 1920s when throwing trinkets to spectators started to become a feature. The original “throws” (what is thrown) were cheap glass beads instead of the lightweight plastic ones of today. [Check out this National Geographic article for a detailed history.]

If Mardi Gras beads rain your way there are some things you can do with them once you get them home. Here are directions for how to make a floor lamp. You can also knit a scarf. How about a bead dog?

I bet you could glue those beads on about anything. Buy a cheap picture frame, cover it with beads and show off your favorite Mardi Gras snapshot. That’s my idea.

What places would you never go back to?

by Abha Malpani on

Most of us have a priority list of places we want to visit. But what about the places we would never visit again?
Whether you loved it or hated it, saw all of it or hardly anything, surely there are some places you don’t ever want to go back to. You might have a solid reason, or no specific reason at all, but think a little and you might unravel an interesting list of places and thoughts. Here are mine:

  • Lisbon: I spent 3 days here in 2004 after doing a 3-week road trip down the west coast of Portugal — beginning in Porto and ending in the Algarve. Portugal’s coastline is among the most stunning ones I have been to; dare I say I think I liked it more than Australia’s east coast. I must’ve been natured-out or something because after that, Lisbon was just not happening and I don’t see myself going back.
  • Nimbin, NSW, Australia: This is one of the most interesting towns I have been to. Located close to Byron Bay, the town has around 300 potheads inhabiting it. It survives from local production and sale of marijuana and offers some of the best hash-brownies I have ever had; I will never forget that they were served to me by a 7-year old in a joint called “Rainbow Cafe”. It’s tiny and I have fond memories, but it’s also depressing to be around people who know no other life other than a marijuana one. It’s worth visiting, but perhaps not more than once.
  • Malmö, Sweden: It’s small, it’s quiet, it’s generally dead after 10pm, there isn’t much to see, there are only that many meatballs you can eat. Nope, never going back.
  • Copenhagen, Denmark: Once you’ve been to one Scandinavian country, I think it’s like you’ve been to them all. Copenhagen is pretty. But that’s about it.
  • Hong Kong: I’ve only seen Hong Kong on layover between flights, but all in all I was disappointed — and I didn’t like the food at all! I’d rather visit Beijing or Shanghai.
  • Singapore: It’s like a Chinese Dubai. Too clean, too rich, too advanced for my liking. (I even had my Hubba-Bubba chewing gum confiscated the first time I went there, I was only 11. I will always hold that against them).
  • Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: I’m was unlucky when I visited KL. I was trapped there for 3-days because of an unexpected appearance of very thick smog. I spent a lot of time outside (stupidly without a face mask to protect me from the pollution) and just didn’t enjoy the city.

What about you guys?

10 present ideas for your traveling pooch

by Jamie Rhein on

If you’re a person who likes to include your pets in your holiday festivities, here are 10 items that range from the useful to the over the top. I’ve looked around for those that might serve as ideas for taking your dog on the road. Perhaps, you’ve really wanted to have that funky dog car seat that looks like a frog, but haven’t felt like you could spend the money. You could use the holidays as an excuse–or use the chance to go to a New Year’s party in style as the reason for a splurge. What dog wouldn’t delight with such a gift?

1.This hoodie would make a Christmas hike all that more festive. (This is from a company in Great Britain, but I’m sure you can find a similar choice if you are in the U.S.)

2. How about a leather pet carrier? If you pet doesn’t like it, it looks perfect for a file holder to take back and forth to the office. (Also from a British company, as are numbers 3–6)

3. This overnight bag with goodies might be just what your pooch wants under the tree. It comes with all that might make a weekend away that more fun.

4. This snuggle rug blanket actually does look useful. It’s big enough to go over a car seat to keep dog hair from getting everywhere. Sure you can use an old towel, but where’s the style in that?

5. Maybe you carry a plastic grocery bag wadded up in your hand for the moments your dog leaves a deposit on your neighbor’s lawn or on the sidewalk. With one of these classic poop bag holders, won’t you look all that more prepared? (We actually have something like this that my husband found on a walk one day. It attaches to a leash.)

6. If the Christmas hoodie is too much, how about this dog scarf? It’s made to fit over a collar. At least that’s what I saw in the description. It comes in various color combos as well. (I did buy our dog a scarf once. Silly? Maybe.)

7. Here’s spill proof water bowl. This link leads to other ideas that are also actually useful. This one is an American company as are the remaining 3 gift ideas. (We use an old metal mixing bowl and that does not work at all when the car is moving. Sloshy.)

8. This carrying case is the rugged cousin to the leather case already featured. This one’s called the Sherpa Bag. I’m not sure what a sherpa would think about carrying one of these, but if you need a carrier to carry, this one does have the bells and whistles.

9. To carry food, this item called the Travel-tainer is what gave me the idea for this post. You can buy it at PETCO besides buying it on-line. This was featured as a gift idea in the Columbus Dispatch’s travel section a couple weeks ago.

10. I actually did buy our dog a portable bowl. It was featured in my son’s school’s fundraiser book. The Outward Hound Bottle and Bowl pictured here looks like it would be useful if you’re hiking and camping. The water bottle for the dog is not a bad idea.

Holiday readiness: A lesson in sparkling wine from around the globe and calamari

by Jamie Rhein on

I was on the quest for a Christmas present for my dad when I came across this wonderful lesson on sparkling wines and cooking calamari from the Culinary Institute of America. Located in the Hudson Valley in Hyde Park, just outside of Poughkeepsie, New York, this is one of the best cooking schools in the world. I’ve eaten at the American Bounty Restaurant there a couple of times. Bliss.

This video starts out with an in depth, but breezy run through of sparkling wines from around the world that are affordable and popular–perfect to search out for holiday cheer. The range is from Italy to Albuquerque, New Mexico. There’s also a demonstration on how to safely open sparkling wine without putting someone’s eye out or losing all the bubbles. After that, John Fisher, an associate professor at the institute shows the best way to pan fry calamari to go with the sparkling wine. Oh, even more bliss. Here is the recipe for the calamari from the Culinary’s Web site. It doesn’t look that hard to make, and it tastes so good.