Cuba: January 14-25, 2012
Arts and culture tour of Havana, Matanzas, Varadero and Cardenas sponsored by the Latin America Working Group. Wonderful array of activities and performances of Afro-Cuban dance, rumba, Cuban son and nightclub bands, secondary school and university arts and music students, Sandra Ramos, Fuster, and other artists in their studios, and an architectural walking tour of old Havana led by my longtime friend and colleague from Havana, Jose Altshuler.
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| Plaza de la Catedral, Havana |
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Staunton, Virginia: March 3-4, 2011
Drove down the Shenandoah Valley to see great productions of The Comedy of Errors (for an overflow high school audience) and Henry VI, pt. 1, at the American Shakespeare Center's Blackfriars Playhouse in Staunton, Virginia. Also enjoyed a public lecture by Prof. Paul Menzer of Mary Baldwin College on Henry VI and two actor 'talk-back' sessions following the plays.
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| Gregory John Phelps as Dromio of Syracuse, courtesy of the ASC |
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Laurel Highlands, Pennsylvania: October 9-10, 2010
Buthaina and I spent the Columbus Day weekend driving through this beautiful part of western Pennsylvania, southeast of Pittsburgh, visiting Frank Lloyd Wright's iconic Fallingwater, and another residence of his nearby, Kentuck Knob, as well as playing golf and staying at the Nemacolin resort and retracing the trail taken by George Washington during the French and Indian War in 1756, including Fort Necessity.
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| Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater |
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Venice, Florence, Rome and Montebuono, September 3-14, 2011
Buthaina and I enjoyed the magic of Venice, the artistry of Florence, and the gritty majesty of Rome, followed by a wondrous weekend with friend Claudia Vaughn at her country house in Montebuono, 100 kms north of Rome, exploring Narni and other small Umbrian hill towns, including the highest waterfall in Europe.
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| View from Claudia's house in Montebuono |
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Florida Keys: February 4-9, 2011
Joined my brother Boot and friend John Tulp at John's house near Key West for several days of flats and deep sea fishing, and reef snorkeling. Boot has a blackfin tuna, and we also caught barracuda and shark, and visited Hemingway's home and Truman's Key West White House.
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| Brother Boot and Black Fin Tuna |
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Valley Forge, Pennsylvania: February 16, 2011
The day was cold but sunny as I drove north through the Brandywine countryside of southern Pennsylvania to Valley Forge. I hadn't realized what a large geographical area was occupied by Washington's troops during the winter months of 1777-1778, or that the average total of 12,000 troops in camp (soldiers were leaving at the end of their enlistment, or deserting, arriving, all the time!) built more than 1,000 log cabins so that the camp resembled (for colonial America) a medium-size city!
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| Washington HQ at Valley Forge |
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Baltimore, Maryland: March 5, 2011
Spent the day at Camden Yards ballpark in Baltimore, joining about 50 other hopefuls in tryouts to be ballboys/ballgirls for the Baltimore Orioles! We took grounders down the left field line where Cal Ripken played shortstop for so many years. Alas, I wasn't selected, but did exhibit some soft hands.
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| Tryouts at Camden Yards, Baltimore |
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