I go to a lot of museums. The biggies are great, but I tend to prefer the pleasures from bite-sized portions of more out-of-the-way, unexpected ones like Bucharest's National Museum of the Romanian Peasant (hand-written signs about how to love your grandma), Oklahoma's Woolaroc (largely for nostalgic purposes) and Hanoi's bizarre Ho Chi Minh Museum, with Soviet-inspired exhibits of winner detergent boxes.
I'm adding one more to the list: Philadelphia's super Eastern State Penitentiary, considered the country's first prison and example of 'modern architecture,' whatever that means. It operated as a 'solitary' prison, all inmates had own cells, from the early 1800s till 1971, when it was abandoned into a eery ruin. Self-guided tours of the paint-peeling site not far from Philadelphia Museum of Art 'Rocky steps' are $12 and I could easily have spent three or four hours. I will go back.
Here are some photos that make up yet another reason why more people should go to Philadelphia.
Bulletin board outside one cell
A certain 'Chico' put his name in here in 1960
Me with original cell toilet
Cell blocks radiate out spoke-like from center
Failed escapee carved a (hard to see) face, below the light
Prison's baseball field
Sting came her for (close-up) photo for an album cover
Castle-like exterior made solely to intimidate -- it did to Charles Dickens
(Modern) art in one of the cells
Much of the cell interiors left as is/was
Al Capone's cell was nicer than most
All cells were solitary, each with tiny outdoor area - this would be only view you'd get
I'm in the long process of digitizing a couple dozen journals put together on Lonely Planet, and other, research trips over the past decade or so. I really liked this guy, met in Omaha on my first LP assignment: updating the Great Plains chapter of the USA guidebook in the spring of 2001:
William Reeves volunteers at Omaha's Great Plains Black History Museum. He's 74, originally from Kansas City. Says he played alto and tenor sax in the late '40s down there. Another musician he knew -- a 'bully' - once hit a heckler 'with his horn,' he said. 'Then someone beat him up so bad he died.' Asked if he liked jazz today. 'Oh, sure. You just have to be where it's at, y'know? Preston Love at the Omaha Star [a 'black paper' nearby], he played horn with Basie. He'd know.' Williams says he regularly goes back to Kansas City -- 'for barbecue runs, and for funerals.'
The Civil War is 150, which means four years of particularly robust re-enactments and a lot of new Civil War books. Even a CD or two.
Here are two things I recommend doing to tribute the occasion:
1. WATCH 'SHERMAN'S MARCH'
Do you know this 1986 documentary? At nearly three hours, it's way too long, but simply impossible to stop looking at once you start.
A heart-broken, deadpan-hilarious film-maker Ross McElwee (mostly behind the camera) wants to retrace the tragic figure of William Sherman on his (in)famous rampage through the South, a region he had loved and spent much time before the war. But McElwee's girlfriend dumps him after McElwee gets the film grant, so he ends up loosely following Sherman, while mostly flirting from behind the camera with a string of mesmerizingly bizarre southern women (a rocker, a 'prophet' actress, a Mormon, a hermit).
It is more a glimpse of '1981 South' -- when it was filmed -- than a Civil War doc. (The New York Times even called it a 'timely memoir of the '80s' in 1986!) Plus Burt Reynolds makes an unplanned cameo. 2. WATCH THIS
I made this two years ago at Gettysburg, and still await the answer on how Civil War re-enactors decide who dies first.
If pressed, I'd have to admit no one really knows.
Some sporting events mean more than others. We're a week removed from Japan's "heal a nation" upset win over the USA in the Women's World Cup. Much of the conversation around the game compared the American "girls of '11" with the famed "girls of '99," who -- by the way -- won their gold medal in penalty kicks medal after 120 minutes of a scoreless game against a (slightly more threatening) China team.
I happened to be there -- at the biggest, most important women's sporting event of all time. A sold-out Rose Bowl, a captivated nation, and President Bill Clinton eating chili dogs in the press box.
Here are a few photos. Note: the last one is the moment the Americans one, taken -- if you squint -- a moment before Brandi Chastain tears off her jersey.
Several years ago I found my favorite urinal-wall art of all time: a little pen-drawn map of Iowa, its full squat shape for all to see, with the simple block lettering: 'IOWA.' Next to it someone had scrawled, with an arrow, 'Idiots Out Walking Around.' Wish I had taken a photo.
I did take a photo outside Dubuque, Iowa, of a portrait of Iowa's overlooked Mississippi River valley landscape at Balltown, a high up village with a legendary chicken shack. Apparently this painting was made, in exchange for a meal or two, by 'traveling gypsies' half a century ago -- then lost under wallpaper. It was rediscovered shortly before my visit in 2001, while updating Lonely Planet's USA guide.
Episode #046 F E A T U R I N G * 8 5 * B O N U S * S E C O N D S
Those who think the Red Sox/Yankees are the best rivalry in US sports ought to spend more time around college football. Considering the numbers of times baseball teams square off each year, and -- then -- how meaningless each game really is, nothing beats college football.
Particularly when it's two teams playing for nothing but pride. Harvard and Yale were, historically, instrumental in CREATING the sport of football. Unlike the big BCS teams, they have no polls, no bowls, no championships looming -- just a regular-season schedule capped with one of the biggest unseen rivalries in the country.
Sports in general is an underrated way of connecting with locals anywhere you go. And I found the same joy from mingling in the whirlwind of overcoats and scarves at Harvard Stadium a week-and-a-half ago. It was fun. And different from games back in Oklahoma. No merch stands, programs were free, and there were a lot of people in overcoats and scarves. One woman, a proud Crimson fan, told me, 'The boys sing 10,000 Men of Harvard in the locker room after each win.' So?, I thought. 'First in English, then in Latin.'
Football players who sing in Latin? Definitely not in Oklahoma anymore.
Parker Brothers first published Monopoly 75 years ago this year -- it began in various forms decades before as 'Landlord's Game.' Some people don't realize that the color-coded properties encircling continuous layout -- eg Connecticut Avenue, St James Place, Marvin Gardens, Park Place -- are based on real ones in New Jersey's famed seaside beach destination. And with the exception of one -- St Charles Place -- all can be visited, and doing so (sometimes) leads to Atlantic City's best survivors from past-gone eras.
I followed the board around Atlantic City recently. Several locals independently advised that the Baltimore Grill on Atlantic Avenue served 'the best pizza in the world.' It didn't -- and didn't have a grill either -- but I loved the '50s-era throwback. Meanwhile, at the corner of Vermont Ave & Pacific Ave, I peppered the keys of an antique pianola in a 19th-century lighthouse, now surrounded by housing blocks.
But the best stop? Easily St James Place, home to a classic pub and hotel at the Inn at the Irish Pub? Most memorable stay in an American hotel I've had. Like walking into a Little Rascals set, with picks from local estate sales that date to the Depression, lacy curtains blowing in AC-free rooms, slanted floors and -- in my room at least -- an embroidered Norwegian scene hanging opposite an inspirational quote taped onto a paddle.
Episode #041 F E A T U R I N G * 7 9 * B O N U S * S E C O N D S
Animals are going berserk of late: whales jumping, like Simon Le Bon, aboard private yachts in South Africa; bears hijacking Toyotas and ramming them into trees. Are they protesting our travel? Or just trying to tag along?
I've tried to promote 'travel animals' before -- such as the walrus, the pig and the prairie dog. But the notion has changed for me. It's time to refocus toward animals who travel, not just animals to look at.
Some will liken the best 'travel animal' to those who travel the longest distances, like the arctic tern which travels the equivalent of three trips to the moon over its life. But distances, just like ticked-box countries visited, doesn't equate to travel value. Instead, I'm looking for are animals that combine relaxation, fun with curiosity and escape.
We have one suggestion. Do you have any candidates?
It's self-indulgent and unnecessary, but to commemorate the first 40 episodes of the '76-Second Travel Show,' I'm doing it anyway: 76-Second Travel Show's Greatest Hits.
I'm still steamed that the city celebrated the centennial of this iconic, overlooked bridge two months ahead of time because, essentially, the weather's better. (Some videomakers didn't mind.) The 76 had other ideas -- going deep into the New Year's Eve snow, and commissioning an original song, to celebrate the bridge ON ITS ACTUAL BIRTHDAY. Because that's just the sort of birthday befitting a bridge like the Manhattan. And yes, we did clean up all that confetti.
I've long last track of how many 'unreasonable' days -- or sightings of pants-staining butt sweat on subways -- we've had to endure this summer in New York. All I know is that winter is way underrated as a time to travel (or explore your own home). Media-wise in this ep, we were able to get in hand-drawn signs, telephone calls, a couple interviews and random Bulgarian footage in this one. MOST HITS Is San Francisco Better than NYC?
By far the most controversial (and viewed -- with over 10,000 clicks), this episode's simple question sent San Franciscans and New Yorkers onto the defense. One recent YouTube commenter lashed out, 'Is this guy for real?' Actually the SF/NY question remains is open-ended, never answered. There really is no 'better' in travel. And the video never claims it.
It didn't do well -- a trifle of exposure compared with some -- but the 13-second reenactment of 'the Shooting of an Ohioan President' remains my personal favorite moment in all 40 episodes (or any aspect of my career). AND, I think, the fun fact that you can order Lebanese sandwiches in Chester Arthur's former bedrooms (and that he had a pants fetish) is worth the price of admission. (No, I'm NOT the presidential assassin; that was handled by John M Whitaker.)
It willfully defies the 76-second limit by the longest shot imaginable -- it's nearly 7.6 minutes -- but following Billy Joel's lyrics across mid-way Long Island, with a fun group of contest winners including BrooklynNomad, led to meeting some unforgettable characters and meeting Julie Chang of Fox 5 NYC. More importantly, I'll never hear 'Scenes from an Italian Restaurant' quite the same way again. UN-MADE MOVIE PROXY/OVERUSE OF TELEPHONE Vikings vs Pirates
Hollywood refuses to ask a key hypothetical question of our past -- who'd win in a fight, Vikings or pirates? -- travel, once again, comes to the rescue with Viking/pirate sites chipping in.
I first learned of 'uptown' and 'brownstones' on Sesame Street. Finally I got to visit the source. And to quote Ciccone Youth, it felt like seeing New York for the first time. BEST FAKE RUSSIAN/SWISS ACCENT $10 Luge Lessons
Anticipating an mass mockery of luge during the Olympics -- and a few days before the tragic death of one luger in warm-ups -- I went Ponce de Leon on a question NBC's exhaustive Olympic coverage over the decades never bothered to ask: where can you luge? Turns out Michigan rules the day. And, at ten bucks, the best travel deal outside of DC's free museums. So 76 HQ is happy. (Though we're all still waiting an answer regarding Apolo Ono's inexcusable 'soul stripe.')
In the very first episode, the 76 template was conceptualized/focus-grouped/shot/edited/released in about 25 elapsed minutes, including artwork of the signs. Really don't want to confess how long the Billy Joel one took.
Episode #040 F E A T U R I N G * 6 0 * B O N U S * S E C O N D S
I met up with a number of travel insiders recently and Orlando came up. 'Awful city.' 'Hate that place.' And around the circle went a chorus of dismissive nods of approval.
It's an easy reaction to a place famed for amusement parks (and I've shared it at times), but travel usually knows better. And when I went last month -- to attend the opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter -- I stayed in town, and carved out time to see the city, and ask locals what the 'real Orlando' is. People like Bob Kealing, who wrote 'Kerouac in Florida,' about the beat writer's surprising connection with the Sunshine State. (Read Thomas Swick's excellent take on Kerouac's Orlando.)
And I liked it. A lot actually.
Favorites:
* 'Little Saigon' (or ViMi) around Mills and Colonial has excellent cheap Vietnamese restaurants -- as good as any I've had outside Vietnam. * The 'naive art' of Earl Cunningham at the Mennello Museum, who painted scenes to scale of his interest (houses and people usually very small, birds very very BIG). * The wee 'Milk District' at Robinson and Bumby has a handful of bars/eateries (great beer selection at the Social Chameleon) in the shadow of a milk processing plant.
Oh, and the Simpsons ride at Universal -- the best of all time.
Episode #039 F E A T U R I N G * 7 2 * B O N U S * S E C O N D S
Last year, I traveled to Gettysburg to answer the immortal question: how do reenactors decide who dies first, in what order, during mock battles? I never really got a straight answer. And the 2009 version of the battle -- Gettysburg's legendary Pickett's Charge -- led to zero Confederate fatalities, unlike the real event which was a slaughter leading to bloodied gray uniforms. But I liked the reenactors. They meant what they did, were happy to share their world of wool uniforms on 100-degree days, and share why they did it.
This year I wanted more. And got 'INTO' the role, and see how it feels on the INSIDE of the world of reenactments. Well, a little.
Every July 8, Philadelphia quietly holds an annual reading of the Declaration of Independence at Independence National Historic Park with a couple dozen reenactors taunting and celebrating the document. And they were kind enough to sit aside some buckled shoes, knee pants and tri-cornered hat for me to wear. And, at a last-second debriefing of that reenactment plan, a ponytailed ranger asked for 'Loyalist' volunteers, and I naturally raised my hand.
It was fun. Yelling 'traitor!' and 'hang him!' before the Independence Hall. But it wasn't easy. Nerves swelled walking into the mass, where visitors quickly learned I supported the king, and let me know their disapproval, and with it the realization I don't know the history of the time as well as I should.
I asked why they did it, and one reenactor -- a ranger by day -- told me, 'Each year we have people say they didn't know that some people were against independence. That's pretty much the answer.'
Episode #038 F E A T U R I N G * 8 5 * B O N U S * S E C O N D S
Andrew Potter calls travel the 'quest for difference,' and that the more different the better. Sure about that? I think it comes a lot closer to home that too. And his case that searching for authenticity is a 'hoax,' which comes as a 'betrayal and sin' against humanity and modernity, comes a little thinly argued -- to me. At least once he moves from art and marketing to travel.
I decided to put his Authenticity Hoax to the test versus another Potter: Harry. At the opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando.
In the end, I'm not sure who won, but I had fun -- particularly mixing with people whose ongoing search comes with shrieks, delirium, personal financial sacrifice and a joy that rubs off.
A week after my research trip to Florida's Gulf Coast -- driving between Pensacola and Panama City -- oil has finally splashed on the same beaches. But I still think visitors should go the region, as I explained in this blog entry for the Huffington Post.
The complete opposite of being at the Florida Gulf Coast? That'd be the opening of the Universal Studio's Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Unreal. Standing a few feet from the cast, seeing teens in school uniforms squeal Ed Sullivan Show-like, and trying to drink the 'butterbeer.' Here's my take on opening day for Lonely Planet. And a few photos. Video to come...
Episode #036 F E A T U R I N G * 4 2 * B O N U S * S E C O N D S
Dr Beach, aka Stephen Leatherman, has picked America's best beach for 20 years, based on all sorts of factors like sand condition, temperature and whether you can smoke on it or not. Over the years Hawaii has dominated like a German bobsled team, taking the honors 12 times. Florida has six gold medals, North Carolina one and (this year) New York one, as Coopers Beach in Southampton* took the honors.
It's worth pointing out what this means.
Sorry Brian Wilson, but New York is a better beach destination than California. It's also better than more commonly considered beach destinations like Texas, Oregon, New Jersey, Massachusetts, South Carolina and Alabama.
I went to Southampton a few days ago to talk with year-rounders about the effect of the news ('surprise!' was a word I heard a lot, even the mayor said so). But one guy -- my favorite -- was not moved by it all. In fact he was disgusted.
Sitting on a giant chopper in the center of Southampton Village, outside Dunkerley's stationery store (travel rule: never go past a stationery store without stepping in), on Main Street between (Ted) Nugent Street and (Mick) Jagger Lane, he had the single most-impressive Viking helmet of all time. Triumphant horns -- closer to tusks -- shot out either side, and a swoop of plastered-on Mohawk hair ran between. And his dog -- a sweet collie with a Jimmy Buffet bandana on -- was in the bike's back basket.
I asked him about Coopers Beach being America's best. 'You kidding? I'm from Montauk. Come to Montauk and I'll show you real beaches.' I told him I believed he would. 'Really, come out there and we'll BS awhile.'
I'm guessing it won't be hard to find him.
* That's right Coopers, not Cooper's. No one seems to know when the apostrophe dropped. Fewer care. The Cooper in question is John, an original settler from 1640 -- and the guy who ran the lone tavern, fish-drying and whaling business. Quite a Cooper, that one.
Episode #034 S P E C I A L * 7 . 6 - M I N U T E * V E R S I O N
One of these days we'll all go through a Billy Joel renaissance -- making amends for the delay as a 'Joelky' and pour with fervor through his catalog to find the nuggets that didn't reach MTV, like 'Vienna' or 'Laura' -- then debate whether the Innocent Man record is even listenable? (It is.)
The problem with Billy's legacy is that he's a bit of a 'shlubby guy' -- he said so himself at one of his two 'last night' shows at Shea Stadium. It doesn't necessarily help that he touts a working-class area New York City likes to make fun of -- Long Island, or 'guyland.' And unlike Bruce Springsteen, who successfully translates the wastelands of Jersey -- a catapult shot over the Big Apple -- into the enduring hearts of rock fans, Billy's never been cool. And he never will be.
But that, as Chuck Klosterman writes in Sex, Drugs & Coco Puffs, never meant he wasn't great.
I'm naturally inclined to the overlooked places in travel, and Long Island's heartland (on/off the Long Island Expressway, in neither here-nor-there towns like Hicksville where Joel was raised) strikes me as something of 'New York's Kansas.'
Also, Joel seems like he kinda deserves a break too.
But where to go? Simple, just follow the ultimate Long Island guidebook: Billy's songs.
As part of the exercise, we ranked each of the stops on a zero to five 'fires' system. The results, shown above, show a deep valley in places with no local interaction (eg 'Miracle Mile') while it peaks in places like Hicksville home to many Joel-linked characters. Says something about what sorts of 'travel' works best.
Now, 'Billy Joel travel' -- ie, with devoted 'Joelkies' hanging out in suburban streets of middle Long Island -- may not transform the travel landscape for good, but having done a Joel trip now, I can attest that I'll never hear 'Scenes from an Italian Restaurant' the same way again.
Is Syosset's Christiano's the 'Italian Restaurant' from 'Scenes from an Italian Restaurant'? Many say it is. In the June 1977 concert in the bonus CD of the 30th anniversary edition of The Stranger, Billy dedicates the song to Christiano's. Though some say, including David Fricke in that album's liner notes! -- that it's based on the now-closed Fontana di Trevi in Manhattan. You decide, but my vote is with Christiano's.
Billy's former neighbor Bob Hess tells us Billy's home (shown above) used to be red.
I'm not on speaking terms with Cleveland's Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame -- that is, not until the greatest Canadian three-piece prog-rock band RUSH gets inducted.
Any place that takes rock seriously -- and presents fame badges to the likes of a Seger, Hollies and Jackson Browne -- needs to stop what they're doing and watch this:
Seriously, if thousands of model-looking 20-year-olds in RIO can be moved by dorky aged Canadians playing unrhythmic songs about black holes, space ships, Toronto's airport and Ayn Rand -- never mind how many millions of people who've bought tickets to Rush shows -- they probably deserve a slot in the lakeside museum.
That said, I think LeBron needs to stay in Cleveland. Only a champ makes a champ out of his home-town's eternally losing sports teams. And the Knicks simply don't deserve him. I posted my eight main reasons LeBron should keep his Cleveland Cavalier uniform on Lonely Planet.
Episode #031 F E A T U R I N G * 5 7 * B O N U S * S E C O N D S
Did you know hoboes meet every August at a National Hobo Convention in Britt, Iowa and vote on a hobo king and queen? Some call this 'fauxbo' -- for more hobo outsiders than the real deal. For that you'll still find folks riding the rails on/off the Burlington line -- and at hobo gatherings like the one recently in Amory, Mississippi.
I had the pleasure of traveling with Kim Mance and Courtney McGann of GoGalavanting.com to Amory (to shoot an upcoming episode that I'm honored to be a part of). We met with hoboes like Stretch, who has been on the road for 27 straight years. And we learned how to pack like a hobo, why hobo travel beats taking the 'blue highways' across the country, and how one local even won Rush tickets in Atlanta by covering himself in cake and being licked.
We also learned how to survive in a dry county: just follow the hoboes, pack in your own liquor.
The love we're seeing at the SSSTS studios regarding the emerging notion of 'Billy Joel Travel' has been astounding. And pleasing. But only three winners could be chosen for the first-ever 76-Second Travel Show Road Trip, on Joel's 61st birthday -- Sunday May 9.
And those winners are 'Rutila,' 'Brooklyn' and 'Matt.' I seriously hope you can do this. We'll be back before dark.
Email reidontravel[at]gmail[dot] com for details.
Trip in brief:
* we'll get a Cold Spring Harbor breakfast * track down the 'village green' Billy sings of * see the 'Miracle Mile' from 'It's Still Rock'n'Roll to Me' * maybe see a Billy Joel car-wreck site * see if we can find someone Billy Joel beat up (he boxed) or other Billy Joel experts * AND grab either a bottle of red or white at the restaurant which MIGHT be the 'Italian Restaurant' from 'Scenes from an Italian Restaurant.'
Meanwhile, check back for more Billy Joel Travel updates, including a road video and theme song 'We Didn't Invent Travel.'
