“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” - Mark Twain
Wednesday, October 30, 2024
Political Campaigning in Michigan
Spending a week in Michigan door knocking for Kamala was fantastic! Rhea and I volunteered at 4 offices: Detroit, Southfield, Ann Arbor and Saginaw. It was political tourism at its best. We knocked on 409 doors and got to meet lots of people, hear about local issues and explore the state. We also got to meet lots of other energetic volunteers. Michiganders are friendly and willing to talk no matter what side they were on.
Monday, October 28, 2024
Dabls Mbad African Bead Museum - A Detroit Creative Treasure
Detroit always has sweet little surprises. Today I visited Dabls Mbad African Bead Museum and got a chance to the artist who has spent years creating the art and selling LOTS of beads from around the world.
The story is 23 years ago Olayami Dabls came to the corner of Grand River and West Grand Blvd with a vision to create a space for his community to understand the immense power of their African heritage.
Occupying almost an entire city block, the Dabls Mbad African Bead Museum houses 18 outdoor installations as well as the African Bead Gallery, N'kisi House and African Language Wall.
It all was WOW!
Wednesday, September 25, 2024
Seattle Pictures
I hadn’t been to Seattle since 1991. It was great to come to explore the new parts of the city and visit so many neighborhoods. It’s a great city! Thanks International Downtown Association for having your annual conference there and giving me a chance to visit again.
Tuesday, September 10, 2024
Seattle's Working Waterfront
Sunday, May 26, 2024
Travels in Japan
I’ve been back for 7 weeks and I still can’t get Japan out of my mind. I keep wondering what it was that grabbed me so hard. While the architecture, history, people, temples and shrines were different and enjoyable to see, they aren’t it. I think it’s that I’m a curious person who is constantly looking for little new to me things. In Japan they were everywhere. The workings of comprehensive transit system was fascinating. One example is that every metro station plays a different jingle before they close the train doors in station. The food was so varied and the little sweets were cute, pretty and unusual and everything was cheap and fresh. I could walk through the food halls for days and never get enough. Quality of life stuff that NY struggles so much with like garbage are organized and practically invisible. I mean, they don’t even put corner cans out and Japanese carry their trash home to dispose of properly!
Saturday, May 25, 2024
Cherry Blossoms
The cherry blossoms finally started blooming, 15 days late! giving me a chance to see how locals celebrate Sakura. The tradition is picnicking in the parks under the blossoms. It was also the first warm weather after a long hard winter, so the parks were packed!! It’s quite a scene.
Japan Transit is AMAZING!
There were so many interesting aspects of Japan and I’m going to try to share and process my thoughts on here.
Yummy Yummy Food in Japan
Talking about trash in Japan
Japan Has The Best Bathrooms!
Friday, May 24, 2024
Koyosan
Visiting Koyosan, the center of Shingon Buddhism, an important Buddhist sect which was introduced to Japan in 805. It’s a small, secluded temple town has developed around the sect's headquarters on a wooded mountaintop. There are over one hundred temples making Koyasan one of the best places to experience an overnight stay at a temple lodging. I was able to get a taste of a monk's lifestyle, eat vegetarian monk's cuisine, which had lots of variety of tastes to try and attend the morning prayers. Getting there included a train, to a cable car up the mountainside to a bus to bring us to the town.
Bikes in Japan
Biking is a big thing in Japan. There were bikes and bike parking infrastructure everywhere. Like NY, Tokyo seems to be struggling with making enough room for bike lanes, and instead bikers ride on the crowded sidewalks. It stressed me out! It was cute though to see folks with their big shopping bags in bike baskets after doing their errands, or toting around a couple kids in various attached bike seats.
Youth Culture, Manga/Anime and Fashion.
Osaka, Japan
After 10 days in and around Tokyo, I finally hopped on a bullet train and whizzed to Osaka, Japan’s second largest city. It’s known to be more vivacious and the people are known for their sense or humor and more outgoing friendly demeanor. It was fire bombed in WWII and thus built back after with what must have been extensive help from the US, because some of its streets look very similar to parts of Chicago and Park Avenue in NY.
Thursday, May 23, 2024
Kamakura
Showing NYC Love in Tokyo
Saturday, March 30, 2024
Japan Knows How to do Hospitality!
When I found TWO charging cables for the first time in a hotel room ever, I felt the need to put out ALL the things that my last hotel of the trip provides us for my memories. They think of everything. Other highlights… fresh pressed pajamas, used drip bag tray with the kettle, water cup with a LID, make up mirror, shoe horn, two pairs of slippers, face cleanser, oil, milk and lotion, plus the two sided pillow (bean on one side, firm on the other.) Japan is awesome! #stuffimgoingtomiss
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Visiting Fushimi Inari Tasha Shrine in Kyoto
Anyone remember Christo’s Gates in Central Park? Clearly this was the inspiration. It brought back nice memories.
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
Miyajima Island, Japan
One of my favorite days was spent on Miyajima Island. It’s less than an hour outside the city of Hiroshima. It is most famous for its giant tori gate, which at high tide seems to float on the water. The sight is ranked as one of Japan's three best views.
The island has a mix of nice experiences. It has a sweet little town, a few pretty temples and Shinto Shrines and walking paths up its hillsides. I think maybe I liked it so much because after a few days of rain, the sun came out and everything looked so bright
My group also chose Miyajima to do the almost required Japanese dress up in a kimono and participate in a tea ceremony activity.
One of the island’s charms are the wild deer that wander the streets and mix with people. The first site of them feels so cute and exciting, but very quickly you notice they are everywhere!
Itsukushima Shrine, Japan
Monday, March 25, 2024
Hiroshima
Today I am in Hiroshima, the site of the first atomic bomb explosion during WWII, visiting the memorial created to recount and remind us about that terrible day in history. This stop has extra meaning because. my mom Jane Milliken dedicated most of her adult life to fighting to stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons. As I child I would fold endless origami cranes for her protests and gatherings, so my first day in Japan I bought some extra special handmade origami paper to make cranes to place in her memory. I also summoned her up to experience the museum with me. May many carry on and keep fighting against the use of weapons like these! It these uncertain times we need to fight even harder for peace.
Friday, March 22, 2024
A Meerkat Cafe... Now thats awesome!
Pet cafes in Tokyo are my new favorite thing! Today’s new friends are meerkats. Lion King’s Timon in real life is sooo cute!
I was a little late for the Olympics
My original plan was to go to Tokyo for the 2020 Olympics. Obviously Covid ruined that, so it took me till now and all I could do was go to the Japan Olympic Museum and learn about the handful of times they have hosted or attempted to host the Summer and Winter Olympics. Interestingly they also had planned to host in 1940, but that also was cancelled due to the World War 2. But they have hosted a couple of other times too.
Thursday, March 21, 2024
Watching A World Cup Qualifier Match in Tokyo
Things you already know about me. I love to travel to dig deeper and learn more about different countries and their people. I love watching World Cup soccer. And I have been to North Korea! Plus this trip to Japan was originally planned for the 2020 Olympics. So imagine how perfect it felt when I was checking out the Olympic Stadium and grounds and saw a poster announcing a FIFA World Cup qualifying match between Japan and North Korea!
I forgot to add that the friend I’m visiting here ALSO went to North Korea with me! Naturally it was our destiny to go!!! Highlights include hearing a stadium sing the national anthem and watching the incredible enthusiasm of the North Korean fan squad. Japan won 1-0. Bring on World Cup 2026 in North America!!!
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
The Japanese love baseball so I thought I'd join them.
Visiting Gotokuji Temple
Yesterday I visited a cutest cat temple. I’ve seen these little statues so many times in my life. It’s fun to know where they originated.
Tuesday, March 12, 2024
Who needs cat cafes if you can cuddle mini pigs instead?
I’m off on another adventure and I’m finally visiting Japan for my first time. The Japanese came up with the concept of cat cafes and have been expanding the idea ever since. In Tokyo, there are ones for all kinds of animals, reptiles and even birds. Today I went to mipig cafe, a micro pig cafe. I had a cup of coffee and lots of cuddles from a room full of miniature pigs. It was delightful. And any girl’s dream after reading Charlotte’s Web or seeing Babe.
Sunday, January 14, 2024
Spending the Holidays in Ecuador
Then I moved to Jackson Heights, Queens, a neighborhood full of Ecuadorians. And now, the height of the latest migrant crisis, new Ecuadorians are arriving every day, which made me want to learn more. I'm an experiential learner and travel helps me soak in the reality of what is going on way better than just reading the news. This time my timing was impeccable. I went, I learned and I got on a plane home and then the day after I got home the gangs and narco traffic issues that have been simmering under the surface for a few years in Ecuador, came to a head and big news from the country made it into US mainstream press, making many people check in on me. Yup, I was fine in NY and the danger junkie side of me wished I was still there seeing first hand while the military cracks down and hopefully begins to stabilize the country.
Lastly I went to Ecuador because I have gotten close to an Ecuadorian family and even was named god mother of their two daughters. This family is deeply involved in a Ecuadorian cultural center and I attend dances and ceremonies and have learned so much about the culture. I had to experience it in real life.
Saturday, January 13, 2024
Friday, January 12, 2024
Quito, the Capitol City
Quito. Ecuador’s capitol city is the highest altitude capitol in the world, now that La Paz is no longer the capitol of Bolivia. It’s perched in the mountains which makes for dramatic landscapes. The Old City is BEAUTIFUL. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage site and is well preserved. As with all cities, I liked looking at the diversity of faces and the intense buzz of activity. I joined the masses riding the brand new subway that opened in early December and quickly moved around town.
Thursday, January 11, 2024
Cuenca
The news today about Ecuador is grim. The flow of drugs to America has destroyed many countries and Ecuador is one of the latest to fall victim to its ravages. I feel sad. It’s a sweet little very beautiful culturally rich country. I hope this is just a blip in their history.
Sunday, January 07, 2024
Churches in Ecuador
Churches are some of the most prominent, ornate and impressive buildings in Ecuador. When the Spanish Empire defeated the Incas in the early 1500s, they began to spread Catholicism throughout the indigenous communities. They built churches on top of Incan structures to erase the past and solidify power. Today you can see the original bases of the Incan buildings and Spanish churches rising out of them. These days Ecuador is over 90% Catholic, but many indigenous religious traditions continue intermixed.
Saturday, January 06, 2024
Three Kings Day in Quito
Can you spot the three kings in this sea of nuns? It’s the 12th day of Christmas, Three Kings Day. I got sucked into the side chapel of the Church and Convent of St. Francis lured by a beautiful spirited children’s choir. Seems like a good day to work on my God is on your side points and a very good crowd to do it with. I stayed an extra day in Ecuador hoping for fun local celebrations. I found none but this was a pretty close second.
Ecuador
Ecuador is a small country, about the size of the state of Colorado. We spent many hours driving through its dramatic landscapes through the Andean Mountain Range. I love looking out the window and soaking it all in. On New Year’s Day we were also lucky to pass through a few local indigenous towns who were holding fun parades and some interesting different roadside food vendors. I’m not sure I captured just how amazing the landscape is. It’s hard in a moving vehicle. I’d like to recommend to the Ecuadorian government that they need more scenic overlooks, so I can get more pics next time!