Neptune Festival

People made these!  Just sand and water people, just sand and water.
From the website:
“Watch as grains of sand are turned into masterpieces! The Neptune Festival announces the return of the ever-popular North American Sandsculpting Championship to the Oceanfront. Internationally known and one of the largest competitions of its kind on the East Coast, this event [...]

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Reading Room

I just wanted to see the Library of Congress. You know, have a look around the main reading room, browse of few titles, flip through some old magazines: the usual Library routine. But oh no, I was told by the man at the front desk, “the main reading room is reserved for students and researchers.”
“But [...]

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The Patriot Act

Technorati Tags: Margot Bordelon,Jasper Johns,White Flag,National Gallery
I went to the National Gallery and spied.  That is, I listened in on a group of Art History students and their professor discuss a wall hanging sculpture of the American flag. The instructor was young and dynamic, habitually brushing his hair off his forehead as he spoke. “We [...]

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Too much cake

Technorati Tags: Margot Bordelon,Washington D.C.,Capitol tours,The Baptism of Pocahontas
I’m kind of in love with Washington D.C.  Mainly because the couple I was staying with was AWESOME, and also the train system is just so fast and efficient.  Take note CTA, take note. AND, it was really cool to be in D.C. as our nation imploded. [...]

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Philly-phun

Philly looks exactly as I imagined Pittsburgh would and vice versa.  Or maybe it’s just the neighborhood I was staying in: Queen’s Village.  If you know it, you know what I’m talking about.  I arrived in the afternoon and after following some very detailed directions on how to find the hidden key (20 paces down [...]

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Everybody is Somebody

I was promised Macaulay Culkin. 
Well, maybe not the Home Alone I, II, III star specifically, but celebrities. I stayed an extra day in New York (sorry Baltimore) to attend a Mafia party with my friend J.  Mafia is a party game most closely related to How to Host a Murder. I guess.  Every partygoer takes [...]

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This is (not) my history

New York is one of the only places I’ve been that looked exactly as I imagined it.  Like seeing a movie made of my favorite book, every detail was perfectly realized: the weathered brick buildings, the wrought iron fire escapes, the busy sidewalks peppered with patches of old gum. 
The first time [...]

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Providence, not Provence

I imagined Providence to look like the Hidden Valley Ranch label.  You know, a quaint little town, nestled between rolling green hills.  Cobbled streets, cottages, the smell of fresh baked bread perpetually wafting through the air.
Turns out that’s not the case.
Providence is kind of… well… BLEAK. Okay, that’s not completely fair.  Thayer Street, the main [...]

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Revolutionary Boston!

Yesterday I walked the Freedom Trail in downtown Boston.  It’s not really a trail so much as a path, or a trajectory maybe…  I mean, there is no dirt and gravel, no twigs or berries.  If one needs to use the restroom, she need not go in the bushes, there’s certain to be a Starbucks [...]

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New York 9/11

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