The Silent "I"

Saving the Oceans with Jean-Michel Cousteau

A few weeks ago,  we were invited to hear a lecture by oceanographer and environmentalist, Jean-Michel Cousteau, son of the late Jacques Cousteau.  Frank and I grew up enthralled by The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau and are proud owners of several of Jean-Michel's video series on PBS.  We wanted Alex to hear what he had to say, since care of the ocean will largely be left to the next generation. 

Cousteau was speaking at the Northern California regional convention of Rotary International.  We were invited to the dinner as guests of District Governor Loren Harper.  The Rotary Club has a longstanding tradition of community service and involvement in important issues, and it was an honor to be among this distinguished group of community leaders.

Jean Michel Cousteau's passion for the deep blue see was evident in his remarks, probably a result of his taking his first dive below the surface at age 4.  He showed video clips of amazing animals and underwater habitats, along with startling scenes of plastic debris washed up on the shores of one of the uninhabited islands of the Pacific.

Cousteau runs the Ocean Futures Society, which runs educational programs on conservation of the world's oceans and how people can get involved.  The Ocean Futures Society runs an annual family camp on Catalina Island, where families spend a week in August learning about the ocean.

During his remarks, Cousteau urged everyone to consider the environmental impact of throwing trash into the ocean and into landfills.  Millions of tons of plastic garbage are floating in the Northern Pacific Gyre, in a mass the size of the state of Texas.  Cousteau's group and others are working toward cleaning up the mess, but in the meantime, wildlife ingest bits of plastic debris and die from it. 

He spoke about the practice of shark finning and showed a video of Chinese fishing boats capturing sharks, cutting off the fins and throwing the shark back into the sea to die.  The fins are used in Shark Fin Soup and other delicacies in China and other parts of the world, without regard for the impact on the shark populations. Cousteau noted that sharks have a particularly bad rap, mainly due to Hollywood's portrayal of Great Whites and human-hungry predators.  He showed footage of himself diving and catching a ride on the dorsal fin of a Great White.

Book Review: Insight Guides "United States on the Road"

I recently received a free review copy of a beautiful USA travel guide from Insight Guides called United States on the Road. I was interested in this because of our road in 2008 through the western states, and our visits to Yosemite, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, and Mt. Rushmore.  The book served to bring back a host of great memories of our road trip, and inspired me to want to take another.

We love traveling outside the US when we can, and often forget the amazing bounty of beautiful, scenic places we have to visit in our own country.  When time and budget constraints don't allow it, it's easy enough to hop in the car or board a train and see the USA.  Every part of the country has something unique and special to offer.  This book, chock full of gorgeous photography and interesting places to see, should serve as a great source of inspiration, whether you're taking a day trip from home, or coming to visit the US for the first time.

The book is divided into geographic routes with selected cities, towns, and attractions along the way. It has a simple straight line map to guide you to some pretty fantastic highlights.  You won't find "where the locals eat" or a lot of detail on each place, but this is a great book to start with when planning a road trip.  If you know where the highlights are, you can use the web to search for points in between and where to find the best barbecue or a cheap hotel.  That's not the focus of this guide.

I really enjoyed looking through the book, and reading the sections about places we've been.  The Pacific Coast section is spot-on in it's description of a trip down Highway 1, mentioning Big Sur and Hearst Castle.  We spent last weekend winding up the coast from Monterey to Half Moon Bay and through the mountains back to Palo Alto.  It was nice to see portions of our weekend getaway in the book, along with a special section on San Francisco.

Part of the reason we took our western road trip in 2008 was to recreate a little of the magic my husband felt 40 years earlier when his family did the same trip.  When I think of road trips, I think of family vacations, singing along to the radio, and gazing out the window at some unexpected delight, whether it's a moose by the side of the road in Yellowstone or the crashing waves of Big Sur or the skyscrapers of Dallas off in the distance.  I hope that your family finds a little inspiration to see the world around you.

This book reminded me of the passage in The Wizard of Oz, when Dorothy returns from her journey to Oz and says, "I learned that, if I ever go looking for my heart's desire again... I shouldn't look any further than my own backyard."

Perhaps if you want to go looking for your heart's desire, you should look no further than Insight Guide's United States on the Road.

Disclosure: I received a free review copy of this book, but no other compensation or incentive for writing this review. The opinions expressed herein are my honest assessment.  If you wish to purchase a copy of the book via Amazon.com and use the link below or a sidebar link or ad, I will receive a small commission through the Amazon affiliates program.

Sunset near Placerville, CA

Usually, phone camera photos are not that great, but if you can catch the light, you can get some nice effects. I have a G1 Android phone, and this was taken while we were driving home on Highway 50 from the Gold Country a few weeks ago. We visited the Gold Country because our fourth grader is studying California history this year, and it made for a nice day-trip from Palo Alto.

Not the best picture, but it caught the contemplative mood of our little trip, and the soft, gray descending twilight. 

Posted via email from glennia's posterous

Asian American Voices Project

My friends at Clever Girls Collective sent me the link to this video, a trailer for Asian American Voices: Shaping Silicon Valley, Strengthening Community, and Sharing Hope a film about the contributions of Asian Americans in Silicon Valley. You get to hear the very moving stories of various Asian-Americans and how their lives and work helped to shape the community we live in on a daily basis. The full film will be screened at the San Francisco International Asian-American Film Festival on March 20, 2010.

While this film centers on immigrants in the San Francisco Bay area, the stories could be told just about anywhere. For me, the stories reminded me of my mother, and her immigration story.  I've written here before about my mom's determination to become a US citizen, but I haven't told all of her story. That's more than one blog post could possibly handle.

My mother's birthday is tomorrow, March 6, and I have been thinking a great deal about all that she has contributed in her 69 years.  She was never able to complete high school because the Korean War interrupted her schooling and she had to go to work to help support her eleven brothers and sisters after their father died.  She came to the US as a teenager, married to my dad, with a baby in tow. She had three children before age 25. She worked in a factory for 25 years, and would have kept on working had it not closed its doors and moved operations to Mexico.

Despite whatever hardships came her way, She kept her sense of humor and fun, ran a tight ship, and grounded her children in the belief that they could make of their lives whatever they could dream. My mother has been my inspiration, trusted adviser, and friend for my entire life.

My mother never held public office, has never been on television, owned a business, or traveled much of the world.  She has raised three kids, sometimes as a tyrant, sometimes as a friend, but always with enormous courage and love. Her contribution to the world may not seem to be that big, but to me, it is everything.

My mother's story, and the stories of the people in the Asian American Voices film, are only a tiny representation of what Asian Americans have contributed to the US. I hope that everyone, no matter what their ethnicity, will take time to watch this and reflect on the impact of diverse cultures to the richness of our society.

You can join the dialogue and become a fan of the Film on Facebook, and if you do, you could win tickets to the March 20 showing at the SF International Asian-American Film Festival!

Carnival of Cities: January 27 Edition

Welcome to the January 27 Edition of the Carnival of Cities!  Join us for a virtual tour of some of the world's great cities and towns with our intrepid travel writers from around the globe.

North America

Starting out in Vancouver, Canada, just in time for the Winter Olympics, Julie Ovenell-Carter shows us the Hottest tickets in town: My Top 5 picks for Vancouver’s 2010 Cultural Olympiad posted at theseboots.travel for anyone who's just not that into sports, or wants to take a break from the action to enjoy some culture.

Jump in your virtual convertible and drive on down the coast to my home state of California,  where Caitlin will introduce you to the real Surf City in Driving Highway 1 in California: Santa Cruz and The Lost Boys Railroad Bridge at Roaming Tales. Keep going past Big Sur and Hearst Castle, all the way down the Pacific Coast Highway, where Joanne will entice you with Newport Beach Romance posted at Newport Beach Vacation for you and your valentine. 

No valentine? No worries! Follow Peter Kimmich through a tour of The Best Walking Bars in LA, Part 1: Los Feliz posted at TryOurLA.  Be sure to sober up before going along with Jim to the Hash House A Go Go, San Diego via Wanderlust Journey.

You'll need to abandon the convertible and fly out to the Midwest, and pick up a mini-van to brave the weather in Minnesota, in order to check out Beth Blair's Family Tips for Nickelodeon Universe at Mall of America over at The Vacation Gals. No kids? My son will be glad to join you, since he loves Nickelodeon!

While you're in Midwest, Jordy Clements invites you to check out Omaha, Nebraska with Guerrilla Trail Crew: Tweets, Shovels, and Rides Again posted at Omaha.net - Local

In Michigan, Case Ernsting provides great information on Amish Furniture at Think Local Washtenaw County posted at Home and Decor, and tips on local Couples Getaways in the Midwest posted at FinditLocal411 Blog.

In Kentucky, Jack for Prema Michael shows us Raven Run Nature Sanctuary, Lexington, Kentucky posted over at Eyeflare Travel Articles and Tips.  Then, travel down to Texas with Tui Cameron and do a little Shark-gazing at the Dallas World Aquarium posted at Mental Mosaic: Have Blog, Will Travel.

On the East Coast, Jon Rochetti tells us how the DC Flamenco Festival Dances into Town at The PlanetEye Traveler - Washington DC.  Victoria gives us a Londoner's nostalgic look The Big Apple at one of my favorite family travel blogs, It's a small world after all.

Europe

After you're done touring North America, head on over to The Continent, to some well-traveled roads, and a few off-the-beaten path locations that our travelers have discovered.

Curious about post-war Bosnia?  Look no further than Mostar: From the Ruins posted at Twenty-Something Travel, where you will see how this nation has fared since the war.

On a budget? Find out ways to travel in Germany without spending your life savings with Munich Alberto's Cheap Hotels In Munich posted at Cheap Hotels Inn.  For a more in-depth look at accommodations on the Rhine, Jim & Martha show us Bed & Breakfasts vs. Hostels: Bacharach posted at Wanderlust Journey.

Want to save money in Scandinavia?  Just follow Martin Andrews  Seeking Discount Travel Deals To Explore OsloBrad Alexzander and  How To Find Discount Travel Deals To Visit Stockholm Sweden posted at Globe Cheap Travel. 

If Rome is where the heart is, check out Sam's New !! The 10 Best Tourist Attractions in Rome Italy  at Travel Welcome and Robin Locker's lovely Cul de Sac posted at the beautiful My Melange. Robin's blog gets my vote for best design this time around.

For a gorgeous view of Spain, be sure to read Lena's 3 Facts: Barcelona posted at The Colors Magazine. The photos are muy fantastico!

Asia

Only one stop in Asia this time around, this time a view of Old Delhi as seen through the eyes of a woman traveling alone at Cold SnapDragon.

Africa

For a peek at life in Africa, Lanora Mueller shares moving account of her experiences in the Congo at Impressions of Kinshasa, posted at writing travel.

Last, but not least, we certainly have to acknowledge the devastation brought by this month's earthquake to our friends in Haiti.  June Tree presents some excellent advice on Haiti Relief Efforts and How To Help at The Digerati Life. I hope you will all take the time to stop by and find out ways you can help those in the greatest need right now.

Thanks to all the wonderful travelers who participated in this edition of the Carnival of Cities!  I look forward to reading the next edition, hosted by Family Travel Guides.

Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of cities using the carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on the blog carnival index page.

Target-to-Go Hits San Francisco

Yesterday, I got a special preview of the Target to Go shopping experience in San Francisco, and was able to do about half my remaining Christmas shopping in about 20 minutes.  Target pioneered the "Pop-up" store concept a few years ago, but living in the 'burbs where Target stores abound, I didn't really know what that meant.  Essentially, a "Pop-up" store is a temporary shopping site set up for a special occasion, with a limited product line, primarily in urban areas that are not so lucky to have a Target.

At the Target to Go store, you're given a menu of about 50 items to choose from, and can walk past a display window showing the various gifts, mostly grouped by price.  If you see something you like, you mark it on your order form, and take it to the cashier.  The gift comes out wrapped in a lovely candy-striped bag with a gift tag on it for you to fill out, and voila! you are DONE.

This weekend, Target-to-Go stores will be open in DC, New York, and San Francisco.  If you live in or around San Francisco, follow @TargetToGoSF on Twitter for clues on where to find some special Target Gift Tags hidden around the city.  If you find one, take it to the Target to Go shop at Mint Plaza (on 5th, between Mission & Market, next to the old US Mint) and you will be rewarded with a Target Gift card, redeemable at any Target location. As a bonus, Target will donate $100 to the Salvation Army for every gift card redeemed at the SF location.  If you plan to do some shopping in the city this weekend, this could be a fun little scavenger hunt to go on!

I was delighted to be invited to this event, because as I explained to one of the Target PR people, Target is my "happy place."  It's like a little vacation from the world for me to go to Target on my own, and just wander the aisles, picking up laundry detergent, throw pillows, a cute top, or Legos.  You can find just about anything there, and I have been a devoted Target shopper since the 1970's, when our local Ayr-Way turned into Target.

Disclosure:  I received a $25 Target Gift Card for attending the Press Preview, but no other compensation for writing this review. Opinions expressed herein are solely my own.

Carnival of Cities Blog Carnival: November 4, 2009 Edition

We have great group of travel bloggers providing their expert tips and advice on traveling in this week's Carnival of Cities! Join our intrepid travelers as they scour the globe for interesting, fun, and just plain cool places to go and things to see.  I'll be your tour guide this week.

USA

Starting out on the East Coast, for all you baseball fans, Christian Carollo presents Back to Back: Philadelphia Phillies posted at Christian Carollo Photography. Christian documents last year's World Series winners and hopes for a repeat performance.  Will they or won't they? Yankee fans might beg to diffah (as we used to say when I lived in the Bronx), but the Phillies fans in Christian's photos look like they are ready to bring it home again.

Moving down to Maryland, Jennifer takes us down on the farm with Homestead Farm – Poolesville, MD – You Capture Autumn posted at Two Kids and a Map. You can feel the fall nip in the air with her photos of a lovely pumpkin patch and cute kids.

Traveling on south to Florida, Amy at The Q Family takes us on a tour of one of her family's favorite destinations with Disney's Animal Kingdom: The Condense Version posted at The Q Family Adventures Travel Blog. Amy also has some great tips for families traveling to Disney parks at the end of her post that you won't want to miss.

Moving on to the midwest, and my former home in Chicago, Illinois, Dominique King takes us Inside the Chicago Cultural Center at Midwest Guest. I never got to see this when I lived in Chicago in the 1980's, and it's definitely a must-see next time I visit.

Jack Norell reminded me of one of my favorite Chicago haunts in his post, Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago over at Eyeflare Travel Articles and Tips. He has a gorgeous shot of kids meeting a polar bear that you just have to see to believe.  I'd love to take my son there.

"Spring Awakening" Opens in San Jose

A little bit of magic Broadway found its way to San Jose this week, with the opening of the Broadway hit Spring Awakening at the San Jose Center for Performing Arts. Armed with a charming and dynamic young cast, a pop-rock score, and lively dance numbers, this 8-time Tony award winner is sure to be a hit with teens and young adults. 

The cast, capably led by Christy Altomare as Wendla, Jake Epstein as Melchior, and Taylor Trensch as Moritz, tell the story of teens in 19th Century Germany exploring their budding sexuality.  At turns comedic and tragic, the emotions are amplified by an indie-rock score using a modern vernacular, making it more like "Rent" than an Andrew Lloyd Weber period piece.  It's quirky, creative, and fun, with serious cautionary messages for teens and adults.  I enjoyed the piece overall, and think it is one that parents could use as a lynch pin for serious discussions about sex, suicide, sexual abuse, and abortion.  I don't recommend this for kids under 14, due to the mature themes, brief nudity, and strong language. 

To me, the standouts in the cast were Steffi D as Ilse, a troubled girl who runs away from sexual abuse at home.  Steffi has a wonderful, emotive voice, perfect for ballads and rock numbers alike.  I also enjoyed watching Andy Mientus as Hanschen, whose oily, brazen seduction of an innocent classmate, Ernst, was a scene-stealing moment.  My husband thought he looked like Spike from Buffy the Vampire, and with his white-blond hair and swagger, I thought that was a fair comparison.

Where the show fell down for me was in the story line.  Based on an 1891 play by Frank Wedekind that was banned for nearly 100 years, due to it's treatment of issues like homosexuality, teen suicide, and abortion.  It seemed as though someone sat down with a laundry list of horrific events that could befall a teen and stitched them together into a loose storyline. 

While the first act is all about discovery and confusion, my husband noted that the second act could have been called "Rude Awakening."  The second half of the play seemed to reinforce nothing good can come of sex, including death, despair, and reform school.  There didn't seem to be any sense of redemption or reconciliation, though the closing number talks of hope of rebirth and regeneration.  I don't think the story naturally led to that conclusion.

I was also not thrilled with the reinforcement of the notion that all adults are the same, depicted literally by having every adult role played by the same man and woman. The adult characters seemed uniformly oblivious and unsympathetic to what the kids were going through, whether they were parents, teachers, or clergy.  I can definitely see that from a child's perspective, that might appear to be true.  I can understand why this show has such a large teen following, particularly for kids who feel marginalized or that their parents just don't understand the pressures they feel. 

Our town recently been rocked by a serious of very public and painful teen suicides that has ripped the fabric of our community.  It was particularly timely and poignant to watch this played out on stage, and the music seemed to be very much on point, particularly in showing the anger that kids feel that no matter what they do, as the song says, they're "totally f*cked".  I hope if nothing else, this should could open a frank dialogue between teens and their parents.

Spring Awakening is part of a national tour that runs through Sunday, November 1 at the San Jose Center for Performing Arts. For tickets, click here.  For information on other cities and dates, check out the Spring Awakening tour website.

PHOTO 1: (l-r) Kimiko Glenn, Gabrielle Garza, Christy Altomare, and Sarah Hunt.

PHOTO 2: Steffi D. as Ilse

Photo Credit: Paul Kolnik. Photos used with permission of Carla Befera Public Relations.

Disclosure: I received two complimentary media passes to attend the show, but no other compensation for this review. Opinions expressed herein are solely mine.

California Missions: The Fourth Grader's State-cation

MomCentral is currently running a blog campaign on behalf of Holiday Inn to encourage people to get out and explore their own states-- a "state-cation," if you will.  I'm not a native Californian, so this idea intrigued me, since there is a great deal about the state I live in that I don't know.  I think I've hit a few of the high points so far (Disneyland, Hollywood, San Diego, Mono Lake, Yosemite, Napa Valley), but there's a great deal more to the state to be explored.

My son is in fourth grade this year, which as everyone who ever attended California public schools knows, is the Year of the Mission. Fourth graders across and up and down the state study California history. Many kids have to complete the dreaded mission project, which usually consists of making a model of one of the California missions from paper mache, matchsticks, salt dough or some other homespun material and drag it into school. 

I grew up in Ohio, where we made salt maps of Indian burial mounds, so I missed out on the missions.  One of my co-workers who grew up in California told me that it never occurred to her that anyone wouldn't study the missions, since it was a rite of passage for California school children.  She was shocked that I'd missed out on this rich cultural experience and instead had to study the eight inconsequential (with a few ignominious) Presidents hailing from Ohio, the two Harrisons (Benjamin and William Henry), Grant, Hayes, Garfield, McKinley, Taft, and Harding.

Thankfully, Alex's teacher isn't requiring the standard 3-D replica of Mission San Jose, but instead is leaving it up to the kids to come up with a project on the missions, whether it's a video, book, report, or scale model.  Maybe a blog would do.  Or a Facebook fan page. Or a series of tweets. It's a brave new world in education these days.

Since we're a family who pretty much uses any excuse to hit the road, this seems like a perfect opportunity to take a state-cation, starting with the most northernmost mission, the Mission San Francisco Solano in downtown Sonoma, all the way down to the Mission San Diego.  There are 21 missions in all, and each was supposed to be one days' ride on horseback from the next.

We're considering doing a Mission Tour (not on horseback, thankfully) this year, maybe for spring break, doing a day-trip to the local missions and then heading south to San Juan Bautista, San Juan Capistrano, and onward, until we just can't take any more.

If we do this Mission Impossible Tour, I'm sure there will be a Holiday Inn or two along the way, since they often have free wifi and swimming pools, two requirements for any hotel or motel we stay in, wherever we roam.  The wifi would be essential to logging in our progress via the blog, and the pool would be needed to knock the dust of history off of us at the end of each day.  We had good experiences last year on our National Park Tour with Holiday Inn Express, which were uniformly clean, comfortable, and affordable. 

Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Holiday Inn. Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.

Photo: San Juan Bautista, taken by me in 1998.

Napa Valley for Kids: What to Do (and Not Do)

The Napa Valley Wine Country isn't really known for kid-friendly venues, since the emphasis there is primarily on adult beverages. Nonetheless, for Labor Day weekend, we decided to do a day-trip to Napa Valley, which is about a two hour drive from our house.   Even though it's not that far from where we live, we rarely go up to the Wine Country unless we have visitors who want to see it, mainly because I didn't think there would be much appeal for our nine year old son.  We decided to spend Saturday up in the wine country, exploring fun activities for kids in Napa Valley.

Castello di Amorosa Winery

Several on-line guides recommended the Castello di Amorosa, a re-creation of the 12th century Tuscan castle on the hillside near Calistoga.  The guides said that this would be fun for kids, since there is a tour that includes a dungeon and castle turrets to run around on.  We made our way down the Silverado trail and pulled up in front of the castle, which from the outside, did not disappoint.  Alex exclaimed, "Where there battles here, Mom?"

I had to tell him that it was highly unlikely any battles were fought here, except maybe the Great Chardonnay Wars of '07, which resulted in casualties. Unfortunately, many grapes were crushed in the incursion.  He rolled his eyes, because he's smart like that and knows when I'm pulling his leg.

Two things the guides failed to mention: 1) On the weekends, it costs $15 per adult/$5 per child aged 5-20 to go into the castle, and the guided tour is $30 per adult/$20 per child; and 2) the wine is not good. Kids under 5 get in free, and the entrance fees are slightly less during the week.  The only way to see the dungeon is to pay for the full tour. I didn't think was worth $80 to see a fake dungeon, when we'd seen real ones in Scotland, plus the next available tour was four hours after we arrived.

We plunked down our $35 for the three of us, and proceeded to look at the Great Hall, which was a recreation of a medieval banquet hall.  The walls were painted from floor to ceiling in scenes that looked like they could have been on some 12th century tapestry or another, and large metal chandeliers hung from the ceiling.  There was nothing going on in the Great Hall, and it was a little dark and foreboding.  Alex peeked in, and promptly ran away.