http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Kait/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Kait en-us Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:31:35 +0000 Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:31:35 +0000 What You didnrsquot know I went to Paris over the holidays I am sneaky like that...but truth be told this part of Paris was firmly rooted in the Texas soil of Lamar County.Around Christmas I spent a few days visiting my friend Rochelle in McKinney Texas which is north of Dallas. When we learned that the town of Paris had erected a 64foot steel structure in homage to the original and t http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Texas/Paris/blog-123223.html Irsquove always felt that the best gauge of the true pulse of a city is to wander the streets during one of the dayrsquos busiest times. While the tour group perused the gift shops at Casa Cultural for a little souvenir shopping I slipped outside for a brisk walk through the teeming side streets of the central market district in Recife.The call of the vendors the clap of the hands to signal http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Pernambuco/blog-112632.html Autumn in the Pacific Northwest has been ushered in with spectacular weather blue skies high temperatures and the glow of amber and crimson leaves.This weekend is the Autumn Moon Festival in the ChinatownOld Town section of Portland. Itrsquos a celebration of tradition and history as well as shaping a path for continued appreciation of culture and diversity.For the past several years the http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Oregon/Portland/blog-92335.html Saturday was a day dedicated to exploring the Capitol Hill neighborhood. I had intended to start at the Seattle Asian Art Museum but was sidetracked by St. Markrsquos Episcopal Cathedral. The exterior in part looked like an old concrete warehouse. The interior was simply immense. When the cathedral was originally drafted it was to be much more elegant and ornate than it is today but th http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Washington/Seattle/blog-70855.html The first time I saw a hot air balloon night glow was entirely by happenstance. I was living in southeastern New Mexico at the time serving as a missionary and enjoying dinner with some members of the local congregation. Bobbing up over their backyard fence we could see the balloons inflate and rise into golden orbs glowing in the evening spring air. Dinner was forgotten as we dashed around th http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Oregon/Bend/blog-65728.html Itrsquos been awhile since I have experienced the anticipation of the unknown. That feeling one has when you close the door of the rental carwith only a basic map in handand wonder not only how yoursquore going to find your hotel but how yoursquoll get out of the parking lot. That moment of excitement when you turn the corner and catch your first glimpse of a vista that is new and une http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Washington/Spokane/blog-65038.html About a year ago my coworker Patrick started talking about alpacas. Sure Irsquod seen the furry critters on occasion during drives through the countryside but I knew relatively little about them. Smaller than a llama native to the Andean mountain range perhaps related to the camel That was about the extent of my random knowledge.Then last fall Patrick bought four alpacas. I told him http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Oregon/Sherwood/blog-63318.html Some called it history in the making to others it was mere spectacle. But whatever your view I must admit there is some magnetic pull toward witnessing demolition. I had mixed sentiments about the implosion of the Trojan cooling tower which I wrote about earlier in .But in the end I had to witness it for myself. I knew the best viewing position would most likely be from the Washington side of http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Oregon/Rainier/blog-60979.html Although spring was officially ushered in over a month ago the weather hasnrsquot wholeheartedly corresponded with the season until this past week. With spring just beginning to bud the landscape of central Oregon is not yet parched cracked and baked to a crisp. Descending from the plateau into the Crooked River Valley made me reminisce about other high desert locales Irsquove called ho http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Oregon/Prineville/blog-57424.html If you were to conduct a quick search on the internet to learn more about Riddle Oregon chances are very little would come up.At least that was my experience. Usually I can find some small tidbit of information to inform me before visiting a new place. My searches returned nothing but empty pages and the southern Oregon tourism website doesnrsquot even acknowledge its existence.As I was lea http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Oregon/Riddle/blog-57419.html In the early morning hours of 21 May 2006 the cooling tower of the Trojan Nuclear Plant is scheduled to be demolished by Controlled Demolition Inc. This is the same company that imploded the Seattle Superdome in 2000. I write about this impending event not to spark any sort of environmental debate but rather to reflect on the role Trojan had as a symbol associated with the small town I grew u http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Oregon/Rainier/blog-54063.html For the past month Flat Stanley has been touring Oregon before returning home to Linden Park Elementary School in Idaho Falls Idaho.Hersquos had many adventures that have taken him near and far. First he traveled south almost to the border with California. Here he stopped for a picnic near the Upper Klamath Lake. The lake is almost 30 miles long and 8 miles wide. Itrsquos a popular plac http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Oregon/Salem/blog-48827.html Tucked behind the hills of Highway 58 near Oakridge sits the tiny town of Westfir population 276. Once a logging camp the prominent feature of Westfir is the Office Covered Bridge. The bridge was built to connect a lumber mill on one side of the river with the company office which sat on the other. At 180 feet in length the bridge is the longest covered bridge to remain in Oregon. One uni http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Oregon/Westfir/blog-47548.html I love it when I stumble upon something unexpected which I did yesterday as I journeyed to the middle of the nowhere for a work assignment.I was overnighting in the small town of Canyonville in Douglas County. Situated in the heart of timber country between the hills of the Umpqua Valley a traveler would most likely pass right by unless they had reason to venture off of the beaten track.When http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Oregon/Canyonville/blog-42992.html Wanting to lift my winterweary spirits I decided to explore the historic downtown area of Stayton at the first hint of the sun emerging from its grey dreary cover.This small town located only 15 miles east of Salem gained its name from one of its first settlers Drury Stayton. Stayton built a sawmill along the North Santiam River in 1870 and helped to plat the downtown area which was incorpo http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Oregon/Stayton/blog-41794.html Every October when the third weekend of the month rolls around Hood River County celebrates its harvest bounty of apples and pears. Each year as the Hood River Valley Harvest Festival has grown larger smaller events have also sprung up to entice visitors to journey off the beaten path and explore the surrounding orchards at the base of Mt. Hood.The harvest festival is the perfect catalyst for http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Oregon/Hood-River/blog-25941.html Growing up Astoria had three landmarks the AstoriaMegler Bridge the Astoria Column and the Home Bakery. There may have been others but those were the ones that counted to a young child. I knew we had almost made it to the ocean when we reached the small town of Astoria at the mouth of the Columbia River.Now many years later not much has changed for me as I travel to Astoria once or twice http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Oregon/Astoria/blog-26598.html My affection for Polish food began in Salt Lake City when a coworker would prepare traditional dishes each year as Easter neared for our entire office. When I discovered that Portland holds a Polish Festival each September I had to go in order to satiate my cravings.Early Polish immigrants to Oregon settled in the Overlook District of North Portland. By 1892 they had formed their own Polish N http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Oregon/Portland/blog-20888.html My curiosity was piqued by a small clip in a local newspaper last week. It stated that Forest Grove would be holding its 15th Annual Sidewalk Chalk Art Festival and anyone was welcome to come and participate. Since I had only passed through Forest Grove several years ago I decided this was a perfect Saturday afternoon activity that would introduce me to the town. The ambitious arrived at 9am a http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Oregon/Forest-Grove/blog-20112.html Today was the day of the animals. I first encountered a cow and calf on the road between Villarosa and Enna. As I explored Sperlinga stray cats were abundant all over the cliffside. Next a group of goats was being herded on the road to Alimena. And finally on my way home in the dark I came upon a rather large herd of cows headed home on the north side of Villapriolo. Fortunately I had slo http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Sicily/Villarosa/blog-10806.html