Blogs from North America

The honor of the worst seems to always fall onto Allegiant, Spirit or Frontier. Per Trip Savyy, here are their findings: At the very bottom of the domestic airline rankings are Spirit Airlines (score: 2.5) and Allegiant Air (2.8), both of which are budget carriers. But the third worst U.S. airline is one of the big three: American Airlines. Bounce gave the airline a pretty low score of 4.2; it's still vastly better than Spirit and Allegiant, but far below the top domestic scorer, url=https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tripsavvy.com%2F2020-tripsavvy-editors-choice-awards-delta-air-lines-5079728&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cbc461625402c4471ee8c08d9ba52ecba%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637745687594787157%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=8lG0sj7WAcCBU%2B%2FVaVyL3dzE4Q%2BmfrJV6eXD94... read more

Written in 2016. Manzanar War Relocation Center was one of ten camps where Japanese American citizens (like my parents) and resident Japanese aliens (like my grandparents) were interned during World War 2. In 1942, more than 120,000 men, women, and children were ordered to leave their homes and businesses, and detained in remote, military style camps in tar paper barracks. Manzanar is the closest relocation center to us, on the west side of U. S. Highway 395, almost equidistant from Reno (245 miles), and Los Angeles (226 miles). The nearest to... read more

Art Deco architectural style is all about streamlined surfaces, linear and geometric shapes, symmetry and a dose of glamour all beautifully explained by Mike. The Chicago Motor Club building now a hotel but still retains its art deco features. Not only was it a “monument to the progress of motordom,” it was a monument to the progress of capitalism and the prosperity of the 20’s. Everything about the building screams money, power and progress, especially the lobby. On the wall is a 29-foot mural depicting the important national highways and cities of the time, with many of the routes leading to Chicago. The Carbide & Carbon Building designed by the Burnham Brothers and completed in 1929. Supposedly it was designed to look like a champagne bottle, with its golden top and green-tinted terracotta facade. The gold-leaf ... read more

La Rencontre is the largest cast bronze sculpture in Canada. Created by the Cooke-Sasseville. The sculpture consists of two young white-tailed deer perfectly balanced one on top of another with hooves touching. Like a reflection on an iced-over lake, their mirror images symbolize competitive sports and back-and-forth conversation. The base, adorned with ice skate cuts, is reminiscent of the Limoilou district’s traditional stair rails. Briser la glace Created by sculptor Éric Lapointe pays tribute to Jean Béliveau and the As de Québec, the professional hockey team based in the Colisée de Québec from 1928 to 1971. The imposing 28-foot sculpture captures the larger-than-life nature of the player nicknamed “Gros Bill.” Thanks to the piece’s complex planes and angles evoking this player’s quick changes in direction, the anamorphic work of art shifts and evolves as... read more

Sunday: Decided to check out some St. Louis open houses. It's an interesting city with some super old mansions and some super run down neighborhoods and trash... I went to 5 houses 3 which were reasonable ok condos or houses in the 110k-160k range and then I spent some time in some gorgeous mansions. One which was over 7,000 square feet!!! Had it's own humongous arcade room. Even so, it was going for 950k. In the evening I signed into virtual bookclub! Wednesday: Went to an Irish bar not too far away which had an Irish band jam session. Thursday: Found an event online called "beer and christmas carols" apparently that was a ruse to get people to come to church... very not clear about that. Soooo that was interesting. Let's bribe the non-jesus lovers with ... read more

Today we are going to climb to the top of Diamond Head Crater. Starting from the hotel, it is an 8 mile round trip. I’m all for catching a bus to the trailhead, but daughter no 1 will not be persuaded; we are going to walk the whole way. The Visitor Centre is actually inside the crater, so we must skirt around the bottom then walk through a tunnel which passes through the middle of the volcano. Then after purchasing a ticket, we can begin our ascent. The first part is along a concrete path, then as we climb higher and steeper, we follow a trail around the crater. The final part consists a large flight of steep stairs, a tunnel and finally a spiral staircase inside a vertical tunnel. To make it harder, masks are ... read more