Today is Admission Day for Minnesota, our 32nd state, admitted to the Union on May 11th, 1858. Minnesota is the 12th largest state (geographically) in the U.S., and is the northernmost of the contiguous 48 states. Most of the residents of the state (60%) live in the Minneapolis-St Paul area, which is generally referred to as the Twin Cities. The state ranks 21st in population. The Twin cities of Minneapolis/St Paul combine the largest city in the state (Minneapolis) with the capital city (St. Paul). It is the hub of the state, and the center for business, industry and culture. The rest of the state is primarily rural, and consists of prairies, forests, farm land, and lakes. Let’s not forget those lakes, as Minnesota is known as the “Land of Ten Thousand Lakes.” Minnesota has extreme weather, both frigid winters […]

Today is Admission Day for Louisiana, our 18th state, admitted to the Union on April 30th, 1812. If you remember your U.S. history, you will recall that the Louisiana Purchase was negotiated with Napoleon Bonaparte for the princely sum of about $15 million dollars (a price of less than three cents an acre), representing a combination of bonds and forgiveness of debt. The purchase was for far more than then president Thomas Jefferson has been looking for, and doubled the size of the country. Political foes argued that this was a worthless piece of land, but were really more concerned about their own New England influence in government would be diminished by the new states to be formed in the South. Louisiana has always marched to the beat of a different drummer, and I remember in law school that many […]

This weekend kicks off Fiesta San Antonio, a 10 day city-wide, fun-filled, multi-cultural, family-oriented celebration. It’s a huge party — with an estimated three and a half million people attending — a real fiesta, lasting for days and days, with over 100 different events. The annual Fiesta honors the memory of heroes of the Alamo and the Battle of San Jacinto, with the origins tracing back to 1891 when a group of women decorated horse-drawn carriages and paraded in front of the Alamo, throwing flowers at one another. That event became a parade known as the Battle of Flowers Parade, and it has become the largest parade in Fiesta. Interestingly, it is the second largest floral parade (the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena is the largest), and is the only parade in the country to be planned and completely […]

As a big fan of baseball, I’ve been meaning to write about Yankee Stadium for some time. As a fan of both the sport and the history of the game, I can’t think of many with a more storied history than “The House That Ruth Built.” Opening on April 18th, 1923 in the Bronx, as the home of the New York Yankees, the team won that opening game at the new stadium, defeating the Boston Red Sox, 4-1. Oh yeah, the stadium was once the home of the New York Giants football team, was the site some impressive boxing bouts, and hosted a variety of other special events, but to millions of people, it’s all about baseball. Yankee Stadium was the first three-level sports facility in the United States, and it was the first to used the term “stadium” instead […]

Croatia was part of the political and cultural mish-mash of the former Yugoslavia, and for years toiled under a restrictive, and often punitive, dictatorship. It’s hard to believe in such a closed and suppressed society, that art could flourish — but it did, and recent years have brought both the art and artists to the attention of people around the world. The Croatian Naive Art Gallery & Museum collection opened in St. Petersburg (Florida) recently, exclusively featuring the intricate Croatian reverse glass paintings. I’ve seen these painting before, and always thought that they were Russian, but never really understood the art medium. Think of this as painting in reverse. The artist paints with oils on the reverse side of a piece of glass, doing everything backwards from a typical painting. The paintings is done in stages, and in the reverse […]

Across from the Liberty Bell Center in Philadelphia (which I previously wrote about ), is Independence Hall. Although it was originally built between 1732-1756 as the State House of the Province of Pennsylvania, it became better known for other events that occurred there: George Washington was appointed Commander in Chief of the Continental Army in the Assembly Room (1775) Declaration of Independence was adopted (July 4th, 1776) American flag design was approved (1777) Meeting place for the Second Continental Congress, except during the time Philadelphia was occupied by the British Army (winter of 1777-78) Articles of Confederation were adopted (1781) U.S. Constitution was drafted (1787) The tour begins in the East Wing, and offers a close up view of what is considered classic Georgian architecture. Great pains have been taken to restore the building, inside and out, to its original […]

The city of Portland has as sordid an underground history as my home city of Seattle does, and, like Seattle, it makes for a fun walking tour. There were plenty of nefarious deeds going on above ground, but the underground was where the really fun stuff was happening.  In the subterranean world of Chinatown, you can still see impressive architecture from years gone by, looking nothing like the modern city in the photo.  Below ground you’ll find the “Shanghai Tunnels.”  The tunnels originally connected the basements of most of the downtown hotels and bars to the Willamette waterfront, and were used to expeditiously move goods.  They later became the site of many kidnappings called “crimpings” and known to us today as shangaiing.  During the years of Prohibition, a different kind “goods” were moved through the tunnels, and many bars were set up […]

Today is Admission Day for Maine, our 23rd state, admitted to the Union on March 15, 1820. Maine is located in the northeastern part of the United States, in the New England area of the country, and joined the Union as part of the Missouri compromise.  It ranks 39th of the 50 states in geographical area, and 40th in population. Although the origin of the state’s name is debatable, the most probably theory is that it came from the English settlers who lived on islands off the coast.  They would talk about “going over to the mainland,” which soon became shortened to “going over to main.”  The name seems to have stuck. The state is probably best known for its scenery.  From rugged coastlines (charming fishing villages, lighthouses) to wooded interiors (nearly 90% of Maine is forested), from mountains to […]

Today is Admission Day for Florida, our 27th state, admitted to the Union on March 3rd, 1845. Florida is located in the southeastern part of the country, with the Atlantic Ocean flanking one side, and the Gulf of Mexico the other.  Ponce de Leon named it, and many believe that it was in Florida that he claimed to have found his fountain of youth. Before the formal declaration of Civil War, Florida seceded from the Union, and became a founding member of the Confederate States of America.  Full representation was restored in 1868. For much of its existence, Florida was the least populated southern state.  By the mid-20th century, however, many residents were leaving the frigid weather of the northeastern US, looking for the temperate climes found in Florida.  Today, Florida is the second most populated of the southern states […]

Grand Canyon National Park was designated a national park on February 26, 1919, and is one of the oldest national parks in the United States.  It is located within Arizona, near Flagstaff, and within the parks lies the Grand Canyon, considered to be one of the major natural wonders of the world. Although the Grand Canyon is not the largest canyon in the world, it is spectacular in its combination of size and colorful layers of rock.  The National Park covers a little over 1.2 million acres, and is governed by the National Park Service.  Flying over the canyon always elicits lots of oooooh and aaaaaaaahs from passengers. The South Rim of the park is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and services are available year round. The North Rim offers visitor services and facilities from mid-May to mid-October.  […]