Friday 26 April 2024
A woman's quick guide to chic airport style
Thursday 25 April 2024
The High Line, New York
On our recent trip to New York, one of the places that I was really keen to visit was The High Line. The High Line is a park which has been built on an abandoned elevated railway track, running from Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District to 34th Street near the Javits Center. It's free to enter and is open daily from 7pm-8pm in winter and until 10pm in summer. We visited on a sunny Sunday afternoon at the end of March, and it was very busy.
It's a little early in the year for much to be growing, so the park was sparse in places. But there is plenty of artwork displayed to add some colour. Also many of the buildings that you walk past have cheerful murals and there are some lovely views of the city buildings. I was pleased to see that some of the original tracks had been kept in their original positions, and the park was much wider than I expected it to be.
If you are taking a trip to New York I'd definitely recommend taking the time for a visit, it's a fantastic way of bringing new life to old infrastructure, and a real change from the busy and noisy city.
Friday 19 April 2024
Where to see the retired space shuttles
Recently I shared some of the things that I saw on our recent trip to New York and Washington, and I mentioned that we had now seen all of the retired space shuttles. I thought I'd put together a post about where all the space shuttles can now be seen, as they are awesome to see in person! The best thing is that they are all displayed in different ways to showcase their various features and uses, so even though the shuttles themselves are similar you can learn new things about them as you see each one.
Space Shuttle Atlantis
Atlantis is on display at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and the museum has gone to a lot of effort to showcase its star attraction. The shuttle is housed in a separate building, fronted by the massive familiar orange external fuel tank and two solid rocket boosters.
Space Shuttle Discovery
Space Shuttle Discovery is on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Washington D.C. in a large hanger, along with lots of other impressive air and spacecraft. It's displayed resting on the ground with the landing wheels down. There's just a low barrier all around it, and it's so close that you almost feel as though you could just reach out and touch it! It's really interesting to be able to have a good look at how the wheels slotted into place underneath the shuttle.
Space Shuttle Endeavour (currently off display)
Endeavour is currently stored at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. We saw it in 2018 when it was in a temporary home, suspended in the air in a large hanger above the heads of the visitors. Unfortunately at the moment it is off display, as it is in the process of being moved to a new part of the museum - the Samual Oschin Air and Space Center. When open, it will be the only place in the world that you'll be able to see a complete Space Shuttle System with a flown orbiter as the shuttle will be displayed upright, attached to the rocket boosters and external fuel tank ready for launch. It looks as though the museum is expected to open next year (2025) and I would love to be able to go back and see it again in its new home!
Space Shuttle Enterprise
Space Shuttle Enterprise is on display at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York. It's housed in a separate, covered display area at the far end of the museum, and be prepared to wait in line for a little while if you visit on a busy day. Space Shuttle Enterprise is the only shuttle that didn't actually fly in space, it was used for atmospheric test flights.
You can view the shuttle from a raised walkway around the front of the shuttle, so you can get a good look at the windscreen and heat shields.
Space Shuttles Challenger and Columbia
Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight in 1986, killing all seven crew members aboard - the first fatal accident involving an American spacecraft in flight. Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated as it re-entered the atmosphere in 2003, also killing all seven crew members. (There was a recent three part documentary 'The Space Shuttle that Fell to Earth' which was excellent in telling the story of what happened in the Columbia disaster, it's available to watch on BBC iPlayer.)
You can see some pieces recovered from both shuttles at the 'Forever Remembered' memorial at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, along with personal items and stories from the crew members. There are also memorials to the astronauts of the Challenger and the Columbia at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington D.C.
Finally there are two more shuttle experiences that we've not yet managed:
Space Shuttle Pathfinder (test simulator)
Not a real space shuttle, the Space Shuttle Pathfinder was a space shuttle test simulator made of steel and wood, and it's about the same size, weight and shape as an actual orbiter. You can see it on display at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, and this is definitely somewhere that we would love to visit one day.
Space Shuttle Independence (replica) - formerly known as Explorer
Space Shuttle Independence is a full scale space shuttle replica. It was formerly on display at the Kennedy Space Center and can now be seen at the Space Center Houston (another place that we would love to visit). It's displayed in Independence Plaza, mounted on the original NASA 905 shuttle carrier aircraft. Visitors can enter both the shuttle and the plane, which sounds amazing.
Saturday 13 April 2024
Some cool things I've seen over the last couple of weeks
This Easter we finally managed the trip to New York and Washington that was originally planned for March 2020. We spent 6 nights in New York, 5 nights in Washington D.C. and travelled by train between the two. It was a brilliant holiday, with lots of walking and sightseeing. I feel like my head is full of all the amazing things that we saw!
Here are just some of them:
On our first evening in New York we all booked a trial for the Apple Vision Pro at the shop in Grand Central Station. I've written before about how I was interested to see the technology in action, and we weren't disappointed. We each had half an hour or so to run through a quick demo, learning how to use the headset and seeing what it is capable of. We all loved it and I think my husband was very tempted to bring one back home with us, but at $3500 it's a little out of our price range at the moment!
We spent a lot of time in museums on this trip and saw so many things that it's difficult to pick out a few, but one thing I was excited to see was definitely this costume from Hamilton in the National Museum of American History. We spent a lot of time learning about different aspects of US history, we also did a tour of the Capitol building and saw the original Declaration of Independence along with other historical documents.
We had a fantastic trip and although we all came back exhausted from so much walking around we saw things that will stay with us for a long time to come.
Thursday 21 March 2024
Things that make me uneasy
My current read is The Pillow Book by Sei Shonagon (affiliate link). I discovered it a little while ago when I was reading a fiction book which quoted extracts at the beginning of chapters - My Year of Meats by Ruth Ozeki (affiliate link).
The Pillow Book was written during the 990s and early 1000s in Japan. It's collection of thoughts, lists, poems, anecdotes and other musings, recorded by Sei Shonagon about her daily life as a court lady to the empress. I've only just started but I'm really enjoying it so far, the translation is really easy to read and many of the sections are really relatable!
My favourite chapters are the lists. They include things like 'Things that make one's heart beat faster', 'Elegant things', 'Surprising and distressing things' and 'Things that should be short'. They make me think of the lists that I compose in my head and then often write up in a blog post (like Things I think about while I'm running or Things I collect that I don't need.) In fact the whole book is a little bit like a blog!
So here is a blog post inspired by Sei Shonagon.
Things that make me uneasy
Large trees, especially when it's windy
Empty plug sockets with the switch left on
Curtains left open after dark
Uneven pavements
Dogs not on a lead
A phone battery below 20%
A cupboard door left open
A letter addressed to me when I'm not expecting anything
Traffic wardens
The back door left unlocked
Level crossings
Temporary traffic lights that haven't changed for a while
Lightning
Photo credit David Emrich via Unsplash |
Thursday 14 March 2024
Things I collect that I don't need
I've been looking around the house recently and thinking that I'm well overdue for a good declutter. It's been ages since I last took part in a decluttering challenge, and things are starting to pile up a bit. My poor bookshelves in particular are looking a little overcrowded, and there are lots of random things lying about that need to be sorted.
I've noticed so many things in the house that I really don't need but I just can't help keeping. They include:
Scrap paper - I can't bear to throw away any piece of paper that might come in useful. Letters that are only printed on one side, spare pages torn from old schoolbooks, notebooks going back to when I was at school.
Slippers from hotels - Freebie slippers are great while you're on holiday but not much good back at home, however I still can't resist bringing them back with me.
Other items purloined from hotels - In particular little bottles of toiletries, especially now that they are less common. I always think they will come in useful for travel, and then I just find more at my destination. Recently I emptied about twenty tiny bottles of shower gel into one large bottle and forced myself to work my way through it!
Books - This is becoming a big problem. I've always been quite minimalist with my books and passed them on once I'd finished, but I've recently been adding some old favourites to my library as I come across them in charity shops and I'm running out of book shelf space.
Blankets - I love snuggling under a blanket all year round, and I've also made quite a few blankets over the years. We have several times more blankets than people in the house!
Fabric - I don't do a lot of fabric crafting but I do like to keep some fabric scraps on hand and I often buy pieces on holiday in the US where it's much cheaper. There are also quite a few odd balls of wool lying about that I'm unlikely to use.
Recipes - This is definitely an aspirational collection! I cut out recipes from the free supermarket magazines and I also print out ones that I come across online. I store them all in a little box in the kitchen and then forget about them.
Things from the beach - Sea glass, shells, interesting pebbles. I walk along the beach fairly often and it's rare not to come back with something. My handbag and coat pockets are also filled with beachy souvenirs.
Pretty boxes - From mugs, toiletries, chocolates, little gifts. I do love a nice box and I can't bear to put them in the recycling!
Added to that are clothes and shoes that the children have outgrown or have worn out, and all the other random things that pile up over time.
Photo credit Ella Jardim via Unsplash |
Monday 11 March 2024
What is everyone listening to?
Recently I wrote about some of the things that I think about when I'm running, and one of them was wondering what the people I see out and about are listening to on their headphones.
Is it just me, or are more and more people wearing headphones? I notice it more and more! Usually just the ear bud style, but also large over the head ones. If I'm running behind someone and want to overtake I never know if they can hear me coming, even if I try to let them know I'm behind them with an 'excuse me'.
I have a decent pair of bone conduction headphone, but even though they leave my ears free I don't feel as aware of my surroundings when I'm wearing them. I want to hear what's going on around me, especially if I'm running early and alone. So the only time that I wear headphones is at the gym, and I use the corded headphones that came with my phone - I'm still stuck in the 90s!
The children have always owned headphones which they use for travel, but recently they've upgraded to fancier ones and they seem to wear them all the time. I can't complain because as a teenager I was constantly plugged into my personal cassette player, but I do feel a bit lonely sometimes when I'm driving them back from school and they would rather switch off with their own music than chat with me!
I like to wonder what people are listening to. For exercise I enjoy some fast paced music with a strong beat, but I like peace and quiet when I'm out for a walk. Maybe some people aren't actually listening to anything at all, they just want to be left alone, I can see that being something I would do!
Photo credit Mark Rohan via Unsplash |