Las Vegas Beyond Gambling

There are plenty of light shows in and around Las Vegas but the ones I prefer have nothing to do with the Strip. Surprisingly, this overdeveloped city has some pristine patches of wilderness just a short drive from erupting the volcanoes and Egyptian pyramids that capture tourist attention along the Strip. Sure, when I’m in town I hit the craps table for one to two hours, making sure I quit while I’m ahead. But I prefer to stay off the Strip -- at the lower-key boutique Rumor Las Vegas that is thankfully free of a casino.

These are three venues where I spend a lot of my time when I’m in Vegas:

1. Just 45 minutes from the spinning roulette wheels is a wilderness area with almost blinding colors, so intense you may wonder if you've stepped on the surface of the sun. At Valley of Fire State Park, light explodes off the red, mauve, vermilion and white-colored sandstone in Nevada's oldest park in stark contrast to the surrounding drab brown foothills. With names like the Beehives, Elephant Rock, Balancing Rock and the Limestone Hoodoos, these otherworldly formations, resembling their names, are arranged almost like a unique sculpture garden. And scattered about are petroglyphs, Indian drawings and geometric symbols, probably from 225 million years ago. Hiking this park is almost like a treasure hunt. On a short trail to Petrified Logs, you'll find wood from ancient forests that had washed down and transformed to glassy stone millions of years ago.




2. Visitors can escape the chaos of Las Vegas by driving under 30 minutes to a serene, unspoiled landscape where towering sandstone formations replace Vegas' concrete canyons. Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area with its artist's palette of terra cotta blending to rose, tan and alabaster, is ideal for a day getaway. Here, the driver, hiker or cyclist alike can experience sweeping scenery and rolling desert valleys. A one-way 13-mile road circles the canyon's perimeter where fifteen trails take hikers to the foot of rugged hilltops or across sandstone arches and domes. Driving this scenic road, you'll be surrounded by red- and buff-colored cliffs, yucca and Joshua trees and dense stands of pine that wash the mountainsides with hues of green. Easy walks cross flat beds of wildflowers or wander past stands of ponderosa pines. Strenuous hikes involve rock scrambling to waterfalls.




3. Instead of sweating at the craps table watching your supply of chips dwindle, cool off by jumping on a chair lift. At the Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort and Mt. Charleston you can cross-country ski, horseback ride, camp, or hike.


Mt. Charleston is a place where you can get the whole family back to nature with sleigh rides in the winter and wagon rides in the summer. Even when it's sweltering in the valley, you'll find moderate 70° F weather at Mt. Charleston. For those weary of the almost monochromatic desert around Vegas, Mt. Charleston is a welcome change, where you will find dense stands of aspen, foxtail and white pine. There's hiking for all levels, from a thirty-minute walk to waterfalls to a difficult nine-mile climb to the 12,000-foot peak. Gone is the stale smoky air of the casinos, the endless chiming of slot machines and the stream of neon lights. Instead, you'll gaze at wildflowers in grassy meadows, smell the sweet aroma of ponderosa pines and hear the subtle rippling of streams.

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Art + Creativity in Israel's Holocaust Museum

Any trip to Israel isn't complete without a visit to Yad Vashem, the country's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust in Jerusalem. But since I visited it a little over a year ago and cried my way through exhibit after exhibit, this time I wanted to explore other sections of the complex.


Since I gravitate to expressions of creativity when I'm traveling, I spent my entire visit at the center's two art museums.


These present the Holocaust in a whole new light, emphasizing the creativity of survivors as well as those who painted, drew or sculpted while in hiding or who were living in the ghettos and who ultimately didn't survive.



"Virtues of Memories: Six Decades of Holocaust Survivor Art" is a temporary exhibit with 300 works by an equal number of survivors who created their art after the war.



Some later became professional artists while many others relied on art as a means to express an oftentimes indescribable experience. The images are divided into sections based on theme (for example, fires, the exodus, deportation, the camps, prison scenes, women and children) and visual presentation (such as black and white scenes done with pen and ink, linoleum or graphite; sculptural works; and abstract art).


The exhibit is fascinating because of the myriad ways -- whether through symbol, a vivid palette or the artistic style -- each artist remembers his or her cruel experience. One painting displays chimneys spewing billowing clouds with the letter "J' inserted in each. A sculpture of an outstretched striped prison shirt is constructed of mixed media. An aluminum tree grows leaves of hands reaching for the sky, while a bold abstract piece appears to depict a web of wires amid splashes of chaotic color.



I spent an hour taking in not only the multitude pieces but also the memorable quotes inscribed on the walls, such as this one: "I remember just one thing: the clatter of the wheels."



Then I meandered to the adjacent Holocaust Art Museum with its permanent collection of works done during the Holocaust. Here I was surprised at the many sun-filled landscapes or brightly painted pieces that had absolutely nothing to do with the many brutal acts of the tragedy itself. Even more surprising is how these dedicated artists who were physically lacking much that we take for granted and who were mentally stressed to the limits of the human capacity were able to create vibrant works while fashioning art supplies out of the bare basic materials at hand. It was fascinating to linger over the works and read the mini biographies of the artists which describe where they studied, painted, whether the Nazis discovered them and their ultimate fate.



I found a section dedicated to Carol Deutsch who painted striking gauche illustrations of the Bible. (Twenty-five of the 99 he created for his daughter are on display.) Though he was murdered in the camp, his daughter ultimately found his oeuvre in a large wooden box elaborately adorned with a menorah and a Star of David.

The wealth of works that young Charlotte Salomon painted while hiding in France is outstanding, including her delicate watercolors that portray images of the villa where she and her family took refuge, the colorful blooming gardens, and the surrounding leafy forest.

Despite being ordered to paint S.S. officer Felix Landau's nursery with fairy tale images, artist and writer Bruno Schulz managed to inject his own style and personality into the works. On display are the remains of the fanciful frescoes all painted under coercion. Schultz's father is the bearded dwarf in the Snow White imagery. The carriage rider representing a scene from Cinderella is Schultz himself. In fact, the carriage and driver motif appear frequently in his works. Even more interesting are the trees that may have been meant to represent Bronica Forest where Landau executed Jews.

Despite the brutality of the Holocaust, creativity somehow manages to continue unabated. And, though these artists may have not all survived, they were able to leave their legacy which provide a window into their state of mind and their reality so that we may never forget.

credits: works by: Rosemarie Koczy, Erwin Wending, Adolf Frankl, Malvina Kaplan and Leon Engelsberg

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It's A Green Washington, DC

When I'm in Washington, DC and the lines are building around the all too familiar sights, including the monuments around the National Mall, I head to two of my two favorite museums, which see fewer crowds: the International Spy Museum -- probably because, as a kid, I always wanted to be a spook -- and the National Museum of the American Indian -- because I studied Native American religions in college. At this latter museum, the landscaping is a vital part of the museum, which completely reflects Native American culture and beliefs.

You probably are well aware that I prefer to spend most of my time outdoors, exploring the serene side of cities. These are highlights of green spaces in and around Washington, DC.



1. Just minutes from the Metro, Theodore Roosevelt Island provides the opportunity to walk trails deep into a forest lush with hickory, oak and sycamore. Many hikers comment how this island feels like a vast wilderness, though it's just stretches barely 90 acres.

2. The Mt. Vernon Trail is an 18-mile path that allows you to bike, jog or walk from Theodore Roosevelt Island to Mount Vernon. Paralleling the Potomac River, the trail gives you places to fish and picnic, bird watch in Dyke Marsh Wildlife habitat or rest among white pines in the Lady Bird Johnson Park



3. The unexpected is surely alive at Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens, which is not only a national park but it has the distinction of being the only one devoted to water plants. While so many of the district's wetlands that were long used by the Native Americans have since been obliterated, luckily, in the 19th century, Walter Shaw, a nature lover, bought this land and cultivated water-loving plants. As a result, the land still retains some of its original wetlands that border the Anacostia River. And, carpeting the property is an abundance of water plants, more than 100,000, including rare lotuses and water lilies. But, when wandering about, take the time to walk the short River Trail that runs from the marsh that surrounds the gardens to the river. You'll likely be able to observe blue herons, muskrats and beaver.

4. Dumbarton Oaks Gardens is a welcome retreat from the heat and chaos of downtown D.C. This ten-acre terraced property, a private estate, has plenty of winding paths and walkways past cherry trees, lilacs, dogwood, pools and fountains. What makes this site so unique is it's design: you'll prowl around the property and find different spaces or garden rooms, as they're referred to, that are only visible once you've stepped into each. This effect is achieved by virtue of gates, walls and a plethora of other barriers that make this garden a wealth of surprises.

5. Just five miles from the White House, Rock Creek Park remains as wild, in parts, as in the 1800s. Don't be surprised to see deer in the almost 1,800 acres of fields and ravines and forest lush with dogwood, beech and sassafras. Hikers and walkers enjoy the six-mile Blue Trail that follows the east side of the creek or the equally long Green Trail on the western ridge of the park.

6. The 184-mile Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, aka C & O, towpath is a quiet, shaded path where mules once towed boats carrying coal, timber and tobacco, can be tackled by joggers and cyclists alike. You certainly don't have to do the whole path. In fact, it's quite common to see weekend athletes running or biking a small portion of this trail after work or on a weekend afternoon.

7. A short drive from the Capitol, Great Falls Park is a perfect venue for experienced kayakers who negotiate treacherous rapids as the Potomac speeds over jagged rocks and drops almost 80 feet in one mile. Stretching along the Potomac, the park also provides several hiking trails where walkers scramble over rocks, stop at bluffs for spectacular views of the narrow Mather Gorge, and trek through forests and swamps.

8. More leisurely treks are found at the U.S. National Arboretum, which occupies more than 400,000 acres. Visitors can wander through the Fern Valley on a path along a stream and across a prairie and meadow. An extensive network of trails leads to a garden of dwarf conifers, an elaborate herb garden with 800 kinds of herbs and an Asian collection along the Anacostia River.


After all this walking, jogging, hiking or biking, at the end of a day I prefer to unwind at the chic Hotel Palomar DC, a boutique property that's not only conveniently located near the Metro, but also offers a complementary wine tasting.

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Remembering Travel With T-Shirts

When I look back on my travels, I go through my T-shirt collection. Yes, you read that correctly: T-shirts, not photos. Sure, most people love to browse through their photo albums or slide shows on their iPad to reminisce about their vacation. But I have to be a bit different. Sure, I shoot plenty of photos to either accompany my story, as a way of documenting a trip, or as an artistic exercise. But I prefer to collect odd or unique T-shirts from my travels as a way to remember a scenic hiking trail or a restaurant that served the best Key Lime pie. My T-shirts also serve another purpose: When I wear them on my journeys, they become conversation starters.

I recently guest blogged on my favorite sourvenirs, T-shirts from my travels, for Pam MacNaughtan at Spunky Girl Monologues.

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Miami's Natural Side

Miamians are certainly not ones to sit still. How could they, when year-round warm weather and miles of sand and sea seduce them to play? But vacationing in Miami also often seems synonymous with navigating the club scene that's still colorful at 5 a.m. When I visit, I try to stay at a low-key hotel, the Angler's Boutique Resort, and spend my time at these nature spots that are plenty vibrant:


1. In 415-acre Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park, four miles of trails course past a subtropical forest of gumbo limbo and pigeon plum trees and mangrove wetlands that once flourished in Florida. You're bound to spy numerous butterfly species and maybe even a rare peregrine falcon.

2. The two-mile Fossilized Reef Trail winds to a unique geological feature -- visible at low tide -- at Crandon Park's Bear Cut Preserve. On the way, you'll likely encounter a variety of birds, from white ibis to cormorants.

3. Just 20 minutes from downtown, Oleta River State Park is a perfect venue for kayaking along the mangrove-lined Oleta River. This is also one of the state's best spots for mountain biking with some 14 miles of interconnecting single track beside waterways where you may spot dolphins or manatee.


4. At the Deering Estate -- once owned by philanthropist Charles Deering -- naturalists lead treks into a tropical forest where you’ll see a Tequesta burial mound from 10,000 years ago, an avocado tree grove from the 1930s, and a solution hole where they found wooly mammoth and campfire evidence from Indians 10,000 years ago. Guides lead numerous other treks, including bird and butterfly walks.

5. Villa Vizcaya, a land of excess owned by Charles's younger brother, the industrialist James Deering, recreated a 16th century Italian villa with rooms filled with European furnishings from the 16th to 19th centuries. The gardens, however, are the highlight of the estate with elements of 17th century French and Italian landscaping. Here you can spend half a day roaming the 10 acres dotted with lily ponds, cascading water, topiary, even a maze garden, and stone grottos.

6. Set on some 83 acres, the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden is home to a lush rainforest, the largest such outdoor forest in the continental U.S. More than 200 plants from the Caribbean, South America and Asia can be found on this property, including unique specimens, such as the rainbow eucalyptus with its colored trunk; and the powderpuff tree, candy corn vine and petticoat palm -- you won't wonder how each received its name.

7. You'll have a whole new perspective on plant life after visiting the Fruit and Spice Park. The park is noted for many unique species, including the lipstick tree, which is considered the poor man’s saffron, and the custard apple that has black fleshy fruit. This is a very interactive park where visitors can sniff bay rum leaves, and sample jackfruit, guava, chocolate pudding fruit and sapodilla.

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What I Love About Rio de Janeiro

It's hard not to immediately fall in love with Rio de Janeiro. Of course, like with all kinds of love, it's always unexpected and maybe defies expectations. And that's what happened with my love affair with Rio. When I told all my savvy friends that I was going to this city that's said to epitomize wildness, all I heard was about the dangers that lurked around every corner. "Don't go out alone." "Don't wear any jewelry." "Don't go out at night." These were my farewell warnings from my friends in New York City.

Of course, the news coming out of Rio -- about armed police clearing out drug dealers from a favela (known as a community but what many would call a slum) -- the week I left on my trip didn't help with my expectations of crime. Instead, what I found was a wonderfully artistic, design-focused city, full of warm and welcoming people who went out of their way to be helpful. The neighborhoods of Leblon and Santa Teresa were perfect for walking about and discovering authentic galleries, cafes, restaurants, museums and shops.

Surprisingly, for a city that's noted for it's crowded communities and wall-to-wall chaotic traffic, the city is networked with bicycle lanes and dotted with clusters of lush parks cut by challenging hiking trails, and meticulously landscaped gardens.



Usually when you hear about a city's signature features, they often disappoint when seen up close. They just can't live up to the high expectations. In the case of Rio, Ipanema Beach's wide swath of golden sand, the immense granite Sugarloaf Mountain and the much-revered Christ the Redeemer statue that soars atop Corcovado Mountain are all breathtaking in different ways. And, though I'm not a fan of visiting major tourist attractions, these were all worth viewing because of surprising findings:

* On Morro da Urca, the hill adjacent to Sugarloaf, I hiked through a jungle and discovered families of monkeys.

* Every Sunday, the major road that parallels Ibanema and Copacabana beaches shuts down so that people can walk, bike or blade.

* The 125-foot-high Jesus statue is snuggled at its base by dense forest land that's oh, so hikable and dripping with exotic and native species.

This slide show will give you a glimpse of Rio's beauty and creativity, its ability to stay close to nature even when you're in the midst of all things concrete, and the sense of being alive that pervades all aspects of a city that you can't help but fall in love with.

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Non-Touristy New York City Travel Tips

It seems that every time I have a friend visiting me here in New York City, they tell me they can't wait to see the Empire State Building and Times Square. And I promptly groan in dismay. As a native New Yorker, I know there are so many less-visited sights that are ripe with cultural delights. Yet, these rarely seem to make it on many tourists' lists, especially if they only intend to visit the city for less than a week.

Nonetheless, I recently guest blogged for GotSaga on the sights I would recommend to my friends visit when they're in town.

Here are several additional ones that didn't make it on the list and briefly what I love about each. Not all of these are in Manhattan and not all are good for year-round trips. But they've all got unexpected treasures.



* Take a specialized walking tour with Context Travel. Unlike with many walking tour operators, these treks are very small and they are always accompanied by a guide who has a degree or an education in the subject, whether it's architecture, art or cuisine. I took a tour through Little Italy and Chinatown -- where I nibbled on everything from pork buns, five kinds of jerky and Italian cheeses -- and was surprised to visit shops I never knew existed.

* Who doesn't know Central Park? But even some New Yorkers have never visited the gated garden within Central Park known as the Conservatory Garden. Stroll here in the early in the morning during the week and you'll have the landscaped expanse with bronzes and blooming flowers pretty much to yourself.

* I always come away with a wealth of ideas when I visit the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. But if you think this museum simply exhibits oh, so cool objects that benefit the elite, guess again. An exhibition that will soon end in early January, "Why Design Now," displays everything from a solar water purifier for those living in areas with contaminated water to low-cost eye glasses that allow the underserved people of the world to fill their own prescriptions without the need for an eye doctor.

* It sits not even a mile off Manhattan's southern tip but Governor's Island isn't a well-known destination for tourists. It's only open to the public from June to October but I try to get there (by ferry) every chance I can because, after all, how often do you have a car-free island where you can bicycle or walk around the entire circumference that's so close to an urban area? There's something for just about everyone here. History buffs will enjoy strolling around the late 19th century wide-porched houses of Nolan Park and the grander brick buildings along Colonels' Row while art aficionados will want to visit the island when sculptures dot the lawns and paintings hang is some of these houses that once housed officers and their families. I always make sure to buy a double scoop of farm-fresh ice cream from Blue Marble. Then I sit along the shore, enjoy the cool breezes, and gaze at the expansive views of the Statue of Liberty and Lower Manhattan.

* Whether you have or haven't heard of Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood on the west side, you should sign up for a 3+-hour walking tour with Rum & Blackbird Tasting Tours. Come with an empty stomach because on A Taste of Hell tour you'll eat plenty of homemade treats, including chorizo tocos, milk shakes and empanadas. Even if you're a New Yorker, you'll enjoy this trip, as I did, because you'll find a historic feature, like the little-known 414 Hotel, that you somehow overlooked.

* Most New Yorkers and just about everyone else know Staten Island for one thing: the ferry that goes back and forth between Lower Manhattan and the island. I fell into that category as well, I must admit. So you can imagine my surprise when I found out that Staten Island is chock full of pristine green spaces, more than any other borough of NYC. I've blogged about this last year. It is well worth visiting Staten Island and either walking, hiking or bicycling along wooded trails, having brunch along a pristine waterfront, wandering a quiet beach and then enjoying a fresh fish lunch.

* It seems NYC has its share of little-visited islands -- as far as tourists go -- and that includes Roosevelt Island that's set in the East River. The tram that easily connects the island with Manhattan just reopened after an extensive renovation, but you can also take a quick subway ride there on the F train but it's nowhere near as scenic. Plenty of people choose to reside on Roosevelt Island because of the sense of community and solitude. This, plus the stunning views of Manhattan are reason enough. But I visit to play tennis, bicycle along a four-mile path, jog along the promenade, picnic at Lighthouse Park, and, take the annual Magnolia Blossom Walk where not only can I relish in one of the first signs of spring but also learn about some of the island's architecturally-interesting landmarks, including the ruins of a smallpox hospital. (The Magnolia Blossom Walk is led by the Roosevelt Island Historical Society.)

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National Park Treasures Without The Crowds

Who wouldn't want to experience the magic of Yellowstone, Yosemite, the Grand Canyon or a host of other national parks? But the first thing that comes to mind for me when I think of visiting these parks in high season is fighting off the crowds.


So what if I told you that it's possible to have all the magic without all the madness? You'd probably think I was delusional. Check out my latest piece for The Huffington Post and you'll see from the accompanying slide show that you don't have to sacrifice scenery for sanity.

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Why I Love Off-Season Travel

I’m a big fan of off-season travel. In fact, you can read my quotes on this topic in today’s ABC News. There are some obvious reasons to hit the road off season: Flights and hotels are much cheaper. For example, I'm planning a trip to the Out Islands of the Bahamas in 2011 and I'll looking to go in May when hotel prices drop significantly.I also visit Vail and other ski areas in the summer when I can stay in at the resorts for a fraction of the cost and go hiking and mountain biking on the slopes.

As far as the crowd issue goes, I travel to Portugal a lot and I love going during the low season when the weather is still mild. And, unlike in the high season, it's easy to get reservations at some of the best restaurants in Lisbon during this time. Another plus of traveling during low season is that you can get more of a feel of authenticity and engage in more mingling with the locals. For example, I visit Reykjavik in December and January when there are only a few hours of daylight. And yet this is a perfect time to hang out in the cozy coffee shops and bars with the locals and chat about politics, the economy, design and art -- topics they love to talk about.

The low season is also a great time to experience local festivals that only occur at that time of the year. For example, in Croatia, the truffle festival in Motovun takes place in November.

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