November 4, 2015

Tanya's Daily Scoop
NEXT TRIP DEPARTS IN: 

Bring it on El Nino!

Well HELLO there!

How is everyone this fantastic morning?

Today is gonna be a horsey day for us.
We haven't been in a week and the weather is lovely (not HOT), so I am ready to head out there and let Cosette do her thing!

Speaking of the weather it rained again yesterday - which is LOVELY!
Bring it on El-Nino. Bring it on!

I just love the rain, has to be my very favorite weather. It finally felt like Fall, and there was a lovely slight crispness in the air.
I had looked at the temps and it was currently cooler here in SoCal than in NYC, and the forecasted lows were also forecasted to be lower than in NYC. I even had a light sweater on!

As California braces for a wet winter fueled by the strongest El Niño conditions in decades, the first winter storm powered by polar air from the Gulf of Alaska has hit the west coast ski resorts (which I'm stoked about) already bringing DUMP ALERTS and earlier than planned opening dates! (insert HAPPY DANCE here)

In fact, Mt. Rose (Lake Tahoe area) is scheduled to open TODAY, about three weeks before the traditional Thanksgiving opening.

Mammoth Mountain has been blessed with 12–30" of beautiful, fluffy snow covering the mountain. And in places like Wyoming, Jackson Hole received 22 inches of fresh snow blanketing the upper mountain, and it's still coming down in the Rockies! Western Colorado even has a Winter Storm WARNING until 6pm Thursday evening.

All of this make me a very excited girl who can't wait to get out there and play in the snow!!! ​

I'm thinking that I will probably begin to pull out some of the Fall/Winter wardrobe out and slowly make the switch over.
This is a BIG CHORE around here to say the least, so stretching it out over a few non-consectutive days will hopefully be a good thing!

I've also got to pack for the weekend...let's see if I even manage to get to that today! lol

​Yesterday was spent playing with and enjoying the company of my adorable nieces..

I also managed to continue with my Christmas shopping, and to consult with each member of the household family as to what they would like to see on our Thanksgiving menu!

THANKSGIVNG COUNTDOWN: 22 DAYS
And lots planned and going on in the time leading up to that Eat-a-Thon! 

Since it's W2GW (Where to go Wednesday) let's talk about a few things to do this coming weekend:

DANCES OF PERU
Saturday, November 7th at 8pm
​Alex Theatre in Glendale, CA

The thousand-year-old heritage of the Peruvian culture and traditions left by our ancestors, the influence of other cultures such as the Spanish during the colonial period, and the rugged geography of our country have contributed to the birth of a myriad of artistic cultural and folk expressions that have endured until our time. They have originated a phenomenom that very few are aware of, called Peru: the Country of the 5000 Dances.

The cultural project Las Danzas del Perú welcomes you to a small space of the Peruvian folklore in Los Angeles, California.

​Click HERE for more INFO

I love Peru and I'm super stoked about going to this show!

Or how about this...
The LGB FLY-IN
Saturday, November 7th from 11am-3pm

This free event is fun for the entire family, and features static displays of aircraft, gourmet food trucks, entertainment, the Aquarium of the Pacific, and a JetBlue giveaway! 

Meet with Airport tenants, flying schools, fixed-base operators, pilot shops and more.

Visitors can enter the airfield from the west end of the Airport property at East Wardlow Road and Globemaster Way. Free parking will be available.

Attendees are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items to donate to Food Finders. New this year will be the Paradies Fly-In Festival beer garden, just adjacent to the Fly-In. All proceeds will benefit Miller Children's Hospital Long Beach Auxiliary and Leadership Long Beach.

Click HERE for more INFO

And if I weren't going to be "away" this weekend, I think that this event sounds like a lot of fun!

Or maybe...
​ICE at Santa Monica

Every holiday season, Downtown Santa Monica brings a little ice skating to the beachside community and transforms the corner of 5th Street and Arizona Avenue into ICE at Santa Monica, a premier outdoor ice skating rink. The 8,000 square foot rink by the beach offers residents and visitors a little taste of winter without the bite.
A great location to celebrate the holidays, ICE at Santa Monica is the perfect place to hang out with friends and family, throw a party in a private event cabana, enjoy a first date or sign up for skate lessons. Join the fun and visit Downtown Santa Monica this season to experience ICE.

Click HERE for more INFO

That just about sums it up for me for today. It's about time that I get my butt in gear and get on with my TO DO list! 

I look forward to meeting you back here tomorrow for more Daily Scoop, and some Throwback Thursday fun!

Toodles,
​-T

Elisa's Daily Scoop
NEXT TRIP DEPARTS IN: 9 DAYS

Hello, Hello!

I'm starting off my day today with sunshine and a great mood in my favorite blog spot, Starbucks.  Here's my "Vlog morning""

I'm so excited to tell you about my day yesterday.  The Walt Whitman Birthplace and Museum is truly a delightful place to visit, right here on Long Island in the town of Huntington.

Me with one of America's greatest poets, Walt Whitman at the Walt Whitman Birthplace & Museum

I volunteered to chaperone my daughter, Gianna's 6th grade class on their field trip, not aware of where they were going. 

After finding out that it was to the museum dedicated to the great American poet, Walt Whitman, I was so psyched!  It's just another reason I love Long Island and all it has to offer whether you live here or you are visiting.

Okay, so down to the business of the day.  After a 40 minute bus ride to Huntington, where the museum is located, I exited the bus with two classes of 6th graders and headed to the museum building, which is located adjacent to the house where Walt Whitman was born on May 31, 1819.

The visit was broken up into two one hour parts.  One dedicated to poetry - hearing it being read and writing exercises.  

The other was about the history of Walt Whitman's life and a grand tour of the birthplace and house in which he was born. 

The museum was a brightly lit, intimate building filled with photos, paintings and sculptures of the 19th Century poet. 
​
After a brief overview of how Mr. Whitman changed the nature of poetry - with his creation of "free verse", which revolutionized how poetry had always been written, the kids were asked to engage in a few exercises to write their own poetry.

Our guide was both passionate and well-informed about Whitman and the area of poetry.

What made Whitman so reverred, was that prior to his writings, poems were written with end rhymes.  He changed all that and by the time he was an older man, people in Europe began copying his style.

His poetry was very descriptive filled with his observations about the world around him and he wanted people to write about all that they saw. 

I have to tell you, I was blown away by the poems written in only 10 minutes by these 6th graders.  They were filled with emotion, personal observations and feeling.  Watching them concentrate on creating their poetry was priceless.

The museum has numerous programs for kids and adults alike and is a definite, must-see here on Long Island! CLICK HERE for more information and the programs offered.

After the "writing" segment, we moved into the main room of the museum, which was filled with a three-dimensional timeline of Whitman's life, while listening to yet another, well-learned guide give us a detailed account of his life, family history and professional career.  

We also got to hear an actual recording of Walt Whitman reading a segment of his poem, America, which was recorded by Thomas Edison!
 
The house tour was delightful!  As we walked through the door, we took a step back in time as the kids heard all about what life was like in the 18th Century.  No electricity. No Toy Stores. No Electronics. No Grocery Stores. No Cars. 

The Gift Shop

The Whitman home was originally part of 60 acres with 20 of those acres dedicated to farming. At the time the poet lived there, the views from the property encompassed the Atlantic Ocean - very different from the way it looks today!

The Whitman family moved to Brooklyn, an emerging village at the time, and sold the house when Walt was three years old.

The poet had only five years of formal education. No high school, no college, but his creativity flourished and he forever changed the world of poetry.

Various families lived in the house throughout the 19th and 20th Centuries.  Interestingly, in the 1920's the then-owner put a sign on a rock outside the house that this was Walt Whitman's birthplace. Visitors came from all over, many from as far as  Peru to see the house!

Whitman self-publshed his famous Leaves of Grass, producing 850 copies, unable to sell them all. Today, a first edition of Leaves of Grass is worth $250,000. ​​

Walt Whitman's Birthplace

Kids enthralled with the water well

What a great day and a wonderful way for the kids to learn about poetry, writing, expressing their creativity! Definitely add it to your list of places to see!

6th Graders at Walt Whitman Museum

The rest of my day is filled with errands and helping the kids with homework and test studying.

I hope you enjoy the rest of this lovely day!

-E
xoxo