Black History Month and sights in Queens NY

February 18, 2016

2/18/2016

Tanya's Daily Scoop
NEXT TRIP DEPARTS IN: 4 DAYS

GREETINGS from a wet and rainy SoCal.

I really really really love the rain and was so happy to hear that was the weather upon our return to LAX.

To me that is sooooo much better than the weather that SoCal had been experiencing only a few days earlier (temps into the 90's).

My gang of 3 arrived back home late last night, after a wonderful trip to Quebec that also included a mini visit to NYC and to see my Grandma!

Yesterday was nice and mellow to just be able to visit and hang out at my Grandma's house, and eventually make our way to JFK.
I hadn't rented a car this time around (being that the trip was so darn short) and so unless we were visited at my Grandma's house, we were unable to go make our rounds and do any other visiting of family and/or friends...next time.

Speaking of which, we don't have any plans of visiting this summer and the next time probably won't be until September of this year (2016) when we will go for a more of a proper visit prior to our trip to Florida and Cruise to the Bahamas.

So despite the tears welled up in my Grandma's eyes, the time had come for us to say our good byes, and make our way nearly 3,000 miles west across the country.

Well folks after the flight, we found ourselves next to actor Anthony Anderson of the TV sit-com Black-ish waiting at the luggage carousel.

We had arrived safe and sound back to the craziness of LAX - which btw has just about the worst traffic of any airport that I've ever been to! I'm being quite serious here. THE WORST!

I'm telling you Avoid LAX if you can or at the very least plan to arrive several hours prior to your departing flight.

Because of traffic and the fact that our flight arrived nearly an hour early, we stood curbside for what seemed like an eternity waiting for Dave to pull up and pick us up.

Standing there, waiting, we had nothing but flashback memories of my mom (who is forever LATE) coming to the airport to pick us up and leave us waiting for probably over an hour at the curbside each time (although I'm sure she would deny or argue this).

As for today, our schedule has been changed around quite a bit - the rain caused Cosette's horseback riding lesson to be cancelled as well as the kids performance this evening also being cancelled.
So instead, it will be a muddy visit to see Dream and Star and then plenty of unpacking, laundry and packing for me to do.

Yes I said unpacking and packing - did you notice that we have another trip coming up in only 4 days???

We are heading to Lake Tahoe this time around folks!

I got the snow report this morning and they received an another 24" in addition to the already 92" base that they have!!
So fingers are crossed for some mighty good skiing!!!

Also speaking of Lake Tahoe, we (Dave and I) need to sign up for the Tour de Tahoe Bike Ride in September.
Which would be quite similar to the America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride that we did last June.

Here's a TBT picture for that one:

Taken while pedaling in the America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride - Lake Tahoe - June, 2015

And considering that it is TBT (Throwback Thursday) here are a few more fun and snowy throwback pics from a 2011 road trip to Lake Tahoe for you to enjoy:

Can you spot Cosette is this picture?

Cosette and my friend Jeff

Time to make a Snow Angel.

Can you spot Dominic is this picture?

Mono Lake - on the same road trip

That's about it folks. I've got an incredibly busy weekend coming up and then we leave on our trip.
So this busy bee has got to start buzzin'.

See y'all back here tomorrow,
-T

Elisa's Daily Scoop
NEXT TRIP DEPARTS IN: 31 DAYS

Celebrating Black History Month in Queens

Hey there!! Greetings from Southampton!

Well, I've been all over Long Island and New York City this week. Staying in Southampton for the week so the kiddies could attend Winter Riding Camp.

Throughout the week, I've hit Manorville (where camp is), made my way over to Riverhead to Tanger Outlets (where I hang out most days to write while they are riding) and then yesterday, I headed way west to Queens to spend the day at some wonderful points of interest, honoring great Black Americans!!

It was a long day of driving, but well worth it. I even got the chance to spend it with my Aunt Ro! Since she has retired, she loves to do local travel with me!!

So yesterday, we spent the day together running around Queens and then ended with a great lunch in Astoria!!

The only regret I had was not being able to see Tanya and gang before they left for SoCal, but there was a great deal to do, and limited time for both of us (insert sad face).

My day started off with dropping off the 3 girls at the barn and then a leisurely drive to Queens to pick up Aunt Ro at her apartment in Astoria.

From there, we headed to Flushing to the Lewis H. Latimer House. I posted a few pictures yesterday while there, but I have a bunch more for today.

Lewis H. Latimer House
34-41 137th Street
Flushing, NY 11354
(718) 961-8585
Hours: Wednesdays & Fridays 11am - 4pm
The house itself is very quaint and lovely, built in Queen Anne style of architecture. The outside is really adorable as you can see from the photos, and dates back to the the 1880's originally owned by the Sexton family.

Lewis Howard Latimer lived in it from 1903 to the time of his death in 1928. The house remained the property of the Latimer family until 1963 and now it is operated as a museum dedicated to the inventor's work.

Today, the Latimer House is owned by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, operated by the Lewis H. Latimer Fund, Inc., and is a member of the Historic House Trust.

Lewis H. Latimer House, Flushing, Queens, New York

Lewis was born the son of fugitive slaves in 1848 and was determined to overcome his lack of formal education.

He joined the Union Navy, where he taught himself mechanical drawing and became an expert draftsman. It is said that through his family connections and close relationships with influential black Americans like Frederick Douglas, his career path was filled with promise to succeed.

And succeed he did!! He worked with three of the greatest scientific inventors in American history, including Alexander Graham Bell, Hiram S. Maxim, and Thomas Alva Edison.

He played a critical role in the development of the telephone and, as Edison’s chief draftsman, he invented and patented the carbon filament, a significant improvement in the production of the incandescent light bulb.

Throughout his life, he oversaw the development of power plants as well as the installation of street lighting, not only here in the United States in many American cities, but also in Montreal and London.

Copy of a letter signed by Frederick Douglas

I am sorry to say, as excited as I was to visit this great American's home (and now museum dedicated to his achievements), I was rather disappointed with a few aspects of my visit.

First, I was not overly impressed with the tour. We arrived while a tour was being given to a group of school children, ranging in age from kindergarden to fifth grade. I found the tour guide to be less than professional in his knowledge of simple questions that the kids asked such as when was Mr. Latimer born and some other basic facts.

What's more, the walls were covered in poster sized displays with this written information.

Secondly, while Lewis was a great scientists whose contributions to our lifestyle today cannot be underscored enough, I found the manor in which this information was presented was rather boring to kids.

Lastly, there were so many great riches in the first floor of this house - from Lewis' travel trunk to his desks and the various household items. I just thought that tying in the time period Lewis lived in would personalize the tour more.

I will not lie, I was also disappointed that the upstairs was not available to tour. Afterall, this was the home he lived in for close to 30 years, and seeing the upper level would have personalized the experience a bit more.

Overall, I'm very happy I went, because this man is someone I was not aware of and boy, did he make significant contributions to our way of life and those around the world!

From here, we headed a few miles away to Flushing Cemetery, where, unbeknownst to me, many great Americans, many of which were black, are buried! Look at this impressive list!!!

Louis Armstrong (1901–1971), musician and singer
Bernard Baruch (1870–1965), financier, after whom Baruch College is named
Eugene Bullard (1895–1961), the first Black military pilot
Ellis Parker Butler (1869–1937), author of Pigs is Pigs
Dr. Adam Clayton Powell, Sr., cleric
Dizzy Gillespie (1917–1993), jazz trumpet player
Hermann Grab, writer
Johnny Hodges, long-time Ellington band sideman and soloist
Thomas Birdsall Jackson, United States Congressman
Jan Matulka, Modern artist
Lemuel E. Quigg, United States Representative from New York
May Robson, actress
Aris San, Greek singer who spent most of his life in Israel and United States.
Vincent Sardi, Sr., founder of Sardi's restaurant.
Hazel Scott, musician
Charlie Shavers, jazz trumpet player
Frederic Storm (1844–1935), US Representative for New York (1901–03)
Jo Van Fleet, actress

Next stop, Louis Armstrong House in Corona Queens. Now, I had visited this amazing treasure of a museum quietly buried on 107th Street, about a month ago.

But, in honor of Black History Month, I wanted to let Aunt Ro experience it! (And I don't mind saying, it was a joy for me to return!).

Louis Armstrong House Museum
34-56 107th Street
Corona, NY 11368
718-478-8274
HOURS
Tuesday – Friday: 10 am – 5 pm
Saturday – Sunday: 12 pm – 5 pm

This tribute to the world's greatest jazz musician, Satchmo, is a must-see!! This unassuming, yet world renown man could have lived anywhere, but he and his wife, Lucille chose the quiet neighborhood of Corona as their home in 1943.

Louis spent the rest of his life here until his death in 1971 and Lucille remained here until her's in 1983.

In accordance with Lucille's final wishes, the Armstrong house was given to the city of New York to serve as a tribute to Louis, his life and the contributions he made to the world.

Today the historic site is owned by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and administered by Queens College under a long-term license agreement.

Our tour guide, Elaine was AMAZING!! She was an absolute joy, filled with incredible knowledge and personality! Lucky enough, me and Aunt Ro were the only ones there when the tour started so it was a private tour to boot!!!

Beginning with an informative video presentation summarizing the life of Louis, this 40 minute tour starts in what was the Armstrong's basement, which has now been transformed into a display room with priceless items and artifacts of Louis' personal and professional life.

Among these are the robe he wore in a story in Time magazine about "bathrooms of the rich and famous" and the trumpet given to Satchmo by King George of England.

What used to be the garage, is now the entrance and small museum gift shop, which is filled with an array of souvenirs, music cd's and videos featuring the jazz legend.

The real treat, however, is the actual house tour! Everything is exactly as it was when Lucille passed. Decorated by Lucille herself with style and influence from all over the world, each room is a bit unique reflecting her personal taste and favorites in colors and designs.

Perhaps the most touching of all the rooms is Louis' den, where he would write and tape for hours. The rooms have audio clips of Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong together and with guests, talking about a variety of subjects, including one of Louis singing acapella.

I could visit this museum over and over! And I do plan to bring my girls here in the near future as well to give them insight into one of the greatest music legends of all time!!

Our "Black History Celebration in Queens" day ended with a delicious (late) lunch in Astoria at Grand Cafe on 30th Avenue.

I was STARVING!! We ordered to very delicious dishes which we shared.

The first, I was so famished, I just bit into and then remembered to take a picture!!
It was an Almond butter, Banana, Green apple and honey panini. It was SOOOO GOOD!!

Next, we had a Greek Bruschetta, which was also to die for!!