AprilA2Z

Blogging From A to Z Challenge

/ Luanne Shernisky / Leave a comment

I took an impromptu trip to visit friends in West Palm Beach and took my laptop, since I wanted to keep up with all things online. Unfortunately, they were having problems with their Internet, so I’ll have to catch up with letters D, E, F & G. I’ll also try to catch up with all of your posts, as well! Letters A through C serendipitously took on a Travel/Places of interest theme, so I’ll try to stay with that. However, I may have to veer off course on occasion!

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Rock & Roll is here to stay. ~ Neil Young

Blogging From A to Z Challenge

“H” is for Hard Rock Cafe.

My only two visits to a Hard Rock Cafe both occurred in New York City. The first was in April or May of 2000; only a few short months before 9/11. I volunteered to chaperone my son’s eighth grade field trip, a whirlwind three day excursion with a raucous group of young teenagers. At one point in our tour, we were waiting for the ferry to take us to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. I asked someone to take a picture of my son and I with the NY skyline behind us and, more specifically, the Twin Towers. Little did I realize the significance that picture would come to have. 

The Hard Rock Cafe was one of our stops and we enjoyed a meal and the Rock & Roll memorabilia on display. Currently, there are 191 locations in 59 countries, including 157 cafes, 22 hotels and 11 casinos. For more information on the Hard Rock story click this link.

Blogging From A to Z Challenge – C

/ Luanne Shernisky / 7 Comments

 

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To rule is easy, to govern difficult. ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Blogging From A to Z Challenge

“C” is for Capitol, as in the United States Capitol Building in Washington D.C.

It is located at 100 Constitution Ave. NW and is the meeting place of the Congress, which consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Capitol has 540 rooms and 658 windows. 

The Dome is 8,909,200 pounds of cast-iron with 108 windows, and was constructed between 1855 and 1866. The statue at the top of dome is the Statue of Freedom.

 The Rotunda stands 180 feet, 3 inches tall and is 96 feet in diameter. Paintings and sculptures depicting significant people and events in U.S. history are on display. This room is also where presidents and distinguished citizens lie in state.

Some Facts You Might Not Know About the Capitol

  • The Capitol was built after Thomas Jefferson held a design competition to elicit entries from the finest American architects
  • The capitol has its own subway system
  • George Washington laid the cornerstone for the Capitol on September 18, 1793
  • There were plans for the first president to be buried under the Capitol in an area called the Crypt
  • There used to be a law that restricted any other building in D.C. from being built taller than the Capitol
  • The statue that sits on the dome is called the Statue of Freedom
  • The Capitol almost burned to the ground during the War of 1812
  • The Dome wasn’t added to the building until the 1850s

 

 

 

Blogging From A to Z Challenge – B

/ Luanne Shernisky / 3 Comments

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“Remember, remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants…” ― Franklin D. Roosevelt

Blogging From A to Z Challenge

“B” is for baggage, as in the kind we use to travel.

Pictured above are photos of the suitcases, trunks and containers that the immigrants brought on their ocean voyages to America. Entering the country through Ellis Island in New York Harbor, some 12 million people passed through this historic building between 1892 and 1954.

If you enjoy history and traveling, put Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty on your destinations wish list. It’s truly amazing to see the displays, like the Ellis Island Baggage Room, and Miss Liberty. They’re a powerful reminder that seeking a new & better life is often a tough journey, but well worth the trip.  

NOTE: If you want to tour Lady Liberty, you must schedule a reservation in advance of your trip. Plan your visit  or simply learn more by clicking the link.