Your Moment is Now

Bloody Basin Road, Beaver Flats Road, Mammoth Mine Road — Arizona has road names unlike most states. There’s much about this 48th state, a territory which joined the United States a little under a hundred years ago in 1912, that retains its Old West origins, including a reconstructed 1890s gold-mining town, the Goldfield Ghost Town near the legendary Superstition Mountains. If you want to live in the present but visit the past, then you should stay in one of the best hotels in Phoenix , then travel east, just about four miles outside Apache Junction, and find your way to 4650 North Mammoth Mine Road.

You and your family might spend the whole day here, taking a ride on the Superstition Narrow Gauge Railroad on a 36″ gauge train consisting of a Plymouth diesel engine that pulls a passenger car and caboose. The twenty minute trip circles the town for a mile and a half as the engineer tells passengers about the history of the town, the Superstition Mountains, and the desert in general.

There’s also the Goldfield Mine Tours, which takes about twenty-five minutes, consisting of a guided tour underground. The guide will tell you about the history the mine, gold mining equipment and procedures. Literally, there’s everything in this small town — from a Church on the Mount that holds real religious services on Sunday morning to Lu Lu’s Bordello, a fake bordello, which gives you a guided tour of the history of women in the 1800s. A gold historian can teach you how to pan for gold at Prospector’s Palace, and, once an hour on the streets, gunfighters will come out and shoot each other. If you want, it’s possible to arrange for friends to be “arrested” and thrown into jail, too.

Of particular interest in Goldfield, though, is Goldfield’s Historic Museum, which contains an exhibit on the Lost Dutchman gold mine , one of the most famous mines in the country, most likely because no one knows, to this day, where it’s located. There’s a power in myth and names that you can explore in the city of Phoenix (named after a mythic firebird) and out at the Goldfield Ghost Town on Mammoth Mine Road.

Killeen, Texas is famous for the large military post Fort Hood that is located right next to it. And while the post does gain most of the city’s attention and is the most prominent landmark in the area, it is not the only thing going on in this Texas town. There are a lot of interesting cultural elements, entertainment options and intriguing landmarks that attract tourists and are part of the everyday lives of residents. Guests in the hotels Killeen may be interested in the fact that Elvis Presley spent training time at Fort Hood and this adds a certain amount of sensationalism to the post, though there is so much going on with the contemporary culture that pieces of historic trivia fade into the past.

Okay, there is also the fact the US Presidents are periodically seen on the base and much of the festival and parade activities are based on the military history and interaction with the era. And the base is a major economic support to the city and it’s common to see personal in the local establishments. But this still doesn’t mean that Killeen is dominated by the events and circumstances of Fort Hood . However, it can be conceded that the base plays a significant role in local culture and that it enhances the social atmosphere of the city.

Fort Hood regularly gains national attention and most recently this was due to the tragic shooting that occurred there in on November 5 of last year. This was an extremely unfortunate and unexpected occurrence and is vastly different than the majority of events that gain attention for the base. Fort Hood was built in 1942 and is named after the Confederate General John Bell Hood. Hood gained military recognition in the Civil War for his commanding of Hood’s Texas Brigade. Since the 1970s the base has played a major role in the training of soldiers and the testing and introduction of new military equipment. Fort Hood is one of the largest United States military installations in the country as well as throughout the world.

One of the intriguing aspects of Fort Collins, Colorado may not be evident to the people who visit it. That is until the guests in one of the hotels Fort Collins hear something go bump in the night. That’s right, Fort Collins is reported to have quite a few haunted locations and while this is not likely to become one of the main reasons the city is so popular and well known, it is certainly an intriguing element to be aware of while you are visiting it. And for those tourists who are also professional or amateur ghost chasers, you will have your hands, or is it cameras or other instruments, full while you are in town.

Avery House is one of the public accessible buildings that was formerly a private residence and is alleged to be haunted. Public tours are available and one of the common occurrences is a specific sensation that is associated with certain rooms and areas. The kitchen pantry and one of the bedrooms on the second floor are particularly prone to have a cold and somewhat spooky energy in them, and this is felt strongly by many people who visit it. The bedroom has a distinct oppressive fee to it.

Baker’s School is another reportedly haunted location. Sadly this place has burned to the ground three separate times and has been rebuilt after each occasion. Children can be heard playing during off hours and lights will suddenly turn on and back off during the night. There is also an abandoned farm property known as Hell and it is reportedly very haunted. Shadow figures to blobby white figures are commonly seen and sometimes a more clear but still shadow figure of a man can be made out. It used to be a goat farm and many people can hear bells coming from it as they pass by at night.

If there is life on other planets, and if it is more intelligent than we are, then there might be hope for the planet if they are looking closely at Tucson. There are plenty of good reasons to see why Tucson is such a draw for people, with its luxury tucson hotels , a fantastic setting, and a lively community that is very active in arts and culture, it’s just a smart place to be. There are even cool clubs at night, where people can dress up and wait behind velvet ropes.

Lots of cultures cross paths in this little city, which always reveals more than could ever possibly meet the eye. The thought that some of these cultures might be aliens is one that might not fall into the usual pathway of standard suspicions, but it’s one that’s being talked about here because of the work of Chris Impey . He teaches in the department of astronomy at the UofA, and he’s been getting a little bit of attention lately.

While the idea of aliens walking among us is one that usually wakes up a large portion of the population who typically wear tinfoil hats, there are some interesting thoughts going around the scientific community. Impey would shun a tinfoil hat, but he is interested in the notion that the Milky Way holds billions of places where life could exist. The chances that there could be life here, then, are actually a lot higher than anyone might have suspected.

He’s written books on the end of the world, as well as on the search for life, and this makes him fairly popular among the students. They are very theoretical works, however, and reading them requires work, kind of what one would expect from a scientist-scholar. Some of the most exciting ideas start to resonate in the atmosphere when he talks about the likelihood that intelligent life would know more than we do. This means that our means of understanding things would not be able to conceive of such a thing, even if we were confronted by it. And this suggests that it might be occurring right now, at this very moment. This is an idea that is so much fun to think about, that it almost feels like Tucson.

Buena Park is one of the favorite family visitation cities in southern California. It is located in Orange County and is part of the Santa Ana, Irvine region, which is just across the hills from Los Angeles. Many people who base there stay in LA make the short trip to Buena Park to visit some of its main attractions as well as to enjoy the beauty of the geography and major landmarks of and around the city. Interestingly, some of the people who visit Buena Park are more familiar with some of its attractions than they are with the name of the town itself. In fact, Knott’s Berry Farm , its most famous theme park is frequently dissociated with the city itself, that is until the family actual visits and experiences all that Buena Park has to offer. And it is just a short drive from the hotels Buena Park , which makes it easy access for the city’s tourists.

Knott’s Berry Farm actually refers to two separate entities, one is the theme park found in Buena Park and the other is food specialty company. The later is part of the JM Smucker Company and the former is owned by the Cedar Fair Entertainment Company. And while they are both quality and popular companies, they are extremely different in their purpose and offerings. Well, purpose might be a little off base as they both are focused on providing the best life enhancing products available. However, and with all of that being said, the theme park of Knott’s Berry Farm popular with people from around the world and holds many distinctions over the others.

This theme park was originally established in 1940 and is recognized as being the first theme park in America. And while it is not nearly as large as some of the others found throughout the country, it is certainly unique and has a charm that is all its own. There are at least forty different rides and nine of those are roller coasters. The Ghost Town in the park is one of the favorite attractions for children and adults alike. This is the oldest section of the enclosed park and much of it dates from the original buildings from the 1940s and 50s. The town is composed of relics from actual ghost towns in the country and many of the buildings were relocated from historic Prescott, Arizona .

Brewster, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod Bay in Massachusetts, is something of a perfect moment captured in a lost photo. That’s a perfect metaphor for the place, because the town is still small enough that one can get pleasantly and gloriously absorbed into the network of social life that happens here. It’s also a place where one can find the most intimate relationship with solitude, and just spend some time being and breathing with the waves. These are both perfect circumstances for a vacation that feels like a postcard, but the good news is that it’s really not out of reach at all.

Thousands of visitors do come to the town in the summer months, and in the high season there’s plenty of things to do for all the members of the family. It’s also a pretty place to visit in the off-months, and fall is particularly lovely. But the summer is the time and the season for the hotels. Brewster engages its visitors with graciousness and a warm welcome, and it’s a difficult place to leave. It’s attracted people for a long time now, and the recent finding of a photograph that was thought to be lost in time attests to that.

In 2008, a family was going through their old photos, and found one of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan when they were vacationing here. The family remembers Helen, who felt the mother’s face , and seemed to approve. This was one of their favorite vacation spots, and she apparently loved Cape Cod because she could play in the water, and learned how to splash around without being afraid of it. The photograph is also very telling, and very important, because Helen is holding a doll in her lap. Anne gave her a few dolls in the years that they worked together, and in fact it was her first gift to the little girl. It meant so much to Helen, that “doll” was the very first word she would ever spell.

Most parents with children under the age of 5 never think about traveling outside their locale or homes, mainly because they feel there’s nothing interesting for both parent and child to do together. Seattle’s goal is to change that mind-set by not only offering a great city to visit, but by offering parents and their children interesting free things to do. For example, parents who love a good cup of coffee, will be happy to know that there plenty of kid-friendly coffee shops. The parents can sit back and enjoy Seattle’s coffee while their kids play with a slew of new-to-them toys and all for the price of a cup of coffee. Check out ‘My Coffeehouse’; ‘Ballard’s Sip and Ship’; and ‘Mosaic’. These are just the tip of the iceberg of kid friendly coffee shops and parents will find them to be a haven for themselves and their children.

The biggest kid-friendly and free attraction in Seattle is the ‘Seattle Center’ . It’s the top visitor destination for a reason, it’s a total blast! Plus, the best part of all is it’s free, parents don’t have to spend a cent to keep their children thoroughly entertained, for hours! There’s a Sculpture Garden for the kids to wander around, or they can run around the fountain. The Seattle Center offers almost 500 free or affordable events and activities throughout the year. For June, there’s the summer fitness programs, some of which is free ice-skating lessons, ideal for an afternoon excursion. If parents do have a little they can spend, then check out ‘The Children’s Museum’ , tickets cost $7.50 a pop, and both parent and children will enjoy what the museum offers.

If The Children’s Museum went over well, then there’s two other great museum’s to check out. The Burke Museum, free for children under 4, has dinosaur exhibits that will thrill children of all ages and the KidsQuest museum in Factoria, is free for all ages on Fridays from 5pm to 8pm. This innovative and unique, hands-on museum is for children and families designed to keep children, infancy to age 10, engaged with art, technology, science and daily life experiences.

While in Seattle, parents can take their children to hundreds of free play areas, like the new Kids Cove in Bellevue Square, or the Pirate Ship at Bothell Country Village. If anywhere near the University Village, every Tuesday is Play-day and all programs and activities, like story-time is free for children 5 and under. Plus, before making reservations at a Seatle hotel , see if the hotels offers programs for children or even free babysitting service while parents relax poolside or at the sauna.

There are a number of famous personalities who have left there mark here in Las Vegas, a city that sleeps, but sleeps strangely. The effect of the neon lights is as strong as it ever was, suggesting that the glory days of the city are still lying somewhere in a distant future. These same lights gave endless inspiration and energy to the likes of Frank Sinatra, Wayne Newton, and countless Elvis impersonators, all riffing on old African rhythms that get reinvented to suit the times.

The times have been unraveling on the strip these days, where the downtown section is now looking more and more like the main strip, as if they were caught in an endless loop. Las Vegas is the ultimate simulacrum, mirroring a world that doesn’t exist anywhere else, except here, where a view out of a Las Vegas hotel might look like ancient Rome, or a miniature version of old Europe.

No one could make sense out of the absurdity and irony here better than Hunter S. Thompson , or at least no one could ramble about it in a way that made splendid nonsense out of the noise. It’s a hard place to get a grip on psychologically, especially if the whole is something that’s still seen as holding a possibility of grasping. However, it’s an easy place to enjoy the moment if the idea of sense and order is left tucked away in the luggage for later.

These sidewalks carry moments lost in time, but easily regained by re-tracing them, looking for a chance to experience something new in the middle of the afternoon or in the wee hours of the morning. It’s always alive. HST may not be around to enjoy the new face of Vegas, but it’s still difficult to know if he enjoyed the former masks. He certainly did enjoy thinking about the masks here, and investigated them until he eventually was caught staring at his own face in the fun house mirrors.

There are many things to do while visiting Honolulu Hawaii. The fact that this island is made from volcanic activity gives it some unique natural sights such as the volcanic cones. The Punchbowl crater is the home of the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific . This is were the United States honors the men and women who served in WWI, WWII, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The remains of soldiers have been relocated to this site from places like Guam, Wake Island and even some POW camps from Japan. They are home again in their own country were they belong.  

Diamond Head is another volcanic cone near Honolulu that is estimated to be 150,000 years old and has not erupted in since it was formed. It is close to many honolulu luxury hotels so it is well visited. There are some great hikes that go along the rim of the crater it takes almost 2 hours to get around. Bring lots of water and enjoy the amazing views and fresh air while exploring this massive crater.  

For more volcanic view check out Koko Head which is a volcano that created couple cones. One is Koko Crater which has a spectacular well formed and high crater and the other makes up the Hanauma Bay that is a cone filled with ocean water. Whether you see the crater by boat, land or plane it is really beautiful. There are some areas to explore such as the Lanai Lookout which gives distant views across the Kaiwi Channel, the Halona Blowhole along the rocky shore and Sandy Beach were one might catch a good wave or fly a kite. Halona Cove is a film site were Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr filmed a famous love scene. The area is all around romantic.

“Two children deliver a baby”, was the headline for breaking news in Fremont. A mother of two gave birth to her third child on her bathroom floor while her husband was at work. The call to 911 was surprisingly calm as the children, 9 and 11, followed directions from the operator. Faith, 11, tied the umbilical cord with yarn while they waited for paramedics to arrive. The mother was still in shock and awe at what had just occurred. It was amazing to her that her kids were so well behaved and calm throughout the whole process. There were no screams at the sight of blood, except for her own proclaiming that “the baby is coming!”

Midwifery is a 75 year old tradition that traces its roots back to the rural areas of New York. A midwife is someone who provides care during and after pregnancy as well as delivery help. In rural areas, where a hospital was not located nearby, a midwife would come to help the mother deliver the baby at home. Midwives care for the mother and answer any prenatal and postnatal questions she may have concerning herself or the baby. During delivery, the midwife can deliver the baby herself or assist the doctor if there is one present. After the birth, the midwife helps with the care of the baby as well as the mothers personal care. The Palo Alto Medical Foundation Fremont Center has Certified Nurse Midwives (CNM’s) on staff as part of their care team. Although the CNM’s do not help in home deliveries, the Fremont Center has comfortable rooms for your stay. Relatives can stay nearby in a hotel fremont while they await your special delivery. In addition to physical health care, a midwife can also offer counseling care for one or both of the parents. the personal relationship formed with a midwife is a special one, and she can be a wonderful source of support for the family.