Dreams and roses!

I've been having a few bluesy days and as I was cleaning I found something that I was challenged to write to myself and share. It was written on 4/11/07 and I know that I am not in the place I was in then, but, I haven't arrived to the place of my dreams. I am still working on it. I would like to share my writings and challenge you to examine yourself and do the same. You may find again at that time when you need it.

Dear Divine Self,
I am so proud of your travels and journies as you find your true wonderfulness. Cast fear and doubt aside. They are but thorns in the garden and can be circumvented. One does not have to be in pain, to smell the roses.
Allow yourself to dream, for it is through your dreams that your creativity can be expressed. Learn to breathe deeply for that adds more to your life and health. I thank you for your divine self.

Have a great day!

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Moorea

I guess the island of Moorea got jealous yesterday, because today I have a video about Intercontinental Moorea. What a wonderful way to get ready for a travel party! I'll have to tell you how it turns out, but, I wanted to share the video!
Enjoy.
P.S. For Melinda Doolittle fans, check out website, www.mdstreetteam.com and see comment on 6/27/2008!

I cried ....Bora Bora!

Sometimes I get a little caught up! I was watching that beautiful wedding on the Today show on Wednesday. The vows were just so heartfelt and they just seemed to be so much in love! Melinda Doolittle sang for them and the family did the "electric slide". And everything for the wedding was planned by the viewers. The last surprise for the couple was their honeymoon trip and through my tears, (told you that I got caught up), I was hollering Bora Bora! And guess what, most of the viewers on the Today show thought the same. That is where they are today!
I have been working on my continuing education for my travel services and I will soon be a destination specialist for Tahiti. One of the criteria for the completion of the course is that I spend about 9 days in Tahiti. Boy, I can't wait until this class starts!
I want to share some information from the Travel partner that I have chosen for further study, The Intercontinental Hotels of Tahiti. Enjoy their video, which is supposed to make a client stay an additional day!

Flying on the cheap!

The airlines are fighting to stay in business and deeply discounted air fares are about on their way out. However, there are some ways to get a cheap flight so that your vacation does not become a staycation! Aaron Smith, a writer with CNNMoney.com presented five ways to fly on the cheap.
1. Fly during the slowest days of the week.
Tuesday and Wednesday are the slowest flying days of the week for business travel so demand is low, and so are the fares.
2. Fly during the slowest time of the year.Fall is the best time for cheap flights. This ranges from Labor Day until Thanksgiving.
3. Fly to popular destinations at unpopular times.
My husband and I went to Orlando in September and Disney World wasn't crowded at all!
4. Buy during the cheapest times of the day.
Airfares change three times a day as airlines periodically lower prices to fill up flights, after midnight and early mornings are the best time to purchase a flight. On the weekend, the best time to check is early Saturday morning and again at 5 p.m., when the industry is most aggressively trying to fill seats.
5. Buy a travel package, even if you don't need it.
Packages are sometimes cheaper than the airfare alone, especially for last -minute sales, where the airline is just trying to fill seats. I was able to get 2 airline tickets to San Diego and a car using "lastminute.com". This was a super bargain because, though I didn't really need the car and didn't use it much, the price of this package was less than the fare offered for 2 tickets on Southwest. Last minute.com is a featured site on my online travel booking site, Your Imani Travel.
So, be creative with your options for now, because believe me, airlines are going to raise their prices and discount fares may become a thing of the past.

Big Brother Will Be Watching Us!

I have been trying to get my friend and her family to get their passport since March because we will be traveling together next month on a friend and family cruise to the Bahamas www.yourimanitravel.com. Anyway, we will probably be ok because my son was able to get his passport back within 13 days. Another option to the passport will be a REAL ID. Americans born after Dec. 1, 1964, will have to get more secure driver’s licenses as proposed by The Homeland Security Department. The REAL ID Act is scheduled to be phased in by 2011, when federal authorities hope that all will be in compliance. Right now there are 17 states that have indicated that the measures are too costly, and the great state of Tennessee (my state) is one of those 17. The American Civil Liberties Union is opposed to the measure, because they feel that information will be shared among government agencies and that this would amount to “the first-ever national identity card system, which would irreparably damage the fabric of American life.”
Why will we need a REAL ID?
The hi-jacker pilot who flew into the Pentagon on 9/11 had 4 drivers’ licenses and ID cards from 3 states. The REAL ID is supposed to ensure that there is “one driver, one license. If driver’s licenses are to be used for identification, then the proposed layers of security measures would make it less likely for them to be counterfeited or tampered with.”
By 2014, people under 50 will have to present a REAL ID compliant driver’s license to board a plane or enter a federal building. The over-50 exemption was created to give states more time to get everyone new licenses, and the risk of someone in this age group being a terrorist, illegal immigrant or con artist is much less. By 2017, even those over 50 will have to have a REAL ID compliant driver’s license to board a plane. How will residents of states like Tennessee be affected if the state chooses to be non compliant? Residents of such states will have to use a passport for air travel within the United States.
I don’t know about you but I don’t want my ability to travel within the States to be compromised. I have my passport ready and will lobby officials in my state to comply with the new Homeland Security guidelines.

Did I meet my challenge - Philly on $10 per day?

The last event I attended while I was in Philadelphia was the Odunde Festival, one of the largest community- based street festivals held in the country. Odunde is a celebration, which comes from the Yoruba tradition, and it celebrates the coming of the New Year. It was hot, both temperature wise and culturally. I recognized several traditional dances, which were celebratory and reflective.
Now, did I meet my challenge to see Philly on $10 per day? Well…
I was in Philly for 13 days and I spent $25 on public transportation. Now, I cheated a little because I used my sister’s trail pass for 2 days, which allowed unlimited travel throughout the city and the ‘burbs. However, I could have purchased my own weekly pass for $20.75.
Entrance fees to museums were $17; however, if I had gone to the Philadelphia Museum on Sunday, it would have been a love donation. I spent $106.27 on food, however, $54.60 of that was for travel prepared cheese steaks and tastykakes from Superfresh (they were on sale for $1.89 per family pack with a member card, Sharon’s). My daughters texted or called me everyday to remind me to bring them! I spent another $10 on donations. So, if I looked at my daily cost over 13 days, my average cost per day is $12.40 per day, still not bad!
If I delete the cost of the food that I brought home for my family then my average cost per day was $7.84.Of course, it would be hard for someone who did not know a city, or who was not public transportation savvy to be able to do as I did. I had free lodging and was taken to dinner several times and I walked a lot, partly to prove that I could walk! Walking helped my perspective and allowed me to see this beautiful city. I can help you see such a city on a budget.

People who have never had a Philly Cheese Steak do not understand all of the hoopla. Once bitten you are hooked. Ask my husband, who is from Birmingham, Alabama. He will go to Pagano’s before he goes to the place that he is staying! I have loaded a video about this Philly staple.

Religion Class Assignment

I graduated from Cardinal Dougherty High School and for my religion class, I did a report on the African Methodist Episcopal Church. I used an encyclopedia for my source of information (we weren't online back then)! I knew that the church arose because freed blacks attending St. George Methodist Church in Philadelphia did not want to be relegated to discrimination as they worshipped. The church that they founded is affectionately called "Mother Bethel" and I took the time many years later to visit this historic and holy place. Richard Allen, a freedman, was the principal organizer of the AME denomination, whose tenets were based upon the Methodists. Richard Allen built the 1 of the 4 churches on property that he owned in July 29, 1794, with the assistance some of his contemporaries, Benjamin Franklin and Dr. Benjamin Rush. The bottom floor of the present church is a museum and it was quite awe inspiring. I examined the bishops of the AME church and immediately realized that I had heard some of their names before. It was easy to recognize Vashti McKenzie, the first female bishop ordained in 2004. However, names like Morris Brown and Daniel Payne rang a bell because they are also the names of HBCUs.
There is a crypt in the museum and it contains the remains of Allen, his wife Sarah and Morris Brown and their presence was palpable as they seemed to say, "Remember, humble yourself and do good works! I finally completed that religion assignment from so long ago! I have a video that I would like to share with Denzel Washington greeting the AME Church. I hope that you enjoy this snippet

We all are a little Irish, aren't we?

I am still at the Art Museum and I had a pleasant suprise. Friday evening is meet, greet and be entertained and I was by the music of Scythian and a glass of chardonnay! Scythian is described as a "unique hodgepodge of Irish, Celtic, klezmer, and gypsy influences". And since I am from Nashville, I could hear the bluegrass influences. Believe me, the Art Museum was not a stuffy quiet place, because people were clapping, stamping and dancing, children were off their ADHD meds and the flow of alchohol made you think that you were in a pub, instead of place of high culture.
The day was one of emotional highs and lows. I loved the granduer and architecture of the buildings along the Parkway, but was brought back to reality when I saw a homeless camp on the back side of the Youth Study Center. I had to reflect about homelessness because this building is scheduled to be torn down and in its place will go the Barnes Museum. The homeless will have to find another place to go. Some of the rooms in the Art Museum caused me to be reflective and pray, because they were so peaceful. One such room was The Indian Temple.
So, in all, I had a great day, but, my ankles were so swollen from all of the walking. My sister laughed when I had to bounce down the steps on my bottom!

Doing the Rocky!

The most memorable scene in Rocky 3 is when Rocky Balboa runs up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and raises his hands in victory to the backdrop of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. I did the Rocky thing, well, sorta! I walked up all of those steps and for the first time, I did not just stand on those stairs, I went inside of the building.
A statue of Rocky Balboa remains at the bottom of the stairs and he looks the worst for wear! There has been some controversy as to whether he should stand in front of such a beautiful building.
The Museum is the backdrop for many citywide functions and special events. I have seen musical groups such as Manhattan Transfer and Boys II Men on or near those stairs. In addition, a little known fact about the Greek inspired building is that Julian Abele was the chief designer of the building. Abele was the first African-American graduate of the University of Pennsylvania's architecture school.
There were so many rooms with famous paintings such as Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” and Degas’s ballet dancers. I sat with a painting entitled “The Moorish Chief” by Viennese painter, Eduard Charlemont. A print hangs in my home and the strength of this prince. Not only is the painting much larger than my print, the colors are richer. I also have a copy of Benjamin Tanner’s “Banjo Lesson” and wanted to see if an original of this painting hangs in the museum. This was not at the museum, but other of Tanner’s work was.
There was a live cinema exhibit of the works of Carlos Amorales. Now, I like to look at art and decide for myself what it evokes, so I don’t usually read the guide to tell me what the artist is trying to portray. I was open minded, as I viewed Amorales’s work art and I have come to the conclusion, that I did not understand it. It is done primarily in black and white and is described as fantasy worlds, which depicts the coexistence of humans and animals in an ambiguous but invariably hostile surrounding. One animation is called "Faces". I saw an eye every now and then but never saw a face. The animation that I spent the most time trying to understand was “Rorschach Test Animation”. This work is supposed to bring into focus the artist’s interest in abstraction and its potential for free association. Well, either everything looked like a cross section of a brain or a clown face created on the toy with the magnetic shavings. I wonder what that says about me?
I’ll continue telling you about this adventure later and please remember to submit your comments. I can assist you in your dream vacation plans.

Bringing Sculpture to Life!

I was first introduced to the works of Auguste Rodin on television. It was not an arts appreciation program on PBS, but the Dobie Gillis Show. For non baby boomers, Dobie was a college student and narrator of the comedy show. His pose as he introduces the program was that of “The Thinker”, Rodin’s most famous and recognizable sculpture.
Auguste Rodin was born in France in 1840 and he had a hard time learning to read and write because he was very nearsighted. He showed great promise as an artist. He loved making drawings of famous sculpture and paintings and because of his poor eyesight, he would stand as close as he could to his favorite works and draw for hours. At the age of 15, he was given his first piece of clay to sculpt and from this point onward, he was hooked on sculpture. Rodin’s sculptures were thought to be ugly and in fact, because they were so life like, he was accused of using molds to cast his figures instead of using live models.
Jules E. Mastbaum, Philadelphia's great movie theater magnate and one of its best-known philanthropists, founded the Rodin Museum to ”enrich the lives of his fellow citizens.” He began collecting the works of Rodin in 1923 and assembled a complete view, acquiring not only finished bronzes, but plaster studies as well as drawings, prints, letters, and books. By the time of his death in 1926, Mastbaum had brought together the greatest Rodin collection outside of Paris
The Rodin Museum, which opened to the public in 1929, houses 124 sculptures, including bronze casts of the artist's greatest works: The Thinker, perhaps the most famous sculpture in the world; The Burghers of Calais, his most heroic and moving historical tribute. As you walk up the stairs to the interior of the museum, The Gates of Hell, an unfinished work which menaces you and almost stops you from entering.
Over 60,000 visitors annually make the trip to see this spectacular Museum and the gardens, which surround it. The gardens are supposed to heighten an appreciation of the works of art. I was disappointed with the gardens because the walkway was of gravel; there were no flowers, but an ample amount of trees. There is supposed to be a reflecting pool, which is to evoke calm and echoes the cool beauty that one will experience within the building. The fountain was not working and seemed to need repair. This was in such contrast to the interior of the building and to the sister museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Arts.
You could get very close to the sculptures and take all of the pictures that your heart desired. It was well worth the suggested admission price of $3.00
I found a video that is hilarious. It is a compilation of dancers on "Soul Train", whose theme music was played by TSOP or The Sound of Philadelphia. That sound was very popular during the 70s and check out the shoes - platforms! Oh yes, try to find Rosie Perez.

A Little Bit of Paris

Benjamin Franklin Parkway is Philadelphia's Champs Elysees. Fountains, small parks, statues, monuments and flags from every nation lend a formality that gives the Parkway its own special aura. The Parkway is a place of parades. In September there is "Super Sunday," with all the public institutions participating and Philadelphians, usually a quarter-million or more of them, joining in. In recent years, the Parkway has been the starting point for a bicycle race which is part of the international racing circuit. In fact, the race was on held on the June 8th this year.
In the beginning, the Parkway was an architect's and a planner's dream — something breathtakingly bold for the staid old city. Then it became a cultural mecca — a center for museums and educational institutions. Today the Parkway stands as a triumph in urban planning.

Logan Circle is one of Penn's original five squares, and it, was once used as a burying ground. Whether William was also buried in the square we don't know, but in 1825 it was renamed for James Logan. Eventually the graves, mounds and hillocks were removed or leveled. And now it is one of the most beautiful spots in the city. The square has become a circle with the waters of the Swann Memorial Fountain by Alexander Stirling Calder providing a graceful aerial water ballet.
My favorite and one of the great libraries of the country is main branch of The Free Library of Philadelphia. I remember visiting the library one spring break from Lincoln University to see if I could examine the book the "Kama Sutra". I had learned about the text in Philosophy of Eastern Civilizations class. I couldn't check the book out and in fact, I don't remember learning anything from examining the book.
There are always exhibits of interest in the entrance hall, concerts, lectures and films throughout the year. There is a cafeteria on the roof, and during the summer you can eat alfresco and enjoy the panorama of Philadelphia.
Let me give you another taste of Philly with a video tour as I continue to make my way to my final destinations. Enjoy!

The curse of William Penn

When I moved from Philly in the late '70s, the city was the midst of urban decay. Industrial jobs were leaving the city, inner city homes were being boarded up and police brutality went unabated. My city has risen like the phoenix and I have been enjoying its beauty. I had a destination in mind. I decided to visit the Rodin Museum and the Philadelphia Museum of Art and I will eventually get to a description of my visit, but, I have to get there first. I walked from the Suburban Regional Train Station onto 18th and JFK Boulevard and was in the midst of sky rise buildings. Philadelphia's newest skyscraper, the Comcast Tower, is a 57 floor glass building and in fact, later that evening they had an opening ceremony and reception. This building is especially significant to me because I looked at its beauty and thought "thanks for the health care benefits". If you looked over toward Market Street, you can see City Hall, the setting for many television shows and movies. On the top of the building stands a statue of William Penn, one of the founders of the city. Under a gentleman's agreement, no building in the city was to rise above this statue. This ended in March 1987, when a modern steel-and-glass skyscraper called One Liberty Place opened three blocks away. One Liberty Place dwarfed City Hall by 397 feet, soaring 945 feet in height compared to City Hall's actual height of 547' 11-3/4" to the top of Penn's hat.
Prior to 1987,Philadelphia sports teams enjoyed an enviable run of success: The Phillie's won the 1980 World Series and the 1983 National League pennant; and the Flyers had won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1974 and 1975. The Eagles had appeared in Super Bowl XV, losing to the Oakland Raiders; and the 76ers had won the championship in 1983, as well as making the finals in 1977, 1980, 1982 and 2001. Construction on One Liberty Place began in 1985, two years after the last championship season in Philadelphia. In a coincidence, the ground was broken on the same day as the MOVE tragedy that left numerous members of a group dead, and burned down several blocks of West Philadelphia neighborhood.
It is believed that the city cannot win a sports championship because of the curse of William Penn. In an attempt to end the curse, workers John Joyce and Dan Ginion attached a small figurine of Billy Penn to the beam of the Comcast building, along with an American flag and a small tree. I hope that it breaks the curse. Philly knew how to throw a great celebration party!

Life is a lark, at Willow Grove Park

My main purpose for coming to Philadelphia at this particular time is personal, but, I am glad that I have been able to enjoy the city and the surrounding suburbs. I went to the mall earlier in the week - Willow Grove Park Mall! This mall sits on grounds that used to house contraptions for fear and pleasure! This land once had an amusement park on it - Willow Grove Park. We had many wonderful family reunions and teenage excursions visiting and picnicking at the park, which had a wooden roller coaster. Willow Grove Park opened in 1896 as a trolley park to encourage weekend ridership on the trolley line. Willow Grove Park was one of the premier amusement parks until it it was eclipsed by parks such as Six Flags, Great Adventures and Disneyland. One of the biggest attractions in the park was the music pavilion, at which John Philip Sousa and his band played all but one year between 1901 and 1926. The pavilion was demolished in March 1959.
After its closure in 1976, the park sat vacant until the land was cleared for a large shopping mall, now known as Willow Grove Park Mall, which opened in August 1982. The mall pays homage to its predecessor by displaying banners and other objects which looks back to the land's days as an amusement park; a merry-go-round built and installed in 2001 also operates within the mall.
I am not much of a shopper, but the strawberry cheesecake at The Cheesecake Factory is to die for!

God is in this place!

I had the pleasure of attending Enon Baptist Tabernacle Church (Enon East), this past Sunday and it was filled with all of the pomp and circumstance that you would expect in a mega Baptist Church. Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church was founded on September 21, 1876 and became the first African-American Baptist Church in the Germantown section of Philadelphia. It is named for the place where people came to be baptized by John the Baptist and for more than a century, Enon has been guided by its foundational mission of reaching people for the cause of Christ. This location, which is on Coulter Street is called Enon West.
Enon East, which has a sanctuary for 5,000 worshippers is located on Cheltenham Avenue in the Mt. Airy section of Philadelphia, on property that was previously owned by Temple University. The irony in this that this is only place that Temple has given up land, because they have encroached on quite a bit of property in North Philadelphia. The church is committed to developing effective strategies to deter youth violence and to positively impact their local, national, and international community. Enon-East is really a big back yard for the community to come and play and for youth to engage in competitive athletics. As an advocate of for community programming, I applaud the member for "being their brother's keeper".

I have another video for you about a section of Philadelphia called Manayunk. Enjoy!

My Prince Will Be Here, Eventually!

I had the pleasure of attending a Philadelphia phenomenon, the Prom send-off! A Prom Send Off is sort of like Sweet 16 birthday meets the Cotillion. Our Prom Queen had invited family and friends and almost everyone has a role. Several women are assigned cooking duties, cleaning responsibilities, hospitality and production and they are good in their respective roles. Our Cinderella awaits in a closed room where she is dressed and comforted until her date arrives. Not only does she impatiently awaits his arrival, so does the neighbors up and down the block, because it is now dark and they want to go in and watch television. And the Prince was at home waiting for that call which said, "it's time to go". And, so down the stairs she glides, in the mist of fog (provided by a machine), which allows her gorgeous form fitting gold dress with train to billow. Oh, and I forgot that she had a dedicated song playing for her entrance. And girlfriend knew how to work it for the cameras. You move, then stop, pose, smile, move and pose again. Her entrance onto the streets of Philadelphia was on a red cloth. They were finally allowed to leave from their adoring crowd and finally made it that memorable dance, The High School Prom. The adoring fans re-entered the house and we celebrated this event with food and great conversation. That's where we heard that someone else would arrive to the prom by a horse drawn carriage. Another Philly tradition, like the Mummers!