October 12, 2005 :: Matthew Shepard

...so this isn't a "travel" entry per se, but I just wanted to put a quick reminder to "Erase Hate" and remember one of our fallen brothers. Today's the 7th anniversary of Matthew's murder. May he be resting in peace!

http://www.matthewshepard.org/

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Calf Pasture Beach City Park in Norwalk, CT

I knew that Connecticut had some nice beaches prior to moving here; I even enjoyed Sherwood Island State Park during my Audit Staff years. I didn't know that there's a great beach and park less than 5 miles away! (Coincidentally, there's another one just 2 miles from my place, too, which we discovered while looking up directions to Calf Pasture!). Calf Pasture Beach and City Park is maintained by the City of Norwalk and is situated on the Long Island Sound in East Norwalk. It's a decent sized beach terminating in a public pier. On a gorgeous day like today you can see sail boats out on the Sound and the arching Connecticut coast line stretching east towards Westport (yes I know that sounds funny). The coolest part is that there's a fish fry grill in the park which serves your typical American summer delicacies and behind that there's a miniature golf course! I love mini golf...laugh if you please. Parking at the beach is a steep $20 (thanks for the tip on...

Los Angeles Pride Revelations

F lying back from an outstanding weekend in Los Angeles where I spent the weekend visiting friends and celebrating Pride, I'm finding myself full of wonder and a pent-up desire to live in a place where being out, open, and able to live a "normal" life is second nature (doesn't sound too unreasonable, eh?). There are few cities in the world today that actually afford this possibility to its citizens, and even they have certain restrictions due to state or federal laws (in whichever country they're in). L.A., however, has an incredible appeal from its west-coast lifestyle, proximity to Tinsel Town, and its people's history of civil demonstrations for equal rights. The energy there is completely unique. Over the past three-and-a-half days I was overwhelmed with parties; meeting new, attractive guys; and experiencing L.A.'s Pride parade and festival. Thanks to my friends Jayzen Patria, Joe Keenan, and Logan Grizzel, I felt like a VIP (and even had VIP access t...

March 9, 2008 :: Bannerman Castle

I've traveled along the Hudson River many a time on an Amtrak train while passing from Albany, NY to New York, NY, however it wasn't until today that by chance I poked my head up out of the magazine I was reading and caught a glimpse of the ruins of a fantastic structure standing out on a small island just off the river's east coast. In awe of this castle-like structure which might as well have been ripped out of a page of a Hans Christian Andersen fairytale, I gaped out the window as it speedily passed away, out of site in the setting sun which now barely illuminated the valley. My love of New York State, its vast and important history, and of medieval adventures and stories inspired me to do a little research to find out what this building was, how it came to be, and why now it was largely in a state of mystery and decay. The structure's name is Bannerman Castle named after its architect and creator, Francis Bannerman VI (1851-1918) and is situated on Pollepe...

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