Adventure Hoteling at The Hotel Chelsea - guest blogging

I am guest blogging at All About Travel this month and my post can be found at Ashwani Kaushik's site All About Travel. If you are a writer, or musician you definitely want to add this experience to your visits to New York City. It adds inspiration, or so it did for me.

Adventure Hoteling at The Hotel Chelsea at All About Travel

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6 Nations Experience in Cardiff, Wales

The shopping experience at Saint David's Mall, browsing the world's oldest record store, visiting Cardiff Castle, going to the Cardiff Bay Opera House, finding a Welsh speaking pub and hanging out for good cask conditioned brew: these are few of the many things I've done in Cardiff, and I will return - hopefully many times.

Cardiff is a world class city in every way, and this is remarkable for it's size: 324,000 in the city, and 1.1 million in the surrounding area. Visiting from Ireland, England, or Scotland makes for significantly fun and cheap holidays. Last year I had the special benefit of being taken on a personal tour of the city by the recently retired city manager Byron Davies, who showed me the ins and outs of 20 years of renewal, and I am thoroughly impressed by this city of beauty, class, and absolutely no pretension.

For all the wonderful things Cardiff has to offer, there is no comparison to visiting during the pinnacle of Rugby season. During the 6 nations tournament downtown comes to life like no other time. The Welsh like their Rugby - sorry for the gross understatement - they love their "Rygbi."

On one of my trips to Cardiff I attended a 6 Nations tournament game between Italy and Wales. For those of you who know Rugby, the outcome was anticipated, with a significant thumping accomplished by the Welsh. The city was busy, vibrant, fun, and the Millennium Stadium is a place the Welsh are quite proud of. (I've been asked more than once, "Have you been to the Millennium Stadium?") It is massive, beautiful, and I don't think there is a bad seat in the house.

If you like Rugby, you have to go to Cardiff in February or March for a 6 Nations Tournament event.  If you do not, but have a close someone who does, Cardiff is a great city to be left on your own for a bit of sightseeing, culture, and yes - even shopping.

Pillars of the Saints: Burning Man Re-up, a plan for art installation

After completing #7 on my list of 1,000 things to do before I die by attending Burning Man last year as part of the Spirit Dream Interpretation Cafe, I simply have to add another item to my 1,000 things to do before I die. Return to Burning Man, and build an art project on the Playa.

So below are some plans for an art project to fit with this year's theme: Rites of Passage. The title of the project is Pillars of the Saints: Passage to the Voice of the Spirit.

At this point there are 5 team members interested in joining me to help make this project a reality, and here is a design of the project below.

The first shot shows the view of the project as it would be seen from Black Rock City as it might be viewed by someone coming across the playa toward the Pillars of the Saints.  The pillars and arches represent the passage from this visible existence into a spiritual realm, and so the design incorporates a full arch in the front slowly decaying to almost nothing as someone draws close to the altar of sacrifice.

At the altar of sacrifice a person will be directed to leave behind attitudes, struggles, or anything which they consider to stand in the way of hearing the Voice of Spirit.

At the altar of sacrifice these hindrances will be written down in such a manner as they will quickly disappear. Two ideas which are being considered are: 1) having the participant write the hindrance down on flash paper which will be thrown in the fire, or 2) having them paint the hindrance in water upon a blackboard which will evaporate and disappear in the desert heat.

The wall will be filled throughout the week with writings which are statements from those who have heard the Voice of the Spirit, and shared in writing upon the wall. After the sacrificing the one's hindrance the participant will be directed to pass through the doorway to the opposite side of the wall.

On the opposite side of the wall is a set of three pillars, which will each have their own ladder. Here the participant climbs the pillar, and like the famous St. Simeon Stylites from the 6th century who sat upon a pillar to get away from the crowds who thronged him, and sought the Voice of God, the participant will face the barren desert and wait for Voice of the Spirit to speak to them.

The basic idea of this project is to wait until the Spirit speaks, and like St Simeon and many of the Desert Fathers and Desert Mothers of the 3rd through 6th century not come down until they have heard the voice, which then will be written with the growing number of words upon the walls.

The art installation will be designed with enough information and directions to be self service, and at times our team will be present dressed as monks in brown robes.

This is an unmediated, self directed meditation on the Voice of Spirit art project, and a dream for Burning Man 2011: Rites of Passage. 

Whadayathink? We like it.  Thanks to our gang and all the helpful voices surrounding us: Horizon, Rocket, Mary the Goth Theologian, Matt the Pirate, Hope, Dennis, and of course the thoughtful artist behind the scenes - Jeff Menasco who added some great artful thought to this design - which of course is still in the stages of being perfected.

Below are two different variations of the pillars which will be used for sitting on.  One is a steel design, and the other is all wood.  The wood design is modeled after the square altar of sacrifice, and if used (which is the preference at this point) will be burnt with the rest of the project at the end of the event.

Below is the location for the propane tank in the altar. Others will be se tin a similar manner inside the walls of beneath the flame bowls.  The walls are 4 feet thick at the bottom, and will fit a compartment with a 100# propane tank with a fire safe compartment. These will be doorless open compartments in the walls.

#39 - Gargoyles and Street Performers in Paris

I love Gargoyles.  The real ones.  On cathedrals.  So there are really only three words needed for this.

Paris.  Notre Dame.

I like gargoyles so much I wrote a gargoyle song.

A true gargoyle (which name comes from the French word for gurgling) is a strange creature carved of stone and used as a water spout for rain to run off on a building.  This is why they were called "gargoyles."  Today we generically use the term to refer to other carved monsters, called "grotesques" found on cathedrals and other Gothic public buildings.

Of course, there are other locations than the cathedral at Notre Dame in Paris for viewing gargoyles, but Notre Dame is a magnificently fun place.  A grand wonder of architecture with a courtyard filled with street performers, and good places to eat within viewing distance.  There are also budget hotels in Paris city centre to be found.

So, when you are in planning a trip to Paris, don't forget to make Notre Dame a good long stop, because there is a lot to see.  My trip to Notre Dame was a clear, warm summer day with a cool breeze blowing through the trees.  A flamenco guitarist was playing in the square in front of the cathedral.  There were circus performers juggling and balancing in the square, and art was openly exhibited.  There was a skateboarding exhibition happening on the wide walkway coming up to the Cathedral.

Between the fun on the way up to the cathedral, and the awesome wonder of the cathedral it should be on your bucket list.  It made my list.  I have been there done that, and can check it off my list of 1,000 things to do before I die.

Burning Man update - #7 completed!

Yes, Burning Man is a crazy experiment in radical self-reliance, and radical self-expression - sometimes too much so, but an absolute blast to be sure.  I joined a theme camp, and because we were setting up to serve expresso, and do dream interpretation during the days, we arrived a day before the opening of the gates to set up our "Spirit Dream Interpretation Camp."

I helped pull a 12 foot tall shopping cart mutant vehicle (built by Scott Veatch) from Ohio to Nevada, and back again.  Consequently my adventure was extended to two full weeks.

If you have always been wanting to go to Burning Man, all I can say is - oh yeah, do it if you can.  Yes, it is true that newbies to the event (called "virgins") are asked to roll in the fine playa dust at entrance to the gate, and (unlike some of my friends) I did not shirk my dust eating duty and initiation into the Burner world.  Hopefully I will be able to link to the video of the initiation soon. :-)

Here are a few highlights for me:  The temple and all the emotion being poured out as people wrote their dreams, fears, sorrows, and joys on the temple walls.  The Burning of the Man on Saturday night - even though there was a dust storm hindering the full experience of the burn, it was a great show of fireworks, fire spinners, and the biggest bonfire you've ever seen.  Reciting limericks in a pub which gave a free pint of Guinness to everyone who recited a limerick (our team came with 14 of them, and we turned the place upside down - as chief limerick writer I had my hand on most of those limericks actually).  Interpreting dreams and encouraging people with words of wisdom, and watching them fall apart (in a good way) in openness to the working of the Spirit.  Traveling around in the shopping cart by night, and meeting the same people we served in the Dream Camp.

Burning Man may be miles away from nowhere near Gerlach, NV in the Black Rock desert, but it seems right in the heart of our culture, and it is no wonder that has become a type of church for the 50,000 people who attend each year.

2011?  Return to Burning Man?  Maybe, I would certainly love to, but as for now I can scratch it off my list of things to do.

#38 - visiting Kilmainham Gaol in Dublin, Ireland

The history of Ireland's struggle for independence is to a great degree housed in Europe's largest unused prison. Kilmainham Gaol was closed by the new Irish Free State shortly after independence was reached.  For 128 years it housed prisoners.  It was an unsegregated prison with men, women and even children (the youngest thought to be 7 years old) in 92 square ft. cells with 5 people per cell.

The jail was restored as a museum starting in the 60's and is now run by an Irish Government Agency.  It now houses the history of the fight for independence, and the sad history of famous executions.  It was here that 14 leaders of the Easter uprising in 1916 were executed, and black crosses mark the location of the executions. 


Dublin hotels in the city centre of Dublin are within a few minutes of Kilmainham Gaol.  Items such as the death mask of Robert Emmet, and the history of the Irish rebellion and struggle make this a must visit in Ireland.  This makes my bucket list of 1,000 things to do before I die.

The last prisoner of Kilmainham Gaol, Eamonn De Valera later became the Prime Minister of Ireland and then the President of Ireland.  Your stop at the gaol may encourage you to more honorable goals.

Update #7 - Headed for Burning Man

Today I leave Scott Veatch's house helping to pull a trailer with this contraption on it.  This big shopping cart is called the blue light special.  Scott and his friend Jeff built this thing, and it will be one of the mutant vehicles at the Burning man event, and a part of the Spirit Cafe's outreach to the Burner's.

Visiting Old Dark London - #37

Some years ago, my friend Mike took me on a tour of London, which included among other things some of the famous occultist Aleister Crowley's haunts.  Always up for a little mystery, and coming from the significantly more occultly pregnant city of Salem, Massachusetts, I was excited to be led on a short tour of this sort in downtown London, by my good friend the Neo-Shaman.

The UK is the birthplace of modern Witchcraft and Neo-Paganism as we know it today, and London of course is going to be "the spot" for learning much of this history.

Atlantis Bookshop was one of the strange old man's frequented places, and it still stands, and is still active today.  This is also true for Watkin's Books, which has been around for over a hundred years.

Locations such as 67-69 Chancery Lane where the strange old occultist once lived, and practiced his arts can be seen, and The Plough - a Pub and another hangout on Museum Street should be stopped at.  These dark and peculiar places in London bring you back to the turn of the century over a hundred years ago, and can give you a significantly creepy sense - unless of course, like me, you are comfortable learning about our wild, weird and wonderfully diverse world.

This is on my list of 1,000 things to do before I die.  I haven't died yet, and I've accomplished it - and it didn't kill me.

When you make this a part of you trip to London you will want to find hotels in London City Centre with parking.

For more info a Crowleys Haunts you can check this page describing a Crowley tour.

Las Vegas without the Lost Wages - #36

I am not a gambler.  I am not the kind of person who likes to go into the big cities when I travel - at least not for long, but I have gone for quite a few Holidays to Las Vegas.

Now, I have been there quite a lot because it was my halfway stop from Southern California to Utah each summer.  Yes, it is a gambler's paradise, but it has become more than that.  Shows, concerts, sporting events fill the schedule of the city's event list, but this is not the thing which captures my attention in Las Vegas.

Las Vegas is a great place for wandering around at night simply to look.  It is an architect's paradise with wildly designed hotel casinos in every possible theme.  Fountains dance, roller coasters fly through the air, lights beam through the sky, and ships attack one another and the Brittania sinks on the Strip at Treasure Island Hotel and Casino.  Wandering Las Vegas during the night is certainly worth putting on a list of one thousand things to do before you die - even if like me, you don't gamble.

St Stephen's: Canada's Chocolate Town

Just over the border crossing in Calais, ME you enter the heart of downtown St. Stephen's, New Brunswick.  A right hand turn takes you past the interactive chocolate museum, which tells the story of rise of the Ganong Brother's success in candy making starting in the late 19th century in St. Stephen's.  A block further brings you to the well run, and friendly visitor center.

St. Stephen's is a slightly out of the way stop on the way into Canada's eastern shores.  Route 1 in Canada has been re-developed and runs around the city now, but the old Main Street in Calais, ME still brings you to the old border crossing.

I stopped here on my way back from paddling the Bay of Fundy to visit some friends who work and run St. Stephen's University.  I had to stay longer to visit the chocolate museum, and buy some wonderful Canadian chocolate to bring home to friends.

Don't travel the east coast of Canada without stopping here.  Especially if you have kids.  The interactive chocolate museum is a wonderful hands on experience.  I like Canada's Atlantic Coast.  I'm hooked on the Bay of Fundy, and St. Stephen's will be a regular stop for me on my Holidays to Canada.