Mad46 Re-Opens at The Roosevelt Hotel
By News on the Net Wednesday, March 27, 2013
NEW YORK – Celebrating springtime in the city, The Roosevelt Hotel, NYC is thrilled to re-open rooftop doors at mad46 – the hotel’s famed lounge atop the 19th floor – on April 17. Its sixth season as Midtown Manhattan’s hottest rooftop bar, mad46 is located at the corner of Madison and 46th and opens its skies to warmer breezes Wednesday through Friday from 5 - 10 p.m.; returning to six days a week on Monday, May 6 from 5 p.m. to midnight.
Thomas Jefferson’s MonticelloBy Dr. Ileana Johnson Paugh Monday, February 25, 2013
The hilltop estate of Monticello is not easy to reach. The current owners allow foot traffic but most visitors prefer buses. When clouds cover the sky, access is denied for fear of lightning strikes. The lush vegetation and old majestic trees seclude the manor, making it invisible from the bottom of the mountain.
Monticello’s storied existence was advertised in 1921 as a “dignified country home” overlooking Charlottesville, Virginia. In 1923 the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation purchased the estate from Jefferson Levy for $100,000 in cash and a note of $400,000.
Travelers Explore the Nation’s “Past & Presidents” at Four Washington D.C. BridgeSBy News on the Net Monday, February 4, 2013
HERNDON, Va. – – BridgeStreet invites travelers to explore the nation’s Capitol during its most bustling season—with rates starting at $151/night when booking three nights or more. Now – March 31, 2013, travelers discover hidden D.C. gems and relish in spacious, downtown accommodations, with everything needed for a truly presidential experience. Offer code: PREZ13.
Travel Guide: ConnecticutBy News on the Net Wednesday, January 30, 2013
A January Day
By Dr. Ileana Johnson Paugh Tuesday, January 15, 2013
The forest is wet and misty. A dense fog hangs on top of the river like a fluffy blanket. I hear twigs snapping in the distance. A couple of white tail deer are eyeing us with curiosity. In a few days the forest rangers are going to cull the herd. There is not enough acreage to support all the wildlife. My hubby is walking ahead leaning on his Gandalf stick, his silhouette disappearing in the mist. The drizzly rain shapes diamond droplets in my dark hair like a nature’s tiara.
My breathing is labored. I have not been out of the house in two weeks - the flu really sapped my energy. The hard to discern trail winds gently downhill all the way to the railroad bridge that crosses the river. The return will be much harder, going uphill. I watch my steps carefully - the twisted tree roots bulge out of the ground but are hidden underneath a thick cover of dead leaves.
Durango Southwest Colorado
By John Treadwell Dunbar Wednesday, December 5, 2012
“What’s that smell?” she asked one crisp fall morning standing on a corner in historic downtown Durango as the world-renowned Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, laden with giddy tourists bound north into the rugged fold of the spectacular San Juan Mountains, chugged by. With a toot of its horn that woke the guests at the Strater and Palmer hotels, Old Ironsides belched a thick, black column of smoke and coal cinders that stuck to the roof of my mouth and clogged my nostrils with a 19th century industrial stench, which, like the earthy aroma of horse manure, some people grow fond of.
“Money,” I said, holding a copy of “Chasing Sovereignty” in one hand, and with the other waving to Mabel and her camera peering out of the yellow box car that rolled past in a noisy procession that has been huffing and puffing, back and forth and up and down the verdant Animas River Valley for 130 years and counting. “Lots and lots of money.”
Merry-Go-Round Playhouse’s Finger Lakes Musical Theatre Festival inaugural season is a successBy News on the Net Monday, November 19, 2012
AUBURN, N.Y. – The inaugural season of the Merry-Go-Round Playhouse’s Finger Lakes Musical Theatre Festival was a success, according to Festival organizers. The Festival, held in Auburn, N.Y., included nine musicals and played a significant role in shaping 20 new musicals during the 2012 season. Downtown Auburn also saw a boost in activity as patrons visited restaurants and spent time in the city.
Butte, MontanaBy John Treadwell Dunbar Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Known in its day as the richest hill on earth, and harnessing immense mining wealth beyond comprehension, Butte, Montana, grew into a city of tall, brick and stone buildings meant for an anticipated 100,000, and built to last. Together with Anaconda thirty miles away, Butte is the largest National Historic Landmark District in the United States boasting over 6,000 buildings that are certain to awe visitors drawn to this incredible reminder of a time when copper really was king, and competing Goliaths named Day, Clark and Heinze went to war to gain the lion’s share of the earth’s bounty.
It was a time when babbling migrants from the four corners of the globe melted into the dirty landscape and crawled deep into the crust and toiled in ways today’s workers can only imagine with a shudder and a nod of gratitude to the labor movement that brought a measure of sanity and incremental safety in the wake of the conglomerate stampede, and invariable deaths that came with the dark and damp terrain; and the life-threatening, back-breaking task of gouging copper out of Mother’s epidermis; gold, silver, zinc, lead and molybdenum, but mostly copper so vital to the booming age of electricity and its industrial and residential demands.
Three Capes on the Oregon CoastBy John Treadwell Dunbar Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Devoid of the Willamette Valley crowds that descend on Lincoln City on the northern Oregon Coast during the pleasant months, the exquisite tranquility of forty-mile-long Three Capes Scenic Drive, and quaint ocean-side villages that dot this string of pristine pearls, is a surprising and pleasant respite few out-of-state visitors are aware of.
Beginning at tiny Pacific City three miles west of Highway 101, and meandering generally north past diminutive and sandy Cape Kiwanda, the two-mile lofty protrusion of Cape Lookout that juts out into the Pacific Ocean like the Titanic, and the rocky bulk of Cape Meares at the far northern end of the drive, this hidden gem of coast pulls us back year after year without fail.
Going-to-the-Sun HighwayBy John Treadwell Dunbar Monday, September 24, 2012
Native Americans referred to the jagged mountain kingdom in Glacier National Park, particularly the stunning east side, as “The Backbone of the World.” If you’ve ever traversed this million-acre superlative of towering rugged mountains, dwindling blue glaciers, long and abiding bodies of green water, and lush cedar-hemlock forests on that 50-mile, white-knuckle drive across the twisting turns of the Going-to-the-Sun Road, you’re certain to agree, emphatically, as your head bobs up and down in amazement.
You’re in good company. Two million other flabbergasted visitors a year from across the globe drawn to this alpine mecca of free-roaming grizzly bears, this “Switzerland of America” that borders fair Canada, chime in with that singular universal expression that sums it up nicely: Wow!
Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
By John Treadwell Dunbar Monday, September 17, 2012
Bryce Canyon isn’t a canyon at all, but a twenty-mile-long series of massive eroded amphitheaters carved out of the eastern edge of the verdant Paunsaugunt Plateau, shaped like horseshoes crammed tight with freestanding walls, slots, and windows and fins.
There’s nothing like it anywhere in the world that I can think of.
It’s even unique by Southern Utah standards which is why it has become so popular, and why it’s love at first sight for all comers who are invariably entranced by the million shades of pink, white and orange limestone towers morphed and eroded by the patient force of water, and the heat of the sun.
Historical Paradise in VirginiaBy Dr. Ileana Johnson Paugh Saturday, September 8, 2012

Virginia is a paradise of history and gardens. Lush forests and gardens worthy of the Garden of Eden are found in every direction. Even the congested northern part of Virginia, so close to Washington, D.C., is covered in natural parks and dense woods populated by critters and vermin.
I often wondered how liberals have captured the most beautiful places in the country and turned them into bastions of progressivism. There is little trace of the former America-loving glory, save for the historical sites that draw thousands of conservative visitors who come to pay their respects to the forefathers who established America, fought for its existence and its freedom, making it an exceptional place for two and half centuries.
Bisbee, Southern ArizonaBy John Treadwell Dunbar Saturday, September 1, 2012
I knew he was a snake the minute I saw him sitting in his little red sedan in the near-empty parking lot across from the Bisbee Grand Hotel. A striking caricature of Geico’s Gecko, this skinny, twenty-something, clean-shaven oddity with the loping gate had no business with that gorgeous Hispanic brunette driving the getaway car. Something was up.
We parked near the back of the lot – the Yukon packed to the gills with our precious possessions - and as we walked across the spread of asphalt I caught them out of the corner of my eye staring us down and glancing over at the rig. We continued walking, enthralled by the beautiful buildings that will take your breath away in this quaint gem of a town, when, on cue, that inexplicable force that moves us from time to time, moved my head to the right just as we were turning the corner. And there he was, three steps from our overloaded SUV taking those big hurried strides.
Serendipitous JourneyBy Dr. Ileana Johnson Paugh Sunday, August 19, 2012
I was on a quest to visit the shrine of the quintessential American sport and President William McKinley’s tomb. I have been mesmerized by the Roman-style display of “pane et circenses,” the festive “bread and circuses” atmosphere which is not unlike soccer in other countries and on other continents. Nowhere, however, are sports such an integral part of the American psyche – they live and breathe football. Going to the shrine, the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio is a necessary rite of passage for sport-loving American enthusiasts and die-hard fans. Along the way, I embarked on a serendipitous journey into America’s past and present.
By News on the Net Tuesday, July 31, 2012
BOSTON – Massachusetts has a well-earned reputation as a national and international center of education. Fewer people are aware that in addition to top-tier colleges and universities located in Boston, the Commonwealth boasts some of the best college towns in America.
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