2010 January | Hole In The Donut Cultural Travel

Monthly Archives: January 2010

Winter in Frozen Illinois

Published January 12, 2010 | By Barbara Weibel

I am on my annual pilgrimage to the Chicago area to visit family over the holidays. The day after I arrived, freezing rain coated everything with ice, creating dangerously slick driving conditions. The following day, more freezing rain was followed by eight inches of snow. Since then, it has snowed almost every day and the temperature has barely climbed above ten degrees. Although I don’t venture out much in this kind of weather, I managed to brave the horrid conditions one rare sunny day to take photos. Frost and ice had coated the naked tree trunks and tall grasses, transforming barren forests into a fairyland. Despite my double-lined winter coat, knit cap, hood, boots and gloves, I just about froze to death. I swear the metal earpieces of my glasses froze to my cheekbones.

Winter fog coats the trees and obscures a country road

Beautiful ice-and frost-coated trees

I was feeling pretty proud of myself for enduring the elements until happening upon these teens jumping around on the rocks at the edge of the Illinois River, wearing only lightweight jackets, and I began to question whether I really was Continue reading →

You might also like:

There Is Beauty In These Prairies

Born And Bred Chicago Girl Rediscovers Her Roots

The Museum Campus - One Of Many Public Spaces That Make Chicago A Great City

Joy Rising - A Great Way to Start the New Year

From Traitor to Nobel Laureate - the Work of Jane Addams is Chronicled at Chicago's Historic Hull Ho...

Posted in Midwest US travel |

Tagged beauty, Chicago, freezing temperatures, frozen, ice, Illinois, snow, Travel, winter |

18 Comments

Blogging Boomers Carnival 144 at Life Two

Published January 11, 2010 | By Barbara Weibel

Ahh! The first Blogging Boomers Carnival of the new decade is finally here. Hosted by Life Two, this week’s roundup highlights the usual fascinating issues being discussed by our band of 13 baby boomer bloggers. Check out the brief summaries of this week’s posts at LifeTwo.com, and click through to read the full versions.

You might also like:

Blogging Boomer Carnival #105 Is At "Don't Gel Too Soon"

The Gemini Web Hosts Blogging Boomers Carnival #109

Blogging Boomers Carnival #127 At Midlife Crisis Queen

Blogging Boomers Carnival #151 At LifeTwo

Blogging Boomers Carnival #153 at VABoomer

Posted in Carnivals |

Tagged Baby Boomers, blogging boomers carnival, lifetwo.com, midlife |

Is Hole In The Donut Worthy of a Bloggie Award?

Published January 9, 2010 | By Barbara Weibel

Since starting Hole In The Donut in late 2006, I’ve received several awards and my site has risen significantly in the ranks of travel blogging. Well, now it’s time to take a crack at the grandaddy of them all, the 2010 Weblog Awards, more commonly known as the “Bloggies.” Each year, the Bloggies ask readers to nominate and then vote for their favorite blogs in categories ranging from best travel blog to best gossip blog.

Unlike other contests and award programs, readers don’t have to register or join ANYTHING to participate in the Bloggies. The only requirement is an email address and a willingness to nominate at least three of your favorite blogs. Upon receipt of your nominations, the Bloggies send a confirmation email; you need only click on the link in the email to complete the nomination submission. You will also have an opportunity to vote for the winners once the finalists are chosen.

If you would like to nominate me (and at least two other bloggers), please visit The Bloggies nomination site. Several categories could be appropriate for my blog, including best travel webblog, best writing for a weblog, best photography for a weblog, or best-kept secret weblog, but please feel free to nominate me in whatever category you deem appropriate. And thank you so much for your support.

You might also like:

Let's See How Much My Readers Love Me

Many, Many Thanks

Who Will Win A Trip To The World's Top Five Waterslides?

Hole In The Donut Nominated For Travel Blog Award - Help Me Win!

HostelBookers.com Celebrates Their Low Price Guarantee with a Contest and Great Travel Prizes

Posted in Contests |

Tagged 2010, bloggies, Contests, Travel, weblog awards, writing |

10 Comments

But for a Headache, Curacao’s Colorful Buildings Might Still Be Stark White

Published January 7, 2010 | By Barbara Weibel

The vividly painted architecture lining the waterfront in Willemstad may be the most famous feature of Curaçao, but the kaleidoscopic hues did not happen by design. The capital city developed after the Dutch claimed the island in 1634, beginning with Punda, the walled portion of the old city. Buildings tended to be two and three-story shops and residences built on narrow, elongated lots to maximize use of scarce land. The only materials available for construction, mismatched bricks scavenged from ship ballast, were finished with lime plaster made from crushed shells, which dried to a dazzling white facade in the intense Caribbean sun.

Can’t view the above slide show of Curacao’s stunning architecture? Click here.

It is said that a former governor of the island who suffered from severe headaches, believing his malady was aggravated by the sun’s brilliant reflections off the white buildings, mandated that building exteriors be painted any color but white. Despite later discovery that the governor was a shareholder in the island’s only paint store, the tradition of painting in vivid colors has endured, making Willemstad’s Dutch and Spanish colonial style architecture one of the most stunning sights in the Caribbean.

Curaçao Landhuizen, giant plantation houses built in the the outlying areas in the 18th and 19th centuries, were no less alluring. The hallmark of each plantation Continue reading →

You might also like:

Senator Mel Martinez of Florida Opposes Easing Travel To Cuba

Jamaican Me Crazy

Stylin' at the Marriott Beach Resort in Beautiful Curacao

In Curacao They Call Her Queen Emma, But She's Really a Swinging Old Lady

Help Open Cuba To Travel for U.S. Citizens

Posted in Caribbean travel |

Tagged aruba bonaire and curacao, blogsherpa, Caribbean, colonial architecture, culture, Curacao, Dutch, escapism, Landhuizen, Netherlands Antilles, Otrobanda, Punda, Scharloo, Spanish, Travel, UNESCO World Heritage, Willemstad |

24 Comments

Ghost Bikes Memorialize Cyclists Around the World

Published January 5, 2010 | By Barbara Weibel

With its rusting chain and flat tires, some consider the dilapidated, whitewashed bicycle chained to a sign post on Chicago’s north side a piece of urban junk. Cyclists know better. Pedaling by, they pay silent homage at this memorial to George Chavez, a cyclist killed at this spot in a hit-and-run accident in June of 2006.

The “ghost bike” memorial project began in 2003 in St. Louis, Missouri when Patrick Van Der Tuin, after witnessing a vehicle strike a bike rider, placed a white-painted bicycle on the spot with a hand-painted sign reading “Cyclist struck here.” Upon realizing that motorists tended to slow down when they passed the memorial, cyclists placed 15 more “ghost bikes” in spots around St. Louis where cyclists had been hit by automobiles. The idea caught on and before long there were ghost bikes in Pittsburgh, New York City, Seattle, Washington, D.C., Chicago, London, and dozens of other cities around the world.

Can’t view the above slide show of ghost bikes? Click here.

Debate over whether the memorials should be temporary or permanent reached a zenith over a ghost bike in Washington, D.C.’s Dupont Circle. For more than a year, it stood just a few feet from the spot where a garbage truck struck down 22-year old Alice Swanson as she pedaled to Continue reading →

You might also like:

Going Plastic Bag Free

Astonishing Art From A Single Sheet Of Paper

Sarasota Doesn’t Feel Like Home Anymore

John Mayer Is A Fabulous Musician - Too Bad His Concert Last Night Wasn't

There Is Beauty In These Prairies

Posted in Midwest US travel, Uncategorized |

Tagged bicycles, Chicago, Chicago Ride of Silence, fatalities, ghost bikes, Illinois, memorials, New York, Travel, urban art, urban trash, Washington DC |

34 Comments

Joy Rising – A Great Way to Start the New Year

Published January 4, 2010 | By Barbara Weibel

I am in the Chicagoland area, visiting my family as usual for the holidays. I love this city and would move back here in a heartbeat, but for its brutal winters (it has been hovering near zero for the last few nights, with daytime temps in the single digits). But the rest of the time, Chicago is a joy, and never has it been more joyful than this past September, when more than 20,000 people pulled off a massive surprise for an unsuspecting Oprah Winfrey during the Oprah Show’s 24th season kickoff party, held on Chicago’s Miracle Mile on North Michigan Avenue. The entire crowd performed a choreographed flash mob dance to the Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling.”

Oprah, who was obviously shocked and thrilled by the surprise, showed the video from that event on today’s show and interviewed two of the people who were dancers. One said that her favorite part of the dance was when everyone was hunched over with their hands on the backs of the person in front of them. Amazed no one seemed to care that they were being touched by total strangers and elbowed by dancers aside them, the woman speculated there would be world peace if everyone lived with that kind of spirit and happiness. Another participant said that he still remembers the steps and whenever he is havingh a bad day, he closes the door to his office and dances to the video of the event. He described the portion of the dance where participants put their palms together in prayer fashion and raised their arms to the sky as “Joy Rising.” I watched the video three times and got goosebumps each time. Take a look:

My wish for everyone in 2010 is “Joy Rising.”