Japanfest 2014

Welcome to Japanfest
Welcome to Japanfest

One of my daughters is taking Japanese in middle school this year. Although we’d been before, she wanted to make the trek up to Gwinnett Center to attend this year’s Japanfest the weekend of September 20. This was made more appealing by the two free tickets her teacher gave us.

My favorite performance of the two-day event is Matsurizo Taiko, a professional ensemble of Japanese drummers that regularly perform at Epcot. As we made our way to the auditorium, the usher said,”I’m sorry. It’s too crowded for you to enter.” No, this can’t be happening, I thought to myself. We still had a few minutes before the show was to start. However as more people came behind us and expressed disapointment, he shrugged his shoulders and let everybody in. “You have to stand up and there’s no security,” he warned. Inside the dark auditorium, we could feel (before we could hear), the constant boom, boom.boom of the large drums. Despite not having seats, the performance was captivating as the 14 men and women kept us entertained. (more…)

Dragoncon Parade – Atlanta

Speed Racer
Speed Racer

Captain America.

Wonder Woman.

Batman.

Yep. You guessed it. It’s the annual Dragoncon Parade over Labor Day weekend in Atlanta.

I had no clue what to expect as I’m not a Sci-Fi buff at all. I remember watching Star Trek as a kid only because we didn’t have have cable and it was the only thing on TV. I didn’t like it. (more…)

Delta Flight Museum – Atlanta, GA

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Recently, we toured the newly renovated Delta Flight Museum located at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta.

I have to preface this by saying I’m a “Delta” girl.” In its early years, Delta was headquartered in Monroe, LA, just 80 miles west of my hometown of Shreveport. In fact, Delta’s first passenger route in 1929 went from Dallas, Shreveport, Monroe and Jackson, MS. Later that year, Birmingham, AL was added to the route as shown by the below Delta advertisement.

My hometown of Shreveport was part of Delta's first passenger route.
My hometown of Shreveport was part of Delta’s first passenger route.

The museum is housed in Hangar 1 & 2, which served as Delta’s original maintenance hangar in the early days. We had to go through a security checkpoint to get into the parking lot. Once we parked (almost in front of the museum on this Sunday afternoon) we entered the building. Our children were given brochures with a scavenger hunt. If they completed it, they could earn a small prize at the end. (more…)

Read more about the article Congaree National Park – Hopkins, SC

Congaree National Park – Hopkins, SC

 

IMG_2535Driving along a two lane road in central South Carolina, we didn’t know what to expect at Congaree National Park – especially since we’d never heard of it before. In fact, the park has only been a National Park since 2003. Before that it was the Congaree Swamp National Monument.

According to our guidebook, “National Geographic Guide to the National Parks of the United States – 6thEdition,” it is not a true swamp. It is a floodplain ecosystem which changes when two rivers – the Congaree and the Wateree – pass over about 10 times per year. It is also a forest of bottomland hardwood trees – specifically the bald cypress, water tupelo and loblolly pines. In fact, the largest loblolly pine in the world, climbing more than 160 feet, is located here.

Although the visitor’s center was closed that Sunday, trails maps and brochures with marker descriptions were available. We chose to take the 2.4 mile boardwalk, which was slanted in different angles – mainly because it was built in 8 feet of muck which changes every time it floods. (more…)