History

Saratoga Springs

Woohoo! Our first trip in 2 years! We decided to stay local and not fly because we weren’t sure how things would turn out when we planned this trip back in Feb 2021. I’ve been curious about Saratoga Springs, NY since forever (maybe 20 years) and early October 2021 was the right time. Saratoga is a quaint, cute, pretty town. It is known as “The Queen of Spas” and the oldest racetrack in America. For a lot of the 19th and 20th centuries, they were known for gambling, horse racing, and health resorts.

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City Tavern

City Tavern in Philadelphia is located at 138 South 2nd Street. It’s a recreation of  the 18th century building that used to sit there. The original tavern was a favorite spot of our founding fathers. Continue reading →

Smith Tower

Smith Tower stands at 38 story (484ft/147.52m) in Pioneer Square and was completed in 1914. It was the tallest building west of the Mississippi River. In 1931, Kansas city Power and Light became the tallest building and in 1962 the Space Needle took the title. Continue reading →

Seattle Underground with Beneath the Streets

Beneath the streets of Pioneer Square lies the remnants of ‘Old Seattle’, where you can get a glimpse of the city’s early days. The Underground is a network of basements, tunnels, and passageways underneath Pioneer Square in downtown.  On June 6, 1889, a cabinet maker accidentally lit up and overturned a glue pot. What ensued was the Great Fire of Seattle. Continue reading →

Emily Carr House and Beacon Hill Park

We had several hours to kill before we hopped on our ferry to Seattle. We’ve been wanting to see Craigdarroch Castle but didn’t want to spend our time indoors and decided to walk to Beacon Hill Park and have a look see at the Emily Carr House. Continue reading →

Port Renfew

If you want to see Vancouver off the beaten path, go to Port Renfew, this was home for 3 nights. Last year we stayed in Victoria and Toni picked us up from our hotel. This trick snagged us an extra 3-4 hours on the trails. She doesn’t usually book stay and play tours but we became friends with her (we feel special). It was nice having this as our home for a few days. Continue reading →

West Point Foundry Preserve

West Point Foundry was an ironworks operation in Cold Spring, New York, located north of Manhattan along the right side of the Hudson River. It opened in 1817 and closed in 1911. Continue reading →

The New Yorker Hotel Behind The Scenes

This Art Deco beauty opened on June 2, 1930, a popular style in the 1920s and 1930s. The hotel was built in the Garment District by developer Mack Kanner. It was designed by Sugarman and Berger and the original plan was 38 stories. When it was finished the hotel stood 43 stories, had 2500 rooms, and cost $22.5 million (original estimated construction cost was $8 million). Continue reading →

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire 106th Anniversary

March 25, 1911 was one of the deadliest industrial disasters in NYC and one of the deadliest in US history. It occurred at Triangle Shirtwaist Factory at 23-29 Washington Place in Greenwich Village. 146 garment workers  – 123 women and 23 men died. Some jumped to their deaths because entrances were blocked, others died from smoke inhalation, falling, and fire. The oldest victim was Providenza Panno, 43 and the youngest Kate Leone and Rosaria “Sara” Maltese, 14. Most garment workers were Jewish and Italian immigrants. Continue reading →