Girl About the World

In my apartment, my No. 1 place to write

Today’s theme in Blogathon 2011 is “My top 5 favorite places to write are…,” and all participants are encouraged to participate. So in the spirit of joining in, here goes:

1. Home
2. Home
3. Home

Are you sensing a pattern here? I could keep going, but I bet you astute readers can guess Nos. 4 and 5. “But don’t you ever go to a coffee shop and write there? What about the library? Or a nice park?” many ask. The boring answer is mostly no. It seems romantic to work for yourself, set your own hours, pore over your words in a neighborhood cafe with other creatives or take your laptop and enjoy the sunshine while also creating brilliant prose. When I first became a full-time freelance writer, I imagined I’d do that every once in a while. But the truth is that I work best in my own environment, which does pose challenges when I’m on the road.

Of course, I do bust out the laptop pretty much everywhere — on the ferry, in airports, in hotel rooms, and, yes, even in coffeehouses when I’m in different cities. Those just aren’t my preferred places to work. Part of the problem is that I’m usually tired when I’m traveling, as I’m the kind of person who will cram absolutely everything into a day that I possibly can. Many times, I’m typing away at 3 a.m. when all I want to do is lay my head on the pillow, and that doesn’t particularly endear me to working while on the go. Neither does hunting down a wireless signal in a hotel or trying to interview a source while the wind whips around on the top deck of a cruise ship.

But as the saying goes, these are high-class problems to have, right? I mean, really — this is nothing to complain about. I certainly feel lucky that I have the kind of schedule that allows me to travel, that I have the physical capability to journey to new (and old) places, and that I get paid to do it all. But that doesn’t change the fact that, for me, home is where the heart — and best writing environment — is.

(Sorry to be so boring!)

Happy hour at Boka Kitchen + Bar

At the ripe hour of 9 a.m. yesterday morning, I was downing Pisco punch, a drink invented in San Francisco at the end of the 19th century. While orange juice is more my speed at such an early hour, I couldn’t pass up the chance to try a drink written about by such notables as Mark Twain and Rudyard Kipling. More on that later. But to stay on the theme, today I’ve guest posted over at Discover Washington State, a blog run by writer Heather Larson, about three great happy hours in Seattle. All of these are within a three-block radius, so you can choose the one that suits your fancy … or hit them all in the same day if you really want to be a happy hour warrior. Check out the post here: http://www.discoverwashingtonstate.com/3-seattle-blocks-3-happy-hours/

© Boehm's Candies

When Austrian Julius Boehm fled from the Nazis and moved to the U.S. in the early 1940s, the Vienna native saw the green landscape and mountains of the Northwest and was reminded of the country he’d left behind. To bring even more of his homeland to the area, he opened Boehm’s Candies in the Issaquah foothills (about 30 minutes east of Seattle) in 1956, which is housed in the authentic Edelweiss Chalet among greenery, fountains, and a chapel. The amazing Boehm was a runner in the 1924 Olympics and climbed to the top of Mount Rainier at age 80, but what might be even more amazing are the 150-plus chocolate confections that come from his namesake business.

Girls behind the counter wear dirndls and serve up American favorites like caramels, English toffee, and peanut brittle alongside European specialties like Mozartkugeln, marzipan, and brandied cordial cherries. To see the candymakers in action, visit on a weekday between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. and peek in the viewing window; you can also take a chocolate-making class yourself at this picturesque facility, pretty enough for a postcard.

Visit:
Boehm’s Candies
255 NE Gilman Blvd.
Issaquah, WA
Open Monday to Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sundays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
www.boehmscandies.com

Location: Woodinville, Washington

(for a full-size version, click any photo)

Hoofing it -- even if you have to stop to take a break, like above -- is one way to travel sustainably.

At a conference for travel writers earlier this month, the focus was on sustainability in travel — which, of course, poses the question: Can travel ever really be sustainable? Different people have different answers to that question, but we can probably all agree that if you are traveling, there are some things you can do to lessen your impact on the environment, promote local culture, and preserve the area you’re visiting for future generations. During a talk called “Writing About Sustainable Travel” by journalist Allen Cox, we brainstormed a few strategies on traveling sustainably:

• Eat locally sourced food
• Use public transportation
• Travel with a water filter to avoid buying bottled water
• Stay in locally owned lodging committed to eco-friendliness
• Recycle
• Take a locally run tour
• Walk when you can
• Pack light
• Buy souvenirs from local artisans

What steps do you take to help preserve the local culture, environment, and economy when you travel?

There are a lot of uniquely San Francisco things to do in the City by the Bay, but if there’s one quintessential transportation experience, it’s riding the cable cars.

The lines are long, the ride is fairly short, and for the distance covered, it’s kind of an expensive way to get from here to there ($5 isn’t too bad, but still more than you’d pay for other public transportation). But not many National Historic Landmarks move, and for the historical value and fun of it, it’s definitely worth taking a ride. I think hanging off the side is the only way to go, but there are also plenty of seats for those who aren’t excited about sucking in their stomachs every time a car passes.

While the cable cars have always been beloved, they have been in danger. The city government tried to get rid of them in the 1940s, and back in the early ’80s, they were in such disrepair that it would require $60 million and 20 months to get them back to operational. Fortunately for the iconic landmark, the City of San Francisco raised $10 million from the private sector alone, the federal government aided the project with a $46.5 million contribution, and the State of California added $3.6 million, among smaller donations worldwide.

And so today they live on, boasting an impressive set of numbers:

Founded: 1863
Speed: 9.5 mph
No. of cars in service: 41
Carrying capacity per car: 60-plus
Passengers each year: 7.5 million

For more information about San Francisco’s cable cars and to see the routes, visit www.sfcablecar.com.

Armed Forces Day is nearly upon us, and every year, that makes me think of one thing: riding atop a firetruck all summer long, waving a pageant wave, while wearing a matronly navy blazer/khaki skirt/white turtleneck/navy pumps/jaunty American flag scarf combo.

When I was a senior in high school, I attended teas, shook hands with community leaders, and donned that special outfit as part of the Armed Forces Festival Ambassador Program. One essay, a set of headshots, a lot of events around town, and a speech about an immigrant’s experience later, and I had placed in the competition and was bound to a summer of smiling until my cheeks hurt while I rode around all the local parades. The main event, though, was the Armed Forces Day Parade.

In my heavily military hometown of Bremerton, Washington, Armed Forces Day is a big deal — we have the longest-running and largest Armed Forces Day parade in the nation. It began in 1948, two years before the holiday was federally recognized. Today, marching bands, local clubs, pageant winners, and military entries all converge for a celebration of those who’ve served our country. This year, it kicks of at 10 a.m.; for more information, click here.

I’ll be traveling on the big day this year, but I’ll think fondly of the tough maneuver that was climbing on top of a firetruck in a pencil skirt (no easy feat while trying to be ladylike) and sweltering in that blazer (we came so close to convincing the director to let us wear American flag T-shirts and capris instead; alas, no dice), but I’ll think even more fondly of the servicemen and women for whom the day is named.

(If the photo above isn’t vintage enough for you, check out these from parades gone by from the ’50s to ’70s).