Ausable Chasm

"Welcome to the Inner Sanctum", an elderly woman says as she checks our $16.95 entrance tickets. We've been driving for five hours from New York and our arses were in desperate need of a break. Our legs too were screaming for a stretch. Somewhere along Route 9, roadside billboards about Ausable Chasm got us curious. Why not stop by? Looks like a nice stopover before the US/Canadian border. "Please take care as you walk", the lady advised us, aware of wet conditions on the paths.

Mohonk Mountain House

One can never be so far from idyllic bliss even for a big city like New York. Only 90 miles north - just outside the charming town of New Paltz and near my favorite hiking nirvana in the Shawangunks - is Mohonk Mountain House. Built between 1879 and 1910, this all-inclusive resort is a perfect haven where the woodlands meet old world vibe. But there is much more beyond its creaking wood floors and the astounding beauty surrounding this Victorian mountaintop property.

Flower Power

Allow me a little detour from my Caribbean series. Over a week ago, we traveled south from New York to the US capital in Washington DC for the annual National Cherry Blossom Festival.  Spring is the season when Yoshino trees around the city's Tidal Basin are abloom. What a sight to behold. It may be my 3rd time to see them but I still can't get over these pink-as-ballet-shoes floral fireworks.

Snowy Weekend From Central Park to the Catskills

Winter storms can be both a boon and a bane. There may be damages to property, even loss of lives. But for most New Yorkers who got walloped by a nor'easter very recently, nothing can get in the way of staying out active. Or getting out there in the cold. Even with all that heaps of snow - or rather because of it.

Gettysburg

People and events do help shape a country's history. But nothing is more tragic, more vicious, more painful than one that involves war. The loss of lives, the loss of property, there's just no sense to it all. Yet it makes for a compelling story for everyone, to learn from it, hoping to avoid war in the future.

Sadly, war keeps coming back.

Where I Work

National Geographic's December 2011 issue ran a feature on "The Most Influential Cities" as compiled by management consultancy firm A.T. Kearney on their Global Cities Index. Countries were ranked based on the scores of 5 key areas: business activity, human capital, information exchange, cultural experience, & political engagement. While this ranking is for 2010, I doubt if there's any major shift for 2011 or 2012. The following are in the top 10 out of 65 countries listed (Manila is 51st):

Where I Live

No, it's not Hong Kong

This is a two-part series involving two places where I spend plenty of time, if not most of it. It's not really specific to my apartment or work place but rather the areas around it. In other words, it's like walking with me and 'see' what I see whenever I walk in my neck of the woods. As someone whose travel itch has brought me beyond New York on many occasions, I feel it's now time to go local and feature this true melting pot I've called home since 2001.

Welcome to my neighborhood. Welcome to Flushing, New York!

Fall Hike In The Gunks

Before the riotous colors of fall fade away, it's time to get out and see this natural canvas that only a painter could dream about. There's certainly no dearth in the American Northeast as it is blessed with abundant state parks. Depending on location, it could be anywhere from midpoint to peak to past peak in color change. Add an eight mile hike to that objective and we've got a perfect day hike combining great colors and calorie burn. 

The High Line

A riot of green growing through an abandoned railroad track

A month since the second section of the High Line opened to the public, this elevated park has become a huge hit among visitors and locals alike. When the first section (from Gansevoort Street to 20th Street) opened two years ago, it was already welcomed by New Yorkers yearning for another green lung. I myself went back again and again, mostly bringing along first timers. Now that the park has doubled it's length to a mile long all the way to 30th Street, there's more reason for park goers to stay active. That is, by strolling above the busy streets.

Falls and Caves

Just 2-3 hours away from Manhattan and it already seems like a thousand miles away. To cover two destinations on this trip just within New York state, two of my friends and I allotted a whole day joining other outdoorsy New Yorkers on a bus trip. That meant of course starting out early in the morning. The weekend weather was great and nothing like rain or high humidity was in the forecast. First in our agenda - Kaaterskill Falls.

Hitting The Snowy Slopes

"Don't lean back or you'll lose control. Keep your weight in the center!" Elyssa shot at me while I was moving down the bunny hill. For the last hour or so, she has been instructing  me and 3 of my friends as we struggled learning how to ski for the first time. For a moment I thought I should have gone with another friend who opted to learn snowboarding. Perhaps it's easier?  Except for  zip-lining, sandboarding (Chile) and a Tarzan-swing (Costa Rica), I don't have much experience with gravity-induced activities.

Ancient Egypt At The Met

The Tomb of Perneb beckons visitors to ancient Egypt at the Met

A year ago, I visited Cairo's Egyptian Museum which recently became part of the news due to its location in Tahrir Square (the site of the revolution which ousted Mubarak). Unfortunately, pictures were not allowed inside  the museum so I was left with nothing but just flashing memories of the incredible treasures I saw. Feeling itchy to see Egyptian antiquities again without actually flying to Cairo, I decided to revisit one of the world's best museums - the Metropolitan Museum of Art, or the Met - in New York City. Thankfully, photography is allowed as long as no flash is used.

Storm King Mountain

In preparation for some hikes that I will be doing very soon, I signed up with Outdoorbound early this month for a day hike in upstate New York. It was a glorious October weekend with clear sunny skies so we took advantage of it. Outdoors in the fall is just gorgeous - not too hot, not too cold. Some 15 of us strangers met up in Manhattan early in the morning and was driven by Max, our guide, for about an hour into Storm King State Park, close to the US Military Academy in Westpoint. Rising above the Hudson river, Storm King Mountain stands at a decent 1,348 feet, perfect for my much needed warm up.

Baked Apple!

Kids enjoy playing with water at
the Hamilton Fish Recreation Center

It is not yet August but these past three days has been quite hot and humid not just in New York City but for most of the Northeast. Last Tuesday was the worst, topping at a searing 103 degrees Fahrenheit (39.4 degrees Celsius). That's the hottest I've experienced since moving into this city 8 years ago. Even a visiting Queen Elizabeth II must have been happy she was only in the Big Apple for 5 hours last Tuesday. New Yorkers normally love the outdoors but it's one of those days when weary workers actually enjoyed being inside the confines of airconditioned cubicles. Those without ACs at home end up hitting the malls and movie theaters - who says only Pinoys do that in the Philippines? Or better yet, many decided to hit the city's many public pools - they're free and very accessible.

Fire Island

view from the tent

For all Americans, the 4th of July signifies freedom in all its kinds - including freedom from stress. Which means, besides remembering this nation's independence from the shackles of British rule, stressed-out citizens of the urban jungle are just too eager to go anywhere on this long weekend in order to be free from it all. For us, this meant traveling by car for more than an hour on an already congested Long Island Expressway to go to - hmmm, not the Hamptons - but Sayville where we took a half-hour ferry to Cherry Grove on Fire Island. We settled on one of the quiet stretch of beach and erected our tent in lieu of a beach umbrella. This is the best I and my friends Al, Rene, Jenny & Minnette could do to really say we're away from the hustle and bustle of Manhattan.

Grand Central Terminal

Long before there were airport terminals, there were train stations. During the gilded age when riding on a train was the fastest and most fashionable means of transportation, train stations provided a respite from all the hassles of traveling - on cavernous waiting rooms passengers sat, slept and ate. It was a place to see and be seen, laden as most people were with boxy suitcases. Even as long distance traveling shifted more towards flying, the romance of train travel and the allure of a train station has not really diminished.

On The Falls Trail

Someone in our group was behind, really way behind. We've just finished the 7.2-mile (11.5 kms) hike deep in a Pennsylvania forest and we were waiting for the stragglers at the trail head. At past 6 PM someone asked for the men in the group to help. We backtracked into the darkening trail and found this woman, about 50 years old, lying on the ground, weak but conscious. After being given a tube of glucose gel, she felt better but still unable to walk. A Forest Ranger came with a stretcher and we helped carry her back to the parking lot until Paramedics came - a real emergency situation which truly stretched our already long day a bit more longer. Instead of leaving at 5 PM back for New York (about 3 hours away), we ended up going some two hours late.

Paddling On A Pond

It's past 12 noon, we've been kayaking for almost three hours and our stomachs were empty. Inside my daypack was some Hopia and a bag of chips -all the food we got- but it's tucked in the kayak's compartment behind where I'm sitting. I pulled into one of these huge rocks jutting out in the lake shore to retrieve our precious cargo. My companions Jenny, Minette and Tatum followed suit, happy for a bit of rest. We shared whatever little food we got, hoping on a more substantial refuel after Chris comes back to pick us up at our launching point. We scanned the view around us - the lake just in front and the forest fringing it - and declared this a great location for camping.

Fleet Week 2010

While the men and women of the United States Marine Corp (USMC) came to town and painted it red, we ended up spending our Memorial Day visiting their very own floating turf. Most of the ships participating in the annual Fleet Week event were docked in Staten Island but the star attraction of them all was in Manhattan's Pier 88: the USS Iwo Jima. I know I've been on this ship last year but it was calling my name back to its cavernous belly. With two friends in tow, we stood in line on a really warm day to get another peek at what this branch of the United States armed forces does in times of war and peace. Ship ahoy!

Central Park Zoo

Ever since my first visit to an urban zoo in Manila many years ago, I've always felt the urge to see more wildlife - that is, in their natural habitat. That's how I envision wildlife encounter should be. However, my African safari still remains elusive so I had to contend myself with seeing animals within the confines of protective barriers. I know a lot of animal-rights advocates deplore zoos as nothing more than prisons, but my take on this issue is that as long as animals are well cared for in a properly maintained environment, then a zoo is a great place to introduce people to animals and educate everyone on the ongoing drive to protect them - especially the endangered ones.