Archive for April, 2010

• There’s Still Pristine Forest in New York City

  Tuesday, April 20th, 2010

  A vast number of people think any evidence of the primordial past of Manhattan has vanished being replaced by layers upon layers of concrete, which by all means seems that way no matter where you look in New York City. However, there’s still hundreds of acres of natural Manhattan Island that still remains untouched by human landscaping since colonial days; Inwood Hill Park . Located at 215th Street, cross to Broadway. From any one of the centrally located hotels , take the IRT to the last stop in Manhattan, walk up the steps, go 2 blocks straight and you’ll be in a forest.

  The difference between Inwood Hill Park and Central Park is, Inwood is 196 acres of pristine forest, no landscaping or humans have had a hand in changing this pristine forest ever since the colonial days, except for the occasional park lamppost and meandering paths. Central Park on the other hand, was conceived by Olmstead and Vaux, every square inch of Central Park was on a planning board. Inwood Hill Park is a living piece of old New York and was the site of the best know real estate deal by Peter Minuit, where legend has it that he purchased the island of Manhattan from the Leni Lenape Indians with trinkets only amounting to the sum of $24. When you’re inside the more heavily forested area of the park, take a short walk along the parks path towards the hilly area, you’ll see a plaque on a rock that commemorates the so-called ‘swindle’ by Peter Minuit of the Lenape Indians. The rock, which is called Skorakopock Rock, is on the exact site of a giant tulip tree where the transaction took place. The Tulip tree is long gone, but the rock plaque is a solid reminder of just how cheap it was to purchase land.

  You’ll enter Inwood Hill Park by crossing Indian Road, but before you enter Inwood Hill’s forest, walk around to the Harlem River and take in the views that are awaiting to take your breath away. Also, if you head towards the eastern edge of the park, you’ll see evidence of the main encampment of the Lenape Indians who relied heavily on the Hudson and Harlem Rivers for their sources of water and food. You’ll see artifacts and the remains of ancient campfires under rock shelters.

• Boulder the Pub Hub

  Friday, April 2nd, 2010

  Every college town in this great country is filled with some great home made brews and live entertainment and Boulder Colorado is no different. Some of the local breweries send their beer all over the country so come and see what the scene is all about. Not far from the quaint Bolder hotel that you are staying in are many fine breweries and restaurants. Most of them have some sort of live entertainment going on each night. One can definitely find their favorite sport playing on the local pub TV. Check out Dark Horse for some great microbrew beers, many TV’s with sports playing on them and lots of interactive gaming such as darts and pool. You may find that hours go by and you don’t even realize it until you are kicked out at 2am. For an Irish experience, check out Conor O’Neill’s . They have some classic Irish dishes such as Shepherd’s Pie, Corned Beef & Hash and Irish Brown Bread Pudding. There is always and endless supply of your favorite beer and a live Irish band playing to keep the beer pitchers thumping on the table tops. For a little bit of history to go with your microbrew check out Boulder Beer . This is the first microbrewery in the state of Colorado. They offer a not so ordinary tour of their brewery. You get to see how they make the beer while you are sipping on a beer. You also get a tray of tasters of all the different styles of beer they make. They will tell you about each beer and what you may want to pair it with at dinner time. Thought this brewery is not far from hotels around Boulder , it is definitely far from being like any other brewery you will ever visit. The original owners of the place made sure of that. So take some time to stop in for this great brew and pub experience.