All Things San Diego
Among other places, the June WOW visited San Diego with different Westchase residents. Both Heather Greeley-Hessefort of Keswick Forest and the Patterson family of Radcliffe took the WOW along on their trips to Southern California.
Mignon and Don Patterson, along with their children Lila and Luke, took WOW along during their visits to Legoland California, the San Diego Zoo and Tijuana, just across the U.S.-Mexico border. Lila and Luke Patterson are pictured at the zoo and Legoland.
Describing her photos, Heather Greeley-Hessefort wrote, “WOW got to see the historic Gaslamp Quarter, which reminded me of Ybor with the restaurants and shops.” Heather added, “The WOW also accompanied me inside and into the dugout of PetCo Park, home to the San Diego Padres. I wasn't there as a Padres fan (Go, Rays!). My company held their annual Employee of the Year awards dinner there. It was a wonderful event and I had a little bit of home with me.”
While originally settled by Native Americans, San Diego Bay’s modern history began as a Spanish military post and mission in the 1700’s. Even after it became part of the U.S. in 1850 as the result of the Mexican-American War, San Diego remained a sleepy, small town of less than 1,000 residents until newcomer Alonzo Horton arrived. Horton purchased land closer to the bay, built a wharf there and began promoting the town’s development. Since the early 1900’s San Diego’s economy has been strongly tied to the presence of the U.S. military there.
We thank Heather Greeley-Hessefort and the Pattersons for sharing their trips with WOW.
By Chris Barrett, Publisher
From Stonehenge to Diamond Head
The June WOW proved a well traveled magazine. Among other places, it visited the UK and the islands of Hawaii.
That month Jack and Sam Splaine of The Greens visited England to attend their aunt’s wedding. “It was the first time they had been to the U.K. and they really enjoyed it,” wrote their dad Steve,
“especially the fish 'n' chips.”
The boys also had the opportunity to visit Stonehenge, a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire. While archaeologists still debate its purpose, it was likely erected sometime between 3,000-2,000 BC. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Stonehenge might have served as an early burial ground and it may also have been used as an astronomical observatory or a religious site. Each of the monument’s standing stones is around 13 feet tall, nearly seven feet wide and three to four feet thick. They each weigh around 25 tons.
June also found the Cushing family of Kingsford making a trip to Hawaii, which included an excursion to the top of one of the island chain’s most recognizable landmarks, Diamond Head. Wrote Laurie Cushing, “The Monday after school got out we flew for 10.5 hours to O'ahu with the WOW in our carry-on. In celebration of Hannah graduating from elementary school and our 13th wedding anniversary, we spent eight days exploring the island. We snorkeled, fed bonefish, went to a luau, toured the Pearl Harbor Memorial and the Dole plantation, saw sea turtles trying to beach themselves for a nap, had lots of shaved Hawaiian ice, golfed, body-surfed the waves in Waikiki and climbed Diamondhead. It was quite a trip!”
Diamond Head, an iconic Waikiki image, is actually the top of a volcanic tuff cone of on the Hawaiian island of O'ahu. While called Lē'ahi by native Hawaiians, the cone was dubbed Diamond Head by 19th century British sailors, who mistook calcite crystals in the rock for diamonds. The volcano Diamond Head rims has been extinct for 150,000 years. A popular tourist destination for visitors to Honolulu’s hotels, the hike to its top take one to two hours. Tom, Laurie, Hannah and Emma Cushing are pictured at the top.
We thank the Splaines and Cushings for sharing their trips with WOW.
By Chris Barrett, Publisher
From Santa’s Neighborhood to Sri Lanka
Thanks to two Westchase families, the June WOW likely saw the greatest climatic and latitudinal extremes of any edition.
The month begin with the Butt family of Harbor Links undertaking a 16-day land and cruise tour of the U.S.’s northernmost state, way up in Santa Claus’ neighborhood. Jeff, Michelle, Andrew and Caroline Butt carried the June WOW on a long journey to the Arctic Circle along Alaska’s Dalton Highway. Explained Michelle, “Our journey to the Arctic Circle began with an eight-hour van trip north from Fairbanks along the Dalton Highway. The Dalton Highway has recently been made famous by the History Channel show Ice Road Truckers. Once we arrived in glamorous Coldfoot, AK (really just a truck stop), we flew from north of the Arctic Circle by small airplane back to Fairbanks!”
The month, however, also saw the June WOW in a country that sits just seven degrees north of the equator – Sri Lanka. The Gabadage/DeSilva family from The Greens visited Yala National Park and Sanctuary, where they stayed overnight in a bungalow with no walls! Nimna Gabadage wrote WOW with a description of the great experience his brother Ganjul and he had. “During a four-hour safari Jeep ride through the dangerous jungle, all sorts of exotic animals awaited us, including giant water monitors and elegant peacocks – not to mention groups of troublemaking Grey Langur monkeys.”
Nimna also sent in photos of a number of the animals living in the sanctuary. “There were wild boars moving in packs, herds of spotted deer and hulking black sloth bears,” he wrote. “Whether it’s herds of Asian elephants aimlessly lumbering through the dry plains eating scorched grass and weeds or two playful Sri Lankan leopard cubs tussling with each other on the dirt road just a meter in front of you, Yala National Park had it all.”
WOW thanks the Butts and Gabadages for sharing their travels with us!
By Chris Barrett, Publisher
WOWing the Biltmore
In July two Westchase families took WOW along to visit one of America’s most famous houses.
After the White House, perhaps the most famous house in America is the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. Visiting the estate this past summer were Amanda, Dave, Natalie and Emery Wynne of The Vineyards and Mary and Neal Banks of Castleford.
In addition to a photo of both Natalie and Amanda Wynne at the Biltmore, the Wynnes also sent in a photo of Natalie and Emery enjoying a breathtaking view of the Blue Ridge Mountains at milepost 294 of the Blue Ridge Parkway. The stop features the Moses H. Cone Manor and Memorial Park.
In addition to their visit of the Biltmore, Mary and Neal Banks also visited the lakeside resort of Skaneatelles, New York.
The Biltmore Estate consists of both the Biltmore House and its grounds, located in beautiful Asheville, about 50 miles from the Tennessee border in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The Biltmore House, the largest privately owned home in the U.S., was designed by architect Richard Morris Hunt in the Châteauesque-style and completed in 1895 at the height of the Gilded Age. The estate was owned by George Washington Vanderbilt, II, the grandson of Gilded Age robber baron Cornelius Vanderbilt, who made his fortune from an extensive steamship and railroad empire. Its grounds were designed by one of America’s most renowned landscape architects, Frederick Law Olmsted, famous for designing Central Park and Prospect Park in New York City.
Its once far more extensive grounds consisted of 125,000 acres of forests, 85,000 of which were sold to the U.S. government by George Washington Vanderbilt’s widow and now serve as a significant part of the Pisgah National Forest.
Still owned by one of Vanderbilt’s descendents, the Biltmore House was opened to the public in March 1930. Family members lived there until 1956, when it permanently became a house museum. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964.
We thank the Wynnes and Bankses for sharing their travels with WOW.
By Chris Barrett, Publisher
From the Far East and the Near West
Early July found the June WOW in several famous European places.
Over the summer Debbie and Steven Steinfeld of The Fords took a whirlwind tour of London. In just one day the indefatigable couple visited Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace, caught Les Miserables in a West End theater and scratched another item off Steve Steinfeld’s bucket list: a visit to Wimbledon during the tennis tournament. Steve remarked that seeing the tournament’s games simultaneously played on many courts offered a unique view of an athletic event most Americans see play out on one or two.
June’s WOW also accompanied the Dukat family of Bennington, who submitted photos from Pompeii, Pisa and Paris. In one Rachel, 17, and Regina, 11, pose in front of one of the plaster casts from the remains in Pompeii, destroyed by Mt. Vesuvius’ eruption in AD 79. Located near Naples on Italy’s western coast, Pompeii was abandoned yet rediscovered in the 18th century.
The Dukat sisters were also photographed holding WOW in front of a Notre Dame Cathedral gargoyle and the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The tower was constructed between AD 1178-1319 and began to sink and tilt soon after the construction of its second floor. Wrote their father Rob, “Going up the tower is pretty crazy. Due to the lean, it feels like you're going through one of those fun house tunnels with the lights spinning around you.”
A contemporary of the Leaning Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral, a Gothic Catholic cathedral in Paris, was built between 1163-1345 and is the setting for The Hunchback of Notre Dame. “We climbed up about 200 or so steps to get to the bell towers and facade around them,” wrote Rob Dukat. “You could see and touch the 13-ton bell Quasimodo would ring.”
WOW thanks the Steinfelds and Dukats for sharing their adventures with us!
By Chris Barrett, Publisher
From the Far East and the Near West
In early June Westchase families’ summer travels took one family to San Francisco and another to Vietnam.
The Simmons family of The Vineyards took along the June WOW for their trip to California. While Brian Simmons attended the Apple Worldwide Development Conference from June 6-10, his wife Suzie and daughter Maggie, 7, took in the city’s sites. Suzie Simmons graciously sent in a photo of Maggie in front of the rotunda of the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre. The theater, which hosts both concerts and performances, was originally constructed in the Marina District for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition. Because its construction was considered temporary and it had deteriorated badly by the 1950’s, it was demolished and constructed anew in 1964. In 1969 it became home to the Exploratorium museum and since 1970 has also housed a 1,000-seat theater.
June also saw the Huynh family of Castleford send make a trip abroad. Wrote the Huynhs, “In June 2011, we visited our native country of Vietnam. It was an exciting first visit to Vietnam for our daughters.”
In the photos Kayla and Megan Huynh are standing in front of the former Saigon City Hall, which dates to 1908, and Notre Dame Cathedral in Saigon, which was completed in 1880. Explained the Huynhs, “Their architecture reflects French influence as Vietnam was a French colony for a century. In fact, the bricks used to build the cathedral were shipped in from France.”
With the fall of Saigon in 1975, the city’s name was changed to [vulgarity] Chih Minh City. The Saigon name however, is still commonly used by both Vietnamese and foreigners, particularly for the central part of the city.
We thank the Huyns and the Simmonses for sharing their fun with WOW.
By Chris Barrett, Publisher