Author: Ms. R.

To any passersby along the age-old Riverside Drive in the village of Allouez, Wisconsin, the image of this monument may seem like just another average crypt. It is certainly not striking upon first glance—but the history and backstory of this memorial piques a peculiar interest.  Inside Woodlawn Cemetery, which is the final resting place for many of the area’s historically acclaimed citizens, sits a relatively small mausoleum known locally as the Minahan Crypt. Dr. William Edward Minahan was born……

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For most tourists, Uzbekistan is synonymous with its ancient Silk Road bazaars in Samarkand or Bukhara. To wander through markets whose predecessors date back a millennia surrounded by blue-tiled minarets and mosques, can be a breath-taking experience. But there’s also a museum quality to these well-preserved, popular destinations. Visitors are far more likely to bump into tourists looking for souvenirs than any local doing their weekly shopping. For visitors wanting to capture a more authentic picture of contemporary Uzbek……

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On May 3rd, 2003, the iconic Old Man of the Mountain collapsed. Much beloved by New Hampshire residents and tourists alike, the picture of the legendary rock face is on the state’s license plates, road signs, postage stamps, and so much more. The citizens of New Hampshire mourned the loss of the Old Man and there were several attempts to make state-sanctioned replicas. All of them fell through. In 2004, there was a proposition to change the state flag……

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This 17th century palace was the home of Francisco Gómez de Sandoval y Rojas, Duke of Lerma and an influential favorite of Spain‘s King Phillip III. The duke was an important diplomat who negotiated numerous treaties and his magnificent and imposing palace was meant to serve as a symbol of his power. He was also something of a religious and racial bigot and was the person who, along with the Archbishop of Valencia, Juan de Ribera, initiated the expulsion of……

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As a former gritty and coal-fueled industrial powerhouse, Cleveland, Ohio was once crisscrossed by the steel rails that brought coke, coal, iron ore, and untold other materials to the steel mills and factories. Rail was king at the time. Across the city were gleaming steel twin rails twisting and turning through Cleveland’s Flats, the industrial valley along the Cuyahoga River. Although most of the mills are gone and most of the tracks have been dismantled or scrapped, there are……

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Since it first opened in 2000, Tateishi Burger has been a favorite of those who enjoy oddities, which are known in Japan as “B-spots.” Located in a quiet neighborhood, its raggedy façade may not lure in a lot of passersby, but it never ceases to attract said B-spot enthusiasts from around the country. Founded by Toshiharu Hamano, Tateishi Burger is an old-fashioned, eat-in bakery with a small variety of low-priced burgers and sandwiches. But what makes it really stand out is……

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Few humans live in the Falkland Islands, an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean off the southern coast of Argentina. But there is a lot of wildlife, especially seabirds, including the largest breeding population of black-browed albatrosses in the world. Considered endangered as recently as 2013, the numbers of these big migrators have since rebounded, and the species is currently listed under the lowest level of threat by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. These days, around 500,000 pairs……

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