Author Archives: Elaine-iaK's Travels

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About Elaine-iaK's Travels

As a graduate of Recreation Administration, from San Diego State University, I have made recreation and travels my career and life’s passion. After graduation, I traveled solo for one year throughout the South Pacific, doing travel photography in a wide variety of settings. Upon my return, many of my photographs became the subjects of my newly created line of handcrafted photographic greeting cards, "Exquisite! By, Elaine", a business I have had since 1986. Check them out at: http://ExquisiteCards.fototime.com . In 1983, I began teaming up with my mom, Goldie, teaching arts & crafts to cruise ship passengers, aboard Princess Cruises and Royal Caribbean. In addition, I lectured on travel photography, as well as Australia and New Zealand history, aboard Princess Cruises. In 2004, I formed a new teaching team with my recently retired husband, Bruce, who serves as my "humble assistant" until 2010 when the cruise lines shifted the arts and crafts program to mostly being taught by their own staff. Currently, our favorite mode of travel is by river boat. Along the way, we enjoy poking around small European towns, meeting the people, seeking out interesting photo subjects, and always stopping at every chocolatier to make a purchase. Adding to my chocolate label and wrapper collection is a bonus! And, as a U.S. Masters swimmer, if I can find a pool to get in a swim with the locals, all the better! Cheers! Elaine-iaK ~ Believing in your dreams can be far more rewarding than living by your limitations~ -Karla Peterson

…AND, ANOTHER LITTLE RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS (Act 25)

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Mr. Romance is on the scene lookin’ for love and stinkin’ up the place!  Yes, it’s Pepé Le Pew, the stinky (Peeeewwww!) skunk on the prowl for Penelope Pussycat.  (Don’t tell Pepé that Penelope isn’t really a skunk.  She got that white stripe from walking under a freshy painted white fence!).

The thing is, Pepé’s foul odor is so bad, any victim of his pursuit high-tails it out of his way.  Pepé’s such a narcissist, though, that he just hasn’t caught on to the problem of his presence.  He thinks Penelope is lucky to be the object of his affections! 

Pepé sure gets around, the world traveler that he is.  He has visited Paris in the springtime (of course; he’s French!), the Matterhorn, and the little village of N’est-ce Pas in the French Alps.  The romantic skunk has also traveled to Algiers and the Sahara Desert.

The foul-smelling Pepe has been pursuing Penelope since he was created for Warner Bros. Looney Tunes Cartoons by animation director Chuck Jones, in 1945.  He was voiced by Mel Blanc for 44 years! 

Jones said the skunk’s personality is loosely based on Termite Terrace writer Ted Pierce, Jones’s colleague.  Evidently, Pierce was quite the narcissistic ladies’ man who assumed his infatuations were reciprocated. 

Pepé Le Pew is definitely not the most popular of the Looney Tunes characters.  His antics have been criticized for normalizing rape culture and perpetuating stereotypes of French culture.  Amber E. George, in her 2017 essay “Pride or Prejudice? Exploring Issues of Queerness, Speciesism, and Disability in Warner Bros. Looney Tunes,” describes Pepé’s actions towards Penelope Pussycat as “sexual harassment, stalking, and abuse” and noted that Pepé’s qualities mock the French people and their culture.  For these reasons, the narcissistic skunk is not my favorite character either.  He reminds me too much of #45…

…AND, ANOTHER LITTLE RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS (Act 24)

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BEEP BEEP!  It’s Road Runner speeding in on foot(???) to Sun City Peachtree!  We’ve had all sorts of birds visit us by air and land:  We’ve had a hummingbird, a toucan, a penguin (which is classified in zoological terms as a bird), yellow bird of unknown species (Woodstock), a yellow canary (Tweety), a duck (Daffy) who waddled in, and even an owl sneaked in under the cover of night.  This time, it’s the Greater Roadrunner species making his way here from the southwest desert.

Debuting in 1949 in Fast and Furry-ous, Road Runner has been portrayed by three different people—Mel Blanc being the most famous.

Of all the characters Mel Blanc has voiced, Road Runner was the easiest.  The only thing Road Runner ever says is “Beep Beep,” which really sounds more like “Meep Meep” to me.

Like the other Looney Tunes Cartoons, there is a protagonist and an adversary.  In this case., Road Runner’s adversary is Wile E. Coyote, and Road Runner always gets the best of him.  In the end, Coyote always ends up looking like a fool and making us all laugh.

Chuck Jones based Coyote on Mark Twain’s book, Roughing It, in which Twain described the coyote as “a long, slim, sick and sorry-looking skeleton” that is “a living, breathing allegory of Want.  He is always hungry.”  Jones said he created the Coyote-Road Runner cartoons as a parody of traditional “cat and mouse” cartoons such as MGM’s Tom and Jerry.  In this case the always-hungry Wile E. Coyote is always trying to make a meal out of Road Runner.

Wile E. Coyote’s name is a pun on the word “wily.”  The “E” stands for “Ethelbert” in one issue of a Looney Tunes comic book.

In his book Chuck Amuck: The Life & Times of an Animated Cartoonist, Chuck Jones claimed that he and the animators behind the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote cartoons adhered to some strict rules.  As it turned out, though, some of those “strict rules” were broken from time to time.  The following are a few of the eleven rules that were never broken:

3.  The Coyote could stop at any time—if he wasn’t a fanatic.

6.  All action must be confined to the natural environment of the two characters—the southwest American desert.

8.  Whenever possible, make gravity the Coyote’s greatest enemy (e.g., falling off a cliff.)

9.  The Coyote is always more humiliated than harmed by his failures.

10.  The audience’s sympathy must always remain with the Coyote.

In a 1971 interview with Michael Barrier years after the series was made, Michael Maltese said he had never heard of the “Rules,” and he was the writer for the series!

Road Runner will now be making his way back to the desert, so if you are out on the road, watch out for him!  MEEP MEEP!

…AND, ANOTHER LITTLE RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS (Act 23)

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I’m not sure if he flew in or waddled his way up onto the bench, but Daffy Duck has paid us a Sunday visit, here at Sun City Peachtree.  Perhaps he was looking for Tweety and Sylvester.  Sorry, pal, you missed ‘em!

Daffy Duck is another one of Warner Bros.’ Looney Tunes characters; and, a character he is!  Although he is Bugs Bunny’s rival, he has occasionally been the rabbit’s best friend, too. 

Born in 1937, the feisty black-feathered duck was quite the star, appearing in 130 shorts.  He was ranked #14 on TV Guide’s list of Top 50 best cartoon characters of all time and appeared on the cover. 

Daffy had quite the attitude.  Assertive and combative, he was a protagonist that had everybody talking after seeing him on the screen.  A star was born!

There was some speculation back in the day about how Daffy got that lisp.  One story that made the rounds was that Daffy’s voice was modeled after producer Leon Schlesinger’s tendency to lisp.  Mel Blanc, the voice of Daffy Duck, poked a hole in that theory saying, “It seemed to me that such an extended mandible would hinder his speech, particularly words containing an s sound.  Thus “despicable” became “dethpicable.”

Mel Blanc had a lot of practice with that lisp.  At one point, his voice for Daffy held the world record for the longest voice-acting of one animated character by his original voice actor: 52 years, just breaking Donald Duck’s 51-year streak by Clarence Nash.  Both records were broken by June Foray, the voice for Rocky the Flying Squirrel from Rocky and Bullwinkle, which lasted for 55 years.

Who will be next to occupy the bench?  Will it be Daffy’s sometimes-rival, sometimes-best friend, Bugs Bunny?  Will it be Porky Pig??  Elmer Fudd???  If it’s Elmer, he’ll sure be on the lookout for Bugs!  Stay tuned to see who’s next!  The plot thickens…

…AND, ANOTHER LITTLE RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS (Act 22)

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Sylvester is on the prowl!  He looks quite fed up, too.  Tweety has escaped the feline’s claws with every attempt at capture, but the yellow canary always gets away.  I have to hand it to Granny’s proud cat, though; her whiskered pet never gives up. 

As I mentioned in my last post, Tweety always wins any battle with Sylvester James Pussycat, Sr., the Tuxedo cat who appears in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons.  As a matter of fact, he appears in a lot of them– a whopping 103 Warner Bros. flicks.  Between 1945 and 1966, he was quite the popular cat on the screen. 

In addition to his attempts at making a meal of Tweety, Sylvester is best known for his sloppy lisp.  In the cartoon, Tweety, Tweety, Tweety, this exchange takes place between Tweety and Sylvester:

Tweety: “I wonder where that puddy tat went to?”  Sylvester [swinging on a wooden swing, flattened by a rock crusher]: “Does thith anthwer your question?”

About that name, “Sylvester,” is a pun on silvestris, the scientific name for the wild cat, the ancestor of domestic cats.

Interestingly, Sylvester’s many different cartoon directors put their own spin on the cat’s personality.  Friz Freleng is the one who directed Sylvester’s first appearance with Tweety in Tweety Pie; and it was the beginning of Sylvester’s desire to capture and munch on his little yellow-feathered enemy.   

When Bob Clampett got a hold of him in 1946’s, Kitty Kornered, Sylvester was one of Porky Pig’s pet cats and looked nothing like he does with Tweety.  He was voiced by Mel Blanc, though, so he sounded just like you remember.

Next up was Arthur Davis who gave Sylvester two completely different personalities.  In Doggone Cats, the feline was a trickster troublemaker who didn’t speak.  He spoke with a dopey voice, in Catch as Cats Can, though, and had a dopey personality to match. 

Robert McKimson paired Sylvester up with a silent baby kangaroo named “Hippity Hopper,” and then later with his son “Sylvester Junior,” where he unsuccessfully tried to raise the kitty to be a real cat.  Lastly, Sylvester and Speedy Gonzales were paired up together.

Finally, Chuck Jones put his spin on the black and white feline.  This is when he was paired up with Porky Pig in three horror-themed cartoons.

Looking back over Sylvester’s career, that cat really did have nine lives!  His appearance changed, his voice morphed, and his personality went in all sorts of directions.  That was one busy feline!

…AND, ANOTHER LITTLE RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS (Act 21)

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An adorably curious owl flew in last week and took a rest here at Sun City Peachtree; and, today, it’s Tweety Bird!  I could have sworn I heard him say, “I tawt I taw a puddy tat!”  Sylvester was nowhere to be found, though.

Tweety (aka Tweety Pie), has been fluttering about for quite a long time.  The yellow canary with the big head was born five years before Sylvester came around.  He first appeared in A Tale of Two Kitties, in 1942.  Five years later, he joined his nemisis, Sylvester, in Tweety Pie, which won an Academy Award.  A star was born!

Now, about that big head of his.  Tweety’s design was based on a baby picture of Bob Clampett, the director of the canary’s first movie.  (Evidently, baby Bobby had a fat head!)

Tweety has mellowed over the years.  At first, he was an angry little bird with a short temper, but he has chilled.  Don’t let those long eye lashes and his sweet charm fool you, though.  When it comes to his rival, he’ll find a way to humiliate the cat in the end.  Besides, the pint-sized canary has Granny to protect him, when he lives at her house.  She keeps him in a cage and away from Sylvester who is always trying to eat the little fellow. 

Sylvester is just jealous.  He thinks Granny likes Tweety better and gives the bird more attention.

When he’s not (easily) escaping Sylvester’s claws, the star canary is off making appearances in other movies, such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Space Jam, and Looney Tunes:  Back in Action.

Recently, it appeared as if being a star had gone to Tweety’s (big!) head, and he turned a bit aggressive and angry again in Looney Tunes Cartoons. 

The star will be making some appearances in the near future, beginning with Tweety Mysteries, a live-action/animated hybrid.  Instead of living with Granny, he will be living with Sydney, a pre-teen girl.  He will also be appearing in the preschool series, Bugs Bunny Builders.  (I wonder if Bugs Bunny will try to eat the yellow-feathered canary, too!)

…AND, ANOTHER LITTLE RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS (Act 20)

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It’s a bird!  It’s a plane!!  It’s the World War I Flying Ace swooping in on his doghouse for a visit to Sun City Peachtree!!!

Snoopy— uh, World War I Flying Ace— must be taking a break from his battle against the Red Baron (real name Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthhofen).  He is probably exhausted, although he had just enough strength to call out, “Curse you, Red Baron!” as he often did following previous battles.

‘Ace has been fighting the Red Baron since October 10, 1965, when he first appeared in The Peanuts Gang comics.  He had a lot of ground support from his troops during his battles, beginning with Schroeder, who kept up morale by playing popular World War I songs on his toy piano.  Woodstock and his bird friends served as mechanics, ‘Ace’s sister, Belle, was a nurse for the troops, and their brother, Spike, served as a member of the infantry.  Marcie provided loyal support as the dashing pilot’s French lass.

During the Vietnam War, an American fighter squadron wanted to use Snoopy the World War I Flying Ace as their mascot, so they sought permission from Charles M. Schulz.  Since Schulz was a veteran himself, he granted approval.

Ultimately, Schulz had changed the focus of ‘Ace from the Red Baron-fighting pilot to battling love and loneliness.  As he confided to writer Rheta Grimsley Johnson in her 1988 book, Good Grief, “It reached a point where war just didn’t seem funny.



ST. PETERSBURG’S IMAGINE MUSEUM

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St. Petersburg is such a fantastic city for so many reasons, but it’s especially fantastic if you enjoy seeing fabulous glass art works.  Between the Chihuly Collection, Morean Arts Center, and Duncan McClellan Gallery, which I previously wrote about; they exhibit (and/or sell) more top-quality art glass than most American cities.  There is still, however, one more glass museum I haven’t yet shared, which is the Imagine Museum.

Wow!  The Imagine Museum is another feast for the eyes that is well worth the visit.  Founded in 2016 by glass artist Trish Duggan, “her goal was to put together a collection of artworks and promote an experience that would inspire, uplift, and educate,” according to their website.  We definitely think she has accomplished that goal!

Imagine Museum features top glass artists from around the world, including America, Canada, the Czech Republic, Italy, Sweden, Netherlands, Germany, Japan, Australia, and others.  There are 1,500 glass art works on display from the Studio Glass Movement, which started in the 1960’s and continues to the present.

One of the things I greatly appreciated about Imagine Museum and the other museums and galleries we visited was that they openly encourage visitors to photograph their art works!  All they asked was to tag them on social media.  Done!

We were also pleased to learn the museum offered free tours with admission.  The tour we selected was, “Introduction to American Studio Glass.”  There were only six of us on the tour, and the guide did an excellent job keeping our attention with interesting stories about the artists and their works.  It was fascinating!

Following the tour, we roamed around the remaining exhibits that weren’t covered on the tour, including the entire second floor of the museum. 

Glass is often really difficult to photograph, so the pictures I took of many of the art works ended up in the recycle bin—especially since I wasn’t shooting with my best camera, which I left at home, due to a malfunctioning zoom mechanism.  These were all shot (without flash) with my inexpensive waterproof Fuji XP, which Bruce uses for shooting underwater video of my swimming for stroke technique feedback.

The pictures don’t do the art work justice, so you will just have to visit St. Petersburg and see it all for yourself!

Dale Chihuly
Toots Zynsky, a former student of Dale Chihuly
Toots Zynsky
“Nirvana,” 1000 Buddahs, by Imagine Museum founder, Trish Dugan. She was inspired by this quote by Buddah: “Though you can conquer a 1,000 men in battle 1,000 times, the one who conquers himself is the noblest victor of all.”
Martin Blank
It’s difficult to imagine from this picture, but I was actually looking through a very long tunnel of glass! This sculpture was approximately 12+ feet long! This photo was shot from one end.
This is just a small portion of a large glass sculpture by Anthony James.
This glass cube is balancing on its stand. The tour guide took one corner, gave it a spin! It was mesmerizing to watch, and this photo can’t possibly capture what we really saw.
This one was a trip! It looked different from every angle!
This life-size chair was on display in the front window of the museum. Don’t sit on it!

ST. PETERSBURG’S DUNCAN MCCLELLAN GALLERY: A FEAST FOR THE EYES

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Trip Advisor has been a very useful travel-planning tool over the years, and this time was no different.  Checking out the site’s “Things to Do” category for St. Petersburg landed me here to read the reviews on the top-ranked Duncan McClellan Gallery.  Just knowing it was an art glass gallery was convincing enough; we knew we had to see it!  The fabulous reviews, however, sealed it!  Better yet was following the link to the gallery’s website to see the gorgeous photos of their exhibited glass sculptures.

When we arrived, we were greeted by the personable and friendly Danyell Bauer, the gallery’s manager.  She has worked at the gallery for ten years, and she is also a glass and multi-media artist.  We really enjoyed talking with her!

As we feasted our eyes on all of the beautiful works of art, we felt right at home in the relaxed environment—especially when we saw the food and water bowls on the floor for what turned out to be three cats that had free run of the gallery. (I guess they don’t make a habit of knocking over the art work!)

The 3,000-square-foot gallery opened up to a casual courtyard and deck in one direction, where two of the cats were taking a siesta; and, on the other side of the gallery, it opened up to a beautiful sculpture garden full of mango trees, plants, orchids, sculptures, art glass, a boardwalk path, and casual sitting areas where you could relax and enjoy the environment.  We were amazed that gorgeous blown glass pieces were on display out in the elements.  They were created by Duncan himself, and they were spectacular!

Duncan McClellan

We got talking with Duncan McClellan, and learned that he also loves to garden and grow orchids.  He created that 5,000-square-foot sculpture garden from what was once an empty dirt space behind the former fish and tomato packing plant.  Now, he is learning how to grow several varieties of mushrooms and showed us a bucket that had mushrooms growing on the side.

Duncan was as personable and friendly as Danyell, and he really made us feel at home.  Behind the gallery and sculpture garden is a huge glass blowing studio, so he led us back and showed us around.  Glass blowing demonstrations are open to the public; however, we were there on a Sunday afternoon, so there wasn’t much action going on. 

Since Bruce works in fused glass, we were interested in seeing his kilns, and we were amazed at the quantity and variety he had available there for himself, staff, the artists, and classes they teach.  One of them was the largest we had ever seen!  This huge piece was annealed in this approximately 5’ x 5’ kiln.

We look forward to returning to the gallery next time we visit St. Petersburg.  Since the rotating exhibitions feature national and internationally recognized glass artists, I am sure there will be many more amazing works of art; a feast for the eyes!

VACCINATION CELEBRATION! ST. PETERSBURG FLORIDA

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April 27, 2021.  I was so looking forward to that glorious day:  Full vaccination!  The countdown started after my second jab, on April 13.  Bruce was already fully vaccinated, and we decided to take a celebration road trip the moment I qualified.

On April 27th, we hit the road to St. Petersburg, a Florida city we hadn’t yet visited.  The draw?  The Chihuly Collection at the Morean Art Center.

Glass blowing demonstration at the Morean Arts Center.

Dale Chihuly, an American glass sculptor, is one of the world’s most famous artists of blown glass.  We had enjoyed his temporary exhibits at the Mingei Museum, in San Diego, as well as the Atlanta and Pittsburgh Botanical Gardens.  In addition, we were in awe of his permanent installations at the San Antonio library, San Antonio Museum of Art, Las Vegas Bellagio Hotel, and Maker’s Mark Distillery, in Kentucky.

We decided to make our celebration a one-week vacation, so we could also enjoy the other art glass galleries, museums, and so much more that St. Petersburg has to offer.

Notice how Flipper is masked to keep us all safe!

Whenever I travel, I also look for a pool facility, so I can start off at least some of my days with a good swim training session.  I found it in St. Pete, at the North Shore Aquatics Complex, located right on the downtown waterfront at Vinoy Park.  I was in swimming heaven! The 50-meter pool was run short course the days I swam, so I always had my own lane in the perfect 80-degree water.  (The facility also has a 25-meter pool and kids water park. 

While I swam, Bruce walked along the waterfront park watching the dolphins and birds as he enjoyed views of the St. Petersburg skyline and marina.  One of his walks took him along Vinoy Park, past the marina, and to the end of St. Pete Pier and back, for a 75-minute roundtrip.  Nice!

Bruce was really impressed with the uniqueness of this pier—unlike anything he had ever seen; so, I had to see it for myself.

The new version of this pier on Tampa Bay opened in July, 2020 at a cost of $92 million dollars.  It includes five restaurants, a playground, an environmental education center, artwork, and sculptures, including this life-size pelican. 

Next time we visit St. Pete, we are going to make sure to return to the pier at night to see the “Bending Arc,” a net sculpture that lights up in bright colors.

We really enjoyed the downtown area of St. Petersburg.  It’s an easy city to navigate by car or on foot; however, if neither of those options sound appealing to you (or, you just want to relax and leave the work to somebody else), you can ride the Looper.  The ride is free, and there are twenty stops along the route where you can get off to enjoy one of the many restaurants with outdoor dining, visit a gallery, or shop ‘til you drop.  It even stops at the local hospitals, but I’m hopeful you will never need to do that!

St. Pete has an artsy vibe, and there is plenty of arts and culture to take in while you’re there.  My next two posts will give you a taste of it with visits to the Duncan McClellan Gallery and Imagine Museum.

Meanwhile, here are some of my favorite crafts from Florida Craft Art:

…AND, ANOTHER LITTLE RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS (Act 19)

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It was a bit of an untimely visit to Sun City Peachtree by this ol’ chap, today, since  it is raining, and he has come to water the grass below the bench. 

I wonder how he got here.  After all, according to a story in the April 30th edition of The Week, the recent blockage of the Suez Canal caused quite the gnome crisis.  It worsened the U.K.’s already desperate shortage of garden gnomes.  Countless gnomes are “stuck in containers trying to come over here,” said Iain Wylie of the British Garden Centre Association.

For their weekly contest, The Week used that story as its subject.  Their request?  “Please come up with a headline for a British Tabloid story about the gnome crisis.”  The contest winner?  “Gnomadland,” by Mary Stahl, of Arvada, Colorado.

Knowing next to nothing about the origins of these personable-looking little fellows, I poked around the Internet to get the 411. 

According to Wikipedia, gnomes originated as a decoration for the wealthy in Europe, and they date back to the ancient Roman period.  In recent years, they have become quite popular across all social classes and have made their way across the Atlantic and into North America.  During the 1970’s, more humorous and light-hearted gnomes came on to the garden scene; and, in the 1990’s, it was all about the traveling gnome.  Pranks with the pointy-hat-wearing, bearded fellow was all the rage and made national news.  As a practical joke, people would kidnap them from gardens to keep them company on their world travelers.  The kidnapper would send the owner photos of the gnome drinking a beer at Oktoberfest, eating pizza in Italy, or sunbathing on the French Riviera before returning him to his home garden.

I thought about kidnapping this one for our 2022 travels abroad, but I think I’ll just leave him on the bench, so he can keep the grass nice and green after the rains have gone.