August 6, 2017
There’s always a reason to go to Philadelphia. Usually it’s food. But the food invites you to make a day of it, to explore other things. Then, the duration of exploration makes you hungry again. (So yes, it’s mostly about food.) But Philadelphia is only two hours away, has deep Read more…
May 30, 2017
Twenty years ago, after our closing shifts at Tower Records in Carle Place, my coworkers and I used to drive to the tip of Long Island, arriving at Montauk Point between 1 or 2 in the morning. We did this repeatedly, ceremoniously, as we inducted new recruits. Together, we’d clutch each other while walking the Read more…
October 4, 2016
Raising Statues to the Dead by Louis Daniel Brodsky From this grassy vantage where I sit, Watching students pass, in twos, threes And singly, through lilac and redbud hues, Like colors escaping a coruscating prism Or balloons lifting vertiginously, My shadow casts its stolid mass. The contrast between its static Read more…
July 10, 2016
The bummer of my flight being cancelled seemed to infiltrate my food choices, too. I plan to make up for these less than wonderful options with a kick-butt breakfast tomorrow. But first, some roamings: The Babcock Building of the South Carolina Lunatic Asylum, now empty and decaying. The UFO Welcome Center Read more…
July 7, 2016
Jacksonville, Florida has vegan credibility. This I state enthusiastically in my head while the locals in Southern Roots Filling Station discuss New York City vegan eats. I could chime in, I suppose, and tell them that New York City isn’t all that spectacular. Well, I mean that the places they are Read more…
May 2, 2016
With a limited time before having to catch a flight, we seized the afternoon one last time with another hike in nearby Griffith Park. The park is huge, with a ton of different attractions set apart within the mountains. This time we opted for a short hike to see the Read more…
April 24, 2016
Undeveloped Long Island: It is so easy to hate where you’re from. It conveniently holds blame for all the ails of your upbringing. It takes no offense. But it’s other things, you just need to look beyond the paths you’ve worn well. Like anywhere, it can be new and fascinating Read more…
April 3, 2016
Like New York, Philadelphia’s vegan options are ever-evolving. From the vegan mock meat Asian restaurants I visited decades ago when I briefly contemplated moving to Philly with a friend to all the brief day trips through the passing years, today’s highlights are a quick skimming off the mound of Philly vegan options to Read more…
March 2, 2016
It seems the world gets more and more vegan-friendly everyday. As a vegan food blogger, the surge in vegan options near, kinda near, far and very far is overwhelming. From big cities to small locales, I can’t keep up. But I try… And I looove trying. It’s very delicious. My Read more…
October 21, 2015
For as long as I have worked, I have always taken off my birthday. It’s a gift I give myself–to be under no obligations but my own. So I do the things I enjoy… driving and finding new places to take pictures of. Shrine of Our Lady of the Island in Manorville Read more…
September 26, 2015
**Updated for 2020** This post has received a lot of traffic since I first posted it in 2015, but more so recently. I have since discovered that it is now a retail “community center.” Considering the continued interest, I unearthed more shots from my visit in honor of the now Read more…
August 5, 2015
Travel tucks you into new environments, which facilitate different experiences. And experience is the basis of all learning, all growth. So, travel is enlightenment…. Luckily, there is no need to head to an ancient Buddhist temple to derive this wisdom. There is plenty of beauty, adventure, inspiration, oddity (and vegan eats) just a couple of hours away. Read more…
July 17, 2015
Another jam-packed day ahead of me and needing the boost, I had the tart from Louisville’s Flora Vegan Treats for breakfast. Clearly by observing Exhibit A below you can see it was light and crisply satisfying–like you want these kinds of tarts to be. The filling was blackberry, the ideal partner for the lemon zested Read more…
July 9, 2015
Despite the rampant loss of character New York City has been undergoing for decades now, there are still lightly treaded, special places in the corners and underneath the rocks–or in this case, underneath a layer of broken glass. Dead Horse Beach–part of Floyd Bennett Field, a park in the broader Read more…
November 18, 2014
Treating my home, and its surrounding cities, like I would an unknown city—subject to the same fine tooth comb in search of vegan options—my list of vegan leads in the neighbor state New Jersey was growing. And preferring a random and mysterious lone vegan option to a well-worn, all-vegan establishment Read more…
September 28, 2014
Fields and fields of corn. This is what’s inside the heart of the heartland. After hours of fields of corn, I was back in the Motor City area to sample some vegan eats. Lunch, finally was at Inn Season Cafe in Royal Oak. They have a promising brunch menu they only serve Read more…
March 29, 2013
Nothing will settle me into a day of auto/train/plane travel than a hearty breakfast. And there was still time to squeeze in another stop in Atlanta. Breakfast would be served at Stone Soup Kitchen, yet another bustling breakfast spot in the hip Grant Park area. Stone Soup Kitchen offeres patrons Read more…
December 31, 2012
Original Post: August 2011 _________________________________________ When I spoke of my childhood memories of the Jersey Shore I was remembering our visits to Seaside Heights, an amusement-filled length of boardwalk that stretches into the Atlantic ocean. I hadn’t been there since I was a little girl and was happy to see that Read more…
August 16, 2008
Returning from evening classes at Brooklyn College via Q train, I sat on the train’s last car for an easy connection at Union Square. After a full day of work and school, (I wasn’t going to waste time, finally mine, by walking the length of the platform to connect.) The Read more…
February 29, 2008
Most of the adults in this town work in the many area factories. What a better treat then to be delivered to those factories, by law far from the main highway roads, via colorful tour buses with strobe lights and blasting music? Huge “disco” buses, often covered in unlicensed Western Read more…