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Butterflies at the Bridge

Surprisingly, there are many attractions at The Natural Bridge. Dave and I visited the Butterflies at the Bridge attraction while we were walking down to The Natural Bridge. This is fairly small, but very cute indoor garden of beautiful butterflies from around the world and our own backyard.

Visitors have an opportunity to see hundreds of these amazing creatures in flight, as well as in multiple developmental stages, all set among tropical plants in this unique indoor garden. There is no comparison with the Butterfly Pavilion at Xcaret here, but this is a neat place to visit.

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The Natural Bridge

The Natural Bridge of Virginia is one of the oldest tourist destinations in the United States. It’s located in the city of Natural Bridge,  in Rockbridge County. The Natural Bridge is a towering 215-foot limestone archway, that’s  55 feet higher than Niagra falls, and U.S. National Historic Landmark.

Discovered by the Monacan Indians; treasured by Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States,  who purchased it from King George III of England; surveyed by a young George Washington; traversed by Civil War soldiers – this great stone monument is a looking-glass of history. In Colonial and Early America, The Natural Bridge became one of the most notable natural wonders on the continent.

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Foamhenge vs Stonehenge

Dave and I had some unplanned time off, so we decided to visit The Virginia Safari park. The park is near Natural Bridge, VA and it is only a 3-hour drive from our home. While driving around looking for local attractions, we noticed the sign “Foamhenge” on the side of the road. Thankfully, it doesn’t take long to look it up via smartphone. How would we survive without all this technology? 🙂 Smartphone displayed the following information.

Stonehenge has inspired awe and mystery from visitors for over 5000 years. These megalithic ruins have withstood the tests of time and captivated our imagination. Artist and native Virginian, Mark Cline of Enchanted Castle Studios, has unveiled a full size replica of Stonehenge on the property of the Natural Bridge of Virginia made entirely of foam. “Foamhenge at Natural Bridge” is painted to resemble the real Stonehenge. Located on the west side of Rt. 11 near the Natural Bridge Zoo, 1 mile north of Natural Bridge.

We decided to stop and take a look at Foamhenge, especially since we visited Stonehenge in 2010. Here are 2 pictures for comparison: Foamhenge is depicted in the top picture and Stonehenge is in the 2nd picture.

Foamhenge.

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Stonehenge.

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Weekend on Chincoteague Island

The second weekend of September Dave and I spent on Chincoteague Island – Virginia’s only resort Island. Located on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, Chincoteague is the gateway to the Virginia portion of Assateague Island, home of the famous Chincoteague Wild Ponies. We enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere and the beauty of the unspoiled nature of the island, chilling on the beach and viewing a spectacular sunset over the Chincoteague Bay.

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Odessa Walks – Day 3

One of the fun evenings spent with our friends was at Arcadia Beach. The famous Arcadia is the most popular resort district of Odessa, with a beach and park of the same name. Situated about a 15 minute drive from Odessa city center, Arcadia offers relaxing beaches, fine dining, entertainment and more.

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Odessa Walks – Day 2

While walking to the Langerone beach through the Shevchenko park during the day, we thought that it would be nice to visit the park at night.  The park is pretty during the day, but it is beautiful at night.

T.G.Shevchenko central culture and recreation park was originally called Alexander’s park in honor of emperor Alexander II. Famous writers such as Zhukovskiy, Gogol, Ostrovskiy, Dostoyevskiy, Chekhov, Akhmatova strolled around this park in their day.

The park is not far from the city center and it is adjacent to the Odessa Port Terminal. It is a good place to relax, to take a nice walk, or to watch the ships crossing the Black Sea at the Port Terminal. Here is the park entrance at night.

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Odessa Walks – Day 1

It was nice to visit Odessa again after many years. Dave and I had a great time strolling through Odessa with friends. Odessa is one of the few regions in Ukraine that are inseparable from the Black Sea. We could feel the comfort and warmth of narrow streets, and marvel at the architectural creations of the old masters. Today Odessa is one of the most important economic centers of Ukraine, the third largest city after Kiev and Kharkov with a population of over 1 million people.

Each city has its own architectural treasure or quarter that has become its symbol. Odessa is proud to have several such symbols. The Potemkin Steps and the Monument to Duke de Richelieu are among them.

The Potemkin Steps descend from the Duke monument down to the Marine Passenger Terminal (Morskoy Voksal) and they are the front entrance to Odessa, Ukraine. The legendary 192 steps were a gift from Earl Vorontsov to his wife Elizaveta. They got their contemporary name after the success of the Soviet movie Battleship Potemkin.

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Six Flags Great Adventure

This time I would like to share our experience at Six Flags Great Adventure amusement park in New Jersey. After spending a night in a hotel we arrived at the park before its opening. Favorite Looney Tunes pals and Justice League Super Heroes characters greeted the guests in the park and were available for picture taking with them throughout the day.

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The Duquesne Incline

IMG_3914The day after visiting Kentuck Knob and Fallingwater, we decided to take a ride on the Duquesne Incline and walk around downtown Pittsburgh. We started with the incline, which was easy to find and the free of charge parking lot next to it was almost empty. We had to climb several flights of stairs from the parking lot to the incline entrance, which starts right after the red bridge with the sign “Duquesne Incline” in the picture below.

The Duquesne Incline was the first Pittsburgh incline designed and built by the engineer Samuel Diescher, who had become the country’s foremost builder of inclines. Opened to the public on May 20, 1877, The Duquesne Incline delights residents and visitors with its original, elegant, wooden cable cars.

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Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater

After Kentuck Knob we visited Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterpiece – Fallingwater, which was voted the most important building of the 20th century in a poll conducted by the American Institute of Architects. Fallingwater is the name of a very special house that stretches out over a 30’ waterfall.

Fallingwater was designed by the famous American architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1935 for Pittsburgh department store owner Edgar Kaufmann Sr. (Today, it is part of the Macy’s chain). The House was used as a mountain retreat by the Kaufman family.

Nowadays, Fallingwater is entrusted to a Conservancy with its buildings, collections and site intact. The donation was received under a deed of trust that requires the Conservancy to preserve and maintain the buildings. It has been opened to the public since 1964.

Throughout his illustrious career Frank Lloyd Wright has created unique architectural designs all over the world. As an example, the enormously prominent structure that he designed is The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, a modern art museum located in New York City.

We had to take pictures under the Fallingwater sign on our way to the Visitor Center.

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