In November 2011, I had an article published in a publication called Zoning Practice. The article is based on my presentation at the National Conference of the American Planning Association in Boston in April 2011. You can see the article at the link below.
http://salemnhprojects.org/uploads/planning/Design_Guidelines_Article/zoning%20practice%20article-nov%202011.pdf
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Monday, August 1, 2011
Hiking Mount Washington - July 31, 2011
On Sunday, I climbed Mount Washington with 3 friends, Marty, Gary, and Stel. We drove up on Saturday night and stayed at a hotel in Lincoln, NH. In the morning, we drove about 30 minutes to the Cog Railway parking lot and went up the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail. It was a great route, with modest slopes until the Gem Pool and big waterfall. After that, it was very steep, but with great views and numerous brook crossings and smal waterfalls and cascades. It took us about 3 hours to get to Lake of the Clouds hut, where we ate lunch. Then we hiked another 1 1/2 hours to the top of Mount Washington. It was fairly crowded on top with hikers, Cog Railway riders, and Auto Road visitors. In fact, we had to wait in line for about 20 minutes just to take a photo at the summit marker!
We stayed on the summit about an hour then hiked down to the hut, where we had a family-style dinner with 95 other people and later enjoyed watching a beautiful sunset. The kids who work at the hut introduced themselves during dinner and I was surprised to find that 3 of them were students from Colby College, my alma mater, and that we had some of the same professors. It was a real experience sleeping (or trying to sleep) in a cramped bunkbed with 15 other people in the room and total darkness in the hut due to limited electricity! In the morning, we had breakfast, then came back down the same trail in about 2 1/2 hours. My legs are pretty sore but I'm happy I was able to climb the highest peak in the Northeast and enjoyed doing it with friends.
I assume I am one of the only people on the planet who has climbed Masada in Israel and Mount Washington in NH in the same month!
Here's a link to an interesting article about the Lake of the Clouds hut:
http://www.onenewengland.com/article.php?id=55
We stayed on the summit about an hour then hiked down to the hut, where we had a family-style dinner with 95 other people and later enjoyed watching a beautiful sunset. The kids who work at the hut introduced themselves during dinner and I was surprised to find that 3 of them were students from Colby College, my alma mater, and that we had some of the same professors. It was a real experience sleeping (or trying to sleep) in a cramped bunkbed with 15 other people in the room and total darkness in the hut due to limited electricity! In the morning, we had breakfast, then came back down the same trail in about 2 1/2 hours. My legs are pretty sore but I'm happy I was able to climb the highest peak in the Northeast and enjoyed doing it with friends.
I assume I am one of the only people on the planet who has climbed Masada in Israel and Mount Washington in NH in the same month!
Here's a link to an interesting article about the Lake of the Clouds hut:
http://www.onenewengland.com/article.php?id=55
Friday, July 15, 2011
photos
Amy at Damascus Gate
Elisse at Via Dolorosa
Church in Old City of Jerusalem
At Western Wall
Wellesley bumper sticker in Jerusalem
Cemetery in Tel Aviv
Menu at Arabic restaurant in Jaffa
Family at restaurant in Jaffa
Menu from Arab restaurant near Afula
Ross and Meir Haber
Water feature at Ben Gurion airport
Ross and Sam after hiking up Masada...we took the cable car down!!
Israel- Day 14
One of the worst aspects of travelling is the actual travelling part! We left our relatives' house in Tel Aviv around 8 am and got home around 3 am (their time). Most of us were not able to sleep on the plane (sleeping on planes with lots of people and babies isn't easy), but we'll catch up over the next few days. We are home safe and sound, and that's the important thing. Taking a trip like this helps us appreciate what the rest of the world is like. But it also allows us to appreciate all the little things we take for granted in our daily lives, like living in our own homes, sleeping in our own beds, walking the dog in the morning, etc. It's good to be home.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Israel - Days 12 and 13
Yesterday we came back from Jerusalem to our relatives' house in Tel Aviv. We visited a famous cemetery in the city were some of Amy's distant relatives are buried. We ate lunch in downtown Tel Aviv, shopped a little at the crafts fair, then went out for a huge dinner in Jaffa with all the relatives. Allison came back from Binyamina at night.
Today Amy and I rode to Afula, a city in the north-central part of the country. We saw beautiful agricultural scenary along the way. In Afula, we met my friends Meir and Dacci Haber. Meir taught me Hebrew in Columbus, Ohio, when I was ten or twelve years old! I last saw him over 20 years ago, so it was good to catch up. We went to an Arabic restaurant for lunch then drove around an Arab village with huge houses and had dessert at the Haber's house. Our return to Tel Aviv was a little exciting because the van driver did not speak English but several other people helped to make sure we got off at the right spot.
Tonight we will have a final dinner with our relatives and just relax and pack. Tomorrow we head back home.
This has been a fabulous trip with lots of incredible sights. Highlights include hiking up Masada, seeing the Western Wall and the tunnels below it, touring great museums, experiencing our Israeli relatives' unsurpassed hospitality, and doing all this with our children and Amy's parents.
Today Amy and I rode to Afula, a city in the north-central part of the country. We saw beautiful agricultural scenary along the way. In Afula, we met my friends Meir and Dacci Haber. Meir taught me Hebrew in Columbus, Ohio, when I was ten or twelve years old! I last saw him over 20 years ago, so it was good to catch up. We went to an Arabic restaurant for lunch then drove around an Arab village with huge houses and had dessert at the Haber's house. Our return to Tel Aviv was a little exciting because the van driver did not speak English but several other people helped to make sure we got off at the right spot.
Tonight we will have a final dinner with our relatives and just relax and pack. Tomorrow we head back home.
This has been a fabulous trip with lots of incredible sights. Highlights include hiking up Masada, seeing the Western Wall and the tunnels below it, touring great museums, experiencing our Israeli relatives' unsurpassed hospitality, and doing all this with our children and Amy's parents.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Misc. Stories
In the parking lot of our apartment in Jerusalem, we saw a car that had a Wellesley bumper sticker on it. This was quite a coincidence because Amy grew up in Wellesley and her parents still live there. It turns out the car owner went to Wellesley College and lived in the apartment above us. She told us there were about 20 other Wellesley College graduates who live in the Jerusalem area and stay in touch.
Our cab driver last night was a beduoin Arab, an Israeli citizen, from Tiberias, one of 14 children, whose mother gave birth to 3 sets of twins, whose marriage was arranged. We met a few interesting cab drivers who liked to talk.
Derek Beit Lehem, the 2-lane street where our apartment is located, contains lots of shops, cafes and restaurants (where most of the seating is outside), many small apartment buildings, a college, a convenience store, a pharmacy, a supermarket, small parks, all mixed together, all easily walkable, with public buses, too. Just like we talk about creating in city planning!
All plastic bottles are recycled in public recycling bins located at various spots on the sides of streets. You take your bottles out of your apartment or house and bring them to the nearest bin.
Our cab driver last night was a beduoin Arab, an Israeli citizen, from Tiberias, one of 14 children, whose mother gave birth to 3 sets of twins, whose marriage was arranged. We met a few interesting cab drivers who liked to talk.
Derek Beit Lehem, the 2-lane street where our apartment is located, contains lots of shops, cafes and restaurants (where most of the seating is outside), many small apartment buildings, a college, a convenience store, a pharmacy, a supermarket, small parks, all mixed together, all easily walkable, with public buses, too. Just like we talk about creating in city planning!
All plastic bottles are recycled in public recycling bins located at various spots on the sides of streets. You take your bottles out of your apartment or house and bring them to the nearest bin.
Jack Puts On Tefillin
On our last night in Jerusalem, we walked to the Western Wall from the Damascus Gate. Women are not allowed to mingle with men at the Wall, so Amy and Elisse went to the women's section, and Jack and I went into the men's section. As we were leaving the Wall, several Hasidic Jews asked us if we wanted to put on tefillin and pray with them. We politely refused. Then a Hasid who spoke perfect English started talking to us. He asked where we were from (he came from New York City), asked Jack how old he was, asked how long ago Jack had put on tefillin (Jack said about 30 years) and again asked Jack if he would put on tefillin. Jack said no, and then the Hasid said, "Jack, you are at the holiest place on Earth. Prayers that are said here are heard by God faster than anywhere else. If you won't put on tefillin and say a prayer for yourself, please do it for the Jewish people and the Jewish soldiers who protect Israel." What a sales pitch! Jack agreed to put on tefillin. The Hasid put the leather straps around his head and arm, led him in the prayer, then finished putting the straps around his fingers, and gave Jack a prayer to read. Jack finished reading the prayer, then the Hasid say, "Jack, close your eyes, think about all the people you love. Imagine them with smiles on their faces and being surrounded by light. Say a silent prayer for their health and well-being and thank God for all the blessings he has given you in your long life." It was a moving moment for me and, I'm sure, for Jack.
See the link below for information on tefillin:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tefillin
See the link below for information on tefillin:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tefillin
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