The Happy Traveler

Columbus, OH: Cornucopia of History

Recently, Forbes magazine cited Columbus, Ohio as an ideal place for retirees to live. I can understand the appeal of this city of about 1.7 million people, not the least of which is its intriguing historical sites, which I recently visited.

The attraction that most amazed me is The Topiary Park located downtown and shown in the photo at left. This is the only existing topiary park based on a work of art, namely, Georges Seurat's Post-Impressionist 1886 painting, A Sunday Afternoon on the Isle of La Grand Jatte.

The seven-acre park, very clean and green, is a landscape of a painting of a landscape. Dozens of yews have been transformed into sculptures of 54 people, as well as boats, dogs, a monkey and a cat, so that I was surveying a living, growing canvas.

Full Story

posted at 06:33:54 PM | permalink

Peabody Hotels are Just Ducky

On a recent trip to Orlando with our five-year-old-grandson, Hunter, my husband and I chose to stay at the Peabody Hotel. It's all it's quacked up to be. That's because the grand, luxurious 891-room hotel, which is in the middle of a major expansion to include a 32-story Peabody Tower, is home to the famous Peabody Ducks.

There is also a Peabody in Memphis and in Little Rock. All three hotels feature a huge lobby fountain where the adorable ducks swim and enchant visitors who crowd the lobby at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. daily to witness a ritual that's just ducky. The Legend of the Ducks explains it all.

Full Story

posted at 10:09:29 AM | permalink