Sunday, December 30, 2012

487. Auspicious

487. Auspicious
Definition: (adj) conductive to success; favorable
Location Placed: Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport - Terminal 4, Phoenix, Arizona
Date Placed: 12/24/12 at 3:03pm





I think this has to be, hands down, the nicest airport terminal I have ever been in. I've been to Phoenix a few times, but have always flown into Terminal 2. Terminal 2 is better than most airport terminals. However I did not know what I was missing until I flew into Terminal 4. I kid you not, this terminal was nicer than my local mall. It was classy, had tons of awesome shops and even had gorgeous little sitting areas. I think I might be sticking to flights that bring me through Terminal 4 from now on! I was feeling a little sluggish from my lunch at the Cornish Pasty Company a short distance away. (If you get a chance to eat there, take it. Definitely one of the best pasty places I've ever been to, including the ones in England!)

486. Yippee

486. Yippee
Definition: (exclamation) expressing wild excitement or delight
Location Placed: Thee Pitts Again, Glendale, Arizona
Date Placed: 12/23/12 at 12:17pm





If you've not see an old-time diner, then you are certainly missing out. Thee Pitts Again is one of the great BBQ joints in the greater Phoenix area (according to Guy Fieri on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives). We figured we would pop over and get a good bite to eat. And a good bite we got! Fall off the bone ribs, delicious pulled pork sandwiches, crispy beer battered fries, and a hunk of golden cornbread. While the decor was a bit pig-heavy, the food definitely passed muster. I think yippee is definitely a fitting crane for this location.

485. Propitious

485. Propitious
Definition: (adj) giving or indicating a good chance of success; favorable
Location Placed: Phoenix Zoo, Phoenix, Arizona
Date Placed: 12/22/12 at 7:22pm





Sadly this year I was unable to use my Christmas cranes that I had made last year due to unforeseeable circumstances that kept me from a.) traveling b.) placing cranes and c.) living in my home. Hurricane Sandy (unfortunate coincidence of a name, really) tackled New Jersey straight on and flooded my area, including my home. We are back to living in it, albeit possessing far less than we started off with. However, we are trying to put it all behind us now, and I look forward to placing more cranes from here on out.

We hopped down to the Phoenix Zoo for the ZooLights attraction. It was quite cool! While there were no animals harmed (or lit!) in the making of this attraction, there were a lot of metal animal shapes that were lit up. If you're in the area and looking for an awesome attraction for adults and children alike, this is a lot of fun. You might even catch a glimpse of an animal or two! (In our case, we caught the tail end of a zebra, literally!)

Saturday, October 20, 2012

484. Agog

484. Agog
Definition: (adj) very eager or curious to hear or see something
Location Placed: The Pier, St. Petersburg, Florida
Date Placed: 10/13/12 at 1:58pm





There is just something about the word agog that makes me giggle. Perhaps it's the two g's. Or just how awkward the word sounds when it's said aloud. Agog. But it's also nice when you see what it means, very curious or eager. Who doesn't like those sentiments? I'm all agog whenever I go on vacation and poke around places I've not been before. That's what vacation is all about, right?

Where has been your favorite place(s) to travel to?

483. Docile

483. Docile
Definition: (adj) obedient, tame
Location Placed: Dale Chihuly Glass Collection, St. Petersburg, Florida
Date Placed: 10/13/12 at 1:09pm





Although the museum was a bit small, the pieces that were displayed were quite lovely! I have had a think for glass pieces ever since my Grandma showed me the one she helped make many years ago. I think it's the whole seeing something come from nothing, or in this case, something come from a ball of molten glass. If I'm ever in a city with another glass collection, you best believe I'll stop by.

482. Sensuous

482. Sensuous 
Definition: (adj) relating to or affected the senses rather than intellect
Location Placed: Museum of Fine Art, St. Petersburg, Florida
Date Placed: 10/13/12 at 12:11pm

 


What a wonderful museum! They had a number of pieces that were thousands of years old. I was no only impressed by the age of the pieces, but the quality of them. They looked like they were pretty new to me. I think my favorite though were the back rooms that were tucked away from the main parts of the museum that held the specialized exhibits like the etched glass pieces and the super old bits. Definitely worth a poke around.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

481. Intriguing

481. Intriguing
Definition: (v) arouse curiosity or interesting
Location Placed: Plant Summer House, Heritage Village, Largo, Florida
Date Placed: 10/12/12 at 2:56pm



The Plant Summer House was one of the historic homes in the area that was moved to the park. They had outfitted it with furniture and knick knacks of the time. One of the most interesting things I found, was the outside window coverings. We were told that they are some sort of hurricane screens. It looks like it's just mesh covering the windows. There are bits of iron or steel woven in with the mesh in order to protect windows from projectiles. Coming from an area that is pretty low on the hurricane hit list, I didn't even know these sorts of things existed! Makes me wonder what sorts of other inventions exist elsewhere that I've never come across.

480. Orderly

480. Orderly
Definition: (adj) neatly and methodically arranged
Location Placed: Heritage Village Church, Largo, Florida
Time Placed: 10/12/12 at 2:49pm





An overabundance of work and homework, keeps a crane placer from going fun places. But I was able to steal a long weekend away down in Florida. It was an awesome jaunt with wonderful weather. We headed over to the Heritage Village, which I've not been to for years. I didn't even know it, but I ended up missing nearly two thirds of the park! The church was one of those places.  It even had a working church bell! I imagine it would be an awesome place to check out during the holiday season when they have dancers and it's strung up really pretty with lights.

Monday, August 27, 2012

479. Approachable

479. Approachable
Definition: (adj) friendly and easy to talk to
Location Placed: Chelsea Market, New York City, New York
Date Placed: 8/26/12 at 9:38am





Our morning activity was to have a wonderful brunch at the High Line Park. We chopped up a wonderful fruit salad the night before and popped over to Chelsea Market to pick up a couple of croissants before we sat down for our brunch. It was an absolutely gorgeous morning, cool but the sun was poking out. Not to mention the park was quite wonderful.

For those who don't know, High Line Park is a park that was made from the old abandoned train track three stories above ground. It spans south from 30th St. south for about 1.75 miles. There are a bunch of little seating areas along it as well as art installments. The best thing about it is the wonderful plants and trees that are planted along it. Definitely things I wouldn't think would be found in the city. I'd certainly recommend it (and Chelsea Market) on a late summer or early fall morning!

478. Finesse

478. Finesse 
Definition: (v) do in a subtle and delicate manner
Location Placed: The Cloisters Museum, New York City, New York
Date Placed: 8/25/12 at 2:45pm
Status: FOUND!





I headed up to the city for a lovely weekend trip to visit a friend. Neither of us had been to The Cloisters, which is a museum that is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It's a pretty cool looking old building filled with a bunch of religious art. While I'm not very religious, I definitely appreciated the architecture and views quite a bit.

Not to mention I got an email the following day saying that this crane was found! "I found crane 478 yesterday at the Cloisters Museum & Garden. I picked it up then went to your website. I'm moving to the UK in about a week, would you like me to place the crane there?" So it looks like Finesse is going to be taking a trip across the pond and taking flight to the U.K. Hopefully it, and the finder, have a good trip!

Sunday, August 12, 2012

477. Delicate

477. Delicate
Definition: (adj) fine in texture, quality, or construction; dainty
Location Placed: Connecticut Rest Stop, Fairfield, Connecticut
Date Placed: 8/4/12 at 3:45pm





Although it was a little closer to home than previous trips, it was a lot of fun and jam packed with tons of different activities. I like saying I was able to see everything I wanted to see in a place or city so that this way I can set my sights on a new location for the next time. In the words of the great Tom Petty, "After all it was a great big world, with lots of places to run to." And that is just what I plan to do.

476. Flattery

476. Flattery
Definition: (n) the act of trying to please with complimentary remarks or attention
Location Placed: Beinecke Rare Books Library, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
Date Placed: 8/4/12 at 2:35pm





The Beinecke Library just looks like a square-shaped interesting piece of architecture from the outside. It's made of a specific type of marble that looks quite ordinary from the outside, but from the inside it is amazing! As you can see from the picture, light is filtered through some of the bits of the marble, giving it a warm glow on the inside. This helps to give the building a little bit of light and to not ruin the rare texts and manuscripts in the several story library. I have never seen anything like this and was just in awe during that whole portion of the tour. I think the tour is worth it just to see this alone in my opinion.

475. Noble

475. Noble
Definition: (adj) having or showing fine personal qualities or high moral principles or ideals
Location Placed: Yale University Sterling Memorial Library, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
Date Placed: 8/4/12 at 2:20pm





So on the tour, we came to the University's largest library. It actually looks like a church. Apparently the architect really wanted to build a church and approached the school to see if they would agree. But since Yale is non-denominational, they said they didn't need a church and were pretty good with everything they had. So the architect decided he still really wanted to build a church structure but perhaps they could make it into a library, so that's what they did! The library apparently goes under ground and the steeple has something like 9 stories of books in it. It is quite pretty and a bit disorienting!

474. Interesting

474. Interesting
Definition: (adj) amusing or entertaining
Location Placed: Yale University Visitor's Center, New Haven, Connecticut
Date Placed: 8/4/12 at 1:06pm





So while we were in New Haven, I wanted to pop over to see Yale since it is one of the Ivy League schools that I've not yet seen. I really enjoy seeing campuses that are very old and how things have evolved over the years. They were providing a tour to visitors, not to be confused with a potential student tour, so we decided to jump on. It was definitely geared more tours potential students, but I enjoyed the historical aspects and stories that were interjected by the guide.

Friday, August 10, 2012

473. Luminous

473. Luminous
Definition: (adj) bright or shining, especially in the dark
Location Placed: New Haven Historical Museum, New Haven, Connecticut
Date Placed: 8/4/12 at 12:23pm
Status: Found!





We decided to head over to the New Haven Historical Museum in between the tour we took at the Center Church under the church graveyard, which was pretty interesting, and the tour at Yale University. I really liked all the artwork that they displayed as well as all the interesting relics of the past. I think my favorite thing was the bicycle with a super tiny wheel in the front (for steering) and a huge wheel in the back (we're talking nearly 5 feet from top to bottom!) I'm always intrigued by old signs that depict just how much less expensive things were in the past (it's all relative, I know.)

I'm glad someone else was out enjoying the museum as well! D. found this crane and in his email to me, he said he and his family would be replacing the crane in a Hamden library. So any local folks should be on the lookout for Luminous!

472. Precision

472. Precision
Definition: (n) accuracy, exactness
Location Placed: Schaffer Building, Mystic Seaport, Mystic, Connecticut
Date Placed: 8/3/12 at 2:52pm





So we came across one of the indoor (and air-conditioned!) exhibits that showed some art work as well as model ships. I'm impressed by the detail that goes into such tiny replicas! Teeny tiny masts and replica ropes are just as fragile as can be. Of course they then set those next to larger than life busts of famous people, whose names I have since forgotten (I am terrible!). I definitely enjoyed looking at the maritime art and all the little bits and bobs they had in that museum building.

471. Triumph

471. Triumph
Definition: (n) a great victory or achievement
Location Placed: Mystic Seaport Schoolhouse, Mystic, Connecticut
Date Placed: 8/3/12 at 2:19pm





I loved walking throughout this historic town to see all the old buildings: the pharmacy, the saloon, the rope making shop, and even the schoolhouse. It was really interesting to see all the old bits and pieces and how life was lived. I thought it was cool that their schoolhouses were just one room since they served such a small population. Of course there's no way that would be adequate now, but I definitely appreciated how things were done back then.

Thursday, August 9, 2012

470. Homely

470. Homely
Definition: (adj) simple but cosy and comfortable
Location Placed: Mystic Seaport Visitor's Center, Mystic, Connecticut
Date Placed: 8/3/12 at 2:11pm





My Grandpa had mentioned how much he loved the Mystic Seaport whenever he is up in the area so we decided to check it out. It's a (quite large, in my opinion) historic town that depicted what life was like in the past. Lots of interesting exhibits and people dressed in the clothing of yesteryear. There are several small places around by me that are similar but this one definitely took the cake. It also made for lots of great photos as it was right along the water!

469. Mercy

469. Mercy
Definition: (n) compassion or forgiveness shown to someone
Location Placed: Mystic Aquarium, Mystic, Connecticut
Date Placed: 8/3/12 at 1:01pm





There is something about glass things that I love. And I'm not talking about glassware. I'm talking about balls of glass that either have something in them (like this jellyfish) or blown glass that just has colors in it. My Grandma used to have this blown glass ball that she made with blue, pink, and yellow streaks in it that I just loved. Every time I think about it, it reminds me of going over to her house and eating donuts. Or watching the birds in the bird feeder outside. Or listening to the wind chime my grandparents hung. Definitely lots of good memories.

468. Persevere

468. Persevere
Definition: (v) to persist even in the face of difficulty
Location Placed: Newport Harbor Hotel and Marina, Newport, Rhode Island
Date Placed: 8/3/12 at 10:41am





We started out with a nice leisurely morning before we made the hour drive to Mystic, Connecticut. I certainly enjoyed Newport, even though it was a bit more touristy than I prefer. We had some great food, had an interesting ghost tour, saw a bunch of mansions, toured an old military fort, and walked around a bit by the harbor. All and all, a pretty awesome leg of our journey. The only thing I wish we had done was walk the Cliff walk, but the weather just would not cooperate between the heat and the fog!

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

467. Reputable

467. Reputable
Definition: (adj) honorable, venerable
Location Placed: Kingscote Mansion, Newport, Rhode Island
Date Placed: 8/2/12 at 2:47pm





This house was definitely different than the others. It wasn't on the same mansion scale, although quite large and grand on its own. I appreciated the older touches and unique charm. It had summer bedrooms and winter bedrooms. Additionally it had quite charming (and original!) furniture as 3 generations of widows lived in the mansion. There also appeared to be lots of wonderful art work and family photos that were sprinkled throughout the place. It certainly didn't hurt that we had a few fellow tourers that were exclaiming each and every detail to be "astounding" or "amazing" or "impressive." Always nice to see people equally as excited for these tours!

466. Thorough

466. Thorough
Definition: (adj) complete, perfect, entire
Location Placed: Rosecliff Mansion, Newport, Rhode Island
Date Placed: 8/2/12 at 2:00pm





Mostly it was the women of Newport that ran these summer houses. They would spend between 8 and 10 weeks there each summer. Activities were planned for guests (archery, croquet, tennis, swimming, horseback riding, etc.) and each house was run like a business. Parties were planned with such great thought as it was seen to be classless to seat the same people next to one another at subsequent parties. Gosh! Imagine the planning that must have gone into living in Newport and being high society. As pretty as the houses are, I'm not sure if I could keep up!

465. Competent

465. Competent
Definition: (adj) efficient and capable
Location Placed: Marble House Mansion, Newport, Rhode Island
Date Placed: 8/2/12 at 1:21pm





The third house on our mansion tour was certainly up to snuff with the others. Listening to the stories on the audio tour of people that had been in these mansions, had grown up around these mansions, had been to lavish parties in these mansions had tons of interesting tidbits. Stories of children (and occasional adults) riding down grand staircases on serving trays. Tales of children sneaking food and running through halls late at night. Accounts of costumes at themed parties. I can't even imagine spending time in places like these, let alone spending whole summers in them!

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

464. Talented

464. Talented
Definition: (adj) having an aptitude or gift for something
Location Placed: The Elms Mansion, Newport, Rhode Island
Date Placed: 8/2/12 at 12:15pm





Having seen 5 mansions in one day, I definitely had a bit of trouble keeping them all straight. I can't remember which one had gold leaf on their walls and which decided to have platinum on them. I know they were all wonderful and elaborate, but I can't remember which family inhabited them back in their heydays.  I don't even remember hearing one fact that someone else heard about their lives in the mansions (must have 6 parties of 60 or more people and 2 balls of a few hundred or more people.) But I do remember feeling that all these places were so grand. That it would've been quite the experience to go to one of these houses back then. Quite the experience indeed!

463. Adorn

463. Adorn
Definition: (v) to make beautiful or more attractive
Location Placed: The Breakers Mansion, Newport, Rhode Island
Date Placed: 8/2/12 at 11:01am





We decided that the major draw of the day would be seeing the mansions of Newport. You can't go to Newport without at least driving by, not to mention there are signs all over the place for them. Aside from a bit of repetition (the women of the time could change outfits up to 7 times in one day!), the houses themselves were quite resplendent. Adorned with all sorts of things to make them beautiful and unique, the mansions were definitely a sight to see!