Soaking it all in

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Life in the Scenic City: Elegance and beauty are found at Bluff View Art District

Not that long ago, I visited the pop-up location of the Houston Museum of Decorative Arts. It is housed at the location of the former Back Inn Café while the original building is being restored. While checking out the Houston pop-up location I noticed beautiful buildings and gardens. Last week I went to check out River Gallery and its adjacent sculpture garden. I was awestruck by the elegance and beauty of the sculptures and art displayed at the gallery. Back at the office I was downloading my photos and realized all these buildings were part of the Bluff View Art District. While researching more I was amazed at the history, venues, restaurants and things to see and do in this small yet alluring location. Did you know the buildings that make up the district were purchased by a husband-and-wife couple? Did you know their family still oversee the district? I didn’t until now. In the early 1990’s Dr. Charles and Mary Portera purchased the first building to pursue their dream o...

Life in the Scenic City: Classic Arcade and Pinball Museum

I’m a Gen X baby. On weekends I’d leave the house in the morning to hang out with friends and came home when the streetlights came on. We rode our bikes for miles exploring places we were told to stay away from. Or we would let our geek flag fly hanging out at the local mall and the arcades. That’s right, before the original Atari 2600 home gaming system became popular, most of us were hanging out at malls. They had massive arcades inside them. These were the days when games like Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Galaga, Street Fighter II, Mortal Kombat, Frogger, Super Mario Brothers, Space Invaders and others ruled the school. And all the different pinball machines. It was loud; full of blinking lights and a cacophony of bleeps, bloops, and digitized sound effects. All you needed was a stack of quarters. You played until you ran out of money and still stayed to watch your friends play their games. I’m 60 now and haven’t played an arcade game or pinball machine in probably...

Saving endangered species: St. Catherines Wildlife Center did its part

Originally published in 2009. Most of the exotics are no longer on the Island, except the Lemurs. In the interior of St. Catherines Island, deer roam freely and wild hogs jog playfully throughout the woods. Suddenly, in the distance you hear a sound definitely not native to the area. A group of ring-tailed lemurs hang from the trees or a small herd of African Jackson hartebeest prance by. You might even glimpse an exotic great hornbill bird. You’re in the sanctuary of St. Catherines Wildlife Survival Center. When Lifesaver candy creator John Edward Noble purchased the island in 1943, he brought a herd of Angus cattle and allowed them to graze the fields once used to grow corn, rice and cotton. After Noble died in 1958 his foundation worked with the Wildlife Conservation Society to turn part of the island into a research and breeding station for rare mammals and birds. The St. Catherines Island Wildlife Survival Center is now a last resort for endangered species of birds and animal...

Exploring the Spanish Mission at St. Catherines Island

Since the ruins of the Santa Catalina de Guale Spanish mission on St. Catherines Island were discovered in the 1980s, countless artifcats have been unearthed In the early 1980s American Museum of Natural History archeologist David Hurst-Thomas found the ruins of the Spanish mission, Santa Catalina de Guale, on the western side of St. Catherines Island. Unearthing the mission provided evidence the Spaniards had made it to the New World centuries before the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock. It also provided a glimpse of the Guale Indian tribe believed to be among the first settlers on the coastal island since it formed roughly 5,000 years ago. On May 15, amid torrential rain, the Courier got to tour St. Catherines Island, including a visit to the mission site led by Anna Semon, lab director for the North American Archeology Division of Anthropology for the AMNH. She is also the excavation crew chief for the archeological projects on the island. "There was a chain ...

What lies beneath the ground

St. Catherines Island is home to pristine beaches, lush greenery and countless wild animal species, but its mysterious interior holds clues about cultures and civilizations believed to have existed thousands of years ago. Originally published in 2009 Roughly 50 miles south of Savannah, deep in the marshes of Liberty County, lies St. Catherines Island. The unspoiled island boasts a complex history and was designated as a National Historic Landmark on Dec. 16, 1969. Currently owned by the St. Catherines Island Foundation, the island boasts 14,640 acres of tidal marsh and wetlands, 6,700 acres of forested land, endangered exotic wildlife, and a plantation home reportedly once used by Button Gwinnett. But, more importantly, it’s the site where several important archeological artifacts were unearthed, proving Spaniards discovered the area centuries before Europeans landed on Plymouth Rock. For more than 30 years, researchers and archeologist from New York’s American Museum...

Let's talk turkey!

Another great Thanksgiving memory.... We all get to that point in our lives when we start to transition from adolescence to adulthood. We go out and get our first job. We find our own places to live, buy our own groceries and cook our own meals. Cooking our own meals — wait, what? Yes, at some point I had to start cooking, but leave it to me to do things backwards. I got a job, saved up, got my own place, moved out, bought my groceries and then stared at the oven and stovetop like they were foreign objects. I wanted the home-cooked meals my mom made. But I had never watched her cook or worked with her in the kitchen. I just showed up when she would call out, “Dinner is ready!” from the front door. (Remember that era, when kids played outside?) There I was, a strong independent Cuban woman who could boil an egg (sometimes), but didn’t know how to cook rice, let alone marinate a steak or chicken (what spices should I use?) or how long to even bake a potato. Pathetic right?...