Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Podcast Episode 32 - Andrea Feczko of ABC's' Vacation Creation' plus we talk Airline Miles travel hacking with Mike on the Map

   Andrea Feczko of ABC's Vacation Creation discusses her travel show plus her fun videos on her "How 2 Travelers" YouTube Channel
    Plus Mike Pitre of MikeOnTheMap.com discusses travel hacking: How to get the most from your Airline Frequent Flyer Miles, plus a great Priceline.com Travel Hack





Check out Andrea Feczko's YouTube Travel Channel and some of our favorite video's

            



            



Learn More About Travel Hacking (Racking Up Airline Frequent Flyer Miles and Finding Priceline Loopholes)

Travel Hacks - Mike on the Map 

Tuesday, October 3, 2017

Paula Dean talks about the wonders of Savannah - With Podcast Episode 30


   Paula Dean discusses her city of Savannah, Georgia and her new cook book "At The Southern Table"  Plus Jeanenne Tornatore of VividSeats.com discuss the hottest Holiday Spectaculars





Order Paula's New Book "At The Southern Table " and check out her Savannah restaurants Lady and Sons and the Creek House


                                       
                                     
                                               

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Rome Uncovered - with Podcast Episode 28

  Did you know while visiting Rome, you can travel in the steps of Jesus Christ, Julius Ceaser and Ben Hur.  Did you know that you can buy beer on the roof of the Vatican after you climb to the top of the dome? Did you know that if you insert your hand in one ancient carving, it will bite your hand off if you are a liar.
    KSCS Radio Air Personality Michelle Rodriguez and Hawkeye discuss their family vacations to Rome and a few of the uncovered spots they discovered




Did You Know You Can Climb To the Very Top of the Vatican's Dome (and Enjoy a Beer on the Roof of St. Peter's Basilica?)


Both the Vatican Museum and the Roof of St Peter's Basilica have a small cafe that serves refreshments include cold beer (Only 3 Euros at the Museum!)



How do you get to the roof of the Vatican?  Walk


           


Other Wonders of the Vatican


The Vatican Museum has an entire wing that features artifacts saved from the Roman Empire, including 2 mummies. 


St. Peter's Statue in the Basilica. For centuries, religious pilgrims have lined up to  pray at his foot.  After years, the toes have worn smooth. 

You can also enter the catacombs under the Basilica to see where St Peter is entombed.  Look for a wooden barrier that partially blocks off a down staircase,  just to the left of the alter.  Pictures are not allowed. 



This Holy Door in the Vatican is sealed shut and is only open every 25 years. 


How To See The Pope


First Method:  On Wednesday, the Pope holds a weekly audience in the square. Ask your local priest how you get tickets.  If you do go to the Audience,  sit near the side not the middle, as the Pope will pass by in the Popemobile and you might get up close.  This is actually a picture that I took


Second Method: Get married in the church.  If you were married within the last 2 months in the church, the Pope will bless your marriage during his Wednesday audience.  (you must however, wear your wedding attire) 




Method 3:  Become a member of the famed Swiss Guards



Travel in the Footsteps of Jesus - The Scala Santa


   These marble steps were brought to Rome in the 4th Center by Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine (The Roman Emperor who converted to Christianity).
  The steps once lead to the Praetorium of Pontius Pilot and were climbed by Jesus Christ before he was sentenced to death on the cross.
  Today the Holy Steps are encased in wood. You can only climb the steps on your knees, saying a prayer at each step. 



Test you Truthfulness at the Bocca Della Verita - The Mouth of Truth

Legend says that if you insert you hand in the carving and you are a liar, your hand will be bitten off. Gregory Peck explained it best to Audrey Hepburn in the movie Roman Holiday

           

Of course I gave it a try



Walk In The Footsteps of Ben Hur



A few blocks from the Coliseum, is Circus Maximus, the chariot grounds.  At one time, this area featured a 250,000 seat stadium. There is a very small portion of the stands that still exists. The grounds however, still exist and your are able to walk the same track that Ben-Hur once raced his chariot. 


An Artist Rendering of Circus Maximus


Check Out The Gate Signs at the Coliseum



If you look closely at the arches on the ground level of the Coliseum, you'll see that there are actually gate numbers carved in the stone. The gate number are of course in roman numerals. 



Standing outside Gate 32 (actually Gate XXXII)


Walk in the Footsteps of Julius Caesar

Right in the heart of Rome is the ruins of the ancient Forum. Dating back over  2000 years, you can walk the same streets and walkways the the emperors walked.  











St Peter in Chains Church - The Michelangelo Statue of Moses

Tucked a few blocks from the Coliseum is the often overlooked church San Pietro in Vincoli,  St Peter in Chains.  Behind the alter sits the chains the Romans used to hold St Peter in captivity. To the left of the alter sits one of Michelangelo's masterpieces, the sculpture of Moses







Drink (Water) Like and Italian

There are over 2500 Nasoni spring water fed Drinking Fountains Rome, tested for cleanliness  250,000 times a year. But there's a trick to drinking from them


            



Order the Rick Steve's Book- The Highly Recommended Guide To Rome 


                                                                      

Sunday, September 17, 2017

Podcast 27 - The Magical Travel Book, Atlas Obscura. Plus new ways to save vacation photos

   Dylan Thuras discusses wonderful finds in the book and website Atlas Obscura. Plus Anil Sabharwal Vice President of Google Products on Google Photo and how to easily make digital copies of your old vacation photos





Galileo's Middle Finger, on display in Italy. One of the many oddities found in Atlas Obscura



And Barney Smith's San Antonio Toilet Seat Museum 



                                                                          

Thursday, June 8, 2017

Podcast Episode 13 - A look at Rails To Trail Cycling Vacations. Plus we discover the remnants of historic ballparls and Texas Rangers Hall of Fame Broadcaster Eric Nadel talks travel and his favorite Major League cities.

Texas Rangers Hall of Fame Broadcaster Eric Nadel talks travel and ballparks. Plus a look at the remnants of historic ballparks, such as New York's Polo Grounds and Cleveland's League Park . And a discussion of cycling and Rails to Trails






Check Out Our Blog Post on The Remnants of Ballparks Past








Wednesday, June 7, 2017

Remnants of Old Ballparks




 There is a certain amount of nostalgia for ancient ballparks.  Baseball fans take pilgrimages to Chicago's Wrigley Field and Boston's Fenway Park as if going to Rome to visit the Vatican.

   Fans long for the day of great old ballparks such a Brooklyn's Ebbets Field and Chicago's Cominskey Park, which met their fate with the wrecking ball and are nothing more but a memory.

   However, if you keep your eyes open, you may find more than a memory of an ancient park. You may find a field that follows a footprint, a old tickets office and bleachers repurposed You may find the remnants of an old ballpark

League Park, home of the Cleveland Indians 

   The Cleveland Indians used League Park until 1946,  although the last 15 years they used the field mainly for weekday games.  Torn down in 1951,  the ticket office and part of the wall remained at a city park.

   In 2011, the city passed a resolution to upgrade the park and place a ballfield that followed the original footprint. The field is used now for high school and amateur games


An early postcard of League Park

League Park in it's heyday - the ticket office in the lower left corner of the picture

The Ticket Office, left in the southwest corner of the park

The Renovated Ticket Office today
League Park today. The field follows the original dimensions of the park

The Polo Ground, Home of the New York Giants and the John T. Brush Stairs

   The owner of the New York Giants got tired of fans watching the games for free from Coogan's Bluff, so in 1913, John T. Brush built a staircase down the bluff to entice fans to buy a tickets.

   Long after Willie Mays made his over the shoulder catch in centerfield and long after the Giants moved to San Francisco, the John T Brush Staricase remains.

   It fell into disrepair but with funds from the Giants, Yankees Mets, Major League Baseball the the football Giants and Jets the stairs were renovated.

New York's Polo Grounds with the Stairway Circled in Red


Fans on Coogan's Bluff in 1908 watching the game for free


The Stairway in disrepair




The Stairway Today

Braves Field, Boston

   Few people remember that the Atlanta Braves started in Boston (with a stop for a few years in Milwaukee)   And even fewer remember that Braves Field was only a mile away from Fenway Park.

   After the Braves left for Milwaukee, they sold their park to Boston University. Part of the bleaches down the First Base Line remain, as does the Braves Ticket Office, (now the Boston U. Police Department


Braves Field - Boston.  Notice the Bleachers down the Right Field Line and the Ticket Office in the Lower Left Corner of the Picture.

The Bleachers of Nickerson Field are remains from Braves Field

Braves Ticket Office on Game Day

Former Ticket Office, now the BU Police Department


Forbes Field,   Pittsburgh Pirates



  Forbes Field closed in 1970, after the Pirates moved from the 61 year old stadium to their new, modern, sterile home, Three Rivers Stadium. 
   The University of Pittsburgh decided to keep sections of the outfield wall and the original flagpole, which still can be visited on the campus. 
   Part of the wall was also used in Three Rivers' Allegheny Club and later moved to the new PNC Park


Notice the ivy covered walls of Forbes Field and the flagpole in center field with rests in the field of play


The remnants of the outfield fence, today on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh

Colt Stadium - Houston Colt .45s / Astros

   Before the Astrodome was completed, the Colt .45s, as they were then named, played in temporary Colt Stadium.
   After moving inside, the entire stadium was dismantled and sold to a team in the Mexican League.  According to team officials, it took about 200 trips to bring the stadium piece by piece to Torreon, Mexico and 5 years to rebuild it.  When the franchise moved to Tampico, they took the stadium with them.  The salty sea coast town air eventually corroded the stadium an old a few pieces remain in a city park

The temporary Colt Stadium with the Astrodome being built in the background 




Walk on the Fields Of Ruth, Mantle and DiMaggio

   When Yankee Stadium was torn down and rebuilt across the street, the old footprint was used for a ball field in a public park.
   A similar situation is occurring in Detroit. After Tiger Stadium was torn down, a number of fans took car of the field until plans were made for the plot of land. The Detroit Police Athletic League recently purchased the land with plans to build a youth center and while keeping the field for baseball use.
Old Yankee Stadium

The NYC park using the footprint of the old Yankee Stadium Field


Old Tiger Stadium

The Field of Old Tiger Stadium, maintained by volunteers for many years. 

The planned Police Athletic League Field at the Tiger Stadium site


Metropolitan Stadium - Home of the Minnesota Twins

   The Stadium may be long gone, replace by the Metrodome, which was replaced by Target Field. But there is one small piece of the stadium that still exists.  The Red Chair that marked the spot of a Harmon Killebrew long Home Run, is still in the same spot it was when the stadium exists.
   However today, it is above a flume ride at the Mall of America.
   The stadium long gone, but the chair remains


The original spot of the red chair, marking the landing spot of this mammoth shot


The Red Chair today, in the same spot, with a mall and a water ride built around it





Thursday, May 25, 2017

Fly The 1929 Ford Tri Motor - The First Ever Passenger Plane

Known as the Tin Goose, the 1929 Ford Tri Motor was the World's First Passenger Plane.  Previously, it took 4 days to travel via train from New York to LA.
    The Ford Tri Motor cut the travel time to just 2 days. (There weren't airports yet in New York, so you had to take a train from the city to Ohio to catch the plane)


Hear Pilot Ed Rusch talk about the history of the Ford Tri Motor on the Travel With Hawkeye Podcast





              

Learn More at FlyTheFord.org