PVLD Adult Services Blog

Watch Your Step

A travel blog features photos and descriptions of five cliff-side towns in Europe and the Middle East.  If you suffer from vertigo or acrophobia, viewer discretion is advised. Library resources: Places to see . . . and not to see

Airport Hell . . . or Maybe Just Purgatory?

Heathrow Airport in London hired a writer-in-residence to spend a week inside the massive facility.  Alain De Botton began his stint last Tuesday, observing and interviewing travelers.  The writer sees the airport as a place where technology, globalization, consumerism, and the environment all converge. De Botton was given full access to Terminal 5 by airport [...]

National Treasures

In conjunction with the Obama family visit to Yellowstone and Grand Canyon, the National Park Service announced Monday that visits to national parks are up nearly 4% from last year.   These public lands were described as providing “affordable and accessible recreational opportunities.” While some of the increase is due to a fee waiver on three [...]

Pullman Porters

The planners of National Train Day– May 9th– are searching for surviving Pullman porters, who will be honored at a celebration in Philadelphia.  By the late 1920s, 20,000 African American men served luxury train travelers as porters. Porters influenced the civil rights movement by forming the first black labor union.  The men in effect birthed the black [...]

183 Years on the Erie Canal

Because of rising fuel prices, the Erie Canal, originally completed in 1825, is making a comeback.  Commercial shippers have found that the Canal offers the most fuel-efficient means of transport between the East Coast and the upper Midwest. So far this year, 42 shipments have passed along the Canal, up from 15 during last year’s [...]

The Zeppelin Returns

Beginning Friday, a California company will begin offering zeppelin tours of the San Francisco Bay area.  The zeppelin (distinct from the blimp in that it has a rigid internal frame covered with canvas) was invented in the late 19th century and used for passenger and military transport until the start of the Second World War. [...]

A Queen Retires

After nearly 40 years of service, the Cunard ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2 left New York for the final time last week.  The ship will be retired in November, eventually becoming a floating hotel in the Persian Gulf emirate of Dubai. Since 1969, the QE2 has carried over 2.5 million passengers, including Elizabeth Taylor, Bob Hope, Paul [...]