The San Francisco Wave Organ

May 12, 2014 / Tara Taft / 6 Comments

As each wave greeted the rocks, I held my ear to a large pipe, waiting. Each wave brought a sound – sometimes just a trickle, like rain hitting a downspout; sometimes a glug as if I was drinking from a giant mug; sometimes a distant roar or a moan of discontent. Moving from pipe to pipe, I listened.

On a jetty in San Francisco Bay, just a short walk from the St. Francis Yacht Club and the Exploratorium, is the Wave Organ, a musical instrument of PVC and concrete tubes built and cemented into the rocks at just the right angles to capture the sounds and music of the incoming tide.

Creating different noises and gurgles as the incoming tide rushes through with varying force and intensity, the pipes look like barnacles or submarine scopes, their openings bending and twisting with personality.

My 8 and 6-year old niece and nephew explored with my teenage kids, testing the sounds emanating from various levels and heights; many pipe openings just the perfect height for their ears. I sat on a covered bench, where sounds from three pipes enveloped me.

The Wave Organ is the genius of Peter Richards and George Gonzalez, Exploratorium artists-in-residence in 1986. It is free and open to the public. You can see more photos and listen to an audio slide show at the Exploratorium’s website

Trip taken April 2011.

Boston Strong

April 21, 2014 / Tara Taft / 1 Comment

Today is Patriot’s Day, 239 years and a few days since the shot was fired and heard round the world. The lantern was hung, Paul Revere rode his horse, the Minutemen marched, and so began our fight for liberty.

Today is the Boston Marathon, a year and a few days after the marathon bombing, when the world supported Boston and the community came together. We were Boston Strong in 1775. We are Boston Strong in 2014.

We will always be Boston Strong.

Gluten Free at Fenway!

April 14, 2014February 13, 2014 / Tara Taft / Leave a comment

Do you love baseball and the Red Sox? Are you gluten free? Did you know that now you can have your Fenway frank on a gluten-free bun at Fenway Park?

At Fenway Park, not only do they have gluten-free hot dogs, you can also buy gluten-free pizza, whoopee pies, brownies, and cookies. Oh, and their cotton candy, popcorn, soft serve ice cream, and Cracker Jacks are gluten free as well. Check out this list and this map. They even sell gluten-free beer!

Go Red Sox!

A Souvenir Allowance

April 7, 2014April 9, 2014 / Tara Taft / Leave a comment

Traveling with children can be a challenge. The “I want this, I want that,” may abound. It’s exhausting to say no all the time, but the alternative will most likely result in a spoiled child. Just remember Veruca Salt from “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and her constant phrase, “Daddy, I want it now!”

Before our trip to Disney World, when our kids were 8 and 10 years old, a friend gave me some good advice. Let each child choose their own souvenirs but give them a price limit. So, before our trip, we decided on a dollar value. Each child would get a souvenir allowance of $25, and they could spend it how they wished.

I remember walking through the BoardWalk and seeing signs for hair wraps.

My daughter elbowed me, “I want that.” But when she found out how much it was ($22), she changed her mind. The quest for a souvenir continued for the next few days. Would it be a neon stick for $12, a necklace or book? A stuffed animal or hat?

The questions didn’t stop, “Can I have … ?” was constant, but I never had to say, “No.” Both kids were empowered, and I was no longer the “bad guy.” What will your kids buy if they’re in charge?

When Traveling, Remember the Moscow Rule

March 31, 2014March 31, 2014 / Tara Taft / 2 Comments

While traveling in Paris many years ago, my American friends introduced me to the Moscow Rule. Not to be confused with the Moscow Rules, this rule has to do with shopping and souvenirs and is fairly simple. If you see something, buy it, because you may never see it again.

My friends told me that this rule originates from people standing in line in Moscow. If you lived in Moscow under Communist rule and saw people standing in line, you joined them, because whatever they were waiting for you most likely needed or would need and you may not have the opportunity to buy it another time.

Although I try to remember this rule when I travel, the times I forget are the times I regret. Like the time I didn’t buy the metal toy truck in Cape Town because I knew we’d see several more during our trip (we didn’t).

Or when I didn’t buy a drum and then had to resort to the airport gift shop. Or when I passed up a pretty necklace at a price I saw quadrupled in future stores.

Sometimes it’s easy to remember, like buying Lindt chocolates in Zurich, wool scarves with the family clan in Edinburgh, or maple syrup in Vermont. I find it more difficult to remember when I see something different. Is it something I truly want? Is the price a good one? Will I see it again?

To prevent those post traveling blues, remember the Moscow Rule: if you see something unique, something you’re unlikely to find online or anywhere else, snatch it up, because you may never see it again. Most likely, you won’t regret the purchase, and the memories it holds will bring smiles for a lifetime.

Have a Magical Day!

March 25, 2014March 25, 2014 / Tara Taft / 1 Comment

“Have a magical day!” a cheery voice said every time I spoke to someone at Disney whether it was to make reservations or just to ask a question. Although I laughed at the phrase, I had no idea then how truly magical our Disney experience would be.

Soon we were smelling oranges while hang gliding over California on the ride Soarin,’ turning green on Mission to Mars, and traveling to infinity and beyond with Buzz Lightyear. We raced with the other Disney tourists to Space Mountain and avoided lines by following the plan outlined in The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World.

Meals were magical, too. At each Disney restaurant, the chef personally spoke to my daughter and prepared a gluten-free meal for her. We ate well and were entertained at a 1950s diner, in Polynesia (where we did the hula and watched the fireworks from our table), in the Wilderness, and even in Morocco.

But the real magic occurred on our last day before the park had even opened. When an Animal Kingdom worker heard our family had never been on the Kilimanjaro Safari ride, he said, “Come with me.” Hesitant at first (we didn’t want to lose our place in line!), we followed him to the front of the line and through the gates. “This is the first family!” he said, as we walked by employees getting ready to open the park.

“Jambo!” they said and waved as we walked by, making us feel like royalty. After our own private ride on the safari, we were given a day pass for unlimited safari rides. We sang and danced during the “Festival of the Lion King” and rode the wet Kali River Rapids, before leaving the park just as a shuttle bus arrived to take us back to our hotel. It truly was a magical day.

Trip taken December 2005.

Tacos in Sausalito

March 17, 2014March 19, 2014 / Tara Taft / 2 Comments

When you’re looking for a quick bite of Mexican in the Sausalito area (just across the Golden Gate Bridge), but you’re not quite dressed for trendy and upscale, try Salsalito Taco Shop. After a hike in the Marin Headlands in January, I did just that.

I was craving ceviche and one of my favorite restaurants in the Bay Area, Fish, was closed (temporarily). So, Salsalito would have to do, and it did just fine. We ate on the enclosed porch near a propane heater. It was sunny but still cool, and the propane heater took the edge off. The chips were fresh and served with a green and a red salsa.

Choosing what to have for an appetizer was easy. I ordered the ceviche, small bits of white fish marinated in lime juice on a crispy corn tortilla. Choosing which taco to order was a bit more of a challenge. Steak, pork, chicken, shrimp, oysters, beans, veggies, or fish? I ordered two: the Taco De Pescado, lightly battered and fried fish served with shredded cabbage, carrot, and pico de gallo salsa in a corn tortilla for $3.85 and Taco Salsalito, shrimp sautéed with onion and bell pepper in a garlic wine sauce in a corn tortilla for $3.90. You can add rice and beans to any order and switch the corn to a flour tortilla.

Both tacos were delicious and worth coming back for. If you don’t like tacos, don’t despair. The Taco Shop also serves burritos, taquitos, enchiladas. huevos rancheros, fajitas, and chili rellenos with a selection of Mexican beer, agua frescas, and margaritas to enjoy.

Always on the search for good fish tacos, I’ll try Boston next.

Trip taken January 2014.

A Gluten-Free Pit Stop in New Jersey

March 10, 2014February 13, 2014 / Tara Taft / 1 Comment

With luck and the help of an app, we discovered a town just off I-95 in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, with a plethora of gluten-free options.

It was late, some time after 11 p.m., and we’d been driving for hours, leaving the Chapel Hill area after 2. The need to refuel got us off the highway and into a Howard Johnson’s for the night. But when the next morning’s continental breakfast only consisted of powdered sugar donuts and cereal with whole milk, we did a little research. Using the Find Me Gluten Free app on her phone, my daughter discovered a gluten-free bakery just 3 miles away. Eagerly anticipating the gluten-free crepes listed on its menu, we took the detour, parked, and walked to Wildflour Bakery/Cafe.

Closed. It was Monday. Now what? We were all hungry, and the town’s main street was quiet. Half a block away, we noticed a bagel shop, and as we grew closer, we noticed a sign posted in the window. Gluten-free bagels!

Inside, the Maidenhead Bagel Company, the gluten diners were happy, ordering sesame, plain, and pumpkin (!) bagels all made with wheat flour. And the gluten-free diner was happy. She ordered a bagel egg sandwich (the first one she’d ever had!) made on an Udi’s bagel.

On our next trip south, we’ll plan on passing through the town of Lawrenceville to check out the cafe we missed. And next time, we’ll make sure it’s not a Monday!

Peeking at Duke

March 3, 2014February 13, 2014 / Tara Taft / 3 Comments

We just peeked in at Duke University on our way out of North Carolina, and not knowing much about the campus at the time, we only visited the university’s West Campus where Duke Chapel dominates the setting.

After our visit, we learned that Duke University spreads its students (6,500 undergrads, 8,000 grad students) among three campus (East, West, and Central) and 9,000 acres in Durham, North Carolina plus a marine lab in Beaufort. All freshmen live and attend classes on the oldest of Duke’s campuses, the 97-acre East Campus known for its stately Georgian architecture. After freshman year, students move to West or Central Campus.

Just 1.5 miles away, Duke’s West Campus or main campus covers 720 acres. Here is where the majority of learning and living take place. With its tall trees and 1920s’ Gothic architecture, the campus has a fairy tale like appearance. All students are required to live on campus, and over 1,000 undergrads live on Duke’s nearly 200-acre Central Campus.

While Duke has over 46 arts and science majors and four engineering majors and 49 minors, the top five include biology, public policy studies, economics, psychology, and biomedical engineering.

Have you added up the acreage and wondered, like I did, about the remaining 7,000 acres? At 7,000 acres in size, Duke Forest, located west of West Campus, is the largest private research forest in North Carolina and one of the largest in the country.

Duke’s mission statement emphasizes leadership, and community contribution in addition to engagement of the mind and elevation of the spirit. Its motto is “Eruditio et Religio” in Latin or “knowledge and religion” in English.