Category: Vacation Inspiration

Which international airline just hosted the first-ever same-sex marriage at 30,ooo feet?

An Auckland-based couple has made history celebrating the legalization of same sex marriage in New Zealand by saying “I do” in the skies with the help of Air New Zealand.

Lynley Bendall and Ally Wanikau, who have been together almost 14 years, wed onboard a special Air New Zealand flight from Queenstown to Auckland on Monday, August 19.

The leading ladies made their vows in front of friends and family, including their children Javarn (9), Maycee (7) and Mikaere (6), and Ally’s son Damon. 

The pair exchanged pounamu (New Zealand greenstone) in place of traditional wedding bands before being pronounced as officially wed in front of actor and marriage equality campaigner Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who stars in the hit series Modern Family, and who recently married his long-term partner Justin Mikita.

“It’s been an absolute pleasure to be able to celebrate this historic and joyous moment with Lynley and Ally. Marriage equality is something very dear to both Justin and me.”

“To be married at 30,000 feet beneath strings of fairy lights with our children, friends and family as witnesses makes an already memorable day that much more special.

It was surreal to have Jesse play a part in the ceremony too – we’re big fans of Modern Family!”

Jesse and Justin gifted the couples’ children bow ties from their charity Tie The Knot which raises funds for the promotion of marriage equality.

Air New Zealand Chief People Officer Lorraine Murphy says the onboard ceremony was an unforgettable way to mark the law change.

“The atmosphere onboard was incredibly festive and the applause following the couple’s vows was heartfelt.  It was a great celebration of New Zealand’s diversity.”

The couple departed New Zealand after the ceremony on an Air New Zealand service to Los Angeles for their honeymoon at a Palm Springs resort.

Read more: World’s Only Underground Ropes Course

Air New Zealand
www.flyingsocialnetwork.com

Which U.S. city is home to the world’s only underground ropes course?

Louisville Mega Cavern has recently opened Mega Quest, the world’s only underground aerial ropes challenge course, featuring more than 75 challenging rope activities designed to test the strength and agility of all skill levels.

“There is nothing like this in our region, and nothing like it underground in the entire world,” said Jim Lowery, co-owner of Louisville Mega Cavern.

Mega Quest is the fourth attraction in the Louisville Mega Cavern, which opened in 2009. The venue is also home to a tram tour, a popular Christmas lights show and a zipline.

Read more: First State to Allow Women to Vote

Louisville Mega Cavern
www.louisvillemegacavern.com

Which was the first state to allow women to vote?

The women of Wyoming were the first women in the world granted the full right to vote. In fact, Wyoming earned its state nickname, the Equality State, because women here were the first to vote, the first to serve on juries and the first to hold public office.

Some 20 years before it became a U.S. State, on December 10, 1969, Wyoming Governor A.J. Campbell signed a bill into law granting female suffrage.

More Wyoming Firsts for Women

1870

Ester Hobart Morris became was appointed the first female justice of the peace in South Pass City.

The first all-woman jury served in Laramie.

Mary Atkinson was appointed the first woman bailiff in the world in Albany County.

1894

Estelle Reel became the Wyoming State Superintendent of Public Instruction, making her one of the first women in the U.S. to be elected to a state office.

1924

Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming and “Ma” Ferguson of Texas were the first two women in the United States to be elected as a state Governor.

Although they were both elected on the same day, Ross would take office nearly three weeks before Ferguson, making her the first women in the country to hold this position. Ross would go on to hold another first, when she was appointed as the first female director of the U.S. Mint.

Read more: First Female Architect to Win the AIA Gold Award

More Information
www.cheyenne.org/about-cheyenne/wyoming-info/

Who was the first female architect to win the AIA Gold Award?

In December 2013, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) posthumously awarded the 2014 AIA Gold Medal to Julia Morgan, FAIA, whose extensive body of work encompasses more than 700 buildings of almost every type, including houses, churches, hotels, commercial buildings, and museums.

The AIA Gold Medal, voted on annually, is considered to be the profession’s highest honor that an individual can receive. The Gold Medal honors an individual whose significant body of work has had a lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture.

Morgan, who died in 1957, won a litany of firsts she, blazing trails for women everywhere. Morgan practiced for nearly 50 years and designed more than 700 buildings of almost every type, including houses, churches, hotels, commercial buildings, and museums.

The first woman admitted to the prestigious architecture school at the Ecoles des Beaux-Arts in Paris, Morgan designed comfortably in a wide range of historic styles.

“Julia Morgan is unquestionably among the greatest American architects of all time and a true California gem,” said Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) in her recommendation letter.

“Morgan’s legacy has only grown over the years. She was an architect of remarkable breadth, depth, and consistency of exceptional work, and she is widely known by the quality of her work by those who practice, teach, and appreciate architecture.”

Born in 1872, Morgan grew up in Oakland, Calif. One of the first women to study civil engineering at the University of California-Berkeley, she went on to become the first women to graduate from the prestigious Ecoles des Beaux-Arts, the most prominent architecture school of its day. 

In 1904, she became the first women licensed to practice architecture in California, and opened her own firm. Morgan joined the AIA in 1921 as only the seventh female member.

Morgan’s Notable Projects

Asilomar YWCA

Pacific Grove, Calif.
Asilomar Conference Grounds; which was originally a camp where young Victorian women could learn vital skills such as typing and sewing, consisted of sixteen buildings constructed between 1913 and 1929.

Eleven buildings are still standing today, and all of the original buildings designed by Morgan are listed on the National Historic Registry.

Commissioned by the Young Woman Christian Association (YWCA) and Phoebe Apperson Hearst, mother of William Randolph Hearst, and preserved by the State Park Service and run by ARAMARK Parks and Destinations, the facility recently celebrated its 100th anniversary.

During a time where women could not yet vote, Morgan and Asilomar showed that women could be self-sufficient and provide value outside the home.

Hearst Castle

San Simeon, Calif.
William Randolph Hearts’ seaside retreat, 165 rooms across 250,000 acres, all dripping with detailing that’s opulent bordering on delirious.

The style is generally Spanish Colonial, but the estate seems to compress Morgan’s skill at operating in different design languages: Gothic, Neoclassical, as well as Spanish Colonial, all into one commission.

Read more: Which U.S. City is Home to the Nation’s Only Math Museum

Which U.S. city is home to the nation’s only math museum?

The National Museum of Mathematics (MoMath) opened its doors to the public on Saturday, December 15, 2012 in New York City.

The nation’s only math museum, MoMath is dedicated to enhancing the understanding and perception of mathematics in daily life.

Spearheaded by Glen Whitney, a hedge fund manager turned mathematics advocate, MoMath recreates the infinite world of mathematics through state-of-the-art interactive exhibitions.

More than 40 exhibits and activities are contained within levitra online generic MoMath, including Feedback Fractals, which uses ordinary video cameras to produce intricate and beautiful infinitely repeating patterns, and Wall of Fire, where visitors interact with a room-high plane of laser light to discover the hidden shapes lurking in everyday objects

“There is nothing in the world that hasn’t been improved by math,” said Glen Whitney, Executive Director of MoMath. “Math is fun, beautiful, and important to getting a really good job in today’s world.”

MoMath, located at 11 East 26th Street, and is 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. daily.

Read more: Only National Park Dedicated to the Performing Arts

MoMath
www.momath.org

Which is the only national park dedicated to the performing arts?

Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts in Virginia is the country’s only national park dedicated to the performing arts.

The Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts, which is dedicated to celebrating music while nurturing the next generation through education, recently rolled out its 2014 summer season with a diverse lineup of performers ranging from Yo-Yo Ma to Counting Crows to Lionel Richie.

“We are proud to present an extraordinary season filled with truly iconic artists,” said Arvind Manocha, Wolf Trap Foundation President and CEO.

“Wolf Trap is the only place in the country where you can find Yo-Yo Ma, Robyn + Röyskopp, Lionel Richie, The Band Perry, and Josh Groban on the same season calendar and that’s worth celebrating.

Our patrons have a dizzying array of options to choose from and we look forward to sharing many amazing days and nights of music together at America’s only National Park for the Performing Arts.”

Season highlights include a performance by the National Symphony Orchestra with Ben Folds, the former front man and pianist of alternative rock group Ben Folds Five; the Wolf Trap debut of Jennifer Nettles, lead singer of the country group Sugarland; and the long-awaited return of classical crossover soprano Sarah Brightman, known for originating the role of Christine Daaé in Andrew Lloyd Webers’s The Phantom of the Opera.

The 2014 schedule also features the American Idol Live! Tour 2014, California rockers the Counting Crows, a co-bill with singer-songwriters Gavin DeGraw and Matt Nathanson, and the rumba guitar Latin duo Rodrigo y Gabriela.

Read more : Which Former U.S. President Served as a Park Ranger

Wolf Trap Tickets
www.wolftrap.org

Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts
www.nps.gov/wotr/

Which former U.S. President served as a park ranger for the National Park Service?

In the summer of 1936, Gerald Ford worked as a seasonal park ranger at Yellowstone National Park.

While serving in Yellowstone, one of Ford’s assignments was as an armed guard on the bear-feeding truck. (Note: the National Park Service no longer feeds the bears.)

During his summer at Yellowstone, Ford also worked in the Canyon Hotel and Lodge meeting and greeting VIPS, and checking the make, model, state and license number of all cars parked in the campgrounds

As President of the United States, President Ford added eighteen new areas to the National Park System, including Canaveral National Seashore (FL), and Valley Forge National Historical Park (PA).

Bear Safety Tips from Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone regulations require visitors to stay 100 yards from black and grizzly bears at all times. The best defense is to stay a safe distance from bears and use binoculars, a telescope or telephoto lens to get a closer look.

All visitors traveling in the park away from developed areas should stay in groups of three or more, make noise on the trail, keep an eye out for bears and carry bear spray.

Bear spray has proven to be a good last line of defense, if kept handy and used according to directions when a bear is approaching within 30 to 60 feet.

While firearms are allowed in the park, the discharge of a firearm is a violation of park regulations. The park’s law enforcement rangers who carry firearms on duty rely on bear spray, rather than their weapons, as the most effective means to deal with a bear encounter.

Visitors are also reminded to keep food, garbage, barbecue grills and other attractants stored in hard-sided vehicles or bear-proof food storage boxes.

This helps keep bears from becoming conditioned to human foods, and helps keep park visitors and their property safe.

Read more : Where Was John Muir Born

National Park Service
www.nps.gov

Yellowstone National Park
www.nps.gov/yell

Often called founding father of America’s national parks, where was John Muir born?

John Muir was born in and grew up in the coastal town of Dunbar in East Lothian, Scotland.

In April 2014, a new coast-to-coast pathway, the John Muir Way, is being launched in his honor, as part of Scotland’s Year of Homecoming 2014.

The new trail stretches 215 km (133 miles) from John Muir’s birthplace, Dunbar, to the town of Helensburgh. Passing through historic towns and villages and serving up stunning coastal scenery, the marked trail takes in Blackness Castle, Campsie Fells, the Strathkelvin Railway Path and the Stoneymollan Road.

The trail also passes Scotland’s first national park, Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park.

The route has been split into manageable sections, so that walkers and cyclists can enjoy day walks. Public transportation is available near many points along the route to return travelers to their starting point; or pedestrians can walk a section as part of a circular route combining with other paths joining the Way.

This year Scotland celebrates Homecoming Scotland 2014, with a year-long activity calendar that runs through December 31, 2014. Visitors are invited to join in a celebration of the nation’s food and drink, active pursuits, cultural heritage, nature and ancestral heritage.

Read more: Most Repulsive Tree in the Vegetable Kingdom

John Muir Way
www.johnmuirway.org

Homecoming Scotland
www.homecomingscotland.com

Which distinctive tree, also the name of a national park, was once called “the most repulsive tree in the vegetable kingdom?”

The Joshua tree, the distinctively shaped member of the agave family, located in Joshua Tree National Park, received its most-repulsive designation from noted explorer John C. Fremont during the mid 1800s.

Later, according to legend, Mormon pioneers were believed to have named the plant after the prophet Joshua, because it resembled his upstretched arms pointing them to the promised land.

Joshua Tree National Park was first established as a national monument in 1936 and achieved national park status in 1994. The park protects a distinctive region of the California Desert, including a transition between the Colorado and Mojave Deserts.

The Colorado Desert, where creosote bush, ocotillo, and palo verde dominate, occupies the eastern portion of the park. The higher-in-elevation Mojave Desert makes up the western half.

The Joshua tree is a critical component of the Mojave Desert ecosystem and provides habitat for birds, mammals, insects, and lizards.

Park wildlife includes the desert tortoise, rattlesnakes, bighorn sheep, golden eagles, desert iguanas, roadrunners, and a variety of other species uniquely suited to desert living.

The park is recognized worldwide as a rock climbing destination, with more than 4,500 established climbing routes concentrated within approximately 100,000 acres of land. During wet years, the park puts on a vivid display of spring wildflowers.

Some 1.2 million visitors enter Joshua Tree National Park every year

Read more: Route 66 Travels Through Which National Park?

History of the Joshua Tree
www.nps.gov/jotr/

Historic Route 66 travels through which national park?

Petrified Forest National Park, located in northeastern Arizona, is the only park in the National Park System to contain a section of Historic Route 66.

Route 66, the heavily traveled highway that connected Chicago with Los Angeles, was built in the mid 1920s. Linking together rural towns, many of which had never had access to a major highway, allowed for a freer flow of commerce and goods in and out of these communities.

More importantly, the road, which John Steinbeck called the “Mother Road” in his classic “Grapes of Wrath,” symbolized adventure and opportunity,

According to the National Historic Route 66 Federation, more than 200,000 people migrated west during the Great Depression. Route 66 was a key factor in the growth of the tourism industry, and even gave birth to a new type of accommodation, known as the motel.

By the 1970s, the road was mostly bypassed by more modern freeways, and by 1984, Route 66 was decommissioned altogether.

Although much of the road has fallen into disrepair, or simply vanished, Arizona is home to the longest original stretch of this road, which is one of 25 scenic byways in Arizona, and much of it is still preserved by the locals who lived it.

In the Painted Desert, now a part of Petrified Forest National Park, the route has almost vanished, but traces remain, marked by old telephone poles and small remnants of roadway.

At Petrified Forest National Park, visitors can trace humanity’s history in North America back 13,000 years. Here, the lands are rich in paleontological and archeological sites.

Of the park, Senator John McCain has said, “Petrified Forest National Park is Arizona’s very own ‘Triassic Park’ – over 220 million years in the making.

The Park offers a glimpse back in time when Arizona was a tropical forest near the equator of the supercontinent Pangaea.

Visitors can see various paleontological finds, including fossilized plant life, ancient clam beds, and evidence of the earliest dinosaurs, as well as the archeological story of some of North America’s earliest human inhabitants.”

Today, the park is in expansion mode, in part due to legislation sponsored by McCain. It recently acquired new land from local sellers, as well as a parcel from the Bureau of Land Management, for a combined addition of nearly 15,000 acres.

The new acreage includes an area called Billings Gap, where fossils located in ancient clam beds date back 220 million years. Additional acreage is expected to open next year.

Read more: World’s Largest Spectator Sporting Facility

Petrified Forest National Park
www.nps.gov/pefo/historyculture/historic-route-66.htm

Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program
www.cr.nps.gov/rt66