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Wow Place #284: Fremont Street, Las Vegas, Nevada There’s a scene early in the movie Avatar (2009) when our protagonist, Jake Sully, encounters the planet, Pandora, for the first time. As he walks through a beguiling, technicolor forest, goggling at the glowing, neon colors, the strange, fairy-like flora, we can feel his sense of awe, […]

Wow Place #283: Roman Colosseum Growing up, I was an avid fan of the Oakland Athletics baseball team, which played their home games at the Oakland-Alameda “Coliseum.” I vividly recall that June of 1973 when I went to summer camp and begged my parents to send me newspaper clippings of the A’s games I’d be […]

Wow Place #282: Fushimi Inari Taisha, Kyoto, Japan When I think of Asia, I think of the color red. Red temples. Red palaces. And most especially, red gates. I wonder why there’s so much red? A brief internet query returned a slew of contradictory explanations. According to one site, red is the symbol of bravery. […]

Wow Place #281: Kiyomizu Temple, Kyoto, Japan The Dalai Lama once said something to the equivalent of, “The most powerful love is that of a mother for her child. Love others as if they are your mother.” What an amazing statement! I mean, how can you think of hurting your mother…or anyone’s mother?!! I try […]

Wow Place #280: Wild Flour Bakery, Freestone, CA When you’re on a diet, the whole world feels unfair. “WHY are there so many delicious foods out there that I’m not allowed to eat!! Not fair!” On this particular diet that my wife and I are following right now, Bright Line Eating, the primary restrictions are […]

Wow Place #279: Pescadero, CA Can the attainment of a loaf of bread be a “hero’s quest”? It seems like a bit of a stretch, doesn’t it? But let’s slice that bread a little thinner, shall we? According to mythologist Joseph Campbell, a hero’s journey looks like this: • A hero is introduced in the […]

Wow Place #278: Amsterdam, Netherlands There’s a curious phenomenon that occurs when you’re on a long trip. I’m talking a multiple-month, 15-country journey like I did in Asia, back in 1987-88. As you bop around from sight to sight and country to country, you tend to bump into the same people, again and again. Steve […]

365 Wow Places: If you like these posts, click here to subscribe. (It don’t cost nuthin’.) And feel free to pass them along to your friends, family and colleagues!] Wow Place #277: Along the River to Phnom Penh, Cambodia I’ve made a lot of risky decisions in my life. Most of them have worked out […]

365 Wow Places: If you like these posts, click here to subscribe. (It don’t cost nuthin’.) And feel free to pass them along to your friends, family and colleagues!] Wow Place #276: The Pantheon, Rome, Italy I wonder what it must be like to be a city planner, trying to organize a metropolis around ancient […]