*TravelWorld International Magazine Spring 2024

SPRING 2024
Canyon Lands, Utah
travelworld
INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE
Welcome Spring!
The Magazine Written and Photographed by North American Travel Journalists Association Members

Letter from the Editor
TravelWorld International Magazine
is the only magazine that showcases
the member talents of the
North American
Travel Journalists Association
SPRING
2024
travelworld
INTERNATIONAL
MAGAZINE
Is it just me? Or did Spring just roll around in the blink of an eye?
A new day is dawning once again and warming our hemisphere!
If you've been cooped up with inclement weather ... relief is coming!
Time to get out! Time to plant! Time to travel!
Here are eight stories to perk your interest
and inspire you to get out and GO:
Group Publisher:
Publishers:
VP Operations:
Editor in Chief:
Copy Editor:
NATJA Publications
Helen Hernandez &
Bennett W. Root, Jr.
Yanira Leon
Joy Bushmeyer
Omar Rodriguez
Welcome Spring!
You might enjoy the visual of spring coming into bloom by visiting
some National Parks. Utah has several and what better way to
experience them than by spending a few days on a winding river!
If you love the open country and splendor of Yellowstone Park, then
continue beyond it to Cody, Wyoming for all sorts of thrilling outdoor
activities. For a different type of adventure, you could travel east to
Kansas and check out the amazing Art Trail!
If you're an ocean lover you might like to learn to sail in Croatia!
Or visit the charming little West Indies island of Nevis where you can
see views of both the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. Of course
the faboulous Island of Kauai provides a spring-like garden experience
all-year-round!
If you're devout and want to obsevre the ultimate Easter Week
Celebrations, then go to Spain and experience the Santa Semana!
If you aren't ready to get out yet, you can still enjoy Spring by feasting
at home on some great "Farm to Table" recipies provided in this issue!
Bon Voyage and Bon Apetite!
Happy Traavels to you all!
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS & PHOTOGRAPHERS:
Linda Ballou
Jeanne Neylon Decker
Julie Hatfield
Michael Hodgson
Therese Iknoian
Mary Klest
Cindy Ladage
Tim Leland
Nisani Walser
DMO CONTRIBUTORS:
Florida's Historic Coast
Visit Topeka
Six Days on the Green River Mary Klest 6
Learn to Sail in Croatia Therese Iknoian & Michael Hodgson 12
Gods Smiled on the Lavish Shores of Kauai Linda Ballou 18
Cody Wyoming, Beyond Yellowstone Jill Robbins 22
6
12
2
Joy Bushmeyer,
Editor in Chief
Cover Photo
Cover Photo provided by Mary Klest
Mary Klest and her college sweetheart, Rudy, after leading far
separate lives, embarked on a six-day canoe trip down the Green
River in Utah, reminiscing over their long past, shared love of
adventure and the great outdoors.
While floating down the river they did settle their thoughts on
lasting love. They agreed that "once you love someone, in some
sense it never ends, like river water that eventually becomes a
part of the sea."
Editorial /Advertising Offices:
TravelWorld International Magazine
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Phone: (626) 376-9754 Fax: (626) 628-1854
www.travelworldmagazine.com
Volume 2024.01 Spring 2024. Copyright ©2024
by NATJA Publications, Inc. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part without written
permission is prohibited. Advertising rates and
information sent upon request. Acceptance of
advertising in TravelWorld International Magazine
in no way constitutes approval or endorsement by
NATJA Publications, Inc., nor do products or services
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International Magazine reserve the right to reject
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are their own and not necessarily those of Travel
World International Magazine or NATJA
Publications. TravelWorld International Magazine
reserves the right to edit all contributions for clarity
and length, as well as to reject any material submitted,
and is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts.
This periodical’s name and logo along with the
various titles and headings therein, are trademarks
of NATJA Publications, Inc. PRODUCED IN U.S.A.
18
22
3

Travel Back
SPRING
2024
travelworld
INTERNATIONAL
MAGAZINE
In Time.
Welcome Spring!
Go Nevis! Julie Hatfield & Tim Leland 28
Take Time
for a Taste
Semana Santa: Celebrating Holy Week in Spain Jeanne Neylon Decker 34
The Kansas Art Trail Cindy Ladage 40
Farm to Table: Fresh Food Ideas this Spring Nisani Walser 44
of Culture.
28
34
Take
Your
Time.
40
44
4
IT’S ABOUT TIME
FLORIDASHISTORICCOAST.COM
5

Desert blooms in Canyonlands National Park.
Six Days on the
Green River
Story and Photos by Mary Klest
6
e launched
our canoe
when the wind
was against us.
Starting at Crystal
Geyser in southern
Utah, we planned
to end near the confluence of the
Green and Colorado Rivers. We
struggled to move forward. At
the stern, Rudy kept the canoe on
course.
“Have you been in these conditions
before?” I yelled to him.
“Yes, and worse,” he assured me.
Minutes later I asked the question
again.
“We’re not bailing water. Don’t
worry,” he said.
I heaved the paddle through choppy
water while wiping rain from my face.
“You said all I needed to do was sit at
the front of the canoe and enjoy the
scenery.”
“Keep paddling,” he answered.
Rudy and I loved each other while
in college. Our first canoe trip was
on the Jacks Fork River in Missouri
during spring break. After graduation,
we parted. He moved to the
mountains and I moved to the city.
In the years that followed I married,
raised a child, and divorced. He never
married. His presence reminded me
that that college girl still lived inside
of me. His love of the outdoors and
sense of adventure were still strong.
So were mine.
Years ago, I had kayaked the whitewater
portion of the Green River
in Utah seeking thrills. This time,
on the flat-water portion of the
river I was looking for something
else. Our 120-mile journey would
take six days. We would pass
Labyrinth and Stillwater Canyons
into Canyonlands National Park
where the cliff dwellings and rock
sculptures began forming millions
of years ago. Our goal was to
travel 20 miles a day. There is no
cell phone reception, no grocery
store or hotel, only pockets of
uninhabited land to pitch a tent. I
considered being in such a remote
area as the ultimate in alone time.
Would we speak of love, or regret?
Would an embrace replace a hug?
Are we then or are we now?
7

Dellenbaugh Butte at the upper end of Labyrinth Canyon.
Awestruck views of
nature’s architecture.
Sunrise over our sand dune campsite.
8
ain and 50 mph
headwinds stalled us
at only ten miles on
our first day. “We’ll
make it up,” Rudy
said. When the wind finally calmed
and the rain stopped, it was quiet,
a sound more foreign to me from
Chicago than him from Colorado.
A faint smell of mud filled the
air. We loosened the gear in our
tightly packed canoe removing a
light-weight tent, portable potty,
tiny stove, water jugs, and food. An
ingeniously designed stainless steel
cup was my favorite. Its flexible
handles flipped out like wings.
Placed on the tiny stove we could
cook noodles or beans and in the
morning drink coffee from it.
On the cold mid-May
mornings, we pulled on
sweatshirts and wool hats.
We ate oats, yogurt, nuts, and
bananas for breakfast. Without
wind and rain, the river’s slow
current nudged us forward.
Canyon walls rose higher
creating a fortress that offered
but one way to navigate. We
drifted.
At night we camped on sand
dunes under a clear sky only
to feel the temperature drop
and the wind billow our tent
as if it were a sail. Sand flushed
the tent’s mesh folds. I had
read warnings in Belknap’s
waterproof Canyonlands River
Guide: “River channels change
frequently, sometimes within
a few hours. Rocks, sandbars,
or other obstruction may
suddenly be laid in or washed
away.” I didn’t worry as long as
we stayed together.
The days were bright and
hot. Rudy steered the canoe
masterfully, hugging the
canyon walls to capture scant
shade. We soaked our shirts
in the river’s cool water and
splashed ourselves with the
paddles. It was good to see
him laugh. He had told me of
his years in therapy and his
failed attempts at intimate
relationships. I tried to
encourage him, but his outlook
seemed as solid as the canyon
walls that surrounded us.
e followed a
long arching
bend for several
miles. I got good
at leaping from the
canoe to find potential
campsites, helping set up camp, and
cooking outdoors. What else in me
had laid dormant for decades? When
the sky turned cloudy, we stopped
to hike through side canyons and
peer at carved petroglyphs. We set
our backs against warm rock walls to
meditate, a daily practice for both of
us. I felt myself drawn to him. “Do
you think once you’ve loved someone
it never really ends?” I asked. He
looked uncertain then cautioned me
against stepping on the moss that
covered a rock. “That moss has been
growing there for hundreds of years,”
he said.
Cliffs reached higher and higher
making us seem smaller and smaller.
“It’s all created through cycles of
floods, evaporation, and wind,” Rudy
said. My eyes swept the towers of
rock, tracked etched channels and
traced steep shadows. Corralled by
its bends, the river wrapped itself
around us.
I thought the environment stark. Its
wonder haunting. We didn’t see any
people or animals, only a few birds.
Vegetation was scarce. Drought had
sucked everything dry. Trees stretched
leafless limbs. Nothing appeared alive.
Rudy pointed to white chalky smears
high up on the canyon walls. “It’s eagle
poop,” he said. But all we saw was
their ghostly waste and what looked
like abandoned nests. No fish jumped
in the water. No turtles plopped from
the bank. No flowers bloomed. There
weren’t even bugs.
In the evenings, sunlight capped
the rock sculptures. I gazed at the
edges of the man who invited me
here. Remarkably unchanged he
stood, tall and fit, though his hair
had turned white and thinned on the
top. We watched the moon rise in an
unfamiliar sky. We listened cheerfully
to our echoed calls: “Where are we?”
I yelled to the wind that repeated
“we, we, we” back to us. We sipped
hot chocolate from our steel cups. I
slipped on a red cotton dress I had
brought to change into after our trip
and felt myself a creature changing
colors with the sunset.
On our last night I wanted to camp
at Spanish Bottom where we might
encounter other travel-by-river
people. I imagined trees with Spanish
moss hanging from the branches.
Rudy wanted a quiet, peaceful place
to end our journey. Realizing the
physical demands he had endured
and the skill needed to navigate the
canoe, I agreed to stay where he
wanted. His abilities impressed me
and I told him so. He dismissed my
praise.
9

A human scale to the cliffs in Stillwater Canyon.
With changing water elevations we
were sure to secure the canoe.
ur return on the Colorado
River in the jet boat was
efficiently swift. I joyfully
pointed to the telephone poles
sporadically erected on the
rocky margins of the river. But I
didn’t reach for my phone. Civilization
would return soon enough. Thoughts of
Rudy and I dissipated like the ripples of
water that churned under the boat’s motor.
He was my adventure as much as any river
or canyon. Yet some people, like some
places are better off left alone. The Green
River was a safe place for him, a place with
no capacity of loving him back.
Role reversal with Rudy at the bow of the
canoe and me at the stern.
Rudy returned to his log home and I
returned to the city. He gave me the steel
cup to remember our journey by. While
floating down the river we did settle our
thoughts on lasting love. We agreed that
once you love someone, in some sense it
never ends, like river water that eventually
becomes a part of the sea.
e reached the
confluence of the
Green and Colorado
rivers on time and
floated to Spanish Bottom.
No moss hung from the
trees. There weren’t any people to talk
with. Only a watery cul de sac. Waiting
for our pickup boat I was anticipatory
but Rudy was pensive. “What are you
thinking?” I asked.
The quiet, reflective water created a
stillness around and inside of us.
Hiking in the canyons gave our
legs a stretch and our eyes a
close-up view of rock
formations.
Coffee in my steel souvenir
cup on our last day.
“I could stay on the river a lot longer,”
he said. The Park’s first superintendent
Bates Wilson shared this sentiment
when writing “…you have to see it to
believe it. And even then you may go
away with the awesome feeling that its
secrets have escaped you, and no matter
where you go, its charm will forever tug
on you like a magnet.” After six days I
was ready to go.
10
11

For your next adventure travel experience
Learn to Sail in Croatia
Story by Therese Iknoian, Photos by Therese Iknoian and Michael Hodgson
All smiles on board our Nautilus
Sailing catamaran before we head
out to sea for a weeklong liveaboard
learn-to-sail course.
©Michael Hodgson
Therese Iknoian laughs as she
cranks the winch to trim the sails.
©Michael Hodgson
Learning to tie essential sailing knots so
it becomes second nature on a cruise.
©Michael Hodgson
was literally tied up in knots
as I tried to figure out all those
sailing knots and what went under,
over, or through on my way to a neat
bowline, reef, or square hitch. But, as
we were told on our liveaboard week
learning to sail with Nautilus Sailing,
“If you can’t tie a knot, tie a lot.”
And tie a lot we did. In fact, we tied so
many knots during our week that it
became second nature. Which is the
goal of an immersive week of learning
to sail. Even if it is not your intention
to earn a captain’s certification, which
most are there to do, the first few days
are like “drinking from a fire hose,”
said head instructor and Nautilus
Sailing founder Tim Geisler.
You learn the parts of a boat, how to
steer, read all those dials, tie those
pesky knots, anchor, rescue somebody
overboard (essential stuff, right?),
jump the halyard, raise the mainsail,
and then you must remember the
names of all the lines, sheets and
halyards (a.k.a ropes, but SSSSH, don’t
utter that word on a boat). And that’s
just the start.
But in between all that intense
learning, a liveaboard learn-tosail
week is incredibly fun – and
isn’t that what adventure travel
should be? Particularly when
it means sailing on a luxury
catamaran around the Split
Archipelago of Croatian islands
– blue skies, translucent waters,
fresh seafood, lunches moored
in a private cove with a swim,
and wandering through historic
villages.
“This doesn’t suck!” Geisler
exclaimed several times a day.
Can’t argue with that. And it could
be said for every destination
where Nautilus takes its
liveaboard students -- including
the Bahamas, Tahiti, and
Mallorca. Despite all the learning,
it is a week full of fun and
astounding beauty, whatever your
destination. Even the learning
feels less stressful when you are
barefoot, in a t-shirt, hanging out
in the middle of the Adriatic Sea
in Croatia.
Taking a motor scooter tour around Vis leads
you to expansive views of the village and bay.
©Therese-Iknoian
12
Heading out from Vis, the Stoncica Lighthouse
stands guard to warn sailors of the rocks.
©Therese-Iknoian
13

Get your captain’s certification after a week sailing.
ost students sign aboard because
they want a captain’s certification.
That allows them to buy or
charter their own boat to sail in
any number of gorgeous places and
embark on their own island vacation. Think
of it as RVing on the water. So just a week
after stepping off the gangplank and onto the
boat for the first time, you walk away with the
ability and confidence to head out onto the
water yourself on an adventure travel sailing
experience.
With Nautilus Sailing, it’s not a boot camp with
people yelling at you. Instead, Geisler wants
to make this first step into the world of sailing
enjoyable.
“We want to give students an authentic taste of
sailing,” said Geisler. “it’s not just about the white,
flappy things. It’s all the things you see and do.”
Our week in Croatia aboard a luxury catamaran for
the liveaboard sailing course took us from Trogir, a
historic island city that is a UNESCO World Heritage
Site; to a quiet cove on the island of Solta; onward
to the popular island of Hvar, known for its lavender
fields; then to our farthest point on the island of Vis,
best known lately for where the movie Mama Mia
was filmed. We returned via a different cove on Solta
(where the full moon blessed us with its light), before
getting back to the marina in Trogir, six days after we
sailed away.
“This is life-changing for a lot of people,” Geisler
said. “And you don’t have to be a bazillionaire.”
Nautilus instructor and founder Tim Geisler giving steering instruction to Mary Beth Skylis at the helm as Therese Iknoian looks on.
©Michael Hodgson
Tim Jenne, a lead Nautilus instructor, teaches
his crew of sailing students about nautical
charts and navigation. ©Michael Hodgson
14
Instructor Tim Geisler instructs us on tying knots.
©Michael Hodgson
The crew aboard another catamaran on our
sailing week at sea works to raise the mainsail.
©Michael Hodgson
Working to quickly crank the winch to raise the sail.
©Michael Hodgson
Sitting in the bow, Michael readies to furl the jib with the line.
©Therese-Iknoian
15

Liveaboard sailing course combines learning and fun.
autilus runs a tight
ship but one that
stays casual (flip-flops
and tees are de rigueur) and
allows fun, laughter, and joking
interactions. Since you are
essentially on a floating classroom, it
becomes a blend of amazing sailing
and beauty mixed with learning to
navigate, steer, furl sails, use the
winches, tie those (damned) knots,
and anchor. Plus, you have to nail all
that sailor terminology. We learned
that ropes are not ropes but lines,
sheets, or halyards, and the parts of
the sail include clews, luff, leech, and
tack. And a key drill on the first day?
Learning how to rescue somebody
who falls overboard – an essential
skill that takes some finesse.
The team works to “rescue” a life vest during a series of man-overboard drills.
©Therese-Iknoian
On our way out of Vis, we pass the
Peninsula Prilovo with its historic
church and popular beach and views.
©Therese-Iknoian
16
On our Nautilus Sailing’s liveaboard
sailing course, one of the orange
life jackets was dubbed Pepe, and
the poor soul was tossed overboard
multiple times. Each of us had to take
turns in three roles: driving the boat
to get back to Pepe, spotting (you
can’t take your eyes off a person
overboard), and “hooking” the
person to get them back on board
(known as the “sexy hooker”). Pepe
was luckily saved by each of us.
Crystal blue waters beckon our sailing
companions on a lunch break.
©Therese-Iknoian
Another "this doesn't suck" moment for Nautilus founder Tim Geisler
enjoying a quiet coffee at anchor as the sun rises.
©Michael Hodgson
midweek highlight in Croatia is getting a
break from the sailing classroom to rent
motor scooters and spend the afternoon
circumnavigating the historic island of Vis, which
is brim with WWII history. As we caravanned around
Vis, we stopped to take in sweeping views of the island
and the Split Archipelago. On our way back to the town
of Vis, we took a detour past an old fort to view an old
submarine bunker built into the hillside by Tito. At 360
feet long, it was built to hide submarines during WWII.
s we became
more adept
sailors, we all
took turns sailing the 42-
foot Fontaine Pajot Astrea
luxury catamaran on our
return to Trogir via Solta.
Regular students (we were
onboard as media and didn’t
do all the testing) must pass
four written tests and prove
their skills on the boat, as
judged by the instructor
on board. Not as difficult
as it seems when you are
living, breathing, eating, and
sleeping all things sailing – in
a beautiful place for a week of
adventure travel and learning
combined.
And yes, by the end of the
week, I was even tying knots
instead of the knots tying me.
Fresh seafood was a must on
all the Croatian Islands – like this
octopus salad. ©Therese-Iknoian
Therese Iknoian enjoying
some personal time and
the wind in her hair on the
bow of the catamaran.
©Michael Hodgson
Ending a successful day of instruction
under sunny skies with Nautilus Sailing
calls for a wine toast while at anchor.
©Michael Hodgson
17

It is common practice for
a Hawaiian to announce a
ceremony with the blowing
of a conch shell. It makes an
eerie, yet welcoming sound.
Gods Smiled
on the
Lavish Shores of
Story and Photos by
Linda Ballou
Kauai, lush with foliage, resplendent with waterfalls,
and isolated by tumultuous surf, is the oldest island
in the Hawaiian chain. It remained undisturbed by
the tribal wars that plagued Maui, Oahu, and the
Big Island of Hawaii for centuries. The protocols of
the 2,000-year-old Polynesian Kapu system were
practiced on Kauai in relative harmony. It is said that
a mantle of mana, or spiritual power, rests over the
island and that it still holds sacred secrets of the
ancient culture.
estled on the North Shore of Kauai
is the Limahuli Garden, the site of a
Hawaiian settlement dating back 1,500
years. It is a pu'uhonua (place of refuge)
that offered Hawaiians sanctuary in
times of trouble. It rests on the footprints
of the ancients with rock terraces used to grow
taro for poi, the staple of the Hawaiian diet. Only
indigenous plants are represented there. Almost
all the plants blooming in profusion in Hawai’i
are introduced. Home to dozens of endangered
plants and birds found nowhere else on earth,
Limahuli Garden and Preserve highlights native
and culturally significant species in an authentic
Hawaiian landscape. You can make reservations
for a guided tour or meander on your own. I wish I
were there when warriors would climb to the top of
Makena Mountain overlooking the garden and send
lighted shafts sailing out over the sea in religious
ceremonies.
In the lush mountains above the beach town of
Kapa’a, on the Coconut Coast, you will find the
46-acre Lydgate Chocolate Farm. It is backed by
untrammeled wilderness and owned by a fifthgeneration
Kapa’a family. The enchanting drive to
the farm takes you through a lush valley shaded
by towering trees. An informative three-hour tour
is mandatory for chocoholics. It begins with a
stroll through a magnificent tropical garden with
a guide pointing out the many uses of the plants
by the early Polynesians. Stops at covered tasting
stations with samples of fruits from the garden and
chocolates from around the globe are a special
treat. Who knew that the refinement and processing
of cacao, the source of chocolate, is as intense and
painstaking as that of any good wine? I promise you
will leave with a more discerning palette and a better
understanding of what goes into your favorite sweet
treat.
Rock terraces watered by a free flowing stream served as beds
for Taro. This is a very special garden resting on the footprints
of the ancients. It is preserved and should be entered with
respect to the traditions of the people of old Hawai’i.
Our guide, Jake, demonstrated the many uses of the Ti plant
by the early Hawaiians. In ancient times, the Ti served as
a material for clothing, rain gear sandals, roof thatching,
dinner plates, ceremonial activities, fishing lures and making
okolehao, an alcoholic brew from the ti root.
18
Lush tropical plants line the paths through the Lydgate Chocolate Farm.
Smith Boat Tours has taken tourists up the Waalua
River to the Fern Grotto where wedding ceremonies
have been performed since 1946. Their shadecovered
launch looked inviting. While I awaited my
departure time, I strolled the nearby Smith Paradise
Garden. Acres of well-manicured grounds with
shady nooks and a lake framed in trees flush with
bright blossoms provided a welcome rest stop.
Numerous birds and ducks that enjoy the peaceful
garden were my only company. It is the site of
many a luau and can be hired for special events like
weddings and anniversaries.
The taro plant is turned into a purple,
starchy paste that was the staple of
the early Hawaiians. It was traditionally
eaten with the fingers. There was one
finger, two finger and three finger
poi based upon the thickness and
consistency of the poi.
The delicate Princess
Hibiscus was my
favorite flower in the
profusion of blooms to
be seen on the Lydgate
Chocolate Farm tour.
19

n the glide up the Wailua
River, framed in Hau
trees peppered with
yellow blooms, the guide
shared the history of the
river. The short walk to the grotto is
lined with deep red spikes of torch
ginger. It is a touristy attraction, but
the warm voice of a Hawaiian woman
singing Hanalei Moon and the Hawaiian
wedding song sparked tears.
20
There are many varieties of Hibiscus in Hawai’i. They are all
introduced. Still, these flowers are loved by the Hawaiian people who
have chosen the happy yellow bloom to be their state flower.
Scarlet
spikes
of Torch
Ginger line
the path to
the Fern
Grotto
where
weddings
have taken
place for
fifty years.
You don’t
have to get
married to
enjoy the
tranquil
stroll to the
fern grotto.
Many
varieties
of orchid
are seen
clinging to
the trees
throughout
the Allerton
Garden.
The
guided
tour takes
you are a
leisurely
stroll
along the
banks of
the Lawa’i
River and
through
unique
garden
rooms
designed
by John
Gregg.
These
enormous
Amazonia
fig trees
have
massive
roots.
Jurassic
Park was
filmed in
this section
of the
garden.
On the sunny side of the Island
of Poipu, you will find the most
extraordinary gardens. Most travelers
go to Spouting Horn Blow hole at the
end of Lawa’i Road, but just across
the street is the less-known National
Botanical Garden, also known as the
Allerton/McBride Garden, which became
open to the public in the 1990s.
Robert Allerton and his partner John
Gregg, an architect, purchased the
Lawa’i Valley in 1938 for $50,000.
Robert inherited millions that he and
John spent gathering tropical trees
and plants from around the globe that
flourished in the nurturing climate of
Kauai. They gathered statuary from
Florence and Rome to decorate the
garden rooms John designed. Graceful
paths meandering through the garden
take you through orchards of fruit
trees, cascading water features, and
towering trees along the banks of the
Lawai’i stream. The docent-led tour
through what must be one of the most
magnificent gardens in the world, was
a highlight of my visit to Kauai. Steven
Spielberg must have agreed because he
rented the park for three months to film
Jurassic Park.
An aside is that Robert and John were
partners in life, and gay marriage was
not an option. The answer? Robert
adopted John making him his heir. John
outlived Robert and when he died, he
bequeathed the Allerton Garden to the
state for all of us to enjoy.
The Keahua Arboretum is home to rainbow eucalyptus trees, so named because their bark is a swirl of colors
lesser-known garden
is the Keahua
Arboretum, where
rainbow-colored
Eucalyptus trees may be found.
The narrow road through the
mountains and lush foliage
over a wooden bridge to get to
the garden provide a taste of
less-traveled old Hawai’i. Trails
lead from the park for the more
adventurous. It is often rainy at
this site, so be prepared with
Just one of
the many
water
elements in
the garden
rooms
designed
by John
Briggs.
Creative
designs
flow from
one level of
the garden
rooms to
the next
with a
magical
effect.
hiking boots and a slicker. The
Arboretum is planted with native
and introduced plants by the
University of Hawaii and used
as an outdoor classroom for
students and visitors. Cool off in
the cold mountain spring water
and enjoy lunch at one of the
numerous picnic sites scattered
throughout the park.
I have listed special gardens,
but all of Kauai is a part of God’s
garden. On a drive through the
mountains, you will see Lili koi
vines blanketing the trees with
a profusion of pink blossoms
hanging down like Christmas
bells. Vivid red blooms of the
O’hia pepper tree brighten the
scene. The perfume of plumeria
wafts on a gentle sea breeze. You
will likely run into an afternoon
shower that keeps the flowers
smiling like the yellow hibiscus
(the state flower) that welcomes
visitors to the blessed shores of
water-rich Kauai.
Shady nooks, fern grottos and water elements line the meandering
paths throughout the Allerton Garden.
21

CODY, WYOMING
Beyond Yellowstone
Everything to Know for Extraordinary Spring and Summer Visits
Story and Photos by Jill Robbins
Rent a UTV with pre-programmed routes for stunning, unspoiled views of Cody Wyoming.
22
The Lamar Valley inside Yellowstone National Park is one of the best places to catch views of abundant wildlife.
Credit: Cody Yellowstone Wyoming.
ellowstone National
Park is a place that
doesn’t need an
introduction and needs
no gimmicks or snazzy
catchphrases to entice
visitors to show up at the
park’s entrance every
year. Yellowstone is
iconic, a household name
worldwide. From the abundance
of wildlife sightings – bison,
moose, and bears, oh my! – to
the majesty of Old Faithful and
other active geysers shooting
water into the air and hot
springs, Yellowstone is the
epitome of natural wonder.
For many, Cody, Wyoming,
population 10,000, is the
gateway to Yellowstone.
Located 53 miles from the
park’s East Entrance, Cody is
both a basecamp to explore
Yellowstone and an exploreworthy
destination on its own.
This charmer of a city is a blend
of Old West history and modern
amenities nestled in the
intersection of three mountain
ranges: Absaroka Mountains to
the West, Bighorn Mountains
to the East, and Owl Creek
Mountains to the South.
From adventure activities that
fuel your adrenaline to walletfriendly
activities everyone
can enjoy, Cody should be a
don’t-miss part of any trip to
Yellowstone.
YELLOWSTONE
NATIONAL PARK IN THE
SPRING AND SUMMER
Cody is about 55 miles and a
gorgeous, scenic drive from the
East Entrance of Yellowstone.
Closed during winter, the East
Entrance typically opens to
visitors in mid-May, although
this is dependent on weather
and road conditions. Although
things start to get going in May
and early June, July and August
are the most popular months to
visit the park.
DAY TRIP
FROM CODY TO
YELLOWSTONE
Cody has plenty of lodging,
eateries, and things to do for
visitors who want to explore
the park but don’t plan to
camp there. Driving to and
from Yellowstone, plus driving
through the park, makes
for a sunrise-to-sundown
excursion, but the drive is a
scenic adventure of its own. An
early start and no fixed plans
for dinner make for a perfect
pairing and a long, fulfilling day.
Don’t-miss Yellowstone sights
include Old Faithful, hiking
1.5 miles to see the vivid
colors of the Grand Prismatic
Spring from above, and wildlife
watching in the Lamar Valley,
often called “America’s
Serengeti.” Day visitors can
pack a lot of sites in, but the
key is not lingering in any one
place.
Any day trip to the park merely
scratches the surface and will
open the floodgates of yearning
to plan subsequent trips. That’s
not a bad thing, and even if you’ve
only earmarked a day to see the
sights in the park, it is still very
much worth doing.
SCENIC DRIVE
EDUCATION
Take the scenic drive up a notch
by listening to the Chief Joseph
Scenic Byway segment on the
TravelStory app. This free onehour
episode was developed
in partnership with Cody
Yellowstone and will add some
historical context to the car ride
and is an educational alternative
to road trip games. No cell or
internet service is required, which
is a bonus. Cell service is good in
Cody, but reception is spotty once
you’re a few miles out.
23

OUTDOOR THRILLS
IN CODY
Wyoming’s rugged outdoor
beauty is the perfect landing
spot for adventure travelers.
RAFT THE
SHOSHONE RIVER
24
Wyoming River Trips has a private put-in area on the Shoshone River, just a five-minute drive from downtown Cody.
Credit: Cody Yellowstone Wyoming.
Our off-road journey took place on a very muddy day!
Guests
can rent
a side-byside
Polaris
UTV in
downtown
Cody and
explore the
surrounding
area.
Credit: Cody
Yellowstone
Wyoming.
The stretch of the Shoshone
River that runs through Cody
is very close to downtown and
civilization. However, being
out on the water – typically
Category I through III+ rapids
in spring and summer – gives
a feeling of remoteness.
Wyoming River Trips has a
private put-in spot a short, fiveminute
drive from downtown
Cody, which makes their halfday
guided rafting trips easy to
schedule.
EXPLORE CODY BY UTV
Exploring the 25,000 acres
of public lands surrounding
Cody in a Polaris Side-by-
Side UTV can be wild or mild
– driver’s choice! Renting a
UTV from Tread ‘N Trails is
easy – all that’s needed is a
valid driver’s license. All the
safety equipment training and
pre-programmed routes are
included.
SADDLE UP AND RIDE
THE TRAIL
Explore the wild near Cody
and Yellowstone on horseback.
Several offer guided rides
with mountain views, river
crossings, and of course, the
ever-present opportunity for
wildlife encounters.
There are many places near Cody where visitors can go on a guided trail ride.
Credit: Cody Yellowstone Wyoming.
Downtown Cody’s Sheridan Avenue has plenty of places to eat, drink, shop, and enjoy
the Old West vibes. Fun fact: Bill Cody designed the city’s extra-wide streets to allow
horses and carriages to turn easily. Credit: Cody Yellowstone Wyoming.
25

FAMILY FUN AND
THINGS ANYONE CAN DO
UNEXPECTEDLY HIP
CRAFT BEER SCENE
If you’ve got a multigenerational group
that includes older adults and children
or want an even mix of high-octane and
more sedate activities, these choices are
fun and offer a great dose of Western
charm.
BUFFALO BILL CENTER
OF THE WEST
If you have Old West visions of
bellying up to the bar and wetting
your whistle with a shot of whiskey,
you can certainly live out your dream
in Cody, but Sheridan Avenue,
which is dotted with shops selling
cowboy hats, boots, as well as art
and gifts with a Western Flair, is also
a solid starting spot to explore some
creative craft beers.
A flight of craft beers with whimsical and comical names.
This larger-than-life image of Bill Cody graces the entrance
of the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, which houses five
museums that tell the story of Cody.
This museum complex details the life and
history of Bill Cody, the city’s founder
and namesake, and other Old West icons
like Annie Oakley. Included are exhibits
dedicated to Western art, firearms, and
the Plains Indians. Standard admission is
valid for two consecutive days, so guests
can spread out their visit and combine it
with outdoor time.
For a next-level Old West experience,
book the Two Mules Chuckwagon Dinner
on the grounds of the Buffalo Bill Center
of the West from June through August.
These dinners are intimate and book fast,
so make reservations well in advance.
This one is worth planning your day
around.
From cream ales to crisp lagers to
IPAs with that delightful little bite of
hoppiness, this small town is very
beer-forward. Places to try:
• Cody Brewing Company
• WYOld West Taproom
• Pat’s Brew House
• Millstone Pizza Co. & Brewery
Cody Yellowstone also offers the
Cody Sippin’ Trail Drink Pass as a
fun, interactive way to explore local
food and beverage options and earn
points toward prizes.
The musical entertainment and dinner at Cody Cattle Company is
timed so visitors can enjoy dinner and a show before heading to the
Cody Night Rodeo. Credit: Cody Yellowstone Wyoming.
26
Summertime in Cody means nightly rodeos, weather permitting.
Credit: Cody Yellowstone Wyoming.
CODY NITE RODEO
No visit to Cody is complete without
seeing live barrel racing and bull riding.
The Cody Nite Rodeo happens nightly
from June through August and includes
barrel racing, bull riding, and team
roping. A fun, pre-rodeo tradition for
many visitors to Cody is the 5:30 dinner
at the Cody Cattle Company. Traditional
cowboy vittles – brisket, baked beans,
cornbread, and more – are served buffet
style while guests enjoy lively musical
entertainment. Cody Cattle Company
is within walking distance of the rodeo
grounds, and the show ends in time for
guests to move from one venue to the
next.
PLAN AHEAD FOR SPRING AND SUMMER VISITS
Cody might be a small city, but the number of people in town soars during summer,
with up to 400,000 visitors annually. Visiting during shoulder season is less crowded
but may offer fewer options. Popular visitor activities such as chuckwagon dinners
and guided outdoor adventures are only offered during summer. Yellowstone’s East
Entrance opens based on the weather, so late spring arrivals might mean road closures
due to snow.
A successful trip to Cody balances discovering the fun things to do in town and
exploring the beauty of Yellowstone National Park. A weeklong trip is enough time
to hit all the abovementioned activities, plus spending at least one full day inside
Yellowstone National Park.
27

Story by Julie Hatfield
Photos by Tim Leland
and Julie Hatfield
The gorgeous road from St. Kitts to the Nevis ferry is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the left and the Caribbean Sea on the right.
You can’t jet to Nevis, but you can swim there —
if you first fly to St. Kitts, Nevis’ sister island.
ur first stop was the Mount
Nevis Hotel, in a wide-open
17-acre spread of 32 villas
with stunning views of the
Caribbean Sea and St. Kitts
in the near distance. Eating
dinner there on an outdoor deck,
overlooking those views at sunset
as the moon rose in the night sky was one
of the highlights of the trip — as were our
dreamy swims alone in the pool of our
next accommodation, Golden Rock Inn, a
tropical garden high up on a hillside with
private cottages in a setting that makes
you feel you’ve fallen into “The Jungle
Book.” The pool was surrounded by tall
Norfolk pines and flowering bromeliad.
Every experience we had that week in
Nevis was a planet apart from our city life
at home, beginning the first night, lying in
bed in the dark after turning out the lights
and listening to the distant braying of wild
donkeys, the chatter of vervet monkeys in
the trees outside our window, the delicate
singing of the tree frogs in the jungle
around us.
Nevis is a 36-square-mile island — “50
square miles before erosion,” according
to one Nevisian, — that is part of the
Leeward Islands chain in the West Indies.
No building on Nevis is taller than a
coconut tree, and no drive from one place
to another on Nevis takes longer than 30
minutes. It is the smallest country in the
Americas, both in area and population.
It doesn’t have any fast food restaurants
on it, or a single traffic light, either. (“The
wild donkeys wandering the roads are our
traffic lights,” says John Ford Parris, our
genial taxi driver).
The view of St. Kitts from the patio of Mount Nevis Hotel.
At Drift Restaurant you can dine practically on top of the water.
28
Most people take the 20-minute ferry from
St. Kitts to Nevis, its tiny West Indies
island neighbor, after jetting to Kitts on
a commercial flight. But once a year,
hundreds of swimmers jump into the
Caribbean Sea in the annual Cross Channel
Swim and cover the 2-1/2-mile- trip through
“The Narrows” on their own steam. They
leave their luggage behind, of course.
We came to Nevis on the advice of a friend who
had traveled here to play golf at the luxurious
Four Seasons Resort and fell so in love with the
island that he considered buying a home there
immediately. We certainly wanted to play a round
of golf at the plushy Four Seasons, but we also
wanted to explore accommodations that provided
more Nevis flavor than that of a huge, globally
owned and managed property.
Parris contends that most of the 12,000
residents of Nevis are interrelated in one
way or another, and we saw evidence of
that as he drove us around the island,
waving hello to everybody along the way.
It’s an incredibly friendly island — and
statistically one of the safest places in
the world. Parris added that on a first visit
to Nevis, you may be a stranger, but ever
afterward, “you are considered family.”
Wild donkeys roam the Nevis land.
29

ver since the success of
the Broadway production of
“Hamilton,” the first thing tourists
want to do on Nevis — after hitting
the beaches — is visit the home
of the island’s famous native son,
Alexander Hamilton. It’s hard to
believe that the first U. S. Secretary of the
Treasury and Gen. Washington’s aide-de-camp
during the Revolutionary War was born on this
faraway speck of an island . . . but he was. The
head of the local Hamilton museum, 24-yearold
Eli Ramirez Dorsett, notes a huge uptick in
tourist visits since the success of the play.
Dorsett is a knowledgeable Hamilton
scholar who is happy to give museum
visitors a short-form lecture on all
the known facts about Hamilton: That
he was considered a bastard by the
citizenry because his parents conceived
him out of wedlock; that he attended
a local Jewish school because he was
refused entry into Christian schools;
that he was orphaned as a pre-teen; that
he was befriended by a Catholic priest
who sent him to the United States for
college.
Hamilton’s life story would make a great play.
Maybe even a musical.
30
The Alexander Hamilton Museum in Nevis gets more attention since the Broadway play of the same name appeared in New York.
Ancient ficus tree at the entrance of
Montpelier Inn and Beach.
Hole 2 at the Four Seasons Golf Course Nevis
runs by an ancient sugar plantation structure.
evis is dotted with the ancient ruins
of sugar plantations that mark that
sad period of slave labor in its Colonial
history. Today, some of the ruins have
been put to use: The bar and several
of the cottages at the luxurious Golden
Rock Inn are plantation buildings, or
parts of them, that have been restored.
The second hole of the Four Seasons golf
course runs by an enormous plantation
ruin with bougainvillea bushes growing
nearby. Diners at the popular Montpelier
Plantation can request a private candlelit
meal inside a former processing mill.
Huge copper pots originally used to cook
sugar in colonial days now grace the
fountain of the beautiful Nevis Botanical
Gardens, an 8 1/2 acre oasis of tropical
plants, flowers, fruit gardens, lily ponds,
parrot houses, and orchid terraces.
32

32
The yellow blossom is part of the enormous botanical
garden that surrounds Golden Rock Inn.
The beautiful pavilion at Golden Rock Inn Nevis is the place
for private lunches and dinners.
evis is itself a huge tropical
garden, with flowers growing
along every road. The volcanic soil
from its geologic origins produces
an amazing farrago of agricultural
riches, including 50 varieties of
mango fruit. Golden Rock Inn has
developed 40 of its 100 acres into a
lush collection of 65 species of palm
trees, ylang-ylang, bougainvillea,
trumpet flowers, gardenias, gigantic
philodendrons, bromeliads, and a
whole group of plants with health
benefits to humans, such as the
“Nonie” from Nigeria, which helps
those with diabetes, the “hangover”
tree, and other plants which aid
with digestion. The garden architect
from South Florida who designed
the collection is named, poetically,
Raymond Jungle.
Visitors who are inclined to hike
are tempted by the 3,232-foot Nevis
Peak, which dominates the scenery
of the island. Unless you’re an
experienced hiker, however, you
should probably stick to the areas
below the peak. Ivo Richly, general
manager of Golden Rock Inn,
climbed it when he first arrived and
said it took 12 ladders, and a lot of
rope, among other things, to get to
the top. There are plenty of other,
slightly easier hikes to take on Nevis
if you don’t want to deal with ladders
and ropes.
The last time Nevis Peak erupted
was 1,600 years ago, but active
fumaroles and hot springs are
signs of the thermal heat beneath
the surface, and the springs are a
delight to locals and visitors alike.
Wearing their bathing suits, they
bring picnics to the healing pools
in downtown Charlestown that are
said to assuage any pain and relax
any stress at any hour of the day or
night. It’s free to everyone.
etting around Nevis is easy
(not including swimming).
You can rent a bicycle and
explore Nevis on two wheels
with or without a guide, or you
can take a “Funky Monkey”
ATV tour and explore that
way. All beaches on the island
are open to the public, but when
Princess Diana came here with young
Princes William and Harry, she purposely
stayed at Montpelier Plantation because
she knew that the beach near that
property was so hidden by its tropical
growth that no paparazzi could find
it. You can ride horses on the beach,
incidentally.
Nevis may not have any fast food
restaurants, but it has a surprising
number of exceptional gourmet
restaurants: There’s “Luna,” with its roof
open to the night sky and a talented chef
from Calcutta. The quirky “Bananas”
restaurant sits at the top of a hill on an
impossibly winding road; it’s owned by a
British ex-pat who has taught her cadre of
local chefs to cook Creole/Mediterranean/
Moroccan specialties, served in a setting
that diners liken to “eating in a tree
house.” Mount Nevis Hotel brought Chef
Liam Haddow, a specialist in patisserie
from Great Britain, who presents arriving
guests with chocolate welcome pastries
and provides his own luscious fromscratch
red wine sauces for rack of lamb.
The settings of these and other
restaurants are spectacular, from the
candlelit gazebo dinners at Golden
Rock overlooking the koi pond to Drift’s
whitewashed bead-board cottage hanging
over the sea to private dinners inside
the 300-year-old sugar mill at Montpelier
Plantation Resort. If artist Vicki Fuller’s
dramatic paintings of Nevis fauna have
not all been sold out again from the walls
of Drift, as they were when we visited,
you can take home a stunning memory of
the island to hang on your wall.
Scrumptious dessert at Mount Nevis Hotel.
A typical breakfast at Golden Rock Inn is always special.
The chefs all make use of Nevis’ rich bounty, which
includes the many kinds of mango grown here;
the goats for their favorite stew (which they call,
unappealingly, “goat water”); coconut, pumpkin,
pea shoots; fish (often delivered to the restaurant in
person by the men who caught them the same day)
— and, of course, the local standby, rum.
My husband and I can’t wait to return to this pretty
little floral oasis in the middle of the Caribbean Sea.
We’ll no longer be strangers then. We’ll be Nevis's
“family” for the rest of time.
33

e arrived in
Madrid for
the first time
on a Maundy
Thursday-- the
Thursday before
Easter commemorates
Christ’s Last Supper and is
one of the Catholic Church’s
holiest days. Though it was
after 9 pm, we were confident
we’d find plenty of dinner
options in a city known for
dining late. Instead, we found
one restaurant after another
closed. Finally, at the Bar Santa
Clara, the proprietor explained
most places were closed not
due to the hour, but to the day,
pointing out it was Holy Week
and that in Madrid, people take
Easter very seriously. He told
us we could have “anything on
toast” but that was all they were
serving that evening. We ordered
everything available--cheese,
tomatoes, anchovies, and ham—
all on toast.
We returned to our apartment
behind the Prado Museum close
to midnight and were getting
ready for bed when our son
excitedly announced, “I hear
a parade!” We followed the
pounding of drums and the
heady scent of incense down the
street towards San Jeronimo—
the church favored by Spain’s
Royal Family. Sure enough, a
candlelit procession appeared
out of the dark. First, we saw
columns of marchers in various
colored robes, faces covered,
wearing tall, pointed hats. It
was unsettling. Next, seemingly
swaying to the music and
moving ever so slowly, came an
enormous float we learned was
called a 'Paso', featuring a lifesized
Christ figure. Beneath it,
we could see the strained faces of
the men who somberly carried it
on their shoulders. We watched
until the entire procession
passed into the church.
We didn’t understand the scale
of Holy Week celebrations in
Spain, or their importance, until
the next evening when we found
ourselves caught up in enormous
crowds between four different
processions around the Plaza
Mayor, as we tried unsuccessfully
to get to dinner on time. This, we
began to understand, was how
they celebrate Semana Santa. We
joined in the celebrations.
In this Easter Sunday procession in Salamanca, only women and girls carry the paso with the statue of the Virgin Mary.
The Holy Mother's paso is sometimes called a trono or throne.
Semana Santa
Celebrating Holy Week in Spain
Story and Photos by Jeanne Neylon Decker
34
Throughout Spain, the week leading up to Easter
Sunday, known as Semana Santa or Holy Week,
is observed in ways both joyous and solemn.
Each afternoon and evening from Palm Sunday
through Easter Sunday, thousands of Spaniards
and visitors gather in city streets and town
squares to celebrate a Catholic tradition that
dates back at least to the 15th century—to the
reign of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand. The
Catholic monarchs, as they are called, told the
story of Christ’s resurrection to a largely illiterate
population in a way that has endured for centuries
-- through processions. Here’s our experience:
Good Friday is one of the most important days in Holy Week and the pasos and processions are fittingly elaborate.
It was well after midnight when this Good Friday procession returned to Toledo's Cathedral.
35

Be prepared for enormous crowds during Semana Santa. The Plaza Mayor in Salamanca, one of the most
beautiful in Spain, filled in minutes before the procession began. Streets and sometimes whole areas of a city or
town may be closed to traffic during Holy Week and even passing on foot can be difficult or impossible.
ast forward a few years and
we are in Sevilla. Preparations
are well underway for Semana
Santa, though the festivities
won’t begin for another week.
Colorful banners are hung from
balconies lining the procession routes
that crisscross the city. Barricades are
erected, and chairs and bleachers are set up
in key locations for those privileged few with
tickets. The rest of us will crowd the streets
and sidewalks waiting and watching for the
story of the Passion of the Christ to unfold as
it has for 500 years or more.
Meanwhile, 'cofradias' (also called
'hermandades'), or brotherhoods, are busy
in parishes everywhere, painstakingly
assembling the lavish pasos. These floats
are beautiful works of art featuring biblical
scenes that tell the story of Christ’s Passion,
Death, and Resurrection from the New
Testament. They hold life-sized statues, often
handcrafted from wood, and can include
precious metals. They are laden with candles,
fresh flowers, and icons. The most beautiful
of these hold a single statue—the Madonna
or Senora Dolarosa, the grieving mother
of Christ. She is enrobed in an elaborate
cape, often hand-embroidered with gold and
silver thread, wearing gleaming jewels and
surrounded by candles and flowers.
Sevilla is known for its elaborate Semana Santa celebrations. Chairs,
banners and barricades went up at least a week before the festivities
began. It was exciting to see all the preparations underway!
Jamie is a member of the cofradia at the Church of the Magdalena
and one of the 35 to 45 men, called costaleros, who will carry this
elaborate paso through the streets of Sevilla during Holy Week.
Once fully decorated with candles and flowers, some pasos can
weigh 5,000 pounds or more.
Semana Santa, or Holy Week, begins with Palm Sunday and is observed in cities and towns throughout Spain-- a largely Catholic
country. Palm fronds are intricately woven and carried in processions that Sunday. The palms symbolize and memorialize Christ's
arrival in Jerusalem where the faithful greeted him, tossing fronds in his path.
36
The Risen
Christ greets
onlookers from
this paso at an
Easter Sunday
procession near
the Salamanca
Cathedral.
Important
processions
like this one on
Easter Sunday
in Salamanca,
involve hundreds
of participants, like
this huge marching
band who took
a photo break
before resuming
their musical
performance.
The Senora Dolorosa represents Christ's
grieving mother, the Virgin Mary. Typically, these
beautiful sculptures are surrounded with flowers
and candles, and are often bedecked in jewels
and exquisite garments. They usually follow the
other pasos in Holy Week processions.
Every detail on the pasos must be perfect. At the Iglesia Colegial
del Divino Salvador in Sevilla, members of the cofradia work
together to ready their pasos for Holy Week.
37

Processions on each day of Holy Week correspond to
the story of Christ's Passion, Death and Resurrection
with different pasos depicting specific biblical scenes
from the New Testament. In Ronda, one of Andalusia’s
famous “white towns,” Jesus is shown arriving in
Jerusalem on his donkey on Palm Sunday.
Pasos, like this one at the Monastery of San Juan de los
Reyes in Toledo, are on display in churches during Holy
Week. Visiting different parishes gives you the chance
to admire the careful craftmanship that goes into these
spectacular floats and see pasos from processions you
may not have the chance to attend.
Young, old, believers or not--everyone crowds onto Spanish streets, like this one in Granada, to
watch the traditional processions that mark Semana Santa.
hile the pasos are
being readied, you
can visit them in
their parishes. We
spent days wandering
from church to church in
several cities to see these magnificent
pasos up close, admiring the detail
and careful handiwork of the
cofradias. We had the chance to
chat with one gentleman, Jamie,
who is not only a member of the
brotherhood at the Iglesia de Santa
Maria Magdalene in Sevilla, but also
one of the bearers called 'costaleros',
who carry the massive pasos for up
to six hours through Sevilla’s cobbled
streets. Some, he told us, can weigh
5,000 pounds and take between 35
to 45 men to carry. Only women
carry the Paso of the Holy Mother in
some parishes, as we saw in several
processions in Salamanca last Easter.
Shortly before a procession begins,
the sidewalks and streets swell
with families who seem to appear
from nowhere, and a carnival-like
atmosphere prevails. There are street
vendors selling sweets and snacks,
drinks, balloons, tiny penitent
figures, and other souvenirs. Soon,
the incense smoke thickens, music
starts, and the excitement in the
air is palpable. Fathers hoist their
young children onto their shoulders,
and everyone crowds closer and
often right into the street where the
procession will pass. Some have only
drummers; most have full marching
bands, and sometimes there is
singing. Depending on the size and
importance of the brotherhood,
parish, and the day in Holy Week,
there can be numerous pasos in a
single procession.
Embroidered banners announce the
cofradias and a priest with a silver
cross leads children carrying incense
or lanterns. Nazarenos, in their
Originally, only men could participate in Semana Santa processions as
Nazarenos or penitents. The role of the Mujeres de la Mantilla, or mourners,
made it possible for women to be a part of Holy Week observances in a public
way. They carry candles and rosary beads and always wear all black-- from
their lacey mantillas to their often surprisingly high-heeled shoes.
colored robes, faces covered by capuz
or hoods, and hats called capirotes,
pointing high to the heavens, follow.
These are the penitents. There are
also Mujeres de la Mantilla, ladies
dressed all in black from their
lacey veils to their shoes, silently
processing, carrying candles and
rosary beads. Everywhere in Spain,
men, women, and children march
slowly through the streets during
Semana Santa’s processions, each
with a role to play in this ancient
ritual.
It is magical and emotional to be a
part of this. Many people cry silently
with tears streaming down their
faces, some sob violently, and others
cheer and clap or watch quietly as
the exquisite pasos go by, but you
will not see a blank expression. These
processions touch people at the most
visceral level. Finally, the pasos will
re-enter the church they left hours
before, and the streets empty almost
as quickly as they filled.
Every city we visited during this
sacred time of year had procession
routes and schedules available
online and/or in print. Look for the
booklets in cafes, shops,
and bars. This is valuable
information for visitors
to either find or avoid the
processions. Be aware of
street closures. Whole areas
of a city may be closed to
traffic, and even passing on
foot is extremely difficult,
especially during the most
important processions—
like Good Friday. Sevilla,
Toledo, Malaga, and other
cities have Semana Santa
apps you can download on
your iPhone.
We have been fortunate to
celebrate Semana Santa and
Easter Sunday in Madrid,
Barcelona, Sevilla, Granada,
Toledo, and Salamanca.
Each city offered a unique
and beautiful experience.
No matter which region
you visit, Semana Santa is
an incredible time to be in
Spain.
Holy Week begins on March
24, and Easter Sunday is
March 31, 2024.
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39

One way Wichita honors
their original citizens is
through the 44-foot,
5-ton sculpture,
“Keeper of the Plains”
In Wichita
in front of
Mark’s Art,
visitors can
enjoy the
fascinating
piece
that you
can walk
through
is “Oh
Give Me A
Home”
ichita’s Mark’s Art is a
vibrant regional arts hub that
offers an unusual piece of
art. Artist Patrick Dougherty
created stick artwork and in
front of Mark’s Art, visitors can
enjoy the fascinating piece that you can
walk through “Oh Give Me A Home”.
The mural titled “Lenaswa Waayaahtanoki” means, Bison of the Whirlpool from
the place of the Wea shares Native American history in Crawford County.
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The Kansas Art Trail
rt is a wonderful way to
share the history and
culture of a town and add
beauty at the same time.
Public art brings visitors to
towns and cities for the art
itself, as well as those
following certain trails, (chocolate
trails, donut trails, sculpture trails).
Several Kansas towns offer fun art
through their murals, sculptures,
and even stationary items that bring
attention to the town’s story.
Story and Photos by Cindy Ladage
Wichita is a lovely city located at the
confluence of the Arkansas and Little
Arkansas Rivers. By 1895 Wichita was
the 3rd largest city in Kansas. Native
nomadic people were in the area up
to 11,000 years ago! The history of
Western visitors goes back to as early
as 1541 when Francisco Vaquez de
Coronado was searching for his cities
of gold. He met the Wichita Indians,
that later moved to Oklahoma until
they returned during the Civil War.
One way Wichita honors their original
citizens is through the 44-foot, 5-ton
sculpture, “Keeper of the Plains”.
Created by Blackbear Bosin, a Kiowa-
Commanche artist, Keeper of the
Plains is an awe-inspiring sculpture.
Located in the Keeper Plaza, the
sculpture incorporates the history of
the Native Americans and embodies
a "sacred hoop" and the four elements
that make up life (earth, air, fire, and
water).
Crawford County Kansas was once home to
the Osage and Cherokee tribes. They lived
in an area referred to as “Neutral Territory”
where the land was supposed to be set
aside. However, as often happens settlers
moved in and took over.
One beautiful mural represents the native
American population in the town of
Pittsburg a city within Crawford County.
The mural is in the west alley behind the
shops owned by a brother and sister. The
shops are Books & Burro and Miners
and Monroe. The mural titled “Lenaswa
Waayaahtanoki” means, Bison of the
Whirlpool from the place of the Wea.
In Crawford County’s town of Pittsburg,
the mascot for Pittsburg University is a
gorilla. This copyrighted mascot can be
found in gorilla statues and visages all
over town. Perhaps the most stunning
example is at Gorilla Village: Champion’s
Plaza where artist Tim Corbin created a
2,000 lb. hand-crafted bronze sculpture that
was unveiled in 2004. The sculpture sits
opposite the stadium where a HUGE split
faced gorilla painting is on display.
At Gorilla Village: Champion’s Plaza artist Tim Corbin created a 2,000 lb. hand
crafted bronze sculpture that was unveiled in 2004. The sculpture sits opposite
the stadium where a HUGE split faced gorilla painting is on display.
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42
In front of the Ameilia Earhart Hanger Museum which opened
in 2023, is a bronze statue of Amelia Earhart.
One of the most amazing murals in Salina is the
Mural at the Mill by Guido van Helten.
One of the most unusual
sculptures on the trail was
Engine Failure.
This stone sculpture on
the Sacred Heart Cathedral
Catholic Church is located on
the south front door.
tchison, Kansas is known for the
famous aviatrix, Amelia Earhart. The
first woman to make a solo flight
across the Atlantic, she also set the
women’s altitude record and the
women’s speed record. Amelia
made the first solo round trip of the United
States, then, on July 2, 1937, she and
navigator, Fred Noonan, during her around
the world flight, disappeared over the Pacific
Ocean. In Atchison besides the birthplace
home and museum, there is the Amelia
Earhart Hangar Museum. In front of the
museum which opened in 2023, is a bronze
statue of Amelia Earhart. This is the twin
statue to one housed at the National Statuary
Hall at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.
Downtown Salina has beautiful art, with a
self-guided Mural trail of 30 murals. One of
the most amazing is the Mural at the Mill by
Guido van Helten. There are cool working
man murals like Chris Stain’s the Lineman,
and his Pastures of Plenty referencing Salina’s
agricultural past.
Besides the mural trail, there is a sculpture
tour and a walking tour downtown. The trail
changes each spring as artists from across the
country submit work to be considered. One
of the more unusual sculptures this year was
Engine Failure.
Across the street from the amazing Smokey
Hill Museum is the Sacred Heart Cathedral
Catholic Church with amazing classical
Greek architecture mixing with the functional
forms of the Kansas Grain elevator and silo.
This church is a combination of classical and
modern eclectic art. The art story combines
both faith and the local rural lifestyle.
On their website in an article about the
architecture they share, “Therefore, here in
rural Kansas the Holy Bread of the Eucharist
and the spiritual bread of God’s holy word is
fittingly shared in a Cathedral that belongs to
the contemporary Kansas landscape.” At the
Cathedrals south front door is a large carved
crucifix of Jesus on the cross. Composed of
Silverdale limestone, the sculpture is near an
engaging processional group.
stop in Manhattan, Kansas at
the Flint Hills Discovery Center
shares the story of the tall grass
prairie. The grass brought
the cattle and cowboys. Like
the cattle drives that arrived after
the Civil War, so did the Buffalo Soldiers
of the 9th and 10th Cavalry regiments of
Black Americans. In Junction City, there
is a nine-foot-tall bronze sculpture of a
Buffalo Soldier. The memorial is located
near a government housing area that was
built in the 1940s for these soldiers and
their families.
Cattle drives made the town of Abilene
famous. They began in 1867 when the
Kansas Pacific Railroad was built. With the
cattle drives, Abilene’s population surged
to around 3,000 residents and eleven
saloons! For three years the drives took
place along the Chisolm Trail, bringing a
whopping 1.5 million plus head of cattle to
town. While this might have been a great
economic boom, it wasn’t long before
Abilene was known as the wildest place in
the West! Various law enforcement efforts
were made to rein the wild cowboys in
until eventually, Wild Bill Hickok came
to town. Today, there is a cowboy trail
offering fun art that shares this unique
history like the mural of Wild Bill! Along
with the murals, there is also a cowboy
boot trail and the World’s Largest Belt
Buckle!
Besides its cowboy past, Abilene is also
the home of the Dwight D. Eisenhower
Presidential Library, Museum, and
Boyhood Home. The museum shares
Ike’s life. He was a President who served
during wartime as a General, then moved
us through the Cold War. Along with the
museum, there are statues and murals all
over town to enjoy the “Ike” trail.
All through stops in Kansas visitors can
enjoy art that shares history, culture and
adds beauty to their communities. Make
your own plans to enjoy the beautiful state
of Kansas and learn about public art along
the way.
This memorial is in the small town of Junction City honoring
the black regiments that came after the Civil War.
Buffalo Bil is part of the cattle
drive and cowboy story in Abilene
which was called the “Wildest
town in the west.”
Along with the murals, there is
also a cowboy boot trail and the
World’s Largest Belt Buckle!
Along with the museum, there are statues and murals
all over town to enjoy the “Ike” trail.
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44
Toast Ingredients
Farm to Table:
Fresh Food Ideas
This Spring
Story and Photos by
Nisani Walser
pringtime is near with
the weather getting
warmer and crops
beginning to grow.
What produce comes to
mind during this season?
Rhubarb, spinach, asparagus,
garlic, and leeks are a few to name.
Bountiful produce in Spring is often
referenced with the phrase “farmto-table”;
a lifestyle consisting of
producing and eating food from local
and seasonal sources. While accessible
to some, this lifestyle isn’t accessible to
everybody due to income, education,
and food deserts across various
communities. If certain produce isn’t
available to you locally, I encourage
taking adventure to different
neighborhoods. This article will give
suggestions on how you can make
the most of this season’s produce no
matter where you live. I’ve outlined a
day of farm-to-table recipes that are
filling, cost-effective, and seasonal for
you and your loved ones.
ho says you
can’t have
vegetables
for breakfast?
Start your
day off right with
a Spring Spinach Breakfast
Scramble done two ways on toast.
For this recipe, you’ll need a mound
of spinach, one tomato, a white
onion, cucumber, avocado, two eggs,
spreadable cheese, and bread of your
choice. For the toast, lightly oil a
pan and place the bread on low heat
until toasted how you like. In the
meantime, wash your spinach and let
it rest. For The Garden Toast, thinly
cut a few slices of cucumber and dice
your onion and tomato. Place your
finished toast on a plate, add more oil
to the pan, a teaspoon of garlic, and a
handful of spinach, then lightly sauté
for a few minutes until the spinach is
wilted. Add two spreadable cheeses
into a bowl and season with onion
powder, pepper, and your garlicspinach
mixture and mix. Spread the
cheese mixture on sourdough bread
followed by a thin layer of cucumber.
Next, add your onion-tomato mixture
and garnish as you’d like.
For the Avocado Spinach Scramble,
put butter over low heat, cut open
your avocado, score one half, and
scoop into a bowl. Season the avocado
with salt, pepper, and garlic powder to
taste, mash thoroughly then set aside.
In a separate bowl, beat two eggs with
salt, pepper, the same onion-tomato
mixture used on the last toast, and
another handful of spinach. Once
the pan is hot, add your egg mixture
and scramble until fluffy. Assemble
by adding the mashed avocado first,
followed by the scrambled eggs on top.
As swift as this breakfast is to make,
it will just as surely have you hitting
the ground running for the morning!
Which one would you select?
The Garden Toast
Toast Meal Prep
The Avocado Spinach Scramble
45

Chicken Strawberry Salad Ingredients
Lunch: The Chicken Strawberry Salad
hese Mini Pineapple
Upside-Down Cakes from BBC’s
Good Food are heaven on earth if
you want to have your fruit and eat it too.
Enjoy the decadent blend of tropical pineapple
and sweet brown sugar that not only takes
advantage of pineapple season but leaves it all up to
you for an unforgettable dessert experience for one.
Upside Down Cake Top
or lunch, this
Chicken
Strawberry
Salad is a bite that’s
savory and refreshing.
This is an easy salad to make
with minimal prep work and can be
customized to your liking depending
on what’s growing and on sale near you.
You’ll need chicken patties, a box of
strawberries, a mound of romaine
lettuce, and lastly a dressing and
topping of your choice. First, place
your chicken patties on a baking
dish and put them in the oven at the
temperature of the brand you’re using.
As the chicken warms, wash all your
produce to prepare it for chopping.
Transfer your lettuce to a cutting
board, roughly chop it, then
transfer to a salad bowl. Do the
same with the strawberries, cutting
them into quarter inch thick slices.
Take the chicken out of the oven
when crispy and repeat. Drizzle
with dressing and extra toppings as
you’d like. Enjoy!
You’ll need 50g butter and soft brown sugar, 6 pineapple rings,
and cherries for the cake topping. For the sponge cake, you’ll
need 140g of softened butter, caster sugar, self-rising flour, 2
large eggs, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, 6 tablespoons of milk
and pineapple flavoring (optional). First, preheat your oven
to 350F and lightly butter six ramekins. Heat 50g butter and
brown sugar in a pan over low heat until slightly thickened.
Divide the mixture evenly between ramekins and place a
pineapple and cherry in the middle of each. Next, add 140g of
butter and caster sugar into a bowl and mix with an electric
whisk until light and fluffy. Slowly mix the eggs in and after,
fold in the dry ingredients. Lastly, incorporate milk and any
last-minute additions you’d like. I added pineapple juice and
a dash of pineapple extract until the mixture was smooth and
slightly runny. The cakes came out very tender, moist, and
were light and springy to the touch – a perfect addition to the
spring season!
Cake Ingredients
Dessert: Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Upside Down Cake Base
his Mediterranean Chicken Dinner
is a simple dish filled with spring staples
packed with flavor, giving you all the
more reason to celebrate the seasonal turnaround!
You’ll need a mound of asparagus, a pack of chicken
breast, and a few cups of brown rice. For the rice, start
by boiling a pot of water or chicken stock on low heat
according to the directions on your rice package. Once boiling, add
butter, Italian seasoning, minced garlic, and salt to taste followed by
the rice. Cover the pot, lower the flame to a simmer, and let cook
until done according to directions. While the rice is cooking, clean
your asparagus and boil a pot of water on low heat. Once the water
boils, add asparagus, boil for three minutes, then blanch. Drain the
asparagus and in the same pot season it with Italian seasoning, salt,
pepper, and garlic. Sauté onions and garlic in a separate oven-proof
pan with butter and add asparagus aligned side by side. For the
breaded topping, in a separate bowl mix 6 tablespoons of melted
butter, 2 cups of breadcrumbs, and more Italian seasoning to taste
and sprinkle evenly on top of the asparagus. In another pan, on low
heat, season the chicken breast with paprika, Italian seasonings, salt
and pepper, and sauté in garlic, onions, and olive oil to taste. Once
brown on each side, simmer for ten minutes. Once the chicken and
the asparagus are browned and the rice is tender, plate up and enjoy!
Mediterranean Chicken Dinner
he day outlined above is just the start of
the variety of produce you have at your
disposal. Produce is not only on sale at
supermarkets but can also be bought at farmer’s
markets. Meal prep services are also available to
give everyone access to fresh local food. Founder
Andrew O’Rourke and Chef Fox Schanzer are partners
in Rooted Enterprises, an emerging venture of market-to-meal
kits that launched in November 2023. Based in the Down to Earth
Farmers market in Park Slope, Andrew and Fox’s mission is to use
their kits to improve access to local and organic food throughout
New York City..
When farmers have an excess yield, Rooted Enterprises takes it off
of their hands to support farmers and feed people. Fox and Andrew
always try to pick ingredients that are “interesting, people [can
learn] what to do with and lend to a nutritionally balanced meal”.
Most importantly, the kits are designed so that you’re easily able to
use all parts of the produce given for a specific dish including this
Potato Leek Soup, shown below. Look out for weekly additions
and more crowd favorites on their social media page! You can
find Rooted Enterprises at Rooted-Enterprises.com and on
Instagram @rootedenterprises.
Potato Leek Soup
With all these options, it’s no wonder farm-to-table
is making its way across the food world, becoming
recognized as a lifestyle that’s not only better for your
health but also for farmers, fellow locals, and the
environment.
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47

Free
See • Be •
If you’re a lover of arts and
music, this city is for you! Each
year, thousands visit Topeka to
enjoy events like Fiesta Topeka,
For the Culture KS, India Mela
and more. Topeka is a city rich
in history and proud of our
commitment to diversity and
civil rights. In May 2024, we’ll
celebrate the 70th anniversary
of the landmark Brown v. Board
of Education decision with
multiple activations across the
city including art installations
and a spoken word operetta.
VisitTopeka.com
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