5 fascinating things (+more calls for ideas): Friday, April 18th
Abbeys, butterbeer, and (island) cathedrals
It just rained, and now the sun is shining. It’s going to be 70º. I know they say April 25th is the perfect day—not too hot, not too cold, all you need is a light jacket—but April 18th sure is giving it a run for its money.
Before we go sit in some grass, this week I’m (still) wondering about:
Cool underwater experiences at US national park sites (National Geographic)
Historic, grand spots that are public but haven’t been renovated
For those who have already reached out with ideas, thank you! For everyone else, let me know, or just keep reading—here we go:
Thing #1: Calke Abbey—in England’s Derbyshire—is known as the “unstately home.” Basically, the family that lived there let it gather dust, and when it was handed over to the National Trust, they decided to leave it in situ. I think this is fabulous. There’s only one other time I’ve run into something like this, and it was the opera house in Watertown, South Dakota. They wanted to renovate it, but I sure hope they haven’t. If you know other places like this, please let me know!
(Later edit to add: They renovated it. The outside looks stupid. Goddammit.)
Thing #2: Speaking of British people—you can toss off, South Dakota—the second-ever Harry Potter shop has opened in the US, on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile. It has a BUTTERBEER BAR. Who’s coming with me? (It’s unfortunate that on my list of things to do is write a book that lives on for decades and makes me a billion dollars.)
Thing #3: (Still going British today, it appears.) This is St. Michael’s Mount, which is on an island near Cornwall, in England, across the English Channel from the super-well-known Mont St. Michelle, in France. Everyone knows the French version, the cathedral on an island that can only be reached at low tide, but the Brits have one, too.
Thing #4: Why not make an English thing of it—there’s a solstice site that’s 10x bigger than Stonehenge. (And if I had to venture a guess: 10x less crowded.)
Thing #5: If you and I can’t go to English islands and dusty abbeys and butterbeer bars, here’s something we can do (it’s my dream job): Watch pikas. For science. The Oregon Zoo runs a Pika Watch program where regular people like you and me can get trained to spot the squeaky creatures. As the site says, you sit there, scanning boulders for signs of moment. The dream.
Happy Friday, twifckers. Go get outside. Go watch some boulders. Whatever you do, don’t renovate your nice historic buildings into overpriced wedding venues with digital signage.
Just, you know. Looking out for you.
Jacqueline
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I wanna Pika watch!