A Selection of Frozen Treats

One of these things is not like the other...

Mr. Hunter felt inspired to join the lineup of treats

 at this snack stand near It's a Small World.

Ice cream sandwich, anyone?  Or perhaps you'd prefer a wooden tiki doll...?

Fantasyland

Disneyland

Anaheim, California

December 2006

In honor of John Steinbeck's birthday

with a bust of John Steinbeck

at the intersection of
Prescott Avenue and Cannery Row

Monterey, California

April 2005

A Traveler Meets a Travel Writer

Mr. Hunter couldn't resist the opportunity to pose with Rick Steves.

We learned about one of our favorite places to eat in Paris (Le Petit Cler) by leafing through the Rick Steves Paris guidebook as we rode the #63 bus back into the center of town after visiting the lovely Musée Marmottan.  The bus took us along the Seine, so we hopped off at a stop near Les Invalides and then scooted over to rue Cler, where we found -- as promised -- interesting shops and a yummy lunch.  (Also recommended on rue Cler: the sweets at A la mere de famille.  You could pick out your own caramels to take home in a crinkly bag... deliciousness!)   

And the Travel with Rick Steves episode about Salzburg inspired us to spend a lovely afternoon in Hallstat, Austria, with a satisfactory stop at an alpine slide overlooking Wolfgangsee.  The blue of the Wolfgangsee lake was so clear and beautiful!  

Thanks for the travel tips, Mr. Steves!  

(And by the way, we quite recommend the Rick Steves radio show.)

February 2012

People I Have Asked: Random Scuba Diver

There we were on the shores of Lake Tahoe in snowy February.  And then a group of scuba divers emerged from the water.  Random!  So Mr. Hunter asked if one of the divers would pose with him.

Lake Tahoe

Carnelian Bay, California

February 2008

Queen Flat Mr. Hunter Amidala

Mr. Hunter plays dress up with an elaborate Queen Amidala costume.

October 2009

Shy Mr. H

Who's that trying to stay out of sight behind a rock?

It's Mr. Hunter, acting out a story he heard about Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Paul Auster describing Nathaniel Hawthorne in Auster's introduction

 to Twenty Days with Julian and Little Bunny by Papa: 

"The shyest and most reclusive of men, known for his habit of hiding behind rocks and trees to avoid talking to people he knew, Hawthorne largely kept to himself during his stint in the Berkshires, avoiding the social activities of the local gentry and appearing in town only to collect his mail at the post office and return home.  Solitude was his natural element, and considering the circumstances of his life until his early thirties, it was remarkable that he had married at all."

Hawthorne had always seemed like a more imposing figure when I'd read his work in school.  Then I read Auster's description of how Mr. H-as-in-Hawthorne was apparently mortified to run into people, and I felt such sympathy, such a kinship.

In 2003, Mr. Hunter and his admittedly shy traveling companion stopped on the grounds of Tanglewood to check out the rebuilt Little Red House.  The original Little Red House is where Nathaniel Hawthorne lived from 1850 to 1851 and where he wrote The House of the Seven Gables.  The rebuilt house now contains practice rooms for music students at Tanglewood.

Mr. Hunter peeks out to ask, "Are they gone?!"

Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Little Red House"

Tanglewood

Lenox, Massachusetts

September 2003

Angry Bird, Happy Mr. Hunter

Flat Mr. Hunter was impressed 

when he spotted this gigantic Angry Birds plush in a store.

The big red bird may have been angry, 

but Flat Mr. Hunter kept a smile on his face and a happy gleam in his eyes.

May 2011

Her Majesty

Mr. Hunter takes a seat inside the LEGO crown of a LEGO bust of Queen Elizabeth II.

Legoland

Carlsbad, California

November 2008