I had a great time with @RickySheety of Digital Nomads! They have several interviews with digital nomads and travelers, so be sure and check them out on YouTube!
It is World Animal Day, and Extinction is Looming
Today is World Animal Day, and the state of animals on our planet is not good. Only 7,000 cheetahs are left in the wild. There is only ONE male Northern White Rhino left on our planet. He is being guarded with armed guards. along with the two female Northern White Rhinos. The species depends upon his ability to mate with the females. Their horns have been removed so there is no point for poachers to kill them. Scientists say we are entering the sixth mass extinction of earth, but it is not a “natural” extinction event, it is caused by humans. What is really at stake here is the survival of humans on earth.
I do not understand why our species is so cruel to every other species! There is evidence now that the Black Rhino is “officially” extinct in the wild. Humans seem to think we are special, somehow “above” the other life on our planet. If things continue the way they are going, in the next 50 years we will have no reefs, no apex predators in the ocean so very few fish, no rhinos, no sharks, and water rising everywhere. At that point will we wise up? I hope we wise up much sooner than that. Conservation means saving our own species…once we ruin all of the ecosystems that support life on this planet, we won’t last long, either. Today’s photographs are of animals headed toward extinction. Let’s not let it happen. Everyone….listen to Jane Goodall:
“If all of us would go through our lives thinking about the little choices we make each day as to what we buy, what we eat, what we wear – and how those choices might impact the environment, might impact child slave labor in other countries, might impact cruelty towards animals, we start making small changes… Billions of small changes around the world can lead to the kind of change we need if we care about future generations.” – Jane Goodall (http://www.animalplanet.com/tv-shows/jane-goodall/photos/jane-goodall-birthday/)
Please. Start small, but start!
We need to wake up to the danger we are in by putting these animals at risk, by stressing the planet and causing it to warm, to plastic trash everywhere….to cutting down rainforests, etc etc. Or we are lost.
You Should Experience Amazing and Beautiful Georgetown, Texas!
See Georgetown and the Texas Hill Country in an RV! Georgetown RV rentals are rented out by the owners! https://rvshare.com/rv-rental/georgetown/tx
You should experience Georgetown! During 2017 I have been exploring and traveling in the Texas Hill Country. I recently paid a visit to Georgetown, Texas, 30 miles north of Austin, to experience the Georgetown Wine Festival, but I ended up experiencing so much more! Marcy, from the Visitor’s Center, took me on a wonderful tour of downtown Georgetown, and I learned about a lot more than wine.
This was the first time I actually went into the historic district of Georgetown. I have to say that Georgetown has the prettiest town square I have seen so far in the Hill Country! The courthouse is in the center, surrounded by historic buildings, cute shop fronts, and a grassy lawn. Georgetown is in Williamson County, Texas, and has a rich history. Williamson County is named after a Texas judge and statesman, Robert McAlpin Williamson, aka Three Legged Willie! Willie was three legged because of contracting polio which deformed his leg so that it could not bend. In order to walk, Willie constructed a peg leg and was thereafter known as three legged Willie! You have to admit that is quite a story!
Poppies are a big theme in Georgetown. There are shops and restaurants that display poppies, and Marcy filled me in. They actually have a Poppy Festival every April. The story is that a guy named “Okra” (yep, Okra!) aka Henry Purl Compton, a soldier in the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I, loved the poppies in Europe and sent seeds home to his mother, who planted them. They became popular in Georgetown and grew everywhere. Now, they celebrate a Poppy Festival every April, and I’m sure that would be wonderful to see!
The Williamson Museum is chock full of fascinating facts, and is in an old bank building. The building was actually built around the safe! The builders wanted to be sure the safe could not be stolen, so they built it first. Another tidbit of Georgetown history is the Ku Klux Klan trials in the 1920s. Georgetown was the first to successfully prosecute Klan members. The District Attorney was Dan Moody. Talk about a history to be proud of!
“THESE TRIALS WERE CONSIDERED THE FIRST PROSECUTORIAL SUCCESS IN THE UNITED STATES AGAINST MEMBERS OF THE 1920s KLAN AND QUICKLY WEAKENED THE KLAN’S POLITICAL INFLUENCE IN TEXAS. FURTHER, THE PUBLICITY GARNERED BY MOODY FOLLOWING THE TRIAL LED TO HIS SUCCESSFUL RUNS FOR STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL IN 1924 AND TEXAS GOVERNOR IN 1926 AND 1928. HE WAS THE YOUNGEST PERSON EVER ELECTED TO BOTH STATEWIDE OFFICES.” Williamson County Historical Commission.
The Georgetown Wine Festival took place on the town square, and some of the roads were closed off to be sure there was no problem with traffic. The festival included several wineries, food trucks, and booths. A fun day with perfect weather! It could not have been nicer! I wandered around, taking photographs, just enjoying the beautiful day and the people.
In closing I want to thank the Georgetown Tourist Office and Visitor’s Center for such a wonderful day! What a great place for a Texas trip! There is more to come from me about Georgetown!
My First Live Television Interview went so Quickly!!
My first live television interview! I am so thrilled that my first book has gotten attention from the media! I was asked by Channel 4 San Antonio Living to make an appearance on September 26, and of course I went! Not knowing what to expect, I was a little nervous. I became more comfortable as it went on, and I believe I will be ready for the next ones! Yes, I have more interviews on television, radio and print coming up! You can find my updated schedule on my author page at http://tamtravels.wpengine.com/tam-warner-minton-author-page/. As more appearances are scheduled, I will update the page!
My first book, ALL FISH FACES, is the first of a series called OCEAN FRIENDS. I want to inspire this generation and the next to preserve our oceans, which are in such critical condition. I also want to continue my solo travels, my citizen science trips, and I will continue to urge all to #exploremore and know that it is never too late to make a difference!
Have you been to St Simon’s Island? It is a Great time to go!
The historic King and Prince Beach & Golf Resort re-opened only 6 days after Hurricane Irma wreaked its fury on St. Simons Island, Georgia. All of the resort’s team worked throughout the 6 days following the storm along with many companies whose specialties brought the hotel back to its glory this week. With their timely and professional specialties, The King and Prince is delighted to welcome their leisure, group and wedding guests as scheduled.
In addition:
ECHO Restaurant and Bar is OPEN for dining
The Royal Treatment Cottage is open for massage therapies
AND THERE ARE AUTUMN SPECIALS TO BE HAD! CHECK IT OUT!
Also, as a Historical Hotel of America, they have “GONE GREEN”!
Keeping our “Footprints” in the Sand by Going Green
The Historic Hotels of America is a program from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Trust has a sustainability initiative which focuses on the importance of reusing existing buildings. As a Historic Hotel of America, The King and Prince is a part of this initiative. The King and Prince Resort has their own “Going Green” programs to further these efforts.
The Resort has taken the following actions:
- Two Tesla charging stations for guest use
- Recycling of cardboard and paper in all staff areas.
- Recycling of batteries
- Recycling of ink cartridges
- Eco-friendly disposal of fluorescent light bulbs
- Cloth hand towels provided in public restrooms to reduce paper waste
- Donation of discarded linens to local charities
- Donation of outdated historical print materials to local schools
- Usage of eco-friendly cleaning products for the vast majority of our general cleaning needs
- Implementation of towel and linen re-use program in our guest rooms
- Implementation of microfiber cleaning system
- In-room recycling equipped with bio-degradable, eco-friendly bags.
- Membership in the Clean the World Program
- Utilization of low-flow shower heads and toilets
- Recycling options for both plastic and aluminum in-room and throughout the hotel.
The Clean the World Program recycles and distributes soap to children around the world suffering from diseases that could be prevented by hand washing. It also eliminates unnecessary waste filling up our land fills. From May-July of this year, The King and Prince donated 270.4 pounds of soap. This is equal to 2884 bars of soap, which provided soap for 289 children for one month.
The King and Prince is continuing its Southern hospitality traditions since 1935!
The King and Prince Beach & Golf Resort
201 Arnold Road | St. Simons Island, GA 31522
912.638.3631 (resort)
How You can help save our Amazing Oceans!
How YOU can help our amazing oceans
Through all of my travels, especially those involving the ocean and diving, I have become more and more aware of the changing state of our oceans. The changes from 30 years ago to the present are painfully clear. Water temperatures are significantly warmer, coral reefs are bleaching and dying, more animals are endangered, over fishing is manifest, and trash in the ocean is at an all time high. What can we do? There are people out there talking about this. Climate Change is settled science, there is no doubt that it is happening and that it is the result of human activities. The only unclear thing about Climate Change is how to pass effective policies to combat it.
[Read more…] about How You can help save our Amazing Oceans!