Life's Little Adventures

Welcome!

There are hundreds of posts here on a wide variety of subjects, but finding whatever interests you is easy! Just go to the left-hand column and click on the appropriate category. Some of these lead directly to articles, while others open an index with descriptions of the many choices. Older postings are frequently updated. The most popular categories are: Free Daytrips Chapters (taken from my Daytrips series of travel guides), The Avedon Years (about my 10 years of assisting photographer Richard Avedon), and ASA/Military Service (about my experiences in the U.S. Army Security Agency in the 1950s). 

SO, just what Little Adventure am I up to now in 2012? WHY, just the most challenging one of the all! CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT.

Avedon Exhibition

Yesterday, May 4 2012, I attended the opening of a new exhibition at the Gagosian Gallery in New York. "Avedon Murals & Portraits" drew an enormous crowd, with a waiting line extending down West 21st St. Fortunately, I got there early and didn't have to wait. Since the gallery is located practically underneath New York's great High Line elevated park, I decided to arrive by strolling along it from 14th Street, and along the way I encountered this billboard annoucing the event:

 

The show was a massive display of oversized murals in four galleries, depicting Andy Warhol and The Factory, the Chicago Seven, the Mission Council, and Allen Ginsberg's family, plus many related items of smaller size:

There's more on this blog about Avedon. CLICK HERE. And on my other website, CLICK HERE.

What's New?

Here's what I'm up to now. My current — and most challenging — "Little Adventure" is to develop a fresh approach to travel apps for the iPad, iPhone, and iPodTouch, as well as for many tablets and smartphones using the Android operating system, and later as e-books.

What's so special about that? There are plenty of travel apps out there, many of which are free. Well, mine can take you to some quite unusual places that are usually overlooked, as well as to the familiar. And they are loaded with background information, plenty of photos, links to videos, attraction websites and multiple sources of up-to-date information.

But best of all are the MAPS. So far, over a hundred "Diagram Maps" have been specially created just for this project. These show you exactly where everything is and how to get there, and the simple design and bold type make them easy to read on even the small iPhone screen. In addition, for every Day Trip and attraction entry there is an embedded Google Map with even more detail.

Most of the many restaurant recommendations have direct links to the establishment's website so you can study their menu in advance.

The very small download price of $2.99 each — less than a cup of coffee — entitles users to FREE future updates and revisions.

I began this project in November 2010, and had the first one online in January 2011. Since then I have completed three more, and am nearly finished with a fifth. 

WHY NOT CHECK THEM OUT? CLICKY.

Vienna & Beyond

Innsbruck & the Alps

London's Backyard

London's Backyard for Android

Paris Day Trips (requires free Sutro World app to download. Click here)

And coming soon: Philadelphia Day Trips. And coming even sooner: Assisting Avedon, my first non-travel app, recalling my experiences with the famous photographer Richard Avedon in the 1950s and 60s.

My app publisher, SUTRO MEDIA, has literally hundreds of travel apps covering all corners of the Earth. Here are just a few of my favorites:

Real Pizza of New York

Berlin Essential

California Essential Guide

Click on Sutro's website for more information about them.

Another really great one is Puerto Escondido on the southwest coast of Mexico, available for both iPad via Sutro World, and for Android via Google Play.

Another one that I've reviewed and found fascinating is Jeff Steiner's Southern Burgundy Explorer, available on Apple's iTunes app store. This is a must if you're wandering through southern France.

I've discovered two really good guide apps to the beaches of South Carolina, both by Liz and Charlie Mitchell. The first is Hilton Head Essentials, and the second is Myrtle Beach's Best. If you're heading that way with your iPad or iPhone be sure to check them out by clicking on their names, which links to their Apple iTunes page. 

London on Android

My "London's Backyard" travel app for iThingies is now up on Android Marketplace as well. Check it out here.

AND NOW, February 2012, IT'S ALSO UP ON THE ANDROID ZOOM SITE, AT: http://www.androidzoom.com/android_applications/travel_and_local/londons-backyard-a-travel-gu_byaaf.html

Take a peek, then click on the "Screenshots" tab, and the "Download" tab as well.

It's huge, and it's only $2.99. One reviewer (on iTunes) called it "the best travel app ever."

Smile little fella, smile! You're off to London to see the Queen!

I've been admiring Veronica Hill's travel app "California Essential," a fine example of just what a travel app can aspire to. Veronica is one of my fellow authors at Sutro Media, and she is indeed setting a new standard for us all. Where most of us provide links to videos produced by others, she has gone the whole nine yards and produced some of her own. CLICK HERE for her introductory video, which is especially good.

So, if you're California bound AND have an iPad, iPhone, or iPodTouch, do yourself a favor and check out her page on Apple's iTunes store.

Free Travel APP

Have an iPad? iPhone? iPodTouch? Like to travel? 

Well, here's a great FREE app to download that can open a new world of travel possibilities and inspiration! Check it out!

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sutro-world/id446206531?mt=8

 

Yes, I'm on it a little bit, but so are two hundred other travel writers.

Not only is this the very best source of reliable travel apps anywhere, but soon this little fella's joining in the fun as well.

Paris Day Trips

At long last: My travel app for easy one-day trips to intriguing destinations outside of Paris is available for download to Apple iPad, iPhone, and iPodTouch devices — and soon it will also be ready for Android devices as well.

"...The Île de France has no regional unity, it does not offer any precise boundaries..." This undefined region within easy daytrip range of Paris is truly the heart of France. Its best attractions are fully explored on my Paris Day Trips: A Travel Guide app. 

To view free samples of this you will first need to download the FREE travel app SUTRO WORLD (click), which also allows you to sample pages and illustrations from over 300 of the very best travel apps anywhere. Listings are grouped by region. For mine, touch "Europe" and then scan down to "Paris Day Trips: A Travel Guide." Open that, then touch words in bold face blue to explore further. If you like what you see, click on the low, low price in the upper right corner to begin a quick download to your Apple iDevice. It's that easy.

 

SO, just what Little Adventure am I up to now in 2012? Why, just the most challenging one of them all! CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT.

Waltzing Through Vienna, Part II

Hooray! Hooray!  

My first app for iThingies has been greatly improved and is now up on Apple's iTunes for a mere $2.99 under the new name "Vienna & Beyond." Those who have already purchased the first edition get free downloads of all updates, as do all who buy our apps.

The big improvement is the addition of "Diagram Maps" to nearly every file. These were designed for the small screens of iDevices (yes, even the iPhone!) and show users exactly where all the attractions, even the restaurants, are located. They also indicate suggested walking tours with heavy broken lines where appropriate. Here's a sample:

 

Other improvements include loads of new illustrations, updated practical information, and the ability to view the screen in either a "portrait" or "landscape" mode.

CHECK IT OUT HERE.

SO, just what Little Adventure am I up to now in 2012? Why, just the most challenging one of them all! CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT.

London's Backyard

"...This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England..." is the most memorable line from Shakespeare's 1595 play Richard III. It neatly sums up the affection Englishmen have for their "sceptered isle."

For many, the very best of that land lies in London's Backyard, in what William Blake called "England's Green and Pleasant Land" in his 1804 poem Milton.

London's Backyard takes you on a series of 25 one-day journeys to nearby towns, villages, and countryside by inexpensive public transportation, or by private car. Suggested walking tours are included, along with everything you need to know for a wonderful outing.

At long last, my new travel guide app for Apple's iPhone, iPad, and iPodTouch is ready and raring to go.

 

Ready for some fun? Take a ride on the Bluebell Railway, where the Age of Steam lives on in all its glory. Then relive World War II espionage while experiencing the birth of modern computers at Bletchley Park. Britain's oldest recorded town, Colchester, began in the Bronze Age. Today its ancient castle displays Celtic and Roman antiquities, its quirky local museum delights kids and grownups alike, and its progressive zoo is easily among the best anywhere.

Take a stroll along the Thames near Cookham, wallowing in scenes that made some major painters famous, while the Keeper of the Royal Swans carried out the Queen's bidding and an author was inspired to write an immortal children's book. Another walk, which  can be either short or long, takes you into the 18th century at the preserved canal village of Stoke Bruerne.

These are just five of the 25 one-day adventures that await you in London's Backyard, backed up by 225 separate entries just packed with information, hundreds of photos, maps covering everything, and links galore to restaurant menus, museum website, and much, much more.

For the time being, downloads to your iPhone, iPad, or iPodTouch cost only U.S.$2.99, less than a cup of coffee — and that includes free future updates!

Everything included on this app is fully embedded and does not require WiFi or cell connections to function.

CHECK IT OUT HERE:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/londons-backyard/id440430871?mt=8#

And now on ANDROID! CLICK HERE for a free preview.

 

SO, just what Little Adventure am I up to now in 2012? Why, just the most challenging one of them all! CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT.

ALSO, on this blog, check out:

Future of Travel Guides     Waltzing Through Vienna  Innsbruck & the Alps   Paris Day Trips