Best Park: Acadia. Wildlife, wilderness, views, varied hiking, boating, camping, forests, mountains, waters. Acadia National Park, above, is the only National Park in the region, the best North Atlantic park in many categories, plus proximity to fresh lobster rolls.
Best State: Massachusetts. Oh, sure, New York has more sites overall, more presidential sites, more historic sites, more Civil Rights sites, more recreation areas, plus 2 world heritage sites, but Massachusetts is still better. Just like the Red Sox are better than the Yankees.
The North Atlantic specializes in history, exemplified by these best-in-class parks.
When I first heard the quote in 1983, it was attributed to Victor Hugo (1802-1885), not Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), and it was phrased as “poor artists imitate, good artists copy and great artists steal”. To me, it meant that a lesser artist doesn’t even have the skills to reproduce another artist’s work well, that a good artist has the skills to match the original artist’s work, and that a great artist can steal the essence of another idea and make it their own surpassing the original artist’s work entirely. Despite the invention of the Internet since then, I have not been able to find that particular line in any writing by Hugo, but I have found reasons to give him partial original credit nonetheless.
In February 1846, Victor Hugo observed a thin young man being arrested for stealing a loaf of bread, and he realized that the man was the “specter of la misère, of poverty”. Hugo thought deeply about theft, motive, desperation, and justice, and he wrote extensively on social injustice for the rest of his life. Ten years after witnessing the young man’s misfortune, writing in exile, Victor Hugo immortalized this indelible inspirational image in his novel, Les Misérables, making it the fateful event in his character Jean Valjean’s life.
“In days gone by, to live I stole a loaf of bread; today, to live I will not steal a name.”
Years after Hugo’s death, his compatriot Anatole France wrote another of my favorite quotes, doubtless inspired by Hugo’s ideas on theft and injustice.
“The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich and the poor alike to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets and to steal bread”.
Hugo was a strong lifetime advocate of two sometimes opposing positions. First he believed that ideas are inevitably free, writing that “an invasion of ideas cannot be resisted” and that “nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come”. And second that artists deserved credit for their work. Hugo co-founded the movement for intellectual property to be protected by international copyright, believing that ideas added something of value to the world, constructively.
Anatole France, by juxtaposing “majestic equality” with the poverty-driven crime of stealing bread, distilled Hugo’s original epic rant about how the law unjustly criminalizes poverty and adds an unfair burden upon the poor in an unequal society into a quotable thought-provoking insight. Hugo perhaps would have been flattered by the imitation of his observation, and Hugo understood that each value-added portion of an idea deserves recognition. When someone merely takes another person’s idea without attribution to sell as their own, that’s plagiarism, which Hugo fought against.
But Hugo also certainly knew that it is the truth of the idea that gives it its power, which raises the question of whether the artist truly owns the underlying truth of an idea or not. Does the whale’s song belong to the scientists who recorded it, the artist who first set it to music, the company that now owns the digital rights, or to the whale? Often, theft is essential for ideas to be free.
While I believe the debate over stealing ideas began in France, it was the Harvard-educated poet T.S. Eliot who first framed it well in English when he wrote the following.
“Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal; bad poets deface what they take, and good poets make it into something better, or at least something different. The good poet welds his theft into a whole of feeling which is unique, utterly different from that from which it was torn.”
Here is the essence of value-added creativity. When an artist steals an idea and transforms it into something unique, better or at least different, then they deserve recognition for adding value. They are helping the idea evolve and improve, if it can.
Make no mistake, most stealing is terribly uncreative. Digital piracy alone is worth hundreds of billions annually, and the pirates are literally producing copies, by definition uncreative. Shoplifting isn’t original. And wage theft happens like clockwork, paycheck after paycheck.
The motive for most theft is instinctual—I want it—, or rational—I can take the money without anyone knowing—, but the motive for common theft is neither moral nor creative. In contrast, the motive for an artist to steal an idea is that they recognize that an idea still has untapped potential, and that they have the unique skills or viewpoint to express it in a new, different and better way. The artist works to free the idea by helping it evolve.
Pablo Picasso certainly exhibited this artistic felonious habit in his work, taking ideas and transforming them into something unique and utterly different, so there’s something appropriate about crediting the great artist with the quote. But I still think Victor Hugo deserves credit, since he helped us understand that good people sometimes have to steal for good reasons, that laws can be inflexibly misused by the powerful against the powerless, and that ideas are an irresistible force that cannot be imprisoned.
Best Park: Harpers Ferry. In a region known for great historic sites, Harpers Ferry is exceptional. At the confluence of the Potomac & Shenandoah Rivers, where the C&O Canal, Potomac Heritage and Appalachian NSTs all merge, scouted by Jefferson and taken by Grant, martyred by John Brown and lifted up by WEB Du Bois, this park is essential for Civil War and Civil Rights history.
Best National Park: New River Gorge, with whitewater rafting, scenery, wildlife, hiking and coal mining historic heritage, this gorgeous new national park is more vibrant and exciting than its beautiful 100 year old competitor, Shenandoah.
Best State: Virginia has many Civil War sites, presidential birthplaces, and many other important historic sites, including world heritage Monticello, plus scenic mountains, rivers, valleys and coast.
Best City: Philadelphia is chockablock full of history and museums, mostly in world heritage Independence NHP.
The Mid-Atlantic specializes in history, exemplified by these best-in-class parks.
Best colonial history from start to finish: Colonial
Earlier this month I visited Sierra de San Francisco in central Baja Mexico to see the prehistoric rock paintings which are a world heritage site. They are spread out over a vast, mountainous area and just to see a few requires a 5 day group trek on burro to reach several different caves. One closer site, El Ratón—called ‘the rat’ but meant to be a cougar—, is a short hike off a long, well-paved road. Unfortunately, it’s not the best of the rock paintings, as the alcove is fairly open and the art has faded. The small free museum in San Ignacio is overseen by an official who provides required passes out of his office next door, when he’s there. Hiring a local guide is required along with paying various government fees. For a solo Baja driver, it’s best to visit El Ratón on the way back north, as the cave road is north of San Ignacio, where you must pay first. Group tours can be reserved from San Ignacio, Loreto, and Guerrero Negro. Frankly, I recommend just going to the museum and making a donation. There you can see some good photographs of several of the best examples, along with a large reproduction, above, to give you a sense of how they are displayed on alcoves and in caves. Traveling through Baja, you see reproductions in many public spaces, proudly reflecting the internationally renowned 2000 year old cave art, the cultural remnants of the Cochimí people.
I recently completed visits to all national park units in New York and New England. Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont each count only 1 unique park. Maine has 4, including the only National Park in the region. Massachusetts has 14, and New York has 21 unique park units, plus 2 shared with the Mid Atlantic region and 2 world heritage sites. The multi-region Appalachian and North Country scenic trails start/end in the region, and the New England scenic trail crosses Connecticut and Massachusetts. Follow the links for more, including affiliates, heritage areas and the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route.
Maine has Acadia National Park, France Perkins, Katahdin Woods & Waters, and Saint Croix Island. All four parks showcase the state’s pine woods, clear waters and scenic views, while Perkins celebrates the woman in charge of the New Deal and Saint Croix tells the story of the first French settlers. If you want to hear French spoken, you can visit the Acadian Culture partner village area in the far north, where I hiked as a boy. Mt Katahdin is also the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. The coastal area from Acadia to Saint Croix Island is part of the Downeast Maine heritage area, including the bridge to Campobello in New Brunswick Canada.
New Hampshire is home to the sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens’ studio and marvelous sculpture garden. Freedoms Way heritage area is shared with Massachusetts, and the Appalachian Trail crosses the state.
Rhode Island protects our religious liberty at Roger Williams and affiliated Touro Synagogue, and the state preserves our mill town history at Blackstone, which extends into Massachusetts within a broader eponymous heritage area. The Rochambeau Route begins here.
There are five affiliated sites in the North Atlantic region: Kate Mullany NHS, Lower East Side Tenement NHS, Roosevelt Campobello IP, Thomas Cole NHS and Touro Synagogue NHS. Campobello (above) is actually in New Brunswick Canada, just across the Maine border. Touro is in Newport Rhode Island. And the others are in the Empire State.
All five are among my favorite sites in the country.
The congregation at Touro predates our country, and they have the promise of religious equality made by George Washington in writing.
Take the tour, sit in the pews, and listen to the stories of freedom to believe.
In the early 1800s, Cole painted romantic landscapes and historical scenes, inspiring a school of painters.
Tour his house and studio, see the exhibits and listen to the stories behind his work.
From the late 1800s to early 1900s, the garment district immigrants toiled in sweaty tenement buildings and built futures in their new country.
Go to a neighborhood deli, tour the tiny rooms, and listen to the stories of strikes and hope.
FDR’s summer home in Canada immaculately preserves over 100 years of precious memories.
Tour the estate, have a cookie at Eleanor’s tea, and listen to the stories of recovery and advocacy.
The newly open Mullany house tells the little known story of the woman who started the first official female union in the country.
Make a reservation for a tour, see the history of American labor on the walls, and listen to the stories of the workers who built our country.
To visit 16 of Mexico’s World Heritage Sites in a zero emission vehicle, I drove round trip from Texas to Mexico City, through 13 Mexican states, and, while a bit bumpy, I enjoyed the trip very much. All my trip report links are at the end of this post.
If you read online comments in the US, you might get the idea that traveling in Mexico is impossible or foolhardy at best. Well, you can’t believe everything you read online (except this blog of course). Over the entire trip, I was only asked for one ‘bribe’ of $1, to park briefly in a student parking lot without a student id. The state police, national guard and military were all very professional and waved me through either without comment or after glancing at my car permit. While I saw crime on the TV news in Mexico, I observed none.
After driving in Mexico, I finally understand driving in Texas. Instead of overpasses, underpasses and clover leafs, just use ‘retornos’ or U-turns. Folks leave the nice highways, well, they’re on their own, immediately. Want to slow traffic, without relying on folks to obey signs? Just use lots of speed-bumps or topes. Although, there are even more techniques to learn. First, always be alert. Pothole! Second, drive halfway in the breakdown lane to avoid head-on collisions with oncoming passing traffic. Third, always be alert, seriously, you need to pay attention and think while driving. Drivers are generally nice, but get out of the way of speed demons and quickly pass vehicles that wouldn’t be allowed on the roads in the US.
All Mexico is divided into three parts. Mexico City is best navigated by metro, with its one way streets, traffic and lack of parking. Traffic can be stultifying. Of course, electric cars are exempt from the Hoy No Circula—‘no driving today’—restrictions, which otherwise limit your access to the city according to the last character of your license plate. Circumnavigating the city on the ring road requires tolls: take your ticket and be prepared to pay cash (although a few places take credit cards). Remember the metro is 5 pesos or ~30 cents.
The mid-sized cities and tourist areas outside Mexico City are still crowded, but passable by private car. I was frequently fortunate to find parking very near World Heritage Sites in mid-sized city centers. Of course, the more touristy, the more likely that the roads are cobblestone. San Miguel de Allende may be magical, but I scraped the bottom of my car several times on medieval stones. Better to park outside the historic zones and walk. Still, driving your own car gets you to places that are otherwise challenging to reach.
And then there are the mountains and remote villages. Ah, lovely! But no signal to navigate. I got lost three times near the butterfly reserve. Once, my navigation asked me to drive between two trees on each side of a hiking trail. But I must admit, some of the most beautiful places in Mexico are just off the grid. Horse-driven ploughs, indigenous costumes, and forest-covered volcanoes await. Long drives are best on toll roads with frequent $5 to $15 tolls.
On this trip, I used Superchargers exclusively, and I only saw half a dozen Teslas in Mexico, including my own, mostly at chargers. Unlike the US, there isn’t a government subsidy for most electric cars, so my car was not just unusual, but uneconomical in the short run. I got few comments or looks, and the valet parking attendants had never driven one before (and didn’t like them). There are a few other electric models that I saw on TV, which we don’t have in the US, and I spotted a few of those in Mexico. But overall, electric cars are an elite affair, with parking and charging in the most expensive malls in expensive neighborhoods. I found the supercharger network from McAllen to Puebla accessible and without gaps, although it’s better to charge whenever you can, just in case you need a lot of air conditioning or have to detour.
While Mexico might seem intimidating or unrefined, the truth is that it’s worth the trouble. There are European-style cathedrals, ancient pyramids (photo from Anthropology Museum), glorious art, scrumptious food, and natural wonders that are well worth driving a couple days with the trucks on the long highways. An unexpected side benefit to driving was passing through three UNESCO Biospheres along the way: Cumbres de Monterrey, La Primavera near Tequila, and Los Volcanes near Mt Popocatépetl. I reviewed the State Department warnings and used them to plan my trip, but, again, the best way to avoid crime is to avoid drugs and be careful. Americans should take advantage of the wonderful travel opportunities just south of our border, and I’m not talking about all-you-can-whatever resorts that you fly into. See the real Mexico, and drive electric!
Full disclosure: the three houses here were being renovated the week I was in Mexico City, and it is only on the tentative UNESCO World Heritage Site list. Architect & artist Juan O’Gorman had the complex built for the famous couple while they were touring in the US in 1931-32, and their patrons the Kaufmanns, of Fallingwater, visited the couple here in the upscale San Ángel neighborhood in 1938. The big house and studio in the front was Diego’s, the blue one was Frida’s, and O’Gorman lived in the third house in back. There’s a bridge between Diego & Frida’s homes. This arrangement worked for about 5 years, but then they divorced.
To be clear, Frida’s blue house above is not La Casa Azul, The Blue House, where Frida was born and died. That more famous one is in the Coyoacán neighborhood less than an hour’s walk away. Frida hosted Leon Trotsky there, after helping him get asylum, although he was ultimately assassinated in his home nearby (now a museum). Diego & Frida remarried and lived in her original home until her death, keeping the complex above as Diego’s studio. Diego Rivera donated Frida’s Casa Azul as a museum, and it’s one of the most visited sites in the city. Tickets to her home and museum are essential to buy online well in advance, as they recently stopped offering in person ticket sales.
In the US, the Independence War means the same as the Revolutionary War, but in Mexico, they are two different wars. 100 years after Hidalgo cried out for Independence from Spain in 1810, the country was under the control of the dictator Porfirio Díaz, who ruled for 35 years over a growing gap between the elites and the masses. He commissioned the ostentatious building above to celebrate his rule, but it ended up celebrating the end of his rule after the Revolution of 1910-1920. Since the common people were uneducated, the new era of called for artists to paint huge public murals to tell the story of Mexico. The three great muralists were Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros and Jose Clemente Orozco. All three have murals on permanent exhibit on the oversized second floor inside. Siqueiros uses stunning, clear images to depict the drama of human suffering and bondage. Orozco contrasts vivid lives with cold modern weapons. And Diego Rivera presents his profound understanding of social struggle, using historic figures, ancient images and modern allegories, to awaken people.
The historic center includes far more than one museum, but to appreciate it, you need to understand what’s buried beneath the metropolitan cathedral, grand government buildings and the huge public square. Once there was a lake ringed by volcanoes, and the Aztecs built an empire around an island, using landfill and bridges to create a moated city. Thousands of captured warriors were sacrificed publicly and walls of skulls have been uncovered. From this easily defended base, rich with food grown on floating gardens such as at Xochimilco, over 200,000 lived here, with a sophisticated canal system and extensive trading network. When Hernán Cortés arrived here in 1519, it was one of the largest cities in the world. After building boats and bringing in cannon, the besieged city fell, and the Spanish drained the lake, tore down the temples to make a cathedral, and paved the ruins of the temples and markets to make the huge, empty square Zócalo public space, where over 100,000 now gather to hear the President speak from the balcony of the National Palace or to listen to pop music stars perform. Begin in the Zócalo and take the walking tour to learn about the excavated Aztec ruins and much more in this fascinating, important and historic city center.
University City, the main campus of UNAM, the National Autonomous University of Mexico, is a World Heritage Site, and it was founded in 1551, just four months after the oldest university in the Americas was founded in Peru. It is autonomous, meaning free to teach without government interference, although the PRI government did kill hundreds of students in 1968, during the Tlatelolco massacre. The faculty and alumni include all Mexican Nobel winners to date. The north face of the 10 story Central Library (above) is covered with Aztec mural mosaics by Juan O’Gorman, friend of Diego Rivera.
Zero Carbon Travel 