The U.S. is almost a magical place; like Hong Kong, it was built by immigrants and refugees who arrived with nearly nothing and faced with an uncertain future. With determination and grit, they resolved to make this a meritocracy where they believed anyone can make it with hard work. The Read more
The famous TV show The Andy Griffith Show was shot here. It had been ten years since I first watched the show and had wanted to visit. It’s a shame that Main Street is flanked by tourist traps and souvenir stores. I would’ve paid money to see a recreated street Read more
The museum in North Carolina’s state capital occupies the ground floor of the city’s first high-rise building. There’s a lot on black history such as black businesses of the 19th century, how the oldest black university—Shaw University—was founded by Dr. Tupper in 1870, and racial exclusion in American politics. There Read more
This museum in Raleigh is deceptively large. There are four floors of exhibits across two buildings and a decent visit will take over an hour. I didn’t have that kind of time so I’ll just give you the highlights. The top floor is the cafe and Arthropod Zoo, so sea Read more
Established in 1818 as the state capitol Raleigh’s first museum, it has a wealth of information on state industry on the first floor. For example, in 1840, the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad stretched 200km and was the longest in the world, famous pirate Blackbeard blockaded Charles Town with 19 captured Read more
Just on the outskirts of the state capital Raleigh, the museum was founded in 1965, so it’s mostly a contemporary and modern art museum. The East Building has mostly black art and the West Building has everything. There was an interesting exhibit on Afrofuturism in fashion design, especially when represented Read more
The first time I heard the name Raleigh I was watching the Andy Griffith Show and thought it was spelt “Rawley.” Google promptly asked if I meant to search for “Raleigh” instead. I didn’t give visiting the state capital of North Carolina a shot until I saw it on a map and Read more
The first time I visited San Francisco was through GTA San Andreas on my computer screen. I parachuted off the top of the Transamerica Pyramid countless times after evading the police. The first evening I got into town by Uber I saw homeless people on every single street corner. Even Read more
Of all the nations that fought the second world war, Japan remains the only country whose government systematically denies the atrocities it had committed until this day. The memorial hall is less of a museum and more of a collection of stories of the war against Japanese aggression from Chinese Read more
The Disney Family was from Normandy in France originally called d’Isigny with the family name anglicized when they moved to to Britain. The family with infant Kepple Disney moved to Ireland before settling in Goederich in Ontario. Kepple married Mary Richardson in Goederich before moving to California during the gold Read more
Constructed in just 16 months, the USS Hornet aircraft carrier is the eighth and final ship to bear the name. It recovered the Apollo 11 crew after they landed in the ocean and performed it’s final mission retrieving the Apollo 12 crew. It’s permanently docked at the same pier the Read more