We drove from Faro to Lisbon, about 200 miles, much along the coast but more over very hilly terrain. Given that Portugal is about as big as Pennsylvania and has a population of 10.6 million, the ride took about six hours. It was worth every minute. I’d waited my...
Dr. Arnold Heller
Iberian Odyssey 5: Faro, Portugal: Sweet Seaside City That’s Easy to Fall in Love With
The drive from Malaga to Faro, Portugal, about 300 miles, was visually interesting and fun. I love driving along water features and this trip supplied plenty of opportunities. Faro, Portugal, has 64,000 people living in the city proper, and 118,000 metro-wide making...
Iberian Odyssey 4: Granada – Grand Jewel of Andalusia
Iberian Odyssey 4: Granada - Grand Jewel of Andalusia John and I boarded a Talgo Inter-City train at Atocha Station and cruised down to Granada in 3.5 hours, hitting speeds in excess of 170 mph. At first glance after emerging from the central station, Granada appeared...
Iberian Odyssey 3: Madrid – Spain’s Proud Capitol and World Class City
City map of Madrid Atocha Station is located in the heart of Madrid. We took the fast and comfortable Talgo Inter-City Train from autonomous Barcelona to the Spanish federal capital and disembarked at Atocha, Madrid’s main station....
Iberian Odyssey 2: Fabulous Barcelona, a City of Taste and Style
Barcelona’s population within its administrative boundaries is 1.7 million. The metro-wide population of the autonomous region of Catalonia ranges from 4.6 million to 5.5 million depending on which exurban population clusters are included. The nation of Spain...
Iberian Odyssey 1: Oct. 4 – 16, 2019 Tour of Spain – Barcelona, Madrid, Granada, Malaga. Portugal – Faro, Lisbon, and Porto
Introduction I had previously been to Spain fifty years ago and never to Portugal so it was time to revisit Iberia. During my 1969 visit with three friends to Spain, we enjoyed touring San Sebastian and Bilbao in the heavily Basque north, but disliked secret...
In Memory of Saul Cohen, 1933 – 2019, a Founding Member of the Atlanta – Ra’anana Sister City Committee
By Arnold Heller, Chair, Atlanta – Ra’anana Sister City Committee ...
2019 Annual Ra’anana / ASCC Report
Dunwoody, GA, March 12 – 28, 2019: Spring begins anew and my city again becomes a blooming beauty
Map of Dunwoody, GA, Dekalb County Spring across the Metro Atlanta area may occasionally begin as early as the third week of February if a prolonged warm spell prematurely triggers nature. Some years, 2018 comes to mind, spring arrived the...
Images of the Western Caribbean Region – Costa Maya, Mexico: The Rising Star of the Mahahual Coast
My first impression of Costa Maya as I disembarked was to ask Patty; “Is this place – Costa Maya of the Mahuhual – a cruise ship port fantasy or well-developed resort that’s keeping it pretty real?” Mahahual came into existence in 1959 when the nation of Mexico gave...
Images of Western Caribbean Region – Harvest Cay, Belize: ‘Margaritaville Island’ & Ecological Wonderland
It seems that each cruise line must build or purchase their own island and version of tropical paradise. Patty and I experienced Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas that’s owned by the Holland-America Line. For more information, please access...
Images of the Western Caribbean Region – Belize City & Belizeans: A Warm Smiling Mix of People with a Soft Welcoming Voice
My first awareness of this country was during an elementary school map lesson on Central America: British Honduras was a territory in the region’s northwest corner. Belize, the last United Kingdom colony on the American mainland to still maintain s strong tie with...
Images of the Western Caribbean – Cozumel, Mexico: A Great Little Island and Getaway
Patty and I celebrated former birthdays at three all adult, all-inclusive resorts in Cancun, the Playa del Carmen, and the Riviera Maya. Two resorts were very good, the third, Secrets Maroma, was special. See...
Images of the Western Caribbean Region – New Orleans: The ‘Big Easy’ is Back and Better than Ever
I’d previously been to New Orleans three times; 1972, 1984, and 1998 but not since and wondered how the city had changed in the years since Hurricane Katrina transformed it. An estimated 150,000 of the poorest and least educated citizens left New Orleans for Houston,...
2019 Holocaust Remembrance Events
2019 Am Yisrael Chai Hope and Perserverance from Am Yisrael Chai on Vimeo.
Return to Siesta Key: My Kind of Florida Beach Town
I first visited Siesta key Feb. 2, 2016 to see its famous beach and enjoy the lively village, and returned a year to the day to watch the Superbowl and eat seafood. I made a web page describing Longboat key – where I stayed both years – and included three pictures of...
Green Cay Wetlands, Delray Beach, Florida: A Nature Preserve and Reconstructed Wetland
I discovered the Green Cay Wetland and Nature Preserve Dec. 27, 2017 when my sister Bobbie Polinsky suggested that we visit the place. I did not know what to expect and did not bother to bring my camera. Upon first view, I realized that I had made a big mistake....
First Official Review of Dues by OnlineBookClub.org
Official Review: Dues by Arnold Heller Post by OloladeO » 26 Nov 2018, 09:10 [Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Dues" by Arnold Heller.] 4 out of 4 starsShare This Review Dues; the coming of Allie Cohen is a fictional tale by Arnold Heller,...
Oregon & California’s Lake Mono and the High Sierra’s trail of alkali
I expected eastern Oregon / US 395 to feature soaring peaks from the Rockies – high mountains, for the most part, did line most of the long, arid valley that I drove through. What I didn’t expect was the Great Basin, an intimidatingly empty space...
Great Basin of Eastern Oregon: 95 miles of emptiness
Until the Great Basin, the ride across Wyoming from roughly Cherokee to Jackson had been the most foreboding space that I drove across. Eastern Oregon is actually growing – see below. The following massive sand dune made me feel very dependent on my car’s...
Understanding Kansas: Road signs, public art, local culture
Understanding Kansas using road signs, public art, and local culture. One of the joys of road trips is discovering unique countryside symbols – road signs, public and social art, and expressions of local culture. I twice previously traveled the I-70 corridor of...
Lake Tahoe, Nevada & Yosemite National Park, California
Lake Tahoe, located in northeastern Nevada, is one of the clearest and most beautiful lakes in the country. Its 37 trillion gallons of water are deep blue and so clear that objects can be viewed from up to 67 feet. I first visited and stayed in South Lake Tahoe in...
Northwest Montana: Glacier National Park & Kalispell / Whitefish
Northwestern Montana: Glacier National Park & Kalispell / Whitefish Glacier National Park, located almost 50 miles from the Canadian border, is difficult to reach. So, when I finally paid my entry fee, I was very excited to view its attractions. Glacier National...
Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Parks
I last visited Yellowstone National Park 46 years ago and then only the northern rim of the park – we entered from the northwest and exited at the northeast entrance. The park reminds of the song about “where the buffalo roam” as the lone buffalo (below) appeared...
July 7 – 23, 2018 Itinerary: Mountain chains, national parks, interesting places
Itinerary for July 7 – 23, 2018 road trip – ultimate tour of US western mountain chains, national parks, and interesting places. Traditional Glacier National Park people hauler for group tours. The motivation for this journey was pure bucket list – the intended...
Selected Poems & Speeches from Dues – The Coming of Allie Cohen, a novel by Arnold Heller
Most of the novel (Copyright 2018 by Arnold Heller) is set against the end of the Carter administration (1978- 1980) and sprawls across the Reagan era (1980 – 1988). The Library of Congress Control Number is 2017919395, ISBN 978-1-5434-7390-2, 978-1-5434-7389-6,...
Pools of Sanctuary Cap Cana
I also enjoy sitting around a pool and the main one was spectacular. The first picture was taken from the patio over the Casa Bella and provides a broad look that includes the Blue Marlin (left) and poolside bar and lunch boat behind it. The second photo is a...
The Beach and Attractions
I have always loved the beach and Sanctuary Cap Cana furnishes an attractive and comfortable beach environment. An athletic area, mainly for volleyball, is adjacent to the oceanside beach. Chairs, towels, private cabanas and food and drink servers are all...
Big Bonus – Sanctuary Town
I’ve heard some people complain that all-inclusive resorts are just daily sun bathing and binge drinking experiences. Of course, they could sign up for an excursion or limit their exposure to the sun and alcohol consumption. Sanctuary Town, located...
Main and Special Amenities
This is the path we took to access the various resort areas: Great house, dining spots, the pool, beach, or Sanctuary Town. We fell in love with a sculpture exhibition located in the Great House near the Love Bar. After viewing the sculpture, one exits the Great House...
Room and Patio with a View
The all-inclusive resorts of Cancun are famous for celebrating their guest’s birthdays – at meals, decorations for the room, banners slashed across the front door. Sanctuary Cap Cana was quite lavish too. A banner was fastened to the door and a...
Dominican Dream Vacation: Sanctuary Cap Cana
My first visit to the Dominican Republic was in 1997 as part of an Atlanta Sister Cities Commission mission to Salcedo, an agricultural city of about 100,000 located in the country’s mountainous center. Our group, led by Atlanta – Salcedo Committee...
2018 Annual Holocaust Remembrance Event!
The Am Yisrael Chai event, Conscience and Action, “Whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world” was a powerful program attended by more than 900 people. Keynote speakers, Leo Melamed and Chihiro Sugihara were outstanding....
Flagler Beach: Best of Old Florida & Modern Amenities
I discovered Flagler Beach on March 5, 2016 while driving through the welcoming beach-town during a March 3 – 11, 2017 A1A road trip with my friend Patty Morrison. (Access...
Arnold Heller and Bobbie Heller Polinsky’s Genealogy 3: Our DNA Estimate and Ethnicity Breakdown
My sister Bobbie and I have always been aware of 75% of our family origins. Grandmother Freda Belford Heller was from Minsk, Belarus. Our mother Jeanne Bernstein Heller Polinsky’s parents were Samuel Bernstein and Sadie Roth Bernstein, both...
Arnold Heller & Bobbie Heller Polinsky’s Genealogy 2: Our Pennsylvania Family’s Roots, History, and Heritage
Our Family Heritage: Founders of Hellertown, Pen Argyl, Saylorsburg, Appenzell, perhaps Wind Gap too and more. ...
Arnold Heller & Bobbie Heller Polinsky’s Genealogy: Journey into Our Mysterious Family Heritage
From Hoyt Bernard “Bernie” Heller, 1914 - 1955, to Conrad Heller, Brandenburg, Germany, estimated birth 1434 – 1494. My sister Bobbie and I grew up with very limited knowledge of our Heller family line mostly located in east – central...
Photo Album 10 – Arnold & Sue Heller: More Pictures and Stories from our Perfect Wedding
My wife Sue radiated on her wedding day like a sun in the sky. I’ve marveled at how a pretty girl in love and dressed in a gorgeous wedding gown truly glows with a special beauty on her marital day. I’ve witnessed it in Sue and others of her generation and again with...
Photo Album 9 – Arnold & Sue Heller: Most Treasured Family Photos
Sue proudly and lovingly displayed photos that were special to her in attractive frames, or on prominent walls. Four years ago, when I moved into my apartment, all of her favored pictures were gathered in to a visibly prime display space in my living room. With the...
Photo Album 8 – Arnold & Sue Heller: Career and Life Passes with the Blink of an Eye
It took me ten years to find my professional home - Northside / North Atlanta High School - where I believe I had the best twenty-five year long-run of any classroom teacher - certainly had the most fun. I bounced around though for a decade between three...
Photo Album 7 – Arnold & Sue Heller: Our Perfect Wedding, June 17, 1973
Sue and I were engaged a year to the day after moving to Atlanta on Feb. 22, 1972. My incredibly supportive in-laws, Herman and Roz Auerbach, of whom I never told an in-law joke about, worked very hard to throw Sue and I a fabulous wedding and a great start in a new...
Photo Album 6 – Arnold & Sue Heller: Sasha’s Bar Mitzvah – Celebration
Sasha reading his Torah portion – father and grandfather Herman Auerbach look on. Group picture: Maggie Auerbach Bolstad, nine months older than Sasha, kneels behind him. L – R: Jeanne Heller Polinsky, Arnold Heller, Sue Heller, Herman Auerbach, Lisa Auerbach, Marc...
Photo Album 5 – Arnold & Sue Heller: Sasha’s Bar Mitzvah – Tradition
Left – right: Parents Arnold & Sue Heller, Sasha Heller, Grandparents Roz & Herman Auerbach Wikipedia: Bar is a Jewish Babylonian Aramaic word meaning son; bat means daughter; mitzvah means commandment or law. The male achieves adult status at age thirteen,...
Photo Album 4 – Arnold & Sue Heller: Our Core and Extended Family
Most of my mother and father’s generation have passed on and some of mine too – a full ancestry genealogy is the last in this photo album series. Left to right at Sue’s shower: Grandma Freda Belford, (standing) Sadie Scheer Roth (Sue’s grandma), Roz Auerbach...
Photo Album 3 – Arnold & Sue Heller: Selected Special People We’ve Known or Met
I have always been a social person and enjoyed a lot of friends over the course of my life – Sue too. A number of them are really special, others were unique individuals that we met in some foreign locale and bonded with very quickly, one of the great joys...