Omega Mart, Las Vegas

Nevada Spice Rating - Cool Ranch

Hello, hello, hello again, fellow friends and travelers!

This week I'd like to take you on a totally normal, not glitchy, perfectly ordinary trip to the grocery store! Which one? Meow Wolf's Omega Mart in Las Vegas, of course!

Omega Mart.
Credit to Alan at SingleFlyer

Located at Area 15, an immersive entertainment and events district, Omega Mart does a very good job at pretending to be a 100% genuine store...at first.

Approach one of the every day-looking, brightly-coloured displays and discover well-known, popular grocery store products such as:

Gender Fluid Sparkling Water

Definitely Not Butter Air Freshener Spray

DONE

(These are actually all available for purchase. No, seriously go look. I'll wait)

As you continue on through the aisles, you'll continue to see the mundane humdrum of products on shelves

Credit to Alan at SingleFlyer

A pretty standard butcher's counter

Credit to Alan at SingleFlyer

And of course a daiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

Credit to Alan at SingleFlyer

iiiiiiiry section.

So.

What's REALLY going on here?

Meow Wolf, founded in 2008 in Sante Fe, New Mexico, is an arts and entertainment company with hundreds of artists contributing to large-scale whimsical, fantastical, and often-times bizarre interactive projects. The name comes from their first meeting, in which two random words were drawn from a hat.

The first Omega Mart (located in Sante Fe) took the combined efforts of around 1000 artists to pull off in 2011, followed by the opening of the Las Vegas location ten years later in 2021. In Denver, Colorado, Meow Wolf also has the Vortex Music Festival, Convergence Station, and plans to open two other permanent installations in Grapevine and Houston, Texas.

In 2022, the Meow Wolf Foundation was formed, which plans to give back to the communities that are home to their installations.

I don't want to spoil too much of these amazing creations, so be sure to check out a Meow Wolf location in person if you can, or maybe catch some walkthrough videos on their site or YouTube!

That's all for now! Stay weird, everyone!

-Cabin Leader

This post is dedicated to Meow Wolf co-founder Matt King, who passed away July 9, 2022.

OG Content Time!

Puerto Rico Spice Rating - Cool Ranch

Hello again, friends and travelers!

My first post was about rainbow trees, which I have yet to see in person. Today's post will be about a trip I actually took to Puerto Rico!

I flew into San Juan late in the night and early in the year, catching a couple hours' sleep while listening to the roosters and coqui frogs rehearsing their daily chorus. After a big barbecue breakfast (where I fell in love with blood sausage, plantains, and yuca), I set off south, through the narrow, twisting mountain roads and breathtaking views.

Beach in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Credit to Cabin Leader, 2022

Hills in San Juan.
Credit to Cabin Leader, 2022

Painted Rock in San Juan.
Credit to Cabin Leader, 2022

It took hours to reach Ponce, but the views were well worth it.

I primarily stayed around the Plaza Munoz Rivera, which is home to several historical sights and museums. One of my favorites was the Museo de la Musica Puertorriquena, which, as the name implies, primarily divulges Puerto Rico's history of music and the evolution of its instruments. It is also host to other artwork, including a collection of vejigante masks, a Carnival staple.

Vejigante Mural around the Plaza
Credit to Cabin Leader, 2022

Beautiful stained glass at the music museum.
Credit to Cabin Leader, 2022

Vejigante Mask at the music museum.
Credit to Cabin Leader, 2022

I also took a trip to El Tuque, a beach that has undergone several makeovers since the 1960s. Some of these included a water park, a restaurant, pools, and other facilities, which have since fallen into disrepair. In 1979, attempts were made to combat erosion of the beach by bringing in sand darker than the original sand. Interestingly, this dark sand is still there in abundance decades later. 

It was overcast when I visited, so I didn't get great pictures of the beach itself, but I got pictures of the facilities that are still there. I'll only post a couple, because I'd rather primarily portray the beauty and soul of the island than harp on its difficulties.

Closed-off rec facilities at El Tuque.
Credit to Cabin Leader, 2022

Closed-off rec facilities at El Tuque.
Credit to Cabin Leader, 2022

Beach Grass at El Tuque.
Credit to Cabin Leader, 2022

There was so much more I did during my stay, and so much more that I'd love to do if I ever go back. In particular, I'd like to learn more about the Taino people and El Yunque (the only National Forest that is a tropical rainforest).

El Yunque National Forest.
Credit unknown

That's all for now, thanks for reading and safe travels!

-Cabin Leader

Welcome to my travel blog!

Florida Spice Rating - Nacho Cheese

Hi, friends! I’m the Cabin Leader, and I’m thrilled that you’re joining me here today!

Every week or so I’ll share an interesting thing I find, either something I’ve seen myself or something cool I learned about online. Today it’s one of the latter, a rainbow eucalyptus tree!

Rainbow eucalyptus - O’ahu, Hawaii
Credit to Sean D Thomas/Shutterstock

This beautiful tree has NOT been painted by human hands. Rather, these rich, opalescent hues develop as the tree sheds its bark and the layer underneath is exposed to air. This is also the only eucalyptus native to the northern hemisphere.

Where can I see one?

While this dreamy foliage is native to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines, it’s been adopted by many other countries. It can even be found in the U.S., in Hawaii, Southern California, Texas, and Florida.

A Florida location of note is St. Petersburg’s Sunken Gardens, which also features a cactus garden, butterfly garden, water lilies, a flock of Chilean flamingos, a host of rescue parrots, and even a kookaburra.

That’s all for now, safe travels!

-Cabin Leader