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mark_schnell

Documenting great design, beautiful landscapes, and interesting places... as well as a few places that I designed

Tonight I was minding my own business at my favori

Tonight I was minding my own business at my favorite dive bar in Port Aransas, Texas, enjoying my Maker’s Mark on the rocks, when a woman approaches the bar to order a drink. She’s a perfect fit for the bar: scantily clad and tatted up. As she receives her drink, she asks the bartender if flamingos ever appear in the area. He replies that no, they do not. At which point I speak up and say, “It was probably a Roseate Spoonbill. They are pink and could be mistaken for a flamingo.” The bartender agrees, although I’m not entirely sure he wasn’t just agreeing for lack of a better answer. The woman went back to her game of pool (she’s not visible in this picture). And I tried to figure out why I said such a thing in a dive bar. I’ll both blame and thank birder-extraordinaire Lynn Nesmith (@30astyle) for that! Thanks, Lynn!

Well, that was unexpected: the northern lights in

Well, that was unexpected: the northern lights in Florida!

Arrived home late last night (or early this mornin

Arrived home late last night (or early this morning) from a great long weekend in Vegas. The highlight was the purpose of the trip: see U2 play the remarkable new venue called the Sphere. Both the band and the venue lived up to the hype, and even exceeded my expectations. I would love to see another show there. Highly recommended… #U2 #Sphere #LasVegas #Vegas

Unlike Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard was not what

Unlike Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard was not what I expected (except for Edgartown). But I loved it. The Victorian cottages in Oak Bluffs were a pleasant surprise. #marthasvineyard

Nantucket was everything I thought it would be: be

Nantucket was everything I thought it would be: beautiful built environment, beautiful natural environment, beautiful everything. #nantucket

We wrapped up another great NTBA Roundtable earlie

We wrapped up another great NTBA Roundtable earlier today. (That’s short for the National Town Builders Association.) This one was in Northwest Arkansas. I visited just three years ago, but I loved hearing and seeing even more about the area. It’s a region that really has its act together. Their work to continually improve the area is very impressive. The local corporate/philanthropic community has made a real difference (much of the credit goes to the Walton family). It doesn’t hurt to have a major university too. Thanks to all who made the Roundtable happen!

#ntba #ntbaroundtable #northwestarkansas #nwarkansas #newurbanism

Colorado, you make it hard to say goodbye! It’s

Colorado, you make it hard to say goodbye! It’s been a great summer in the mountains, but it’s (almost) time to head back to Florida. (Right after a crazy three-stop trip over the next 12 days.) I took a few hours to drive up the Crystal River valley and enjoy the fall colors yesterday. They are still in the early stages, but I was happy to see them. See you soon, Florida!

#colorado #redstone #marble #mcclurepass #crystalriver #crystalrivervalley #fallcolors

Last Saturday was a lot of fun in Boulder, and som

Last Saturday was a lot of fun in Boulder, and somehow the Buffs pulled it out in the second overtime. I haven’t seen that kind of energy in Boulder since I was in school there. I always enjoy that town, but it’s even more fun so far in the Coach Prime era.

The video shows Ralphie running. The second image is The Sink’s tribute to its most famous former janitor, and the third image is my favorite breakfast joint in Boulder, the Village Coffee Shop. It was great to revisit all of these places.

Looking forward to the rest of the season, but it will be a tough game tomorrow against Oregon. Go Buffs!

#cubuffs #ralphie #coachprime #boulder #bouldercolorado #folsomfield #thesink #villagecoffeeshop

A few (and I mean only a few) photos from Napa and

A few (and I mean only a few) photos from Napa and San Francisco. I didn’t shoot many photos. I even failed to get a photo of the Auburn vs Cal game (and the general festivities in Berkeley). But I think that probably means that I was too busy having a good time. And I think it’s fair to say that a good time was had by all (all 29 of us)!

I finally made it to the famous Crystal Mill, near

I finally made it to the famous Crystal Mill, near Marble, CO and not far from our Redstone house. It’s one of the most iconic scenes (and photo opportunities) in Colorado. The trip is along a rocky and narrow 4WD road, and we just never got around to it until yesterday. Thanks to @colab.workshop for driving us up there! Here are a few views as the light changed with a passing rain shower.
#crystalmill #colorado

We had less than two days in San Antonio, but I’

We had less than two days in San Antonio, but I’ll take what I can get. The Hotel Emma was perfect as always. #sanantonio #satx #hotelemma

I’m wrapping up four days in Charlotte for CNU 3

I’m wrapping up four days in Charlotte for CNU 31. This was my first visit to the city in a long time, and I’m sad that I didn’t have more time to explore. But the CNU sessions were interesting and enlightening, and it was good to reconnect with some colleagues and meet some new ones. #CNU #CNU31 #newurbanism

I’m heading home after another great National To

I’m heading home after another great National Town Builders Association (NTBA) Roundtable. This one was held in the Norfolk / Virginia Beach area. In addition to the conversations and presentations, I always enjoy the chance to see great neighborhoods that were designed and built by friends and colleagues. At this Roundtable, I especially enjoyed The Cavalier hotel and neighborhood (Images 1-5), and East Beach (Images 6-10). #NTBA #cavalier #cavalierhotel #eastbeach

I added a short one-day visit to the Virginia Beac

I added a short one-day visit to the Virginia Beach oceanfront on my way to the NTBA Roundtable. Highlights included: 1. the Neptune statue along the boardwalk, 2. the Cavalier hotel (which I would explore more in-depth at the Roundtable), 3. a restaurant called The Atlantic, 4. a classic breakfast joint called the Pocahontas Pancake House (complete with some amazing Pocahontas / John Smith / Jamestown “art”), and 5. the view from my 14th story hotel room. #virginiabeach

Scenes from a whirlwind visit to New Orleans two w

Scenes from a whirlwind visit to New Orleans two weeks ago for the Tyler Childers concert. #neworleans #nola

It’s great to be back in Port Aransas! My projec

It’s great to be back in Port Aransas! My projects here are basically giant construction sites (with the exception of the original Cinnamon Shore, which is approaching full build-out). This makes for some less-than-ideal photography, and the weather hasn’t cooperated either. So today I’ll celebrate an urban design concept known as the “terminated vista.” This is when a building, architectural feature, etc. is in the center of a distant view down a street or other corridor. Here are 10 examples from my work here. The first three are Palmilla Beach and the rest are Cinnamon Shore South. All were intentional aspects of the design. I organized the streets and lots to set this up, and then required the towers in the Design Code. Thank you to all of the architects who bring this to life in their designs. (This isn’t a new technique, by the way. See Paris, Washington DC, Seaside, etc. for more famous examples.)

#schnellurbandesign #cinnamonshore #palmillabeach #urbandesign #newurbanism #terminatedvistas #portaransas #texas #thenewtexascoast

It’s been a great week in Colorado visiting fami

It’s been a great week in Colorado visiting family and friends, watching hockey and basketball, and playing in the snow. It’s always difficult to leave, but I’m looking forward to the summer!

Thank you, Bahamas! That was FUN! #bahamas #abacos

Thank you, Bahamas! That was FUN! #bahamas #abacos

Heading home from our trip to NYC, Portugal, and M

Heading home from our trip to NYC, Portugal, and Morocco. This post covers Marrakesh, Morocco.

We only had the equivalent of two full days in Marrakesh, so we mostly walked around the Medina (old city), and enjoyed our hotel, the famous La Mamounia. It was an easy side trip from Portugal (only a 1.5 hour flight from Lisbon).

Marrakesh is a fascinating place. The streets of the Medina are chaotic, busy, and frenetic, while the courtyards are usually serene and beautiful. It seems like someone is trying to sell you something throughout every narrow passageway of the maze-like Medina. We enjoyed it, but we found that it can be a little much, too.

La Mamounia is a stunning hotel with excellent service.

We hope to visit Morocco again sometime and explore more of the country.

And this wraps up my 50th birthday trip (the actual birthday was back in November). It was a lot of fun to add two new countries and one continent (Africa) to my travels.

#marrakesh #marrakech #morocco

We are wrapping up a great trip to NYC, Portugal,

We are wrapping up a great trip to NYC, Portugal, and Morocco. This post is about Portugal. (See my previous post for NYC and the next post for Morocco if you are interested.)

We really enjoyed Portugal - It’s a beautiful and livable place, with very friendly people. We traveled the country for nine days, which is really only enough time to do a highlights tour. But we saw and experienced a lot in those nine days: Lisbon, Porto, Sintra, Algarve, and Comporta.

I could have posted a hundred photos. It’s probably best that Instagram limits me to ten!

#portugal

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