Travel | dual personalities

Here we are after daughter #1 crossed the finish line at the Rock n Roll half marathon. Daughter #2 and I carried our signs all the way from College Park on the D.C. metro and waved them at the halfway point in Columbia Heights. The “praise hands” sign was a big hit with a lot of the runners who made “praise hands” gestures as they ran by. Daughter #2 is so hip. Anyway, our own “Mary” (as well as several other Marys) saw us as she flew by. We trucked on over to the finish line via metro (we even had to transfer) in time to see her cross the finish line. We ubered to our brunch location and then metroed home.

Following a much-needed nap, we all converged in Silver Spring at daughter #2 and Nate’s favorite watering hole for cocktails.

We toasted the marathoner and also our newest Ph.D–Dr. Underland, who defended his dissertation last week.

On Sunday we headed out into the rain for Pennsylvania. The weather did not improve for the two days we were there. In fact, it got worse, but, oh well. C’est la vie.

We made it to Chadds Ford and our hotel. It is a really lovely part of the country. Unfortunately, the Brandywine River Museum, which was my main reason for going, is undergoing renovations so there were only two galleries open and no N.C. Wyeth at all on view!

There was a lot of banging and hammering going on just to the right of daughter #1…and the weather…gloomy enough for you?

This was deeply disappointing, but being the troupers that we are, we forged on to the Hagley Museum in nearby Delaware. This Smithsonian affiliate includes the historic DuPont powder yards on the banks of the Brandywine River and a really lovely DuPont home.

It was all right up my alley. There was also this:

and a tram ride.

On the way back to the hotel we stopped at the Baldwin Book Barn–a five-story barn filled to the brim with used books. We all found books–typical–to tote home. We also slammed on the brakes for an antique mall. Duh.

The next day we headed over to Winterthur, the fabulous home of Henry Francis DuPont. I have always wanted to go there and it did not disappoint. Since it was cold and rainy, we were practically the only people there when it opened at 10 a.m. so we got a private tour on the tram through the beautiful gardens and a private tour through the house. DuPont was a rich guy after my own heart–he collected American furniture and decorative arts and built a house for them. Then he opened it up for the world to enjoy. He was also a master gardener and farmer.

Oh, the export china! I was in heaven.

After lunch we headed home to College Park in the rain.

Of course, the sun came out on the day I left. Despite the blue skies in Baltimore, the fog in Ft. Myers meant the flight was delayed. Then the check engine light came on and the plane had to be…checked. So we sat on the tarmac for two hours before they decided the plane was un-flyable. Back to the terminal. Much gnashing of teeth. I have to say though that all the passengers on my packed-to-capacity flight were friendly and unflappable and orderly. And the drinks were free when we finally got off the ground.

Well, it is always nice to get home, isn’t it?

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March 11, 2016

“We must away ere break of day Over the wood and mountain tall”*

by chuckofish

Today I am heading east to visit daughters #1 and #2 in College Park.

We will cheer on daughter #1 on as she runs in the Rock ‘n Roll half marathon in D.C. Then we are heading to the Brandywine Valley in Pennsylvania for some museum and garden-going.

We will get our fill of N.C. Wyeth et al…

If you are looking for a good movie to watch in the meantime, I recommend Alleghany Uprising (1939) with a young John Wayne and Claire Trevor. I watched it this past week and thoroughly enjoyed it. It is a highly politically-incorrect telling of a little-known piece of American history–

wherein a group of settlers in Pennsylvania’s Allegheny Valley struggle to try and persuade the British authorities to ban the trading of alcohol and arms with the marauding Indians.

Some of the character actors are priceless–such as Wilfred Lawson as the Scotsman MacDougall, who really steals the show. A very young George Sanders is appropriately uppity as the British captain who doesn’t have a clue. I would put this film in the they-don’t-make-’em-like-this-anymore category, i.e. good entertainment with an excellent story and characters.

So remember, I will be off the internet through next Thursday. Maybe my dual personality will check in. I hope so!

*J.R.R. Tolkien

3 Comments

March 10, 2016

My bags are packed

by chuckofish

“Here today, up and off to somewhere else tomorrow! Travel, change, interest, excitement! The whole world before you, and a horizon that’s always changing!”

–Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

I lied. My bags are not packed! I haven’t done a thing to get ready for my trip tomorrow! Oh brother, I have a lot to do tonight…like try to pack clothes I can actually wear on my trip. And what’s the weather going to be like back east anyway? Zut alors! I guess I need to do some laundry…

6 Comments

September 15, 2015

Postcards from New York: I whistle a happy tune edition

by chuckofish

I had a lovely, fun-filled time visiting with daughter #1 in her tiny UWS third-floor studio apartment. Basically we were only there to sleep and grab an occasional Diet Coke. Oh, yes, we did shower and change, but in typical fashion I had done a miserable job packing, so my clothing options were limited. Daughter #1 always looked impeccable.

We were on the go from the time I dropped my bags there (after getting up at 3:30 a.m. to catch the 5:55 to LaGuardia) until I hopped in an Uber to head back to the airport.

It was rainy when I arrived, so we headed over to the Met to see the John Singer Sargent exhibit.

It was a terrific show with lots of great portraits. I liked the Edwin Booth portrait, but, of course, they didn’t have a postcard. They always pick the weirdest things for postcards, have you noticed? C’est la vie.

We also checked some of our favorites in the American Wing.

We went to Lincoln Center to see The King and I which was fabulous,

although the King was not Yul Brynner. His ghost is always there, arms akimbo.

We walked ALL OVER Central Park, but I did not have my phone with me (!) so I didn’t take any pictures of my favorite schist. We took the uptown bus to see the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, which I have always wanted to do.

It was a divine space but rather godless. Not that I was really surprised, but oh well. I liked the poets’ corner with all my favorites.

We also took the subway all the way up to 190th to go to the Cloisters, another place on my bucket list.

It was very cool. (I bought a book about how it all came to be and read it on the plane ride home. Thank you, John D. Rockefeller, Jr.) Afterwards we rode the subway back down and conked out. Then we got up and made ready for our evening out with some of daughter #1’s college (and one highschool) friends.

Oh my–super fun!

By the time Sunday rolled around I was incapable of leaving the UWS and we opted to stay put and meander around, ending up on a park bench in Riverside Park, watching the world rollerblade or bicycle (training wheels optional) or jog by.

While I was visiting we ate at a wide variety of wonderful restaurants and made one notable and tipsy stop at Zabar’s.

Now I am home and back at the salt mine. Last night I planted myself in front of Dancing With the Stars in full recovery mode.

8 Comments

September 1, 2015

Postcards from Lincoln Land

by chuckofish

Although Abraham Lincoln spent most of his formative years in Indiana, he lived for 24 years in Springfield, Illinois. So if you are an admirer of our 16th president (and who isn’t?) you ought to avail yourself of the opportunity to visit this small city and state capitol.

The layout of the town is based on a grid street system, with numbered streets starting with the longitudinal First Street which leads to the Illinois State Capitol. The cross streets are named after presidents: Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Madison and so on just like the town I live in. We could walk everywhere from our centrally located hotel. Luckily the weather was balmy and the temperature moderate for August.

We went to the magnificent Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.

I was impressed. You start your tour in a replica of the log cabin Abe grew up in

and end up at the White House. In between there are many vignettes,

complete with sound effects, music and characters speaking. By the end Lincoln has been shot at Ford’s theater and is lying in state. It is an incredibly moving experience. I seriously was close to tears several times.

There is also a cool hologram presentation and a movie–all very well done. It was “experiential”–but not interactive (which I loathe).

Usually I like Museum gift shops, but I was turned off in this one by the crass commercialization of our most revered president.

Really? Couzies with the Gettysburg Address? I mean really, there was Abe Lincoln everything. Good grief, Charlie Brown!

We also visited the only home he ever owned, which is open to the public and operated by the National Park Service.

There are several other houses to visit in this park and you really do get a sense of what the town must have been like in the mid-19th century. To me it was awesome to stand in the great man’s lovely home.

As always, it was fascinating to see the other people who made the pilgrimage to Springfield. They ranged from classy Japanese tourists

to this guy.

But whoever and whatever their reasons–I am always pleased to see people visiting historical sites.

In between all this history we made several stops to eat and drink.

There were plenty of good dining options, even hipster microbreweries with outdoor patios complete with bocce ball courts. And of course there were Episcopal churches to make us feel right at home.

There were many more places of interest we did not get to: Lincoln’s Tomb, the Old State Capitol,

the Dana-Thomas House (designed by Frank Lloyd Wright) and the Vachel Lindsay House. Perhaps we shall return another day.

Because, you know, road trips are the best!

P.S.

Doesn’t this dude look just like Nate?

photo-jul-15-9-14-28-pm

Just kidding!

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August 31, 2015

“For you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills”*

by chuckofish

As I mentioned on Friday, we roadtripped to the midwest hotspot and state capitol, Springfield, Illinois, on Saturday. I am still recovering from our wild weekend of Land-o-Lincoln pursuits which included stops at great places like this:

Yes, a pink elephant, soft-serve ice cream and an antique mall in an old highschool gymnasium–I am finally at a point in my life where I can stop at places like this and check them out.

More tomorrow…

*Walt Whitman, O Captain! My Captain!

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August 28, 2015

“Comes an echo on the breeze, Rustling through the leafy trees, and its mellow tones are these, Illinois, Illinois,”*

by chuckofish

Tomorrow my intrepid church buddies and I will embark on an overnight field trip to Springfield, Illinois. Why, you ask? Because we haven’t been there! And because we are belatedly celebrating Carla’s birthday!

Greetings from ILL? Really?

We are going to check out the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (designed by hometowner Gyo Obata at HOK)

and the Lincoln home

and who knows what else.

Since we’ll be there on Sunday morning, perhaps we’ll check out the Cathedral Church of St. Paul while we’re in the neighborhood.

The current Cathedral was built between 1912 and 1913 to replace an older building located at Third and Adams Streets to house its congregation which was founded in 1835. Its early members included, Ninian W. Edwards, son of Illinois’ first governor and husband of one of Mary Todd Lincoln’s sisters. Four Todd sisters attended the early church and were married there, including Frances Todd Wallace, Ann Todd Smith and Elizabeth Todd. Mary Todd was married to Abraham Lincoln by the first Rector, Charles Dresser. A marriage registery in which the marriage was recorded is preserved in the Canterbury House. (I had forgotten that the Todds were Episcopalians.)

Since tomorrow is the feast day of John Bunyan, it is appropriate to note that the ubiquitous Pilgrim’s Progress was one of the few books Lincoln could get his hands on to read as a boy. He was much influenced by it, as was another great U.S. president, Theodore Roosevelt, who wrote that

Great-Heart is my favorite character in allegory…just as Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress is to my mind one of the greatest books that was ever written; and I think Abraham Lincoln is the ideal Great-Heart of public life.

Having lived my whole life a few hours away from Lincoln-land, I am very happy to be finally making this pilgrimage.

And, oh yeah, this is pretty funny.

*from the Illinois state song, creatively named “Illinois” by Charles H. Chamberlain (1841–1894, also spelled Chamberlin)

5 Comments

August 2, 2015

Once in a blue moon

by chuckofish

Well, last week was a busy one, full of travel on airplanes (up and down eight times!), rental cars and GPS apps, delays, and the kindness of strangers.

I have to say, I was impressed with the University of Alabama who sponsored the Southern Regional Conference on Learning in Retirement. They put on a very good conference.

The first evening they held a reception for us at the

which looks like this on the outside in the fall

when this picture (from the internet) was taken. In the summer it looks quite different as it is deep in the lush Alabama piney woods, beautifully landscaped and really breath-taking. I walked through the halls dumbfounded by the Westervelt American art collection, one of the largest collections in the country! I snapped some pictures on my phone, but there was just so much to see!

Well, you get the idea. I was in heaven. (And we got to drink wine while we viewed the art!) I mean there wasn’t just one John Singer Sargent–there were three! Everything from Edward Hopper to Jamie Wyeth, Mary Cassatt, Carl Wimar and Albert Bierstadt, Charles Russell, and on and on. So much more impressive than Crystal Bridges in Arkansas! And the setting was lovely.

The following night we were treated to a reception at the Alabama Museum of Natural History on the U of A campus.

They do love their corinthian columns in Alabama. Again we were treated to “a taste of Alabama”–fried green tomatoes, fried catfish, crab cakes, bread pudding, and so on. Pretty delish.

In between meals, the actual conference was really good too–lots of good ideas from people who do what I do. The highlight for me was the talk by former Alabama defensive back Jeremiah Castille. Castille was on the last team coached by Bear Bryant.

He was a pallbearer at Bryant’s funeral. Castille played for Alabama from 1979–1982, recording a school record 16 interceptions and making the College Football All-American Team in 1982. In the 1982 Liberty Bowl, Castille intercepted three passes in a 21–15 win and was selected as the game’s MVP. He is a minister now and a motivational speaker. Much influenced by Coach Bryant, he is on a mission to influence others. He encouraged us to “finish strong”. For seniors this is an excellent message!

Even though I got home at 4:00 a.m. Thursday night/Friday morning after 14 hours in various airports, I’m glad I went. I’m glad I seized the day. Funnily enough, I met another woman (my counterpart at Union College) who expressed the same fears as I–can I find my way from Birmingham, AL to Tuscaloosa in a rented car?–who was encouraged by her children to do it. “You can do it, Mom!” And we did, thank you. High fives all around.

And did you notice Thursday night there was a full moon? It was the “blue moon”–an additional full moon that appears in a subdivision of a year: either the third of four full moons in a season, or a second full moon in a month of the common calendar. Thus the expression, “once in a blue moon”.

Now it is Monday. Have a good week back at the salt mines! And remember: For God did not give you a spirit of timidity, but one of power and of love and of self-control. (2 Timothy 1:7)

7 Comments

June 29, 2015

Postcards from Gasparilla

by chuckofish

From our first night to our last,

we had the best time!

Our week in Boca Grande was filled with good food (thank you, daughter #2)

good drink (thank you, daughter #1)

and ice cream,

hair braiding,

beach time,

and pool time,

and lots of gab, gab, gabbing.

We pretty much did everything we did on our previous visit, but with just the three of us girls, we simplified the formula to basically: floating in the pool, walking on the beach, eating, drinking, and watching movies/Freaks and Geeks and various other Netflix offerings. Although daughter #2 did some online grading, I never looked at a computer or even my iphone. It was great.

On Saturday we headed to the airport, bid adieu to each other and flew off to our separate homes in three states.

Sigh.

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June 18, 2015

“Whereon it is enough for me, Not to be doing, but to be!”*

by chuckofish

What heed I of the dusty land
And noisy town?
I see the mighty deep expand
From its white line of glimmering sand
To where the blue of heaven on bluer waves shuts down!

In listless quietude of mind,
I yield to all
The change of cloud and wave and wind
And passive on the flood reclined,
I wander with the waves, and with them rise and fall.

–from “Hampton Beach” by John Greenleaf Whittier

Tomorrow I am off to Florida to meet up with daughters #1 and #2 for a week on the beach. The OM has flaked on us due to work commitments, so we will eat and drink what we please and binge watch “Freaks and Geeks” if we so desire.

Although daughter #2 will have her laptop, I will not be online. So I’ll see you in a week or so. Keep us travelers in your prayers.

*From “A Day of Sunshine” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

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dual personalities

Category: Travel

March 18, 2016

Postcards from Pennsylvania

by chuckofish

March 11, 2016

“We must away ere break of day Over the wood and mountain tall”*

by chuckofish

March 10, 2016

My bags are packed

by chuckofish

September 15, 2015

Postcards from New York: I whistle a happy tune edition

by chuckofish

September 1, 2015

Postcards from Lincoln Land

by chuckofish

August 31, 2015

“For you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills”*

by chuckofish

August 28, 2015

“Comes an echo on the breeze, Rustling through the leafy trees, and its mellow tones are these, Illinois, Illinois,”*

by chuckofish

August 2, 2015

Once in a blue moon

by chuckofish

June 29, 2015

Postcards from Gasparilla

by chuckofish

June 18, 2015

“Whereon it is enough for me, Not to be doing, but to be!”*

by chuckofish