A Wonderful Weekend

We had a weekend of “firsts” with Bennett.  We watched him kick and chase the ball at his first soccer practice.

Then we all went to his first play, Elephant and Piggie in We aAre in a Play, at the Kennedy Center.  The characters are favorites from a series of books by Mo Willem.  Bennett sat at rapt attention and we adults were happily amused by the acting and dialogue.  Our experience in introducing a child to the theater early creates a life-long addiction, as evidenced by Jeff and Cheryl.  We think Bennett has caught the same “fever.”

Sunday, we all enjoyed a relaxing stay-at-home day with the men doing repairs and Mom and Bubbie on Bennett detail. In the evening we had our first Chanukah with Bennett who joined in the lighting of the candles and then unwrapped his gelt and gifts.  Jerry’s roasted chicken and Cheryl’s latkes and applesauce made for a delicious Chanukah dinner. 

 On Monday, Jerry & Anna Lee attended a play by the Shakespeare Theater Company.  The theme is a trial based upon a famous play.  This play was an appeal in the Salome trial.  All the "actors" were local attorneys and judges.  The chief judge was Supreme Court Justice Elana Kagen.  The script (often not scripted) leans toward quick witted comedy. 

Back at the house we all celebrated the second night of Chanukah.

 This was our last night together and we are looking forward to being with our family again next year.  We wish all of you a wonderful holiday and a great new year.  We look forward to your joining us in 2016 for more travel adventures.

Renwick Gallery

The Renwick is our favorite DC museum because of its excellent collection and smaller size.  The house that is now the gallery was built for William Corcoran by the architect James Renwick.  When Corcoran’s collection exceeded the floor space, he opened the Corcoran Gallery of Art.  The Corcoran is now closed, and those pieces are at the National Gallery of Art (to the disappointment of the Renwick). 

We can see both floors of the Renwick and not suffer from “museum fatigue.”  It is the American craft museum.  American artists qualify by being born here, moving here or working here.  However you define it, all the artists are outstanding.  The gallery has been closed for remodeling for the last two years and, now that it is reopened,  we were eager to visit again.

According to the exhibit's curator: "The idea of wonder--that moment of awe in the face of something new that transports us beyond the everyday--is inherent in the experience of art."

The only downside of this visit was that the art we loved to see on earlier visits is now in storage replaced by some amazing new installations. Enjoy your virtual “visit.”

These towers are made by Tara Donovan from millions of plastic cards supported by a steel frame.

These are created by Chakaia Booker from used racing car tires.

This Greek slave is a 3D print which was made by creating a digital scan from a plaster cast of a marble statue.

These are made from twigs by Patrick Dougherty.  His installations are frequently outdoors and left to return to the earth from which they grew.

This hemlock tree by John Grade will  be taken back to its origins east of Seattle when the exhibit is finished to decay.

 This installation by Janet Echelman, suspended from the ceiling, changed colors as time passed.  It filled the room.

Another installation by Gabriel Dawe consisted of multi-colored threads running floor to the high ceiling.  They  appeared as a rainbow wherever you looked at them but particularly when you were under it looking up.

An exhibit by Maya Lin, who did the Vietnam memorial, is this map of the Chesapeake Bay with glass balls on the walls and floor.  It was very difficult to photograph.

The last exhibit, by Jennifer Angus, was made up of farmed insects that reminded us of the Day of the Dead displays that we saw in New Mexico a few months ago.

Ford’s Theatre

We have been to most of the Abraham Lincoln sites (his birthplace, where he grew up, Springfield) but never where he was shot.  This trip we had a chance to visit this site.  The tour of Ford’s Theatre consists of four sections, a museum, the theater, the Petersen House and the bookstore.

The museum displays tell of his time in office with a recap of the generals who led the Northern army and of the outcome of the battles.  It also tells a bit about life in the White House, including Mary Todd Lincoln’s remodeling of the neglected house.  The small hand gun that changed the world is on display in a side room.

After viewing the museum, visitors enter the theater where an excellent ranger told of the activities of both Lincoln and John Wilkes Booth on that fateful April 14, 1865.

  Lincoln’s days during the war seem split between military matters and fending off job seekers who met with him hoping to find federal positions from lighthouse keepers to judges. 

With the surrender of General Lee on April 9th and the war ended,, Lincoln spent his last day relaxing day over breakfast with his son Robert and a carriage ride with Mary.  He had made a reservation to spend the evening watching Our American Cousin at the theater.  His box is to the right of the stage.

Booth, a staunch pro-slavery advocate and supporter of the Confederacy, had planned to kidnap Lincoln.  But with the war over, he changed his goal and spent his day working with fellow conspirators to kill Lincoln, Vice-President Andrew Johnson and members of the Cabinet.  He also planned out his “performance” in the theater.

The ranger told of how the events of the day brought these two men together and then of Major Henry Reed Rathbone, who shared box seats with the Lincolns.  This is the view that Booth had as he entered the box.

 Rathbone attempted to stop Booth after the shot and that attempt caused Booth to break his leg in the leap from the box seats to the stage.

We then went to the Petersen House where Lincoln was taken for treatment and where he died the next day.  It was a boarding house and after the assassination, few boarders wanted to stay there.  The family sold the home.  It was later acquired by the National Park Service.  All the furnishings are from the mid 19th century.

Thousands of books have been written about Lincoln as attested to by this four-story stack that leads down to the bookstore.  

Thanksgiving in Troy, NY

We are enjoying a wonderful extended Thanksgiving on the East Coast.  We started with some two-on-one time with Jeff in Troy, dining at the delicious Ali Shanghai. Then we had luncheon with Anna Lee’s cousin Joann who is staying with her family in Castleton.  While we enjoyed good meals it was the chance to talk that made these moments valuable.

Bennett relished time with his uncle.

On Wednesday Bennett traveled with us to the Children’s Museum of Science and Technology in Troy where he built a vehicle with his cousin Liat.

 He and mom also made a “turkey hand puppet” after listening to a book about turkeys.

On Thanksgiving morning, to stir up our appetite while doing a good deed, we ran/walked the Troy Turkey Trot benefitting the local food bank.  Bennett enjoyed the costumed runners.

“Uncle Sam” Wilson was born in Troy and this statue honors him.

The turkey was the centerpiece of an overload of side dishes and desserts that filled the kitchen counter top at cousins Ed and Leora’s.  All the chefs outdid themselves on this fabulous Thanksgiving dinner where we were all so grateful to be with family.

We rolled out of bed the next day to visit the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge.  We have been there before but the rest of the family had not.  While most of the adults were learning from a museum talk, Bennett and his cousins Liat and Edan were downstairs making art and listening to stories.  This is an excellent museum that showcases the works of a great artist whose work reflected the changing culture of America.

Jerry pleased everyone with his blintzes on Saturday morning after which we all got together for a family photo.

 With cars ladened with purchases from the Troy farmers market and from the fabulous Italian market DiFazios, we drove south toward Philadelphia where we met cousins Barbara and Bob for another delicious dinner. Anastasi’s Seafood.  After that, it was on to Washington, DC for the remainder of our trip.

In summation

We have been on the road for 49 days and drove over 4200 miles in five states.  We saw thousands of cacti, rocks and other desert “decor.”

We saw 600 balloons with our daughter, son-in-law and grandson.  We spent time with friends from near and far.

We have slept in campgrounds, Walmarts and Elks lodges and have enjoyed meeting people along the way.  We spent one rainy day doing pretty much nothing and savored it.

This was our big RV trip of the year and it exceeded expectations.  We went to places we intended to see, found unexpected delights and enjoyed every day of the trip.  Now it’s home to see where we go next.  We look forward to your traveling with us.  Oh, and thanks for your comments on the blog; we delight in your opinions.

Heading to California

 We paused on our way to CA to enjoy lunch and conversation with Joe, a longtime RV friend.  Then we headed to Indio for the last few days of this trip.

We met Carl and Louise, friends from home at the beautiful La Quinta Cliff House which really is in a cliff. You can see why it is so named.   The atmosphere is as good as the food and the conversation was also great.

On Carl and Louise’s recommendation, we went to Desert Hot Springs to tour the Cabot Old Indian Adobe. 

 This is a place that is due to the dreams and efforts of one man, Cabot Yerxa, the son of Minnesota grocers.

Dropping out of school at 16, he went to Alaska and opened a cigar and candy shop, went to Cuba to work with his family, married and had a son, and grew citrus.  If that wasn’t enough, when he enlisted during WWI, he became Eisenhower’s Mess Sgt.  After the war, he got divorced and moved to Paris to study art. 

While doing all that, he took advantage of the government’s offer to homestead 160 acres in the desert.  He walked seven miles to get water until he acquired a mule.  Then a Cahuilla Indian told him there was a well on his property.  The well was alkaline but he had dug another and no longer had to travel for water.  What he discovered was well waters varying from 132 degrees to ice cold  that are now used in the spas of the area.  He enlisted the help of L. W. Coffee, an LA developer, and Desert Hot Springs had its beginnings.

 This is the history, but it is his 5000 square foot home with 35 rooms, 65 doors and 150 individualized windows (because most of them are made from broken glass panels fit together like a puzzle) that is the fulfillment of his dream.  The home is made from adobe he mixed by adding cement to the soil since the dirt here is not really fit to make adobe.  Building materials consisted of recycled materials he gather from where ever he went, such a cardboard roller used for printing newspapers that he used for insulation.

 One room has a dirt floor in tribute to the Hopi belief in living closer to the earth.
To combat the heat of the desert, he devised a system of having small windows on opposite walls.  The air that entered pushed the indoor hot air up making the rooms cooler.  There are many creations in the home that he developed or copied by studying construction manuals. 

Cabot was a great supporter of rights for Native Americans and helped them recover homeland.

He intended this home as a museum and trading post.  He lived here with his second wife until his death in 1965.  On his death, she left the home and it fell into disrepair until it was bought by Cole Erod who restored it and later gave it to the city to continue to be a museum.

The home contains paintings by Cabot, books collected by Portia, his second wife, and art they collected.

 This carving is called Shumash, by Samu, portrays the two-faced white man who agrees to one thing but winks at the idea at the same time.  The snakes are the poisoned soul and brain of the white man.

Waokiye, traditional helper, was carved by Hungarian-born Peter “Wolf” Toth.  It is carved of a 45-ton giant Sequoia that had been struck by lightening.  Toth has carved Native American sculptures in all 50 states.  Some no longer stand but to find one near you just look up his name.  The carvings are awesome to see.

The view from the adobe is also amazing.

 

As a parting gift, we each got a bottle of Desert Hot Springs internationally awarded water and it did taste very good.  This pueblo wound up being a surprisingly excellent side trip.


We came to this area to celebrate the Bar Mitzvah of Jacob, grandson of close friends Steve and Rita.  We were invited to a dinner before the Friday night services.  Coincidentally, it was held at the same restaurant where we had dined the previous night.  Few restaurants are worth dining twice in a row but this one was.

We felt great pleasure in being part of the celebration of this wonderful event with our friends from back home.