I have had Gettysburg on my list of things to see for some time and finally that was realized.  I even entered a show just for the excuse of going, but didn't get in.  (I told you I get decline letters too.)  So, the day was cold and spitting rain as usual.  I was really impressed with the new facility.  It was so clean and well run.  We were there fairly early to miss the crowds.  Good planning.  We started with a tour of President Dwight D. Eisenhower's home.  It backs up to the battlefield and has a beautiful view.  Informative and polite guides, but the opportunity to just walk around was quite pleasant despite the weather.  My favorite area started with the barn.  I loved getting in the barn as I had seen this style when we drove into this part of the country.  The barns back home don't look like this, so it was interesting to actually see the difference up close. Apparently Dwight and Mamie worked really hard to pick the right color. Really?  Army institutional green?  As a military kid, I can't count how many buildings I've been in that were this color.  I have to say if I had been given the opportunity to redo a house from the ground up, I would have made the ceilings higher.  A little stifling, though par for the times.  Perhaps they were looking for something more...cozy?  My favorite part was the linen closet.  Yes, Mamie's favorite color was pink but it was the organization that I admired.  The phones were fantastic and everyone had their own number.  Ike's "big" kitchen looks functional (he liked to cook).  I wonder what his apron looked like?  And this little vignette caught my attention and raised an eyebrow.  Really?  With the hairbrushes?  I'm still pondering that scene today.   It poured down rain as we got on the shuttle to leave.  Next was the battlefield and after the first stop on the tour it quit raining and the sun came out.  Hooray!  We went through town as well, but I would have liked to stay longer.  We enjoyed our thoughtful guide who stopped by the Arkansas monument just so we could take photos.  Although the close proximity of things were noted, I couldn't help but compare it to Vicksburg.  The proximity of combat in Vicksburg was really close; not a whole valley.  It was more like combat with the house across the street.  Close.  Really close.  It started raining again and we headed back to have dinner with friends at Passion Fish in Reston.  A delightful end to the day.  Back to my brushes.  

"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed."  - Dwight D. Eisenhower

After seeing everything we planned at the National Museum of Art, East and West, we headed to the Archives to finish the day.  We also walked over to take photos of the White House before catching the metro.  Only walked 11 miles that day.  Just a good stretch of the legs, but the following day was our planned monument walk.  It was overcast and again around 50 degrees which was actually pretty good for the excursion, but again it was misty.  Now let me say that I have done this before, but my partner had not, so it was new for one of us.  We started at the Washington Monument and proceeded in order to the World War II Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial (my personal favorite), the Lincoln Memorial, and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial before we stopped and had a coke.  Then we proceeded to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, then the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial.  This is where the sun came out.  Unfortunately, the pump house had flooded so none of the fountains were running.  I hope that is fixed soon, but I can appreciate the quiet.  I believe you can see the flooding in the photo of the Jefferson Memorial which was the last stop (click on the photo to make it larger).  The walkway around the edge of the water was flooded, so you had to take the long way around.  Plus they are working on the Jefferson Memorial, so once you get up those stairs the breeze you expected is shuttered off.  Disappointing.  Then we headed for the Air and Space Museum.  We got a hot dog and a drink before catching the show at the planetarium.  I'm not sure the heavens would be the same without Neil deGrasse Tyson's voice; such a pleasure.  The museum was filled to the brim with students, and almost half of the museum was shut down while they add on to one side of the building.  And to those that read my blog locally - yes, that is Louise Thaden in that photo!  I'm pleased that her home in Bentonville was saved, (even though it is still dismantled at this point).  And it wouldn't have been saved at all without the uproar from the public.  Who are we without our history?  We had a little over an hour before the museums closed, so we popped into the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery to see the exhibit the Empresses of China's Forbidden City.  We really had to move fast, so I took lots of photos to peruse later.  Good thing too because straight up five they rounded everyone up like cattle and shooed us out the door in a mob.  If they had tried to brand me on the way out I wouldn't have been surprised.  Although if they had handed me a bottle of opioids I wouldn't have been surprised either; it is the Sackler after all.  But I hold nothing against the artists who's work I saw and admired.  The stitching was exquisite.  After that we perused the gardens at the castle which were just beautiful and finished the day by walking down the mall to the Capitol and back before jumping on the metro.  A full day to be sure.  Back to my brushes.  

​"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much, it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little."  - Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Another stop on our itinerary was to visit the National Museum of Art.  The last time I was there I did ask the staff to explain why there were no watercolors in the museum save one.  ONE.  (Okay, I'll stretch and say two, but the second was actually mixed media, so - just no.)  Please - they didn't even know there was one.  Ugh.   So you can imagine how thrilled I was with the current exhibition on display downstairs.  Don't give up, you'll find it eventually.  It's past the restaurant, no...past the sculptures...no, past those prints, beyond the back of the back of the furniture...Hooray, there it is!  The reward is a wonderful collection of American Pre-Raphaelite watercolors featuring mostly landscapes and florals from the hands of the PRB.  I loved the work.  What joyful color!  "...a dazzling brilliance, giving their works an intensity that transcends the decorative."  I couldn't agree more.  They also broadened "the traditional concept of still life..." for which I send my thanks into the ether, and "Their dedication to the medium proved to be an important catalyst for the founding of the American Watercolor Society in 1866."  I highly recommend everyone see this well-lit exhibit of small works.  Now, if I could just find the exhibit of watercolors by women?  Maybe back here somewhere around that corner?  Back to my brushes.  


"The seed of revolution is repression."  - Woodrow Wilson

I have been changing my horizon line this May. Yes, I have been traveling and experiencing history along the way.  History becomes more "real" when you physically experience the place you have read about your whole life.  So I will share a few highlights.  Let me start with the scenery of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  Truth - looks a lot like home.  I found that to be the case everywhere we went.  Save the buildings I could be anywhere around my part of the state of Arkansas.  The biggest difference was the weather.  I left a sunny 80 degree environment and exchanged it for rain and 50 degrees.  Every time the sun came out I took photos.  So, it looks like that is what I experienced, but far from it.  It was rainy, cold and overcast 95% of the time.  Suboptimal.  We stopped in Staunton, Virginia, to see  Woodrow Wilson's birthplace and museum.  I highly recommend you stop in Staunton.  It is so picturesque!  I wish I had scheduled more time to be there because it was just lovely.  This is the view out of the back of the home.  As you can see it sits on a hill.  The front of the home sat right on a wagon trail so the back of the home is the architecturally significant part of the building.  I learned a lot from the museum and it brought home that although times change, too many problems remain the same.  Rather discouraging actually.  On an up note, my hats off to the friendliest museum staff I've ever run across.   They got us tucked into the last tour and gave us plenty of time in the actual museum before they closed.  Enough for now.  Back to my brushes.  

"You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand."  - Woodrow Wilson

Our last day in the city and it was overcast, but not raining.  Quite pleasant actually.  We started the day at the Neue Gallery.  We got there early and were rewarded by being the second couple in the building.  Unlike the couple in front of us, we decided to start with the portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer.  How fortunate we were to start there.  We and the guards were the only ones in the room for almost ten minutes.  Amazing!  We had the opportunity to look from all angles in the room and to sit and contemplate all the other paintings in the room as well.  We also had the little hand held devices to give us further insights.  We moved on when other people started entering.  I really enjoyed the artful jewelry and the sketches upstairs.  The portrait exhibit upstairs was interesting as well, so don't miss it.  I picked up a book in the gift shop for the children to enjoy.  After that it was just a hop, skip, and a jump to the Met.  We didn't go in as we have been through it many times and as I said in an earlier post, wanted to avoid repeats.  But, we did sit on the steps out front and have some Nathan's hot dogs and a coke.  In fact, we went back for seconds.  We headed for the Frick Collection, but many of the streets were closed due to a parade.  How wonderful!  I've never seen a parade in NY.  We hung out for awhile enjoying the excitement.  Apparently they have celebrated Greek Independence Day with a parade in NYC since 1938!  Fantastic!  And this is where I picked up my one and only souvenir - A great water bottle!   We strolled on down to see the Frick Collection and I am glad we did.  I've seen these paintings in photos since I was a child, and it was a real treat to see them up close and personal.  I liked seeing them in a room setting.  Why do they seem more alive in that setting?  The most tantalizing was the small pastel by Edgar Degas by the stairs.  Frick did not like pastels but he kept this one by his desk they said.  I almost laughed out loud.  How telling.  Anyway, as we left we noted that the parade was still going on.  Wow!  The weather had gotten gloomier and we headed back to our hotel and then on to eat dinner.  Got this final shot of the Chrysler building just outside Grand Central.  Can't wait to see this city again!  Back to my brushes.  

​"We wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment."  - Hilaire Belloc

We had one beautiful day while in New York City and we took advantage of it.  We started the day   people-watching and listening to music in Washington Square Park.  We had arrived at Salmagundi too early and popped down to enjoy the sunshine while we waited for it to open.  It can be difficult to see the AWS exhibition the night of the banquet, so I like to see it the day before or after if possible.  And I linger for long periods in front of some paintings, so that's suboptimal while so many are there for the awards dinner.  Anyway, great start to the day.  After we took in the show, we walked over to the Whitney.  We began on the top floor and came down.  Two floors were not for viewing and I felt a little ripped off, but I enjoyed what I saw and I liked the views outside as well. After that we grabbed a pretzel and a coke out front before popping on the High Line.  Was this a highlight?  Indeed yes!  No lights, no auto traffic, just a nice flat walk with great views.  I absolutely loved it.  And so did everyone else in NYC because it seemed everyone was with us enjoying this fantastic day.  We walked until we ended up at Hudson Yards.  So....the stairs to nowhere? I told my husband it was a modern labyrinth.  If you are going to do it, think of it as a meditation device. His response - hard pass.  The other option is a shopping mall.  I bet they have some great food choices in there...but I'll never know.  I didn't come to NY to spend my time in a retail mecca.  Sorry.  Crossed the island back to our hotel and time for dinner and recoup.  Back to my brushes.  


"Every day we have some weather, and yesterday was no exception." - John Carr

Just got home from our trip to NYC and thought I would share some thoughts and pics about our trip.  We had an uneventful flight there and back (always appreciated).  When we left home it was a lovely 78 degrees, and it was about 42 degrees and windy when we landed.  Sooo.....not the best but we carried on.  Our first order of business was to walk over to Grand Central Station and get something to eat.  We were not disappointed.  We shared a key lime cheesecake that was fantastic and people-watched for awhile (hoping the wind would die down).  From there we had a quick jaunt over to St. Patrick's Cathedral to view the completed renovation.  It was nice to see it without all the scaffolding again, and what a difference!  Beautiful!  Stopped briefly at Rockefeller Center and popped into the LEGO store.  My youngest worked for Disney and is an anglophile so I figured these two items would be enjoyed.  We met up with family that evening and had dinner at Flatiron Hall.  Good meal, good company.  Quick subway ride to see this great view from their home.  (I think you'll agree it is pretty sweet!!)  Got back to our hotel around midnight.  Enjoyable day.  I'll continue this tomorrow.  Back to my brushes.  
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​"There are two kinds of people, those who finish what they start and so on."  - Robert Byrne