Sunday Evening on the Mall

After visiting with Jon and Laura, Jim and I headed back to the hotel. There was to be a light supper and fireside that evening, for the BYU group. We knew we were too late for the supper, but thought we might make it to the fireside. We figured we would drop the car off at the hotel, then take the Metro to the fireside.

But, as we entered Washington, we made a wrong turn, and found ourselves driving along the Potomac. We realized, with delight, that we could park along the road there, and visit the mall. Abandoning plans for the fireside, we did just that. We had no trouble finding a spot to leave our car, and walked toward the Lincoln Memorial.

Jim captured this scene of the Potomac and the Washington Memorial Bridge. I love the different shades of green and yellow:

It was a beautiful evening to be out walking - not too hot, with a pre-storm breeze cooling things down.

Jim, and the Lincoln Memorial

We walked along the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

We also visited the World War II Memorial, new since our last visit to D.C.

A large stone, looking west across the WWII memorial, to the Lincoln Memorial, declared:

Here in the presence of Washington and Lincoln,
one the eighteenth century Father and the other
the nineteenth century Preserver of our nation,
we honor those twentieth century Americans who
took up the struggle during the Second World
War and made the sacrifices to perpetuate
the gift our forefathers entrusted to us:
A nation conceived in liberty and justice.

There was a series of bas relief plaques; this was one of my favorites:

Celebrating the end of war

Looking east

Time to return to the hotel

Art in the D.C.

After visiting Annie, Amalia, and Becca, we turned our attention (and our car) to Washington, D.C. We arrived late Friday night, and I was thrilled to turn the car over to the valet. We stayed at the Washington Marriott at Metro Center, which was conveniently located near a metro station, and which conveniently had lots of pillows and a comfy bed (and other amenities, but it was the end of a long day, so that bed stood out.)

It also had a fire alarm, which went off around 2 am. The alarm was Loud, and the strobe light was Bright. I leapt out of bed, and then struggled to figure out why I was standing there, totally confused and disoriented. As we tried to sort it out, we heard the announcement, "There has been a fire incident. Please exit the building. Do not use the elevators." So we pulled on some clothes, and stumbled into the hallway and down the stairs (we were on the 6th floor). The stairs disgorged us onto a side street; we followed the crowd and walked around to the front of the hotel.

I was surprised that the crowd was rather small - surely the hotel had more guests than these?!? Indeed, some guests were sticking their heads out of windows, looking to see what was going on (Answer: not much). We wandered back into the lobby, where a security guard told us we could go back to our rooms. During the night, a letter of apology appeared under our door, which assured us that the hotel staff were concerned for our safety, and explained that the fire alarm was triggered by smoke in a guest's (non-smoking) room.

In spite of that inauspicious beginning, our stay in Washington was really delightful. Jim had a legal lecture first thing Saturday morning, and met some of the other BYU attorneys that would be attending the Supreme Court session (more on that in a later post). Then he and I headed over to the Metro Station, figured out how things worked, and caught a train to the Smithsonian Station.

We walked to the National Gallery of Art, stopping by the Sculpture Garden. We spent most of our day at the gallery, with a break to enjoy some lunch at the Pavilion Cafe.

Here are a few photos (just a handful of the many, many photos we took...). This first reminds me of my nephew Chris - anyone else see a resemblance?

Biagio D'Atonio
Portrait of a Boy

When I entered a gallery and saw this scene by Pissaro, it took my breath away.

Camille Pissarro
Boulevard des Italiens, Morning, Sunlight

Jim was looking forward to seeing paintings by John Constable. This one reminded me of our trip to England, when we visited this cathedral. As I recall, the day we visited was a bit dreary, but there was a high school choir (from Canada, maybe?) singing in the church, and it was so lovely that I've never forgotten it. (Unless, of course, I've completely fabricated this pleasant memory...)

John Constable
Salisbury Cathedral from Lower March Close

One more lovely that we stumbled on:

Childe Hassam
Poppies, Isles of Shoals

We saw so many wonderful pieces, it was quite overwhelming. The National Gallery of Art is a real treasure; now I want to go back, spend more time, maybe join a guided tour to get some insights and context.

It was a beautiful day to wander through the sculpture garden. The sculptures ran the gamut from whimsical to somber. In the camp of whimsy:

Barry Flanagan
Thinker on a Rock

This next piece seemed rather odd. I later found this information on the National Gallery's website.

 Over the last thirty years, Polish sculptor Magdalena Abakanowicz has created a compelling and highly emotional body of work, largely drawn from her personal experience of World War II and its aftermath. She is best known for her "crowds" (as she calls them) of headless, rigidly posed figures whose anonymity and repetitious presentation have been regarded as the artist's personal response to totalitarianism.

Trained as a textile artist, Abakanowicz first used burlap in her indoor sculpture to achieve modulated, deeply incised surfaces for powerfully expressive ends. Each of the thirty bronzes in Puellae is a unique cast, made from a burlap mold that the artist individually worked during the casting process. Each puella's diminutive size is unusual, since Abakanowicz has traditionally depicted adults as life-size or larger. The work refers to an account the artist heard as a child in Poland during World War II about a group of children who froze to death as they were transported in cattle cars from Poland to Germany, as part of the "Arianization" process. Depending on the site, these figures can be arranged in any configuration.

Magdalena Abakanowicz
Puellae (Girls)

We ended tour day with a performance of West Side Story, at the National Theatre.The singing and dancing were splendid, although some scenes were changed to be "grittier" (as this review points out). West Side Story premiered in this same theatre, in 1957, and I think the original, less gritty, version would have been just fine.

Still, we both enjoyed the classical story of star-crossed lovers, in this classic theatre.

A Great Battlefield

Jim and I began our recent vacation by traveling to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. This was our third trip there; I'm not sure why we are so fond of this battlefield - probably a mix of reasons: its historical significance; the courage and commitment of all who fought there; the beauty of the countryside and the fields; perhaps simply the knowledge that the victory there was so vital to preserving our nation.

We stayed at a small hotel, America's Best Value Inn; nothing fancy, but clean and friendly. We had dinner at the Friendly's restaurant next door, and then chatted with the staff at the hotel. They talked about growing up in Gettysburg, where - unless you liked wandering the battle fields - there wasn't much for kids to do. They talked about the two history teachers at the high school, one of whom was knowledgeable enough to lead presidents on tours of the battlefields, the other who simply bored his students to tears. They told of people who visited Gettysburg without knowing what it was famous for. (They also remembered a couple who wanted to know which monuments had dogs on them, so they could take pictures back home to their dog.)

One of the clerks told us that President and Mrs Kennedy visited Gettysburg in the summer of 1963. After President Kennedy was killed that November, Mrs Kennedy wanted to install an eternal flame at his grave site in Arlington. They said it couldn't be done, and she said "Oh yes it can, we saw it at Gettysburg." And so they set it up.

Anyway. We made a quick trip of it, starting with the visitor center in the morning, and then driving through the battlefields until we ran out of time. The visitor center was new since our last visit, and very nice. We watched the movie, A New Birth of Freedom, that explained the events at Gettysburg in the large context of the Civil War. And then we saw the cyclorama painting of Pickett's Charge - 377 feet in circumference and 42 feet high.

 

President Lincoln and me

A portion of the cyclorama

We then tackled the museum, which was fascinating. Using artifacts, photos, personal narratives, it told the story of the battle at Gettysburg from different perspectives. There was so much to take in!

One thing that impressed me was the human cost of the war. So many many lives, lost and damaged.  I hope our country never goes through this again. Sometimes I look at our partisanship today, and wonder.

Photos of soldiers from both sides

We finally tore ourselves from the museum, and spent some time (not enough) driving through the battlefields, looking at the various monuments. Jim was great - he was able to explain each one, and what it represented. Here are just a few photos. (I confess, although I have a general understanding of what happened during the three days of battle, I am most familiar with the battles depicted in the 1993 movie Gettysburg, which Jim and I have watched many times - Buford's fight for the high ground; the Twentieth Maine's defense of the flank at Little Round Top; and Pickett's charge.)

Buford

Reynolds

The Peace monument, that Jackie Kennedy remembered.
"An enduring light, to guide us in unity and fellowship"

Virginia monument,
located where Pickett's charge began

Monument to the Twentieth Maine,
by Little Round Top

Here is the Pennsylvania Monument - a very impressive structure. It lists the name of everyone from any Pennsylvania unit who fought at Gettysburg.

You can climb to the top!

View through the center

Lincoln

Lincoln, of course, is forever linked to Gettysburg. After we got home, Jim and I watched Ken Burns' documentary, The Address. That website provides this recap:

The film tells the story of a tiny school in Putney Vermont, the Greenwood School, where each year the students are encouraged to practice, memorize, and recite the Gettysburg Address. In its exploration of the Greenwood School, the film also unlocks the history, context and importance of President Lincoln’s most powerful address.

It was moving on several levels - watching the kids understand and memorize Lincoln's text, and also remembering the battle itself. I recommend watching it, if you have the chance.

Finally, a couple photos of those fields:

 

The grass reminds me of a poem:

Grass
by Carl Sandburg

Pile the bodies high at Austerlitz and Waterloo.
Shovel them under and let me work—
                     I am the grass; I cover all.

And pile them high at Gettysburg
And pile them high at Ypres and Verdun.
Shovel them under and let me work.
Two years, ten years, and passengers ask the conductor:
                     What place is this?
                     Where are we now?

                     I am the grass.
                     Let me work.

And yet, the grass notwithstanding, we do still remember.

Family Tour 2014 (More East Coast Family)

While in Washington, D.C., we went to church with Jon and Laura, and then visited with them a bit. (We visited before church as well, and managed to make them late for church. Oops.)

As soon as we sat down on the couch, two little guys glommed onto Jim:

Jim, C, and M

M went on to other things (including an elaborate "which is different" game), but C was content to sit and read with Jim.

After church, we tried for a group guy photo, but there were some challenges:

Jim, C, Jon, M

Love this photo!

Laura is an accomplished pianist, and she played a Chopin piece for us. I felt like royalty or something, sitting in on a private recital. It was magnificent!

Jon and Laura

We've really enjoyed these brief visits with our scattered nieces and nephews. It's particularly gratifying that they want to see us, too. ☺ We're headed to Chicago again soon, to see two grand-nieces - and their parents, of course!

Family Tour 2014 (East Coast Nieces)

Jim and I just returned from a trip to Washington, D.C. En route, we visited three of our lovely nieces: Annie, Amalia, and Becca.

We met Annie at her office with Highlights, in Honesdale, Pennsylvania. We were greeted by this young charmer and his bird:

We met the famous Gigantosaurus:

Annie is the one with smaller teeth.

One of Annie's responsibilities is to make selections from the poems and drawings that children send in:

Wow!

We enjoyed dinner at Fiesta, in downtown Honesdale (I ate too much). We also enjoyed Annie's reading of Oh No, George! We recommend the book, but I'm not sure it would be the same without Annie's version of a British accent.

Oh, I almost forgot. Since we all appreciate school-boy humor, here is another view of that young charmer:

We stayed the night in the Hotel Wayne. It is old, and not particularly fancy, but our room was comfy and the Wi-Fi service was great. And if you're visiting Annie, it is super convenient!

From Honesdale, we drove to Philadelphia, to visit Amalia. Traveling through Pennsylvania is a treat: the landscape is simply beautiful. Here are two photos taken as we drove down Moosic Mountain:

-

Amalia found a wonderful restaurant where we could eat at outdoor tables, watch passersby, and admire the neighborhood. This classic church was just across the street. Amalia said that there were some five different denominations that shared the building:

As you can see, it was a gorgeous day, and we spent a long time sitting and talking and eating. Our meal was delicious (I ate too much).

I am NOT as short as this makes me look.

From here, we drove to Baltimore. Traffic was as expected (I longed for Honesdale), but we did okay. We took Becca's advice and visited the National Aquarium, which was simply amazing. (If you go to that website, there is a very cool shark cam...) We looked at pretty much everything (we stayed too long, of course), and really enjoyed the Blacktip Reef exhibit and the Animal Planet Australia exhibit.

I'll bore you with just one photo (mainly because our camera battery died shortly after this!):

Rainbow Lorikeet

We went to Becca's afterwards (Chris was away at an artist's retreat), and met Ruffus. Ruffus adored Jim, but was very wary of me (who would imagine that I would seem threatening to such a large dog?!?). We had dinner at the Shoo-fly Diner - delicious! (I ate too much.) We had a seat at the back, and just talked and ate for the longest time.

Robin and Becca

Family Tour 2014 (Chicago)

At the end of May, Sarah and the boys visited her parents in Chicago. We hadn't seen them in ages - we hadn't even met the youngest grand-nephew - so we were delighted to drive over for a quick visit.

Here is Joyce with the older grand-nephew, J.

This is the face you get when you say "smile!"

If you wait long enough, a cute boy emerges
from all that silliness

Somehow, J looks older and wiser in this photo:

Dave and young B engage in their own hilarity:

B will be one year old tomorrow!

Some years ago, on one of their visits to Kalamazoo, I tried to teach Sarah and Jon to knit. Sarah's knitting was great, except that it was so tight, it practically stood on its own. Since then, while living in Virginia, she took lessons at her local yarn store (fibre space, I think), with great results. She showed me the scarf she's been working on, and it is gorgeous - soft and cushy. Some lucky soul will get to wear this yumminess!

Sarah and I took the boys for a walk around the neighborhood. We saw several gardens with these buried glassware pieces as decoration - they seem pretty enough, but burying them seems like hiding their light in a bushel...

A token shot of the quintessential Pullman street:

Next up: Family Tour 2014 (East Coast)!