Filed under: Minneapolis
The older girls have gone to Ireland leaving me and Aine with the challenge of having even more fun in the Cities. The extra challenge on Friday was the insane heat. Luckily Minnesota is the Land of 10,000 Lakes and we have a friend with a boat – so we went swimming off the boat.
I love swimming. Swimming in a lake is a little different for me. First I’m a baby because I always think it’s going to be too cold. I must admit it wasn’t. The water actually felt pretty good.
BUT it turns out lakes have fish – tons of them. And you’d think they’d like to swim away from people. Not true. The swim toward you. Aine loved it – spent half her time trying to catch a fish. Luckily she was not successful or we may have been looking for a new receipt for fish stew!
Filed under: Chicago
We’re getting close to the end of the road trip. We started the day in Pennsylvania, then off to Ohio, to Indiana and we landed in Chicago. I have big plans for dinner with dad and Katie. But we planned a day downtown Chicago for fun.
Turns out the kids were super excited to go shopping and ditch me. I’m not writing this to make them feel bad about leaving me alone – right after I paid for lunch. I mean I know this post will be up for years – but I didn’t feel hurt at all.
Really I didn’t feel bad. I got to do exactly what I wanted to do at exactly the pace I wanted to do it. So I visited the Harold Washington Library – where I took a class years ago. Then I went to the Art Institute of Chicago.
The Institute has a guide that shows 12 of their top favorite works of art that you can see in an hour. Challenge accepted! I did it – with two hiccups. American Gothic had been moved. I sleuthed it down. And the Young Dionysos was temporary off the floor.
It was fun. The works included the Chagall windows, which I don’t always make a point to see. And of course the Georges Seurat, which I do always make a point to visit.
Then I skipped up to Millennial Park and saw the sights. (The girls and I had walked through earlier to get to lunch – so they are in some pictures.) Then off to Michigan Avenue, the Wrigley Building and some random statues.
And I decided to take selfies along the way. I have taken 12 selfies in my life – because mostly I have a kid to serve as model. I am terrible at selfies – requires more backward spatial aptitude, I like to do them quickly because I find it embarrassing and the raw material is a little rough to start. But again I didn’t do it to make the girls feel bad later when I’m so old and feeble that they are ditching me again. Not at all.
Art Institute of Chicago Scavenger Hunt:
Filed under: New York
We left New York City this morning. I had about 30 minutes to get in a last walk and then dad and I drove around for 30 minutes trying to get from the parking garage back to the apartment. (A 10 minute walk!)
So my last bonus was walking right into the High Line. It’s a repurposed railroad track that has been turned into a nice walking/running path. It’s about a mile and a half – but it feels like a sanctuary elevated above the fray. It’s exactly what I like in the outdoors – nice walking path, great urban vistas. I could walk and watch trains at the same time without the hassle of walking by the train. They host events there. It’s very environmentally friendly and embracing.
And during my brief jaunt, I saw no bikes. I know this will lose me a friend or two – but as a walker, I don’t love bikers.
That event was juxtaposed with a very sad image. We were driving just south of Times Square – trying to figure out where we could turn (nowhere is the short answer). There were fire trucks blaring on different blocks. A flock of rabbis walked past. Tons of people, cars and commotion. Lots of things that might turn a head in a smaller city. But the sad thing I saw was a young kid (maybe 20) on the ground, getting oxygen from the police but looking for lifeless. We moved for the ambulance coming to get him.
The police were there and doing what they could but you could just see it was just another start to another day for them. And that’s not a statement on the police. It’s just a sad glimpse at what happens every day in a big city.
Filed under: New York
Last day in New York – kind of sad. Dad and I walked to Central Park in the morning via Lincoln Center. Then the whole crew headed to Rockefeller Center for the big tour, which sadly has been sold out for weeks. So word to the wise – if you want a tour of 30 Rock, order in advance.
So we rallied and went to the Museum of Modern Art, which was really the kids doing me a favor. Saw Andy Warhol, a really good Jasper Johns, Claes Oldenburg. And I had one of the exhibits (February 12, 1966) talk to me. There was a guy, near the painting and he just spoke to some people – such as me. My favorite was work by Vern Blosum, who it turns out was a made-up person. The Museum bought his satire on the Pop Art movement and when they went to write a bio for the work they realized no such person existed. But they exhibit it regardless. I love that!
There was a cool exhibit on architecture – very modern and environmentally merged. Kind of fun to think about people such cool work; hard to image where it is. (OK mostly in Tokyo – but still hard to imagine the work in the wild since I’ve never been to Tokyo.)
After the MoMA we went to Battery Park. The girls rode the cool fish-themed carousel. We walked around the park and we took the Staten Island Ferry. So here’s the cool thing – the Ferry is free. So it’s a free and easy way to get pretty close to the State of Liberty.
Then we took the subway back. Well some of us did and some of us hung out with Lucia’s cousin.
Filed under: New York
I am about as tired as I have ever been. I started the day before 7 am – I know for morning people that’s not early. It’s early for me, especially on vacation. Dad and I went to scope out Good Morning America and The Today Show. Suffice it to say we’re probably weren’t on TV but it was fun to see how they set things up. Each is a little difference. And it’s fun to see the people who are really dedicated to getting on TV.
Five hours later the girls were up and ready to go. Lily had it in her head to go to Brooklyn. So we pulled it together and took the subway there. We walked by the Brooklyn Museum and Botanical Gardens. We walked by a few things. But it turns out Lily didn’t have anything specific she wanted to see. So mostly we soaked up ambience.
The other girls weren’t as into soaking up ambience as Lily was, but a delicious pizza lunch brought us back together. Then we caught an uber to the Brooklyn Bridge; we walked back across to Manhattan. It’s a fun walk. The skyline is gorgeous. You can see the Statue of Liberty. And it’s a great place for kids to fill up their Instagram SnapChat accounts.
We noticed lots of locks on the bridge, which we first saw on the Pont Neuf years ago – where couples attach locks to seal their love forever. We noticed headphones on the Brooklyn Bridge too, which I thought must have some significance too. Not really – same meaning as the lock but requires no advance prep. Apparently the Department of Transportation removed thousands of items from the bridge every year.
Back in Manhattan we walked for miles – partially because I love to walk but also everyone had something different they wanted to see. We saw the place where we saw Taylor Swift last time we were in town. We walked through Chinatown, Little Italy and Greenwich Village.
We visited a lot of shops. We saw Mood – the shop where they go on Project Runway. We saw street art. We saw great views. We (well, they) got free Slurpies for 7/11 day. Kind of a score to be in a city with 7-Elevens for the giveaway day.
We capped off the day with a super delicious Italian dinner at Il Punto. The service was tremendous. They took a shine to Aine, especially after she ordered the watermelon salad with cucumber and gorgonzola. In fact she scored a free dessert. It reminded me of our week in Rome years ago – where everyone took a shine to the kids.
Filed under: New York
We landed in NYC. We are staying in the garment district, which is pretty darned central. We dropped off our luggage and got on the road – mostly because there were cleaners in our place. But it was a good deep end start to the trip.
We walked to Times Square, which was too crowded for some of us so we headed to Central Park. Our sad news is that we learned (remembered) that FAO Schwartz is closed. We are very sad about that; it was a favorite of all of the girls on a previous trip.
We spent the day walking through the city – from midtown, through Hell’s Kitchen, to Central Park and around Rockefeller Center.
We came upon a Black Lives Matter demonstration in Times Square – that’s not really the right word. It was a few dozen people working on a banner that said “Black Lives Matter” and they asked everyone to sign it. It was unlike any of the more somber BLM demonstrations we’ve gone to at home. It was inviting, inclusive with a much lighter mood.
I think there’s room for folks to demonstrate in any way that suits them, but especially with everything coming out of Minnesota on the Philando Castile killing, it was different.
Filed under: Pennsylvania
We spent the night in Scranton – mostly because it was more than halfway to NYC but also because it was the home to The Office.
We learned that Northern Pennsylvania is mountainous – and has some awesome sunsets.
We actually stayed in Wilkes Barre, home to the Seven Tubs nature scene. Very pretty and very much like Northeast Minnesota. And we toured the town a little – enough to see an old school YMCA (with a “men’s entrance”) and of course some bits of art.
We capped off PA with a picture with the iconic Scranton road sign. They actually moved it to the Mall at Steamtown, because too many people were hopping out of their cars to get the picture on the side of the highway.
We spent four nights in New Orleans with everyone – cousins, aunts, uncles, grandma and grandpa. (Everyone else was smart enough to fly!) We stayed out near Tulane, a couple miles from downtown. It wasn’t very far but it was a pretty sketchy walk – Katie and I tested in out. SO it was fun to learn that area (Freret) although we spent more of our time in the French Quarter.
We took a couple of tours – a ghost tour and a cemetery tour. It was fun to learn little bits and pieces about New Orleans. I now understand why the street all change names at Canal Street. (After the Louisiana Purchase, the Americans came in and renamed everything and the locals weren’t having it.) I learned that a corpse will cremate in those creepy mausoleums given the heat in NOLA. That is why the tomb must be sealed for a year and a day – before it can be opened (if need be) for the next resident. I saw Nicolas Cage’s tomb – waiting for him. (Some people kiss it. The guide thought that was funny since he’s not in there. I think it’s weird either way.) I heard a few gruesome “ghost” stories that I wish I could unhear.
We spent a lot of time walking around – from Jackson Square to Bourbon Street. We visited a few voodoo shops. So be nice to us, at least until you think our positions have run out! One of us got our fortune told. We visited a Tomato Festival. I got us close with some modern art – very realistic looking women in swimsuits.
We ate a lot. We went back to brunch at the Court of Two Sisters and we were very happy there again. We went to a place called Purloo, where we saw Randy from My Name is Earl. It was a thrill for us. If service had been better we might have had enough liquid courage to talk to him as it was, we played it cool. We did learn the difference between Southern hospitality and Northern efficiency. It could have been an opportunity to learn patience – but we don’t have time for lessons like that! The food was great; we ate shrimp, gumbo, jambalaya, catfish, oysters, poboys, and Aine’s favorite deep fried peanut butter and jelly.
We loved New Orleans. In respect to population, it’s about the same size as St Paul. But it’s much more like European city, with a great buzz in town all day and night. It rained while we were there, which was actually nice in terms of heat management. We did notice that the water doesn’t really go anywhere after the rain. The puddles linger. I can only imagine what that’s like in a hurricane. But given a chance to return to NOLA – we’ll take it! Lily says she’s moving here but she says that about a lot of places we visit. Good thing she’s young, she can live in them all at some point!
Filed under: Louisiana
We took a pontoon trip around the bayou of Lake Salvador. It was the perfect activity for a very rainy day. We saw a ton of alligators from our covered pontoon. And the area is so pretty and so different from anything we’re used to seeing. Some of us held a baby alligator; some of us didn’t.
Filed under: Arkansas
Day three of the road trip started in Little Rock. The first place we visited was the Little Rock Central High School – ground zero (maybe birthplace?) of school desegregation. In 1957 (same year Grandpa started High School), nine African-American students were denied entrance into the school, despite the 1954 Supreme Court order to integrate (Brown v Board of Ed). They arrived the following day with an army behind them.
On day one there were apparently 1,000 protestors. I can’t even imagine how many protestors, guards and hopefully some supporters on day two. I’ve seen the pictures but what I didn’t realize until we visited was how big and fancy the school is. (Note for those who don’t know I went to a very small high school. Not even a little bit fancy.)
There’s just something about the stairs and the majesty of the building that increases my awe of the young students who bravely went to school – as was their right.
We left armed with books to read on the issue. It was hard for the girls to believe how recent the event was.
We also went to the Clinton Library – but due to two sleeping teens in the car our visit was very brief.
Then we drove for roughly 400 hours – at 55 mph – to get to Baton Rouge. (All of the locals drove the speed limit, which made us nervous!)
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