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| Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 1873 |
Wednesday, May 29, 2019
Ballet school 1873 by Degas
Wednesday with Edgar Degas!
Tuesday, May 28, 2019
Self-portrait of Berthe Morisot and her daughter Julie by Morisot
Tuesday with Berthe Morisot!
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| private collection, 1885-86 |
Monday, May 27, 2019
In the conservatory by Manet
Monday with Edouard Manet!
The couple are actually Mr. and Madame Jules Guillemet, friends of Manet.
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| Alte Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, 1879 |
Wednesday, May 22, 2019
Tuesday, May 21, 2019
Portrait of a woman by Morisot
Tuesday with Berthe Morisot!
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| Samuel Courtauld Trust, The Courtauld Gallery, London, UK, circa 1872-75 |
Monday, May 20, 2019
The dead toreador by Manet
Monday with Edouard Manet!
.jpg) |
| National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, USA, 1865 |
Wednesday, May 15, 2019
Tuesday, May 14, 2019
Monday, May 13, 2019
The lady with fans by Manet
Monday with Edouard Manet!
Born Anne-Marie Gaillard (1843-1884), but better known as Nina de Callias, she was a French writer and poet. This work is also known as "portrait of Nina de Callias."
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| Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France, 1874 |
Sunday, May 12, 2019
2019 trip summary
Sixteen days on the road in the eastern USA, much of the time spent in a small metal cabin on the road but we saw so much and most importantly renewed some old friendships. Unfortunately we missed a couple of friends along the way -- and here I'm thinking of the Archers and Mannie and Susan.
Thanks so much to the Loaneys in St. Louis, Ed and Chris Evans in Natchitoches, Dr. Bob and Margie Berry and Johna nd Lolly Rosemond (gotta love Billys) in Roanoke, and last but not least the MacDonald and Parker clans in upstate New York!
Numbers
Gallons of gas used: 138
Average price per gallon: $2.80
Cheapest: Natchitoches, $2.44/gal
Most Expensive: Canada, 3.72/gal
Hotels: 9 - all Hampton Inn except for one Hilton Garden in Corning, NY
States crossed: 13 - Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York
Number of dead armadillo seen on the highway: countless
Number of confederate flags flying: one too many (mostly in Tennessee) and some flying both US and rebel flags
Number of rest areas with armed guards: 2 - Mississippi
Number of family visited: 14
Number of old friends visited: 6
Hotels: Although the beds and pillows were uniformly comfortable, the Hampton Inns varied in quality and services; by and large the breakfast food was consistently mediocre.
Roads: Superb roads in the south generally but especially in Arkansas and Missouri; the worst were most certainly in Michigan followed by New York, although Michigan had the most reasonable speed limits and New York the most unrealistic.
Food: Quality varied widely but Roanoke, like Grand Rapids has come a long way in the food world. Our best meal was at the Blue Apron in Salem, VA, near Roanoke, followed by Billy's in Roanoke, and Food 101 in Gettysburg; our least enjoyable was the Dobbin House in Gettysburg, lackluster menu, tired surroundings, and the food was mediocre at best.
People: Friendly, congenial and generous with their time, especially in the south.
Thanks so much to the Loaneys in St. Louis, Ed and Chris Evans in Natchitoches, Dr. Bob and Margie Berry and Johna nd Lolly Rosemond (gotta love Billys) in Roanoke, and last but not least the MacDonald and Parker clans in upstate New York!
Numbers
Total miles travelled: 4,015
Gallons of gas used: 138
Average price per gallon: $2.80
Cheapest: Natchitoches, $2.44/gal
Most Expensive: Canada, 3.72/gal
Hotels: 9 - all Hampton Inn except for one Hilton Garden in Corning, NY
States crossed: 13 - Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York
Number of dead armadillo seen on the highway: countless
Number of confederate flags flying: one too many (mostly in Tennessee) and some flying both US and rebel flags
Number of rest areas with armed guards: 2 - Mississippi
Number of family visited: 14
Number of old friends visited: 6
Hotels: Although the beds and pillows were uniformly comfortable, the Hampton Inns varied in quality and services; by and large the breakfast food was consistently mediocre.
Roads: Superb roads in the south generally but especially in Arkansas and Missouri; the worst were most certainly in Michigan followed by New York, although Michigan had the most reasonable speed limits and New York the most unrealistic.
Food: Quality varied widely but Roanoke, like Grand Rapids has come a long way in the food world. Our best meal was at the Blue Apron in Salem, VA, near Roanoke, followed by Billy's in Roanoke, and Food 101 in Gettysburg; our least enjoyable was the Dobbin House in Gettysburg, lackluster menu, tired surroundings, and the food was mediocre at best.
People: Friendly, congenial and generous with their time, especially in the south.
Saturday, May 11, 2019
Day 16 - Grand Rapids
11th and final leg: 589 miles.
total miles on the road: 3,696.
There was a light rain and gray overcast as we packed our car, checked out of our final Hampton Inn for this road trip and jumped onto I-81 heading for Canada.
The border crossing was smooth and took but a minute or so and we were speeding along the 401 west. Near Toronto we switched to the 407 ETR (express toll road) and made an easy and quick bypass of the city, returning to the 401 just east of Toronto. Aside from a couple of stops at the Onroute service plazas (very civilized way to build highway systems) we made good time to London where we changed to the 402 and pushed on to Sarnia.
At the US border -- a quaint anachronism to be sure, as if Canada had something to hide from their north American neighbors -- we sat in line for about 20 minutes before passing through to the land of semi-free and the home of the totally weird.
A quick stop at the Michigan Welcome Center and we were on way to Grand Rapids,. We made good time, notwithstanding a serious traffic crawl around Portland in Ionia County, and pulled into our driveway at about 5:30 in the afternoon.
We were back.
total miles on the road: 3,696.
There was a light rain and gray overcast as we packed our car, checked out of our final Hampton Inn for this road trip and jumped onto I-81 heading for Canada.
The border crossing was smooth and took but a minute or so and we were speeding along the 401 west. Near Toronto we switched to the 407 ETR (express toll road) and made an easy and quick bypass of the city, returning to the 401 just east of Toronto. Aside from a couple of stops at the Onroute service plazas (very civilized way to build highway systems) we made good time to London where we changed to the 402 and pushed on to Sarnia.
At the US border -- a quaint anachronism to be sure, as if Canada had something to hide from their north American neighbors -- we sat in line for about 20 minutes before passing through to the land of semi-free and the home of the totally weird.
A quick stop at the Michigan Welcome Center and we were on way to Grand Rapids,. We made good time, notwithstanding a serious traffic crawl around Portland in Ionia County, and pulled into our driveway at about 5:30 in the afternoon.
We were back.
Friday, May 10, 2019
19th Century Women of Paris
This short video is based on a presentation I gave in early April at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids.
Tuesday, May 07, 2019
Day 15 Watertown and Sackets Harbor
The change of command ceremony was scheduled for 10am and we left our hotel a little after 9am, giving us enough time to make our way to Fort Drum and find our way to the event location. After checking in at the main gate and picking up our visitor passes -- joined by Dick and Dorothy and Carl and Bonnie - we made our way to the gymnasium where Glen's change of command ceremony was to take place.
Originally scheduled to take place outside a couple of days back there was talk of rain so the event was rescheduled to be held inside. So here we were in the Macgrath Gymnasium of the 10th Mountain Division.
The ceremony kicked off on time with introductory music provided by the division band under the baton of Chief Warrant Officer Daniel Parker, our other nephew -- he's married to Melissa Bergman while Glen MacDonald is married to Christina Bergman, in case you needed a program update.
After a few brief opening remarks, thank-yous and farewells the actual handing over of the colors from LTC Jones to LTC MacDonald went smoothly and in less than a half hour it was done. Glen MacDonald was now officially commander of the 2nd Battalion.
After the ceremony there was a short reception of cake and soda at battalion headquarters.
Before leaving the fort Daniel Parker gave us a tour of the division band building: lots of rehearsal space, soundproof rooms and instrument storage areas.
Since we had a few hours before dinner Susie and I left the fort and headed straight for Sackets Harbor, about 12 miles away on a pice of land jutting out into Lake Ontario. Sackets Harbor was the scene of a rather important engagement between the British and American forces during the war of 1812 and for many years Madison Barracks in the village served as the largest Army base in upstate New York.
Upon arriving in Sackets Harbor we came across the military cemetery. In addition to being the burial ground for soldiers and members of their families for many years, it's also the final resting place for a great many men who died in the vicinity in 1813 during the War of 1812, including Brig. Gen. Zebulon Pike. Pike had been tasked with locating the headwaters of the Red River when in 1806 he spied an enormous peak near what is today Colorado Springs: Pike's Peak. Zebulon was killed in action in 1813 in York, Canada.
A couple of curiosities about the cemetery: a great many stones are listed as unknown and quite a few had pennies placed on the top of the government monument; also a large number of children are buried together in two lines beneath government stones -- apparently their families were living at Madison Barracks at the time they died.
From the military cemetery we drove the two or three blocks into Sackets Harbor proper where we explored the 1812 battlefield and then made our way to the remnants of Madison Barracks. The buildings of the former army post mostly remain intact, one houses a fitness center and another an inn and restaurant. Buildings once used by military families still stand as well and are today rental units for local families.
That evening we returned to the Parker home on post and shared a delicious taco bar supper with family. We also celebrated Christina's forthcoming birthday -- she'll be 40 years old this week -- and fondly recall her at our wedding in 1983. Life is short. . .
We got on I-81 at the very beginning in eastern Tennessee and tomorrow morning we're going to see it to the very end at the Canadian border as we begin the final leg of our road trip.
Originally scheduled to take place outside a couple of days back there was talk of rain so the event was rescheduled to be held inside. So here we were in the Macgrath Gymnasium of the 10th Mountain Division.
The ceremony kicked off on time with introductory music provided by the division band under the baton of Chief Warrant Officer Daniel Parker, our other nephew -- he's married to Melissa Bergman while Glen MacDonald is married to Christina Bergman, in case you needed a program update.
After a few brief opening remarks, thank-yous and farewells the actual handing over of the colors from LTC Jones to LTC MacDonald went smoothly and in less than a half hour it was done. Glen MacDonald was now officially commander of the 2nd Battalion.
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| Kiera MacDonald |
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| Bonnie and Carl (seated) and Dorothy and Susan |
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| Christina and Liam |
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| visitors wishing LTC Jones goodbye |
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| Glen on the left |
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| handoff complete, Glen is now on the right |
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| The new 2nd Battalion commander LTC Glen MacDonald |
After the ceremony there was a short reception of cake and soda at battalion headquarters.
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| Glen with his dad Bill and brother Scott |
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| practicing |
Upon arriving in Sackets Harbor we came across the military cemetery. In addition to being the burial ground for soldiers and members of their families for many years, it's also the final resting place for a great many men who died in the vicinity in 1813 during the War of 1812, including Brig. Gen. Zebulon Pike. Pike had been tasked with locating the headwaters of the Red River when in 1806 he spied an enormous peak near what is today Colorado Springs: Pike's Peak. Zebulon was killed in action in 1813 in York, Canada.
A couple of curiosities about the cemetery: a great many stones are listed as unknown and quite a few had pennies placed on the top of the government monument; also a large number of children are buried together in two lines beneath government stones -- apparently their families were living at Madison Barracks at the time they died.
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| Zebulon Pike's grave |
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| memorial to the unknown soldiers and sailors who died at the battle of Sackets Harbor in 1813 |
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| the children's section |
From the military cemetery we drove the two or three blocks into Sackets Harbor proper where we explored the 1812 battlefield and then made our way to the remnants of Madison Barracks. The buildings of the former army post mostly remain intact, one houses a fitness center and another an inn and restaurant. Buildings once used by military families still stand as well and are today rental units for local families.
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| battlefield site overlooking the lake |
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| overlooking the site of the fort |
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| memorial to the men who fought in the battle in 1813 |
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| Madison Barracks housing |
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| parade ground in the foreground, used by the army's olympic polo teams in the 1920s. |
That evening we returned to the Parker home on post and shared a delicious taco bar supper with family. We also celebrated Christina's forthcoming birthday -- she'll be 40 years old this week -- and fondly recall her at our wedding in 1983. Life is short. . .
We got on I-81 at the very beginning in eastern Tennessee and tomorrow morning we're going to see it to the very end at the Canadian border as we begin the final leg of our road trip.
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