Man, are these people polite! Settled in for 13 hours. Very comfy.

I don’t think the mountain shows up. Darn

A couple of real dorky tourists! A full day sightseeing \240in Tokyo. Freezing ass cold. Lots of great stuff but in the end just another giant city! \240Hopefully Kyoto will be more impressive.

Mount Fuji made a gorgeous appearance. Our guide said this was a rare appearance as it’s usually shrouded in clouds.

Simon take a close look at these \240figures! They are beautifully done! Anime is everywhere.

Our adorable guide who took us to the bullet train to Kyoto,Elsa.

Outrageous 1000 year old shogun palace

Samaria gold leafed palace. .

Shoguns gold leafed palace. I don’t understand these people at all! \240Say they are NON religious but are afraid to NOT TO \240be 1/2 Buddhist and 1\\2 Shinto. Incredibly superstitious which makes me want to gag! \240I’m not a huge fan of this culture. Gets even worse.....

The worst meal of my life! Did not touch a single bite!

Then the stupidest thing we have done yet! Dinner with real geisha girls! Dumb,

Bryan, the deer whisperer. Iwish I had gotten a picture when he got overwhelmed by these little guys and ended up throwing the whole tube of crackers at them and running away!

Buddhist temple in Nara. Largest wooden structure in the world!

What are we doing at this tea ceremony?

Ceremony was lovely but the powdered green tea was gross!

Gluten cake anyone?

Typical Japanese homes in the Gion district. Not many of these older areas.

One last Shinto temple. I got claustrophobic it was so crowded.

20 year old boys get into the act as well. In fact today is a national holiday called “coming of age” day. All kids turning 20 must dress in traditional dress. Parties and drinking everywhere!

We then traveled by city transport (bus and street car) to a small town at the edge of Kyoto to the bamboo forests.

Walking through the bamboo forest was incredibly serene. These photos just don’t show the magnificent green colors and beauty of these trees!

We found a very authentic Italian restaurant near our hotel last night! After a week of rice and fish that pizza went down fast! Yumm

Through out the small restaurant were these unique columns that exhibits different gorgeous glass artifacts. Never saw anything like it.

About 20 of these columns each with a different object. I wanted them all!

Lovely tables looking out on the city. Food was good but the ambiance was the best.

I’m loving Vietnam already! A lot messier and more colorful than Japan. I even appreciated seeing some trash on the roads! (My brother says I won’t be hired as a travel guide anytime soon😁, no kidding)!

My first bowl of Pho 🍲! So delicious 😋

Can’t wait to get a good night sleep in this comfy bed...or two! We meetup with all the other Viking tour guests tomorrow and head to Ha Long Bay on Thursday.

Visit to the old quarter/French quartet! So colorful and not too crowded. Spectacular!

Bryan. \240Of course makes friends with everyone. However, within hours, Trump supporters are detected and things shift!

Chris Anton just arrived at 2am so he’s a complete basket case.

My buddies and I in Vietnam!

My new friend Cynthia from NYC. she’s traveling alone too.

Chris and Ron..... trump supporters. To their left is Judy and Charles, also trump supporters. Cynthia is not😁

I own this cruise! Trump supporters are doomed.

Typical old Viking travelers dancing!

My favorite restaurant was this Bun Cha place that was featured in Anthony Bourdain’s show where he ate and chatted with president Obama.

Sara! You can relate to this shot! Saw plenty of these in India!

Wish I hadn’t seen the kitchen 😩

My ass hurt so bad by the time we stopped for desert!

All the riders were girls except for the owner of the company who took Bryan on his bike. \240I wore a mask the whole time!

Watch this video!

Brides are the same everywhere

A very sobering visit to The Hanoi Hilton. What a horrendous history of cruelty.

Lots of mention and photos of John MCains time spent here. RIP \240john.

Next to Ho Chi Minn mausoleum and presidential palace.

Next to a temple which was the largest university in Vietnam in 16 & 17th centuries.

Temple honors Confucius. What a scholar.

Leaving Vietnam this morning for Cambodia.

This nasty monkey jumped up on this kid, about 10, and stole his sunglasses off his face! You can see them in his hand! Poor kid was crying. Quite the scene.

Glad we didn’t have to walk up these old stone steps but the tourist steps were almost as steep!

Our tuk tuk back to hotel.

When we returned to the hotel I had lunch with Bryan and when read all about \240Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge for hours. I had forgotten so much of that horrendous history. So far our guide hasn’t mentioned at all but we are full of questions now.

I went back to my room and promptly fell asleep for \2402 hours! I missed our 4:30 bus to the circus and yet another group dinner 😁!

I must confess this group tour travel is a little hard to take at times. There are only 47 of us but sometimes it’s 45 too many! \240Nice to have an evening to myself.

This morning we toured Angkor Thom and Bayon temple. It was hotter and more humid today and crowded.... but enjoyed it very much.

I finally got bored and sat on a rock to watch the Korean tourist groups stage all these crazy photos! Pretty entertaining.

Next we visited Ta Prohm. This temple was incredible. It was used as the site for many movies, including all the Indiana Jones films. It’s just amazing how the jungle has integrated with the temple beautiful.

The kids are all so adorable.

We had the afternoon off so my fellow traveler, Cynthia, and I took a tuk tuk into downtown Siem Reap to the old market. I bought some cooler $2.00 blouses and a few scarves. We then had a great pizza and margaritas in a safe looking restaurant.

Fun day. \240

Another group dinner tonight🤦‍♀️.

Tomorrow we FINALLY get on our ship!! Yay 😁

Holding on for dear life! Some very steep steps! Remember these Eva?

The 3 amigos

Always the class clown 🤡

Cynthia is an architect in NYC.

We toured Phnom Penh by rickshaw all morning. Really fun! The imperial palace was incredible but the city is nasty. Very dirty, no charm like Seim Reap had.

After lunch we made the journey to one of the 389 killing fields. Between 1975 and 1979 more than 3 million Cambodians were executed or died of starvation under pol pot. I couldn’t take many pictures. Just to horrible. This memorial has about 5000 skulls that were excavated.

Terrible picture of our boat. I’ll get a better one. It’s just stunning in authentic old houseboat way. Can’t describe it....obviously. Bryan keeps saying it’s the “Murder on the Nile” feel. Haven’t ever seen the film so don’t know what the hell hes talking about 😉

We visited 3 different villages on our journey down the river.

Weaving village looked staged but still interesting. EVERYONE will get a scarf! \240Had to support the locals

The children are so gorgeous and sweet. Could take a few home!

One of my favorite passengers, Col. Paul, retired Air Force. \240The kids were so drawn to him.

Much more later!

Penne arabriatta today

Leg of lamb with vegetables

Me and our chef. Can you see how fat I’m getting 😟

There are about 500 monks here, plus 100’s of nuns and priests. Here they are on there way to lunch.

Bryan making friends as usual.

These little shacks are where the priests live. The nuns small homes are made of concrete. We didn’t see where the monks live

We watched the nuns preparing and serving the lunch. \240 Thought of your stories George! This food looked fresh and delicious!

We weren’t allowed in the dining building but could look in and take pictures.

Another shot of our group being blessed.

Last nights dinner was all traditional Cambodian food including fried crickets, frogs and tarantula! Some people gobbled them up. Not me😩‼️

It’s Sunday morning here and our boy is about to leave for Vietnam. We will be sailing all day which I look forward to immensely. There is a lecture on Vietnam culture and a cooking class to make spring rolls! I’m glad we have a break from shore excursions. I’ve got a massage scheduled!

After breakfast we boarded small boats, sam pans I think they were called. Off the tour a small country village.

I took a thousand pictures of all the boat houses along the canals to the village.

Arriving at the village.

I can’t believe Bryan wore the hat!

The farming village was wonderful. Seeing all the healthy crop (lots of hot peppers), the neat as a pin cabins and beautiful children was a treat \240

Village mansion 😀

Lots of the villagers raise fighting cocks. I don’t approve and was glad we didn’t witness any gambling

Our small group of 20 was invited into one of the homes.

Bryan gave his hat to this little girl who was thrilled!

Alter and decorations inside the house

The kitchen was so interesting. That’s a charcoal fire in the small stove.

After the village we went to a floating fish farm. Gross. I won’t be eating tilapia anytime soon.

Next to a small island town for a rickshaw ride. Hated it. These rickshaws were so uncomfortable. Killed my hips.

These guys were fishing right off the sidewalk.

While waiting for our rickshaw these kids were fascinated by Bryan’s belly.

It’s almost New Year here so the town was very crowded.

Great excursion to see some aspects of Vietnamese life. Happy to see our boat this afternoon 😉

Please forgive my typos, misspelling and auto correct errors! I have to do this on my phone because nothing will download on my iPad. I try to edit but catch a lot!

Next we visited a local market where farmers bring fresh veggies and river and land delicacies. I was appalled 😮by some of the things I saw! Especially horrible was watching them kill live frogs with a mallet and skinning the rats which are a local favorite!.

Snails, yumm

Frogs legs and tiny fish

I also hated seeing the chickens and geese with their legs all bound up. The looked drugged. In my opinion they should kill them first.

Skinned rats 🐀

You would like these Sara!

Back to the boat for a delicious salad bar. Honestly my stomach was off after that market

In the afternoon we visited a great candy factory and went through floating villages and floating markets.

Making snake rice wine is a big income here.

Our local guide with a python named Monty! I declined the offer to have him on my shoulders.

Village life is quite tranquil

Last night we were treated to a local band performance. I’ll try to send a short video so you can hear that 5 string guitar.

We were deep in the jungle. These are Viet Cong soldiers in uniform.

Some people actually crawled through a few tunnels. I went down but too claustrophobic to go. God, the heat! \240I just can’t imagine what it would be like in July!

Dense jungles

This spot was the underground surgery

Finally went through a display of the horrendous boobytraps used on unsuspecting Americans.

Man, did I ever need this beer after that!

Okay! Another 2 hour drive and we arrived in Saigon! Crazy great hotel... on the gaudy side but after the boat looks like a dream!

Another city of 10 million!!

Hotel lobby

Big city tour tomorrow. I’ve booked a massage in afternoon.

Fantastic architecture with so much French influence. \240We visited the Reunification Palace, the old post office, a Chinese temple, the war museum (so intent depressing). I never managed to get a massage but did get my nails done 😁

Millions of flowers

Reunification Palace

Best hotel EVER

I ducked out of group dinner the other night and had a solo dinner at a beautiful Italian restaurant. They had a great band playing.

The old post office

Bryan releasing a bird for the new year!

Another lovely old hotel, the Shangri la.

Haven’t seen much yet but beauty abounds everywhere.

We walked a couple blocks to a great Thai restaurant hoping to break away from some people but of course everyone had the same idea and most of the group was there. Oh well 😕

Some of the high rise architecture is amazing

These photos don’t show The intense pollution.

Our morning excursion took us through some of the cities canal systems where everyday Thai people live.

Some of the critters the people live along side of on these canals. We saw at least 50 of the Kyoto dragons.

The waters are teeming with tilapia and catfish. Very hard to get a picture of.

Here is part of the reason this city is so polluted! Everyone of these small longboats, and there are a million of them, have these gigantic gasoline engines straight out of Mad Max! Bryan has a better picture I need to get. We were stuck in this lock waiting to get out of the canal and back on the river with about a dozen of these engines just spewing fumes. I got such an intense headache and sore throat! Enough!

Temple of the Dawn. Beautiful but if I see another temple in the next 5 years I’ll scream!

When in Rome..... I forgot my ball cap.

After returning to the hotel everyone else went hustling off to see one site or another but I chose the Thai massage parlor down the street!

I had a one hour foot massage! Only $10. Heaven. I’m going back today for a 2 hour full body massage. Maybe Thailand isn’t so bad.

Whose gigantic leg is that! \240Must be the camera angle.

Everyone (19 in this group) has gone off to the grand palace, a not to be missed Bangkok attraction. I declined even though I was being pressured and shamed for pooping out on our last excursion. \240I truly can’t tolerate this smog. My hip hurts bad! Wish I kept track of how many miles I’ve walked this trip.

Instead, I’m going for that 2 hour massage and to walk around locally taking more pictures of the insane wires!

Some pictures from the Grand Palace via Bryan. I’m very glad I didn’t go. It was 98 degrees with 98% humidity. Everyone said it was insanely crowded.

On to new adventures ❌⭕️❌⭕️❌⭕️

The subway trip was amazing! Took us all of 20 minutes to get from mid town to lower down town. Sat next to 2 old New York gals, 86 & 90 years old. They were aghast when BJ said it was my first subway ride! They lived on the upper east side and were on their way to a movie downtown! They love the subway and certainly if they can do it, I can!

First stop, OCULUS. \240this amazing piece of new architecture is brilliant. Build in the rubble at the base of the twin towers this shopping mall and transportation hub is incredible.

Next stop was this beautiful grocery store/restaurant called Eataly. Everything sold is from Italy. We tried to stop for a glass of wine but the bar was too crowded.

Everything looked so fresh and delicious

Next stop was the New Museum on Bowery street. We went up to the sky room first to watch the first snow falling on the city. Still warm out, about 40 degrees.

I absolutely loved the work of the artist on display on 3 of the 5 floors, Nari Ward. He’s a young Jamaican man who lives and works in Harlem. His work as a fiber artist only one of his many talents. Sara, remember those great purses you made out of all this red plastic bags in Jamaica? Most of his art is made from trash from Jamaica.

This piece was so eerie. A room full of baby carriages, old and filthy and old used fire hoses. As you walked through amazing grace played softly. Very cool.

This tunnel of yarns and random objects was wonderful.

But then, his wild music playing sculptures were awesome. The whole exhibition was fantastic.

We are starving and I really really want a glass of wine! BJ’s agenda took us to a supposedly great Thai restaurant called uncle Boons! We arrived at 5:15. It opened at 5:30. Already dozens of people in line.....in the now poring rain! I said, BJ are you kidding me? \240Well, I was so glad we waited. The food was the best Thai (better than Bangkok) I’ve eaten and the atmosphere was SO NYC!

After taking the subway back up town we stopped at this beautiful bar in the Park Meridian hotel pass through between 6th and 7th. Dazzling!

Quite the full New York experience for our first three or 4 hours! We are staying at the Hilton on 6th at 54th where BJ has a time share. He got me an amazing room!

I’ll let you know what day two brings on our Big Apple 🍎 trip!

This new building complex on the far east side of town,overlooking the Hudson River will have shopping, housing, dining ....everything ! It all opens in about 2 weeks. Can’t wait to come back for another visit.

BJ, who knows EVERYTHING, then delighted me with a 3 mile stroll on the beautiful High Line park! We walked the entirety of this brilliant park. Rather than tear down the the old elevated railroad tracks long ago abandoned, the city repurposed the tracks to create a gorgeous walkway! What a great concept !

Of course, being winter, it was bleak but the views of the city and river are wonderful.

The architecture along the walk is amazing! \240This is an incredible way to see parts of New York City you didn’t know existed

So many new skyscrapers have gone up sinceiwas here two years ago!

At the end of the High Line you end up at the Whitney Museum. I can’t believe I’ve never been! The main exhibit was Andy Warhol, which I enjoyed immensely, but the rest of the museums collection was very special. A few of my favorites below.

Clifford Still, a rare piece out of Denver collection

Katherine Schmidt

😕 didn’t get this artists name but loved it

George Tooker

Warhol’s work is mind boggling but I don’t care for some of it.

After the Whitney we had a great lunch at a lovely Japanese restaurant I can’t remember the name of, darn.

Then a walk through Chelsea Market, picking up a few souvenirs for the grandkids we stopped at the outrageous Starbucks store called the Reserve Roastery and had an affogato and a yummy capochino. I needed a boost.

One more subway ride to the east village to see the new Basquiat exhibit at the new Brant Foundation museum. Unfortunately someone (me) didn’t have her facts straight and the exhibit doesn’t open till this Wednesday! We will try to get back there.

After a brief rest at our hotel we met BJ’s friend, Bruce, at a cool Korean restaurant. Eating baby octopus 🐙 is NOT my thing but the rest of the meal was wonderful

After 4 subway rides and 7 miles of walking 🚶‍♀️ I collapsed into bed about midnight. I love this town!

I’ll really have to explain tomorrow

My feet hurt

My personal favorite

As we walked (6 more miles!) we wandered into dozens of great galleries to see old masters as well as new young artists. Learning so much.

Ok! Best chicken noodle soup and coleslaw EVER! \240BJ has been coming to this little hole in the wall for decades! It was the best lunch.

After lunch we walked a million more blocks up to the Guggenheim, my favorite museum, where we met my old friend, Kirk Morgenegg, whom I haven’t seen in a couple years. So good to see old friends. We spend a couple hours enjoying the Hilda af Klint exhibit. She’s a Swedish artist who created incredible abstract works back in 1906! Her work didn’t start being show until 1986, long after her death.

My favorite was the Mapplethorpe exhibit! Wow. I’d only every seen his work in books and it’s very very powerful in person.

So, after that exhibit a cocktail was in order! We found this adorable bar and had several.

We got back to our hotel in time to do.... absolutely nothing for a few minutes before we headed to another sensational Japanese meal. \240Then we went to our first of three plays we are seeing this week. Kiss Me Kate is a revival of an old play and it was SO MUCH FUN! Loved it.

And to end the perfect day, a night cap at a country western gay bar, of course!

Just in case you missed it the first time (last night)😁😁♥️🍎🍎❗️

On to Grand Central Station for a delicious lunch and wine at Agern. My chicken with shaved celeriac. Wonderful! We talked for 2 hours as BJ helped me make sense of conversations with a financial adviser! Holy crap... they have a language all their own!

We stayed at lunch too long and we literally had to run the 5 blocks to our big event of the day! \240This was by far... hands down... the best piece of drama and most brilliant acting I have yet to witness (and I see A LOT of plays). If you have never seen, or forgotten the 1976 movie, Network, with Peter Finch and Faye Dunaway, please watch it. Unbelievably relevant to the world today. Bryan Cranston was mind blowing as Howard Beale. If you can fly to New York and see this play DO IT!!

After a short break at the hotel we took the subway down to the village for an interesting dining experience. This tiny (10 tables) restaurant called Bohemian is tucked away in this historic old building where Basquiat use to live and work. The only way you can get a reservation is if you have been brought by someone who has been before (BJ had). They keep a huge database and if your name isn’t on the list you can’t get in! \240The have several around the world, can’t remember how many. I can now call and make my own reservations 😁. Cool huh.

Entrance to Bohemian

Very simple, cool art. Japanese influenced (yes Bryan, I’m learning to love it 🥰) but I went for a teriyaki burger 🍔. Great.

After dinner we went to a couple clubs with entertainment but they were so crowded we opted for a night cap at a totally hipster gorgeous bar call Death & Company. Actually in bed by 11 but still managed walking 5.5 miles.

Bryan, I will have a hotdog tomorrow!

Loved this lamp!

The worlds largest plastic bag art piece!

I won’t bore you with my many photos of my favorites. \240We had planned an early dinner with my friends because of the 8pm curtain. So now we have the whole evening and it was delightful.

You might recognize my new friend Cynthia, who I met on my trip with Bryan to Vietnam. It was fantastic to see her again!

Kirk also joined us for a delicious Mediterranean meal at a restaurant called Nur.

A night cap (I’m big on night caps now) at a nearby bar with wonderful friends at the end of a wonderful trip. What could be better!

Signing off till next trip (Savannah next week). Thanks for coming along!

❌⭕️❌⭕️

Do not speak to a boarding agent who has just dealt with a Denver blizzard for 48 hours. Nasty!

🤦‍♀️ oh no. Our plane is circling due to traffic. \240Shit. I’ll miss my connection in Houston. I better work on this! Shit.

I’ll be sorry for this tomorrow morning but I’m starving.

Officer Truman, unfortunately, thought I was in too much of a hurry. Shit. 74 in a 60😟.

But finally I meet my wonderful, amazing , beautiful granddaughter at her new (to her) first ever apartment of her OWN! \240So dang exciting! I LOVE IT! Wonderfull \240old world Savannah funky but what a classy pad! \240High ceilings, old fireplace and mantle features, trellis windows over every door, tons of beautiful windows and light, a cool back porch and her very first art studio room! \240More pictures tomorrow! She did great job picking out this wonderful spot!

Bravo Eva👏🏻👏🏻

Okay, I could kick myself for not taking some pictures of her neighborhood. I will start with those tomorrow! \240This old Savannah gem is nestled between the BOYZ II MEN barbershop and the CHA DEL Liquor Store! Good lord, the girl is in DA HOOD!

Cool. She can handle it and what an experience . \240George, sending her for concealed carry classes this summer 😮!

Only kidding 😕

Okay, first load of apartment necessities. Starting from scratch in your first apartment is an expensive endeavor..... thank you G-Mom 😁 What fun!! \240Furniture shopping tomorrow.

So, after 48 hours in the same clothes, un showered and have not brushed my teeth, literally in 2 DAYS, \240I \240find out from SOMEONE \240who LIVES in SAVANNAH (Eva🤪) that tomorrow Savannah celebrates St Patrick’s Day like no other city in the USA! In fact, it has the largest parade and has more parties than NYC! Of course, my hotel is right on the parade route. After unloading all our shopping and checking into my hotel I’m told that if I want my car tomorrow before 3pm I need to move it tonight. I drive it a mile up to Eva’s new place and walk back. No way can Eva come meet me for dinner. Town is a zoo!

So eating dinner in the bar. Even the hotel restaurant is completely booked. Peach glazed chicken, Savannah dirty rice and brussel sprouts ( instead of collard greens).

Delicious!

Too bad we can’t watch the parade tomorrow. Just too much to accomplish.... but I \240just \240bet I’ll see it some day!

I love this place!

I’ve never been back stage at a parade! \240Got many treats walking up to Eva’s this morning pre-parade!!

What a great vibe!!

I Love Savannah ❌⭕️❌⭕️

Got to meet Cornbread, one of Eva’s roommates dog. Eva is dog sitting this week. Lovely animal, rescued greyhound racing dog. So sweet.

Then we hit the streets to furniture shop! Actually we only had to hit one street, Abercorn St! Everything in Savannah is on Abercorn street. \240Makes it quite convenient!

We scored at cost plus world market! We loved these little end tables. Eva turns out to be a great assembler!

We purchased a new 50” tv at Best Buy but it came with the base legs and screws for a 42”! \240Unbelievable. Now I have to go fight with them tomorrow.

Didn’t we all have one of these chairs when we were 20?

Very cute bathroom

I remember my first kitchen like it was yesterday! \240

Inevitably when moving ..... a mountain of boxes and packaging

We may have got overzealous on this big couch. They almost couldn’t get it in the apartment but looks great 👍 Overstock Furniture Warehouse, great deals!

Our HEROES!! \240Not only did they get everything delivered they took away the mountain of recycling!! \240Sweet guys. Tipped them well😁

Another super full day scheduled tomorrow but we really kicked ass today. I told Eva she is NEVER moving again 🤪

And a few office supplies! Just the necessities ..... like an envelope and a stamp! A printer and some paper clips! A BULLETIN BOARD!! \240FOR GODS SAKE, Who can live without that!

AND A TOOLBOX. Every girl needs a complete toolbox .... we have used it 2o times since yesterday!

So we split up the other tasks for today! Times a wasting. \240Eva stayed to shuttle stuff from her dorm(ish) apartment while I went in search of a few more great pieces. Fortunately, \240Eva likes (for the most part) and trusts my eye so with a promise to text pictures of everything I was considering for her approval off I went to Savannah consignment stores. WHAT FUN!

What a bonanza of fine pieces I found in just one location! \240Savannah is a treasure trove of beautiful things. And somehow, maybe it’s the sad looking grandma with a bad knee saying my granddaughter will kill me...but...I manage to get same day delivery AGAIN!

First up was this simple tv cabinet. Perfect

Look at this! Gorgeous hand painted accent cabinet! In perfect shape and just what her living room needed!

Inside is a pull out desk, Little drawers and the bottom is a wine rack. I WANT THIS PIECE!

This is hard to picture but it’s basically Eva’s dining table in the living room. Found this glass topped truck brake rotor (yes brake rotor). Cool industrial. Got 2 little benches to go with it at Pier 1!

And an old mid century... or maybe 60’s dresser. Lovely old cherry wood

And my favorite! An old vintage Italian mirror for the bathroom! \240Really gave it some pizazz!

Whew! Everything under a $1000!

Her back porch is a delightful escape.

Looking down on the BOYZ to MEN parking lot! \240Eva going there for a haircut this week!

Okay Grandmother. Thanks but get the hell out of here! \240I’m \240ready to move in!

Tomorrow morning we meet with Comcast to set up internet and I fly home!

😁 I’ve \240had so much fun and loved being allowed to help in this transition! \240Simon you are next! Can’t wait !

Hopefully my flight homeward is smoother than my arrival! \240I’ll be back here in 2 weeks with as much art and carpets as I can fit in my car! Can’t wait 😊. Eva has a divine youthful but adultly (is that a word) functional living space...., with a file cabinet and a bulletin board 🤪

DAY 1

Denver to Wichita! Nice drive, boring landscapes. Made it in 7 hours. Stayed at a lovely hotel, The Ambassador. \240I like, when possible, to stay at Marriott Autograph Collection hotels. Always interesting hotels with good restaurants. Had a great meal here and was in bed by 8pm! \240Never sleep well the night before a road trip so I was exhausted.

I do love 💕 driving. I love everything about it. The speed and scenery and quiet alone time. Listening to great music or to nothing at all, just the tires on the road and my own thoughts. Should have been a truck driver. \240

DAY 2

After sleeping 10 hours I left Wichita at 8am! \240The 2 hour drive from Wichita to Tulsa was beautiful. A cool misty morning. Oklahoma is very beautiful and interesting, unlike eastern Colorado and Kansas! Should have stopped for a few pictures while I had the chance because once I hit Tulsa it started to pour! It rained cats 🐈 and dogs 🐕 for the next 6 hours! I mean wipers at full volume all the way through Oklahoma and Arkansas! Bummer. So no pictures. I just powered on through the storm which seemed to sit right on top of my car the entire drive!

Arrived in Memphis at 5pm to beautiful clearing skies. Staying at the Westin on Beale Street. Headed straight to the bar! Two Chopin on the rocks later I could feel some of the tension uncurling from my shoulders. Amazing how stressful driving in bad weather can be! I still loved every second of it. \240

Another 9 hours of sleep and I’m ready to roll to Atlanta!

Wonderful bar and best salad I’ve ever had!

Saturday’s drive, only 4 hours, to Savannah was another wet event! Rained the entire way but was clear when I arrived. \240i just have to say,again, that Georgia drivers are really messed up!! \240The all drive in the fast lane slowly. I could (had to) pass as many as 30 cars in the right lane which was completely empty!

My rental wasnt \240available until Sunday so I tried out a brand new Savannah hotel, this one a Marriott Luxury Collection. Over the top fantastic! \240Beautiful room (wish I had taken a picture before I messed it up) and killer decor in the lobby! And a real treat is the rooftop restaurant/bar with a lovely view of Savannah!

Beautiful lobby...... I’m sure I’m boring you to death but I love classy decor!

Look at this 8’high wainscoting!

Love this red table Bryan!

Highly recommended hotel. Great location!

Rooftop bar is not getting much business today! More rain coming.

Walked around town, just can’t get enough of these odd quirky establishments and beautiful parks.

Pam and Ed! You will love this Little pub! Great for lunch!

Green Square across the street

Henry Cunningham house, really lovely.

I have the left half of the house.

So, busy week. I’ve been working with Eva on decorating and organizing her sweet Savannah apartment. I just love it. I hope she will be happy here for the last two years of her college career! \240Eva has a great eye for decor and definitely knows her style (which happens to match her grandmothers making things easier)! She loved all the things I brought out to her and I’m going to bring more next trip.

We are almost done and I promise to take lots of pictures today to share. \240Below Eva and her friend Jake!

I’m looking forward to the arrival of Pam and Ed this evening! And look forward to doing more sight seeing in this wonderful town.

Cute bathroom.

Her studio is just taking shape. Drafting table was built by the handyman, Houston, yesterday. He built it all wrong at first so all the drawers were on a slant and the table was flat! Hysterical 😩

Found this old pine table at my favorite consignment store. Perfect for homework. She needs to assemble some shelving we got to hold all her supplies and get some of her art on the walls. Great light in all the room but especially this one.

The living room is rather dramatic but fun! I love it. \240Hope this video is viewable but will add some photos as well. \240

Project complete. Really fun. Thanks for letting me help you Eva😘

Recycling some old art and my Persian carpet I’ve had since 1998! It’s over 80 years old and perfect condition.

My old office shell lamp and 60’s cat statue. I bought her the resting cat and the skull lamp at the MoMa store when I was in NYC.

That sterling silver tiger is the first piece of art I ever bought after starting to travel with Joe.

The ceilings are 12’ high. I love this corner.

You can hop on and off the bus to visit different locations along the way. First stop was at a great coffee shop!

We witnessed a \240few casual weddings along the route. Happy couple.

Next stop The Six Pence Pub for a fantastic lunch

Bloody Mary time for me!

After finishing the tour and now knowing everything there is to know about Savannah we move to our lush historic townhouse on Harris street in old Savannah. On another picturesque square... Polanski Square.

214 Harris! American flag to boot!

Looking at the square from our elevated front door! Geez, didn’t they have bad knees in the 1800’s!

Dinner was delightful at Alligator Soul! Ed actually did eat alligator but I went for steak. Eva devoured a tremendous charcuterie board including bone marrow and pork belly! Wish I had gotten a picture of her digging into that!

After a restorative walk home Pam, Ed and I played a final stew game before bed. Pam had already won both games we played before dinner 🤬. But look at this! An entire game and I never got in! 22 rolls! Horrors.

Today, Friday, we had a rather quiet day. Pam and Ed went off to check out Tybee Island and I did laundry and a few errands.

Linda and Marley arrive late this evening.

Yesterday we drove the two hours over to Charleston. We are staying in Mount Pleasant which is across the Harbor from old town Charleston. Not crazy about the location of this rental but it’s a very nice house.

We dined at a local oyster house which was a big hit with Marley, Linda and Ed !

We are taking a water taxi over to the city this morning and taking some tours. Hopefully I’ll get inspired to take a few photos!!

A quick lunch at my favorite bar at the Charleston Belmond Hotel. Excellent Bloody Mary! \240After lunch we cruised through the City Market which was fun. All kinds of great items made by local crafters.

The next day, Wednesday, we spent the day taking a boat cruise of Charleston Harbor. Beautiful. Our guide gave great commentary on everything we saw and interesting stories about Charleston’s role in the civil war.

Below a view of the Cooper River bridge built in 2012. A real work of art I think.

Our tour vessel with th USS Yorktown in the background.

After the 2 hour cruise, the gang went on a tour of the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown. I declined to go. I’m too claustrophobic for those narrow ship hallways!

Instead, I exploded the surrounding area and found interesting things!

Yesterday we all did our own sightseeing. While Marley did a bike tour of Charleston, Ed went to a train museum, Pam and Linda visited some old Charleston houses.

I stayed in lovely Mount Pleasant and walked around all the charming streets and old \240tiny village. I’ve never been in a community so picture postcard perfect !

In the village there is an old drugstore straight out of the 50’s! \240

Couldn’t resist having a hot dog at the counter.

Look at this candy counter!

I walked miles to many pretty spots along the harbor. Another good view of the bridge.

View of Charleston from across the harbor.

This bench called Is Old Ladies Point! Appropriate! Took a 15 minute break here.

Came across a beautiful old cemetery. Really old graves. Sadly not very well maintained.

Unfortunately, I discovered that my tire has a screw in it😱 \240 The check tire light came on a couple days ago but the tire looked fine. It started to get a little low so I took it in to the Audi dealer and they discovered the screw. I had to order a new tire. Sooooo

It’s Friday morning and I should be driving to Washington DC but instead I’m sitting in the dealership waiting to have them install a new tire. It’s going to be a long day!

Said my goodbyes to my dear friends this morning! Nothing better than spending some quality time with your friends. We had some great meals together and lots of laughs. A very good time.

Finally on the road with new tire!

12 hours to Washington DC. Bumper to bumper traffic all through Carolinas and last 100 miles. Poured rain the whole way. I will never ever drive I-95 again 😡😨😩

Xxx

Dad is in a perfect location, just off a quiet lane under a lovely tree.

I spent a couple hours walking around and visiting some of the monuments. By the time I got to the tomb of the unknown soldier it was very crowded and I was pooped and starving!

I drove over to Georgetown for lunch. What a zoo that town is! The Main Street was adorable but thousands of people in the streets. I can’t believe I lucked out on a parking spot! I guess it being a beautiful Saturday before Easter had everyone out and about!

I had made a reservation on open table at an old family style Italian restaurant. Excellent!

The Easter decorations were over the top!

Filomena was actually there making tortellini. She didn’t look very happy 😆

I stayed at The Mayflower Hotel, another autograph collection. It was lovely but I had to change my room! I walked in and the body odor was so overwhelming I gagged! What’s up with that? My second room was better... kind of.

I departed at 7am for my 8 hour drive to Cincinnati! Fantastic drive. Absolutely no one on the roads! \240I took secondary highways through Maryland, West Virginia and Ohio. Gorgeous. A perfect road trip day.

Cincinnati has a fabulous skyline I’ll try to get a picture of tonight. \240Heading to st Louis tomorrow. On the home stretch.

Happy Easter 🐣

Cincinnati to St. Louis On Monday. \240Made a stop in O’Fallon Illinois where I lived when I was 12 to 15 years old. my dad was stationed at Scott AFB. I have some really profound memories and since I was driving by I stopped. I found the junior high school and high school I attended and even found the house on Cedar street that we had lived in! This tiny Illinois town really hadn’t changed much in 53 years!

No tsure where all this nostalgic nonsense was coming from but thankfully it’s past! Not me at all 😲

O’Fallon high school

I love St. Louis. Lovely city and great hotel.

Tuesday I drive to Omaha Nebraska. Love driving through America’s heartland especially in spring! Good roads, no traffic, great farms, fields and silos! \240Not to mention pleasant rest stops where I always meet nice people (...😏 not kidding Pam & Ed)

Missouri is really beautiful.

I think this is a wind mill blade? Iowa!

Omaha Nebraska is sure growing! Had a really great steak!

Drive from Omaha to Denver is nothing to write about, that’s for sure. Sad that my trip is over. I had a really terrific time but also glad to be home and have SO MUCH TO DO! Moving out of the Fort Collins house next week.

Next trip will be to California for Simon’s graduation on June 2nd! \240 I’m so proud of him and excited for his next chapter as a New School/Parsons student in New York City! Can’t wait to visit him there!

Signing off on my April 🌷 Road Trip!

Looking toward the guest house from the main house

Lovely pathways leading between both.

Sara’s wonderful studio

A new rescued pup, Phoebe ! I’ve never liked little dogs \240but this one is adorable

They have had so much rain this spring that the lush green almost hurts your eyes!

Guest house porch!

Exciting news! This is the future home of Abolish Blandness Gallery. Downtown Oswego only 3 blocks from the house! She’ll be shaking up the locals!

Grand opening plans for late October! I want to be here!

Local drug store across from gallery! Love it!

Downtown Oswego! Not a trump poster in sight😁. Thank you Lord!!

Oswego July 3rd fireworks 🧨 in the park! They were terrific! \240Had a good burger cooked by the Kiwanis and well sprayed to ward off the skeeters 🦟 with a thermos of wine we had a wonderful time.

Today we toured a ton of other local towns and had a great lunch in Columbus, KS at Norma’s Cafe.

Columbus was so quaint ....but all the small towns were picture perfect. \240A lot to be said for living out of the hustle and bustle and I can see it’s made Sara very happy 😊! Reminded me of my Crawford days!

Beautiful vistas in every direction!

Neosho \240River in Oswego.

The gals relaxing with the mutts on the front porch! \240We are soon heading to another village, Chetopa, to an even larger fireworks display and community dinner! \240Great fun. Tomorrow Sara and I are heading to Bentonville, Arkansas- home of Walmart- to take in the fabulous Crystal Bridges Art Museum! \240That should be incredible! More tomorrow!

Happy 4th!❌❌⭕️❌🧨🧨🧨

The festivities were pleasant, although we arrived too late for the catfish fry so had to settle for a hot dog 🌭! \240Great country band.

All was smooth until a big fire broke out and all the local firemen abandoned the fireworks display! They took care of this blaze in surprisingly quick order and when the fireworks 💥 finally started they were the best I’ve ever witnessed!

So all that was on Thursday the fourth! On Friday Sara and I left Fred to manage the 3 dogs (scary thought) while we mosied down to cute Bentonville, Arkansas to the new art museum built by Alice Walton. Incredible! An amazing hotel, the 21C, was a pleasant surprise for this part of the world! Great art, restaurants and shopping \240everywhere in this small town!

Loved this piece!

I’ve never seen oak leaf hydrangeas! Magnificent.

After a delicious lunch at an adorable Italian restaurant in town we went to the main attraction, Crystal Bridges art museum. The setting is spectacular. This stainless steal tree out front awesome!

And a huge surprise! The museum is free!

The architecture is mind boggling and the collection definitely rivals anything I saw in NYC in March!

My favorite! Pinocchio 🤥!

Main dining room/event center is really special!

And a great place to be stuck during a huge rain storm! I’ve not seen rain this hard in a while! Beautiful in this setting, as you can see in this video.

Lovely meal at the hotel restaurant at end of the day! \240What a great side trip only 90 minutes from Oswego! \240So fabulous to reconnect with my Evil Sistah after almost a year and a half! \240I have a feeling I’ll be back here more often.... especially since I’ll be campaign manager for Sara’s Oswego \240city council race in 2 years!

Meanwhile, we walked 4 miles around Vancouver. Gorgeous city with wonderful art. Came across this great Dali.

Hope I can send some lovely photos of our ship tomorrow xoxo

Pam and Ed are perfect traveling companions!

Ed, on his yacht!

Yes... I know I’m short Ed!

Pool deck and outdoor grill.

The panorama lounge.

The Arts Cafe

Fabulous art throughout the decks including beautiful glass and modern art!

But finally we are off at 5 pm! Our departure, one day late, from Vancouver was applauded!

Goodbye Vancouver!

I’m just crazy about my beautiful room! Slept like a rock and woke yesterday morning to a cloudy sky and cold temps. 50 degrees! There were 6’ swells and I developed some vertigo as soon as I got up. Fortunately I didn’t get sick and it went away as soon as the sun came up and the ocean calmed. I was snug in my room and my room service breakfast was delicious 😋

We were at sea all day and I loved it. It stayed quite chilly but we went to on board lectures about British Columbia and the Alaskan inside passage we will travel tomorrow

The lecture hall is so comfortable! Could sit for hours hearing stories of the early pioneers and prospectors and of course the native peoples who have inhabited this part of the world for 10,000 years.

Woke this morning to a magnificent sunrise as we head towards Juneau, our first port. We disembark to go on a whale watching trip and to explore the capital city.

I saw several small whales from my balcony this morning. Looks like a sunny and warmer day today. Pretty perfect 👌

In our first port, Juneau , I was disappointed to see how extremely touristy it was. As bad as Key West , but a lot prettier! \240We got out of town quickly to go on a whale watching tour! \240Stopped to view this beautiful glacier along the way.

It was 75 and waters were calm for our trip. Breathtaking vistas and we saw dozens of whales.

Stellar seals were very entertaining.

We pulled out of port at 5pm to sail all night to Skagway, loved this old boom town!

Nice shot of our ship, the Silver Muse. I’m so comfortable on this vessel I kind of wish I was staying on after anchorage as it makes a ocean crossing to Japan!

We took two tours in Skagway. \240The first was a thorough bus tour of the town and surrounding area. The stories of this towns history are wonderful and shocking. As the most northern deep water port that doesn’t freeze over in winter it is the gateway for most of the shipping of Alaska’s minerals. In the late 1890’s it was the hub of the Yukon gold rush. Over 30,000 men came here over 3 years to seek fortunes. Only 3000 actually made it to the gold fields and only about 300 actually made a fortune! \240People who live here year round, about 600, are some hearty souls! \240It’s a fairly temperate climate, never gets below 32 degrees, very little snow but it rains about 100”’s and the winds howl down White pass from the Yukon for weeks on end! Yech!

Overlooking the town and our ship.

Next we took a 4 hour train ride up to the summit of White Pass. Truly beautiful. We think we have mountains in Colorado but these just blow the Rockies out of the water!

We pulled out of Skagway around 5:30pm. Now heading to Sitka.

In Sitka we took a tour around Sitka sound to see all the wildlife this amazing state has to offer and we saw it all! \240Sea otters are amazing as they swim around on their backs all day. They were almost hunted to extinction in the 1800’s by the Russians. Their pelts have 1 MILLION hairs per square inch so were very valuable \240 They have made a real comeback thankfully

We saw dozens of bald eagles in the wild but a visit to an eagle rehab center was exciting.

My bear photos were just awful but they had huge individuals in this rescue center.

Another gorgeous sunrise yesterday as we approached Hubbard glacier.

This magnificent advancing glacier in Disenchantment Bay is 1200’ tall and 76’ long. The face we viewed was 6.5 miles wide. We saw lots of calving and the sound was deafening.

We were able to get really close because the weather was so fine.

It was an amazing sight and we had a memorable visit.

The whole afternoon we cruised north along the coast with non stop views of this beautiful coast. You would never see these sights any other way but by ship.

Sadly, this morning we disembarked our beautiful Silver Muse! I could have easily stayed on for another two weeks as the ship continued to more ports in the Aleutian island, Russia and then to Japan! \240I’m so glad I have discovered the shear thrill of small cruise ships and look forward to many more adventures.

We boarded a great Alaska Railroad train with panoramic views for the 4 hour trip to Anchorage! \240The train went through remote mountain passes that you can’t reach any other way. Breathtaking for sure. Today was our first rainy day since Vancouver!

Stunning views!

We are now comfy in the Captain Cook Hotel in Anchorage. We are going for some Mexican food! Only thing we couldn’t get on the ship! \240We have picked up our rental Escalade and head for Talketna tomorrow!

What a great adventure!

By the way! I have been winning at stew! A very unhappy Ed.

We arrived in Talkeetna and were pretty underwhelmed by this tiny touristy town. Poor Pam is struggling with a bad head cold but we managed to take a terrific tour of the Susitna Valley by train, trails and the river. Lots of interesting stuff and we were very lucky to get some views of Mt. Denali!

Some old Alaskan railroad cars in an old depot town of Curry.

Ed is a real train buff so was definitely eating this up! \240He worked for Alaskan railroad for a couple years in the 70’s so it was fun finding all the old places he worked and lived!

We then hit the river to head back to Talkeetna.

We stopped for a hike through the forest to an old trappers camp. I loved the roof on this primitive cabin.

We saw lots of eagles and a small black bear.

We were so lucky for more beautiful weather! Great views of the entire Alaska range.

And there it is! The peak of Denali (formally my. McKinley). Magnificent at 20,323’. Very different from seeing our Colorado Rockies since they rise from the valley floor which is only 300’ above sea level. In Colorado we are viewing the Rockies from 5000’ or more so they just don’t look as big.

We drove farther north to Denali national park where our good weather disappeared! \240We took a great tour with a naturalist and saw moose, a caribou and a grizzly bear 🐻! Everything was so far away I didn’t bother with any photos!

Heading back to Anchorage today. Home tomorrow! \240Another wonderful trip in 2019!

Saw this tee shirt in a pub window and knew I liked this town! At least Nixon had the decency to resign for the good of the country!

Lots of good galleries and street art. This reminded me of just how fat I am right now!!

Soooo..... ended up that Joker was not the Batman prequel that I had assumed. Instead it’s a devastating and painful story about the horrors of serious mental illness and how we handle it in this country. Whew 😥. Threw me for a loop! \240Joaquin Phoenix performance is not to be missed but it’s really a hard one!

Day 2 - Lincoln to Chicago! Long 9 hour drive. Should have only been 7 1/2 but I quite foolishly approached the city at 5pm on a Friday night. Definitely not one of my finer road trip planning decisions.

I LOVE Chicago \240it’s a beautiful city center with amazing architecture. Not much time to explore but I had a brilliant dinner at the Waldorf Astoria. Had this incredible crab salad on endive with Parmesan. Ive never had anything quite like this presentation. I wish I had taken a picture ☹️.

Sorry..... car photos through a dirty window!

Day 3. Chicago to Toronto .....10 hours. WAY TOO LONG! \240But I loved driving through Michigan. Very pretty. I’m a bit worried that I might be too early for the fall colors in Vermont. There is very little color change even this far north!

After an uneventful border crossing into Canada at Port Huron it was actually a very ugly drive into Toronto.

It’s not a very pretty city, just sprawling with very industrial architecture. Not impressed. BUT, since I’m a Four Seasons Resident I was upgraded to an outrageous suite here at the Toronto 4S! \240Having my first cocktail in the Dbar and then something yummy. Haven’t eaten since a quick breakfast at 9am.

No early start tomorrow. Only 4 hours to Syracuse with a couple hour visit to \240Niagra Falls in between!

Cheers!

The sky was so beautiful.

Look how close I am.

This video shows the power of all that water flowing over.

These crazy peopl must have been here at dawn!!

I did it! \240Niagara Falls off my bucket list! \240It was worth the trip and I was so lucky to hit it on a perfect Sunday morning. Feeling blessed 🙏😊

As I was leaving a bus full arrived

Marianne! The town was exactly as you remembered it from 1961!! Lush, green and full of flowers!

I’ll update on the rest of my wonderful day in a couple days!

This is Main Street shops in Skaneateles. Literally built on the darn lake!

Skaneateles Lake.

I knew I was close the Ed’s birth country so texted him to get a location. He sent me to Cavenovia, NY just a bit farther East on highway 20. Promised me the best popovers in the world at the Linklaen house! His father’s family has been in this area for 300 years!!

Here it is! The Linklaen!

And here is the empty and deserted restaurant which was NOT SERVING POPOVERS at 3:30pm😩. Ahh well. Still a nice drive and an interesting town.

Headed on to Syracuse after this huge disappointment only to be staying in an unimpressive Sheraton in this not so elegant university town. I survived, barely.

Day 5! \240Syracuse to Townshend Vermont via the Adirondack mountains! POURING RAIN!!

I had texted Cathy to find out where Dave’s mom, Judy lived. Dave is another upstate New Yorker I knew it was somewhere in this next of the woods. As it turns out, I was going right through Johnstown NY on my way to the mountains! \240I don’t know Judy well but we have chatted several times over years when she visited Colorado. So I just had to pop in and say hello 👋

We spent a lovely hour gabbing over coffee about a million things. So now I have a new friend to visit in New York

Moving on, I drove about 4 hours through POURING RAIN but wonderful scenery in the Adirondacks. Finally some perfect fall colors!

No matter how hard I try I can’t get a good and accurate picture of the color in these \240leaves! The deep reds, oranges and purple are so vivid! \240I thought my new 11 pro would do the trick but I’m useless ☹️

I’m staying at an old farmhouse built in 1820! It’s called the Windham Hills Inn in west Townshend Vermont. I must admit arriving at 4pm in the POURING RAIN.....STILL... it seemed very remote and creepy. Too dark and dreary to even take a decent photo. More tomorrow!

Day 6... I think 🤔

The suns out! \240My old farmhouse isn’t so creepy. Great bed! Slept 9 hours. Fabulous restaurant. Had a brilliant Vermont cheddar and ham scramble for breakfast 🍳

Beautiful location in the sunlight!

Went exploring all over southern Vermont. Postcard perfect everywhere!

My first covered bridge!

My first cheese factory!

Just can’t capture those colors!

Moving a bit north tomorrow. Only 100 miles.

Actually, I think this is day 6🤷‍♀️. I’m really loosing track of time. Anyway, after 2 lovely nights at Windham Hill Inn, I moved slightly north to Woodstock. Did I mention how incredible the dinners at the farmhouse were! \240OMG, best salad ever with this maple balsamic vinegaret and a pork chop with a disc of maple infused butter melting on top! \240I do like maple but think I may never want to taste it again after this trip!

So Woodstock is a very interesting village just a hop from Killington ski resort (peak of mountain is 4600’ and Woodstock sits at 700’. Coming from Colorado this seems insane but most popular ski resort on the east coast!). \240Woodstock is called the prettiest town in the USA and it is adorable! \240Saved by the Rockefeller’s and restored to its 1930’s glory it’s chock full of great restaurants, galleries and beautiful homes. I’m staying 2 nights at a magnificent old hotel, Woodstock Inn. Perfect 👌

Weather is fantastic. About 55 and sunny. This is the entrance to the Inn.

All decked out for fall.

Exquisite lobby, bar and restaurant.

Day 7 and I drove back roads all day! Vermont is such a small state. Only 600,000 total people. It reminds me a lot of the Norfolk area of England where Vic and Jen live. The roads are in great shape, every village is neat as a pin and looks affluent. Bernie must be doing something right for this economy. \240The fall colors are outstanding. I think they are so impressive here because the state is nothing but forest so you are just immersed in these leaves.

Quenche Gore was a sight. I would have many more photos for you if I had a rooftop camera on my car!!

Yet another....

Morning of day 8 I spent at the Billings Farm just outside of Woodstock. It was an amazing tour of a still working Vermont dairy farm. The afternoon I visited Stowe ski resort, Montpelier, the capital and another 100 villages.

Onwards, 100 miles west of Woodstock \240to Warren Vermont. I’m staying at another historic Inn called The Pitcher. \240It is absolute Americana! I was a bit shocked at my room!! Not sure about those Eagles looking down on me!

Warren isn’t much. Just the inn and a little general store. But it sits on a lovely river. Lots of fly fishing going on. \240Had dinner here last night and had to complain about my tasteless steak. I just don’t like steak anymore I think.

So day 9 I covered a lot of miles! \240I drove all the way to the northern most town of Newport. Scenery changed quite a bit. Lots of forest cleared up there for the BIG dairy farms. I went by Berkshire Farm (worlds happiest cows 🐄) I bet there were more cows than there are people in Vermont! \240I drove back south along Lake Champlain. Had lunch in St Albans and the drove along the lake to Burlington and back to Warren over the green mountains and Sugar Loaf ski resort. \240 There are dozens of ski resorts and cross country ski trails the entire length of this state. I would love to see it in full snow!

Lake Champlain

A brighter view of the lake.

Tomorrow I move up to Shelburne Farm just outside Burlington. I look forward to taking the day off driving and just exploring this small university town of 40,000.

Last 2 days in Vermont. Tomorrow I’ll take a picture of the map that I have kept track of all the roads I’ve driven in Vermont. You wil think I am INSANE!

Walked the majority of town and had a great lunch at a French bistro. Delicious Waldorf salad and a mimosa!

I also took a drive through a few of the lake Champlain islands. So picturesque.... as everything is in Vermont.

My pictures are loaded on wrong. \240I should be showing you my hotel, the Inn at Shelburne Farm, now but instead skipping ahead to my visit Monday to the Shelburne Museum. Quite an unusual art museum \240set on 100+ acres and including 39 separate installation sites, each a different Vermont landmark relocated to this location. As you can see some are old barns, churches, lighthouses, ships, shops, homes etc! \240 The collection of Americana art was a bit underwhelming (for my taste) but the unique setting was fun. Spent several hours and honestly only saw half! \240It was quite a hike getting through it but the gardens were spectacular.

So, rewind.. \240this is arrival on Sunday at the Inn at Shelburne farm on the banks of lake Champlain. Pretty over the top! \240Built in early 1800’s it is an authentic step back in time. Some of which \240I loved some not so much. Beautiful dining room and extraordinary food.

It has only 24 guest bedrooms in the farm setting.

This was my bedroom. Lovely but a tad creepy.

Was not a fan of the bathroom plumbing, not changed since the day it was built!

Gorgeous old sitting rooms.

The setting on the lake could not be more fabulous.

So, goodbye Vermont! 9 days was way too many. 5 or 6 would have been plenty but I enjoyed every minute and every mile!

Vermont is one of the most beautiful states I’ve ever travelled through. I realize I saw it at the very best time of the year. I hear spring is pretty bleak and muddy. \240I will look forward to returning in the winter someday to see how magical it is in the snow.

Some of things that bugged me about it:

*Worst coffee in the world! Green mountain coffee is so bitter and it is all you could get!

*the Vermonters are not at all friendly (unlike in Savannah and the south) in fact downright rude in many cases

* there was something almost stagnant in the vibe. I mean I saw ZERO construction going on anywhere. Like everyone is 100% happy with how things are and don’t want to change a thing! I guess that bothered me.

Below is my car map, which I kept updated at the end of each day. I drove every road in yellow (some of them twice) and the orange spots are where I stayed. \240

VERMONT.... done right!!

Traveled down to Stonington Connecticut yesterday morning. More on that later.

We had a great seafood dinner in a local pub. This small Burrough is so gorgeous. Of course, I took no pictures of town ☹️

On Wednesday, we drove 30 minutes to the seaport of Mystic. A truly amazing museum there. I loved touring an old whaling ship , appalling how the crews had to live. And even more appalling to learn more about the devastation these whalers brought to the whales!! So sad.

Marley and Linda are definitely in their element here!

OMG! I’m shorter than Linda!

On Thursday the Hodgson’s were off to Denver so I spent the day driving all over Rhode Island! I loved Providence ! A beautiful rainbow appeared over the town! A sign?!?!

I drove all over but unfortunately, the wind was so outrageous it was impossible to get out and walk around. I will definitely revisit Providence soon. \240I drove on to Newport for a late lunch. What a cool town! Again, the 50 mile an hour winds prevented much exploring.

Back in Stonington and sadly the winds have taken a toll on several trees and homes!

I took a few more shots of Linda and Marley’s beautiful condo building.

Really pretty perfect 👌

Some harbor views in Stonington

So Friday morning and I’m off to NYC to see Simon! \240We had a fun dinner last night at a Tribeca Indian restaurant. So great see him thriving in this big city!! \240I’m meeting him today to see his dorm and do a little shopping.

I met Simon for a bowl of Pho at Saigon Market and then we did a little shopping 😊. I hadn’t bought Simon a present in quite a while and I was happy to encourage his interest in modular synthesized music! \240He has always been a fan and I’m thrilled that he wants to create his own!

He knew exactly what he wanted, of course, a Mother-32! I’ve got no idea what this thing does!

Continued on to check out Simon’s dorm room which is very near union square. It was so damn clean!! It’s tiny, to say the least, for 4 young men to share but he seems happy with the space and his roommates.

I was also surprised to hear about his interest in wood working! He made this obelisk in the Parsons shop which he says is a great spot to unwind. I think it’s terrific that he’s developing hobbies to relieve stress of classes and homework!

Not bad views from his dorm window!

He’s definitely thriving in New York with the world at his fingertips!

Simon joined Kirk and Cynthia and I at the Jungle Room for a fantastic dinner.

I’m so lucky to have such great reasons to visit this city more often now!

View from my room. Weather changing!

Besides seeing Simon, the absolute highlight of this quick trip was see Cyrano! \240Cynthia got us tickets to the Sunday matinee.

OMG, it was incredible! Peter Dinklage was brilliant in this off broadway musical. The staging, choreography and music were unbelievable. It just opened last week and is only running till December 22. I predict it heads to Broadway proper in the new year.

Our final dinner at Babbo (amazing Italian). I feel good that Simon has several friends to call in this big city!

Now I’m off for the final leg of my road trip. Heading to KANSAS!!

If you are wondering, it’s buttered toast triangles on bottom, topped by thick slices of fresh roasted turkey, melted cheese, rashers of bacon, roasted tomatoes and parmigiano on top!

Next night in Springfield Missouri. Pouring rain the whole drive. \240Still full from the Hot Brown in Louisville so I went to see a movie. The Lighthouse, \240with William Defoe and Robert Patterson. I thought it was going to be scary but it was just weird. Simon loved it and had some compelling reasons so maybe I need to see again

Finally I arrive in delightful OSWEGO KANSAS!!! \240Home of my famous \240artist friend SARA LYTLE!! \240I was privileged to be there for the opening of her new gallery ABOLISH BLANDNESS!

It is an exquisite space and Sara’s genius is evident throughout! \240Sara’s fellow artist and friend from Santa Barbara, Lynn Cunningham Brown, did a joint show - Sara’s RED DOOR \240series of paintings and Lynn’s DRESSED TO KILL sculpture (that’s not the right description). \240Her art is a captivating and inventive blend of animal/fish skulls and forms decked out in sequins and feathers. Fun and beautiful! The two art forms were perfect together. Sara’s doors are my favorites.

We had a pre opening cocktail party with a few of Sara and Fred’s Tulsa friends.

Sara is in her element here in this studio and in Oswego!

I loved this piece by Lynn titled GAME OF HORNS. Bought it!