Continuing to move up the Pacific Coast and then heading back inland…
Muir Woods National Monument, California:
Lake Tahoe, California:
Redwood National Forest, California:
Eugene, Oregon:
Multnomah Falls, Oregon:
Seattle, Washington:
Mt. Rainier National Park, Washington:
Buck Brannaman Horsemanship Clinic (Ellensburg, Washington):
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho:
I had been to Chicago one time before, but it was while chaperoning students on a Journalism Field Trip, so I didn’t quite get to do all of the things I wanted. I had a blast while there, including getting the chance to visit my Aunt and a cousin and her family, and I can’t wait to get back to spend even more time.
Chicago is very easy to walk, and I loved getting around by foot even though it was extremely hot and humid while I was there. One of my favorites was people watching as they cooled off at this spot above in Millenial Park. Water came out of that guy’s mouth – and the kids were having a blast with it. I also loved seeing my second Calder piece of the trip (refer back to my Seattle post for the other).
I took the train out to Wrigley and, even though they weren’t at home while I was there, it became very obvious that Wrigleyville just has to be insane during a home game. It was pretty cool to see Harry Caray and Ernie Banks immortalized in statue form. Having grown up watching afternoon Cubs’ games on WOR, with Caray on the mic, referencing Banks and his famous “Let’s play two” constantly, I was thankful to see these statues.
Lake Michigan was the last of the bodies of water I saw on the trip and I loved seeing these sailboats at the ready (incidentally, the others were the Mississippi River, the Gulf of Mexico, the Colorado River, Lake Tahoe, and Lake Coeur d’Alene).
Cloud Gate, or The Bean, as many people call it, is a must see. I was actually shocked and disappointed to see and hear people who were surprised to see the skyline in the reflection, instead being too busy looking for themselves. What a world we live in…
No trip to Chicago would be complete for me unless it included a few hours at the Art Institute of Chicago. I’ve had the great fortune to visit some incredible museums (The Louvre, Musee d’Orsay, The National Gallery of Art, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Guggenheim Museum, The Museum of Modern Art, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, to name more than few), but the Art Institute of Chicago stands out for me, mainly because of that pointilistic Seurat seen above. I’ve been obsessed with Ferris Beuller’s Day Off since it came out and the Museum Scene is one of my favorite one minute and fifty seconds of any movie. This piece, however, isn’t all this Museum has, as can be seen by the Lichtenstein, the Pollock, the Hoppers, the Grant Wood, the O’Keefe, and the Jasper Johns’ piece in the above photos. I absolutely love visiting this spot…
I wasn’t sure of what to expect from Seattle. I had just come off a great time in California and had really liked Oregon as well – so I felt like I was almost due for a let down. And I was (thankfully), very wrong. I absolutely loved being in Seattle. Pike Place Market was everything I hoped it would be and more. The people watching, as well as watching the guys throwing the fish and interacting with the crowd, Piroshky, Piroshky, Beecher’s Handmade Cheese, the Original Starbucks – I mean, c’mon, it’s awesome. The Space Needle provided incredible views (and I’m thankful I wasn’t able to go up until early evening). It was drivable and it was walkable and I had a total blast.
The Space Needle is an icon, there’s no doubt about that – but the area around it is so much fun as well – there are a ton of things to do, especially for kids, who all seemed to be having a blast in the process. This is a must-see if you’re in the area, for sure.
The Olympic Sculpture Park is a pretty short walk from the Space Needle and totally worth it, if only to check out a great piece by Alexander Calder – and that backdrop sure doesn’t hurt, either.
While I have never been the biggest Nirvana fan, I did think a visit was worth it. While the house is beautiful, walking along Lake Washington was even better. If you’ve seen any of my posts before, you know that I’m a fan of street art, and I loved these two bottom pieces.
That sky…
The Ferris Wheel and the stadiums tend to jump out at you here, but if you look through that haze, that’s Mt. Rainier in the distance (I’ll have a post coming soon about my visit to Mt. Rainier…)
Loved seeing the container ships in the same vicinity of the sailboats and the Original Starbucks in Pike Place Market is pretty darn cool as well…
So this dude is Taho Kakutani (had to do a little research there), and let me tell you something – he is phenomenal at his job. Not only is he able to throw the fish well, but he is just really great at interacting with the crowds and at the very minimum, seeming to have fun while doing it. I was truly impressed with all that he was doing – especially knowing that dealing with the crowds like they do could become incredibly difficult. He did it all with a smile on his face the entire time.
Absolutely loved the totems that could be found around town…
While I got to Seattle relatively early and got shots of these iconic signs early on, I knew I needed to get back later – and I’m so glad that I did. I absolutely love the way these came out, even though I had to leave earlier than I originally wanted due to some unforeseen issues – but those unforeseen issues led me back to my car, which was parked nearer to the Space Needle. I wasn’t expecting this whatsoever, and what a pleasant surprise, to see the sky just totally beyond cooperative for this:
Plain and simple, I absolutely loved Seattle and I’d go back in a heartbeat…
I am very fortunate to get the opportunity to spend some quality time in Washington, D.C. a couple times a year. I get the chance to see what I want — but no trip is complete for me without visiting the National Gallery of Art, The Hirshhorn Museum and now, after visiting for the first time last year, the National Portrait Gallery. All three museums were featuring some absolutely incredible exhibitions, making this one of my favorite trips in the process.
I have a love/hate relationship with the Hirshhorn – there have been times when I just get nothing out of a visit, and others when everything is magical. This year’s trip was the latter. I loved their exhibition entitled Suprasensoriall: Experiments in Light, Color and Space. I especially loved this installation entitled Blue Penetrable BBL by Jesus Rafael Soto – watching people walk through it was just a lot of fun!
Three and One is another piece by Soto – and it’s difficult to truly see what this one did, visually, in a picture. Let’s just say there was a little bit of an optical illusion going on when viewing it…
Ron Mueck’s piece Untitled (Big Man) transfixed me. Honestly, it’s just disturbing on many levels, yet it’s so well done that it’s extremely difficult to look away. The details that Mueck was able to convey in this piece were just flat out incredible. Incidentally, this piece (as well as the next) were in the lower level at Hirshhorn, a level that was dedicated simply to “Darkness.”
Jeroen Eisinga’s piece, which included being covered by over 250,000 bees was a difficult one to get photos of, so I’ve included two videos below. It was a 19 minute looped video that just showed Eisinga being completely engulfed by the bees. With no sound whatsoever, this just took on a horrific vibe for me.
The National Gallery of Art is one of our country’s greatest treasures, in this guy’s opinion – and walking in to the East Building to see the Alexander Calder mobile is like driving through the Fort Pitt Tunnel to see the city of Pittsburgh for the first time – both are simply exceptional.
I’ve also always loved this piece by Byron Kim entitled Synecdoche. Kim’s look at different skin tones as found in the town is just fascinating to me. Good, good stuff!
I closed the day out with a visit to the National Portrait Gallery, another spot that hits you immediately with the following piece located right outside the main entrance:
Nam June Paik’s piece entitled Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii is another piece that just catches your attention and doesn’t let go. (And if you go, make sure you check out the television they have set up in the District of Columbia!
I didn’t catch the artist’s name who created this piece and I’m certainly disappointed in that. Much like the earlier piece by Ron Mueck, this one just haunted me as well. I can’t even begin to explain how lifelike and how well done this sculpture is. Honestly, I kept expecting to see it come to life!
I also loved this sculpture of Casey Stengel – Rhoda Sherbell absolutely nailed his likeness in this piece.
And while I love to walk around, finding something new in every visit, I also LOVE to just take in those who are enjoying themselves as well. I love to see children being introduced to the museums and the artwork. I love to see somebody completely enraptured in a piece – even if it’s something that does nothing for me. I love seeing people making these museums theirs, just as I had the please of doing as well.
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