All posts by betty.belanus@gmail.com

Indiana Adventure II: Sampling Historic Splendor (for Free) in French Lick

August 9, 2023#frenchlick, Indiana adventures, travel, vegetables, fun#french lick, #westbadenspringsbetty.belanus@gmail.com

Taking our trip around SW Indiana somewhat out of order, I am jumping to our day in French Lick and West Baden Springs, Indiana. In case you never heard of these historically significant towns, they are an example of those places where people took trains (or perhaps drove their motorcars) from “the city” (Indianapolis, or Chicago, or other Mid-Western metropolises) to “take the waters.”

The massive resorts had their ups and downs, which I will not elaborate on here, but happily survived Jesuits, fires, the Sheraton Hotel company, and other perils to be restored to their former glory. Today, the relatively wealthy and sometimes even famous spend time in the hallowed halls and grounds, getting spa treatments, gambling at the casino, taking in a show, playing golf or just relaxing. Peggy and I, however, took it all in (as the cheap voyeurs we are) without spending a dime.

Here, I shall share our itinerary for a couple of hours of historic splendor and awe. First, we did spend a few bucks fortifying ourselves with ice cream, and wandered around downtown French Lick. Unfortunately, it was Sunday and the historical museum was closed, but we got the gist of “Pluto Water” which was a one-time bottled product of the Springs, from objects readable from the museum’s window, and from an old advertisement on the side of one of the buildings. A jaunty, muscular devil was their brand icon, and their slogan was “When nature won’t, Pluto will” (I.e., this was a natural laxative kind of beverage).

Next, we drove across the road and parked (for free) at the expansive lot in front of the French Lick Hotel. On our way into the lobby, we read historic markers including one about the invention of tomato juice, and then ascended the impressive staircase. We marveled awhile at the ornate lobby, and inquired about the historic trolley which transports people to West Baden Springs, and stopped to glance over cases of historic artifacts (including more Pluto water paraphernalia) and the famous people photos.

Next, after waiting a few minutes at the charming little depot, we boarded the (free!) trolley for the one-mile clackety clack trip through the woods to West Baden Springs. We disembarked and headed straight into the hotel and through the lobby. Once dubbed “the Eighth Wonder of the World” (how many of those are there?), one really needs to experience the hotel’s massive central atrium, which features a 200-foot dome, for oneself to get a sense of its scale and unique design.

Luckily, again for free, mere mortals can loll on a couch in the atrium and stare up at the dome and the hotel rooms arranged around it, for as long as one likes. Peggy and I did just that, zoning out and watching the lights at the top of the dome changing colors. “Are we really here?” and “Is this really real?” we had to ask ourselves.

Breaking away from the mesmerizing atrium, we walked around the atrium to view the enormous Rookwood pottery fireplace, featuring “Sprudel” – an impish figure frolicking among the landscape of the artwork. We roamed the circular hallways enjoying historic photos, and spent a few minutes learning more about the property’s history in their tiny museum.

Here we learned that a movie had been recently shot in the hotel and on the grounds, called “How Cold the River” the plot of which leans heavily on a very ominous bottle of Pluto water. (We had to watch it, of course, after we got home to Peggy’s house. Not highly recommended for anything except the great views of the hotel, and a few laughs at the rather incomprehensible plot.)

After a brief amble around the garden, we climbed aboard the trolley to return through the woods and over the creek to French Lick, our car, and reality. Having spent not a penny, but all the richer for our trip through time and space.

Not actually The Devil, but Pluto, god of the underworld…close enough and still as creepy.

Splendor #1, the lobby of the French Lick Hotel. Thank goodness an influx of millions saved it from the renovation done by the Sheraton Hotel company, which covered the amazing tile work and other ornamentation. What were they thinking??

More homage to Pluto Water. The framed postcard at the bottom dated 1937 and says “Pluto keeps the tin canner on the can.” It looks like a camper made from a Pluto truck and/or advertising the water, which somehow was spotted in Kenosha, WI. That Pluto really got around.

First view of the West Baden Springs hotel, exterior. It is hard to fathom what lies inside from here, but still highly impressive from the outside.

And now… the star of the show! The Atrium. Note small love seat type couches, which is where we sprawled ourselves, totally entranced by the dome lights cycling through their colors. The windows all around the atrium are hotel rooms, and the approximately $300/night might be worth the view.

Though dwarfed (so to speak) by the Atrium, Sprudel’s fireplace, made up of hundreds of pieces of famous Rookwood pottery, burned 14 foot logs… so nothing to scoff at.

All aboard the magical historic trolley for the all too brief ride back to the real world!

Indiana Adventure I: Adze the World Turns

August 2, 2023Indiana adventures, vegetables, funculture, memoriesbetty.belanus@gmail.com

On a recent trip to Indiana, my old stomping grounds (from starting grad school in 1977 to leaving for a job at the Smithsonian in 1987), I had many adventures with my dear friend and fellow “wander Indiana” enthusiast, Peggy Sailors. I will report in a series of scenarios and photos!

Adventure #1 was a trip to Terre Haute to attend the “Art of the Adze” exhibition curated by colleague Jon Kay, the State Folklorist of Indiana. I had once held this position for a couple of years in the early 1980s, but he’s really done a much finer (and longer lasting) job of it, I must admit. He and his intrepid research assistant, Katya Chomitzky, curated this lovely exhibition on wooden bowl hewing (AKA “chopping”). They had planned a “Chop In” or “Chop-a-Thon” featuring a gaggle of wooden bowl artisans, which we could not miss.

This event took place at the otherwise tony small art museum, the Swope, in the middle of downtown Terre Haute. Just a wood chip’s toss from quiet galleries featuring works of Grant Wood, Edward Hopper, and Andy Warhol, among others, the din of the the chopping of three generations of bowl makers rang out joyfully. A museum volunteer gamely tried to contain the chips (which fell “where they may” and defied staying on the tarps that had been laid down to protect the floor) with a broom.

Present in spirit, and in memory, was the Father of All Indiana Bowl Choppers, Bill Day, from West Lebanon (may he rest in peace, though maybe he’s chopping bowls beyond the Pearly Gates and driving St. Peter to distraction?). Peggy and I had interviewed Bill and visited with him and his wife Marion while working on a state-wide crafts exhibition called “Materials at Hand.” (More about that at a later date, as it really bears a revisit.)

Bill was a short but powerful retired farmer, with a distinctive high-pitched scratchy voice and an even more distinctive laugh (something like the braying of a donkey combined with a buzz saw maybe?). He honed, so to speak, his already wide knowledge of working with wood into a second career of splitting logs for fence rails. Then, when Marion brought home an old wooden bowl from an antique store, he pondered how to make such a vessel. After perfecting the method (which requires hewing large pieces of green wood with a series of adzes) and making a noisy mess in their house, Marion shoed him out. He rented a small former utility building in “downtown” West Lebanon, dubbed Bill’s Chop Shop.

Bill’s work earns a prominent place in the exhibition, and his memory is well preserved by the older current choppers in attendance a the Chop-In. It was gratifying to hear them speak so fondly of Bill and his work, his generosity of spirit in teaching others, and his time as resident bowl chopper at the Indiana State Fair’s “Pioneer Village.” And also to see that the “art of the adze” is being passed on down the generations. (The youngest chopper in attendance at the event was a strapping 15-year old.) And to see that several women have found their way to bowl chopping, too!

Check out the exhibition and Chop-In!

Peggy (right) and me (left) pose in front of the sign that pays homage to Bill Day and even mentions us!

The sounds and sites of the Chop-In! Featuring in this grouping, the Ruble family, led by patriarch Keith, who succeeded Bill Day as chief bowl chopper at the State Fair. He taught his sons Andy and Luke and daughter in law Kasey, all seen (and heard) chopping here.

Choppers assembled to exchange info and get their photo taken in the gallery. Youngest chopper, Luke Boyll, is in right forefront with his teacher/mentor Blaine Berry.

View of exhibition showing in forefront some excellent examples of Bill Days work. (These were loaned by Peggy!)

Terre Haute, as it says on this historic marker, is located at the cross-roads of America, as this historic marker tells us. This spot being the crossing of US Highway 40 and 41. Which just goes to show that Indiana is at the center of all good adventures…so tune in next time for more!

The Festive Garden

July 12, 2023Smithsonian Folklife Festival, tomatoes; gardengardens, Smithsonian Folklife Festivalbetty.belanus@gmail.com

Plants and gardens take a lot of knowledge and skill to thrive, and are an important part of traditional folklife. At this year’s Smithsonian Folklife Festival, which just wrapped on July 9, both programs had gardens and a host of participating gardeners to interpret them.

What happens to those gardens once the Festival closes and the staff enters the grueling days of taking apart this enormous outdoor undertaking, you may ask? Well, having done my part during one of those days earlier this week to dismantle the gardens (and having done it many, many years in the past as well, this having been my 37th Festival!), I am here to tell you that we do our best to find good homes for all the plants.

Sometimes that is in my back, side or front yard, I have to admit. For instance, last year I snagged a fig tree from the United Arab Emirates program. It was about five feet tall, and a little worse for the wear, but once established in our front garden it was looking pretty hopeful. When spring came, however, only its bare branches remained, sad and dead looking, and we almost pulled it out. But, low and behold, it was sprouting new life from the ground up!

There are other success stories of the perennial kind lurking in our garden as well. I planted some sort of silver leaved thing requested by a flower wreath maker from the 1999 New Hampshire program, and it threatened to take over one of my flower beds. It still pops up every year here and there, as does my share of the hops we obtained for the participants from Kent, England for the 2007 Roots of Virginia Culture program.

Last year, we worked with the Earth Sangha wild plant nursery to put together a native pollinator garden for our Earth Optimism program. We had three 4’x4′ planters with a variety of natives, a number of which are in my yard now and doing amazingly well. We also got Black Eyed Susan seeds donated from a seed nursery in Pennsylvania. I threw bunches of these seeds into a sort of dead zone behind one of our raised beds, and they grew rapaciously. They are now attracting goldfinches, who perch on the flower heads and pick at the seeds.

In short, leftover Festival plants are the proverbial “gift that keeps on giving.” As is the Festival in general.

The large planter and water feature around the Ozarks program “Teaching Garden” was particularly impressive at this year’s Festival. One of the most attractive gardens we ever had! Yay, team!

I introduced Mia Jones from Springfield, Missouri, who grows microgreens, for her presentation in the Ozarks Teaching Garden one day. That’s a project for this winter now that I’ve learned the right way to do it.

In addition to the awesome planting around the Teaching Garden structure, there was a whole big planter of herbs, veggies, and foraging plants. I fear there were not many takers for most of the foraging plants, which were things most gardeners would normally be pulling out of their garden or yard like dandelions and burdocks… but they are all edible so maybe you should reconsider that action?

Who knew you could make a marigold infused simple syrup for summery drinks? Note, some of the portulaca and peppers from the kitchen planters seen here will be finding new homes in our garden (as well as a quantity of marigolds which were all over the site, so I can hopefully try this recipe at home).

As if we really need more plants in our backyard?! This is a glimpse between two of our raised beds which host the 70+ tomatoes. Hey, we like plants and especially ones that produce tomatoes!

(Sea)Food for Thought in Rhode Island

June 7, 2023Rhode Island, tourismLittle Compton, Newport, Rhode Islandbetty.belanus@gmail.com

Nothing beats a pile of fried whole bellied clams. Unless it’s twin lobster rolls. These are the truisms my sister and I discovered, along with the remarkable seaside and rural scenery, and the opulence of the Gilded Age, during a recent trip to Rhode Island.

She rented a cozy cottage about a ten minute walk from South Shore Beach for a couple of weeks, and I helped get her settled in and stayed a few days. The first day the weather was glorious, mid-70s and sunny, and we enjoyed our clams and fried shrimp at Evelyn’s Drive-In in Tiverton on a picnic bench near the water. By the next day, our long-awaited lobster rolls from Easton Beach Snack Bar outside of Newport had to be enjoyed in the car, as the temperature had plummeted into the 50s and the wind was stiff.

No matter, we had a good time regardless. In Newport we hopped on the free trolley bus, rode it to the end oohing and aahing over the lavish homes, deciding which ones we would want to own given the (not very likely) chance that we became billionaires, then got off and toured two of them: The Marble House and The Breakers. (We could have walked the Cliff Walk between the two, but we might have either frozen or been swept off the cliff’s edge by the wind, so we opted for the longer inland route.)

In addition to seafood and historic mansions, we sampled the local produce in the form of juicy, fresh-picked strawberries, and took some drives and walks in the vicinity of Little Compton to admire the impressive stone walls and quaint gray shingled cottages.

One story must be related regarding the cottage we were staying in: that is, the Mystery of the Weird Sound. The first day we were there, we noticed a sound like some animal growling, or snoring, or just a not very happy poltergeist, emanating from somewhere in the wall (?) or basement (??), loudest in the bedroom in one corner of the house. The owners, who live not too far away, came the next day to investigate and found nothing in the basement (much to our relief), so it remained an ever-present, non-ceasing mystery. I finally figured it must be the electric wires which are attached to the house on that side. They pass through a pretty substantial dogwood tree on their way to the house, and rub against the branches, thus probably causing the sound. My sister didn’t have to deal with it since the master bedroom was far from the sound, and I eventually got used to it, but it was truly creepy that first night!

Okay, so not exactly a Vanderbilt mansion, but the Hydrangea Cottage served our purposes. The hydrangeas were not out yet but they are there.

Yum, yum, whole bellied clams on left and shrimp on the right at Evelyn’s.

The plethora of classic Corvettes leant a time warp factor to Evelyn’s (or the idea that the drive-in doubled as a used Corvette sales area?) until we figured out a Corvette club was having a luncheon there.

Gilded Age splendor at the Marble House’s “Gothic” Room. The audio tour you can download on your phone is good, though bring headphones if you use it…another visitor complained because we had ours turned up too loud so we could both hear it! At the Breakers we couldn’t use it at all because there were too many people. They have printed versions as well, but the spoken narration was much more fun.

Trick of the eye umbrellas are painted on the ceiling of the portico of the Breakers looking out at the sea.

The tours take you “downstairs” into the kitchens and pantries as well. It took a lot of shiny copper pots and pans and a whole bank of stoves to prepare those eight course meals!

My attempt to take a panoramic photo of South Shore Beach creates a dark portal into another world… maybe the one that the Mystery Sound is coming from??

Two swans were braving the stiff wind on the pond across from the beach.

Last but not least…behold the chunks of deliciousness in the twin lobster rolls. And yes, I ate both of them. Good thing my current wardrobe includes almost exclusively elastic and drawstring waisted pants!

There’s More to Baltimore

May 31, 2023vegetables, funBaltimore, Tourismbetty.belanus@gmail.com

Baltimore…so close to DC but a whole other experience. A couple of weeks ago, my sister was visiting from South Carolina, and we took a brief but action-packed journey to Charm City. She had some Marriot points, so we stayed “in style” right on the Inner Harbor near Pier 5. A room with a view from the 14th floor, no less.

The first things we did, after checking into our hotel, was to walk around the harbor to the Visitor Center. Here we met an amiable older gent named Sonny, who took us under his wing and gave us excellent suggestions on sites and how to get there. Handing us a map of the bus routes, he explained the free circulator bus that would get us just about anywhere worth going.

We ignored his first suggestion of visiting Fort McHenry, as we wanted to stay closer to the harbor. Instead, we took the short walk over to Cross Street Market in the Federal Hill neighborhood, and had a delicious Haitian vegetarian meal from one of the stands. Next, a visit to the incomparable American Visionary Arts Museum, also in the neighborhood. A brief but free water taxi ride later, we were back at our hotel to rest up before dinner. We picked Sonny’s choice, one of the oldest restaurants in nearby Little Italy, Chiapparelli‘s. Even though I thought there was no way to fit more food into my stomach, we then walked to Fell’s Point for gelato.

Our second day, we set out on the Circulator bus to the Johns Hopkins University campus, where the Baltimore Museum of Art is located. (First, we had to fortify ourselves by walking a few blocks east to a commercial strip of neighborhood for some coffee and bagels.) I was especially impressed by the Cone Sisters collection, which includes a lot of Impressionists and things that the rich sisters had bought from Gertrude Stein when she needed money.

Next, we set off for Lexington Market. You can’t take a free circulator bus there directly, so we had to do some map-reading to figure it out, but it was only about four blocks from the purple line route. The last time I visited Lexington Market, it was in the “old building” which is right next door to the “new building” which most businesses have moved to. Except Faidley’s, the quintessential destination for what is touted as the best crab cake in Baltimore, which we had to experience. Indeed, it is a masterpiece, especially eaten standing up at a wooden table. The patina of their of the old location, open since 1886, will never be matched if/when they move to the new building.

After a visit to the nearby graveyard where Edgar Allen Poe’s mortal remains reside, we realized that the “arts crawl” in the Bromo District that we had signed up for was – horrors – actually the next week (duh!), but that gave us a good excuse to go back to our hotel and chill for awhile before seeking a light dinner, and then indulging in a marathon Food Channel watching spree.

The next morning, we awoke to the golden light bouncing off the harborscape, packed up and took ourselves to the iconic (but perhaps overrated) Miss Shirley’s Cafe‘s downtown location, and drove back home. Only the fact that we had walked many miles both days kept us from having gained five pounds.

Left: View from the “Bird’s Nest” at the American Visionary Art Museum, looking toward main building and downtown. Below: Baltimore painted screen exhibition at the museum.

Despite its many good points, trying to get from one point to another within the Baltimore Museum of Art is not intuitive in the least. We must have gone through the Jon Waters Rotunda, where this curious piece of art resides, at least four times to reach other exhibitions!

Now, that’s what I call a crab cake! It’s at least the size of a softball, maybe bigger.

Golden morning light on the harbor, looking west.

Mosaic Moments

April 26, 2023mosaics, travel, Washington, DCBasilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, culture, mosaicsbetty.belanus@gmail.com

How patient are you? Imagine facing a two-year project that involves arranging fourteen million tiny pieces of Venetian glass into an 18,299 square foot mosaic. Then imagine a whole huge basilica full of wall and ceiling mosaics.

On a recent visit to the Bascilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in the Brookland/Catholic University neighborhood of Washington, DC, I was simultaneously craning my neck and exercising my sense of wonder. The main part of the massive church, and every nook and cranny, it seemed, was covered with millions upon millions of these tiny glass squares arranged into massive, yet intricate, art works.

Having, during the pandemic, gotten into collaging, putting mere dozens of small pieces of cut up magazines together into something approximating art, I just could not get my head around the creation of these mosaics. Luckily, a little research lead me to this short but very informative video which gives a behind the scenes view of the artists and craftspeople at the Travisanutto Mosaic Studio in Spilimbergo, Italy creating the most recent dome mosaic for the basilica. Thence to the Travisanutto Studios web site with more information.

This is the sort of rabbit hole that us folklorists love going down. And while I don’t have time to pursue learning more about the tradition of mosaic art right now, I am still marveling at the basilica’s examples, and urge anyone living in or visiting Washington, DC to check them out. If you are Catholic (which I’m not) they will have more spiritual significance. But, even if you just like art or want to spend a couple of hours pondering human creativity, this is some special stuff.

Exercise your patience and don’t rush through. Think about how every tiny piece of glass contributes to the whole, and make it your own metaphor.

Long view of the main portion of the church showing domes. Think not only of creating this art in a studio, but then installing it hundreds of feet in the air. Crazy!

My favorite chapel was the one devoted to the Virgin de Guadalupe. Not sure about the authenticity of the clothing of the worshippers that flank both sides of the image of the Virgin, but the multicultural variety was interesting. The range of colors used overall, and the expressive nature of the faces of the people is quite amazing.

Even the “minor” domes in the chapels are dazzling. This one had a lot of sparkly gold. (Who doesn’t like sparkly gold?) and I liked the incorporation of the stained glass as well.

Down the street in downtown Brookland, there is an Arts Walk, also worth checking out, although most of the artist’s studios and shops are only open on the Saturdays. We found this mural across the street from the Arts Walk, but as the mosaics put me in a state of wonder, I liked the sentiment “to all who wonder” and its subtle double entendre.

California, Part III: Around Los Angeles

March 27, 2023L., Los Angeles, travelLos Angeles, Tourismbetty.belanus@gmail.com

We completed our recent California trip in and around L.A. We took the Coastal Highway (AKA Rte. 1) most of the way up from San Diego, with many beautiful views of the ocean. They remained “from afar” because it was so chilly with almost gale force winds all the way. Finally reached L.A. just in time to get caught in rush hour. (Which is not hard to do since it lasts, like, from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. most days.) But we were treated to the spectacle of the snow-capped mountains flanking downtown L.A. so it wasn’t so bad.

We’ve housed a number of Smithsonian interns over the years, and kept close some of them. Madeeha Ahmed and her family have adopted us. We stayed with Madeeha at her cozy apartment near Echo Park several days, and visited her mom’s for a delicious Pakistani-American feast one night, and had fun playing with her niece and nephew and visiting with her sisters and brother in law. Another former intern, and 2022 Festival assistant, Andrea Mayorga, invited us to Santa Clarita for an outstanding Guatemalan-American feast with her family. Needless to say, we did not lose any weight on this trip!

Along with visiting friends, eating lots of good food, and taking some walks around Echo Park and Silver Lake, we visited the new(ish) Academy of Motion Pictures Museum. The museum is located next to the Los Angeles Contemporary Museum of Art (LACMA) and not far from the La Brea Tar Pits. It’s quite large, with rotating exhibits focusing on different films which illustrate the complex business, and magic, of movie-making. (Something that I have been long fascinated by, but then who isn’t?) The Godfather exhibition brought back a lot of memories – not all good. Spoiler alert – remember the horse head in the bed?

Our trip to California all seems like a dream (a chilly and often damp one) now. Isn’t that the way with vacations?

Madeeha and Steve live the good life, sipping coffee at Woodcat on Sunset Boulevard.

Swan boat on Echo Park Lake. Note snow-capped mountains in the distance.

One of my favorite things on display at the Academy museum was this set of facial hair. A mustache for all occasions!

Of course, many more famous things are on display, like these Jack Skellington heads showing various emotions.

More hipster action from Steve and Madeeha, this time brunch at Sqirl.

California Part II: San Diego Delights

March 17, 2023#sandiego, tourismBalboa Park, San Diego, Tourismbetty.belanus@gmail.com

The second portion of our recent California trip took place in San Diego. The trip down there from our rental car pick-up spot near LAX was pretty grueling, as it got dark and started raining (during rush hour on the I-5) which was no fun at all for Steve the Driver. But we made it to the pleasantly retro Old Town Inn, and found a yummy kabab joint open later than nine p.m. near downtown before crashing.

The choice of San Diego as a destination spurred from a wish to visit my old high school buddy, Linda and her significant other, Tom, who spend the winters there. They drive across country from Western Massachusetts in their well-appointed RV, before the snow threatens to fly, jeep in tow. They park their home on wheels on Mission Bay, situated perfectly to view both sunsets and fireworks at Sea World. Nice!

Since they are semi-locals, they suggested an itinerary for the day which began with breakfast in Pacific Beach at an iconic restaurant, World Famous, steps from the beach. There’s a porch with heaters, which is good because despite our hope that San Diego would be warmer than San Francisco, it wasn’t much and the wind was wicked. (Still, some intrepid surfers were out there on the waves.)

We planned to spend the rest of the day, which you can do easily, at Balboa Park. Most people seem to know the park because the world-class San Diego Zoo is there, but, covering 1,200 acres, there a lot more to keep you amused. We stayed within the ample confines of a section of the park which once housed the 1915-17 Panama-California Exposition. (Why Panama you ask? Celebrating the opening of the Panama Canal, is the short answer.)

Today, the several-blocks-square cluster of buildings and other grandiose features left from the exposition (which, according to historic record, was not a really big success) house museums, displays, and theaters, and flank gardens, fountains and open arched arcades which, with some imagination, can transport you to — hmm, not sure where exactly, but a sort of part European, part Disneyland place with international flare.

A visit to the Visitor Center in the complex is suggested to get a map to keep you on the right path(s). We started at the Mingei International Museum (which it being a Tuesday was one of the only attractions in the park open), which features, naturally, international folk art and craft. There were two current exhibitions, one on piñatas and one on beads, both really well done.

Next, we descended into the charming Japanese Friendship Garden complete with koi ponds and a flowing stream, a bonsai display, and well-groomed paths lined with flowers, trees and statuary. Next, a tour around the House of Pacific Relations International Cottages, offering a sampling of cultures from around the world. (Only three of the 34 were open by three p.m. Most are only open on the weekends, and those open on weekdays seem to close early in the afternoon.)

After a bit more wandering around, we took a brief walk through a garden full of strange and wonderful succulents, and then contemplated an early dinner. Where could we see the sunset over the ocean and eat local seafood at a reasonable price? Back where we started from, it turns out! So, we backtracked to World Famous, enjoying a symmetrical ending to a great day.

Breezy and chilly Pacific Beach, the starting point.

This is a piñata, believe it or not. The exhibition showed how artists are “pushing the envelope” of piñata making with very small and very large iterations as well as artwork using piñata materials, making political and social statements, etc.

Overlooking the Japanese Friendship Garden from above.

An example of the splendiferous architectural wonders left over from the California-Panama Exposition.

Otherworldly cacti in one of the many Balboa Park gardens.

And… back where we started from. We enjoyed the sunset from the comforts of our table since the wind and chill never let up. (The World Famous might think about cleaning their porch windows.)

California, Part I: San Francisco Sojourn

March 10, 2023San Francisco, travelSan Francisco, Tourismbetty.belanus@gmail.com

A nice, warm, sunny escape from Northern Virginia to California seemed like just the ticket for late February/early March. The only part of that to come true, however, was the “escape” part as it was hardly warm and all too often not sunny during our whole trip. Especially in San Francisco, our first stop on the journey.

Still, we had fun visiting and hanging out with daughter M.E. and other friends, and seeing some of the sites. Since she’s lived there for a number of years, there is not much that we haven’t already visited at least once, but we found a few new diversions.

A visit to the Disney Family Museum in the Presidio was one of the first stops. Why is this museum in SF you ask? According to a helpful museum guide, it is because Walt’s daughter Diane lived in SF and wanted it close to home. No matter, it is interesting and more expansive than meets the eye at first (it just keeps going and going, chronicling Walt’s life from birth to death, and covering the evolution of the creative output we all know and most of us grew up with). Okay, so it may white-wash some of the not so great aspects of Walt’s personality and politics (see for instance this list of the not-so-nice). But, still, a good diversion for a couple of hours, and well done exhibitions, interactives and video clips that bring back memories.

Nearby, the new Tunnel Tops Park offers a spectacular view of the Golden Gate Bridge, the Bay and downtown SF. That view will never get old. We also caught a sunset at the ocean – at that point is was so cold and windy that we jumped out of the car only long enough to snap the sunset and ran back in – no lingering on the beach watching the few crazy surfers.

My birthday having been earlier in February, I had requested a mother-daughter birthday celebration at a Tiki Bar, of which there are many in SF including the original Trader Vic’s. We chose the Tonga Room in the basement of the Fairmont Hotel, downtown. (You could take a cable car part of the way there but we took the bus.) Totally over the top, and one tall $20 drink, which includes at least five types of liquor, will serve to set the mood.

The SF visit also included a performance of M.E.’s improv class, a visit to her high school friend Suchana (who impressively just defended her Ph.D. at Stanford), lots of good food including a dinner with friends/colleagues Elisa and Kyle, and a walk in the mostly gloomy, occasionally sunny, Golden Gate Park Botanical Garden. All in all, despite blooming flowers, palm trees and citrus fruit growing in backyards, chilly outside but warm and comforting inside with good company all around.

Here are some snaps of the highlights.

Steve was wearing a mask more to keep warm than to ward off COVID and other germs.

This is what makes creating film a lot like doing the Festival. Behind Walt Disney there was a whole host of creative talent, many acknowledged here and many more remaining anonymous I’m sure.

It always interests me afterwards what I decided to take photos of. I was smitten with the range of colors in this display about making color animations.

I’ve never been to Disneyland (yes to Disney World though) but this scale model was fun, and also huge.

Behind the railing at the Tonga Room. Which is where you have to stand unless you want to eat something (not worth it) and actually get a table. But it is still fun and makes dancing to the cover band easier.

My Mai Tai. Very potent! Stole the umbrella from someone else’s abandoned drink as you don’t get one with a Mai Tai but I really wanted one.

Breakfast, bordering on lunch, at a Mexican place near our basic hotel the Geary Parkway Inn.

M.E.s half of the Improv class takes a bow after the first part of their performance. So fun!

Indian lunch with Suchana to celebrate her impending Ph.D. defense.

Photo Fun

February 8, 2023neighborhood photosbetty.belanus@gmail.com

We haven’t been anywhere more exotic than downtown DC, the suburbs, a couple of forays to Pennsylvania, and our own neighborhood lately. Travel adventures will have to wait til later in February when we will embark on a trip to California. (First post-pandemic foray to the West Coast.)

Yet, sometimes you can just take a walk in your own neighborhood and notice something photo-worthy, or just interesting and funny enough to share. A few years and many blogs back, I proposed a sort of “three photo challenge” to take a short walk and see what might surprise you. Then never followed up on that idea.

But last week I was just walking to stick something in a near-by post box, and saw a few things that jogged my memory of the “neighborhood photo challenge” so I snapped a few pix.

[Just so you know, the yak in the photo above was NOT in our neighborhood, but at the restaurant Himalayan Wild Yak near Ashburn, where we met some friends for lunch. Just to prove that we have been “getting around” a bit. And because it is sort of funny.]

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