MAKING MEMORIES: PISMO LIGHTHOUSE SUITES & CASA DE HERRERO
Pismo Lighthouse Suites
I can’t abandon Pismo without a shout out to our wonderful accommodations. After the grandeur of the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort, pretty much anything else would have to be a step down, but we didn’t have to step very far down. Pismo Lighthouse Suites proved to be an excellent choice for a stay.
One thing we certainly loved was the breakfast every morning, served in a community room and if you couldn’t find something you liked, then you are really too picky. I’d sure stay here again.
Casa de Herreroin Montecito
Bill usually leaves most of the vacation planning to me, but when he does make a suggestion, it’s a jewel. I didn’t find it in any of my research, but it should be on every must-see list for Santa Barbara. It’s a little pricey and hard to schedule, but it is a gem.
The home is open to the public at 10 AM and 2 PM on Wednesdays and Saturdays – PERIOD! And the tickets are $50 per person. I’ll wait for you to catch your breath. If budget is not a constraint and you can be there on their schedule, then you have to go. You will love it. Lotus Land was $60 each, but it seems to me there was a whole lot more to it. Still, I’m glad I had the opportunity to go.
We pulled into Montecito about 1:15 PM and had to kill about half and hour in a shopping center parking lot. We couldn’t just go hang out by the Casa. They keep the gate closed until a few minutes before the tour and you aren’t allow to park in the neighborhood. Parking is at a premium everywhere in Montecito and the signs at the shopping center were very threatening, so we couldn’t even lock up the car and go for a walk. We had to pretend one or the other of us was visiting one of the establishments, while the other guarded the car.
Finally, it was almost time for them to open their gate, so we made our way to the home. When the tour started, we were informed we couldn’t take photos inside, but think San Simeon’s dining room turned into a full house. Very Spanish and a little dark.
The original builder and owner of the house was George Fox Steedman from San Luis Obispo, who started out as a metalsmith and woodworker, threw in a few real estate deals and became filthy stinking rich. The house had a metalsmithing and woodworking studio where Mr. Steedman pursued his interests. The house is full of valuable antiques from the Golden Age of Spain, but they are pretty dark and depressing.
Counterpoint to the interior with it’s nod to the Inquisition, outside was delightful and you could take photos. And that’s what you’ll see on the photo book pages I’ve included below.
However, in recent years, Bill has demanded I be a little more discriminating in my bargains, because I have landed him in some dumps. Even so, luxury resorts are not our go-to choice. As I researched Huntington Beach, however, pretty much everything was expensive and the Hyatt Regency deal I found was only a small stretch. I was so glad when I sold it to Bill and made the reservation.
The Parking & Checking-In Thing
Bill may prefer I upgrade our accommodations these days, but he draws the line at exorbitant valet parking. Take our almost disaster in Detroit, for instance. As we drove around the exterior of the Hyatt Regency in Huntington Beach I knew we were in for another adventure in parking. I left Bill to it and went in to claim our room.
I admit I’m chatty and often find myself in a little trouble with Mr. Bill for my gift of gab, but this time my chattiness paid off in a big way. The hotel clerk was clicking away on her computer. She felt they’d booked my room a little too far from the lobby. Perhaps she thought an ancient senior citizen like me was too feeble to walk very far. I told her I was more interested in view than proximity to the lobby and about that time Bill comes in gawking around said lobby like a rube on his first visit to the big city. I said, “You’ll have to excuse him, this is a bit of a splurge for us.” She replied, “Then how about a full ocean view!”
What a Room!
Convinced I was hearty enough to make my way around the hotel grounds, this wonderful lady put us into what has to be one of the greatest hotel rooms in the world. This was the view as we opened the door to our room!
Once I got over that and looked around, I was even more astounded. This room was huge and gorgeous and well appointed. I wanted to move in forever!
There was an entry area with furnishings to accommodate all those little things you like to leave by the door. The bathroom would have pleased any ancient Roman. There was an area with a desk and bed raised on a dais like a throne room on the other side of some columns was a lovely sitting area next to the balcony.
I never wanted to leave, but we still had economy parking to deal with. It turned out to be not big deal at all. Apparently, we’re not the first people to think $65 a day is a little steep. There’s a public parking area right across the street from the hotel for like $10 a day – a far cry from $65. The hotel gives you a permit to stay there overnight. They even have a very elaborate pedestrian bridge to get you safely back to the hotel. We parked near the bridge and enjoyed the stroll back to our room, because the resort is beautiful.
For dinner, we found a place called Baja Sharkey’s at a nearby shopping center where we had margaritas and nachos. Then time for bed, because we were going on a tour the next day.
Here’s my photo book pages of the resort, made in Artisan, of course. Bill would want you to tell me that the fuzzy image on the left is the result of me trying to create a heavenly effect on the page, not his photography.
We’d started our day in an empty world headquarters, had breakfast in ghost town food court and taken a ride on an abandoned monorail. We were beginning to wonder if anyone actually lived or worked in Detroit. Still, finding gems off the beaten path is one of my favorite things to do, so this hunt for The Guardian Building was just my cup of tea.
It was Travel Advisor which clued me in on the existence of a pristine Art Deco skyscraper in Downtown Detroit. Once we got off the People Mover I asked Google Maps to find The Guardian Building and as I thought, it was just around the corner from the monorail stop. Instead of trying to describe it, I’ll just share some of the photos we snapped.
Gorgeous, right? Like the Renaissance Center, there wasn’t much in the way of human occupation. There was a security guard behind a desk in the central lobby and up the stairs was a large open area. A barista lurked behind a coffee bar and there was a tour company office on the other side and that was it. Where were the rest of the inhabitants of Detroit?
Campus Martius Park
While the Riverfront and Greektown are obviously popular areas in Detroit, we’d be seeing those with the family later in the weekend, so I wanted to focus on things we wouldn’t see with them, which took us to this downtown park.
It was here we finally connected with humanity. As we strolled along a well landscaped path between the skyscrapers, we happened upon a beach bar. Yes, I said a beach bar. Sand, lounge chairs and drinks with fruit in them. Don’t believe me?
It would have suited me fine to take a load off and sample their wares, but Bill was not in lounging mode. He was doing his best to play tourist, but he was distracted. Not only were most of our credit cards compromised by hackers, but the market was open and we’d just turned over our real estate photography company to the new owner. We were supposed to be celebrating that last bit, but after nursing our enterprise to success for six years, we were having some separation anxiety. Was this guy going to be able to handle it? It’s not that we weren’t happy to see it go. We just didn’t want it back!
At the end of the park is One Campus Maritus, the Compuware headquarters, famous for this 14 story waterfall.
And that left one final stop along Woodward Avenue we wanted to visit, The Grand Circus. It’s not a circus with a tent, but a park in a circle. It was a much quieter venue than Campus Maritus with its beach bar and perhaps we would have skipped it altogether had we known, but it was right next to a People Mover station, so it turned out to be quite convenient.
On to our Next Accommodations
The People Mover took us back to Renaissance Center, where we claimed our rental car and headed to Pontiac/Auburn Hills. That was the location of the Residence Inn which would be our home away from home over the next few days. It was close to all the family events and had just what we wanted.
Certainly the Renaissance Center Marriott was more glamourous, but the Residence Inn offered a comfort the swanky hotel did not – a separate sitting room I could escape to each morning. I wake up so early out of habit, but Bill knows how to sleep late and I like to give him that luxury. On the way, we stopped at a grocery store to get some items to enjoy during our stay – wine, bottled water, fruit, protein bars etc.
I’m a pretty easy-going traveler. I don’t think I have ever rejected a room, even though there have been a few times I should have. Bill on the other hand is a little harder to please. He will go down to the desk and complain when he doesn’t like something. At the Residence Inn, he didn’t like the view. It’s a suburban Residence Inn, so I didn’t expect a view, but he did. We got a different room and don’t tell him, but I sort of liked the first one better. It seemed a little more convenient and not quite as dorm-like, but Bill did like the view better, so we stayed.
The Family Weekend
Over the next few days, we were involved with family. We had a get together at a local restaurant Friday night and the big Gender Reveal at a Country Club Saturday. Sunday we hung out at the Riverfront, had lunch in Greek town and a game of golf in the afternoon. On Monday, the main event was an absolute feast, fit for a Pharaoh with all our Egyptian favorites. While it was a lot of fun, it wouldn’t be of much interest to anyone outside the family. (It’s a boy by the way. Our Grand Nephew will arrive in October.)
After the feast, we went back towards Detroit and stayed at the Smithfield Westin. It was a nice hotel, but we were just there to sleep. In the morning I was finally getting to do something that had been on every version of my itinerary the Detroit Institute of Art. Come back next week and enjoy our visit.
Last month I walked you through a couple of easy, peasy AutoPrint projects step-by-step. AutoPrint is what you want to use to create very quick projects. The layouts are very simple and while you can make some edits, the primary goal is done.
Design & Print is the next level of (shall we say) fussiness. You want more in the way of decoration and more opportunities to add your own touches, but you also want the heavy of lifting of design to have been done by someone else.
Available Projects
While AutoPrint and Design & Print offer many of the same projects for you to choose from, there are some differences. I have compared the AutoPrint Offerings with the Design & Print Options.
Photo Books (In AutoPrint you have all these choices with each photo boo. In Design & Print, options for size, binding and style depend on design chosen, but all of these can be found in various designs.)
Sizes 8X8 -12X12
Softbound & Hardbound
Standard & Layflat
Photo Gifts (Varies)
Coaster Sets (Both)
Tabletop Panels (Both)
Notebooks (AP Only)
Magnets (Both)
Ornaments (D&P Only)
Puzzles(D&P Only)
Blankets (D&P Only)
Drinkware (Varies)
Water Bottles (Both)
Photo Mugs (Both)
Frosted Glasses (D&P Only)
Wall Decor (D&P Only)
Canvas Prints
Metal Panels
Cards (D&P ONly)
Calendars (D&P Only)
Photo Prints (AP Only)
Glossy & Lustre
Sizes 4X6 – 11X14
Selecting Your Photos and Your Design
When you have a project you want to do in Design & Print, I suggest you first go to your albums and set up one for the project. Then add all the photos you want to include in your project into the album. It’s also a good idea to get them into the order you want them to be in the project. This will not only get you prepared for making the project, but it could help you decide which design to use.
Then it’s time to choose the design for your project. According to your point of view, this part is either your favorite thing about the project or your biggest headache.
If you like shopping online, this part is fun. You can go in and browse around, checking available options for size, style, material and etc.. You can put together your whole project and then decide you want to change the design or the layout. You’ll love it.
I’ll admit it makes me a little crazy. In prepping for this post, I went in to find a coaster set project to walk you through and hit a brick wall. Artisan is my favorite way to design in FOREVER because I like to start with a blank page, but many people find a blank page daunting. They want a design template. FOREVER offers three design options because different people like different things.
Let’s Make a Blanket
Since I’m definitely not in the mood for coasters, let’s make a blanket. I’ll use the photos I have tagged as Floral for the images on the blanket. On FOREVER I would hover over the “Create & Print” Tab and a selection box comes up offering AutoPrint, Design & Print and Digital Scrapbooking & Deign. Under Design & Print, Photo Gifts are in the center and Blankets are at the bottom of that list. Click “Blankets.”
There are many, many design to choose from, but for this project I wanted to include as many floral photos as possible, so I used the “# Of Photos” filter to find the blanket designs which included the most images. I got two choices. (Ignore the pricing. The image I included shows the deals available on the day I wrote this post, not the day you are reading it)
When I clicked on the Photo Grid Blanket, here’s the screen I got. It advises me of all the options I have. There are two sizes, two orientations and two materials available to me and there is a big PERSONALIZE button. Let’s do that.
So, I went in and added a photo for each space and chose a Bible verse as my text. If I clicked on “Layouts,” the designer offered four options, but this was the one with the most spaces, so I chose it. I could still select my size, orientation and material. Then I could add it to my cart and order it!
TRAVEL THERE – ANOTHER PRIMARILY PRESIDENTIAL DESTINATION
If you follow my tags, you’ll find 19 posts about Primarily Presidential Destinations. I’ve got at least that many more on my wish list. The William J. Clinton Presidential Library was not on that list, but that’s only because I hadn’t really thought about it. I’d never been much of a fan and Little Rock was not someplace I was dying to go.
With Little Rock being about halfway between DFW and St. Louis it was a perfect stop over and I knew we’d have a few hours there on Thursday morning before we had to get on the road. I googled “Visit Little Rock” and the Library was one of the first attractions to come up. Then there was no question about it, fan or not, if it was a presidential library I was going.
Little Rock is a city under construction, but Wayz knew about it and threaded us through the detour signs. We arrived a few minutes before opening and caught up with our email and social media.
As I watched people park and head toward the building it wasn’t clear to me exactly where we were supposed to enter, because it’s one of those modern buildings where the entrance is fairly non-descript. In fact, you have to go under the building to enter it.
Women’s Voices, Women’s Votes, Women’s Rights
The ground floor is dominated by a glass-walled gift shop. You had to go through it to get to the special exhibition on the other side. The special exhibition was a series of quilts focused on women’s suffrage and and women’s rights.
The thought process of having a quilt exhibition was quite good. Quilting has always been a very female thing to do and in America women have used the quilts to document everything from family trees to stops on the Underground Railway. Quilts filled both the downstairs exhibition space and another gallery upstairs.
I found myself more interested in the modern process of quilts than I was their message. I guess I haven’t been paying enough attention at the State Fair of Texas Crafts Building. These weren’t the patchwork quilts I’ve admired during the rest of my life. Pictures were printed on the cloth and then over-sewn by machine. I’m not doubting the creativity and skill of the women who crafted these quilts, I’m just gonna be honest and say I like old-school quilts better.
Deb, the conversation starter, mentioned to someone we were headed to a women’s conference. Her new friend perked right up and wanted to know more. That was until Deb told her it was a Christian conference. Then all the perk deflated out and we were told to enjoy the exhibit. They’d obviously wished we were headed out to wear vagina caps or beat up some right to life advocates. In another gallery of the special exhibition Deb engaged the guards with a description of Allsopp & Chappele. They followed us around the gallery capturing information about the restaurant on their phones.
Touring the Permanent Exhibits
Even though I wasn’t a big fan of Bill, I was impressed by his Library. There’s all the usual obligatory Presidential Library stuff – memorabilia from his presidential campaigns, a replica of his Oval Office and an orientation theater. I was surprised to learn in the film how important his saxophone was to him and that it was almost the career path he chose. Would the world be a better place if Bill Clinton had been a professional sax player? In the film he said political activism won out over the saxophone, but I have a sneaky feeling that was due more to Hillary Rodham, who he met about that time, than it did the actual political activity.
One of my favorite parts was a timeline that dominated the second floor. It combined important achievements of his presidency with world events, so you are reminded of their historical setting. Around the timeline were alcoves focused on various themes of his presidency and letters from famous people were displayed, sometimes with Bill’s reply.
In comparison, in the George W. Bush Library, the first two galleries are given over to “No Child Left Behind” and 9-11. While Bush sees the education agenda as his crowning glory, I see it as his biggest failure. Any reminder of 9-11 is upsetting to those of us who lived through it. So by the time I get to the rest of the exhibits I’m not in the mood to celebrate his other successes. Points go to Mr. Clinton.
I will admit, Clinton accomplished many of his goals. My problem with him is that I see a direct correlation between what he “accomplished” and many of the troubles we have today. I believe his intentions were good and sincere, but like many good and sincere people, he didn’t look down the road and consider what the results of his good intentions would be.
And then there’s Monica Lewinski. I wondered if they’d even address it in the Library and I have to give them kudos for having the guts to do so. However, I found humor in the way they chose to present it. It wasn’t Bill admitting he’d sinned, it was some commentary over whether his actions were actually impeachable or not. Evasive into perpetuity. He’s not the only bad boy in the presidential line-up, but will any of us ever forget “I did not have sex with that woman,” and the blue dress. Oh, and the meditation on what the word “is” might actually mean.
The primary reason I am not a fan of Bill is that I disagreed with what he was trying to accomplish – no surprise! He’s a Democrat and I am a Republican. But the whole Sex in the Oval Office thing was an embarrassment to our nation and as always, the coverup was worse than the sin. When are our leaders going to learn to step up, confess their sins and move on. Instead we have to have months/years of investigations, which in the end just spend money we don’t have to promote the political careers of the incumbents. I am so tired of it!
The third floor was like dessert, because it contained the gifts to the Clintons from other world leaders and countries. The presidential gifts are always my very favorite thing to see. There was a table setting from one of their state dinners, something the libraries always seem to have and one of the Frist Lady’s evening gowns, another presidential library staple.
And speaking of the First Lady, I was very impressed by the low key role she played in the library. Of course she was there, including her efforts to fix health care, but her presence was not overpowering. I jokingly call Ronald Reagan’s library the Nancy Reagan Library, because I left knowing more about her than I did him. Her stamp is on every single exhibit. Not so with Hillary Rodham Clinton, who actually played a larger role in her husband’s career than Ms. Nancy did. Points go to Mrs. Clinton.
So, I enjoyed my visit to the William J. Clinton Presidential Library. I heartily recommend that you visit when you can – and of course, that you eat at Allsopp & Chapple, but don’t stay at Day’s End.
There are other activities on the campus of the Library, but we needed to get on down the road. The Love Life Conference would start that evening, so we needed to be in St. Louis in time to attend. Come back next week and we’ll be on the road again to St. Louis.
My husband loves the internet. He lives for his Tik Tok time. He shops there. He researches there. Me not so much. I mean, I spend a whole lot of time on the internet – who doesn’t – but I like my word of mouth to come from real mouths, not Google.
Constantly, as we’re driving, he says, “Look up…” I hate that. This means I am about to get fed information via firehose and most of it I don’t want. If he really wants to drive me crazy, before I can even type in his last request, he has three other things he wants to research. I’ve tried to explain how maddening this is, but he hasn’t quite wrapped his mind around it, yet.
OK, maybe I’m exaggerating here, but I really do hate researching things on the fly. So, when we drove out of Ray Roberts Lake State Park and he said, ” Look up somewhere for us to eat,” I pulled out my phone and started typing, but I was a little nervous about it. Sure enough, the first things listed were a Subway Sandwich stop and a variety of other fast food eateries.
Scrolling down through the long list of unwanted restaurants I finally found a listing for Bebo’s and Kathy’s Cafe. It sounded like a cute place with home-cooked food, but I wasn’t sure it would suit Bill. He’s a lot pickier than I am about what to eat. His idea of home-cooked food is what his momma cooked him in Cairo. I love that, too, but I also like chicken fried steaks, fried chicken, fried okra, dumplings etc. and so forth.
I’m not sure this is the best place for Bill to have lunch, but there’s not much else nearby and he’s feeling adventurous. Google leads us right to the parking lot and we get a good laugh. Someone with a good sense of humor has worked on the setting of this establishment.
Inside it was your basic flea market decorations with a heavy focus on Elvis memorabilia. It’s not Bill’s favorite look, but we’re here and there’s a booth available, so we settle in for a meal.
Now, when I sit down to look at a menu, I think about what the specialties at this particular restaurant might be. If it’s TexMex, I don’t order a burger. If it’s a steak place, I don’t order fish. This method of food selection has proven to be successful around the world. When I travel with groups, I’m the one at the table that everyone stares at when the food is delivered. “What did you order? How did you know what it was?” and other such questions are peppered at me, as well as a lot of, “I wish I had ordered that.” It’s not unusual for people to start asking me what I will be having before they order themselves and then they frequently just say, “I’ll have what she’s having.”
Bill goes at it a little differently. First, he decides what he would like to have and then he looks over the menu and tries to find something to match his whim. He landed on a Club Sandwich. Now I love Club Sandwiches. The crisp pieces of toast separating delectable cold cuts, cheese and fresh veggies, which are then cut into delightful quarters – and if you’re lucky, they’ll put those decorated toothpicks through each quarter – and maybe there will be homemade potato chips on the side.
To me, this seemed the perfect place to order up something fried and I hadn’t had fried catfish in a long, long time. When they brought it out to me, sizzling hot, on a plate running over with fried okra and cole slaw, I was in heaven.
Then I looked over at Bill and his “Club Sandwich.” First of all there were no dainty triangles of toast with decorated toothpicks in them. Instead, it was a couple of pieces of Texas Toast (I kid you not) and the main ingredient seemed to be bacon. He was not in heaven. His sandwich was served with fries and they weren’t exactly what he’s used to getting at McDonalds.
Though I pitied his dismal food choice, I had hot, fresh catfish waiting on me, so I tucked in to eat it with relish. Bill spent a good amount of time rearranging the ingredients in his sandwich, but I don’t think he was exactly satisfied at the end of the meal.
Now, you may be wondering if you should put Bebo’s on your list of restaurants to check out. I would say that depended 100% on whether you are on Team Jane or Team Bill. Team Bill should stick to Subway sandwiches. Team Jane is gonna love it!!
From Bebo’s Bill and I ran a number of errands related to the sunroom we were furnishing at the time. Meanwhile, I had another trip up my sleeve. Come back next week and let’s talk about a women’s conference in St. Louis.
While it would have been very easy to spend every waking hour of my New York week at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, I didn’t, because I want to feel as if I know any city I visit, not just hit the top site. That’s why we stomped all over Mid-Town and Lower Manhattan, as well as taking advantage of the subway. Hopefully, some day, I will get back to The Met, but I needed more than one museum to know New York.
You could museum into perpetuity in New York. They have a little of everything. Museums like MOMA and Guggenheim are better known, but once I’d read about the Frick Mansion overlooking Central Park, I knew it was the choice for me. My choice was tested when I discovered they were renovating the mansion and a selection of the best items had been moved to a temporary home called Frick Madison, but reading through a list of items in the collection, I kept the Frick on my list.
While the Frick was no further away than our stroll to the Met, at this point of the vacation, less steps are better. As we ate meal bars in our hotel room (we were dead tired of their breakfasts and I could not face another egg) Deb pulled out her handy dandy Metro app and discovered we’d need bus service to get close to the Frick. So with the help of the app, we took the bus. It dropped us into a completely different world a few blocks from our destination.
This was residential New York, the Upper East Side and plenty swanky I will let you know. This was a quiet Saturday morning. We saw a few joggers. There were mommies and daddies out with the latest style of preambulars. We were on hallowed ground.
Coming to Madison Avenue, we made a left and continued to enjoy our surroundings. We arrived on the doorstep of the Frick with time to kill, so I backtracked to a small convenience store I’d seen along the way. You know those movies where someone steps into a small crowded bodega and is suddenly swept up in a robbery or a mugging? Yeah, well this wasn’t that place. The proprietors were oriental. Everything was neat, nothing was crowded and yet the space seemed to have a little of anything you might need.
I was in dire need of caffeine and I was ready to take it in whatever form I could get it, but to my absolute delight, they had my beloved Diet Dr Pepper in a screw top bottle. I could drink what I needed and save the rest for later. I was jubilant. I don’t think anyone had ever been jubilant in their store. They smiled and nodded, but I could tell they wanted the crazy person to leave and return them to their previously quiet and neat atmosphere.
Then it was Frick time. The first floor is a functional floor with offices, ticket sales and a store. We walked into the first gallery on the second floor. Holbiens, Hals and other fabulous painters from Holland and the Netherlands. Then BAM, the Rembrandt self portrait we all know. We may not even know it is a Rembrandt self portrait, but we’ve all seen the guy with a mustache in a funny hat, washed in golden light. A roomful of Van Dykes and three of the only 34 Vermeers which exist in the world today. We’re only in the first set of galleries and we’ve already seem more Old Master paintings than most bigger museums have in their entire collection!
The third floor has many of the decorative arts, which many of you will recall is my absolute favorite thing in a museum. Carpets, porcelain (so much Meissan) and of all things, clocks. There was a lot of Italian art of all varieties and in the Spanish section, several El Greco’s, which I love.
The decorative arts also filled the fourth floor and these were French – oooh la la! Not in necessarily in manufacture, but taste – think Sèvres and Meissan. Continuing on the fourth floor was a gallery filled with Frangonard’s Progress of Love. Like the Rembrandt self-portrait, these are paintings you’ve seen reproductions of all your life. To see them in person and all together was stunning.
Then, as if you are not already gob-smocked from all you’ve seen, there is a room of Impressionist paintings, finishes out the floor. Not a comprehensive collection, but stunning nonetheless. At that point, I just wanted to go back to the second floor and do it all over, but other entertainments beckoned and we were hungry!
If I went back to New York tomorrow, I would first go to The Met and then back to the Frick – and hopefully, the renovation of the mansion would be over and I could see these masterworks in their usual venue, placed in his gorgeous home, just as Mr. Frick thought they should be. Then I would go to the Guggenheim and MOMA. The Frick is just that good.
But it’s lunch time! Come back next week and we’ll cross Central Park to the Tavern on the Green.
So far in NYC, our days have started with a long list of attractions. On this day the list narrowed down to the one thing I’d been wanting to do for as long as I could remember – visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art. No aimless wandering for this Museum Girl. I’d read everything I could get my hands on. I had my tickets in hand. I had also printed out a map from the internet, highlighting the most important areas and numbering the order we should see them in.
I know sometimes you look forward to something for a long, long time and when you get there it is a disappointment. That was not the case in this situation. I loved every minute of it and would go back again tomorrow – but my map would look different.
Getting There was Part of the Fun
I’ve mentioned before how perfect the Sheraton New York Times Square hotel was as the headquarters of this vacation, but I’m going to say it again. If I ever get back, I’ll stay there again.
Excited about the day to come I woke up at 1:30, 3 and 5. At six I finally got out of bed and made myself ready for the day. We had our breakfast and set out on the sidewalk towards Central Park.
It was a glorious day, crisp and clear. Other tourists and New Yorkers went about their business. Something that surprised me about the city it was the lack of crowds. I thought the sidewalks would be shoulder to shoulder and the streets, bumper to bumper, but it was oddly sedate. Since I’d never been there before, I can’t tell you whether this was the result of the pandemic or I’d just over-imagined it.
I cannot tell you the joy I felt strolling through Central Park. It’s a beautiful place and the city is so lucky to have it. Even though I’d never been there, it felt familiar, because so many movies and TV shows are filmed here. I kept saying to myself, “I’m here! I’m really here!”
We took a turn to the east at the famous Bethesda Fountain and made our way to the Met. If I’d been wanting a crowd, here it was. A line snaked around the front of the building and down the sidewalk. Unfortunately, those were the people with tickets. It really didn’t take long, because it was just a security check and then we were in. We’d entered on some lower level and I’d planned my tour to begin on the main floor, so getting oriented was a bit disorienting, but soon I was gawking at all the things I’d dreamed of.
Galleries of Heaven
Our day at the Met began with European Sculpture and Decorative Arts. We saw the Robert Lehman Collection and visited the European Paintings. I was in heaven. I love it all. I really couldn’t believe I was really there.
We enjoyed the break and headed towards the American Wing. Those Europeans might have been around longer than us, but we caught up fast. I wandered around just as amazed in this wing as I had been during the morning. As much as I love paintings and sculpture, decorative arts are my passion. I can look at vases, cups and spoons until the cows come home. The Met delivered. Deb and I wandered into a section which held case after case after case of humble items made beautiful. These are not the showstoppers of the museums, more like the pantry, but I loved them.
I’d saved ancient history for the end of the day and we saw as much as we could, but we were pooped. I wish I’d had time to go back the next day and start filling in the blanks, because I know there were many, but there’s just so much that a brain can digest on a single day. We walked across Central Park to catch the subway, which delivered our weary bodies almost at the doorstep of our hotel.
But the day is not yet over! Come back next week for a taste of Broadway. We’ll go to the All Hirshfield Theater for Moulin Rouge.
These two books were were my bibles for NYC. I always like the Top 10 guides. They cover virtually everything, but they organize it into neat little lists of 10 items and they have fantastic laminated maps in a back pocket which fit in my handbag. The Top 10 guides have shown me a good time in a lot of cities.
The Knoff Mapguide was a new one for this trip. I’d never seen one before, but it was a perfect companion to my Top 10 guide and I will be looking for them in the future. It broke New York into 10 sections and then had a detailed map of each section with suggestions. No GPS to go off network. No touching the map and creating a new destination. No losing the screen to a call or a text. Just a map and a good one.
This is my idea of planning a route. For the rest of our time in NYC we’d be up in Mid-Town, so I wanted to see the best of what Downtown offered while I was in the neighborhood. Am I the only one who is confused by Downtown Manhattan being down? Usually, when I talk about downtown anywhere else, I mean down in the center of things, but in Manhattan, that’s actually Mid-Town!
On to Fraunces Tavern
Fraunces Tavern Today
Here’s another site I might have missed completely if it weren’t for my traveling companion and her co-workers. Someone who made a recent visit to NYC told Deb about the Tavern, its ties to Washington and its museum. What’s not to love and it was within walking distance of Battery Park, where we disembarked from the ferry.
So, Fraunces Tavern has been a part of Downtown NYC since the Revolutionary War, such a big part, as a matter of fact, when George Washington had a farewell dinner for his officers, this was where they had it. The tables and chairs from that party no longer exist, but the room where it happened is still there and they have furnished it as it would have been back in the day. That in itself is worth a visit, but there’s more.
Upstairs is museum of artifacts from the Revolutionary War, from Washington, from the Tavern, etc. It’s very interesting and just costs a few dollars to enter. It’s not very big, but well worth the time spent. I was especially interested in everything, because it was founded and still supported by the Sons of the American Revolution.
My dad was a member of SAR and they do an amazing job of protecting our heritage. I spent the whole time of the verge of tears, because I thought about how much my father would have loved to see it and how proud he would have been of his organization. Without actually intending to do so, we visited Deborah’s heritage on Ellis Island and mine at the tavern. All on the same day and both so close to one another. On a day like that, I’m proud to be an American.
A Few Other Stops in the Neighborhood
I’d known that the day’s timing would be iffy. In a perfect world we’d have arrived at the tavern at meal time, but things weren’t perfect. After seeing the museum, we decided to make a dinner reservation for a little later and in the meantime see a few other sites.
Our first stop was Trinity Church. Unfortunately, choir practice was going on and we were not allowed into the church. That was a shame. One of my favorite memories ever is being at Salisbury Cathedral when the organist started practicing. I thought I’d fallen through some hole into the past – perhaps inspired by the visit to Stonehenge which I also did on that day.
Still, the exterior of the church was beautiful and it was haunting to think how many great men and women had walked where we were walking. This had been the church of our founding fathers, long before Washington D.C was a thing.
Our walk through downtown was not through, but things took a slightly different turn at our next site. So come back next week for a bit more irreverent look at Downtown Manhattan.
The week linking January to February was lost to the weather. It was supposed to be one networking event after another, but it turned into a very productive buttocks-in-chair week, instead. Every day on my calendar has events marked off and the notation ‘weather.” It was great for catching up on a number of things I really don’t like to do, but by Friday I was so glad to have a Zoom call to get on. By the afternoon, the weather had broken and the big melt was on. I took advantage of the break and jumped into my car, running one errand after another.
East Hampton Sandwich Company
On Saturday, I had a lunch date with my friend, Lisa. Our friendship dates from 2006, when I returned to Dallas from the California sojourn. I met Lisa at Northwest Bible Church Women’s Ministry and we just clicked. She was a great support while Mr. Bill was in Iraq and she’s continued to be a good friend until this day, even though our lives have gone in different directions, we make the effort to meet for lunch every couple of months.
Lisa lives just a couple of blocks off Snider Plaza and I’m over here in Heath, so we sort of take turns wandering to one another’s neck of the woods or connect at NorthPark, which is one of my favorite places on earth. It was time to meet somewhere near her, so she suggested the Snider Plaza East Hampton Sandwich Company.
We camped out at one of their tables and caught up on all the news. I had a burger with sweet potato fries, which was delicious and she had the Green Goddess Gluten-Free Wrap. She brought me a housewarming gift to celebrate our new sunroom and bought my lunch, because she said she wouldn’t be in town for my birthday. (She spoils me rotten.) The atmosphere at East Hampton is very laid back and no one seemed to mind us becoming a fixture. So, I drug out my latest scrapbook for her to peruse. My albums don’t seem finished until Deb and Lisa see them!
Penne Pomodoro
Most of my Saturdays are spent with my bestie, but Deb had a dance lesson and had another errand or two to run, so we weren’t connecting until after lunch. When Deb texted, Lisa and I were still chatting, so Deb came and joined us.
East Hampton had been great for grabbing a sammie with a friend, but it had one serious fault – no adult beverages. Deb was starving after her dance lesson, but it was time to move on. So, we vacated the space we’d been filling at East Hampton and crossed the street to Penne Pomodoro.
I am very fortunate in my friends. Deb and Lisa are both fixtures in my life and very dear to me. We’ve been sharing lives for a long time. While they haven’t spent a lot of time around each other, they both know all about each other from me and they’ve both been there for me through some pretty serious times. We all just picked up like we’d just seen each other the weekend before.
Deb chose to be healthy and eat a salad, while we bonded over wine. Like East Hampton, Penne Pomodoro was laid back about us taking up their table on a Saturday afternoon, so Deb and I ordered a second round. What a blessing those girls are to me.
Shopping Therapy
What’s a girls’ day without a little shopping therapy? Lisa led us through some of her favorite stores. First, stop was Logos, a great Christian book store that’s been around ever since I can remember. They’ve moved around the center a few times, it seems, but I know the spot they are in is new to them. Lisa is a regular and the owner greeted her by name. Lisa introduced us and I noticed when we left, she called Deb and me by name as she bid us farewell.
Logos does have books, lots of them, but it is also an extraordinary haven for gifts. I saw dozens of things I’d love to give or get. Since Valentine’s is coming soon, I picked up a card for my sweetheart and found something else for him I couldn’t resist, but I can’t tell you, because he does read my posts.
Across the way, we wandered into the Christy M Boutique and I made the mistake of admiring a necklace. It was a mistake, because Lisa was soon handing me a bag, saying Happy Birthday. I told you she spoils me!
Then we walked over to Lisa’s. Deb had never seen her home and Lisa had a photo album she wanted to show me. She was a little concerned it might not be photo-safe, but her mother-in-law had been a good little Memory Keeper. The photos were in a Webway album. Webway was the company which became Creative Memories, so I knew her mother-in-law’s hard work would be safe for generations to come.
All good things must come to an end and it was time to head back to Heath. It had been a lovely day. Sunday was uneventful. I went to church, did some scrapbooking and read some. Come back next week. On Wednesday we’ll be in NYC. Thursday is Memory Keeping 101. And of course, Fridays have The Weekend Report.
jane sadek 