Midwest Art

   We’ve been slowly making our way across the country , driving through little farming communities and past field after field of corn and soybeans. Combines are reducing the fields to stubble , stopping only to spill the dried corn kernels and soybeans into trucks headed to the grain elevators.Without a Wal Mart in sight ,the  towns are bustling as farmers buy supplies. But winter is on it’s way so what do people do out here in the heartland while they wait for spring?  They create wonderful weird art!

 OUR NEW BLOG - http://rollinginarv-wheelchairtraveling.blogspot.com/

Cape Cod , Massachusetts

   I’ve really been neglecting this blog! Since we left Texas we’ve been slowly meandering our way north to Pittsburgh so that we can take care of all of our once a year appointments. However we had a little free time so when the opportunity came up to join Gail , Tom and the kids on their vacation at Cape Cod we putted our way a little farther north. We had a lot of fun even though it really wasn’t warm enough for Tess to lay out on the beach! :-D  More pictures here - https://picasaweb.google.com/101444951349944784520/CapeCodMassachusettts

Dallas Arboretum & Botanical Garden

   The gardens are a beautiful place to visit anytime but we happened to visit in the middle of a Dale Chihuly glass art exhibit. Dale Chihuly makes huge ,fanciful ,blown glass sculptures. Actually he’s more of designer because the blowing ,crafting and assembling is done by team of artists. Chihuly lost an eye in an automobile accident and several years later dislocated his right shoulder , making it impossible for him to hold a heavy glass blowing pipe. We’ve seen Chihuly pieces in museums , in his hometown of Tacoma ,Washington and even in a Las Vegas casino but this is the first time we’ve seen an large outdoor display. The bright , flowing shapes fit right in the garden setting resembling strange ,exotic flowers.  More pictures here - https://picasaweb.google.com/101444951349944784520/DallasArboretumBotanicalGarden

Sherwood Forest Faire in Ye Olde Texas

    We took a trip to England in the year 1190  and met a bunch of strange and interesting characters. ( this isn’t a reference to Chris , our sister –in-law , or our nephew , Ted or his girlfriend , Jennifer who joined us in our time travel  : D ! ).  This festival is only three years old but the two men who created the village and who oversee the project are doing a wonderful job. They’re trying to keep it as authentic as possible but are allowing a lot of fantasy ,improvising  and quirkiness so along with Robin Hood and the evil sheriff there are fairies , elves , pirates and other  unidentifiable creatures.

  More pictures here - https://picasaweb.google.com/tonyandkaren1/SherwoodForestFaire?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Battle Of Olustee Civil War Reenactment

   We’ve wanted to go to a Civil War reenactment for awhile but we never expected to find one in rural north Florida. One curiosity was piqued after reading the book    “Confederates in the Attic “. The author Tony Horwitz , who has had an interest in the Civil War since childhood,writes about his interactions with some hard core re-enactors and the lengths that they go to keep everything authentic.

   The Battle of Olustee was just a minor battle which didn’t affect the war at all so we figured maybe a small encampment ,a few guys shooting at each other. Wow ,were we wrong! This is a big deal in this little section of Florida. Hundreds of re-enactors set up completely authentic camps where they live in tents , cook over fires , sleep under wool blankets and feather comforters. Anything that doesn’t fit the time period must be hidden from view. All clothing is made following old patterns using appropriate natural materials. Most people take it all the way down to their underwear.

The battle seemed less authentic. Not just because nobody was actually getting killed (don’t need any more of that!) but because the fighting had to be confined to a small area so that the audience would be able to see.  The Union and Confederate armies ended up very close to each other in an open field having a shoot out. Halfway through they moved a few hundred feet so that all sections of the audience would get the full affect. And nobody died during the first half hour.

  The whole thing was a lot of fun!  More pictures here - https://picasaweb.google.com/tonyandkaren1/BattleOfOlusteeCivilWarReenactment?authuser=0&feat=directlink

 

Low Country in the Deep South

    Hope everyone had a good time over the holidays!  We meandered our way down to Florida along the coasts of North Carolina ,South Carolina and Georgia ,an area brimming over with historical sites from a pretty terrible time in US history – the antebellum period when the labor of thousands of slaves made a few people enormously wealthy.  Low Country  wealth came from an unlikely source – rice. The coast is comprised of a mixture of marshes ,lagoons ,wide rivers and swampy islands where fresh water mingles with tidal water ,an ideal place for growing rice. Rice cultivation is very labor intensive and time consuming. Getting sold down south was a dreaded occurrence for a slave who knew that it meant a life of heat , disease , never ending work and isolation. Slavery anywhere was bad enough but this was a daily hell. More pictures here - https://picasaweb.google.com/tonyandkaren1/LowCountryInTheDeepSouth?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJGNo8HI0s-ZTg&feat=directlink

Thanksgiving in Washington DC

     We had a wonderful time visiting everyone in Pittsburgh and spending Thanksgiving with Tom , Gail and the kids.  We’re still stuffed – with pumpkin pie and pecan pie , turkey and dressing , cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes –yum!  Hope everyone had a good holiday !  More pictures here - https://picasaweb.google.com/tonyandkaren1/ThanksgivingInWashingtonDC?authuser=0&feat=directlink