Middlebury, Vermont

We're loving our visit to the Green Mountains, and to Middlebury in particular, which is so beautiful. Here are a few scenic pix from the day before Hannah's commencement ceremony.

Periwinkle house with lilacs.

Looking east toward the Green Mountains.

An old RR depot.

Quintessential farm/silo view.

Creme brûlée for the creme of the crop. So proud of her!

Route 7

Route 7 is a scenic two-lane road from Massachusetts to Vermont that in the southwestern part of the Green State runs along the western edge of the Green Mountain National Forest. The scenery was, indeed, an almost neon lime color of new spring leaves, with picturesque rolling hills, red barns, and an occasional farm animal grazing by the roadside. A short walk in a state park took us to this lovely little lake.

After posing for a selfie, we completed our drive to Middlebury, where we'll stay through the weekend for Hannah's graduation festivities. Dinner at American Flatbread took us past Middlebury's amazing falls, running hard and fast with ice melt and spring rains.

Stockbridge sites

It may seem like we're covering a lot of ground here, but we've slowed down so much that we feel like we're relaxing. Or maybe we were moving so fast before that the way we're moving now just feels like slow motion. Either way, we're having a great time on the road again.

Today's adventure took us first to the Norman Rockwell Museum and Studio, which houses the largest collections of his paintings in the world, as well as all 323 Saturday Evening Post covers published from 1916 to 1963.

Rockwell's studio, where he typically worked 10 hours/day, 

both from live models and photographs. 

His recruited his models from the local townspeople.

In Stockbridge, we also visited the Sedgwick family plot of the local cemetery, where we found the tombstone for Elizabeth Freeman, also known as Mumbet, who was the first freed slave in the United States, having sued for and won her freedom in a Massachusetts court in 1781.

Sunshine in the Berkshires

Inn at Stockbridge, where we're staying.

Lilacs are in bloom, filling the house with a lovely scent.

Lunch with John's good friends Ed and Kate at Haven in Lenox. 

On the Road Again (Finally)

So, it's been waaaay too long since we've updated this blog, partly because I've been sitting in the dark, in Laguna Playhouse that is, as I've studied the whys and wherefores of regional theatre. It's been quite a post-grad educational experience and I'm a better theatre-maker as a result, but man, I've been itching to get back on the road again, and it's finally time.

This May, we're headed to New England to celebrate Hannah's graduation from Middlebury (yay, Hannah!), but not before a road trip from Newark, NJ, to Vermont via Hyde Park, NY, for a day at the FDR Library, home and museum. It was a memorable visit to an historic place, with lots of interesting lessons and inspiration. Here are a few photos to get us started on our travel blog, circa 2014.

Crossing the Hudson River.

A view of the house where Roosevelt was born and lived from the rose garden where he is buried.

Roosevelt stands guard over a sculpture made from wreckage of the Berlin Wall in honor of his commitment to the four freedoms.

John listens to a fireside chat from a recreated kitchen, circa 1940s. 

Doesn't it look like the set of HEARTLAND?

This is the presidential desk that FDR used while he was in the Oval Office.

Big Snow

2012 started off with big snow in Moscow, which fell in fat white crystals for the last five days, draping the trees, lawns and sidewalks with a thick coat of pure natural beauty. I did my best to capture it before temperatures rose and plows pushed through. These first three pix were taken from my bedroom window about 7 a.m.

 The pix below were taken a few hours later near the Admin Building.

This afternoon, I stood knee-deep in snow scraping at least 20 inches of ice and snow from the truck. It took about 25 minutes and a lot of muscle to remove it all. Good thing John's in hot and muggy Vietnam or I would have made him do it!

Winter Skies

After a great visit with family over the holidays, we headed north again to spend the winter-spring semester in Idaho. Instead of heading up I-5, we drove inland on the eastern side of the Sierras, through Nevada, southeastern Oregon and then north from Nampa/Boise along the Salmon River to Moscow. It was warm and sunny, and we saw some beautiful skies along the way.

Tucson for Xmas

Two thousand miles from Moscow, Idaho, in Tucson, Arizona for a holiday week with the family. Enjoying good food, stimulating company, fitness classes and relaxing spa treatments at Canyon Ranch. Today, in the crisp sunshine, John and I walked Sabino Canyon. Here are some pix.

 Happy holidays, everyone!

 This is one of nine stone bridges that cross the canyon creek. 

The bridges were a WPA project.

 All of the water running in the canyon comes from melting snow or rain.

 Gneiss rock formations in the streambed.

Waking to Snow

It's been snowing all night. Waking up to a beautiful winter wonderland outside my bedroom window:

Plows began their work on the sidewalks as soon as the sun was up...

But the trees remain like sugar-coated candy against the sky.

Walking Home from Class

So pretty in Moscow on an early November afternoon. No snow yet.

Fall Afternoon at the Arboretum