Cometsgirl

A week ago I was in Bentonville, Arkansas. It’s easy, and relatively quick, to fly to The Northwest Arkansas National airport, just 15-20 minutes away.

It’s a small operation.

It was wonderful to return to Bentonville!

My traveling friend greeted me with a scoop of ice cream as I deplaned. This trip was close to my 85th birthday, and part of the celebration.

Coffee at ONYX the next morning to begin the day.

Crystal Bridges Museum is like no other museum! Alice Walton, daughter of the founder of Walmart, used her own money to engage an architect from Europe; and then paid for construction and donated her own collection of American contemporary art. It has since attracted major funding and substantial gifts of significant art owned by individuals.

I’d be remiss if I don’t mention the ongoing support from the Walton Family Foundation.

The lodging is always 21C Hotel. It’s full of art, has a fabulous restaurant, and you can walk or bike to the museum. Green penguins are always about.

After breakfast, it was on to Crystal Bridges. When first entering, you see this:

On special exhibit was Keith Hering in 3D. It was interesting to read about how he went from a pop and street artist to national and international fame. And then stand close to the art itself.

The new addition to the museum adds an additional Crystal River crossing to view the art.

There is also an espresso cafe where one can order a cappuccino complete with Latte Art.

Strolling through the museum needs more time than we had. A good excuse to return.

The time we did have was filled with delight and new perspectives.

What really brought us to Bentonville was a concert. It featured one of my most favorite artists, Mary Chapin Carpenter.

The concert was on the outdoor grounds of The Momentary, a partner museum of Crystal Bridges. We had front row seats!

Hooray for the Riff Raff, an American Indie folk and Americana band, opened the concert. Their music was new to me. It was interesting and enjoyable.

Mavis Staples took the stage next. At 87 she still has a powerful voice which fit beautifully with the lyrics she sang.

The next voice we heard declared “the rest of the concert has been cancelled due to severe lightning. Leave Now. Leave NOW!”.

And so we did. Oh, it was such a disappointment.

But wait…

We stopped at a food truck which sold only ice cream.

Then we drove, parked and walked down a path to James Turrell’s artwork, Skyspace: The Way of Color

We entered the silent chamber, sat down on the walled bench, leaned back…and looked up.

We watched the day’s end.

Day is done. Gone the sun.

Phooey.

Seat 1A. Twenty rows. Sixty seats.

I’ve not flown this aircraft for a good while. Perhaps the last time I travelled to NW Arkansas Regional airport.

I’m headed to Bentonville for art and music. It’s a favorite place of mine.

Proper send-off in the Delta lounge. Also very cooling.

My best traveling friend and I are looking forward to this concert:

AMERICAN TUNES: LIFT EV’RY VOICE AND SING

RHIANNON GIDDENS, MARY CHAPIN CARPENTER, MAVIS STAPLES, AND HURRAY FOR THE RIFF RAFF

We do have some challenges. The concert is outdoors. 6:30pm start. Rain is forecast. I need ADA resources – seating and walking distances.

We have scoped it all out, and are working on our strategy for first-come, first serve seating. ✌️

A week ago I was in Colorado. I was there to visit my grandson. Nathan. I arrived the night before so when I awoke it was time to get going as I was meeting Nathan for breakfast. I made a quick stop at Starbucks for my usual, a tall flat white, and headed north.

It took a little over an hour to drive from my hotel in Denver to Colorado State University in Fort Collins. Nathan begins his junior year in a few weeks.

Nathan and his roommate have a cat who has been living with them over the summer. Monty belongs to the parents of his roommate and they sent Monty to “summer camp” with the boys. He’s very cool. And large.

Nathan and I set off for breakfast at the Cafe Bluebird diner. He chose the perfect place to begin our day.

Breakfast was fabulous! Abundant. Fun!

Conversation with Nathan is always interesting. We often talk about computing, designing and building for various applications. I sound smart about it, but I have just enough familiarity and experience with the topic to hang on. I did appreciate his comment “you sure know a lot about technology.” ‘deed I do.

Nathan had offered to find some activity we might like. He did just that by finding The Gardens on Spring Creek. He described the place as having some loops to walk around after breakfast.

It was so much more.

It was fun identifying plants with our apps. Oh my, though, it was quite warm.

We took a heat break in the main building. There we were invited to enter the butterfly house.

It was filled with butterflies! We were cautioned to watch our step.

I’m thinking just now about the moment a door is opened and we step through. That got me thinking about doors in our life that we open when we’re traveling. Perhaps our destination is a museum or a garden or someone’s home. About that moment the door opens and you see…just a taste of what’s to come. Then you step in.

To soon it was time for me to go and for Nathan to continue his day. My trek to visit and have time, conversations, and joy with Nathan was definitely a “Rocky mountain high”.

I felt well tended to.

Thanks Nathan! I’ll see you in the fall.

Today I’m headed to the place described above. I have a breakfast date tomorrow with my younger grandson, Nathan.

Technically this is my Spring visit with him. He was too busy with his life in college to have me come visit last spring. I was happy to wait until now.

We are meeting for breakfast tomorrow. He told me he knows a couple of places we can go to for our meal. I’m really looking forward to our time together.

Colorado is such a beautiful place. I’m kind of prideful for having been born in Colorado.

It’s awfully beautiful outside my window as I fly by.

From Nathan: “I found a cool flower garden up here that has some loops to walk around if you’d like to go there as well.” Of course I want to go there.

I’d also like to ride alongside the Cache la Poudre River in his 1996 Volvo station wagon. We did this two years ago on my first visit to see Nathan his freshman year.

It was brutally cold, which required quick runs from the car to look over to the river; then a dash back to the car. I believe my dashing days are now over.

Bam! We just got slammed by what else, the Rockie Mountains. It was the winds coming across the mountains to where I’m sitting in my chair in the sky. I can’t see the Rockies, but I can surely feel their influence.

It’s so cool when clouds fly solo.

Patters of travel.

Descending I kept looking for the Rockies. I’ll have to wait to see them tomorrow.

Landed. A mile high.

It turns out I don’t have to wait after-all. Driving back to the hotel after doing some shopping for tomorrow, there they are.

I loved growing up in Colorado. I loved living here for a time. Still, when I gazed at the Rockies preview, my soul sighed.

I took a road trip last weekend. My traveling friend flew to Atlanta early Friday for a couple of days. I hopped in my Miata and spun my way south to the airport on the south side of Atlanta.

We had plans. First was dining at Ford Fry’s Superica restaurant, located in Krog Street Market. It turns out each of us was craving the same restaurant. It was long overdue to enjoy the food offerings at Superica.

It was just as I remembered. Tastes on another realm. It was so much fun to enjoy a Superica meal after so many years since the last time.

The reason for the weekend in Atlanta, was to take in an art exhibit at the High Museum of Art. The exhibit had opened Just days before.

Amy Sherald: American Sublime. It featured her renowned portrait of former First Lady Michelle Obama.

There I was, gazing at Michele, about ten steps away.

Other portraits were as impactful as Michelle’s. The stories of the lives of these individuals were deep, sometimes tragic, other times leaning toward a measure of joy.

The eyes of her subjects seemed to gaze right at me, telling their own stories.

It was Juneteenth and admission was free. The center entry of the High was packed. The garb that women wore was an art show unto itself.

We ended the day with a soft-serve treat. Art of another kind.

The next morning, all rested, we began the day at Coffee Man. Coffee man definitely knows how to brew coffee and how to create a welcome space.

I love it when something else I might want to do, happens to be nearby. Especially when it’s WBB! (Women’s Basketball).

Well, the stars lined up. Indiana Fever and Atlanta Dream were playing a game the day after the museum exhibition!

Game on!

Over 17,000 in attendance. Packed with women, men, kids. Most everyone wearing a team t-shirt. Lots of noise! Lots of fun!

With tasty memories of lunch the day before, we wrapped up the day, by returning to Superica; followed by ice cream, of course.

Delicious Delight!

It’s been a good while since I hopped in my car and took-off for the open road. The next morning I dropped my friend off at ATL at 5:30am for her flight home. I took off for the mountains.

Twisting and turning, quick exceleration when needed, swift, excellent lane changing. Yes, I was on the open road once more.

It felt good.

Traveling mercies, indeed.

I squeezed in a short trip to Arlington, TX this week. A few weeks ago my granddaughter, Georgia, sent me this text.

“Hey Nana! Looks like the Dallas Wings play the Las Vegas Aces in DFW on June 15th”.

It didn’t take long for me to consider, research, determine,,,,

…then say, “of course! Let me figure out all the parts.

It was similar to a

Georgia met me at the airport. Jack, my grandson, joined us for lunch at Torchy’s Tacos a short while later. Delicious tacos! Even more delicious was having lunch with my Texas grandkids. Just us three.

The rest of the day we ate, had coffee and not coffee, then hung with the cat and dogs.

And continued to share our hopes, our intents, our now.

The next

talked enough about our lives enough to know all that needs to be shared.

o learn about lives today.

up to nowmostly catch up.

And talked. The best of all, listening to learned about their lives now.

atching up with their lives. Just listening about how they spend their time. Wor and play.

was so

Coffee

Bfsst with b and j

Breakfast. All

Lunch three

Dinner

Mon

Breakfast. All

Hanging out at Georgia’s home when not at Starbucks, REI, or eating once again. Lunch time.

Lunch. Pizza

WNBA

Shaker. Waver

Coffee. Jack

Shopping

Eating.

G met me at airport

Totchy’s. G, J, N

Went to g’s to meet kitty

Lunch. & Reskfsr/ spot

All

oyster juice

Shopping wit g

REI, Michaels

Last August, my friend and I traveled to the Brandywine area of Pennsylvania.

We had been to an Indigo Girls concert in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. The following day we flew to Pennsylvania.

There’s a theme here. We’ll see what the Indigo Girls have in store for us next year.

It was a beautiful drive from Wilkes Barre to Kennett Square.

The next day was coffee time at Philter – a favorite from travels here last summer.

For the next two days beauty beckoned.

Art exhibits at the Brandywine Museum…

Labyrinths…

Sustenance…

and, ice cream every evening!

My soul filled up in Brandywine. My stomach did as well.

Traveling mercies.

The impetus for this trip was the Indigo Girls. They were to be in concert in Wilkes Barre, PA. I purchased two seats.

After the church service and tour in Philadelphia, we headed northeast. It was a beautiful drive to Wilkes Barre.

My friend and I had purchased tickets for the Indigo Girls concert the day and hour they went on sale. Now it was close to happening.

Our hotel was just across the street from the theater where they would perform, giving us a short walk to the concert.

I bought myself a fun tank top to wear immediately.

The concert was awesome, of course it was. It was the Indigo girls after all!

I’ve been singing their songs since the last song of this concert.

“I don’t know what to believe 
I just show up and breathe”

Prior to July 29, 1974, the Episcopal church did not allow women to be ordained as priests.

My best friend and traveling partner is an Episcopal priest.

“The first women were ordained to the priesthood in the Episcopal Church on July 29, 1974. A group of eleven pioneering women, known as the Philadelphia Eleven, were ordained in an unauthorized, “irregular” ceremony at the Church of the Advocate in Philadelphia.”

While in Philadelphia a few days ago, we worshipped at the Church of the Advocate in Philadelphia. This historical market is on the church grounds.

Here we are.

The Church of the Advocate has not closed permanently, though it has suspended services in its main sanctuary due to severe ceiling disrepair and lost insurance coverage. Worship services and community outreach programs continue to operate elsewhere on the campus. 

The Sunday service of Morning Prayer was in the Parish Hall/basketball court.

Fifteen, including us, gathered for the service of Morning Prayer.

It was a beautiful service of scripture, prayers, and hymns.

Following the service we all walked over to the closed sanctuary for a tour and conversation about the church’s future.

The ordination of original eleven, was in this very space.

For me, it was remarkable to be in this space, and to be reminded of all I have seen in my life as an Episcopalian.

It’s been a joy and a honor to serve the Episcopal Church and to recall the many women priests with whom I have stood side by side during worship and in service to others.

Last year I traveled to the Brandywine Area of Pennsylvania to see an Emily Dickinson exhibit, The Earthen Door, Nature as Muse and Material.

I loved the Brandywine area of Pennsylvania so much! So here I am this day headed to Brandywine, and other somewhat nearby locales. Oh the things I’ll see, I’ll hear, and I’ll do.

My flight arrives this afternoon, while my traveling friend’s flight lands around midnight. I will entertain myself with my hotel room’s window view of one of the runways at the Philadelphia International Airport. I love planes.

Airborne as I write, it’s a beautiful day to soar.

Come along.

Traveling mercies.