Florida - Day Five (Lake City, FL - Gainesville, FL - Orlando, FL - Winter Park, FL - North Palm Beach, FL)

340 miles today (broke 2200 miles for the whole trip - so far). It was in the 60s today, but rainy off-and-on throughout the state. I finally broke 70 degrees passing Palm Bay on 95 South. Peaked at 73 today.


There was no internet at the Super 8 in Lake City, Florida, so I had a great breakfast and hit the road (I'll use the wi-fi at some McDonald's). Going down 75 South, however, I glimpsed a billboard that said something about "Monet Exhibit ..." I quickly did a search on "monet exhibition florida" and got a hit for the Harn Museum of Art at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Well, since Gainesville is only a few miles down the road, I'm going there!



As it turned out (Thank you God), there was a McDonald's right at the Gainesville exit, so I got a cup of coffee to "rent the wi-fi" for an hour, and got out my blog for yesterday! Then headed to the museum for the 10 AM opening.



Unfortunately, no photos were allowed in the exhibit, but the Museum website has a wonderful page for Claude Monet - Champ d’avoine (Oat Field), 1890


and of course I have to include any picture of Gloucester harbor!
Childe Hassam - Gloucester, 1919


Other parts of the museum contained four paintings by Herman Herzog. The best two are Landscape with Three Deer, n.d.


and On Alachua Lake, c. 1890


Then down to the Orlando Museum of Art:

Alfred Thompson Bricher - Seascape with Sailboats and Dory, ca. 1890


Herman Herzog - Scene from Berchtesgaden Land, 1874


there was a VERY SMALL Thomas Moran, and the on-line image is better than my photo.
Thomas Moran - Castle Butte, Green River, Wyoming Territory, 1870s


Then over to the The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art in Winter Park. I was looking for paintings by Martin Johnson Heade and William Sonntag, but it is basically a museum filled with Tiffany Studio creations - stained glass, plus some artwork done by Louis Tiffany (not bad stuff at all). I was able to take a quick picture of a beautiful piece - Pumpkin and Beets window, 1899-1900

and I bought both a postcard and notecard of the same Wisteria window, to see the beauty and the differences-in-production.

Just a few blocks down the road in Winter Park is The George D. and Harriet W. Cornell Fine Arts Museum, at Rollins College. It has three beautiful pieces:

Albert Bierstadt - Shoshone Indians - Rocky Mountains, 1859


Thomas Moran - Moonlight Seascape, 1892


William Louis Sonntag - Dream of Italy, ca. 1860


After some major rain on Route 1/A1A, I checked in with Wendy and Andrea a little after 6 PM. Thank you God for a wonderful adventure!

Music today (I listened to albums):

I started listening to
Drive-By Truckers - A Blessing And A Curse (2006)


Kenny Chesney - No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems (2002)


Jimmy Buffett - Beach House on the Moon (1999)


Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Southern Accents

(twice, because it sounds GREAT!) (1985)

Michael Franti and Spearhead - The Sound of Sunshine (2010)


Bob Marley - Rastaman Vibration (1976)


and ending the day with the beginning of
Paul McCartney - Ram (1971) - maybe that's enough "Florida music" for a while.

Florida - Day Four (Commerce, GA - Montgomery, AL - Columbus, GA - Lake City, FL)

550 miles today - I finally broke 50 degrees 30 miles east of Montgomery, Alabama!


Since I hit the High Museum of Art and the Georgia Museum of Art yesterday, I can go straight through to Montgomery, Alabama! Although I did not contact them, in my Where's the Art app they have 8 artists (with 10 works), so at least some of them should be on display. And some were:

Frederic Edwin Church - American Landscape, 1853


Thomas Moran - Dusk Wings, 1860


and of course I have to include any picture of Gloucester harbor!
Childe Hassam - Gloucester Harbor, 1895


in addition to the paintings, there was a Special Exhibition of Canaletto's Vedute Prints!!



Title Plate, about 1744-1746


The Tower of Malghera (La Torre di Malghera), about 1744-1746


The Portico with the Lantern, about 1744-1746


Imaginary View of Venice: The House with the Inscription and The House with the Peristyle, about 1744-1746


and then four small etchings displayed together (all about 1740-1744):
Landscape with the Pilgrim at Prayer
Landscape with a Woman at a Well
The Equestrian Monument
Mountain Landscape with Five Bridges


and just to prove that it's not all about me (Hi Ellie!), this was a dress exhibit that did not allow photographs:


And then back east (Alabama was in the Central Time Zone!), over the Chattahoochee River (with Great Rapids!) into Columbus, Georgia to The Columbus Museum. Of their 10 works, three were on display:

Albert Bierstadt - Hunting in The White Mountains, New Hampshire, 1857-1858 ca.


Sanford Robinson Gifford - A Home in the Woods, 1868


John Kensett - The Sea, Long Island Sound from Fish Island, 1872


After four days on the road, I got a car wash, then 236 miles down the road (it is "down" because I'm still head south - next week it will be "up the road") to the Super 8 in Lake City, Florida. Thank you God for a wonderful adventure!

Music today (I listened to albums):

I started listening to
Kahuna Classiscs - A Collection of Surf Music


but suddenly realized that I was in Georgia - the home of The Allman Brothers Band!!
The Fillmore Concerts (2 cds) (1970)


by the time they finished, I was in Alabama, so it was time for the Drive-By Truckers!
The Big To-Do (2010)


The Dirty South (2004)


not much like listening to the Drive-By Truckers while driving by cotton fields in East Alabama

and more Southern rock:
Lynard Skynard (2 songs)

The Marshall Tucker Band - Anthology (2005)


then back to regular albums
Elton John - Madman Across The Water (1971)


Rickie Lee Jones - The Magazine (1984)


Bruce Springsteen - Magic (2007)

"is anybody ALIVE out there?!?!"

and ending the day with the beginning of
Rickie Lee Jones - The Sermon on Exposition Boulevard (2007)

Florida - Day Three (Danville, VA - Atlanta, GA - Athens, GA - Commerce, GA)

490 miles today - because of "the snow", all the North Carolina and South Carolina museums are closed. So its straight down to Atlanta, then back up to Athens and staying at a Super 8 30 miles away in Commerce, Georgia


It was a surprise to rise-and-shine in Danville this morning - I thought I left all this behind me in New England!


the highways were clear, and it was beautiful entering North Carolina


and it was clear and sunny when I stopped for lunch in Gaffney, South Carolina


I was able to park on the street in Atlanta, and got into the High Museum of Art by 4. Excellent space, and a beautiful collection!!

I took photos of sculptures by Chauncey Bradley Ives, Frederic Remington, Auguste Rodin (2)

and paintings by Albert Bierstadt (2), William Bradford (2), Bricher (2), John William Casilear (2), Church, Thomas Cole, Jasper Cropsey, Thomas Doughty, Asher B. Durand, Duncanson, Samuel Lancaster Gerry, Gifford (3), Jame McDougal Hart, Haseltine, Hassam (2), Heade, John Kensett (2), Jervis McEntee, Claude Monet (2), Thomas Moran (2), Parrish, Richards, William Sonntag (2), and Worthington Whittredge (2).

Alfred Thompson Bricher - Sunset on the Coast, 1885-1895


William Stanley Haseltine - The Sea from Capri, 1875

This is a "Great Painting", with dimensions: 3 1/2 feet high x 6 feet wide - it is stunning!

Thomas Moran - Fingal's Cave, Island of Staffa, Scotland, 1884-1885


John Kensett - The Seashore, 1863


Thomas Moran - The Old Bridge Over Hook Pond, East Hampton, Long Island, 1907

it is interesting that the wall is actually a pale yellow, which is not captured in my photo

Chauncey Bradley Ives - Undine Rising from the Waters, after 1859, marble

Sanford Robinson Gifford - October in the Catskills, 1879


Claude Monet - Houses of Parliament in the Fog, 1903


And then two hours northeast to the Georgia Museum of Art in Athens, Georgia. The sun had set by the time I got there, but it is open Thursdays until 9, so I'm in good shape. A very nice collection, with works by Childe Hassam, Winslow Homer, Thomas Hill, William Keith, Albert Bierstadt (2), William Sonntag, William Stanley Haseltine (2), Homer Dodge Martin, William Trost Richards, William M. Hart, George Loring Brown, Ralph Albert Blakelock, George Inness, John Kensett, John Linton Chapman, Thomas Doughty, and James McDougal Hart. Highlights include:

Thomas Hill - The Home of the Red Man, 1895


and a Ralph Albert Blakelock painting that is cheerful and sunny! - Golden Autumn, Rangeley Lake, Maine, ca. 1873-1877


William Stanley Haseltine - Grand Canal, Venice, 1882


John Linton Chapman - Via Appia, 1867


And I finished the day at one of my favorite places!

Thank you God for a great day!

Music today (I listened to albums):

The Who - It's Hard (deluxe version with live tracks) (1982)


The Rolling Stones - It's Only Rock 'N Roll (1974)


Van Morrison - It's Too Late to Stop Now (live - 2 cds) (1974)


Steely Dan - Katy Lied (1975)


Ken Burns Jazz: Dave Brubeck (2011)


The Who - The Kids Are Alright (1979)


Alice Cooper - Killer (1971)