August 2019 - Day 21/21 London, Ontario to HOME!

Wednesday, August 28, 2019 - drive London, Ontario to HOME! (432 miles):

(including 1 MUSEUM!)

Up and at-em. Everybody is driving at 76 mph (122 kilometers-per-hour) up here - that's really kind-of aggressive. I hit the Border at 7:30



8:30 Tim Horton's coffee, and then the rain came.

And then it was just down I-90 East/the New York State Thruway. Saw some FUN stuff:


I realized that I had time to stop by The Arkell Museum at Canajoharie, about 50 miles west of Albany. I got there at 11:45


I have visited here twice before - Nov. 2014 and April 2018. Their extensive Winslow Homer collection (7 oils, 13 watercolors) include:

"The Pumpkin Patch (Husking)", 1878 watercolor:


"Watching the Breakers: A High Sea", 1896 oil


"Shepherdess and Sheep", c. 1878 oil:


It was a nice stop on my way home. Then I got to MASSACHUSETTS:


I was "planning" to be home between 3 and 4 PM. I don't know when "rush hour" DEVOLVED so much, but at 3:20 I was on 128 North in Waltham, in stop-and-go traffic:


I was home at 4:30!! 14 separate states (repeated MA and NY) - 6571 miles! Thank You God for this GREAT ADVENTURE!

Driving music today:

Joni Mitchell - Miles of Aisles, 1974 double live album (sides 2,3 and 4 today)

(Joni is from Canada.)

lyrics: "A Case of You":

On the back of a cartoon coaster
In the blue TV screen light
I drew a map of Canada

flat landscape, lots of fog, and because I'm still in Canada:

Neil Young - Zuma, 1975

Nice getting chills at 7:08 in the morning, listening to "Cortez the Killer".

Led Zeppelin - Presence, 1976


Ian Hunter - Short Back 'n' Sides, 1981

"Central Park n' West" is a Great Rock Song, and "Rain" is really good, too.

Loggins & Messina - Sittin' In, 1971

fun "Loggins & Messina"/"Poco" story: back in the Fall of 1973, my sister Cary was a freshman up at the University of Connecticut in Storrs. They had Poco playing up there (after Jim Messina had left Poco in October 1970) on Sunday Nov. 18, 1973, and she invited me up to see it. Good show, and I drove back to Philly that night. Two weeks later I saw Loggins & Messina at The Spectrum in Philadelphia on Friday Nov. 30, 1973. I want to say that a bunch of us lightweight oarsmen then went out to Upper Darby, PA (end of the Philadelphia subway system) the next night and saw Poco - and I swear that I saw Jim Messina in the wings, watching his old bandmates. Unfortunately, he did not join them on-stage. Fun memory.

Billy Joel - Songs in the Attic, 1981 live album


Stevie Nicks - The Wild Heart, 1983 second album


Lionel Richie - Dancing on the Ceiling, 1986 single


various artists - Footloose, 1984 soundtrack


Joni Mitchell - The Hissing of Summer Lawns, 1975


The Hollies - Greatest Hits, 1967

I bought this album!

Billy Joel - An Innocent Man, 1983

August 2019 - Day 20/21 St. Ignace, Michigan to London, Ontario

Tuesday, August 27, 2019 - drive St. Ignace, Michigan to London, Ontario (432 miles):

(including 3 MUSEUMS!)

Over the Mackinac Bridge a little before 9 AM



That's the sun rising over Lake Huron this morning:

I saw Lake Superior and Lake Michigan yesterday, and Lake Erie on Day 1 of this trip - I wonder if I will see Lake Ontario to complete the collection:


I got to the Saginaw Art Museum at noon, just as it was opening:


this was my first visit to Saginaw, and they have a nice little collection. Although I saw a nice Cropsey and Kensett, my 3 favorites are:

Gilbert Munger (NOT ALBERT BIERSTADT!) - "Merced River in the Yosemite Valley", 1876 oil:

Warren Sheppard - "The Trackless Sea", ca. 1904 oil:

Katsushika Hokusai - "Red Fuji", ca. 1825 woodcut [also known as "Fine Wind, Clear Morning"]:


And then it was 40 miles down the road to the Flint Institute of Arts:

And yes, the building was built in 1958. This was my second visit - on my first back in 2014, almost all the art was removed to make way for "local display". I had better luck this time.

Right off I encountered a Fashion Exhibit:




and then I got to other art:

Thomas Moran - "A Pastoral Landscape", 1889 oil


Tiffany Studios - "Stained Glass Window", n.d.


Paul Jenkins - "Phenomena Forking Paths", 1967-68 acrylic:

I like his art, and have taken note of other pieces by him:
(Sept. 7, 2015) Hunter Museum of American Art, Chattanooga, TN - "Phenomena Royal Violet Visitation", 1977 acrylic:

(March 5, 2016) Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI - "Phenomena Blue Held Over", 1975 acrylic:

(Aug. 26, 2018) Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH - "Phenomena Ridge of Fire", 1996 acrylic:


And then it was time to head down the road to Detroit - they close at 4 PM today. Um, I haven't seen back-up like this since, oh, YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK:

(truck accident this time, not bison.)

I kept my focus, and reached the Detroit Institute of Arts at 3:30

This was my 3rd visit (previously Sept. 13, 2013 and Oct. 10, 2015). I am kind-of "Mr. Bragger" when it comes to seeing museums ("I can do a museum in 20 minutes!") - um, the DIA is a Really Good Museum, and needs at least an hour.

So 30 minutes is going to BE A PROBLEM. I have started doing homework before I visit a museum, figuring out 1) what is on-display, 2) what I have seen before/what I have not seen, and 3) what I want a "better picture" of (and also map out the floors and galleries). It is a long process, but it certainly allows me a much better, more efficient experience of the museum. Since the DIA is at the tail-end of this Road Trip, by the time I get to this point I am generally like a "deer in the headlights" - just astounded that it has all worked out so well so far! So I went (practically running) through the museum, taking pictures left-right-and-center - Canaletto, Guardi, Panini, Monet, van Gogh, Duncanson, Cole, Bierstadt, Church, Durand, Wyeth, ...

Today's favorites include:

Francesco Guardi- "View of Dolo on the Brenta", 1774-76 oil:


Claude Monet - "Rounded Flower Bed", 1876 oil:


Vincent van Gogh - "The Old Mill", 1888 oil:


Thomas Cole - "From the Top of Kaaterskill Falls", 1826 oil:


Albert Bierstadt - "The Wolf River, Kansas", about 1859 oil:


Sanford Robinson Gifford - "On the Nile", 1872 oil:


They have a wonderful space, and a wonderful collection:

Thank You.

I then made a mistake - not a big mistake, but a mistake nonetheless. Google Maps wants me to go northeast out of Detroit on I-94 East, and take the Blue Water Bridge into Canada:

Obviously there will be MUCH MORE rush-hour traffic in the US than if you take the tunnel or bridge directly in Detroit itself. I was on autopilot, so I just did Google Maps, and I think it cost me a bunch of time:


But I did get to see Lake Huron again:

and some cool clouds:


I checked into the Days Inn in London, Ontario and went out for a meatball sub. Thank You God for these great adventure days!

Driving music today:

I had once ripped a 12" 4-track ep by Bruce Springsteen - I'm on Fire / Rosalita / Born in the USA (the "Freedom" mix) / Johnny Bye Bye, 1985

This was the only available release of "Johnny Bye-Bye" until Tracks in 1998.

lyrics: "Rosalita":

And together we're gonna go out tonight and make that highway run

Elton John - Caribou, 1974

"Ticking" (last song on the album) still brings chills and tears.

Jefferson Airplane - Crown of Creation, 1968


Garland Jeffreys - Escape Artist, 1981


The J. Geils Band - "Live" Full House, 1972 recorded in Detroit!


Huey Lewis and the News - Sports, 1983


The Kinks - Greatest Hits!, 1966

I owned this record!

lyrics: "Till the End of the Day"

Yeah, I get up
And I see the sun up
And I feel good, yeah
'Cause my life has begun

Melissa Manchester - Home to Myself, 1973 debut album


Little Steven & The Disciples of Soul - Men Without Women, 1982

yes - that "Little Steven".

Joni Mitchell - Miles of Aisles, 1974 double live album (side 1 only today)