Thursday, February 23, 2023 - Today Wendy starts a 5-day retreat - which gives me a GREAT opportunity for a ROAD TRIP:
1,330 miles in 3 days - 11 museums!
Today I will be hitting 3 museums and covering 606 miles:
After my Breakfast-in-Boston, I headed up 93 to the
St. Johnsbury Atheneaum in Saint Johnsbury, VT. This is where my "Seeing The Art" adventures started back in 2013. They have a WONDERFUL Albert Bierstadt - "The Domes of the Yosemite", 1867:
The painting is 10 feet high, and 15 feet wide, and is VERY IMPRESSIVE!!
The first reason for today's visit, however, was seeing 4 books by David Roberts, which were in a locked cabinet the last time I visited. I exchanged emails with the Director, and he was kind enough to meet me at 11:40 and unlock the cabinet:
I made it through 2-and-1/2 books before I had to head down the road - I'll be back to see Vol. III with "Petra" engravings.
Today's driving conditions were really bad. It was 19° driving up through New Hampshire, and it only got colder. The roads were wet, and the spray froze on the windshield. I had to keep the defroster on FULL, and the windshield wipers were getting frozen also. I finally realized that I could use my water-bottles to clean the windshield, which was good because I had 4 full bottles.
I crossed into Canada at 1:10
On my way to Montreal I saw deer in a field. It got cold:
I reached the
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts just after 3 (late for my 2:30 "timed entry", but they were fine with it):
This building has the art I want to see, but their "old building" is across the street (I LIKE IT BETTER!):
Claude Monet - "A Cliff at Pourville in the Morning", 1897 oil:
Claude Monet - "The Main Path at Giverny", 1900 oil:
John MacWhirter - "The Valley of Slaughter, Skye", 1876 oil:
John Kensett - "On the Hudson", 1855 oil:
A nice walk through the
Montreal Museum of Art:
I was back at my car (which I had parked in the snow down a side-street [SpoptHero does not do Canada]) at 3:30. It got colder on my way to Ottawa:
The LIGHTS WERE ON in downtown Ottawa:
I reached the
National Gallery of Canada at 6 PM. My "timed entry" was for anytime after 5 - The Museum is open until 9 PM on Thursdays, and it is free after 5!
The Parking Garage is directly under The Museum, so I went down, parked, and kicked a TON of snow and ice off the car (including the front grill). I made my way upstairs, and there are a lot of people at The Museum - this is The Happening Place in Ottawa on Thursday Nights!!
Robert S. Duncanson - "Owl's Head Mountain", 1864 oil:
Lucius R. O'Brien - "Sunrise on the Saguenay, Cape Trinity", 1880 oil:
Claude Monet - "Rough Sea", 1881 oil:
And then I saw the Canaletto down the hallway:
Canaletto - "Saint Mark's and the Clock Tower, Venice", c. 1735-37 oil:
Francesco Guardi - "The Church of Santa Maria della Salute, Venice", c. 1780-85 oil:
J.M.W. Turner - "Mercury and Argus", 1836 (1840) oil:
Thomas Cole - "The Tomb of General Brock, near Queenston, Lake Ontario, Upper Canada", 1830 oil:
Claude Monet - "Jean-Pierre Hoschedé and Michel Monet on the Bank of the Epte", c. 1887-90 oil:
Claude Monet - "Waterloo Bridge: Effect of Sunlight in the Fog", 1903 oil:
Vincent van Gogh - "Iris", 1890 oil:
Pablo Picasso - "The Small Table", 1919 oil:
George Braque - "The Glass of Absinthe", c. 1910-11 oil:
VERY COOL SPACES here at the
National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa:
A Great Adventure at the
National Gallery of Canada:
I left there at 7 and got to US Customs at 9:
I checked-in to the Quality Inn in Calcium, NY at 9:30
Thank You God for this GREAT Adventure/Art Day - 606 miles in 15-and-1/2 hours!!
Music for today - I think, for this trip, I will listen to the
physical cds that I have - an interesting bunch of discs I have accumulated over the years:
starting the day with jazz - Joey Calderazzo -
In the Door, 1990 1st solo album
Having played with Michael Brecker and in the Branford Marsalis Quartet, Joey is an Excellent pianist. This first album, however, is full of garbage saxophone playing, vastly over-shadowing the other players (including Calderazzo on piano) [I know - "Branford Marsalis" is on soprano sax, and "Michael Brecker" is on tenor sax, but they still play off-the-rails]. The only good track is #7, which does not have any saxophones.
crossing-my-fingers - Joey Calderazzo -
The Traveler, 1993 3rd album
Excellent album (no saxophones at all - trio with bass and drums).
Paula Abdul -
Shut Up And Dance (The Dance Mixes), 1990
As one Amazon reviewer says - "Who doesn't like Paula Abdul?"
Bryan Adams -
Reckless, 1984
Great rock and roll album, with classic riffs (and Tina Turner sharing vocals on "It's Only Love")
Air Traffic Controller -
The One, 2009 debut album
Wendy and I enjoy Air Traffic Controller, a very good local band best seen in clubs.
The Allman Brothers Band -
Beginnings, 1973 double album
This was actually a repackaging of their first two albums -
The Allman Brothers Band (1969) and
Idlewild South (1970):
What a GREAT BAND!
Bananarama -
Bananarama, 1984 2nd album
Big Head Todd & The Monsters -
Midnight Radio, 1990 2nd album (re-released 1994)
I really like Big Head Todd & The Monsters, and have seen them a few times - the last at the House of Blues on Lansdowne Street in Boston just before COVID hit.
David Bowie -
Let's Dance, 1993
As I have said before, with songs like "Modern Love", "China Girl", "Let's Dance" and "Cat People (Putting Out Fire)", this just might be his best album.
Bright Eyes -
Motion Sickness [Live], 2005 live album
Jackson Browne -
Hold Out, 1980 6th album
Because this album was not in any library in Massachusetts, I asked Ellie for it for a birthday present many years ago.
The Doors -
The Doors, 1967 debut album
The Doors -
Strange Days, 1967 2nd album
Pretty cool driving through the highway-night with The Doors on.
Shameless Plug: if you enjoy this blog, you may like my other one about Hiking the 4,000 footers in New Hampshire/Vermont/Maine/New York:
hyperlink:
dixonheadingnorth
http://dixonheadingnorth.blogspot.com/
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