A One Day Vacation in Roswell

It's no secret that we LOVE Roswell. That's been well documented here on previous trips. Last night Rich found the most incredible radio station, you can stream it online at http://www.q971fm.com We stayed up so late reading, singing along (me), and talking while listening to the great music selection of old hits. We love the museums, the restaurants, the UFO kitsch, the shopping, and lots of other activities in Roswell. Something about the place, we always have such relaxed fun while here.

Of course we always visit the Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art, our favorite small art museum and we have seen a few on our travels. I've posted favorite works here before so took broader shots for you today.

See why we love this museum? For grins I'm going to also post a few special pieces...

This is a new piece titled "V-8 Hot Tub". The V-8 engine being fueled by gasoline from the military-style gas can to warm and pulse the water entering the tub, which is missing one leg so is supported by a concrete block. Totally amusing; we loved it!

I've never posted this piece in its entirety but any of you who have used the guest bath in our home within the past year will surely recognize one section of it!

This one had me laughing out loud. It's a hug pile of polyester-filled felt tubes. Here's part of the description on the artist card, "It is about materializing the...physical digestion...that make[s] up the cycles of daily life." Have you figured it out? It cracked me up wondering if Bella was trying to create a work of art by digesting all that "stuff" of her daily life.

From there we did a little shopping, then ate at what might be our favorite smoked meats restaurant, the Rib Cage. Yummm...they know how to do meat! I didn't even pick up my camera when the plates were set before us. I did take a photo of this though. Rich uses that phrase "Pie-Hole" so it was funny to see it on a table menu. That Blackberry Cobbler was delish too!

What would any visit to Roswell be without a few photos of the aforementioned UFO kitsch?

Lights along Main Street

We're out of here at the break of dawn tomorrow morning for the next to last day of travel...

Good night all!

Lovin' Life ~~ And Light Days of Laughter with MOAO

"After Two Days, In the Desert Sun"

We took the day off to enjoy a couple of places in Amarillo on Sunday. We got in so late the night before that the office was closed. These guys were there to greet me though when we stopped to check in at the night register. This is the coolest art we've seen at any KOA, and we've stayed at a lot of them!

Speaking of art...even though we passed on through Roswell, NM without stopping at one of our favorite art museums, our visit to the Amarillo Museum of Art certainly made up for it!

There was a temporary exhibit of art "Featuring New Work by the Panhandle's Young and Emerging Artists" including those from West Texas A&M that included some fabulous pieces...some were simply fun; some were breathtakingly beautiful. Here are a few of our favorites with the name of the piece captioned.

Revealing the Beauty Within

Choking Hazard

Pyrographic!

Current C

Androgyny

Generational Gap

The Warmth of Wisdom

In addition to the incredible variety of talent in the temporary exhibit, the Price Gallery of Asian Art contains priceless pieces such as this...

I sat in front of Buddha for some time wondering about its creation and life and how I came to be in his presence at this particular time. Humbling.

Also in the museum's permanent collection is this enormous painting that draws you in to the museum reception depicted, as though you too were an attendee.

Museum

There were also two or three paintings by the artist who created this...

Crazy Mountain Horses #2

Finding small museums with such treasures is pure bliss.

Now for the contrast that is so often a part of our days. For dinner we went to the

World Famous Big Texan Steak Ranch 

If you can eat a 72 ounce steak, baked potato, salad, and shrimp cocktail within an hour, your meal is free. Many have tried; a few have even succeeded!

You know how you place your tongue firmly in your cheek and think, "WTH, let's give it a try"? Well let me tell you, the food here is great! It is served in this dining room...

I would love to find me some cowhide patterned oil cloth for my table! The chili was delicious and loaded with beef...although the appearance of the cornbread was far superior to the taste...giggle!

Both of our steaks were of the best quality and perfectly prepared...

Rich just ate the last of his 24 ounce steak for dinner tonight and commented again that we will definitely eat there the next time we're in Amarillo.

Lovin' Life ~~ Continuing This Journey

Lafayette, LA to San Antonio, TX

We drove 400 miles today, 100 in Louisiana and 300 in Texas, which means we only have another 580 miles of Texas to drive before getting into New Mexico...zzzzz  I know it's boring, I was there. Other than several rivers, there was not much to photograph but I do have a couple of things to share.

This is the Calcasieu River Bridge at Lake Charles, LA which was built in 1952. Do you see what's so cool about this bridge?

Spanning 1.3 miles and packing 10,572 guns, the Calcasieu River bridge is a noteworthy landmark for travelers along Interstate 10. The “guns” are actually likenesses of dueling pistols, pairs of them, crossed at the barrels and forming part of the support for the iron hand rails lining the sides of the bridge. [source: unknown]  The dueling pistols are unique and historical...way cool! That old railroad bridge is pretty cool too.

We stopped at the Visitors' Center just after entering Texas. I can never remember the six nations' flags that have flown over Texas throughout its history, can you?

Are you wondering what in the world this is? It was taken moments after these two pulled a Thelma and Louise on our windshield! As I clicked the shutter Rich asked, "Are you really taking pictures of those dead flies?" like he's new here...giggle!

This, my friends, is Houston, TX.

Simply an interesting sculpture in Houston.

Look! This is a three-wheeled dump truck.

Is it obvious that there wasn't much to see today?

When I was checking us in at the San Antonio RV Park where we stayed last time we were here, they mentioned a new amenity which we took advantage of after getting settled. I called the office to place our order and they delivered a fresh, hot pizza to our door. Now that's service!

Lovin' Life ~~ Ready for a Break in San Antonio

Art in Jacksonville, FL

Because today was windy, gray, misty, and the temp never eked past 60, the original plan of visiting a museum and laying in supplies, for our drive west tomorrow, fit the weather perfectly.

We had to park a couple of blocks away from the museum and, with our finely tuned ability to stumble perfectly, the walk brought us to this side of the Jacksonville, FL Public Library. Do you see it?

Take a closer look. I now have another favorite sculpture. What could be a more perfect illustration of the fact that books are the key to wisdom? The sculptor was Larry Kirkland; this bronze sculpture is actually named "Wisdom" and stands 25 feet tall. The key is another 9 feet tall. I love this!

The museum we were planning to visit is past the Library in the same block, the Museum of Contemporary Art.

I take particular joy in seeing large and/or bizarre installation art and sculpture so this museum was slightly disappointing, but only in that respect. Even though the galleries primarily contained contemporary paintings, there were many wonderful pieces. Among my favorites were several works in the UNF Art & Design Faculty Exhibition and a series of celebrity photos by Andy Warhol in the Art of the 1980s Exhibition. Good stuff...

Walking to the museum, the music of this street pianist filled the air and gave these downtown blocks an ambiance, a personality. I don't recall ever seeing anyone playing piano on the street; he is incredibly talented.

We allowed plenty of parking meter time to check out this bookstore on the way back to our car. We both LOVE independent bookstores, especially those that are filled to the brim with mostly used books. On the second floor I found exactly what I was looking for, plus two of course!

In a FB discussion about books last night, a friend of a friend was recommending The Song of the Lark and I had intended to read Willa Cather for years. Rich didn't leave there empty-handed either! I'm not aware of any stores like this in our area but we frequently saw them in the northeast last summer. Like I mentioned to the cashier, we have to set a self-imposed time limit for shopping in bookstores, especially with the space limitations of the motorhome!

When we drove through Jacksonville yesterday on our way to St. Augustine we saw the Duval County Courthouse; today I was able to get this shot of the entrance with its large American Flag. The building is huge and the exterior design emphatically states, "Courthouse!"

And that was our day of art...sculptures, paintings, photographs, music, books, and architecture. Art enhances so many aspects of our life and we will long remember this day.

Lovin' Life ~~ Lovin' Art

Tea Plantation and Goodbyes

After seeing a brochure for this, we couldn't leave without visiting the Charleston Tea Plantation since this is the only grower of tea in North America. When something is one-of-a-kind and we are close, we rarely pass up the opportunity to check it out.

The drive to Wadmalaw Island was lovely. It is a rural agricultural community so little traffic and very peaceful as we drove under heavy tree canopy most of the way.

If you go, know that the sign at the entrance is hard to see. We nearly missed it. This sign is on the grounds after you park.

We arrived about twenty minutes before they opened. I know! It is very rare for us to be somewhere before opening...okay...yeah...they opened at noon today. Still, we were on the first trolley tour of the day. Isn't this a cool trolley? It was used in Philadelphia's trolley system for many years before it was retired and the plantation's owner purchased it on E-Bay.

As the trolley left the Visitor Center, it passed under these Live Oak trees. These large, long branches curved into an arch high enough to allow passage of a tall vehicle...these trees are mystical, magical, magnificent!

This is a field of tea plants. They look like hedges because they are "trimmed" when harvesting the leaves. Note the narrow rows between each "hedge".

This is the best shot I could get of a tea blossom since the plants are resting for the winter and will bloom again in spring. Note the straight cut across the tips of two leaves near the top of the photo.

This my friends is a tea leaf harvester and it works like a giant lawnmower, cutting off the leaves that rise more than 40 inches above the ground. There is no other machine like this one; it was built especially for this purpose. Driving down the narrow rows between sections, the leaves are cut, blown into a catcher and then dumped into the bed of a pickup truck when full.

We also toured the facility that turns those leaves into the three kinds of tea: green, black, and Oolong. Take time to visit if you are in the area!

By then we were hungry so we drove back into the city for dinner. We decided on TBonz which is directly across the street from Historic City Market.

A replica of the Statue of Liberty covered in small mosaic tiles greets you  as you enter. It is quite a work of art; I would love to have it in my house.

Speaking of art. We like fun art; absurd art; unique, even irreverent art. Our taste is unpredictable but oddly enough we are both usually drawn to the same things, except for contemporary installation art which I love and Rich loves to deride! Anyway, TBonz displays the following paintings. They are replicas of very famous paintings with a twist in line with the restaurant's name...the bovine twist. Can you name the original paintings and/or the artist? Check back on Wednesday or Thursday if you are interested and I will update this post with that information.

Rich says that when you see a beer with a name like this on the menu, you must order it. Can you read the tag line under the name? It says "YOU'RE NOT WORTHY" and the back label continues the theme...too funny!

And now the lasts...this was my last meal in Charleston...the best chopped Cobb Salad I've ever eaten. Rich had a steak that he said was perfect. I am so glad that we picked such a fun place with delicious food for our last evening. Really, you must go to Magnolias and TBonz to eat if you're in Charleston.

Our last drive down to the Battery and back up on East Bay Street

 Our last drive down Market Street

Our last drive into our RV Park. This is a home inside the park and this RV park is loaded with huge Live Oak trees similar to this one.

This was my seventh visit to this fabulous city. There is so much in this area to see and do and EAT...giggle! I hope we come back. We stayed days longer than originally planned and agree that there are many more things we would like to do here. So...next time!

Lovin' Life ~~ Leavin' Charleston