Spent a five day "weekend" in the Hudson River Valley, exploring and enjoying the natural beauty of the region and the art and culture that was inspired by that beauty. The Hudson River flows for about 300 miles / 500 km from northern New York state south through Albany and then on to the mouth at New York City. In the early 1800's, while the American northeast was rapidly becoming industrialized and polluted, a group of artists was captivated by the river valley and the low mountains around it (the Catskills and the Adirondacks). Led especially by Thomas Cole and Frederic Church, these painters tried to capture the magnificence of the area in their art. They hoped to share the beauty with people who couldn't see this area themselves, and they hoped to inspire a movement to preserve and protect wild areas like this. For the better part of a century, they enjoyed considerable success and influence, forming the first real school of American Art, now referred ...
We had a wonderful visit to Central California on the occasion of Maia Bickert and Eric Guetter's wedding. In addition to attending their fabulous and fun weekend at Lake Tahoe, we traveled through the region for a couple of weeks. We visited places like Yosemite, San Francisco, Point Reyes, and Monterey; we started and ended the trip in Sacramento. The whole trip was great, with only minor mishaps, mostly fine weather, lots of amazing places, and plenty of fun people along the way! Sacramento We started off in Sacramento, California's capital, where it was super hot, like 100 degrees F / 35C! We arrived just as a "heat dome" was settling in over the Sacramento Valley. Regardless, we spent our first day exploring the city on foot and by car, visiting places like the city and state governmental buildings, a couple of cathedrals, the main city library, a few theatres and the fabulous ...