City Series:Dallas: George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum

Some experiences are a little too big for a blog...do you know what I mean?  I have been mulling this over for a week now and will do my best to give you a concise and meaningful description of my visit to the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum.  

First of all, I loved every minute of my visit. I was invited to tour the museum and have lunch at Cafe 43 by my friend, Carol, who I met back in 2009 in the Patricia Wells' cooking class in Paris.  We have stayed in touch and I have been trying to get to Dallas to see her for ages.

We met here on the plaza, went through security and then started to make our way through the museum.  In the area called Freedom Hall, you can see beautiful gifts given to the Bushes by American citizens and Foreign Heads of State during his presidency.  A giant IMAx-style 360 video plays along the second story of Freedom Hall.  Vistas of the American Plains, citizens living out their lives in our great country moves into images of the U.S. Presidents.  It is mesmerizing.

This museum is beautiful - full of photos, artifacts, video and hand-written notes commemorating George W. Bush's Presidency. I remember watching the dedication ceremony on the news (the five living Presidents of the United States were there!) and I was so happy to be able to visit less than a year after it opened.  

We had about an hour and a half to walk through the museum before our lunch reservation and we paused to take pictures and read the signs and documentation whenever something caught our eye.

Any interested visitor could spend hours reading and reflecting on the quotes and images related to George W. Bush's presidency.  It was hard to pick and choose which exhibits I should give more attention to.  That is until I rounded the corner and saw the actual twisted steel beams from the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center on display.  I caught my breathe, tried to articulate how I felt and started crying.  Yes, old friend that I haven't seen in 5 years, I am crying in the middle of the day in the middle of a museum.

Thankfully, Carol understood my feelings completely and suggested that we sit and watch the video presentation for a while, Kleenex in hand.  It was just the time I needed to compose myself.  The beams are huge and ruined and the fact that they were there effected me in a way that I hadn't expected.

The museum was fairly busy, but not so crowded that we didn't have a chance to take photographs without strangers walking into the frame.  Look at my pristine photo of the Oval Office as it was decorated during the Bush Presidency.  

Carol asked if I wanted to have my photo taken behind the desk.  A line was forming for those that were interested and we both decided that it would be a fun memento from our day.

Afterwards, we went out into the beautiful Texas sunshine (did I mention that the George W. Bush Presidential Museum and Library are on the grounds of Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas?) and walked around the Texas Rose Garden.

There are no roses blooming in January, of course, but we noticed some of the native grasses and plantings and were happy to spend a little time out in the fresh air. 

This was my first visit to a Presidential museum and I highly recommend that you visit this magnificent tribute.  Tomorrow I will tell you all about lunch at Cafe 43.

Richmond: Welcome Home

I think I would have an overwhelming sense of community, of belonging, if I walked out of my house every morning and could see this endless view of historic porches.  And the crisp American flag down the way clinches it.  This is a street that is proud to welcome you.

My dear friends have bought themselves a historic house in Richmond, Virginia and they are in love.  With each other, of course, but also with this little piece of Americana.

 

I was thrilled to "get a tour" of the house and admire the fresh paint, original fireplaces and all the touches they have done to make a house a home.  This little beauty will be 100 years old next year and she is darn lucky to have such devoted owners.  After a century of families, friends and folks living here, I can only imagine what she would say "if walls could talk" but I'm pretty sure it would be...Welcome Home. 

City Series, Williamsburg: Governor's Palace

Behold the Governor's Palace in Colonial Williamsburg.  I have always wanted to visit historic Williamsburg and this year I finally had my chance.  We were invited to visit our friends, Kerry and Paul, in Richmond, Virginia.  Knowing me so well, Kerry built a day trip to Williamsburg into our weekend together.  Yea!

I've been drawn to the design/style/mood of Williamsburg for years and can't remember a time I didn't pour over the Williamsburg Marketplace catalog admiring all of the formal decorating pieces, brass trivets and fresh fruit decorations (You can download fruit cone instructions here).

My house is brick and a few years ago I even bought an over-the-door ornament that is a large half circle of wood that comes studded with nails.  When the mood strikes, I have a Colonial-inspired Christmas and cover the base with a fresh pineapple surrounded by apples and lemons hanging over my front door.  It looks beautiful, but I must admit that sometimes my guests get drops of juice in their hair as they cross the thresh hold.  How did they prevent that in Colonial times?   Even so, I love it and I decorate the arch over the front door that way every few years.

 

We decided to wait in line to see the Governor's Palace and had a wonderful experience taking a 30 minute group tour.  A costumed docent narrated the life and times of the house and really brought "an afternoon at the palace" to life.  You can read all about the palace in a wonderful spotlight here.  Afterward we wandered the garden, admiring the sculpted hedges and marvelous "living" pergola constructed over a path from a double row of trees.  I wish I could identify the tree from the leaf! Can you?

The front entry hall is loaded with weapons as show of military strength.  

A dreamy white bed in the Governor's Palace.

Mount Vernon - Wow

Virginia is on my mind.  I have booked a trip to visit friends in Richmond this Spring and doing so has me recalling a glorious day trip to Mount Vernon, George Washington's home.   

When I was there in 2009, I blogged about it here (3 posts will appear when you click).  The photos and musings were from outside Mount Vernon, because photography is not allowed indoors to protect the antiques.

I was able to take this photo of the kitchen (see it here on the estate map) because in those days kitchen were built in separate buildings to protect the main house from kitchen fires.

Have you ever been to Mount Vernon?  What made me say Wow! in my blog title is the improvements to their new website.  Now anyone can "visit" Mount Vernon and take a virtual tour!  It is fantastic.  I want you to click the links and tour 2 specific areas: the small dining room on the first floor and the cupola on the third floor.

Okay, first I wanted to show you the small dining room with the striking green paint.  Can't you see yourself eating a roast beef and potatoes in here?  "Please pass the gravy, Mr. President."

The other must-see area is on the top floor - you can see the 360 degree view from the rooftop cupola.  Why, yes, that is the Potomac!  It boggles the mind that you can "see" the view exactly as George Washington could see it.  Well, the trees are taller, but still. Beautiful. 

Click around this exceptional feature and see for yourself.  Enjoy!

Antique Roses

I think the idea of antique roses is so romantic!  This cluster is part of a small hedge that my mom estimates to be almost 100 years old.  We have some old photos of the cottage (built in 1925) and I think I have seen these roses in it!

It seems silly, but ever Summer when they bloom we rejoice that they have lived another year.  We don't really tend them - a little dead heading now and then and some fertilizer, but that's all.  And they are strong and as healthy as if we just put them in.  Love it!

Do you have any plants (or sentimental trees) that have graced your property for a long time?  Doesn't it feel good to know that they will probably be there long after we're gone? 

I tell you, Mother Nature knows what she's doing. 

Lakeside Ohio

Earlier this Summer, I had the opportunity to spend the afternoon at a Chautauqua in Ohio.

Lakeside is known as the "Chautauqua on Lake Erie" and is a lovely community where families (and guests) can come together over the Summer.

The Lakeside website is proud that, "Since 1873, Lakeside has provided a Chautauqua summer experience dedicated to spiritual growth and renewal, educational and cultural enrichment and recreational pursuits."

To enter the community, you must check in at the visitor center and purchase a day pass. At that time I asked the woman at guest services to recommend a nice place for lunch, "somewhere I would take my Mother-In-Law." She thought that was a funny way to describe a lunch spot, but said she knew exactly what I meant and sent me to The Hotel Lakeside.

I had a quiet table for one at the window (with this view) overlooking Lake Erie. You can see the fountain, the stack of white hulls from the sailboat fleet and the swim pier beyond. What a nice place to spend a Summer vacation with kids. The whole atmosphere reminded me of the movie, Dirty Dancing.

After a nice lunch, I started chatting with the hotel receptionist and got quite a history lesson. Built in 1875, the hotel was celebrating its 135th anniversary this year! Some of the hotel's famous guests have been Rutherford B. Hayes (our 19th President), First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and Amelia Erhart. If they visited on a gorgeous Summer day like I did, I bet they just loved it.

Fort McHenry

When we were in Maryland, we had a day to fill before our night flight back to Detroit. A day trip to Fort McHenry seemed like the perfect activity and on a clear day like this, the chance to photograph an historic fort was irresistible.

Fort McHenry is the birthplace of our National Anthem. Francis Scott Key was inspired after witnessing the British attack on Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore in 1814. When he saw the American flag still flying over the fort the next morning "in the dawn's early light."

I thought it was neat when I heard that each May, three to four thousand school children re-create a "Living American Flag" at the fort by standing in a particular spot in either red, white or blue shirts. From above, it makes a giant flag of stars and stripes. Cute! (Click this link to see an example!)

I hope you are having a wonderful holiday weekend.

National Archives: Original Documents on Display

When I entered the National Archives in Washington, D.C., I was ready for a swell of patriotism. My husband and I have been watching a HBO mini-series called "John Adams" and I felt fluent in the names, philosophies and effort that went into drafting our Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights. My middle/high school did not have a class trip to our nation's capital (as my nieces & nephews do) so this was my first chance to see the documents in person. I got a kick out of seeing John Hancock's John Hancock (supposedly written big enough for the King of England to see it) and finding John Adams' signature among his peers. It took a while to get through the queue, but it was worth it.

What I didn't expect to see, were paper artifacts related to favorite books from my childhood. I glanced in one glass case and saw a homestead document for Charles Ingalls' purchase of land in 1886. Charles Ingalls (father of author, Laura Ingalls Wilder) was the inspiration for the character we know as "Pa" in the beloved Little House on the Prairie series. Isn't that neat? A piece of paper that showed that there really was a "Little House in the Big Woods." Love it!

Delightful Tour of Washington

I am just back from an incredible trip to Washington, D.C.

Over the next few days, I will take you:

To Hillwood (the grand estate of cereal heiress, Marjorie Merriweather Post) where I saw my first Faberge egg!

To the National Archives to see John Hancock's John Hancock

and to the inspirational gardens of Washington National Cathedral.

Join me?