End of the Re-Discovery Tour – Days 11-14

If you’ve stayed with me through the final days of my self-discovery tour, I applaud you and thank you. The circuit of New England was as rewarding as I had hoped it would be, and the summer foliage was spectacular. Let’s take a moment to appreciate it in all it’s glory. Excusing the vacuousness of the following, I realized on this trip just how much trees matter to me. As an urban dweller with little direct exposure to the forestry of Connecticut, New York, and even Washington, D.C., this trip took me right back to my youthful appreciation of verdure – as a kid, I could be found quite happily under the safe, enveloping canopy of a tree.

I don’t much care for the bugs back east, skeeters, ticks, flies, but in addition to loaning me couches, my friends loaned me the fashionable mosquito net for over the head. What an ingenious device.

After leaving New Hampshire, I toodled back down to visit my friend Bob, after another overnight stop in New Milford with David and Ando. We had much good food from the communal fridge at the AirBnB, and with the fresh rhubarb that Edie had provided, Ando and I were able to make two rhubarb pies during my stay at David’s. Who knew people were so enamored of rhubarb? I did not. And yet, in retrospect, I see the appeal.

After another restful night, I headed west toward Bob’s, and spent the next two days with him and beautiful Layla; along with his friends, we had a healthy supper of roasted vegetables and rhubarb pie.

The next morning, after walking around the lake, we took a drive to Storm King Art Center in The Hudson Valley. Loading the Bloomberg Connects App onto our phones enabled us to track our progress around the huge property, visiting the sculptures in their bucolic locations. Witty earthworks by Andy Goldsworthy, and the gorgeous Fallen Sky by Sarah Sze dotted the 500 acre property. We had evaluated the map and identified the quadrant we would visit, but then started wandering like drunk giants on an easter egg hunt, and by the end of the day, between our morning walk and the traipse through the Storm King, had clocked 7 miles. Oofa. It was fantastic. Rarely have I been happier. Here are some of our pictures (some of which will take you to descriptions if you click on the captions). I would love to go back. I got lost for hours in the website which is as beguiling as the vast acreage of land on which the collection sits.

Thursday morning, I rolled out of Carmel to drive to Washington, D.C., where I would end my visit with a few days with my Dad, appropriately coinciding with Father’s Day. My drive strove to avoid the collapsed section of the I-95S near Philadelphia, so I meandered through Pennsylvania, arriving in D.C. by late afternoon. I was accompanied by the fascinating story Allison Pataki had woven about Marjorie Merriweather Post’s life, in the audible book I was listening to along the way: The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post. (highly recommend and thank you, Kim, for the rec). We had a lovely few days, and my timing coincided with the memorial for our dear family friend, Don Freedheim, whose sister Joan was once my stepmother. It was a beautiful memorial for a truly special human being. There could be no greater tribute than the thoughtful, stirring words of his children and grandchildren, as they each remembered him for the hundred or so guests gathered with songs and written tributes. Gorgeous. Don was one of the truly extraordinary people I’ve had the privilege to meet. As so many people commented at the memorial, he listened so closely, and went out of his way to make you feel that you were heard and understood. He gave unflinchingly to his family and friends, and to his final community at the Jefferson where he lived the last several years. I was so happy to be present to witness his send off.

Before I knew it, two weeks had passed on my discovery tour and I was on my way home via Houston.

My favorite new travel game is to text my hockey coach son with a picture of an airport and ask him to identify it. He hasn’t missed one yet.

Home again, in time to attend the Keith Haring exhibit at The Broad Museum. And to continue treasuring my travels and visits with old friends and family. Thanks for going on the road with me!