Driving into the fall colors

When you get behind you get behind and when it's the blog that gets behind, you have to make some drastic decisions. So gone is the Minnesota trip, gone is the Peoria Zoo even though it was impressive, gone is Homecoming at MC, and onward to the Carolinas. It was fall and it was a feast or fest of color as we cruised down through Indiana and Kentucky and Tennessee.



We stopped in Greer, SC to visit friends




Carl Sandburg's farm is in Flat Rock near Greer and we stopped on a gorgeous morning.


More pics of the Sandburg farm and the road to Greer on my Flickr site. http://www.flickr.com/photos/83918664@N00/sets/  

More Berkshire favorites

In trying to catch up from the late summer we will just have to consolidate a few things. A lot of delights that went on before, after, or in the middle of our Road Scholar (Elderhostel) programs will just plain have to be thrown into a basket. It's hard, as one looks back, to pick the best of the little sidetrips, but our drive to the top of Mount Greylock, the highest point in Massachusetts, stands out. Also high on the list were the homes of Edith Wharton(The Mount) and Herman Melville(Arrowhead). Mention should also be made of Keene, NH, Shelburne Falls( The Bridge of Flowers), and the Hancock Shaker Village. If you would like some additional pictures of each of these, you can go to my Flickr photstream and browse through the various sets available there.




One of my favorite shots of the summer outside of Keene, NH



Also from Keene, NH

 

Melville's farm home called Arrowhead




Edith Wharton's The Mount



Here's Jan on the Bridge of Flowers in Shelburne Falls



The famous Round Barn at the Hancock Shaker Village



Another favorite of the summer  from the top of Mount Greylock



More Road Scholar Fine Art in the Berkshires

The second week of our Road Scholar program was titled "Tanglewood, Theatre, and Jacob's Pillow Dance."
We moved our domicile from Williamstown to Pittsfield just a few miles down the road where we were sheltered at the Crowne Plaza hotel in the center of town.  We visited Shakespeare and Company again, saw a dance performance at Jacob's Pillow, and saw a rehearsal and a performance at Tanglewood. 

Road Scholar Group enjoys the outdoor preview before a performance at Shakespeare and Company.



Here we are at Jacobs Pillow heading down for the afternoon free performance


Our classroom presentations always had vigorous participation.

Off to Tanglewood with our group.

The crowd gathers around the shed.

And here is the symbolic old Tanglewood Oak itself

This was a particularly fine week for content with strong lecturers on both music and theatre plus the total delight of having Martin Bookspan hit the nostalgia train with his recollections of over fifty years around the Boston Symphony.

Summer Theatre in the Berkshires as an Elderhostel (Road Scholar}

Our first Elderhostel cum Exploritas cum Road Scholar program in July/August took us to various summer theatres in the Berkshires.  We stayed at the Williams Inn, Williamstown MA and were literally in the heart of the Williams College campus.  The picture below shows the front of the Williams College Theatre where we saw a marvelous production of Thornton Wilder's OUR TOWN.

We saw plays at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, The Bershire Theatre Festival, Shakespeare and Company, and the Barrington Stage Company.

Within easy walking distance of our motel were the fine Williams College Art gallery and the presdigious Clark Art Institute--both of which we visited.  Strolling the campus was a particular delight. Our favorite spot was the Williams College Art gallery.  It had some more Sol Lewitt panels, a good historical collection, and a huge inflated great white whale that occupied an entire room.  The whale was in homage to Herman Melville whose home is not far away. 

Eye Sculpture outside the Williams College Art Gallery

Flower that caught my eye on the campus

Road Scholar presentation by Staff member at Williamstown Theatre Festival

Another part of our program was a visit to the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. The main exhibit was the extraordinary "Picaso Looks at Degas," but the Stone Hill Center--a short walk up a hill near the main museum complex--was just as fascinating because of the views and outdoor figures of Juan Munoz.  See the pics below.



Some Road Scholars entering Stone Hill Center at the Clark




Entrance to the featured exhibit in the main museum 




Munoz figures with Mt. Greylock in background





MASS MoCA is not a coffee!

MASS MoCA sounded like it should be something served at Starbucks, but it turned out to be an acronym for the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams, MA..  Our Road Scholar (Elderhostel, Exploritas)  arts tour this past summer visited and we were fascinated by the way in which an abandoned 19th century mill complex has been turned into a state of the art museum with ample space for the kind of large scale paintings and installations that so many current artists seem to favor.




A large collection of Sol Lewitt wall drawings is a major feature of the museum.



Their color and pattern delights old and young.

Also on view a series of installations--some of which can literally be walked through. This one is called "Breathing Room" by Dan Steinhilber

Another impressive item is in a football field sized gallery and titled  "Gravity is a force to be reckoned with" by Inigo Manglano-Ovalle

Where have you been Jimmy boy?

Well,  been running around the country and then just been lazy.  Not sure whether that is good or bad, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it Wikileaks or no Wikileaks.

Where did we run to?  All the way back to the end of July and into August we did a Road Scholar (Elderhostel) double trip to the Berkshires that included a stop at  Niagara Falls and then two weeks in New Hampshire  and the Williamstown, MA area.  Then it was home to Monmouth for a couple of months. A bit later (i.e. the end of October)  it was in the car again for the Carolinas.  A stop in Greer to visit friends, then three days sightseeing in Charleston, then on to my sister's in Fort Mill SC.  Finally home again to stay until after Christmas. 

On top of Old Mt. Greylock highest point in Massachusetts

Warren County Carvers Visiting OFTA

On Wednesday, October 13th the Warren County Carvers will be doing a program for OFTA (Old Friends Talk Arts) at the Buchanan Center in downtown Monmouth, IL.  The meeting will start at 10:00 AM and last for an hour. Refreshments will be served and there is no admission charge.  The carvers are an informal group and get together once a week to practice their art and share their knowledge with each other.  As you can see from the pictures below, they seem to be having a lot of fun. 

 

To learn more put Oct. 13th on your calendar and join us at the Buchanan Center for the Arts.