A Mid-Globetrotting Update

Greetings, friends!

Thought I'd pop in and send a few photos your way. In addition to "the move," we're looking a lot of travel in our immediate future (and immediate past). Krystal had to travel to Pennsylvania the last week of April for the annual meeting of a board on which she serves, so I tagged along for the trip. 

We spent a couple days in Philadelphia catching the sights (historical and otherwise) and practicing for our upcoming European backpacking trip (what, I haven't mentioned that yet?) with efficient packing and hostel accommodations. As someone who has always been an automobile traveler (me), this was a great dry run on which to learn "Yes, you definitely need to bring this" and "No, you definitely don't need to bring that" and "Why is Luke's backpack smaller and lighter than Krystal's? That doesn't seem fair!" So, obviously a lot going on there.  Oh, look - pictures!

Independence Hall. Quite impressive from down the green.

Liberty Bell/Independence Hall.

Found Ben Franklin's privy. Definitely not the most fascinating part of the Ben Franklin houses area, but still seemed like we ought to snag a photo of that one. 

We managed to coordinate our visit to coincide with the Philadelphia Museum of Art's Wednesday night "pay what you want" special. The Museum stayed open until 9 and attracted a diverse crowd and many families with kids for whom the $20 tickets might otherwise have been prohibitive, while also offering special activities for children of all ages, free guided tours, and yoga in the galleria staircase, just to mention a few things. It was great fun and a good warm-up for all the museum-ing we'll be tackling in Europe (have I mentioned that trip yet?).  But anyway, saw some great art by great artists and very excited to see even more.

They had really quite a tremendous collection of Picasso's works.

Also tremendous: a collection of Brancusi sculptures, this representing about 1/3 of the collection. Absolutely beautiful lines, movement, form, and texture. 

Found some pottery in the American gallery. Something art nouveau-y. Beautiful greens.

Found this Qing Dynasty porcelain jar in one of the roccoco period rooms. More beautiful greens. 

Despite her pacifistic leanings, the gallery of medieval arms and armor was Krystal's favorite. That or Renoir. So, you know, those are obvious pairings.

Finished our days in Philadelphia with tours of the Independence Hall complex. While Independence Hall was nifty (you know, famous history, the actual chair where George Washington sat as president of the Continental Congress, whatever...) it didn't come off as nearly as impressive as our experience of Congress Hall which was home to the first sitting congress of the United States of America. So that was pretty neat.

The first US House Chamber.

The first US Senate Chamber.

 We then spent a couple days just outside of Philadelphia at Pendle Hill, a charming Quaker retreat center, for Krystal's board meeting. I made it a point to have my own retreat for the days spent there as well, and was pleased to discover a full pottery studio in their craft room. I spent an afternoon throwing some pots and enjoying some great conversation with some of the resident students on campus, and left three pieces to be fired and glazed at their discretion. Was a refreshing time after having packed my studio up for the move.

Three pieces to stay behind at Pendle Hill.

When I wasn't throwing pots and being contemplative at my leisure, I was instructed to put some effort into itinerizing our time overseas. So I did spend a lot of time doing stuff that looked like this.

After almost a week on the east coast it was time to return and deal with real life stuff. Like loading a moving truck. That was a chore, but we have wonderful friends who made it possible and not miserable.

See all those blue bins? Those are pots YOU didn't buy, so I had to move them. Ugh.

Now all our earthly belongs are in storage and we're taking a spell off from the real world to do some globetrotting (specifically, abroad).  One week from today we'll be on our way across the pond to spend roughly five weeks hiking and train-ing our way across the continent. Should have some great stories to share when we return. 

Take care!