The Big Apple - June/July 2019

Janet had some serious medical issues and ended up in the hospital in New York.  No sooner had we returned home and started into resettling than we loaded up the car and headed to New York to be with her.  (I am intentionally leaving out the details of her very private medical journey and our involvement).

New York greeted us with a lovely rain.

The brothers and I in the lobby at The Rio

My niece, Julie, came up to be with Janet immediately and when she went home, Rick came up from Savannah to help.  We arrived a few days later.  We certainly got our exercise while Janet was at Weill Cornell, as the hospital was a good mile and a half or two miles each way.  The hospital sits right on the East River, facing Roosevelt Island and the waiting room had a gorgeous view of the river and the barges moving up and down.

Most days the three of us went together to the hospital and sometimes, there were so many other things to attend to, we took turns.  We sometimes went to the roof for happy hour.

We were up 40 some floors and it was a bit scary at times!

I stopped at this church on the way back sometimes and lit a candle for Janetski.

 We met Rick's stepdaughter and family in the theater district for Father's Day for BBQ.

Janet was eventually transferred to Mt. Sinai, where her Orthopedic Surgeon worked.  Mt. Sinai is right on 5th Avenue facing Central Park.

It's been awhile since I have been in a hospital, I guess.  I was surprised  by
the whole team of doctors who wheel their computers around the floor,
discussing various patients' conditions.

Central Park

You can't imagine all the wonderful musicians who
sit down to play in the lobby throughout the day.

And, my goodness, pot is being sold out of campers(?) on Broadway!

Mostly, we were at the hospital, or at Janet's apartment and ordered in.

Boo was not too crazy about New York, as there is so little greenery that
he was forced to do his business on the pavement or on a building!!!
But he did like it when we came home to Janet's to be with him.

We took the fourth of July off to do a tour with Jessie Nelson and her friend, Nicole, who were just starting a touring business, Most Fun Tours, in the East Village.  Jessie put on different outfits for each part of the tour and would just show up-either playing her fiddle or just joining us with stories but always in costumes that she kept in a roll-along suitcase.  Each character had a different outfit and a different personality.  Below are some of the highlights:

Jessie, in character

Jessie, as another character, and Nicole, Jessie's
partner in the business.  

The best ever cannolis at a famous bakery.  At each stop,
Nicole would go into various ethnic restaurants
and regale us with treats!

This time Jessie was a lady doctor, playing the fiddle
to our delight as well as the amazement of other
customers at this Pizzeria.

Jessie and Debbie Damp with us on the road.  We are our
crazy selves and Jessie is Miss Liberty.

There is a fabulous theater in the East Village, where many
famous people have written their names in the cement in front.

Jessie really is multi-talented.

Best friends!

And no blog on Manhattan is complete without a dog walker!

Stopping for a beer and a wine on a very hot day!

You can't tell from the photograph but we are on top of Janet's building again on the Fourth of July.  We saw 360 degrees of fireworks from hundreds of little towns surrounding NYC.

When Janet's insurance pulled the plug at Mt. Sinai for her to move to a sub-acute care facility, we spent days and nights trying to find a decent place for her to go.  She ended up in Valhalla, NY for a little over two weeks.  The only great part of that experience was being able to have visits with Boo.

We hurried home again to Colorado while Janet was rehabbed so that Jim could fly back, pick her up on discharge and bring her to an Assisted Living Facility in Boulder.

About half way-St. Louis, MO

Hays, Kansas:  July 22nd - the 50th Anniversary of our engagement

We had a BBQ picnic to celebrate!  I think we look pretty worn out.
Driving across country isn't the exciting event it used to be!

Post San Carlos - The Road Home

We always feel sad leaving San Carlos.  It was a rather chilly winter (60s!!) and we were just beginning to get into the water and enjoy the warm days at the beach and on the deck.  But, we needed to get on with our life in Colorado.  That always involves about a week of sorting and organizing things, seeing our doctors, etc. and planning for what's next.  (More about that later).

We decided to go home via Phoenix and Winslow, AZ this time to experience something a little different.  Though we'd been to both before, we had never "done" the museums of Phoenix, nor had we stayed in Winslow for more than an hour or so.  Also, we have a good friend from Jim's childhood
who lives in Scottsdale and we were determined to visit with her this time.

Our first stop was The Heard Museum.  The grounds of The Heard are lovely - water features and sculpture gardens welcome you to the galleries and programs celebrating the Native Peoples of the Americas..  There is a shady courtyard with a small gift shop, book store and a cafe where whoever had Boo could sit and enjoy a nice lunch while the other of us toured the museum.

I just loved this exhibit of Navajo textiles.  They were all from the last quarter of the 19th century.  Many were expressions of the hard years after Bosque Redondo when they returned to reservations.  During this time, because there were not many design constraints, weavers had an unprecedented freedom to experiment.

I just loved this sweet picture.

 Another exhibit was The Grand Procession which represented the largest collection of dolls (or soft sculptures).  The Growing Thunder family made these dolls with intricately designed microbeads.  They were extraordinary.  My pictures don't do them justice.

Another fascinating exhibit was this one called "Indigenous Evolution".  It is an art fence which references the land of the Southwest and the organic fences built by Native Americans out of adobe, ocotillo or saguaro cactus.  These are made out of clay and glass.  The artist informs us that it speaks to the endurance of their culture.  It is indicative of leaving stereotypes behind and "enter a world where indigenous people blend the past with the present and firmly establish a limitless future."

We had a lovely lunch in downtown Scottsdale where we sat outside with Boo and then walked the streets where most of the art galleries are located.

Next was the Western Spirit Museum.  This is a grand collection of everything from guns and Native apparel to exhibitions featuring cowboy and Native American culture.  There was a special collection of photographs by Barry Goldwater and Cowboy artist, Will James.  Amazing, too, was Paul Calle's Life of Exploration:  From the Mountains to the Moon.

These bridles and belts, etc. were made by prisoners.

I guess the West spawned a few card sharks!

Very fancy chaps!

 The Western art collection here was wonderful.  A few examples:

Fritz Scholder-one of our favorites

And many other favorites of mine:

Paul Calle

Kathy Hegberg (nee:  Kevan) is the step-daughter of Bob Kevan, Jim's Dad's best friend.  She lives in Basalt, CO most of the time and we never seem to get to that part of the state, so have only seen her 4 or 5 times since we've been out here.  She and her husband bought a winter getaway house in Scottsdale and it is just wonderful!  It is filled with lovely art and happy vibes.  Kathy is an energetic lady who is a fabulous hostess, grilling salmon and mixing a beautiful salad for dinner.  She and we had a grand time sharing memories of younger years.  We were so busy chatting, I didn't think to get a picture of her.  She is quite beautiful!

I adore her entrance.

The plantings are exquisite.

Boo was entranced with the rubber Duckie!  He kept
following it and barking when it moved!

We left Kathy's and hit one more museum before heading north and east.  The Musical Instrument Museum was highly recommended to us by Susan and David and it did not disappoint.  It has instruments, concert footage and special exhibitions:  this one was the electric guitar.  The instruments are organized by regions of the world and as you approach each different area, the music of that region automatically feels your presence and starts playing.  You have to experience this yourself - the pictures just can't tell the story.

Next stop was the infamous Winslow, AZ, made famous by its location along Route 66, the vintage Americana route from east to west.  We stood on the corner made famous by the Eagles' song:

Well I'm runnin' down the road tryin' to loosen my load
I've got seven women on my mind
Four that wanna own me two that wanna
stone me one says she's a friend of mine
Take it easy
Take it easy
Don't let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy
Lighten up while you still can
Don't even try to understand
Just find a place make your stand
Take it easy
Well I'm a standin' on a corner in Winslow, Arizona
Such a fine sight to see
It's a girl my lord in a flatbed
Ford slowin' down to take a look at me
Come on baby
Don't say maybe
I gotta know if your sweet love is gonna save me
We may lose and we may win
Though we will never be here again
So open up I'm climbin' in
Take it easy
Alright

Love!

Hotel Exhibits

We spent the night and half the next day in the La Posada Hotel.  It is one of the famous Fred Harvey hotels which lined the transcontinental highways which followed the Santa Fe Trail.  They sit along the railroads which are still active today.  He opened dining rooms and then hotels and hired men as waiters.  After a bit and some drunken brawls, he and a partner decided to hire women.  For this period, it was very unconventional.  These women were well trained and disciplined and were influential in keeping the drunken brawls to a minimum.  They made $17.50/month with room and board!

The last stop was the Painted Desert, which was just wonderful, as always.

Boo liked it as much as we did!  Wonderful walks!

We had to order a fry bread taco.  

And Colorado, at last!