Sunday, July 31, 2011

New England Trek, Part II: Connecticut

Hamden, Connecticut: Home of my dear friend and former mission companion, Ashlee Ard, and her sweet little family, including husband Jason, adorable daughter Lily, and her mom was in town for a few weeks to visit them.

Though my visit was short (probably a grand total of about 36 hours), it was wonderful to get to see Ashlee again, and especially to meet these other people who mean so much to her.

While there, we did manage to pack in a couple of adventures:
Here is the charming French bistro/used bookstore where we had a delicious lunch! (Sadly, I cannot remember the name of the place, but it was fantastic!)


A view of the heavy rain outside while sitting inside, eating lunch.

After a tasty meal (which included some delicious iced hot chocolate!), we headed to an art museum that featured American art. Here are some of my favorites from that excursion:



An amazing glass chandelier sculpture by Dale Chihuly--I especially loved the intensity of the blue!



This was an incredible, wonderfully colorful wall sculpture made of plastic cups! And can you see the Chihuly peeking out in the corner there?
(I sadly cannot recall the name of this artist...)


Colorado Waterfalls, by Albert Bierstadt



Return of the Gods, by Thomas McKnight
(This picture doesn't really do it justice...)



This is a Jackson Pollack I can actually get behind. It was surprisingly tiny, and I just like the form and color better than what I've seen of his other work. (To be fair, I haven't seen any of his other stuff in real life, and I'm told the size is what makes his slopped-paint works so impressive...).
It was also interesting to learn that Pollack worked closely with famed Missourian painter, Thomas Hart Benton, and even babysat for him on occasion. This painting, called T.P.'s Boat in Menemsha Pond, was actually painted for Benton's son, Thomas P. Benton.

There were also several wonderful Thomas Hart Benton murals in the gallery, too large to really capture with my camera (which is why they are unpictured here). All in all, it was a delightful artistic experience for all of us (including Lily, who behaved wonderfully the entire time we were there...)


And finally, here I am (on the right, obviously), pictured with my wonderful, amazing friend, Ashlee, and her beautiful daughter.

Thanks, dear lady, for such a magnificent day!



(Next week: New England Trek, Part III: Rhode Island Tidbits)

2 comments:

Amy said...

FUN to see you two hermanas together! FUN to get to visit New England. I've never been and would love to go, especially DC. We're dying to go. FUN for your new adventure in Syracuse. I bet you'll find lots of blessings there!

Ashlee said...

Hooray! I was waiting for this post! Have you moved to Syracuse yet? I need to check how close that is to me...probably not very...
Le Petit Gourmet...that is the name of the place. And it couldn't have been more serendipitous for us. We tried going again on a Monday after you left and we learned that it is only open Wed. through Sun! Such sweet memories!