When in Roam

Grew up in Western New York State, Tonawanda ( a suburb of Buffalo) to be exact...been around since 1836. Wolf Blitzer, journalist & author went to a local high school there- Kenmore West High School. I went to Kenmore East...Tonawanda means -land by swift water-I guess the Niagara River that flows near it. Tonawanda also means - great food🍗🍺🍦🍔 We define (for those especially who no longer live there) our visits  with checklists✼✼☓ ✔✔Andersons for ice cream, Teds for burgers & hotdogs & Anchor Bar, Duffs for chicken wings..  Yum...Right??? Now in 2016 they added a bike/walking trail-excellent!!!🚲🚲🚲🚲🚲🚶🚶To work off that good food for sure. Shuffled to Buffalo (Shuffle off to Buffalo-You Tube)  I did, have you ever heard that phrase? originated from the musical 42nd street-which introduced this as a song-1933 Besides eating & biking I visited old friends from high school-yes a reunion🔔 xoxo

I thought that wandering was a positive quirky part of my being, but I am not so sure it is just quirky! In reading Keri Smith's book-The Wander Society, she states "  It teaches us what we are capable of..."  Kinda soul  foodish, I guess. Even Abraham Maslow said of roaming-" peak experiences"... Soooo, Keri first started this interest in the Wander Society when she wandered into an old book store and picked up Walt Whitman-Leaves of Grass..there were notations on this society!!!More recently, flyers have been found on college campuses-one even on the bike path in Northampton, Massachusetts Anyone  else heard of this??? I plan on reading some Walt Whitman, it has been a long time. Now, earlier in my blog I mentioned that I said as a young girl- I want to suck the juices out of life. Never, ever understood where that came from but, in Keri's book, she has a quote of Henry David Thoreau-"I want to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life"

A day-trip to Lenox, Mass---Frelinghuysen-Morris House & Studio--open only June-October Cubism & frescoes  Interesting architecture  The married couple who lived there-beginning 1941 or so were painters and studied under George Braque & Fernand Leger.... Then onto Tanglewood Music Venue ( since 1937) , also in the Berkshires ( portion of the Vermont based Green Mts) Saw Chris Botti, trumpet player, with the Boston Pops Chris is from Oregon, have you ever heard him???🎺🎺🎺🎺 He has performed all over the world!     xoxo

                                                                              Named after the short story, Rip Van Winkle-this     bridge crosses over the  Hudson River and was writte n by Washington Irving, who never visited Catskill & it's mountains near Albany, NY-but lucky me-I did. Thomas Cole & Frederic Church, Hudson River painters-1800's have houses there....so there I wandered to see where they got their inspirational landscapes, many years ago. F Church painting below, Cole's studio....Church was Cole's only student🎨🎨 and maintained a friendship across the Hudson River.  So, then I found this book in the gift shop of Mr. Church's house------ Perfect, don't ya think?And below Cole's easel-love it. Jo Marchant said in Smithsonian magazine-"..the passion of looking at a beautiful piece of art or listening to a piece of music. There is a human element...." xoxo

I drove to Boston, having never seen a full exhibit of H. Matisse. The Museum of Fine arts Boston curated this-he lived a long life and was heavily influenced by the broader world: Africa for one... So Matisse lived a longish life-1869-1954 So it makes me think-he spanned many other artists, so many other influences- Impressionism, Abstract Expressionism & many more. But he seemed to be loyal to his own vision- As evidenced by his affinity to pattern✅ He also loved setting up his studio- objects , cloths etc Art, art- just love it for opening my eyes!  How about you?

The Wethersfield Cove dates from the 1600's and connects to the Connecticut River Old Wethersfield was known for Onions and trading, but I also read-there were witch trials there.. yes  Can't have a bike without a basket! yes, that's a bell😀 That's a Killdeer, a shorebird for sure @ Hammonasset State Park in CT Had on my new bike gear💥 It seems like many more ppl are cycling, I met a man that was 92 years old, doing hills....⇧ 📚Ernest Hemingway said-" It is by riding a bike that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and  coast down them"  Madison, CT --also an old CT town-!600's odd fact-Bill Clinton mentioned it in his autobiography Most of us know as a good boutique spot-cha ching💰& cute eateries... XOXO

Love the Herons, 64 different species, They like fish, of course and frogs took a quick bike ride--did you know that --we are approaching the 200 year anniversary of the bicycle Susan B. Anthony said -She who succeeds in gaining the mastery of the bicycle will gain the mastery of life........                                                xoxo