Tasting for Tyler: Up, Up and Away!

The Balloon and the Moon

I was the lucky winner of tickets for an event known as Tasting for Tyler. This was the 26th annual installment of this fundraising event held at Bucks County Community College to benefit Tyler Hall, the 1930s French-Norman revival mansion now used to house the College's administrative offices. George F. Tyler, a banker, and Stella Elkins Tyler lived here back in the 1930s, when this building was new. They called it Indian Council Rock. Her sculpture decorates the formal gardens, some of the original buildings, and the grounds which now make up the College's campus. It's a lovely place to learn and work, but old buildings take a lot of care.

Tyler Garden, ca. 2012

Tasting for Tyler is a lavish party held each year to raise funds needed to care for and restore this glorious estate..er, uh...campus. Tents for this event start appearing on campus a week before. Arrayed over the terraces and tent area near the formal Tyler Gardens, over 25 local eating establishments offer samples of their best dishes and beverages.
Attendees are given plastic trays and a wine glass upon entry and encouraged to partake of the tasty vittles. My companion and I divided the array into three geographic areas, and ate in three installments over the course of the evening. We ended at the Orangery, an original Tyler building, where the desserts and silent auction were located.

Desserts in the Orangery

Attendees dress to impress at this event, and it was fun seeing the fashionable costumes worn by usually-businesslike college employees. As I selected my own outfit, I remembered the cobblestones and slate walkways that can be difficult to navigate in everyday shoes, and composed from the feet up. Along with my black lacy flats (designed by Fergie, I'll have you know), I wore that green chiffon-y frock with the matching green sweater, because it wasn't hot that evening.

Wearing a dress of any kind wound up being a liability for the moment-in-time that I will probably remember for years to come. Up & Away, Inc. was set up on the lawn offering hot air balloon rides in the "Fleckfolly V"! Wow. But here's the thing: in order to get into the balloon's basket for the (tethered) ride, one had to hike up their skirts and climb over the side. The balloonists supplied a stepladder on the outside, but there was no room for one inside. This would not be a graceful moment for the short-legged among us, but the thrill of the ride was worth the momentary lapse of decorum. In fact, knowing that I would blog about this experience, I had my phone in hand to take some shots while airborne. You guessed it--I forgot to snap any because I was too busy looking around. Here are some from the ground instead...

All Aboard!

The Ascent

Back on Earth

We didn't know what to expect from this party as neither of us had been before. It's rather expensive, so there aren't a lot of fellow college faculty roaming about, but I came across more colleagues than I expected. The food was mostly great, and mostly labelled for those of us with food allergies (don't ask me about my shellfish thing, okay, just don't ask), there was live entertainment inside and a dance floor and DJ outside for those so inclined.

Dancing under the tent.

All in all, it was a lovely evening, and we had perfect weather for it. "It was kind of like a wedding reception without a bride," according to my friend. Yeah, and a hot air balloon balloon instead!

Tyler Hall, after the party

Views from the Promenade (Cape May, New Jersey, USA)

Go to Cape May, take a camera, take a walk, and shoot. I used my iPhone which was also keeping track of our distance (5 miles total!) and calories burned through my pedometer app. Here's a sample of the photos you're likely to take away from the 1.4-mile Promenade...

Within Denver City Limits, Finishing at the Molly Brown House

I traveled to Denver, Colorado, in April for the Distance Library Services Conference. This is the third time I'd been to Denver, but I knew there was still plenty I hadn't explored. My colleague and I stayed in the city for the four days--no excursions to the mountains or nearby towns--and located some intriguing sites and experiences.

Clock Tower on 16th Street

Sixteenth Street is the main pedestrian thoroughfare through town. You're not allowed to be on it unless you are a pedestrian or a free bus. This means you can walk from one end to the other without worry, or ride the free buses constantly cruising back and forth, or some combination of the two. Naturally, for photo shooting, walking is better. When I was in Denver six years ago, I ventured to the Northwest-ish end to visit the Tattered Covered Bookstore which is amazing and Rockmount Ranch Wear store where I bought an authentic western shirt with snaps instead of buttons. (Think John Denver.) I got to meet the 106-year-old CEO of that company, Jack Weil, and we chatted about sewing, fabric, and Pennsylvania. Mr. Weil died later that year. I was happy to see that his store, just off 16th Street, is thriving.

The Rockmount Ranch Wear store on Wazee Street

We wandered over to Larimer Street one evening to walk-off some of the delicious dinner we had just enjoyed. I hadn't seen Larimer Street before, so this was a treat. Not only was this whole block illuminated, but the store signs and windows were photo-worthy, too.

Collage of Larimer Street shots using the Frametastic iPhone app

Our hotel, the Curtis, was just a couple of blocks from Larimer Street, and conveniently for us, across the street from the performing arts complex. (We had purchased orchestra tickets before leaving the East Coast. Read about that concert here.) The Curtis was amazing, all done-up in colorful retro colors and designs for us Baby Boomers. Right there in the foyer I knew this was going to be a fun place because of this doggy welcome. The lobby was bright and friendly with a selection of board games (and Rockem Sockem Robots), a fridge filled with multi-colored sodas, and Mad Men-style furniture. Each floor had a theme which was announced by the elevator upon arriving. Ours was Perfect Pairs, as in Bert & Ernie, Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid, Lucy & Ricky, and you get the idea. The logo we saw all over the place was a robot named Lloyd holding a boom box over his head reminiscent of that famous scene in the movie, "Say Anything." The popular culture theme extended to our conference meeting and reception rooms, and we were fed casual comfort food during the conference.

The Curtis Hotel with matching orange taxicabs

Once the conference was over and we were released back into Denver for some exploration, we headed over to the Civic Center area to the Southeast of the above-mentioned localities. This is where we found the Colorado State Capitol,

the Vance Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art which I blogged about here, and finally, the Molly Brown House. Bill was looking forward to that Kirkland Museum above all else in Denver, and I was especially interested in visiting the Molly Brown House because I had just read an excellent biography of that accomplished woman: Molly Brown: Unraveling the Myth by Kristen Iverson (1999). We were delighted to find that our two destinations were around the corner from each other, and there was a perfect comfort-food luncheonette between them. We were set.

The Molly Brown House Museum, Pennsylvania Street, Denver (1890)

Here's a nutshell version of what I learned about Molly Brown: 

• She was never called "Molly" during her lifetime. Her name was MARGARET, but Broadway and Hollywood decided "Molly" was easier to sing.
• She did survive the Titanic disaster, and upon arriving at New York City helped other survivors, especially poor immigrants, get started in the United States.
• She traveled all over the world and wrote about her adventures. She was in Egypt with her daughter when she was notified that her grandson was very ill. The Titanic was part of her mad dash home, but sometime during this journey she was notified that the kid would be okay.
• She was a Denver socialite and philanthropist who organized the Carnival of Nations to raise money for the Immaculate Conception Cathedral Building Fund.
• She and her husband J.J. made their money in silver mines, but tired of each other once they were rich. They never divorced, but she traveled and bought an additional house in Newport, Rhode Island, while he mostly stayed home in Denver. They had a son and a daughter.

PHOTO BY ED ANDRIESKI, ASSOCIATED PRESS

This house on Pennsylvania Street in Denver, was built in the 1880s for another silver mine family who lost their money. J.J. bought it from them in 1894 for $30,000, and signed it over to Margaret in 1898. They called it the House of Lions because of the lion statues outside. The inside is decorated in various Victorian styles with heavy drapes here, lace curtains there, silk damask wall coverings, and new-fangled electric fixtures. It's small by our standards, but each person had their own bedroom on the second floor except for their son who was off on his own by this time. Margaret's (above) is a glorious green to celebrate her Irish heritage and features her cherished writing desk. There's a cherry-paneled parlor, library, dining room, and kitchen on the first floor (along with the big outdoor porch), and a third floor used for entertaining then and special events (Tea with MARGARET!) now.

So there you have it, my third trip to Denver. It is one of my favorite cities not only because of its great downtown, but because one can launch from it to so many other fabulous mountainous sites. It's clean and easy to walk around, and I didn't even tell you about the restaurants. (We ate well.) It's dry, though, so drink your water if you go!

Chicago's Posh Magnificent Mile

Chicago Skyline from Navy Pier

Chicago is a big city up and down and all around, but I managed to see a little bit of it this week. I'm here for the Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association Conference, and I managed to wander away from the scholarship a couple of times to explore. Mind you, I didn't bring my big camera and its collection of lenses on this trip, so what you are seeing are iPhone shots. I'm happy with them...for now.

After my presentation was delivered, applauded, and scrutinized, I took off through the strong wind to visit Navy Pier for some lunch. This pier dates back to 1916 and juts out into Lake Michigan. This is a cool place where you would bring your family if you have one, and enjoy the shops, IMAX theater, and inexpensive restaurants where I consumed a yummy chorizo burrito. But wait, there's more!

The Crystal Gardens

Climb those white steps and you'll enter a humid wonderland of palm trees with silly fountains that squirt water from one garden to the next just overhead. It's a tropical oasis in this windy, cold city called the Crystal Gardens. The Chicago Children's Museum is up there, too. Just beyond the palms are the Ferris wheel, motorized spinning swings, mini golf, the Shakespeare Theater, and the museum of stained glass. Not all of this is open in April, and I imagine the Ferris wheel was out because of the wind. The place is a popular spot nonetheless.

Turn around for great views of the city:

Here's the Willis Tower, formerly the Sears Tower, and formerly the tallest building IN THE WORLD.

So you should know that my hotel and my conference are on Chicago's Magnificent Mile. It's an upscale neighborhood centered around Michigan Avenue with posh designer boutiques, fancy hotels (mine was on a side street and not fancy), and many restaurants I was too chicken to try. The 1869 Water Tower is a landmark at the northern end of the Magnificent Mile. It's one of the few buildings that survived the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

The 1869 Water Tower

It's the week before Easter and one fancy hotel fixed up its official Mini Cooper:

Each morning on my way to the conference, I crossed Michigan Ave. and gazed south in eager anticipation of my upcoming symphonic adventure which is featured on my other blog here. This is looking south on the Magnificent Mile on a bright and windy April morning:

Marking the southern end of the Magnificent Mile Is the Wrigley Building. It's impossible to capture the coolness of this building in one photo. It's partially modeled on the Giralda Tower in Seville, Spain. It's actually two buildings, North and South, linked by three walkways.

And then, just south of the enormous Wrigley Building, is the Chicago River. Next time I'm here, I will definitely sign up for the famous Architectural River Tour and cruise through this skyscraper gorge!

The Bridges of Trenton

The main reason we headed to the Delaware River today was to take photos of the ice. Every day for weeks I've been enjoying the view of the choppy white ice and wondering where to stand for the best views. Today we did some exploring, and I managed to shoot all the bridges of Trenton. Enjoy the trek!

The "Trenton Makes" Bridge (1928)

The current bridge was installed in 1928, replacing a series of bridges at this crossing including the first bridge to span the Delaware. (Before them, in the eigtheenth century, there was a ferry here.) The first letters spelling out "Trenton Makes the World Takes" were added in 1935 and replaced in 1981. In 2005, those letters were replaced with brighter neon ones which are usually lit when I drive by at night.

The "Trenton Makes" bridge has a convenient sidewalk, but you'd better walk your bike.

The Trenton sign from the inside of the bridge.

Looking north: not all the river is frozen. (That's Trenton back there.)

I've been wanting this shot for years. (From the PA side looking north.)

Pennsylvania Railroad Bridge (1908)

Trains used to cross the river on a predecessor of the current Trenton Makes Bridge, but then the Pennsylvania Railroad built this masterpiece of a stone arch bridge, downriver from the Trenton Makes Bridge.

Standing under the U.S.1 bridge to shoot the Pennsylvania Railroad Bridge

Pennsylvania Railroad Bridge in the icy river

Calhoun Street Bridge (1884)

This bridge is an oldie, about a mile north of the Trenton Makes Bridge. It's 1,273 feet long and opened in 1884, replacing an older, wooden bridge that burnt earlier that year. The older bridge was built in 1861 to replace a ferry crossing. The present bridge was built on the original bridge's piers and abutments. 

The Calhoun Street Bridge

This is where the Calhoun Street Bridge came from

The Reading Railroad (West Trenton) Bridge (1913)

My favorite, the Roman aqueduct-style Reading Railroad Bridge from the NJ side looking southwest

Reading Railroad Bridge from New Jersey looking northwest

I celebrated the 100th birthday of this bridge by blogging about it on another snowy winter day: Click here to read more details and see photos from the Pennsylvania side.

Well, We Still Have Central Park

We were in New York City to tour historic Harlem, part of my research for a Harlem Renaissance course I'm teaching soon. However, because of a misunderstanding about the meeting place, we missed the tour and ended up back in Midtown strolling around Central Park. This is not a bad way to spend an afternoon in New York, and I made the best of this photographic situation. We did ultimately take an Uptown bus tour that included Harlem, but that tour guide was more interested in telling us where to eat and where famous people live(d). We did learn about Hell's Kitchen and stopped at an inexpensive bar & grill there (Smith's) before getting on the train to go home.

It was a cold, foggy day, and in the morning the top of the Empire State Building had vanished!

Shoot! Where did the top of the ESB go?

The buskers were out in force on this Saturday, and we tipped them after photographing them, I promise.

He was playing a Bach Cello Sonata.

He was fiddlin'.

Rockefeller Plaza has the more photographed ice skating rink, but Central Park's makes quite a nice foto:

I'm always up for a bridge picture:

So we did make it onto a late afternoon bus tour of Uptown which included Harlem, but picture-taking was near impossible from behind our Plexiglass shield on the upper level. We got off the bus to inspect the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, the ONE place in Harlem I had visited before (!!), but this was relevant because the Aristocrat of the Harlem Renaissance, Duke Ellington, had his funeral there in 1972. (More recently, James Gandolfini's funeral was there.) So here are most of the Harlem pictures I came home with:

Part of the facade

St. John the Divine lectern

Lectern detail

From behind scratchy, cloudy Plexiglass, I attempted a Hail Mary pass of a picture as we cruised past the famous Apollo Theater:

I think that last one is fun and kind of represents the kooky chaos of this day. In the end, the organizer of the initial tour took responsibility for the mix-up and will fix the problem on his website. He's going to refund my money (Yay!) and send me a voucher for a free tour (Yay!) so that there will be a Harlem Renaissance blogpost sometime in the future (and after the course is over, Boo!).