Bill Mahrer on George Bush

Responding to Jimmy Carter's comments on George Bush, Bill Mahrer said on his HBO program "... Bush is like a smorgasbord of "suck." He combines the corruption of Warren G. Harding, the war-mongering of James Polk, and the abuse of power of Richard Nixon... " May 25, 2007, New Rules by Bill Mahrer

Go Midwest Young Man, Go Midwest, April, 2007

George Wright Society Awards Dinner, St. Paul, MN, former VP Walter "Fritz" Mondale is made an honorary National Park Ranger, presented by NPS Director Mary Bomar, Pres. Abby Miller - GWS, and Regional Director - Mid West. VP Mondale poses with the North American directors of National Park Systems from USA, Mexico and Canada. Go to right column, LINKs and choose My Photo Albums to see from the GWS 2007 Conference.

Minneapolis waterfront.







Live performance of Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keiller from the Fitzgerald Theater, St. Paul, MN. A totally wonderful experience, far exceeding previous movie or PBS showings. A bunch of folks from the George Wright Society conference flew in early or stayed over to attend and experience PHC.











Traveled south along the Miss. River Scenic Route through Iowa, crossing over into Wisconsin at Marquette, IO.. Then after visiting cousins in Milwaukee and Madison, WI, I drove onto Rt. 35 through south central Ohio, east of Columbus, stopping at Hopewell Culture National Historic Park to visit and learn more about the Indian mounds and Chillocothe. Then onto West Virginia and home.




My trip out took me through the bedbasket of America, Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin - hundreds of miles of farm and dairy land. A wonderful experience and reexposure to the farming cultural landscape and associated vernacular variety of architecture.

A Winter Road Trip

HI

I just returned from Maryland and Pennsylvania on a little mini-vacation and photographic workshop. (Click below on the blue, bold, underlined words to go to the associated photo albums).

Attended a digital flash workshop, this past weekend, in historic Chesapeake City, MD. Horizon Photographic puts on the workshops. I learned alot, but some how feel even more ignorant (that or brain overload). Been applying some of this newfound knowledge at Longwood Gardens (more later). Chesapeake City is located along the Delaware-Chesapeake Canal. The village is only about 3 x 4 blocks. Several B&Bs and restaurants with water all around. There are some very large horse farms nearby, one of course owned by a DuPont. It was fun and exciting to see large cargo ships transverse the canal. From the third floor of the workshop, you would see what looked like ships going down the main street. The ships overpower the two and three story structures of the town. The weather cooperated, though Sunday was a little brisk. It was a nice group of students (only 7 in the class). Many other places to explore in the region from New Castle, DE to Chestertown, MD, along with Oxford, Easton, and St. Michaels, MD. All historic towns with interesting things to see and do. Do not forget to go along Route 9 in Delaware and enjoy the two National Wildlife Refuges, the Delaware River, and take a boat out of Odessa out to Fort Delaware. Lots of beautiful scenery to explore.

Late Sunday afternoon traveled to Chadds Ford, PA. Passed along some backcountry roads in DE and PA lined with huge country estates and horse farms.

Monday was devoted to Longwood Gardens. This is a former DuPont estate dating back to the mid 1700’s. The last DuPont, who developed what would become Longwood Gardens, was also Chairman of General Motors and DuPont at the same time. It is winter still up her, so nothing is in bloom outdoors, So, I spent over six hours inside the 4 1/2 acres that make up the Conservatory. Your senses, especially sight and smells, are constantly being delighted. If you have not visited you MUST. Come back several times during the different seasons. I will let my photographs tell the story of my visit, click the above blue link to go to the photo album and check out www.longwoodgardens.org. Nearby is the town of Kennett Square, the mushroom capital of the world with a bunch of galleries, shops, restaurants and historic buildings.

The next day I visited the Brandywine Museum in Chadds Ford, PA. Chadds Ford was/is one of the homes of the painting Wyeth’s -N.C, Jamie and others. The museum, along the Brandywine River, has a huge collection of their paintings and illustrations. Two rooms were the full size painting just from N.C's illustrations for Treasure Island and another book. Other artists depicting the Delaware Valley area are also represented. The original museum was a converted barn and silo. The museum is part of the larger Brandywine Conservancy, which has protected over 32,000 acres in the watershed, including a long section of the Rt. 1 corridor. It is truly amazing that the Rt. 1 corridor, where the museum and Longwood Gardens are located, have not been ruined by shopping centers, office parks, subdivisions. You see these but they are set back a good distance with trees, wetlands, creeks and fields as the main visual feature.

Just north is the town of West Chester with its Colonial period architecture, restaurants, shops and West Chester University.

The back roads hold many delights of discovery. Unfortunately, most of the sub-divisions going in show no imagination or sensitivity to vernacular architecture. The biggest change in the area since my last visit ten years ago is traffic. It is everywhere and not a pleasant experience.

If it is the warm season, think about renting a canoe and exploring the Brandywine River. The river flows through Chadds Ford and pass the Museum. Other sites in the area to visit include Hagley (Industrial Revolution, and another DuPont estate), Winterthur Museum of decorative arts and furniture, a diverse collection representing many centuries from all over the world, and of course another DuPont estate at one time. There is also the Delaware Museum of Art, Museum of Natural History, and Philadelphia to the near north, Wilmington.

When you are visiting the area, make sure you save time to visit the Sovano Bistro (www.sovanobistro.com). This Zagat rated restaurant is quite a find. From the beet salad to the different flatbread pizzas (cooked in a woodstove) to the other entrees. I went back two nights in a row. The setting, the service, the food are an exceptionally well-orchestrated and delicious experience. It is located just west of Kennett Square.

I traveled some of the Susquehanna River scenic route through Port Deposit and Havre de Grade, MD. The next day there was light snow flurries, which my Subaru and I enjoyed and light traffic as we traveled down Rt. 301 to Rt. 17 and home.

Well I am home for a month. Will be doing some volunteering for the local public radio drive. I leave for the Midwest in early April for 30 days or so. I will be attending and photographing the George Wright Society conference in St. Paul, MN for a week and attending a performance of Prairie Home Companion. In addition, I will visit friends and cousins in Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Wishing you a very HAPPY SPRING.

"Where's a burning bush when you need it".