Travel

Color Returns to Cheekwood: Patrick Dougherty’s Sitckwork

March 25, 2014 by Leah Leave a Comment

We were supposed to have rain this weekend, but thanks to the inaccuracy of the meteorologists in our area, it was sunny. I headed to Cheekwood on Sunday for my first visit of the season. Upon pulling up to the gate, I heard a shriek that sounded like a cross between a bird of prey, a mountain lion, and a human scream. Apparently, they have a recording set up to deter deer from entering the gardens.

I like to go early each year, before the maddening spring crowds descend. It’s absolutely tranquil. Some of the flowers have begun to bloom, mostly violas, daffodils, and hellebores. The feeling in the air is one of happy expectation with bright purples and yellows dotting the scene.

The tulips are waiting for warmer days before being coaxed into color. They were surrounded by an electric fence which I assume is another deer deterrent. This year the garden boasts 100,000 tulips of different varieties. I cannot wait to come and see what the place looks like when they’re blooming. They are everywhere!

Upon rounding the bend that overlooks the ponds, one can see the newest outdoor exhibit that has been advertised lately, Little Bitty Pretty One by Patrick Dougherty. One can’t help but feel like they’ve just stepped onto a page in a storybook when they see this incredible structure composed solely of intertwined sticks. There is a bit of whimsy created by the natural bends and curves of the branches used to construct Dougherty’s sculptures. I was fascinated. When you step inside, you can still feel breeze and light in a way that gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “tree house.” Looking up, the sky is visible, and upon examination of the sticks, it’s incredible the level of detail woven into the structure. I’m so glad I was able to enjoy it by myself for a moment, completely lost in my imagination of hobbits and Harry Potter and Narnian creatures, all of whom would have been quite at home in such a place. I wish these structures were all over the garden. I was disappointed that there was only one, but I’d love to see more of these in other places! http://www.stickwork.net/featured/

Last year was a special year for Cheekwood with Bruce Munro’s Light exhibit. Most of my visits to the garden happened at night. The last time I saw this pool, there were orb’s of fiber optic light called Fagin’s Urchins floating on the surface.

The fountains bubbled happily again, echoing the sentiment that spring is finally here and we can look forward to color and life and moments out in the fresh air.

The tulips should start to put on a lovely show in the next couple of weeks. There is the nasty rumor we might get snow one night this week, but let’s hope that’s all it is. I mean, do these flowers look like they want more snow?

Back To Myself On The East End

November 26, 2013 by Leah Leave a Comment

Burnout is a real thing. After two weeks of doing something every single night, double booking the calendar, squeezing things in right after work or in the early morning just so I could keep up with friends, I wearily said goodbye to the kitties and left for Los Angeles to sit in meetings for two days straight. On the plane I mentally checked off the things I need to do when I get back to the house: put up Christmas lights, buy a Christmas tree, cancel an evening doctor appointment so I can have one night at home before heading to St. Louis to visit another friend. On Friday night I sat in my bed, hair dripping onto a notepad where I frantically scribbled notes for a short presentation the next day. On Saturday night after spending time with work friends, I hurriedly threw wrinkled clothes into my luggage so I could jump into bed and indulge in one tissue worth of exhausted tears before heading to the airport at 6 am the next morning. As an introvert whose time alone is highly valued and necessary, I had reached the peak of mental exhaustion. It was time to go home.

In all my years of flying to and from Long Island, I have never flown into LaGuardia Aiport. Crazy, right? First thing I noticed was Lady Liberty in the harbor, holding her torch like a champ in the icy wind that tossed the plane around. Then all of a sudden, there it was, the World Trade Center tower, the glittering lights of New York sparkling under the moon like a diamond under a lamp. God, I love this place. The airport was a frantic mess and I kind of never want to fly into anywhere but Islip again, but I am relieved to be here.

Today, the day was mine. I dropped mom off at work and headed out east. All I did was drive. No music, no radio, no singing, talking, nothing…just sunshine and pretty seashore. All the new green of the marshes has turned a golden brown and the deer blend in with their winter coats. The wind had an edge to it in New Suffolk, cutting through to pieces of uncovered skin. Everything was still and peaceful. The only people on the roads were service people, vans, trucks, locals heading to the store to grab that last can of pumpkin.

I went to the end, to Orient, and snaked through town, along Narrow River Road and spotted a pheasant running among jagged rows of spent corn. Ice is gathering on the reeds, a foreshadowing of a chilly week to come.

Before reaching the end of the main road I turned left onto Land’s End Lane. Land’s end indeed. A giant rock faces the dead end as if to signify how much of an end it is.

The water was so alluringly blue and with the wind blowing the waves into little caps, I decided to brave the cold and check out this new beach I’ve never walked on. As I rounded a small bend I could see the Orient Point Lighthouse! It’s been years since I’ve seen this lighthouse. And just beyond there lay Plum Island and the Plum Island Lighthouse, tiny in the distance. Crazy to think that’s where dad works and tons of scientific research takes place in this little corner of the sea.

I wound around farm fields just for the heck of it, just to see the open beauty of undeveloped land, to clear the cluttered mind. And on the way back from picking up some bread at The Blue Duck Bakery, I chased the sunset all the way to the beach where there were still some remnants of color to be had.

Part of me was restored today. The water has its way of doing that. Tomorrow brings more chill and perhaps some rain, but another day to drive in the peaceful stillness of home.

Another East End Sunset: A Sky On Fire

November 18, 2013 by Leah Leave a Comment

One day a couple months ago, a friend started talking about how breathtaking Tennessee sunsets are. Rob was nearby while this was being said and he said he could practically hear my eyes rolling. I am partial to seaside sunsets and the ones I’ve seen at home on Long Island are my personal favorites. It’s hard to describe the experience unless you’re there. When Rob and I were home in October, the sky decided to give us a sendoff on the last night of our trip. These pictures were taken on Bailie Beach and you can see the jetty in the distance.

None of these pictures have any filters or editing. The sky speaks for itself.

I’ll see you in a week, Long Island!!!

Great Smoky Mountains National Park: The Top Of The World At Clingman’s Dome

November 5, 2013 by Leah Leave a Comment

For our our second day in GSMNP, we decided to do the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail before heading into the main part of the park. It’s a six mile loop just outside of town that you can drive through for lovely views of mountains and rocky streams.

The thing about this motor trail that I didn’t realize is that to see any of the falls you always see in pictures promoting this trail, you have to hike to them. Be not lulled into the phrase “motor trail” or you will be sorely disappointed that it’s just a very narrow paved driveway through the woods. As pretty as the woods were, I thought we’d see more. The speed limit is 10 mph I think, and if you are a New Yorker who gets behind someone who actually drives the 10 mph, you will go mad.

After we ditched the motor trail, we headed straight back into the park for a quick hike to Laurel Falls, as recommended by the nice old man at the visitors center. Let’s be honest, the Laurel Falls trail is not for anyone who enjoys hiking. The entire trail is paved. The people who hike this trail don’t want to hike, they want to throw trash in the woods and let their children careen off the trail, screaming and yelling and throwing Cheetos. Rob actually started picking up bits of trash on the way back, that’s how bad it was. In fact, we sped past one poor sod of a dad pushing a double wide stroller up the damn path. A DOUBLE WIDE!!!! The trail was quite uphill, so I don’t know how he didn’t perish in the act.

When we got to the falls, it was totally crowded. There were signs everywhere warning people to be careful because other humans had died from falling, but people still climbed all over the slippery rocks and we actually watched one guy take a nice tumble on some slippery leaves. The falls themselves were pretty. I mean, nothing to write home about or anything, especially with the yellow “danger” signs everywhere, but pretty nonetheless.

The blatant disrespect people have for nature when they are right smack dab in the middle of it is astounding to me. If you’re coming to this park and really like to hike on a real trail with less traffic, avoid Laurel Falls.

Ok, onto the next gem in the park that we thoroughly enjoyed, Clingman’s Dome. This is the highest point in the park and in Tennessee. If you feel like you could stand to lose a bit of cellulite on the thighs, this is the trail for you.

So you drive to the top of the mountain and think it’s going to be a merry little walk to an observation tower. No. It’s a brutal incline that will have your legs hating you for days. But honestly, it was worth every painful step. The view on the way up is lovely and is worth admiring for minutes at a time every ten feet or so, this way you can catch your breath. When you get to the top of the hill, you still have an icy winding ramp to navigate up to the tower. People were hanging on for dear life. One kind man decided to tell me “that side is slippery” while I was in the middle of sliding my way up. Oh, thank you, I hadn’t noticed.

When you get to the tower, your breath is stolen by the view. 360 degrees of rolling mountains and Fraser firs.

It was like an ocean of mountains. The horizon stretched into infinity and layers upon layers of smoky blue mountains reached to the edges of the earth.

We slid back down the ramp and came upon a sign for the Appalachian Trail. Someday I want to hike this trail…well, a decent part of the trail. I mean, let’s not get crazy. As awesome as it would be to pull a “Bill Bryson” and write a book about it, there really isn’t anyone at this point who can improve upon A Walk In The Woods. Rob and I walked onto the trail a bit. It was very exciting. There is something incredible about the Appalachian Trail that demands respect and inspires awe. The trail stretches 2,180 miles from Georgia to Maine, and to see this small piece of it in the middle of these magnificent mountains was really thrilling. Of course if I am ever going to really have a go at this I need to hit REI for some real shoes and leave the Betsey Johnson boots at home.

We took one last look at the view and began our descent on fumes. The gas light came on just as we were heading down, so we tried to coast a bit.

There was one more stop we wanted to make at the Newfoundland Gap overlook at the state line. At this stop there were plaques explaining how the Smokies got their name. Apparently the vegetation lets off a smoky blue gas into the atmosphere. Over the years, pollution has contributed to the haze one can see over the range, and as nice as a perfectly clear day would be, it was much more mysterious to see the blue peaks in the distance.

We didn’t see a black bear. I was dying to see a bear. Everywhere we went we overheard people talking about seeing bears and showing friends their cell phone pics of the bear that was 6 feet away from them. I can’t complain though. We had such a lovely time in the mountains and it was beyond refreshing to get out of town and feel like we were in another world for a while. Hopefully someday we’ll come back here and explore some more of the trails. After all, there are 800 miles of them.

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