Gainesville, Palatka, Vilano Beach and St. Augustine.

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A chest x-ray and spirometer before my onsite lung transplant clinic visit with the great Dr. Gries. My FEV had been a little lower at home but at visit was good. All my concerns were discussed and a plan to tweak a few things was done. It was a great visit. We headed to St. Augustine with a stop at Musselwhite’s restaurant in Palatka. Great independent seafood restaurant. Fried Mahi fish sandwich with homemade onion rings. Gibby, wow. Catfish grilled with broccoli au gratin and baby lima beans. Best mahi I have ever eaten.

We got to the b’n’b. Nice

Backstreet in Old Town

A great french dinner and a paseo after.

A nice breakfast in our room and to the square I went. The Basilica was very cool.

De Soto

A roll out to Vilano Beach and a nice visit with a couple of water entries that were a little rough with the waves with the life guards station flag yellow. Very refreshing. A local seafood dinner at Osteen’s. Best shrimp! A lighthouse sighting.

Another paseo after dinner.

Another breakfast in the room with a walk around the old town. Ended up at the Lightener Museum. Great grounds.

Trinity Episcopal Church
Lightener’s grave

We went into Casa Marina Hotel and had a nice lunch.

An art walk on early Friday night and a great dinner. Another breakfast in the room and we had free trolley tickets for Saturday. Great experience. 

Ripley’s Believe it or Not

A visit to the Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center. Excellent African American History Museum. Pictures were limited to a mural. Private museum.

A rainy but great lunch at Cap’s on the Water.

A good time in the Oldest City in America. Big peace out. Home tomorrow.

CHICAGO-Day 6-Obama Presidential Center visit and Sibelius’s Second Symphony under the stars.

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Last night’s Tony winning performance of “SUFFS” in the Majestic Building at the CIBC Theater was better than expected. Our hotel was in the same building.

Another super lazy rollout because of an afternoon reservation at the OBC.

A walk around the grounds was great and a part of the 1893 Colombian Exposition particularly Osaka Garden.

Yoko Ono sculpture

The center is a tremendous piece of architecture. There has been some criticism of it but, I thought it was magnificent.

This fashion section was brought to you by Mariella and Michelle.

From the eighth floor.

The Chicago Public Library has an extension at OPC. There is a curated reading room done by the Obama.

This short blog cannot possibly capture this enormous museum but it is a taste of its message of the most powerful word in the Constitution, “we”. Great visit!!!

My last hurray was a performance of Sibelius’ Second Symphony at Grant Park. Beautiful. What a super time

Chicago-Day 5-Park, Bean and Pier.

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Another slow vacation rollout this morning. A walk to the Park and selfies at the Bean, Cloud Gate. It was quite busy with all the tourists.

Inside the Bean
Hombre
Important

I will be attending the symphony here tomorrow.

I went back and Mariella went to Navy Pier.

Tonight “Suffs” and Chicago Pizza!

CHICAGO-Day 4-Easy day

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Rick Steves stated on his famous travel show that “sometimes you need a day off from your vacation”. I found that true today with a little bit of burnout from a big day at Wrigley. A walk, a little shopping and lunch in order.

Chicago Public Library
Pittsfield Building

Very nice meal at The Dearborn with a paseo after dinner. Big peace out. Suffs on stage tonight. Big peace out!

CHICAGO-Day 3-Cubs and Mitch at Wrigley Field for the W!

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This was the day I was to meet my super great 30 year wheelchair ref buddy, Mitch, at Big Star for super chicken tacos with grilled onion and pineapple and rice and beans. It had been a minute since we had seen each and we had all afternoon to catch up. I am a very fortunate to have such great people in my life. BTW, Wrigleyville is about as close to heaven as you can get without going there. Heaven that is.

I got to sing at the end of a Cubs game with my buddy Mitch. It doesn’t get any better than that! All thanks and love to Mitch for a day like today. Big peace out.

CHICAGO-Day 2-Museum of Contemporary Art and other things

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On the way to dinner last night.

Lakeshore Park and Northwestern

The museum had an exhibit about music from Jamaica, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico that propelled a political movement that caused real social changes in those areas. Pop up stereo stages for DJ’s was huge. Open the trunk and get it going.

Other cool artistic instruments

Other art about isolation and an interment WW II artist work

Other cool sculptures, pictures and a local artist, McCloud.

Rain dampening 4th but it’s still great to be in Chicago!

Day 4-Tupelo to French Camp, MS-65.5 miles with 1800 feet of elevation

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A nice meal and sleep in Tupelo. I was ready to ride.

The parkway continues to amaze.

I rode to lunch stop with the sweep because I was SLOW but steady. I got a SAG ride because I had a “sore bottom bracket.” In the van I was able to get a great picture of our 85 year old e bike tour rider.

Next rest stop at the SAG I got another chance to finish the last 12.5 miles to French Camp. Really cool little place.

My cabin!

Peace out. Tres

CHICAGO! First day at Art Institute of Chicago.

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An eventful non stop to Chicago. 26 months post lung transplant with the wife that makes it all possible.

A Hampton Inn in the old Majestic Theater, now CIBC Theater. A side note we got tickets for opening night of SUFFS ON July 7! A great meal at The Village last night where they were playing music from “The Godfather”. Great cheese ravioli for me and Lake Superior Whitefish for Mariella. Oldest Italian restaurant in Chicago. A quick walk through the lobby of The Palmer House lobby.

Famous Peacock door

We got a little break from the entrance fee due to our abundant life experiences at the ticket counter but the museum got it back with a special admission to the William de Kooning exhibit. A little more about that character a little later. It is an amazing museum.

There were interesting pieces of Chicago architectural art as we entered the second floor.

A trip through some great antiquities.

Check out the partying cherub close up!

Always have loved the depictions of the annunciation. As the phrase goes “from God’s mouth to Mary’s ear”.

Green faced woman

El Greco x 2.

A close up of Seurat.

A great collection of AIZ articles from the early 1930’s warning Germany not to favor the Hitler Socialist Party.

Lest we forget

Also great photos of Dorothea Lange.

Great sculptures. I do wonder now how they were acquired.

Picasso model
Miro
God Ganesha the remover of roadblocks

William de Kooning worked as a muralist and artist in the WPA. He started very humbly painting with house paint enamel on military grade paper. He would do nudes that took a week just to draw the eyes when he started. It appears he did not like women and in his time was criticized for it.

It appears we will return to the museum to see the things we did not see today. French food this evening. Ooh la la. Big peace out. Tres dog