Chihuly’s Collection in St. Petersburg, features the “Glass Garden” a 40-foot-long, 15-foot-wide, and 15-foot-tall installation of vibrant glass art.
I can relate to this quote. I have a fondness for colored glass. I have been collecting colored glass for years. And although my collection of colored mini-vases is small, it makes me happy every time I see it. In addition, I have multiple colored glass dishes that I like to use. I still enjoy scouting out antique and thrift shops for my next find.
My small colored-glass collection.
Dale Chihuly is an internationally renowned artist, known for his colored glass sculptures (and many other creations with colored glass). His art can be found in over 200 museums in the US, with major installations in Tacoma, WA and Oklahoma City, OK and St. Petersburg FL.
A colorful Chihuly chandelier.
I was first introduced to Chihuly’s art several years ago, by attending a special art exhibit of his works. I immediately was captivated with his work.
Ruby Red Icicle Chandelier.
While visiting friends in Florida, I was excited to go to St. Petersburg to tour the Chihuly Collection there. It’s spectacular to stroll in and out of the rooms and visually take in all the bold colors and whimsical designs of this Chihuly Collection.
Another perspective of the Glass Garden.
And another perspective of this large glass garden.
We did attend a glass blowing demonstration before touring the museum, included in the ticket price. It was fascinating to see what a delicate, and fine-art, glass blowing is. It was fun to watch, and interesting to apply what we learned to how some of the art work was created as we looked at the variety of glass works in the museum.
Chihuly also renowned for his glass bowls… asymmetrical forms, bold color combinations, and vibrant.
A room full of striking bowls.
Chihuly’s work is usually recognizable for its unique and whimsical designs, and bold colors. There is a Chihuly chandelier hanging in the Minneapolis Children’s Theatre lobby.
I recognized this piece as Chihuly’s when we toured the Kennedy Performing Arts building in Washington DC last November.
I also noticed a Chihuly chandelier in the Kennedy performing Arts Center last fall while in Washington DC.
Look up to see this “Glass Flower Ceiling”
It warmed my heart to be able to tour this Chihuly collection in St. Petersburg Florida, on one of the coldest days in Florida this season.
*Forgive me if this comes to your email twice. I tried publishing this at 6:30 am but it hasn’t gone through so I recreated the post and am trying it again.*
Continuing a photo journal of our adventures from week two, visiting family, in Arlington, Virginia (showing one to three…photos a day).
The impressive nave and chancel of the National Cathedral. It filled up for the advent service.
Sunday, November 30, was the first Sunday of Advent, and it was a special one. We went to an advent service in the Washington National Cathedral.
Heavenly voice and Bible readings filled the spectacular cathedral, and made for a memorable event.
Zoey and I made banana bread on Sunday.
Gary and I decided to take an overnight trip up to Pennsylvania to visit Gary’s family. His hometown is only about three hours away from where we were staying in Virginia, so we got up early Monday morning and drove to Pennsylvania for an over night visit.
One perspective of the farm where Gary grew up, in Pennsylvania.
We stopped at his younger sister’s farm for a visit. Then, we drove to the farm where Gary grew up. The friendly Mennonite folks who live there invited us in for a chat. They are lovely people.
Another perspective of the farm…this is the field where one of my favorite pictures was taken of our two young boys running in the field.
Later that evening, a lot of family members joined us for a dinner out, even though it was last minute.
An impromptu family gathering.
We decided to drive back Tuesday morning, forgoing another farm visit to Gary’s other sister’s farm, simply because it was snowing and slick driving conditions. But we were grateful to be able to take this time to reconnect…our short stay was very enjoyable.
On Wednesday we ran errands and did some laundry and just hung out. Zoey and I made enchiladas for dinner.
We were ready again on Thursday to take the Metro into the city. The Metro is such a great system. We stopped at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial, honoring the 34th U.S. President, on our way to the United States Botanic Garden.
The Lincoln Memorial model made of plant parts.
There was plenty to see indoors with special December exhibits: models of DC landmarks made from plant parts, and thousands of poinsettias were placed in groups all around the gardens.
A lovely display of pink/white poinsettias…I don’t think I’ve seen this sweet color of poinsettias before.
Next, we walked to the White House to check out the new ballroom construction, but we couldn’t see a thing.
The closest we got to the White House.
After school the kids helped us count the miscellaneous coins the family had accumulated over the year. The bank said the coins had to be counted and put in wrappers. It turned out to be a fun project…and profitable.
Fun looking at and counting all the coins, and finding several foreign coins in the mix.
We went up to the rooftop to observe December’s full moon, Thursday December 4.
December 4, 2025
Lunch on Friday was in DuPont Circle. We met friends who were former neighbors in Northfield for many years. They moved to the DC area a few years ago.
We had a lovely lunch with our friends from Minnesota.
We arranged to meet at a restaurant along the Metro line so both parties could just hop on the Metro. We had a great time. As we walked back to the Metro station we stopped at a pop-up Christmas Market which was fun to peruse. There was leftover dusting of snow on trees and roses… it felt “Christmassy.”
Still swinging on the playground. The previous dusting of snow melted.
Zoey had Portuguese lessons again on Saturday. We went on another pleasurable walk with Ezra. Mid-afternoon we walked to a park near their apartment. The kids still enjoy play grounds. We stopped for an ice cream cone on the way home. It’s never too cold for ice cream.
We left Northfield a week before Thanksgiving to go visit our son and his family in Arlington, Virginia. On our way to the airport I realized I still had my slippers on! Fortunately, we were close enough to home so we had time to turn around and get my shoes! (I won’t mention the full cup of coffee I spilled all over my backpack at the airport.)
I guess I was excited. We were going to spend time with our son and his family. They are moving to India. We were happy to have some quality time to create more memories before they leave… and it was fun to take the grandchildren on adventures while mom and dad stayed home to work and pack! 😉
The nice apartment building where our son’s family has lived since January 2025.
This blog post will be a diary: a photo essay, with one, or maybe two, pictures per day to capture our first week. It was challenging to select the photos out of the hundreds I took!
A walk in the woods with Ezra. Still a touch of fall in the air.
Our first full day we dropped Zoey off for Portuguese lessons and Gary and I went for a long walk with Ezra. This is the day we made chocolate chip cookies which I blogged about a couple weeks ago.
We also “packed” Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes online. This is an outreach project by Samaritan’s Purse that delivers gift-filled shoeboxes to children in need worldwide.
Two cooks in the kitchen.
For breakfast on Sunday morning our granddaughter, who especially likes to cook and bake, made waffles. Her brother made blueberry syrup.
Ezra had a play date scheduled for Sunday afternoon. Zoey and I made a mosaic candle holder from a craft kit.
On Monday, we walked the kids to school. We did so each morning, and we also picked them every afternoon. It’s a .8 mile round-trip walk.
…a beautiful building made with marble from Italy.
On our first Monday while Tim & Andrea worked/packed, Gary and I took the Metro to the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Performing Arts. We walked down the Hall of Nations (flags from all countries) and the Hall of States (flags from all states). Minnesota’s new flag was on display. The Kennedy Center is a beautiful building, made of marble from Italy, with chandeliers from Sweden. We had a fantastic tour guide…all to ourselves.
A hall inside the Kennedy Arts Center, with beautiful crystal chandliers.
Tuesday morning Gary and I went to the Holocaust Memorial Museum. This is a somber, yet incredible, must-see museum.
Pictures of shoe piles and pictures of hair piles (from the victims) left a lasting impression. We also went through a special exhibit designed just for kids, which was very well done.
Tuesday afternoon, Zoey taught grandma how to make Flan!
The kids Thanksgiving break started on Wednesday. We took the grandkids to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center which is a Smithsonian Museum near Dulles airport (not to be confused with its companion museum, The National Air and Space Museum).
SR-71 Blackbird
The Udvar-Hazy Center displays hundreds of air and space craft, including the SpaceShuttle Discovery, a Concorde, and a Blackbird SR-71 (fastest manned jet).
The space shuttle Discovery!
The space shuttle Discovery was a sight to see. There were so many interesting aircraft in this museum. It was impressive, and a lot of fun.
We had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner together. The kids and I made apple crisp to go along with the pumpkin pie.
Of course the kids were off school on Friday too, so Gary and I and the kids hopped on the Metro …
The Metro system is so easy to use and a great way to get around DC.
and took it to the National Gallery of Art.
The National Gallery of Art.
I really liked this place.
I was immediately drawn to the first painting I saw in the museum. I envisioned myself in the painting…looking out over Lake Superior.
One really needs multiple visits to do justice to this art museum (I could say that of all of the museums), but this first time for me in the National Art Gallery was a lot of fun. We each chose an animal, color, and object to look for in the art works.
In the courtyard of the apartment building.
On Saturday, we walked through the Farmer’s Market near the apartment, took a short drive along the Potomac River, the kids showed off their skills on their hover boards, and we all went out for dinner at a Japanese restaurant.
*****
Night falls over Washington DC…
6:49 pm on November 24, 2025. Views of the capitol, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial and the Kennedy Performing Arts building (the large building with white lights on left side of photo) to name a few…
We are delighted with our new twin house, and love it when friends come to visit. This past spring, some friends came over and gifted us with an unexpected present and a card. It took me awhile to unwrap the gift because I was admiring the picture on the front of the card. It was colorful, festive and joyful. It looked like people were celebrating, but it wasn’t quite clear what they were celebrating. My friend was watching me closely as I read the sentiment. In her own handwriting she wrote out a blessing for our new home…she wrote it underneath the sentiment printed on the card, which was printed in another language.
I looked at her and she smiled as she told me the story behind the card. She found the package of cards while she was on a trip to Iceland. She liked the picture on front of the cards and asked the clerk if they were blank inside. The clerk indicated they were blank (possibly lost in translation?) so my friend purchased the beautiful cards. Back home, she was surprised when she opened the cards to see a sentiment printed inside, and it was not in English. What to do? She decided to ignore it. She did not even look up the phrase to see what it meant, and decided use the cards anyway… for any occasion she needed…she just wrote her own sentiment underneath the printed one.
I laughed when she told me that story. I liked her idea a lot, and was delighted to get one of these special cards.
(I did look up the translation and it says “Merry Christmas, Happy New Year” but I won’t tell my friend that. Obviously, she doesn’t want to know.)
We have hiked many trails on the north shore over the past forty years…some trails we hike every time we are up there, but we are still discovering new trails to hike and explore.
Illgen Falls.
This year it was Illgen Falls, a part of Tettegouche State Park.
It’s a short trail to Illgen Falls, but a rugged one.
The trail to Illgen Falls is one of the shortest walks to a North Shore waterfall, and it leads to a beautiful 40’ drop of tumbling water in the Baptism River.
The mouth of the Baptism River, where the river flows into Lake Superior.
After the delight of seeing scenic Illgen waterfall, we hiked to High Falls on the Baptism River. It’s a longer hike, with a steep set of stairs (and currently the bottom of the stairs are washed out). High Falls is a 63’ falls. It’s very majestic, yet dangerous. A man tried jumping from High Falls in August 2025 and died.
High Falls.
We hiked up Oberg Mountain which is a trail we walk up annually.
An awesome view of Lake Superior from Oberg Mountain.
Although it was past fall-color peak (the red and orange leaves were mostly blown off the trees already), the yellows and greens were lovely.
Oberg Lake. Most of the leaves have fallen off the trees.
There are no waterfalls on this hike, but there is a beautiful view of Oberg Lake from one of numerous panoramic overlooks, and also a few of Lake Superior and the inland forest on this loop trial.
Hiking the loop trail on top of Oberg Mountain.
The greens and yellows are pretty.
We saw waterfalls at both Temperance River and Cascade River State Parks,
Temperance River Falls.
Cascade Falls.
all intermixed with spending time sitting on shores of the Lake Superior;
Our deck off the cabin…
either reading, eating our picnic lunches,
Beachcombing.
Lovely shoreline.
Naturally tumbled rocks.
beach combing or just contemplating…it’s always refreshing, rejuvenating and relaxing.
A stop at Grand Marais is always a treat. This year we discovered Superior Creamery. A small business that daily makes their own ice cream. It was delicious. The best vanilla I’ve tasted!
A perky sunflower outside Superior Creamery.
The harbor in Grand Marias…the water is percolating…and pretty.
The wall and rocky ledge to the Grand Marais lighthouse.
There were splashes of orange color still lingering on a few trees.
Rain was predicted for our time up on the north shore, but we ended up with stunning weather; clear, fall-blue skies and warmer-than-usual temperatures every single day. What a gift.
A gull enjoying a flight over the water near Gooseberry Falls.
We’ve been going up north once or twice a year for forty years. We are always refreshed and rejuvenated by the magnificent Lake Superior.
The lovely blue water of Lake Superior – photo taken off the deck of the cabin where we stayed.
A practice I started years ago was to check the time for sunrise. It is so precise! If it states the sun will rise at 6:56 you can count on seeing the orange ball pop up over the horizon at 6:56.
7:15 am sunrise on Tuesday, 10/7.
I make sure I’m up to witness this event, and will set my alarm if need be – that is determined by the time of year. It is awesome to see the sun rise over the big lake. I have hundreds of stunning pictures of a Lake Superior Sunrise.
I first saw the moon rising at 6:38 pm on Tuesday 10/7.
This year however, for the first time in forty years, we saw the moon rise over the lake. We have often seen a full moon shining on the lake (and a few times soon after it rose over the lake), but we’ve never seen it rising.
I knew we would be up north for October’s Harvest, or Hunter’s, supermoon, but I wasn’t expecting the event to happen until later in the evening.
Moon shimmering over the water, 7:36 pm Tuesday 10/7.
But I happened to walk out onto the deck and looked east and there, larger than I’ve ever seen it, was the moon already half way above the horizon. I continued to watch it (and videoed it). I was so giddy to see this stunning site. It was huge, and it was rising, and it only took about 30 seconds to come into full view.
It was another amazing gift.
This photo was taken the next day… as the sun is shimmers on the calm lake in almost the same place as the moon was at 7:40 the night before (10/7). This photo was taken at 9:40 am on 10/8.
Give thanks to him who made the heavenly lights— His faithful love endures forever. the sun to rule the day, His faithful love endures forever. and the moon and stars to rule the night. His faithful love endures forever.
When I told others we were taking a trip to Idaho most people asked why. I explained. “of the fifty states, Idaho is the only state I haven’t been in” (although my brother told me we were on a road trip with our parents and drove through Idaho to get to Washington when we were young. He is four years older so he remembers.)
Delicious potato chips, made in Idaho.
Now, if people were to ask me, “Why Idaho?” I would say because it is a beautiful state with a lot to offer…including a large portion of the Rocky Mountains and 3,500 miles of rivers. We spent a lot of time by the Snake River.
This ice cream is shaped to look like an Idaho baked potato with sour cream. It was fun to try.
Idaho is known for its potatoes. While doing some research I learned about Westside Drive-In in Boise, that offered potato-shaped ice cream. That was curious. We made the drive-in our first stop out of the airport. It was tasty treat and a great way to start our vacation. Then, we drove two hours to Twin Falls and settled into an AirBnB in southeastern Idaho. We took day trips from there.
The amazing Perrine Bridge.
We spent a lot of time along the Snake River viewing canyons, gorges, water falls, and watching Base jumpers jump off the Perrine Bridge…counting on their parachutes to open and land safely on the ground 486’ below. It was fascinating to watch.
An experienced jumper attaches another person to his harness for a tandem jump. Unfortunately I couldn’t figure out how to post the video of this endeavor.
This screen shot is of the BASE jumper from one of the videos.
The Perrine Bridge is a stunning arch bridge and stands 486 feet above the Snake River, and has the distinction of being the eighth highest bridge in the United States. The Perrine Bridge attracts BASE jumpers from all over the world because it is one of the few structures they [jumpers] can use without getting special permits.
Trying to capture how deep this gorge is…this is looking down at the river…ripples from a motor boat and a kayak in the picture too.
(BASE jumping is an extreme sport where an individual leaps from a fixed object and uses a single parachute to land. The term “BASE” is an acronym for the four types of locations: Buildings, Antennas, Spans (bridges), and the Earth (cliffs).) We were fortunate to witness four jumpers, (one tandem) while walking next to the bridge.
At the visitor’s center, on the other side of the bridge, was a temporary 911 memorial display (we were visiting close to that date). The group hung a gigantic American flag on a cable over the gorge. It was impressive.
Shoshone Falls…there is not much water flowing over the falls this time of year. (Twin Falls is considered high dessert.) However, in the spring Shoshone Falls is called the Niagara of the west and the falls are gushing and look very full (in photos).
We picnicked at Shoshone Falls, and saw Perrine Coulee Falls and many other miscellaneous waterfalls.
Perrine Coulee Falls.
We also walked to the Devil’s Washbowl, a waterfall within the Malad Gorge in Thousand Springs State Park.
The waterfalls in Malad Gorge.
Looking down on Malad Gorge, formed by the Malad River that flows into the Snake River.
We hiked in Adams Gulch and caught the beautiful sight of quaking aspen trees, their leaves turning from green…to lime green… to a brilliant yellow, that contrast beautifully with the green evergreen trees.
The striking contrast of the yellow aspens and evergreen trees.
We hiked on a well-defined hiking, and mountain biking, trail.
We drove to Ketchum, the ski village near Sun Valley Resort, nestled within the Rocky Mountains, specifically in the Wood River Valley at the base of Bald Mountain.
Beautiful Bald Mountain and the Sun Valley Ski Resort.
Sun Valley was America’s first destination ski resort.
One big bicycle near Ketchum.
The mountains are inviting so we continued to drive north of Ketchum for several miles to see their majesty.
On our way up a mountain…and then down into a valley.
Looking at a valley from Smiley Lodge. We turned around here and drove back up the mountain pass.
We also spent time in Craters of the Moon National Monument. I will write about that another time.
Our final evening, a farewell dinner on the deck at Redhawk Gastropub, overlooking the Snake River.
Our time went fast, as it usually does while on vacation, but I’m glad we were able to see a few of the wonderful sights in beautiful Idaho, and to make some fun memories there.
And I did it! I can say I’ve been in all 50 states.
Recently I was up in northern Minnesota at my friend’s cabin on Daggett Lake. We sat on the bench on her dock…to read, visit, or just sit and enjoy the lake.
Morning sunrise.
We also enjoyed seeing the full moon and its refection on the lake, and going for walks, playing cards, going out to eat, and teasing the dog next door.
The Corn Moon; the nickname for September’s full moon.
Each time we saw the neighbor’s cute, little dog meander into the front yard of my friend’s cabin, we would peek through the window and knock on the glass and wave to him.
Each time this little pup jumped…and then started barking at us, and we smiled back at him. We teased him so, but he kept coming back.
I see a dog in this cloud formation…He’s laying down with his paws out in front of him, looking out.
So it was fun to see this cloud art on our way home from the cabin, reminding us of the cute, little doggie through the window on Daggett Lake.
As soon as I learned of the Carriage Classic, I knew I wanted to attend. A few years ago we toured the 1871 historic home, Villa Louis (on the National Register of Historic Places), on St. Feriole Island on the Mississippi River.
It is there where I learned the Carriage Classic is an annual event, going on 45 years, and is always held the weekend after Labor Day.
We visited with the owner and learned this restored carriage was a 1864 Studebaker Trap, originally owned by the Studebaker family.
Carriages came in all colors: black, yellow, cranberry, green…
…and a beautifully restored wooden carriage.
Folks from all over the United States trailer their horses and carriages and gather together in the park across the lawn from Villa Louis in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. They come to participate in contests and to show off their pride and joy, their horses and carriages.
This is one of my favorite photos.
Many of the carriages had an area for picnic baskets and/or luggage in the back.
The idea of yesteryear with horses and carriages, and my fairly new interest in horses, encouraged me to put the date on the calendar earlier this year, so as not to miss this event. I’m glad we made time for it.
It was a wonderful drive down the Mississippi River on our first day, stopping to take a bike ride on the Root River State Trail and discovering lefse chips. We continued on to stay overnight near the Carriage Classic so we could be at the entrance soon after it opened on Friday morning. Friday was the first day of the three-day event. We enjoyed our one day attendance a lot.
A modern horse in the front of this line…
It was unusually cold and windy. Due to the wind, I did not wear my “fancier” straw hat that I had brought along, but many of the Classic participants did wear their hats, and some dressed in costume, which is part of the tradition we were told.
Joy abounds…another favorite photo.
There were several miniature horses too.
Many of the carriages were restored, and shone beautifully. All the horses were groomed impeccably. The carriage drivers meandered on a wide-open field before participating in their special events. Spectators could meander along with them, and take photos. That was special.
This carriage was pulled by four horses…we only saw one with four horses this day.
I enjoyed taking over a hundred photos, of the horses, carriages, hats, temporary stables, historic hotel, flowers and more…there was so much to see. It was all so picturesque.
Waiting for their turn.
There was a food stand with delicious breakfast and lunch items for reasonable rates so we didn’t have to leave the grounds. There were table and chairs set up for comfort, and small bleachers were at some venues. There was live music – a man and his synthesizer – playing tunes during the competitions. There was no entry fee, and no parking fee.
Even though the temperature was chilly, the sky was mostly sunny and it was a delightful day to be at the Carriage Classic watching the nuances of “another world” go by.
The large open field where we could walk among the horses and carriages.
