Casa Grande Ruins National Monument

Yesterday was a free entrance day for US National Parks, and there are several more scheduled this year.

One of the first fee-free days we took advantage of fell on the same day as our nieces’ dance recital a few years ago. We searched “find a park” and saw that there was one – not exactly on the way – but in the right general direction.

Even though it’s just an hour south of Phoenix, I had never been to Casa Grande Ruins National Monument in Coolidge (not, incidentally, in the town of Casa Grande). Phillip hadn’t been since he was a kid, so we planned a pre-recital detour.

The “big house” it’s named for is a centuries-old adobe structure that’s still standing, now covered by a large metal roof constructed in 1932 to help protect it. Parts of walls from the surrounding complex remain, as well as an oval ball court.

It’s always fascinating to confront history like that and think about people living their lives within those same walls 600 years ago.

And then we went to watch our nieces dance their hearts out.

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January 16, 2016January 17, 2016

Seeing DC and C-ville

Charlottesville

We spent New Year’s Eve at a winery in Charlottesville, Virginia celebrating my cousin’s wedding.

Charlottesville (a.k.a. “C-ville”) is where Thomas Jefferson built his famed home, Monticello, which we were able to visit the day we got into town.

It’s also home to an extensive network of studios and galleries, known as the Monticello Artisan Trail and a historic downtown pedestrian mall with stores, restaurants, bars, coffee shops, and a skating rink.

You could walk right out on to the mall from the lush atrium of the Omni Hotel Charlottesville, where we stayed.

Washington D.C.

We flew in and out of DC. With our limited time there, we were able to catch a few museums, some of the monuments, and the still-decorated National Christmas Tree, as well as finding some good food and even doing a little crafting.

And we were able to walk to almost all of that from our DC hotel, Embassy Suites by Hilton Washington DC Convention Center.

There’s more to come about what we saw, where we ate, and where we stayed. In the meantime, I’ve been posting photos on Instagram tagged #dccville.

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We received media rates for our stays at the Omni Hotel Charlottesville and Embassy Suites by Hilton Washington DC Convention Center. We also received assistance and Monticello passes from Visit Charlottesville and Destination DC.

January 11, 2016May 23, 2023

View of the Lincoln Memorial

The day we drove back to DC from Charlottesville, Virginia, we took a little time to explore one corner of the National Mall with the Vietnam Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, and a great view of the Washington Monument across the water, right as the sun was setting.

The statue of Lincoln has sat across from the reflecting pool for nearly a century. I wish he could tell us stories about all the things he’s witnessed there.

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January 8, 2016May 23, 2023

The Living Room in Chandler

I finally made it in to The Living Room, a cozy wine bar in Chandler, one summer day when my friend Katie was in town. A monsoon storm had just blown through, cooling the temperature down from unbearable to pleasant, and they opened up the patio for us.

The bruschetta was awesome. One kind had ripe cherry tomatoes. The other had prosciutto that reminded me of Spain.

My sangria was ok. Turns out I’m very picky about sangria. After that, I ordered the same red as Katie, and that was really good. That’s probably what I should’ve done in the first place. Katie has great taste and is kind of a Living Room expert from her Chandler days.

The servers came around just often enough, not so much they kept us from catching up, but enough to get our orders and bring us more bread, so we could finish off our delicous artichoke dip.

January 5, 2016January 5, 2016

Women in the Arts and a Pop-up Makerspace

I am in Washington, D.C., down the street from the White House in a building that used to be a Masonic lodge, and I am sifting through a basket of embroidery floss, looking for just the right combination of colors. When you have been seeing/taking in, there is something especially refreshing about making/creative output.

My recent D.C. visit happened to coincide with the monthly community day of the National Museum of Women in the Arts and their second-ever pop-up makerspace. Inspired by several of the artists on exhibition, they had tables set up for crochet, drawing-machine making, and turning various odds and ends into jewelry.

I made a necklace from a couple of metal washers, some thread and wire.

The museum itself is organized into different floors for different time periods. Their current exhibition, Pathmakers, explores how women have used alternate media to create art, from midcentury to today.

Community days are the first Sunday of every month with free admission in the afternoon.

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