Visiting Glenstone museum

 Glenstone is a private, but open to the public art museum near Travilah.  Entry is free but you do need to get tickets in advance (except if you are a student, educator, or show up on the Ride-On Route 301 bus, see website for full details).  Glenstone focuses on post WWII art as well as distinctive architecture in a natural setting.  There is lots of walking, but most of the trails are paved. Most of the art is in the galleries, but there is quite a bit outside too.  The Museum's address is 12100 Glen Road, Potomac, Maryland 20854.

Interior courtyard

I really like the architecture, it is almost brutalist in that you have lots of flat gray walls, but instead of concrete, the walls are covered in rectangular slaps of stone (both outside and inside the building). The courtyard is almost entirely this water feature which, during the summer has more plants growing in it.  There is a deck and a bench so you can go outside and sit for a while.

 I went there for the first time this week.  Prior to this I had heard about Glenstone mostly because it's non-profit status was questioned. At the time, it was only open a few days a month and didn't allow many visitors.  The question was if it was a true non-profit or just a tax shelter.  I can't say whether that was true at the time, but now it has clearly moved beyond that and there is no question that it was built for the public to view. 

 

The lake

This is from outside the original gallery, you look across a lawn to a large pond, on onto the Rales house (where the founder of the museum lives. It's nice to be a billionaire). The trees on the far side are just starting to turn green. 

 Photography isn't allowed inside the buildings, but it is allowed outside, so these (and most pictures you'll see online) are from outside.  There are photos of some of the inside art on the Glenstone website if you want to see it.

“As Long As the Sun Lasts” by Alex Da Corte’s

It's Big Bird, but blue.  There was a movie in 1985, "Follow that Bird" where Big Bird gets painted blue, this sculpture references that.  It is set on a hill that slopes down to the pond and yes, it does rotate in the breeze.

 You can easily spend the whole day here and not see everything.  There is a cafe and a patio spot where beverages and pastries are sold.

Four Rounds: Equal Weight, Unequal Measure. Richard Serra

The museum has multiple Richard Serra works, this one is four cylinders that are different sizes but each is the same weight. It is housed in a custom built pavilion set off in the woods.  The pavilion is in the brutalist style and from the outside it just looks like an undistinguished block of concrete.  Inside however, it really showcases the sculpture and adds to the experience. 

 

 

Taste of Bethesda, Today until 4pm

The 32nd annual Taste of Bethesda is today, Saturday, October 5th. It is going on now and runs until 4pm.  Come and taste food from a large selection of Bethesda restaurants.  Tickets are 5 for $10 and tastes are from 1-4 tickets each (mostly 3 or 4).

Lots of people and lots of good food.  I especially liked the crab cake sliders (2 for 4 tickets). All the way at the end of Norfolk was maman bakery which had mini croissants, chocolate chip cookies (with or without nuts) and chocolate croissants.  They get my vote for best deal there.

I also saw guy with a life-sized Trump cut-out that you could take your picture with.  Smile and give a thumbs up, or frown and give a thumbs down, great fun for everyone.

The Montgomery County Fair is now going on

The midway at the MoCo Fair

It's that time of year. Time for "The best 9 days of summer" at the Montgomery County Fair.  The fair runs through the end of the week (Saturday August 17, 2024) so you don't have much time.  It's a great place to take the kids to see animals, shows, and ride rides.  If you want all the activities, here's a pdf of the full 2024 fair schedule.

Piglets

Every year they have piglets at Old MacDonalds barn. This year's are especially cute

Prize winning vegetables

In the Old-Timers building you can see all the vegetables that people have entered for judging. This picture is of the largest squash by weight. The winner is 10 pounds 5 ounces!

A circus act

Multiple times a day the Circus Incredible does their thing.  Here is the Trapeze portion and a crowd of people watching.

And here's who they're looking at. Lyric Wallenda of the “World Famous Wallenda” family performing on the trapeze.

 

Walking with flowers

 It was nice this morning, warmish with a little sun, but clouding up quickly so I took advantage of the weather and went for a walk on Cabin John Trail today. The trees don't have leaves yet, but there were a bunch of different flowers growing low to the ground.

Lesser Celandine (Ficaria verna). I pretty yellow flower, wide leaves, only a few inches tall. It is not indigenous.

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis). White flowers about an inch and a half across. Not many leaves yet. This is native to the area.

Yellow Trout Lily (Erythronium americanum). Mottled green leaves that are about 4-5 inches long. The flowers haven't opened yet.  Another native plant.

Virginia Springbeauty (Claytonia virginica). Long thin stems with narrow leaves. 4-8 inches tall. The flower is about half an inch across.

I didn't identify this plant, but I do like it.

How crowded is the Tidal Basin during cherry blossom time?

 

The Tidal Basin during cherry blossom season is known for it's crowds. But, how crowded does it get?  Especially on a sunny Sunday during the Cherry Blossom Festival? here's your answer.

It is crowded, packed, sardines-in-a-can. Crowded enough that I generally stayed off the walkway along the Tidal Basin and went back through the trees, where there were still people, but it wasn't packed.

In the morning the crowds were there, but they were a bit clumpy.  One group of people would stop for pictures and people slow down to go around, so you'd get bunches, but then there would be a bit of breathing room. I was there from 7:30 am to 9 am and it was getting more crowded as time went on.

Jefferson Airplane

If you were willing to stand in one spot for 5 or 10 minutes you might even be able to get a photo without people.  I waited at least 5 minutes to get this one and it was just luck the airplane was overhead.  Not far away I stood for about 10 minutes before giving up.

Afternoon was a different story entirely.  It was packed everywhere.  Even moving pretty far away from the water you'd only get to where it was crowded

This was close to sunset, in a bit of an out-of-the-way place next to the Outlet Bridge, lots of people went here to relax a bit, so lots of standing and sitting folks.  I saw one young couple enjoying a charcuterie board with a bottle of wine in this area.

Slightly less packed because people here are walking to go over a bridge, not stopping to take photos.

If you can, you really want to go early in the morning.  Preferably a weekday morning.  Go before work and you can still make it on time or maybe an hour late.

 

Cherry blossoms over the weekend

Early morning at the Tidal Basin

 After Saturday's wind and rain I thought that the cherry blossoms would be gone.  That turned out not to be the case, they were still at their peak on Sunday so I went to see them. By 7:30 am there were already a lot of people at the tidal basin enjoying one last weekend of flowers. 

They were so good yesterday that I think today will be another great time to see them.  Expect crowds, though maybe not as bad as Sunday afternoon was.

Formal photos

There were a surprising number of people all dressed up and getting formal photographs. In this picture there are two couples getting photos, another that just got one taken, and a few more looking like they will.

Gnarled tree

With a bit of patience I could get a couple of shots without people in the foreground.

People on the wall of the Tidal Basin

he morning went so well that in the afternoon I came back.  Now the sun was shining on the east side of the tidal basin and the crowds were much heavier

Stumpy and people

Stumpy, they small cherry tree that is just barely hanging on is famous all over the country.  I had one person from Atlanta ask me where it was.  There was a crowd of people around it all day.

Evening light at the Tidal Basin

The evening light shines on the cherry trees on the east side of the Tidal Basin, the Washington Monument watches over the scene.

As soon as this cherry blossom season is over, they will be rebuilding a portion of the seawalls to prevent some of the tidal flooding that regularly occurs. As part of this construction Stumpy, and over a hundred other cherry trees will be cut down and removed.

 

 

 

Seen at Great Falls, MD

 

High above the C & O canal near Great Falls Tavern is this stone.  Two peoples names are carved into it. C. J. Isackson and Olga Anderson.  Along with that is carved N.D.  It was obviously inscribed long ago because the lichens growing on the rock also grow into the engraved initials. The sun is at a low angle this time of year which really makes the letters stand out.

 

 

 

Taste of Bethesda was today

 Taste of Bethesda made it's triumphant return to the Woodmont Triangle area of Bethesda on October 7th 2023.  The day started off rainy and cloudy, but by the start of the festival the rain had stopped.  By early afternoon the sun was poking through the clouds eventually being sunny and breezy.

 

Spanish Diner was there and served up chicken Paella all afternoon. They (and Jaleo before them) have long participated and make paella in a huge pan.

This is the first Taste of Bethesda post-covid. the event was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 because of the virus, then in 2022 the weather put the kibosh on the festivities.

It was crowded there and popular food stands had long lines, but everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.

 

Tout de Sweet served up a variety of macarons and pastries. This one was made with pistachio and was a bit greener than it looks in the photo.

 

 

 

 

 

Pig races at the Montgomery County Fair

 

If you go to the Montgomery County Fair in Gaithersburg this year, make sure you check out the pig races. The fair runs through Saturday the 19th.

Go Hiking: Seneca Ridge Trail

 It is winter now, and I don't do a lot of hiking in the winter.  Friday, however, was in the upper 50's and, after how cold it was Christmas weekend, getting out of the house was welcome. Sunday will be equally warm, so it is another good day to get out and hike.  I went on the Seneca Ridge Trail which starts on Road in Darnestown, Maryland.  From here the trail goes West towards Maryland Route 118, Germantown Road.

Winter is a good time to find signs of prior habitation, like this old, rusty cooler.  There are what look to be foundations of a couple of houses on the left of the trail near the start.

The trail soon crosses an old, disused, road. If you follow it up to the end you will find a couple of parking lots. I didn't see any other remains of what was here. I believe this is the National Capital Trap and Skeet club.  From a video I found on YouTube, it looks like in 2015 there was a lot more remaining. If you know have any more information, leave a comment.

 

The trail goes through an area with many dead pine trees.  Several of them have been broken off about 10 feet above the ground.

The trail continues around through the woods for several miles. Since it is winter and you are on a ridge, you can see pretty far through the trees.

Bethesda's Winter Wonderland, 2023

 Saturday started out rainy and dreary but by afternoon the rain had left us and it was warm.  This was good because the annual Bethesda's Winter Wonderland was from 1pm to 4pm.

 At the wonderland there was ice carving, face painting, visiting with Santa (which was really popular).  There was also food you could by from Dog Haus and the Red Bandana Bakery.

Singing was provided by various groups throughout the afternoon on a stage at Norfolk and St. Elmo avenues.  I believe the group in the photo was from Walter Johnson High School.

Norfolk Avenue was closed between St. Elmo Avenue and Del Ray Avenue, giving people plenty of space to mill around and enjoy the sights and sounds.

It's the 40th annual Turkey Chase this morning

 

Battery Lane.  Currently you can only go one direction (Towards MD-355), the other direction is closed to vehicles.

 

It's Thanksgiving morning, and that means it is time to go for a pre-thanksgiving overload race.  This year the YMCA again sponsored the Turkey Chase 10k run and 2 mile walk/run.  This is the 40th annual run and it is back to being in-person.  You can also participate in some virtual evens now through the 28th. There is a virtual 10k, 5k, and 2 mile walk/run as well as a virtual 10 mile bike ride and 400 yard and 1 mile swim.

Old Georgetown Road and Lucas Lane

Northbound Old Georgetown Road in Bethesda has one lane closed.  Be careful if you are driving, runners sometimes pass other runners by going around the orange cones and entering the edge of the travel lane.

Old Georgetown Road and Greentree Road/South Drive