#195: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Pg 645)

Aug. 16, 2017

Although I'm a Cubs fan through and through, I became a Red Sox fan when I visited the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.  Isabella was a die hard Red Sox fan, so the museum gives you a $2 discount if you don Red Sox apparel.

The open courtyard in the middle was one of my favorite parts of the museum.  There are several rooms/galleries that surround the courtyard on each of the three levels.

The Standard Bearer of the Harvest Festival

By Antonio Mancini, 1884

Isabella Steward Gardner in Venice 

By Anders Zorn 1894

The Gothic room was one of my favorite.  Likely due in part to the mystery and intrigue that enshrouds it.  As you see here, there are huge empty frames hanging on the walls. On March 18, 1990, two men pulled off the largest-value theft of private property in history.  They stole 13 pieces of art valuing a total of $500 million.  Three of the stolen pieces were Rembrandts.  The Storm on the Sea of Galilee hung in the frame on the right. It is his only known seascape.

It's also in this room that Isabella placed her portrait by John S. Sargent, which he did in 1888. It is also in this room that she allowed John S. Sargent to use as his studio in 1903 and he painted several portraits here. 

Verdict: No.  Admittedly, I probably only feel this way because, while I appreciate art and enjoy art, I'm not an art lover. So, I enjoyed it. I'm glad I went.  I learned a lot.  But unless you are in fact an art lover, you can indeed go to your grave without experiencing this museum.

Cost: $15.  If you wear Red Sox apparel, you'll get a $2 discount making it $13.  There is limited metered street parking.  We drove around for a while and couldn't find an open spot, so we parked in a nearby lot for $18.

#194: Willamette Valley (Page 697, 2nd Ed pg 858)

July 16, 2017

Naturally, most people are inclined to pronounce this lovely place as Willa-mette.  But a few weeks before venturing out to Oregon, I was talking to a friend of mine who is from Oregon, and she quickly corrected me.  "It's WillAmette.  Like Dammit."  That's an easy way to remember it!

Testing out the product straight from the vine..... I approve!

There are several thousand acres that make up Willamette Valley and every where you look, it seems there is a vineyard to go along with it.

Cheers!

Verdict:  Willamette Valley is lovely.  It's quaint, it's charming, it's classy and had a relaxing vibe to it.   If you were a wine lover and were here for a weekend without kids, staying at a bed and breakfast at/by a vineyard, I can see thinking to yourself, "This is a must do experience."  But since I don't drink (and admittedly, that was a little painful for me here since I'm such a grab-life-by-the-horns-and -experience-all-you-can type of person), and I was with my 6 yr old daughter and just passing through, that wasn't my experience.  So, while I could appreciate the beauty, I didn't leave thinking it should have made the list. 

#193: The Lewis and Clark Trail (#695; Listed as The Columbia River Gorge in the 2nd Ed, pg 855)

July 16, 2017

Multnomah Falls is the most visited natural recreation site in the Pacific Northwest....

and for good reason!  It's GORGEOUS!

It's the 2nd highest waterfall in the country.

I love this view of Benson Bridge.  You can hike to Benson Bridge and stop there (like we did since we had a 6 yr old and two people in their 70's in our group of 5) or you can continue all the way up to the top!

Love bringing my kids along on my travel adventures and seeing the world through their eyes and creating travel memories together!

 As the book says, although Lewis and Clark's journey was 3700 miles long, a lot of attention is focused on this 80-mile stretch along the Columbia River Gorge and Multnomah Falls.  And once you go there to see it in person, it is easy to see why!

 In fact, Congress decided to designate this as the nation's first national scenic area in 1986.  

 I thought it was very fitting that I was able to visit this area with my 6 yr old daughter because Lewis and Clark's famous quote:  "Ocian in view! O! the joy!" was declared on November 7, 1805 by William Clark when the reached the Pacific Ocean.  And November 7th is also the day I gave birth to this little beauty.

Columbia River

Verdict:  Definitely worth seeing.  Absolutely beautiful.  And something for everyone - if you are able, you can hike, etc.  If not, plenty of places to drive and pull over.  And better yet, it's free!

#192: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum (Page 692, 2nd Ed pg 852)

 For my birthday this year, I looked in my 1000 Places book and found the closest thing to me that I hadn't yet done.... the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, a 6 hour drive away.

And I took with me my birthday buddy, my son Tanner.

 Michael Jackson's famous glove in the Legends of Rock and Roll exhibit on Level 0.

Cost:  $23.50/adult, $13.75/child

Verdict: The museum is very well done and if music is your passion and rock and roll is your love, then you could easily spend all day here and love every minute.  But I guess my passion for all things rock and roll isn't all that deeply rooted, so while we enjoyed our couple of hours here, specifically seeing all the memorabilia and the U2 concert in 3D on Level 4 in the Foster Theatre, No, I do not think this is a must do before you die. 

#191: Renaissance Island

Every once in a while (I think this is only my third time), I run across something that is NOT in the 1000 Places Book, but is SO awesome, I'm shocked it didn't make the cut.  Especially when it's significantly more awesome than many of the things that are in the book.  So, that's when I take it upon myself to add it to this list anyway!

Renaissance Island is one of those places!

When we first booked our trip to Aruba, I immediately busted out my book to see what the book recommended so we could add it on to our itinerary.  But lo and behold, not a single thing in Aruba made the cut.

But then we visited this island and I thought to myself, this is an absolute must-do for all water-loving, beach-loving, caribbean-loving, sun-loving, flamingo-loving people out there!

And we have one of those flamingo-loving people in our family.  It was like a dream come true for her!

I mean, look at this place!!

When you get to Renaissance Island (they take you by speed boat from the Renaissance -owned by Marriott- hotel), you can go right or left.  If you go right, you will find yourself at the adults-only beach with cabanas, chairs, umbrellas, hammocks and flamingoes. 

If you turn left, you will find yourself here, at the "family beach" (otherwise knows as Iguana Beach).

There's a great platform the kids can swim out to and jump off.

Paradise

But luckily for our flamingo-lover, kids are allowed over to the flamingo/adult side for an hour or two in the morning to feed them and swim with them and take pictures with them.

There is also an "Activity hut" where you can rent mats, snorkel gear, scuba gear, kayaks, etc.

Tip:  This is a private island.  If you are staying at the Renaissance hotel, this island is considered part of the hotel and you can come here as often as you like for free.  However, if you are not staying here, you can still go.  The hotel charges $100/person.  For our family of six, we found it made financial sense to spend one night at the hotel (we had enough Marriott points to cover our one-night stay) so that we could go to the island for free and then we made our way over to our time share for the rest of the week.

Verdict: Yes!!!  Such a unique, fun, memorable experience!