Capital City Trip, Day One

Day one: Sunday, June 29: We left our hometown about 9 a.m. this morning, and had hardly gotten out of town when some folks in a van honked and pointed toward our camper. I looked out the rear view mirror and saw that the steps were down. Hubbie pulled over and took care of it. We arrived at the campground without further incident around noon.

The weather today was delightful, with temps in the low 80s, low humidity, balmy breezes, and blue sky featuring fluffy white clouds.

After lunch, we made an excursion to the art museum to see a blown glass exhibit. Several artists were represented, demonstrating various methods. The anchor exhibit, by Sonja Blomdahl, was of vase forms, each in different color combinations that glowed under the light and cast beautiful rainbow circles of color on the surfaces upon which they rested.

Also on display were stunning Tiffany works, like an early chandelier featuring lily pads, as well as Dale Chihuly's huge blown glass "nesting baskets."

Another artist, Geoff Isles, used spent atomic fuel rods to make a social issue statement. A ceramic sculptor, Jun Kaneko, created what he calls a "Wave Wall," a very large and winding piece that viewers meander through.

A couple of our favorite pieces included a crystal-like cube, with embedded inner cubes, that caught the light in a spectrum of colors. It was hard to take our eyes off it. Another artist created a life-size transparent and ghostly draped blown-glass tunic that bears the imprint of the human body inside. The mesmerizing piece, by Karen LaMonte, reminds the viewer of ancient Greek and Roman sculptures.

There were other interesting pieces, too, like a flashlight mounted on a clear glass "beam," and a vase with a tiny video embedded in it that showed a wine glass being shattered and then becoming whole again over and over, conveying the idea of the resilience of the human heart in love.

We spent a couple of hours at the museum, and got back to the campground late afternoon. When we arrived at noon, we were disappointed to find our campsite was in full sun, but by the time we returned this afternoon, it was shaded, making it a pleasant place to relax in lawn chairs.

After supper, Hubbie and spent about 45 minutes riding our bikes around the campground. Around 8:30 p.m., we adjourned to the camper and played three games of Skipbo. I won all three.