Crossing the Mississippi

 After an uneventful stay in Indianapolis we crossed the Mississippi to see the Gateway Arch in St Louis. Another thing to cross off the bucket list. St Louis was a very pretty and clean city for what we saw of it. I think the Arch was bigger than I imagined. I guess you have to book tickets in it way in advance online cause it was full. But I don’t believe I would have gone up even if I could have. 

It was so hot there. I was worried about Ash walking on the pavement. So we got back in the car and kept moving heading west on Highway 70. As we were heading to Columbia to our next hotel, we passed the Ozarks. It was too late to go there so we kept going…..

Heading West!

 Unfortunately, I had another crappy night sleep. It was hard sharing a room again. Wary eyed we got a big cup of coffee and began our quest west. Debbie saw an interesting place to visit in Ohio so we headed there. It was supposed to be 4 hours away, but being a seasoned traveler I know it usually takes longer than planned. When we got near there, the exit was closed to construction with no detour signs to help us through it! We had to figure it out for ourselves! Because we were tired it was really frustrating. After dealing with the traffic and confusion it created we finally got back to where the exit was closed and we found the park. Since it was so late we figured we would get a hotel before hitting Hocking Hills State Park. Of course, because we were so tired, everything that was pet friendly was booked due to a soccer convention, so we had to double back to Lancaster in order to find something! By the time we got to the hotel, we were completely frazzled. No way to see the park that day!

The next morning we headed back to Hockings Hills. It was free to get in with a beautiful visitor center to greet us. The weather was hot but manageable. As soon as we hit the trail we knew it was worth the visit. It was nature at its best. And not too crowded! We were in a beautiful gorge with tall ledges on both sides. It was maintained perfectly and had many, many stairs!

We did the Old Man’s Cave first. A two mile trail named for an old recluse who made the cave his home in the 1800s. Asher loved it! 

The many stairs we climbed reminded me I need to hit the gym when I get home! It was a magical place! 

We still had time so we went to Ash Cave. How could we resist a cave with the same name as my dog? So glad we did this after the first cave. It was a short walk, but so incredibly beautiful! We were stunned. Can’t believe we never heard of it! The Indians used to have meetings here. The ground was covered in ash from the campfires, hence its name. I wish I had time to paint here!

I definitely want to return here when I have more time! There was so much to do around here that we didn’t have time for!

Niagara Falls

 After a rough night sleep, Asher was up most of the night in a new place, we got started early to head for Niagara Falls. It was about 7 1/2 hours north. After a tearful goodby to our host we were off! 

We were very happy the weather was good and for it being the end of the Forth of July week, the traffic was light. We couldn’t believe how well Ash was doing in the truck! As soon as we got moving he curled up and put his head on my lap. He stayed that way most of the trip. No car sickness! What a relief. 

We made it to Buffalo in good time and we found our hotel easily. After unpacking, we headed to Niagara Falls. We waited almost an hour to cross the border, the most traffic we saw all day. We had no trouble when it was our turn and we headed for the falls. 

It was incredibly busy, but because it was so late in the day we found parking. Asher really didn’t like it there as soon as he got out of the car. It was so frenetic and crowded. The view was incredible though so we made Ash persevere. The timing was perfect to catch a rainbow above the falls. The water was an incredible color of green and blue and natures power of the water intoxicated us. 

We didn’t stay too long for Asher’s sake. We rushed through picture taking and instead drove around to see the sights.

A New Journey Begins with a Demo in Connecticut

 The Niantic Bay Gallery in CT asked me to do a demo to kick off the new summer hours. Because I didn’t want to load props in my truck with all of my luggage we decided to do a portrait. Claudia Post asked her athletic neighbor if he would be interested in sitting and he agreed. I have been trying to paint Claudia for years now and she did well wrangling out of it with such a handsome model.

We had a big tent outdoors to lure in the street traffic. The lighting was a bit flat but I went to work anyway. We had a decent showing for such a nice day. It was nice to see some faces I hadn’t seen in a while! I had to paint quickly since I only had two hours. As I painted, I tried to explain what I was doing and why as I went along. 

I could have painted him all day but it was really hot out and my time was up. Everyone said they loved it, so I was happy.

After the demo we all went next door and we all enjoyed some great Mexican food! We finished the evening at Claudia’s. John the model joined us as well as Ian the new gallery director and Kate who modeled for Claudia many times. We has lots of laughs!