Santa Fe AGAIN

Philip and I had the opportunity to visit Santa Fe again thanks to Sue and Bob. They generously offered us their beautiful condominium in the heart of downtown.

While Philip worked, I explored. I really enjoyed the new exhibit at the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum. The exhibit explored the impact of photography on other art mediums such as painting. Even though the collection only contains a few O'Keeffe's it was well worth the visit.



The next day (while Philip worked) I went to the Museum of International Folk Art. It was wonderful! I could have stayed much longer than the two hours I spent. Fortunately, I got there just in time to catch a docent tour. He was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic.






If I lived in a small Hungarian village, as my grandparents, my husband might have worn this to our wedding. And perhaps between my giggling, I might have been wondering just what he had up his sleeve. Where does that expression come from?



These are typical wedding hats for the bride. Just to be sure the village remembers that you are married, you would wear this hat for months or even as long as a year. My Hungarian grandparents married in the United States in attire typical to the period.



Delightful mural, downtown Santa Fe.



Once again we sampled some of Santa Fe's finest restaurants, and once again we were happily patting our round bellies. Do try Santacafe, Cafe Pasquals and Aqua Santa.



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Max's Graduation

Max graduated from Colorado College in May. Philip and I flew to Colorado Springs from Connecticut to enjoy the special occasion.

Great dinners with many of Max's friends. The Summit at the Broadmoor.





House parties.






Okay. I never said that I was the best role model for my kids.


Just enough parties.


Sister and brother, always the best of friends.


Guess what mom, I got an AWARD!


Friends forever, housemates for a year. Kristin, Sebastian and Max.


Moms and their off-springs.


Reverse roommates: Luc, Terry and Bruce.



A fun-filled weekend with family and friends. Congratulations, Max. We are all very proud if you!

New York City

While visiting with my brother, Bob, and his wife Claire in Connecticut we all took a day trip in the city. We arrived at Grand Central Station at 9:30 a.m. And departed on a 4:00 p.m. train the same day. Just enough time to visit the Pompeii exhibit at the Discovery Museum and the Alexander McQueen exhibit at the Met.

Unfortunately, we were not allowed to photograph either of those exhibits, which were both fascinating. Here are a few shots from our day:

Times Square






The Metropolitan Museum of Art






Okay. Name the painting and the artist.







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Detour!

Philip and I separated (just for a week). I went to the Tahoe area to visit my step-daughter, Annie, and her 8 year old son Luca. Here's Luca performing a last minute piano practice in the morning before school.



Coffee and hot chocolate on the lake with grandma (I'll be a young great grandma some day).



Pizza night with Annie and Luca. Carbo overload.



Philip visited Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania.











And some family friends in Downingtown. This is Kris and Dennis's granddaughter, Jessica and the newest member of the family Addie.





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Virginia and Maryland

Two states in FIVE days?? Sometimes you have to make tough choices. While we have spent weeks in some states, we have only spent days in others. Why? It depends. Sometimes we have passed through a state during bad weather or the wrong season. Other times we were drawn to something in particular in another state. This time we needed to keep moving north to make a flight connection later in the month.

We chose one highlight in Virginia, Monticello. However, we needed some exercise first. Bear Creek State Park in Cumberland proved to be a great launch pad for a long off-road biking day of single track, logging and gravel roads. Just beautiful and not a soul in sight. Our own private forest. What could be better!











History lessons here we come. Monticello. First lesson, Thomas Jefferson was tall and wore hot boots. Imagine, he was so debonair and yet a bachelor most of his life. Hmmm, looks like Philip was cold that day or was he looking for...well, never mind.



Jefferson owned a large estate with lots of farm land and slaves, but he always struggled with finances. At his death he was in debt. His slaves were sold, with just a few being freed. The house and land were sold. His library was already in Washington, D.C.

During it's heyday, Monticello was a hub of activity always filled with guests whenever Jefferson was home. Jefferson studied agricultural sciences. Rather than plant cash crops such as tobacco, he chose less profitable crops that preserved the quality of the soil. As most of you know, Jefferson was fascinated with architecture. He designed the house and continued to make changes and improvements for years.


Gardens.


Cabbage.


Mountain laurel.



Do visit Monticello when you have the chance. Then stop in nearby Charlottesville for good food and a little shopping.



Sorry Virginia, next time we will stay longer. Our next location was Dunkirk, MD to visit my brother Bill and his family. Bill and Lynn took us to Annapolis for a scenic boat trip on the Chesapeake Bay.














And dinner at a great seafood restaurant with their daughter Megan.



On Mother's Day, Bill prepared a feast for all of us.



Here's Megan and her husband Scott. They are expecting a daughter this August! All in all it was a fun weekend of shopping, site- seeing and FOOD!




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North Carolina Tour

After some great camping and mountain biking, we headed to the beautiful city of Charlotte to visit my nephew Ryan for the Easter weekend. The weather was beautiful. We left the van for the comfort and convenience of a Springhill Suites Hotel. Very nice.

We enjoyed dinner at Firebird with Heidi and Ryan, desert at Dean and Deluca and music on the plaza. Ryan treated us to brunch the next day and took us on a tour of downtown Charlotte. Lots of great art installations.
















And a special tour of Ryan's new house. Plenty big for future family holidays! That evening we enjoyed dinner on the patio of Zada Janes and desert at Amelie's. If you are in Charlotte do find these two special eateries, which are uptown.



Next stop on the tour: Uwarrie National Forest. Haven't heard of it? Don't feel bad, neither have most locals. The forest is just an hour east of Charlotte. There are several camping options, mountain bike trails, hiking and equestrian trails, lakes and country roads perfect for road biking. Our first camping spot was Baden Lake Campgrounds.



Over the next two days we did two road bike tours through lovely little towns lush with greenery. We did get rained on a bit, fortunately sitting out the worst downpour under the carport of a local BBQ joint. Our last night, we stayed in Morrow Mountain State Park, which is a beautiful large park on the west side of the Little Pee Dee River.



On Thursday we met up with our dear friend Ruth. Ruth lives in Greensboro. She and I met in 1998 when I was the new director of City Kids and she a first time student. I like to say we grew up together. We had a great time catching up and shopping in Charlotte. Next time we will make it to Carowinds to ride the roller coasters!



The tour continues in Raleigh. I had the delightful opportunity to get reacquainted with my cousin Richard and his wife Nance. We hiked. We talked...a lot, sharing stories of our separate childhoods and Dombi family members.



On Saturday we had a fun time at the annual art fair. Good shopping! We also toured downtown Raleigh and enjoyed dinner with Richard and Nance's daughter Taylor. Taylor just started her nursing career, following a professional passion shared with her mom.



We first saw this performing artist in Asheville. Perfectly still, until you drop a donation in the basket. Great act!



Continuing eastward, we landed on the Outer Banks- a beautiful expanse of ocean, sand dunes and shallow bays. While I yearned for a little windsurfing and a try at kite boarding, it just wasn't meant to be this time. A little beach time for me and work for Philip while we camped in Waves at the Hatteris Campground. This campground is a very large parking lot with sites on both the ocean and bay side. It was okay because it was empty when we were there. It is also very expensive.



We headed south to Frisco Woods Campground. A cozy, spot (with trees) on the bay, a haven for windsurfers.

From there we biked further south to Hatteris, took the free ferry to Ocracoke, which is a small, quaint island and home to a National Seashore. Excellent road biking, campground looked good and... ice cream!













The best sunsets over the bay. Always a special way to end a beautiful day.




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