I worked two shows of the Beauty and the Beast Broadway in Austin show from the Bass Concert Hall over the weekend. The show was great. My favorite number was “Be Our Guest”; great music and great choreography, including tap.
Between shows, I went up to the balcony on the 6th floor to see the post-sunset sky over the 40 Acres.
It’s December. The Christmas decorations are starting to roll out through the house. It doesn’t all happen on one day. It’s a process.
This morning I was greeted by this lovely scene on the way to the coffee pot. 💛
After Portsmouth, we will stay in Salisbury for a couple of nights. But we decided to make another attempt to see the inside of Winchester Cathedral. So we boarded the train to Winchester again. This time, the Cathedral was open and glorious.
Inside the Cathedral, we were able to view the 12th-century Winchester Bible. We also took a guided tour and soaked up the history of the place. The Cathedral’s construction began under William the Conqueror in 1079 and was completed in 1532. During that period, architectural techniques evolved. The Cathedral’s construction began with Norman features (rounded arches, thick walls) on the central tower and transepts, later adopting Gothic features (pointed arches and flying buttresses) in its wide open nave.
Jane Austen is buried here, though the tribute on her gravestone omits any mention of her literary achievements.
The Cathedral was not damaged during World War II. But it experienced destruction from the British themselves during the English Reformation in the 1500s, when Henry VIII broke with the Roman Catholic Church and created the Church of England. The patron saint of Winchester Cathedral was St. Swithen. During the Reformation, a shrine to St. Swithin in the Cathedral that had become a destination for many religious pilgrims was destroyed and removed. The “Holy Hole” still remains, marking the entrance to his former shrine. I think it would be a great place for a geocache. 😮
And more destruction followed in the mid-1600s, after the Parliamentarians defeated the Royalists in the English Civil War. Not only did they execute King Charles I, but they also trashed most religious icons in churches across the country. In Winchester Cathedral, they broke statues and mortuary chests, smashed just about all the stained glass, and used the Cathedral as a stable for the army’s horses. A few years later, Charles II took his father’s throne, restoring the monarchy and a bit of order. In 1660, the current wall of stained glass at the Cathedral’s west entrance was constructed using shards of the broken, original stained glass windows.
That’s the end of the history lesson, and enough of all the death and destruction, already!
Oh, one other thing I found interesting…. At the beginning of the 20th century, the southern and eastern walls of the Cathedral were found to be sinking under their own weight. This was due to the high water table in the area and being built on peat. Since the water table couldn’t be lowered, someone would have to do the work underwater. A Navy diver named William Walker came to the rescue. From 1906 to 1911, he single-handedly dove down in water up to 20′ deep, to shore up the foundations with bags of cement, concrete blocks, and bricks. He’s remembered as “The diver who with his own hands saved Winchester Cathedral.”
At the end of the tour, we went down into the Crypt under the Cathedral floor. Unlike most other churches, this crypt is virtually empty, due to nearly constant flooding. In the 1980’s a sculpture by Anthony Gormley was installed. The statue is, more often than not, standing in water.
Ok, that is all for Winchester. Since we are bound for Salisbury by nightfall, we headed back to the train station and got back on board. More to follow on our visit to Salisbury.
Links for the curious:
Winchester Cathedral’s website to plan your visit.
While visiting Washington State a few weeks back, I took a photo of a beautiful wooden carving that was unceremoniously displayed in the corner of a building at the top of some stairs. Today I uploaded it and played around with it a little bit. I love the result. I think I’ll make some notecards with this image. 🙂
Have a great Friday!
And the original:
We have driven by the Palo Duro Canyon State Park many times on trips to and from Colorado over the last 25+ years.
This week we took a little road trip to go see it. Palo Duro Canyon is the second largest canyon in the United States. It’s located in the high plains of North Texas; the Llano Estacado. The elevation at the rim is about 3500’ and the floor of the canyon lies about 800’ below. It is called “the Grand Canyon of Texas” and the steep, layered rock walls sure echo those of its namesake.
We took the 8-hour drive up and stayed in a cabin on the floor of the canyon that was built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps.
The park is stunningly beautiful. Being in the heart of nature for a couple of days was unforgettable.
The visitor center provided a nice introduction to the geology and history of the canyon.
And oh the stars! We sat outside for hours watching the sky.
On the way home we made an overnight stop in Lubbock. We enjoy visiting the McPherson Cellars tasting room whenever we are in the neighborhood. We can always find another couple there to talk with over a glass of wine.
We stopped in lots of tiny Texas towns to check out their antique stores, historic county courthouses, and Main Street cafes.
Home sweet home now – ‘til the next road trip.
Earlier this month, Monte and I checked something off his wish list. We booked a 5-day/4-night cruise on the Lewis R. French. The French is a 2-masted gaff-rigged wooden schooner. Built in 1871 in Christmas Cove, it is the only remaining 19th-century schooner built in Maine. It is a National Historic Landmark, and is the oldest active commercial sailing vessel in the United States. It is part of the extensive Maine Windjammer Association, taking guests on 3-6 day cruise adventures in Penobscot Bay.
The French hosts twenty guests, with a crew of five. The weather was excellent. We had a little bit of everything: sun, sporting wind, fog, light wind, and some shooting stars, thanks to the Perseid meteor shower. Guests are welcome to hoist and lower sails, sound the fog horn, steer, raise anchor, and help row one of the two wooden rowboats to shore and back. The French operates on sail only, but tows a diesel tender behind which is used to push it in and out of harbors and as an auxiliary motor in case there is no wind at all.
Kurt, Kevin, and Edie also came on the trip, which made for even more fun. We arrived one day ahead of time to explore Camden and other towns a bit before boarding our cruise. We stayed at the Lord Camden Inn, and had a great view of the entire harbor from our balcony.
We didn’t have to board the schooner until 5pm, so we had plenty of time to explore. We drove to the top of Mount Battie and took in sweeping views of Penobscot Bay, and Camden Harbor.
We also visited nearby coastal towns of Rockport, Damariscotta, Rockland, and Bath.
Our first night we slept aboard at the dock in Camden. In the morning we set off to the east, ending up anchoring at Burnt Island outside North Haven. We enjoyed a lobster bake ashore on the beach.
The next day we headed north, it was a long day of sailing, sometimes in light wind, sometimes in moderate wind, anchoring in Holbrook Harbor. We rowed ashore for a short walk on one of the islands there before dinner.
In the morning, I was happy to hear that we would sail to the nearby historic town of Castine after breakfast to grab a mooring and then go ashore for a couple of hours. I walked to the lighthouse and back, exploring the museum and the historic fort locations along the way.
After everyone was back on board, we hoisted sails again for a really lovely sail in good winds south to Gilkey’s Harbor at Islesboro.
The next morning we headed out in thick fog southwest back to Camden.
The food aboard was plentiful and delicious. The chef “OB” kept bringing up baked goods, meals, and snacks from the galley below.
Captain (and owner) Becky kept things running smoothly. First mate Alex and her deck hands Jesse and Jenny kept things ship shape and made it all look easy.
After coming ashore again in Camden, we piled into the car headed back to Portland. We bid adieu to Kurt, dropped Edie and Kevin at the airport, and then Monte and I hopped a Casco Bay ferry over to Great Diamond Island to stay with Lori and Mike for a few days in their wonderful vacationland home.
While they no longer have a sailboat, they have a new addition, a 27′ Boston Whaler that is moored at the island. We used it to head over to Peaks Island one night for dinner, and to spend an afternoon taking in a floating concert at Cow Island.
This is my 3rd summer visit to Maine, and each has been very memorable and fun.
A shot of tonight’s full sturgeon moon shining bright. 🧡
This week we were treated to some interesting happenings in the sky. There was extremely high solar activity due to some large flares and sun-things happening. We anchored out on a lovely, clear Thursday night and I captured some of the far away glow from the Northern Lights with my iPhone. The only thing I could see with my naked eye was a faint rosy glow to the north.
I was pleased that I could get some shots, even though we were way down in Texas.
This week, a comet is gracing us with its faint presence. It is low on the horizon after sunset. I was finally able to spot it through binoculars and grabbed a less-than-stellar shot of it from my Olympus camera with a long exposure on a tripod.
Hopefully, I’ll get another shot at it before it completely disappears.
While not NatGeo-worthy, I do enjoy the challenge of trying to capture a glimpse of these heavenly sights on camera.
I headed down to the University of Texas campus today to meet up with a bunch of friends to celebrate Laura’s birthday. Not all the ladies could make it, but we had a great lunch at Gabriel’s Cafe in the AT&T Hotel and Conference Center, just down the street from the UT Tower. We all enjoyed catching up with eachother. Afterwards, we walked the few blocks to the Blanton Museum. Tuesday’s are free!
I haven’t been down to the museum district since before COVID. And things sure have changed! There is a new pedestrian-only mall that goes all the way from the Capitol Building, up to the Blanton – and huge new office buildings where there used to be only a surface parking lot.
The Blanton has done much work on their grounds, and this pretty awesome feature consists of a dozen 3-story tall structures that they call Petals. They provide much needed shade.
I need to come down more often to enjoy the exhibits.
Happy Birthday, Laura!
Last week we stopped in at one of our favorite music spots in town, Donn’s Depot. Danny Britt and friends were playing. We sat in the back dining room and visited with friends while we listened to the music. We don’t go often enough, but I sure hope this place never goes away. A jewel of old Austin.
The Christmas ornaments are always slow to come down at Donn’s. It makes for good ambiance, though.
Danny Britt playing for the crowd, as viewed from the back room
We enjoyed a long, fun Fourth of July weekend at the lake. We floated, paddled, fished, grilled, sailed, watched a couple movies, played some games, admired fireworks, and caught up with friends. Various sponsors on Lake Travis had fireworks on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday nights. And there were many small, but impressive, volleys all weekend long.
We watched fireworks on Saturday sitting at the end of our dock, on Sunday spitting in our cockpit in the slip, and on Monday we motored out to watch a big show. We enjoyed them all.
I hope you had a fun weekend as well.
The sunlight from the first sunrise of Summer illuminates a bunch of Monte’s pretty zinnies.
Last night we took a boatload out to watch the Christmas boat parade. B-dock was well represented. The weather was great. Afterwards there was caroling around the slips.
The Virginia Creeper is turning lovely shades of Autumn out back.
Sheila365 