Ma and Pa's Blog

Off to the tar pits . . .

I stumbled on “PeeWee’s Big Adventure” on TV last night–and found out that it cracked me up just as much as it did the first time I saw it, many years ago. But it started at 11 pm, and I was too sleepy to stay up to watch the whole thing. So while my tastes haven’t matured one bit, the old body has…uh, matured somewhat. Sigh. Still, it’s nice to know my sense of humor is as sophomoric as it ever was. Now to watch “Strange Brew” …or maybe “Private Eyes”. Wookalar!

I hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful weather and some relaxation! Our weather is warm and sunny, Larry has gone to bring Nanny & Poppy here for a holiday bbq rib dinner and maybe a few games of euchre with the dessert, and BBC America is having a Full Monty Memorial Day–Monty Python’s Flying Circus all day. Life is good–ribs and the Pythons! Happy beginning of summer, everyone!

They’re great — have a listen.

We went Wednesday to the Cleveland Art Museum to see the Monet in Normandy exhibit. It was very nice — Ma can twinkle about the art aspects, as she sees so much more than I do in the paintings. The visit was brief, as the rest of the museum was closed for remodeling. We’ll definitely have to return to see the remainder when it reopens. From there, we went to Little Italy (just 1/2 mile or so away) for lunch in the patio behind a little ‘ristorante’. It was a beautiful day, and I burned my bald head during lunch — not bad, just tender. We’ll definitely revisit the restaurant (Guarino’s) as well.

We had a quick (but fun) visit with Dan in Columbus.

Mike, Jenn and Caleb were going to meet Bob, Jean and us there, but Caleb became ill enroute, and they had to turn back. All is well with Caleb now — maybe too much breakfast or motion sickness?

Dan led us on a whirlwind tour — OSU / Katzinger’s Deli for bread / Yau’s for a light lunch / the Franklin Park Conservatory / Buca di Beppo’s for dinner / Kroger’s for a few staples and we were on the way home.

As you can see by the pictures, the conservatory was the main attraction. It was incredible. There were hundreds of orchids, a tropical rain forest exhibit, a desert exhibit, a pacific isle exhibit and the Palm Room. Throughout there were impressive pieces of Dale Chihuly art glass. A really nice escape from the winter weather and the unplowed, snow-clogged, Columbus streets.

Today we visited the Getty Center and the Lake Shrine. Both are beautiful places. The Getty is an amazing group of Art and Museum galleries plus gardens. The architecture and the views all around are really awe inspiring. The Lake Shrine is a retreat for meditation. It has many tranquil areas surrounding the small lake. Being so close to the frenzy of L.A. makes it even more remarkable. Here are a few snapshots

. and a brief video.