Pop Art and Huntopia: Back to the Taubman Museum of Art

We are proud members of the Taubman Museum of Art, a museum that always delights with unique and frequently-changing exhibits.  In the displays, there's something "modern," something "traditional," and something unexpected -- what a collection.  On a recent weekend, we stopped in to see the special exhibit Pop Power from Warhol to Koons.

I did need to give the kids a little context on the emergence of modern art, but even with a light treatment of the topic, they enjoyed the exhibit.  We found a sculpture that looked like it could have inspired Funko collectibles, a cool composite portrait of Seinfeld girlfriends, and collections of dots that made E ponder the definition of art.  G's favorites were Warhol images; E appreciated Gazing Ball (Koons).  There are selfie opportunities and cool events (sample here) associated with the works to explore, and the Leiber handbags currently on display are pop-art themed.  Speaking of photo ops, didn't E wear the perfect shirt?

We were also so very glad to stumble upon Huntopia, a world of color, delightfully replicating themes, and novel combinations.  As I put it, I wanted to live in the fanciful yet homelike exhibit which also features furniture and even has some elements on loan from Black Dog Salvage.  I just found this exhibit so delightful, and it ranks with Play, a previous special exhibit, and the amazing piece Corrugated Fountain among my favorite Taubman experiences.

In other exhibit news, both kids were pretty amazed at the works of Julie Speed, which are reminiscent of Hieronymus Bosch.  G was also quite immersed in the Giuseppina Giordiano: Please, Teach Me the Language of a Rose space.

Things to Know

• If you have kids with you, allow for playtime in Art Venture.  On our recent visit, 10-year-old E enjoyed the ample supply of Legos while G made new friends, putting on a play and painting leaf rubbings.  One of the great benefits of Art Venture is the amount of supplies and playthings available -- and the staff takes care to create enriching extension activities associated with the works on display.  

• General admission (exclusive of special exhibits and Art Venture) is free!
• It's worth your investment to become a member of the museum, even with the free admission to the main galleries, especially if you have kids or live close.  We maintain a family membership, catching renewals on sale through social media promotions.  This allows free access to Art Venture, special exhibits, and fun after-hours events for members only. Taubman members also enjoy reciprocity with the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond.  They have a similar model for free general admission, but members get free parking and special exhibit entry as a perk.  
• The museum is close to several unique restaurants in the Roanoke Market area.  On our recent visit, we were very pleased to eat at Cedars where the kids tried Lebanese food.  Speaking of the market area, we can't wait to return and check out the Chimes public art installation this February.
• We usually park at the Tower Parking Garage (Roanoke City public parking) -- Coupon Kim gets excited free days on the weekends.  

Always at Play: Finding Joy Around Town

Someday, I hope our kids will feel the need to have fun with the kids in their lives, even close to home.  To that end, here's some treats in and around Daleville, Virginia, our current home ZIP code.  It's convenient to 1-81's Exit 150B, not to mention the fact that Route 220 runs through it and Route 460 is not far off, making it an easy stop.  To that end, here are three activities that specifically promise fun to share with you.

Not too long ago, the exercise studio FlyFit began giving us a novel way to burn calories.  They are home of bungee activities, Pilates, aerial yoga, and more.  Yes, I said bungee -- bungees hang from the ceiling and provide you both resistance and support while you workout.  There's even a kids' class that G adores.

Kim's recommendation?  Try bungee sculpt or aerial yoga.  In aerial yoga, you will use a suspended silk and finish class by making a cocoon in which you will rest.

For an activity that's a little more free form, there's the amazing Addy Grace All-Abilities Playground.

A local family spearheaded the campaign to built the park, the first of the type in the area.  It's great for kids of all ages and features zip lines, climbing equipment, and modern merry-go-rounds.  There's a safe play surface, benches, convenient parking, and a tall fence -- details caregivers really appreciate.  If you are travelling through, this is a fantastic place to let the kids stretch their legs and make fast friends as there are almost always several families busy playing.

And there's another one:  Enchanted Bliss, a lovely place for grown ups but also known for its kids' spa Enchanted Bliss Kids downstairs.  A generous friend of ours hosted a spa gathering and invited G.  We had a blast polishing nails, playing dress up, doing face masks, being pampered with a little up-do, and more.  It's certainly fun with friends and also offers "date nights" and similar events.

Things to Know

• Wear comfy clothes, and if doing FlyFit, know you can book your class through their Facebook page where they run frequent specials.  Any athletic clothes will serve you well in class.
• The Addy Grace Playground is FREE and open to all.  There are some erroneous reviews that state otherwise online -- they are incorrect.  Yes, it is very close to the YMCA, but YMCA membership is not required.
• Enchanted Bliss runs a fair number of Facebook specials as well.
• These places are assets, and they don't have many TripAdvisor reviews yet.  Give them some TripAdvisor love after your visits!
• It's easy to add on a meal at Tizzone or the more casual Town Center Tap House, both having fun promotions frequently as well.  Eat after FlyFit, not before.  Another place we can't wait to try?  Donnie D's Bagels and Deli.

A Little Adventure, Close By: SeaQuest Lynchburg

There's a new attraction at Lynchburg's River Ridge Mall in Virginia, a shopping destination many locals will once remember through images like these (follow link to Live Malls blog).  In an effort to attract new crowds, the mall's latest tenant is the edutainment venue SeaQuest. SeaQuest is part petting zoo, part aquarium -- and definite attraction.  On the day of our weekend visit, we experienced crowds in the SeaQuest space itself and a bustling mall corridor in the area near SeaQuest, if not foot traffic in nearby stores we quickly visited.  The SeaQuest site itself looks smaller than expected from the exterior of the mall but larger than expected once inside.

SeaQuest features a variety of animals, mainly small amphibians, reptiles, and marine life.  Yes, the animals below are wallabies -- there are some exceptions to my list of animal types.  Visitors progress through themed areas that give a sense of ecological diversity in a constructed environment.

G, age 6, was proud that she touched a silky chicken, and the stingray touch tank, including a "crawl in" space, was a clear favorite.  Popular exhibits with guests at large include sloths and tropical birds.

In short, the kids enjoyed the surprise mom date at SeaQuest and did not seem rattled by the crowds -- but did want to go rather than swing back through with tokens for food and add-on experiences.  They do want to return -- and E wants to snorkel with the stingrays for his birthday this year if we can swing it.

Things to Know

• Tokens are available for purchase that can be spent on food for animals and/or added experiences.  Not completely knowing how the system worked, I decided to take the kids through, scope out what we wanted to do with tokens, and then return to buy the desired amount.  We had fun petting many animals without need for tokens.  The kids found dropped food on exhibits (there was actually a lot) for the animals and were delighted to put their hands in touch tanks even without food.
• Are you a teacher in Virginia?  If you take teacher ID (must say teacher) to this location or are listed in the Virginia Department of Education license query as holding a teaching license, you and your family enter for free!  Foster families have a similar deal.
• There are some concerns reported online about SeaQuest's treatment of animals from various sources.  I reviewed a smattering of this information and still decided to make a visit, wanting to become more knowledgeable about the attraction.  The apparent physical crowding and constant stimulation of some animals gave me some pause, but I also noted that the attendants seemed to genuinely enjoy their work and show concern for the animals.  I am hopeful this location will avoid some of the possible challenges of others in the chain.  The public also needs to be engaged in showing appropriate care; an overheard employee story, for example, revealed that a guest had tried to add found amphibians from the community to one of the tanks.
• Try to plan your visit for a weekday to skip the crowds.
• There is a gift shop with themed merchandise -- but we did not find logo items.
• Planning a birthday party?  They do have a party space -- but you could also add a SeaQuest visit on to a visit to a nearby fast food restaurant meal or candy store shopping experience.
• This is not really a zoo.  It is an animal attraction, and the animals will be close to you.  If you are interested in a zoo, we definitely recommend the North Carolina Zoo.  This site is also not your traditional aquarium.  If you'd like a kid-friendly zoo/aquarium experience, try Greensboro Science Center.  The Clearwater Aquarium is also a great, father afield experience.  Want to find out if your kids like touch tanks in an environment that also provides other experiences?  The Science Museum of Western Virginia may scratch that itch.

For Further Exploration

• If you are out and about in Lynchburg with kids, you also want to know about the children's museum Amazement Square -- an excellent option for your visit.  If you visit like the Haltermans, it would be hard to do both Amazement Square and SeaQuest in one day.

Deliciousness: Visiting Bush's Baked Beans

It's no secret that we enjoy visiting places that are a bit unusual, places that connect us to different components of our lives and the special things that are right before us. To that end, I (K) had always wanted to visit the Bush's Baked Beans Visitor Center in Chestnut Hill, Tennessee.  Yes, I enjoy the beans; more importantly, we enjoy the fun of learning about items made in our region.  We like to celebrate with those who celebrate -- even if it is baked beans we are celebrating.  Why not?

Your visit begins with an informative movie, and then, you move on to exhibits.  The first space is about how beans become Bush's Baked Beans.  Pictured above: J walking through a giant bean can; pictured below: E finding his weight in beans. 

Then, there's an expansive history of the company -- a great way to consider not only the history of their work but also the history of America. 

The staff here was so very friendly -- and they have a free photo op as you leave the exhibit area.  All of this not to mention the awesome places to pose outside.

Things to Know

• Entrance is free!  There is ample parking and a restaurant.
• The gift shop sells T-shirts, other souvenirs, and some harder-to-find Bush's products.  We left with delicious bean dips.
• You are across the street from the actual factory when visiting -- this is not a factory tour (even though I tagged it that way) but more of a factory experience like you would find at, say, Hershey's Chocolate World.  
• This destination is 14 miles from Sevierville, Tennessee, and 25 miles from Gatlinburg, Tennessee -- easy to find on the way to or from this section of the Smoky Mountains.

For Further Exploration

• Very interested in factory tours and company visitor centers?  You can find a nice starter list here with still more listed here.  They are lists compiled for kids, but they look fun for everyone.
• We've learned it pays to seek out regional businesses, flagship company stores, and similar when travelling.  Ask around at most destinations, and you'll find something regionally specific and wonderful.

Travelling and Pausing: Edward Hopper and the American Hotel

Travel is such a gift to me.  I'd rather travel than do or have most anything, and I make my best memories with others when I am "out and about," typically.  Business travel focuses me; solo travel begets adventure; kid/couple/friend travel makes the best memories.  Travel removes distraction, creating bursts of both activity and rest.  I do better with both the extremes and the balance it ironically creates.

Will I take the opportunity to travel to see an exhibit that explores American travel and transience?  Of course.  Enter Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Richmond, Virginia) and its current special exhibit Edward Hopper and the American Hotel, open until February 23, 2020.  The exhibit, curated by VMFA staff and at its only East Coast venue, is worth a look for anyone interested in twentieth-century American culture, hospitality, and/or art.  Western Motel and Hotel Lobby are both included, as are some artifacts of Hopper's connection to Richmond and the VMFA.

Wonderfully curated, the exhibit gives attention to Hopper's art, of course, including paintings and sketch studies.  It incorporates information from the Hopper road trip diaries, mainly completed by Jo Hopper, as well as period postcards and hospitality trade periodicals.  It juxtaposes similar works of art for your reflection, including several three-dimensional pieces by others.  Recreations of two areas of Hopper hotels, including a room you can book a stay in and a reconstructed lobby, add both realism and fun.  (Did you catch that in the image of Western Motel above and the images of Hotel Lobby below?)  The interpretive signs are equal parts art analysis and American culture.

You'll have time and space to think about travel, escape, Durkheim's anomie, and cultural change.  It's a great exhibit to take in alone or with a good conversational partner.

Things to Know

• VMFA is always free to enter.  Parking is $6, unless you are a member.  Roanoke area friends, if you are a member at the Taubman Museum of Art, your membership is reciprocal here.  You are actually in the VMFA database as a family membership, and you park free!  Watch for periods during which the Taubman sells annual memberships at a bit of a discount -- we caught a sale in April 2019.  The helpful staff was even willing to look up my membership for me -- although traveling with a card would have been easier.  
• Special exhibits at VMFA have timed tickets.  I was able to walk up and access a time slot, but this is not always true, so consider planning ahead.  Virginia educators are free with ID as are VMFA members (including Taubman members as mentioned).  
• You are very close to the Virginia Museum of History and Culture, and it's a good idea to plan to take a break on the VMFA grounds.  It's a good spot for a picnic and includes a collection of sculpture.  VMFA is large enough for a day trip easily depending on your personal museum preferences.  I easily spent about two hours in the Hopper exhibit.
• It's worth knowing the VMFA special exhibit calendar.  I'm looking forward to Treasures of Ancient Egypt: Sunken Cities in 2021, and we very much enjoyed Terracotta Warriors and Napoleon.  

For Further Exploration

• An exhibit book, available for about $40, provides a good exploration of content of the exhibit.  Additionally, you can take an audio tour of this exhibit and several others -- bring your device and earbuds!  
• There are some interesting works by others included -- my favorite was the Robert Cottingham photo-realistic oil painting below.

• And in the category of "just so nifty," this exhibit is one of Fifty Reasons to Travel This Fall from Forbes Travel Guide.

Ramsdell House: On the Amazing Things We Find When We Ask

There's nothing like small-town tourism -- the civic pride of community leaders, the friendly folks who like showing the way.  Always push through the "there's nothing here" and you will get to the interesting.

We recently visited the Kenova Pumpkin House, four hours away from home base.  We stayed overnight and explored the region the next day.  Someone told us about the Ramsdell House, that it was an Underground Railroad stop open infrequently but that we could drive around and spot its historic cellar.  A little GPS work and we pulled up in front of it, finding it open.

Turns out Ramsdell is a wonderful historic home, recently restored and typically open four days a week as well as by appointment.  It's got an amazing story of protection and preservation, having been a rental property and a community center and in disrepair, all in recent history.  

Most significantly, it started the town of Ceredo, begun as an abolitionist colony steps from both Confederate and Union Civil War forts.  It was an Underground Railroad stop just at the Ohio River -- freedom on the other side.  During the time since, much of the house's contents have been miraculously preserved, just locked in the attic.  There are everyday objects, papers from McKinley before his Presidency, shoe-making tools, religious leaflets from the Christian tradition,  newspapers ... all sorts of too-close-to-forgotten history now saved. And the found toys -- they are nothing short of delightful. The building was probably a house church as well as a civic center, and those in town promoted a vision of economic change and development. 

Director Deborah Wolfe, the individual responsible for coordinating much of the restoration, gave us a personal tour.  We discussed directions for future interpretation, including the link to the Native Burial Mound on which the site is situated. We have every confidence that this site is becoming a place of memory and reconciliation -- and we know its staff, including its volunteers, are willing to become your fast friends. Just read the story of the dedication.

Excitingly, traditionally African-American churches across the river are capturing the oral histories of the descendants of the formerly enslaved that made it to freedom.  There are now connections to this wonderful site -- and how powerful to know its success in such a real way. 

Things to Know

• These folks seriously want to show you treasures.  Contact them, and they will try to welcome you when it is convenient for you.  They have a Facebook page called Ramsdell House.  Do reach out -- they are still updating their web presence, and you don't want to miss out because you didn't reach out.

• Free admission, always a gift. 

• There are opportunities to purchase a small souvenir or book from their shelves reserved for such. 

For Further Exploration 

• We were inspired to find Criel Mound, another Native Burial Mound, on our West Virginia Turnpike trip back to Virginia.  It is in South Charleston, both easy to find and large by comparison. It's also in town, allowing one to reflect on its preservation. 

• If you also like to explore mound builder sites, there are others within the broader region.  We've also visited Town Creek Indian Burial Mound in North Carolina; it's interpretation gives more context from cultural geography.

• Oh, and there are Ramsdell House ghost stories.  Of course.

Halloween Bucket List: Kenova Pumpkin House

It's been featured on The Travel Channel and on Ellen. It's just overnight-trip distance away from us (four hours).  We bought an EZPass in January 2019 that allows us to travel the WV Turnpike cheaply.  It seems unwise not to visit the Kenova Pumpkin House, right?

A great tradition sparked by a family that honored each of their kids with carved pumpkins has grown into this event, free to the public.  

The pumpkins are carved differently every year.  We were especially impressed by the Judeo-Christian pumpkins and the Presidential pumpkins. 

Designs change with the times and the gourds. There is a musical display as well -- and it's about two stories tall. 

Allow time for photo ops and conversations.  Volunteers are likely to be working away in the garages behind the house, drilling the designs and soaking the pumpkins in protective bleach water.

The atmosphere is festive and there are food trucks -- hence, our ice cream for dinner from Austin's Homemade Ice Cream.

Things to Know

• It's free!  Parking is surprisingly easy, probably thanks in no small part to the elementary school very nearby.  You will need to park and walk a short distance -- you cannot simply drive around the house when it's in its full glory. 

• Speaking of full glory, you want to visit bear Halloween and preferably during C-K Autumn Fest, a community event sponsored by the tiny towns of Kenova and Ceredo.  The pumpkin display takes time, and you want to show up when it is finished or nearly there.  This video from SpotlightWV will help you get a sense of the ambiance.  

• We stayed overnight in nearby Huntington, WV.  Book at least a bit early -- our hotel was sold out on the night of our stay.  There are other seasonal events in the area, including at the older amusement park Camden Park and Dreamland pool.  

• The owners of the pumpkin house are owners of the local pharmacy and old-fashioned soda fountain, Griffith and Feil.  It's a piece of local history and full of friendly local folks.  Plus, it was the highlight of the trip for 10-year-old E -- yummy hand-mixed Coca Cola.  

For Further Exploration 

• We're amazed by the beauty and fun of West Virginia.  These tiny towns had treasures, including the Ramsdell House.  We highly recommend stopping by this gem.  From the soda fountain, you are also close to Virginia Point Park, a space that will give you a feel of the geography of the area.
• The Midland Trail, a driving path running reasonably close to the WV Turnpike, is honestly interesting to explore and perfect for planning your road trip.
• The C-K Autumn Fest makes the list for the top small town Halloween destinations in America -- here are the others.