Friends, Fishing and Museums

Our routine of many doctors and dentists visits has slowed a bit but we still have a couple left before we depart on October 1st. We continue to spend time with friends and enjoying many local eateries and get a few chores done with Opus. 

One thing we try to do when we are here is Thursday afternoon get-togethers. The ladies do lunch at different restaurants and then either shop or play games. Here are Di, Nanc, Patty, Georgie and Sherri having lunch at Palazzo 1837 Ristorante, a neat place that gets its name from the old building where it is located.

Mike and I usually go to Shorty's for lunch (great hot dogs) and then go fishing while the ladies are out and about. As you can see I did well this week. Caught this beauty on the first cast before Mike even had his line in the water. I did not get another one but that was okay.....

.....as I was busy helping Mike land his catches.

The euchre club got together at the Ridge's, but since you have seen all those people I decided a picture of Milo was a better idea. He is a wonderful rescue dog who was the life of the party. I'm happy to report that the four guys finished in the money.

We were invited to stop by for the Washington High School Class of 1997 reunion. This was a first for me and it was neat having a beer and talking to "kids" I had in class 25 years ago in middle school. While I have seen some of them over the years it was nice talking to them as adults and hearing about their lives and families.

HOOOORAY!!!!  WashPA finally has a brew pub. We went the first weekend it opened and are happy to report the beer was very good and the food was fantastic. This gives us another option when dining out while we are here,

We love the spot we have at Pine Cove. It is the last one right by the woods and we often see deer. This doe grew concerned when I opened the door....

....because these two little ones were right behind her. The are beautiful, but also a big hazard on the highways. Between Nanc and I we have hit four over the years.

We went to the Ligonier Valley branch of the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art, an interesting local museum that also has branches in Altoona, Johnstown and Lorretto. This branch is the only of the four that is a stand alone building. While it looks like an old log home, it is a new building that was built around a steel frame using logs from old log homes that were donated to the museum. The interior floors are local cherry that was also donated. Unfortunately, interior photos are not allowed.  

While no inside pictures are allowed there are a couple pieces outside. One interesting exhibit in the permanent collection is Walter Carlyle Shaw's collection of 169 glass paperweights some of which are 150 years old. The museum has a wonderful collection of works by George Bellows, Mary Cassatt, John Singer Sargent and other famous artists.  

Tom, Georgie and Nanc soaking up the sun in the garden outside the museum. This is a great little local museum with a great collection that is available free of charge, though they do ask for a donation.

On the same day we went to the Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg. This is a great regional museum with a large permanent collection of art related to the history of Western Pennsylvania. 

The special exhibit The Art of Movement: Alexander Calder, George Rickey and Time Prentice featured several works of mobile art. This piece by Rickey is made of metal.

Our favorites were the paper and wire works by Prentice.

Some were designed to be put in motion by blowing on them.....

.....and others had fans on sensors that turned on as you approached them.

Part of the permanent collection includes works of many local artists including Washington's Malcolm Parcell, bottom center. 

I liked these two, a painting and relief sculpture of the same young girl.

They have an extensive collection of works that feature industrial workers of the Pittsburgh area. 

This painting of coal miners and the sculpture of the worker and his apprentice is a great representation of Western Pennsylvania. These two great regional art museums have interesting collections and are well worth a visit if you are in Western PA.

We are down to our last two weeks in WashPA and this week we are getting together with family and friends every day so it will be very busy. Our plans of spending the winter in Florida are up in the air until we learn how the parks where we have reservations came through Irma. We did see pictures of the Florida Keys Elks and the building had some damage but did not lose its roof. So, as often is the case, our plans are written in sand.