11/28/09 Saturday afternoon ramble in the Hudson Valley with the gang.

If you plan on visiting Lindenwald, the home of the 8th US President Martin Van Buren, in Kinderhook, NY – I can tell you right now it isn’t open til May 24th. And I’ve got no idea why this sad looking deflated tent was on the grounds.

Etymologists trace the word “OK” to an abbreviation of “Old Kinderhook,” a reference to Van Buren’s birthplace.

[Old Chatham Sheepherding Company: "Our entire staff works as a team to  deliver our products to "ewe" at the height of their freshness and flavor."]

[Old Chatham Sheepherding Company is the largest sheep dairy farm in the United States. We purchased a wheel of their sheep's milk Hudson Valley Camembert from the honor system refrigerator on the grounds. It's all gone now because it was so good.]

[Tim and Gerard tossing the football around.]

[Sundown in Old Chatham.]

11/27/09 Jenny sitting in the front room of the old farmhouse.

11/26/09 Helena walking in the woods on Ryan Farm.

[Wild turkey tracks on the road to the fields on Ryan Farm 02/09.]

11/24/09 “Perfect timing! The camel just got here. He was stuck in traffic.”   And so I was introduced to Aladdin, a very gentle 2 year old historic reenactor.

In 1787 George Washington, who was fond of  unusual animals and plants, paid 18 shillings to have a camel temporarily live at Mount Vernon for his guests at Christmas.

Over 200 years later, President Washington’s home is decked out for the Christmas season.

[Detail from the five-foot-wide and two-foot-tall gingerbread Mount Vernon replica by Roland Mesnier, former White House pastry chef.]

[Demonstrating the 18th-century chocolate-making process using an authentic colonial recipe.]

[Detail from one of the twelve Christmas trees in Mount Vernon ’s new facilities. This tree portrays: "George Washington, Farmer." ]

[Sharing an elevator with Larry King and Abe Pollin.]

11/24/09 Abe Pollin, owner of the NBA’s Washington Wizards and former longtime owner of the Washington Capitals hockey team has died at the age of 85. He was a great philanthropist and his construction of an arena revitalized DC’s down-at-its-heels Chinatown.  The above photo was taken at GW Hospital headed into a Larry King Cardiac Foundation event in June of 2007.

11/18/09 Education Secretary Arne Duncan (left) and NEA President Dennis Van Roekel roll up their sleeves and don chef’s hats to serve lunch to hundreds of students at John Adams Elementary School in Alexandria, Va on Wednesday. The event to honor education support professionals (school bus drivers, custodians, secretaries, cafeteria workers) was part of the National Education Association’s 88th annual American Education Week.

11/17/09 “Climate activists” with Avaaz.org light and release a dozen or so Chinese flying lanterns behind the White House before police ask them to stop. Their original plan was to launch hundreds.  The photo op is a  “call for Obama to stop delaying a global climate treaty and for the US to stop lagging behind while other countries—including China—and take action on climate change.”

11/17/09 This morning, the National Geographic Museum hosted a preview for the exhibition “Terra Cotta Warriors: Guardians of China’s First Emperor.” The organizers had expected the PRC Ambassador to attend but said he had a “good excuse” for missing the opening since he is currently in Beijing for President Obama’s state visit.

[Strongman]

The exhibition will formally open  on November 19, 2009, and continue through March 31, 2010. This is its final stop on a four-city U.S. tour.

The exhibition offers an in-depth look at China’s First Emperor’s enormous tomb complex, considered one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the 20^th century. The tomb contained thousands of terra cotta warriors intended to protect the emperor in the afterlife. The exhibition showcases 100 sets of objects, including 15 terra cotta figures representing soldiers, archers, servants, musicians and animals. This is the greatest number of warriors ever to travel to the United States for a single exhibition.

More than 80,000 advance tickets have been sold for “Terra Cotta Warriors: Guardians of China’s First Emperor,” the museum’s first-ever ticketed exhibition.

[Detail - belt buckle]