Day 2: A Buffalo Stampede

 Thursday, June 12, 2025

We started off the day in New Jersey and ended it in Stockton, Massachusetts.  What a DAY!  We were all bright-eyed and ready to go this morning, but road weary and wired by the time we checked into the hotel.

We drove straight to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.  We paid a hefty sum to park in the museum's parking deck, but that was money well spent for sure!  First stop, of course, was to see the eggs.  Carys had map in hand and began her hunt!  She's relentless.  

I love her dedication to the quest!

 There are four oval doors on this egg which open up to reveal miniature portraits!  It was given as and Easter gift in 1893.  This side shows the little door with the 8 on it.  

The minatire portraits above and below are from that cute pink egg in the background.  Each miniatrue portrait depicts a different Danish palace.  I can't get over these tiny paintings!

This beautiful green egg is known as the Napoleonic Egg.  There are portraits that go with this one as well that show the six regiments of which the empress Maria Feodorovna was an honorary colonel.

And now for the buffalo stameped!  Everywhere we turned today, we saw something we did not expect. We drove along the Hundson River by the docks and saw the aircraft  carrier Intrepid.  We would ALL love to go back and tour that.  We drove down Madison Avenue, through Central Park and 5th Avenue.

Some of the things we saw in tbe Met were buffalos for both Carys and me,  Van Gogh, Monet, and Degas!

  

Pixels before they were a thing! Hard to believe this is little hand painted dots of color! This is the fourth ballerina by Degas that Carys has seen!  This one is in excellent shape!  There is one in the Virginia Museum of Fine Art, One in the National Gallery in DC, and one in Musee D'Orsy in Paris!  This one at the Metroplitan Musem of Art in New York makes number 4!  She is one of my favorites! Another buffalo for today, the Frank Lloyd Wright room at the Met!  What a treat to see some of this fabulous living art created by one of MY favorites!  I dream of having a home like this one day.

I love the simplicity of this style!  The wood and leaded glass make it even more inviting to me.  

The final buffalo came at a shopping mall of all places.  We pulled off in Danbury Connecticut to get something to eat a this really unusual mall.  There is this glass structure at the entrace that sort of resembles the top of a big top circus tent.  We didn't really think much of it, just weird mall architecture.  We walked through this completely filled mall (all store fronts were filled and people were actually there shopping like it was 1990!) to the food court.  While Carys was in line ordering her Chic-fil-a, we heard a bell ringing and the caliope music coming from somewhere.  We looked up from line and saw the source of the music.  We were both so surprised to see a double-decker carosel!  Beautiful horses going round and round!  Of course we had to ride it!

This carosel is a replica of one that used to be part of the Danbury Fair on the same property where the mall stands today!  It was in operation from 1869 to 1981. This actual carosel is a repica built in 1982.  Look at that smile!

Tomorrow won't be such a long day.  We get to sleep in a bit bcause our next stop is only 30 minutes away and we get to spend an second night in the same place.  Can't wait to see what adventures await us tomorrow!