Bennington Museum, Grandma Moses, The Publyk House

Update June 14 to June 15, 2019 

-- Bennington VT Historic Museum

Grandma Moses Schoolhouse

The Bennington Museum on Main Street in Bennington VT is definitely a place you want to visit when you can. The exhibit of Grandma Moses paintings and the original schoolhouse that she attended make a great learning and inspirational experience. It's remarkable that even when you think you know a lot about a subject, a place like this can expand your vision more than you know.

The museum also features a lot of historical information and artifacts that explain the Battle of Bennington, which was an important point in the winning of the Revolutionary war. The nearby Bennington Battle Monument is worthy of visiting as well.

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-- Bennington Battle Monument

Battle Monument

With an Air Force buddy back in the 1960s, we climbed to the top of the Washington Monument in Washington DC when we were on assignment at the Pentagon. The treat for the feat of climbing was that you could ride the elevator down for free. So we walked up for free and rode down for free. That was an important consideration for our GI pay scale.

But, this time, at the Bennington Battle Monument, we paid to ride up. What else? It's been 50 years since I climbed the Washington Monument. The battle of Bennington in 1777 is described as the turning point of the Revolutionary war. The museums make the case and it's fascinating to learn about these things.


-- How do you spell "Publyk" House?

At the Publyk House

Publyk Leftovers

We know the Public House in Sturbridge pretty well. But, the Publyk House in Bennington was new to us. We enjoyed this place very much. I'm a scallops fan and I was not disappointed. As there was a substantial amount of leftovers I decided to take them and I'm glad I did as they were just as good later on. I believe we will be sure to put this destination on our fall Leaf-Peeping list as the view of the mountainside was great and we can only imagine how great in the fall. 

-- Second Round of Golf at Hiland Park Country Club

During our tour of Vermont, we elected to play golf a second time at Hiland Park Country Club. The weather was cooperating and we didn't want to miss out on a chance to play again.

The course was challenging but I managed to hold my own. We will definitely come back to the course when we return to Vermont in the fall.

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READING UPDATE:

Robert Morris, Financier of the American Revolution by Charles Rappleye

Not every founding father of our country is a household name, like Washington, Jefferson, and Adams. But, there is no denying that Robert Morris was an important and integral part of the heroics that we ascribe to the founding fathers of the country. Let’s face it, no revolution anywhere in time or place, ever succeeded unless it was well-financed.

Money moves mountains and it certainly was an important ingredient in our revolution, even more than declarations and ramparts. Without Robert Morris, Washington would not have had the money he needed for Valley Forge and Yorktown. Without Robert Morris, we might still be bowing to the Queen.

Vacation at Lake George NY

Update June 9 to June 10, 2019 

-- Drove to the Sagamore Hotel on Lake George to Start New York Vacation 

Lunch at the Sagamore

We like to take a week's vacation every month now that I'm fully retired and Patti's on a short week schedule. We can put together a week to ten days every month to take trips and enjoy our time together.

We often put a golf game or two into the mix so that Patti can continue to expand her logo-ball collection from all the golf courses that she has visited. On our first day of arrival at Lake George, we checked in to the Sagamore Resort (the restaurant, not the hotel). 

For overnight accommodations, we checked into the Holiday Inn Express up the road, which runs about $200 a night less than the Sagamore. Do the math. 
We like to stay at the Opal properties around the country. Some we have stayed at include Lake Placid Lodge, The Samoset Resort, the Harborside Hotel, and others. On our next visit, we may actually check in here. 

The Sagamore Resort at Bolton Landing

Anyway, we enjoyed our lunch at the Bella Vita Restaurant on the veranda overlooking the water and the grounds. We had the shrimp Portofino and a chicken sandwich with some wine. The tax on food was 7 percent and the tax on booze was 7 percent. That's New York. The Sagamore has its own boat which guests can sail on for brief guided tours of the lake. We chose to use one of the commercial steamboat lines to take an extended trip around the lake. The tour included an encounter with dolphins which like to follow the boat and give chase.

Holy Shit; he's wearing shorts.

-- Golf at the Hiland Park Country Club

This golf course was beautiful and a lot of fun. It's actually in Queensbury NY, which is where our hotel was and only minutes to the lake. It was so much fun, in fact, that at the end of our round we immediately booked to come back later in the week for another round. We also liked the looks of the restaurant and planned to visit it on our next round. It turned out to be a very hot week for this time of year and so I had to break down and wear shorts most of the time. I know I didn't give my readers a lot of warning to prepare for this, but I do wear shorts on occasion.

On our second visit later in the week, we did eat at the Grill Room. We shared a Grilled Chicken Pesto Wrap, which was very large and certainly was enough for both of us. 

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READ my Blog "The Books of Richard F Wright" (Books, Bookstores, Writing)     

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READING UPDATE:

Mr. Lincoln’s Navy, by Richard S. West, Jr.

I have been to Gettysburg more than once. I have walked on the battlegrounds of the American Revolution and the Civil War many times. I have read about the great generals, great battles, great armaments that describe the story of how the wars were prosecuted, won, and lost. But, Richard West, in this book, brings out the mighty factor that the Union Navy was a truly significant player in the outcome of the Civil War.

Blockades, control of waterways like the Mississippi, the protection of commercial shipping were all part of the challenges that Lincoln faced in winning the war. The Navy went from 23 ships to 640 ships by the end of the war. Without this growth, the war may have been lost.