Welcome to Pillsbury Travels

Liege, Belgium 2025

I've decided to separate my blogging into two parts:

1) Travels

2) Everything else

As people are sharing my blog posts about travels, I think it will be less confusing if travels are together. This is that place.

Ideally, I will figure out how to move the thousand or so posts I have written about past travel to this site. Unfortunately, blogspot does not currently offer an easy way to do this. Perhaps someday that will be an option. In the meantime, I will put new posts here, and have links to past posts located on Pillspress.blogspot.com.

I'm still deciding how to define travels. Are they only times when I stay in a hotel? What about day trips to New York City and Philadelphia, or even Princeton and Trenton? Trenton Walks posts will appear here because Becky is sharing them with a wider audience. With any luck, I'll remember to tag each post to make it easier for you to find.

I welcome thoughts and comments.

New York City: Rockefeller Center

After seeing Mariska Hargitay in Broadway's Every Brilliant Thing the heatwave had broken and Don and I wanted to walk around a little more. I had heard about a public exhibit in Rockefeller Center called Art in Focus. Running March 30-June 30, I had only recently learned about it.

Every Brilliant Thing has a runtime of about 90 minutes. With a 7 pm curtain, that meant the show was done by 8:30 pm. Our Jersey City parking was paid up through 11 pm, or maybe midnight.

Once in Rockefeller Center I couldn't find it, so I asked a security guard. He gave me the breadcrumbs needed to find the exhibit. It helped I brought up the website. He pointed us to the door for 45 Rockefeller Center.

Los Angeles artist Kelly Wall created the surprise sculptures. We first found her wishing well, which presses pennies with messages such as "You Are Here." Mine just had stars on it. Though the machine had been tucked into a quiet corner, likely with people passing by it without noticing it all day, as soon as we pressed pennies into the machine (they even had pennies at the ready), a large group appeared out of no where and swarmed the machine pressing more pennies and discovering the magic.

A second guard encouraged us to use the underground tunnels to find her other pieces of artwork. We were told one was outside 10 Rockefeller Center.

The tunnels were more fun than we would have guessed. We passed a restaurant I have a dim memory of visiting with a boyfriend, though Don does not have the same memory so I wisely dropped the trip down memory lane. We found the entrance to Top of the Rock. More importantly for a day in New York City, we discovered free public restrooms.

We continued the walk marveling at the sites. At 10 Rockefeller Center after ascending in a white marble escalator that would be perfect for an Instagram photo shoot, we discovered a large circular lobby with a permanent Art Deco mural much too large to photograph. Called The History of Transportation by Dean Cornwell is resplendent in red, gold, and white. It is a hidden treasure.

Outside we saw another Wall artwork: Everything Must Go. It is a wide assortment of fishing gear. It transports the viewer from the hustle and bustle in the center of Manhattan to a calm, off the beaten path, waterfront.

More art is at 45 Rockefeller Center, 50 Rockefeller Plaza, and 1 Rockefeller Plaza. Hopefully we will have a chance to see those pieces before the end of June.

New York City: African Burial Ground

On a hot June day Don and I took the PATH train into New York City with the intention of riding the ferry since we still had our ferry ticket from April when we were on Roosevelt Island looking for a creative way to get to the theater district when someone suggested taking the ferry to the 34th Street dock, and didn't make the next ferry. As we tend to go into New York every few weeks we figured we would have another chance to use it, so we kept the ticket.

On June 11 we had tickets to see Mariska Hargitay in the one person Broadway play Every Brilliant Thing. Though the day was hot, we figured we would take the PATH to the World Trade Center station and walk over to the Wall Street dock to take the ferry. As we walked there, Don commented that the New York City REI Store in SOHO is slated to be closed in a few weeks. He expressed an interest in seeing it one last time.

Change in plans. 

As we walked up Broadway towards SOHO we noticed the African Burial Ground. Run by the National Park Services, the African Burial Ground honors the early Africans who lived in New York City from 1626 through the late 1700s when Africans and African descendants gathered to bury their loved ones.

We looked at each other debating whether or not we should go inside when a guard opened the door to invite us inside. She said "we have a 20 minute movie, there is air conditioning, and rest rooms." 

We went inside. The movie covered the history of the area from when people were buried to when the site was rediscovered during a construction project in 1991. The big question at the time was what to do?

There was immediate controversy over whether or not the remains were being taken care of with respect. After protests and a petition seemed to go nowhere, a 24-hour vigil started in 1992. Congress stopped construction and had the building plans adjusted resulting in an archaeological dig set up. 

Now you really have my attention. 

The dig resulted in a learning a lot about the life and death of Africans in colonial New York. A decade later (in October 2003), all 419 remains were placed in hand-carved mahogany coffins from Ghana that were lined with Kente clothe. Over  six days they traveled from Washington, DC (where they had been studied at Howard University) to New York City through Baltimore, Wilmington, Philadelphia, Newark (NJ), and Jersey City being given the Rites of Ancestral Return. They were reinterred near where they were originally found. They estimate over 15,000 people were buried on the site.

The museum was opened in February 2010. I'm sorry to say this was the first time I heard about it. The museum is free to visit. Behind the museum is the outdoor memorial with mounds showing where they were reinterred, and the Circle of the Diaspora reminding visitors of the wide variety of African cultures represented in the United States. 

Something I learned at this site that will stick with me is no African-American person can trace their lineage to the exact country where their ancestors were from. It makes sense, but as a white American I can do my genealogy and trace my family tree to its non-United States origins. I'm sorry I never appreciated that so many others do not have that luxury.

One funny story about our visit. The museum highlights a few of their more exciting finds. A ring. A buckle. They show both the metal item as it came out of the ground and a picture of what it would look like cleaned up. Don was enamored by this. He called me over to show me, thinking as someone who is an avocational archaeologist, I would enjoy seeing that display. Instead my reaction was one of disbelief. Every week I come home from digging and show him the finds, I even recently showed him a picture of a ring and a buckle found at Red Bank. Okay, I didn't show him what they would look like cleaned up, but what they looked like moments after coming out of the earth.

If you are in New York visit. Even if you are not in need of air conditioning or a bathroom.

Philadelphia: Penn Museum

On my way home from digging at Newlin Grist Mill I stopped off at the Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania, known colloquially as U Penn, to visit someone I love. As this is my travel blog, and not my family one, I will leave it at that.

In the lobby at their new Clifton Center I noticed archaeological artifacts. I studied the reconstruction techniques used by the archaeologists. Their seams were only visible when I got up close and looked for them. I thought about visiting the Penn Museum next door, but a quick look at their website showed they were closing in less than an hour and that admission was $23.00. Just as I decided to table it for another day, and add it to the wish jar we have in the kitchen, I noticed that they graciously offer free admission to patients and family members of patients.

The museum is directly next door to this newest building. Unfortunately the back sides face each other, so there was a five-minute walk needed to get to the front.

Inside the museum has 10,000 years of artifacts from all over the world: Native North America, Middle East, Africa, Asia, Rome, Greece, etc. are all represented by discoveries made by University of Pennsylvania students and professors since 1887.

In addition to the items being jaw dropping to look
at (an in some ways reminded me of my less impressive finds), the building itself is a marvel. My favorite room was #54 where artifacts from Asia are located. The round room could be bare, and it would still feel magical.

My half an hour was enough time for me to know I want to return, ideally to hear an archaeologist speak for 15 minutes at 1 pm to describe one artifact. 

Some more pictures:

Ashley and Anna play a modern version of this game

Comparing an ancient map to a modern SEPTA map 

This Crystal Sphere is cool

Philadelphia Museum of Art

After our tour of Calder Gardens, Don and I had some ice cream at Jeni's and walked around the Schuylkill Trail until 5 pm when the Philadelphia Museum of Art institutes Pay What You Want pricing, instead of charging $30 per adult. As I only wanted to see the Rising Up exhibit about Rocky and the Making of Monuments. 

The Rocky statue was created for the 1976 cult classic, Rocky, about a fictional local boxer. I admit I have never seen the movie, but I am familiar with his racing up the stairs of the museum and his statue. I posed next it before the March 2023 7.6 mile Love Run  that starts and ends in front of the museum.

We showed up a couple of minutes early and they let us pass. We headed upstairs. The exhibit is more than the statue. It also talks about Philadelphia's history with boxing. There is a Keith Haring and an Andy Warhol on display, two of the dozen or so artists whose works I can recognize from the other side of the room. There are also screens with fights on them. Be prepared if that is triggering. 

What was most fascinating to me where the pictures of Sylvester Stallone the artist used as models for his fists raised high statue. I also studied the timeline of the life of the statue. I had not realized how many times it has moved. 

There was also a picture taken in the Spring of 2020 of people lying down on the steps of the art museum, all wearing masks, likely looking for something to do since much of the world was still closed.

I did not take notes as I walked through the museum. I should have written sooner, or at least jotted notes in my book when they were still fresh, but the week has been busy.

Inside the museum is the Rocky Statue.

Which is why I was surprised when outside the museum, halfway up the stairs, is the Rocky Statue. 

The timeline said there was a time when there were multiple copies at the art museum. This is another one of those times.

Across the Great Stair Hall is their collection of European Art. This is my comfort zone of art. Our time was limited as we were meeting Kevin for dinner, a rare treat to have him to ourselves. Even without visiting Kevin, I reached my art attention span for the day. The museum is close enough we can visit again.

Philadelphia's Calder Gardens

Last September when NPR announced Philadelphia was opening Calder Gardens, a new museum on the Ben Franklin Parkway near the Philadelphia Art Museum, the Rodin Museum, the Barnes Foundation, and the Franklin Institute, I added a note to the jar of places I want to visit. The museum is in a great location for a museum since it is walking distance to the four museums many travels also visit. I just couldn't figure out exactly where it was located since the area is quite crowded.

Where there is a will there is a way. In a 1.8 acre spot that abuts both the  Ben Franklin Parkway and the Vine Street Expressway, a space was carved out to create this oasis. The 18,000 square foot museum designed by Herzog & de Meuron is surrounded by a garden designed by Dutch landscape architect Piet Oudolf featuring 250 varieties of plants, 40% of which are native to North America. As this is their first Spring, the staff is marveling as the gardens are constantly changing and exploding in color. They are thinking about adding garden tours to their list of options.

I have heard of Alexander Calder. I'm familiar with his large metal sculptures. Familiar enough I can often identify them when I see one, but not familiar enough to know his history. We decided to upgrade from the $18 entrance fee to the $30 ticket that included a one-hour tour.

Calder's artwork is often enormous, meaning there are not a lot on display at any given point. Pam, our guide, told us the museum will be in flux. Some pieces will be on display for a few weeks, others a few months, and still others for years. Nothing is considered permanent, no matter how large. Many of his works of art move, and on that hot day that meant they were rotating in the indoor winds created by the air conditioning. The large windows provide much sunlight making shadows change throughout the day. We were encouraged to use our senses to enjoy the works, and keep an open mind.

Though it was a warm day, we began the tour outside in the prairie meadow. This area is visible from the side walk and free to access. There are 37,000 perennials planted here, with 250 varieties of trees and shrubs. The building is nestled into the garden. Much of the gallery is subterranean. The designer is known for designing for the space, as opposed to having a signature style.

His 1924 self portrait
in on the left

Alexander Calder (1898-1976) is from Philadelphia. His family called him Sandy. His art was inspired by nature and the elements. Today his grandson, Alexander S. C. Rower is the chair of the curatorial committee. When we were there his great-grandson, Gryphon Rue, had a exhibit of his sound installation of a circle of experimental sound called Sound Passage. Sandy's parents painter Nanette Lederer Calder and sculpturer Alexander Sterling Calder, and his grandfather sculpturer Alexander Milne Calder, also have works on display in I'll call the ancestor's area, a temporary exhibit.

Sandy did not assign set meanings to his works of art. Everything is open to interpretation by everyone who looks at them. As he became more prolific, he assigned names to them for the purpose of clarity when people purchased art. He created over 22,000 pieces of work, mostly in his signature colors of black, red, and white.

I saw a person in a small plane.
It is called Black Widow.

He went to college, earning a degree in mechanical engineering, which he said did not impact his art. When he was 25 years old, working for the Gazette he was sent to cover the Ringling Brothers Circus. When he traveled in Paris he created an early piece called Cirque Calder using found materials to create a trapeze, strong men, and other aspects of what he saw with Ringling. 

On a cross Atlantic voyage he met Louisa James, the grandniece of author Henry James, and fell in love. 

In 1931 he created his first kinetic moving statue, which he called a mobile. His larger, grounded, non-moving pieces became known as staybiles. A visit to Piet Mondrian's studio in 1930 was another inspiration. He is known for his blocky line drawing done with primary colors, outlined in black.

Some of his staybiles are large enough to walk under and through. We are careful to not touch them. Pam allowed us time to look at each piece and come up with our own interpretation before she shared her thoughts, and the name given. My thoughts were completely different from hers. Just as I might see different shapes in clouds than the person next to me sees.

During the World War II years metal was in short supply, so he used what he had available, including wood. This made me wonder if any of his works were destroyed in order to be repurposed for battleships. A question I did not ask because I really did not want to hear the answer. It could go either way.

Moving his artwork is a process. They are taken apart and shipped by professionals. Once reassembled they are touched up by paint. He made smaller versions (maquettes) to show perspective buyers his thoughts on what he wanted to create on a larger scale. He would use engineers to scale up the sculptures and use professional welders to finish them, always under his close supervision.

Anyone familiar with Philadelphia recognizes this statue of William Penn. It was created by Alexander Milne Calder, Sandy's grandfather. It sits atop City Hall. Until One Liberty Place was built in 1987, there was a gentleman's agreement that nothing would be taller than William Penn. Milne always believed it faced the wrong direction because his face did not receive the right light. He also created the Swann Memorial Fountain, also in Philadelphia. He came from a very artistic family.