Our final anniversary celebration was not at a spot you'd think of as glamorous or even romantic. The little town is actually the birthplace of that most ordinary, some would say "low class," American shopping experience - WalMart. But Bentonville, Arkansas hosts a world class museum called Crystal Bridges. Whatever you may think of WalMart, this is their gift to the community and it's wonderful. There's no charge to tour the museum, just a reasonable fee for the special exhibits.
We decided to go between the Christmas and New Year holidays. A good choice, I must say. Not only was it a nice getaway from the holiday commotion, we were fortunate to have great weather. Temps were in the 50s and the rain held off until later that night.
Where else could you safely walk through the woods at night?
There was a place to stop for hot cocoa and snacks, too.
The only drawback was that this, of course, is a great family outing; so some cranky children and a bit of a crowd distracted from the ambiance.
Above is The Whispering Tree. We saw it from the path, but did not opt to stand in the long line of jabberwockies to go up to it and "hear the color of your own voice." I wish we had, but in hindsight, we probably would've got caught in the rain at the end of the journey.
This is The Hearth. It's supposed to represent a bonfire and there are logs around it so you can sit and watch. It looks very alien as it starts pulsing. You can hear the heartbeat of the woods and see it build from a small red glow to moving lasers lighting up the trees above.
We tried to take our time and absorb the sights, sounds, and smells of the woods. It's hard when you're eager to see the next thing!
This was beautiful. It's called Memory of Water. We stood on a wooden bridge and watched the light play over the dry bed (which I found out later; honestly, I thought it was a small creek.)
This part almost looked like fire or a mini lava flow. Remember, all of these installations are accompanied by soothing music.
This is the last picture my camera captured as the lens was popping off and tumbling over the bridge rail to the embankment below. You can only imagine the stunning, slow motion moment as I realized what was happening. People around me saw something falling as I murmured in a shocked, quiet voice "my lens fell off!" Gasps all around. "that was her camera!" My husband: "did you drop your camera?!? I was just going to warn you to be careful!!" Thanks. Actually, it was sitting on the rail, my left hand supporting the lens at an angle, the strap wrapped around my arm. Somehow, I must have pressed against the release button; but still, you have to twist it off. I don't know what happened.
Fortunately, the bank was soft and covered in leaves. A log stopped the lens from rolling onto the rocky dry bed, which at the time I still thought was a stream. My husband started to go after it but a guard stopped him. Thank heavens for diligent people. The poor guard said he would get it, then he tripped over a cable and took a good tumble. Everyone started pointing and shining their phone lights to the spot where we thought it landed and he did retrieve it. The lens was cracked and jammed. I took it to my favorite camera store when we got home. They removed the protective lens cover, checked it out and, great news - the lens itself was just fine. All's well that ends well!
And a warning to all you amateur photogs out there, ALWAYS use a protective lens cover!
2019 was a great year. It had its normal ups & downs, but the ups were so much fun that they overshadowed the downs. Praying 2020 and the new decade brings joy, peace, and good health to anyone reading this.
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