Nebraska Reggae Festival

In March Joe's band played at the Prairie Vibrations Reggae Festival in Lincoln, Nebraska. We drove up to Lincoln on Saturday morning and spent the afternoon in town before the show.






















We visited the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln and viewed the impressive interior of the building.

Adventures with dead presidents. The week before I had visited TJ in Columbia, MO, but Abe graces the Nebraska capitol.





















The cathedral-like interior.


































































































































After checking into our hotel we walked around downtown Lincoln. Here Joe stands with the Ras Neville and the Kingstonians on the marquee!

















After dinner at The Oven, a tasty Indian restaurant, we watched some of the other bands that played the festival.

















Ras Neville and the Kingstonians take the stage.....

MU Symposium

In March I took a day trip to Columbia Missouri to attend the University of Missouri (MU) Art History Symposium to present a paper and listen to others present papers.

Driving through Kansas City at sunrise.
















A Thomas Hart Benton at the MU Art Museum.




















More MU Art Museum.
















The MU Quad on the first warm day of spring.

















Fellow presenter and KU grad student Rob outside of the building where the museum is housed and where we all gave our papers.




















MU campus scenery.

















MU was the first land grant university in the territory of the Louisiana Purchase, so some of Thomas Jefferson's relations decided to move his original tombstone to the MU campus and built a new grave marker at Montecello. Here's the obelisk-like tombstone and me showing my love for TJ.

Colorado skiing

At the end of January we spent a long weekend skiing in Colorado to celebrate my completion of the Art History M.A. exam (I passed!).
We spent Friday driving across the vast expanse of Kansas, arriving in Winter Park that evening. We walked through the snow covered town to the local brewery before spending the night at the Gasthaus Eichler.

The view from our room included this icicle covered building and the mountains beyond, which were not visible in the morning because of the falling snow.

















In the morning in front of the Gasthaus.















We had a fantastic breakfast at the Mountain Rose Cafe in Winter Park, Joe had the Breakfast Burrito, I had the French Toast. Yum!






































Breakfast filled us up for a full day of skiing at Winter Park. The snow continued to fall throughout much of the day, making for great skiing.
















We went to the top of Mary Jane, at over 12,000 feet. The wind chill was about -24, and it was tough to see very far. The little bit of hair that was sticking out from my hat froze at a 90 degree angle to my head.

















After coming down from the top.































Taking a break from the cold for water and snacks.


























































Coming back to the base of Winter Park at the end of the day.















The shuttle bus back to town.
















On Saturday evening we met up with Joe's Aunt Fran and Uncle Steve, who graciously accomodated us at their house and cooked some fantastic meals. On Sunday we all went skiing together at Copper Mountain.

















Some photos from Copper, the sky was beautiful and clear in the morning.
































At the end of the day, heading back to the base at Copper.

On the way back to the house, the sunset was fantastic near Ute Pass.

Meow.
















Fran and Steve in front of their beautiful home in the mountains.
















After two great days of skiing, we headed back to Lawrence, tired and happy.

Christmas in Chicago

After our ski trip, we drove to Chicago to be with family for the holiday. The drive from Minnesota through Wisconsin was beautiful, as the snowstorm that kept us in Duluth covered the northwoods.




















We stopped in Eau Claire to do some last minute shopping and to grab some coffee. Here Joe is getting ready to drown his gingerbread man in his latte.

After a nice holiday with family, we went to the Museum of Contemporary Art on the day after Christmas. There was a Takashi Murakami installation in the cafe, a retrospective of the permanent collection on the upper floor, and a Rock show on the main level.

Murakami!

















In front of the museum.

















I wish I could remember what was so funny!






































We did some shopping around Water Tower before the end of the day and the long drive home the following day.