Beacon, Take 2

About a year and a half ago, I went to Beacon in the Hudson Valley for the first time (initial post here). I absolutely loved Dia Beacon, and was looking for an easy, car-free escape from NYC over President's Day weekend so a friend and I made the trek up there on the Metro-North. I spoke a bit about the museum in my initial post, and I'll just reiterate that it's such a cool experience for those who are not only art fanatics but also those who fall more along the lines of "art curious." The installations are somewhat interactive as they require walking around and through them... Richard Sera's giant works look different from every angle, so that it's impossible to get a sense of what they look like from any one vantage point. They made me think a lot about space, presence and what it really means for an object to occupy space. (perhaps because I read that on one of the placards...)

Richard Serra, Torqued Ellipses, 1996-2000 (Image from Dia)

My friend Kristin joined me, and fell in love with Sol LeWitt's work - a series of full wall drawings of geometric shapes. 

I also liked these installations, but realized at this point that no photography was allowed... so this is my last photo!

We hiked up a little hill to the town - about a 10 minute walk from the museum - and went to a delicious cafe! Homespun Foods had healthy and hearty soups, salads, sandwiches and baked goods. I had a tomatillo soup that hit the spot on a chilly afternoon. 

Brooklyn Botanic Garden

A few weeks ago we wanted a mini-escape that didn't require too much effort, and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden was the perfect spot. It's on the northeastern corner of Prospect Park, right by the 2/3/4/5 trains. Despite having a lot of friends who live near it, I haven't heard of many actually checking it out. It's a hot spot for weddings, koi fish feeding and alligator spotting.
It's a very relaxing spot, lots of flowers, trees... things you might expect from a botanic garden. I thought it was nice to visit at this time of year and see the leaves turn, though I imagine the really spectacular time is in the spring. A few highlights from our visit:

The remaining flowers (they might have disappeared now post-snow)

 Wandering through the tropical greenhouse - I felt transported to a tropical island!

 Magic flowers

Although I'm sure he will deny it, I convinced Greg that there was an alligator in this swamp and that I saw it peering out. Not saying that he 100% believed it, but he definitely considered it as a possibility.

To end the day, we bought a new house pet/plant in the Botanic Garden Gift Shop. His name is Seymour, ala the shopkeeper in Little Shop of Horrors, a musical featuring a man-eating plant. This pitcher plant only eats flies, thankfully. I have to say - it really works. Our kitchen fly problem has disappeared, and he's growing.