August 2, 2022

Tourism

April 2020 – One for the Money Two for the Road

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Featured Photo by Jakub Novacek on Pexels.com

As always, we strive to be as accurate with our information as possible. If we made a mistake, it was unintentional. (Hey, we’re only human!) We aren’t paid for our recommendations, and we only recommend our own tried and true vendors and venues. Our suggestions are for places that we’ve heard good things about but haven’t visited personally, and our opinions are our own.

Featured

Website link: Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park
Where is it: Cornish, New Hampshire
What is it: the home and studios of sculptor, Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848-1907)
Cost: $10.00 per person age 16 and older
Hours: 9:00 – 4:30 from the Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend to October 31
Much of the park is closed from November to May, however, the visitor center may be open. Check the website for additional information

Seen on approach to the visitor center, a replica of Saint-Gaudens Standing Lincoln (1887). The original sculpture is in Lincoln Park in Chicago, Illinois. A replica of the sculpture was also placed at Lincoln’s tomb.

Augustus Saint-Gaudens, who had shown an interest in art at an early age, was only thirteen-years-old when he landed an apprenticeship cutting cameos. During this time, the Saint-Gaudens family lived in New York City where Augustus attended school. When his six-year apprenticeship was complete, Augustus went to Europe to study art in Paris and then Rome.

Cameos. (We apologize for the glare on the glass.)

Saint-Gaudens arrived in Cornish, New Hampshire, near the bank of the Connecticut River, in 1885 where he rented an old inn from a friend. He quickly adapted the buildings to suit his needs and then purchased the property in 1892, naming it Aspet after his father’s hometown in France. The family used Aspet as their summer home until 1900 when Augustus was diagnosed with cancer and the estate became their year-round residence.

Aspet This is the back of the home and the cutting garden. It is said that Saint-Gaudens had a hand in planning and planting the gardens and other landscaped areas on the estate. The Little Studio, built in 1904. Saint Gaudens worked alone in this studio, while his assistants and students worked in other studios on the property.

We were able to tour the first floor of the house, where all of the original furnishings and decorative pieces can be seen. Unfortunately, the home contains no original Saint-Gaudens artworks. The studios and several other buildings on the grounds are also open for visitors to enjoy.

Civil War Admiral, David G. Faragut Monument (1881). Saint-Gaudens’ first commissioned work, which was won while Saint-Gaudens was still in Paris. The original of this monument is located in Madison Square in New York City.

After the Faragut piece was made public, Saint-Gaudens became a sought-after American sculptor. With business booming, so to speak, Saint-Gaudens hired assistants and began tutoring aspiring artists at Aspet.

The Shaw Memorial (1884-1897) . Another replica, which stands on the lawn bowling green of the estate. The original of this relief sculpture is in the Boston Common, Boston Massachusetts. Interestingly, Saint-Gaudens worked on this piece for 14 years, and continued making subtle improvements to the cast, though the original had already been unveiled. Victory. She appears in Saint-Gauden’s General William Tecumseh Sherman Monument, which stands in Manhattan. She may look familiar because she also appears on the Saint-Gaudens designed Double Eagle Gold Coin (minted until 1933) as Liberty with a few minor changes. For example, the coin depicts Liberty holding an olive branch in her left hand and a torch in her right.

President Theodore Roosevelt, who was a friend of Saint-Gaudens, asked the US Treasury to engage the sculptor to redesign four gold coins and the one cent piece. This was the first time ever that a coin was designed by someone other than an employee of the US Mint.

Saint-Gaudens was married to Augusta Homer in 1877. Her father, who gave consent for the marriage only after Saint-Gaudens won the Faragut commission, had been worried that the young sculptor wouldn’t be able to take care of his daughter until he was an established artist. (We think that Augustus proved himself very well!) Augusta Homer was a distant cousin of the artist, Winslow Homer. Augustus and Augusta had one child, a son named Homer. Augustus’, Augusta’s, and Homer’s ashes are interred on the grounds of Aspet.

Thank you for visiting Saint-Gaudens National Historic Park with us. For more interesting information about Augustus Saint-Gaudens, click on the website link at the top of the page. We are going to end this post here, but come back to our site often for more great destinations, parks, campsites, and quick stops. We love having you along on our travels.

We are going to close this post with a shot of the Windsor-Cornish bridge. This bridge, which spans the Connecticut River and connects Windsor, Vermont with Cornish, New Hampshire, was constructed in 1866. It is the longest covered bridge in the US.

Okay, we can’t resist. Everyone should see the pretty Connecticut River, which creates the boundary between New Hampshire and Vermont, so below is our real parting shot. Quite beautiful, isn’t it? We think that any artist would be inspired by living here.

Until the next trip…

Travel safe, travel smart, and we will see you down the road!

Mike and Kellye

Featured Photo by Alem Su00e1nchez on Pexels.com

Featured Bar Harbor sunrise

The town of Bar Harbor sits at the edge of Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island, Maine. Incorporated in 1796, Bar Harbor was originally called Eden. In 1918, the name of the town was changed to Bar Harbor.

From the top of Cadillac Mountain, a view of Bar Harbor, Frenchman Bay, the five Porcupine Islands (foreground), and a cruise ship in port. Street view. Hotels and restaurants across from the waterfront. The beautiful Bar Harbor Inn sits right on the water. Early evening downtown. The shops stay open later for the tourists.

Traditionally a home for the East Coast wealthy, Bar Harbor has some beautiful old mansions, and gorgeous newer homes. Shopping ranges from fun and cheap to funky to expensive. Parking is limited and every public parking space that we saw had a parking meter. There are many restaurants and bars, too. We had lunch at a cute place called Side Street Cafe where the service and food was very good, and we didn’t have to wait to be seated!

On the waterfront

Stewman’s was our top pick for dinner on our first night in Bar Harbor, and we were not disappointed. Lobster roll, anyone? How about a crab roll? This place had great food and great service, plus they played seventies music, so we’re giving them a big shout-out for all of the above! We highly recommend Stewman’s if you’re in Bar Harbor. Did we mention that they have indoor and outdoor dining? So there’s that.

Bar Harbor offers something for everyone in the way of entertainment. There are walking history tours, whale watching tours, guided tours to Acadia National Park, culinary tours, a beautiful golf course, and cruises on Frenchman Bay, just to name a few.

This is the Four-Masted Schooner, Margaret Todd, out for an evening cruise.

While walking around Bar Harbor, bits of history can be found at every turn. The town’s historical society has done a great job of erecting “Museum in the Streets” signs describing the many points of interest. We enjoyed walking Shore Path which is a half mile trail that runs atop the cliffs along the edge of the water. There were stories about the old mansions tucked away behind tall hedges and gorgeous flowers to enjoy on our after dinner stroll, as well as watching the boats on the bay.

Beach roses aka dune roses can be found all along the coast of Maine. This large shrub is full of rose hips left over after the blooms played out. We thought these were pretty and interesting. We were lucky to find a few beach roses still blooming so late in the season. Pink and white hydrangeas in front of a home

We were especially fascinated by the beautiful churches, not only in Bar Harbor, but everywhere we went. The white churches with their steeples looming high above the trees are typically Congregational churches, and we found them everywhere in New England. These beautiful churches epitomized New England for us. So unassuming and welcoming, don’t you just want to go on in?

Congregational Church in Bar Harbor

Another Bar Harbor church caught our attention, too. Saint Saviour’s Episcopal Church was first completed in 1877 and over the years has undergone several expansions to accommodate its large congregation.

Saint Saviour’s Episcopal Church, built between 1877 and 1938, has several Tiffany Studio glass windows, and sits next to the historic Village Burying Ground. Village Burying Ground Interesting history about the Village Burying Ground Monument to Union Soldiers in the Village Burying Ground

Thank you for joining us on our tour of Bar Harbor, Maine. We hope that you will come back to our site again to catch up with us on our New England road trip. You never know where we’re going, so check back often. We will have more national parks, great camping spots, Quick Stops, and other exciting posts for you in the coming months, too. If you’re not already a follower become one so you never miss a post.

We will close this post with a picture of some exquisite dahlias we found in Bar Harbor.

Until the next trip…

Travel safe, travel smart, and we will see you down the road!

Mike and Kellye

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