Vacationing in the U.P.

As a child growing up in urban southern Wisconsin, I often wondered about the enormous peninsula which was strangely attached to the northeastern part of the state, yet belonged to Michigan. My summers were spent in far southern Michigan, which I always enjoyed, but all of northern Michigan and its Upper Peninsula remained a mystery to me for many years. Finally as an adult I journeyed to the northwestern part of the state, visiting well-known vacation destinations such as Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Traverse City, Leelanau and Old Mission Peninsulas. And I was smitten. However, given the plethora of places around the world I'm interested in visiting, going further north just had not happened. Then this winter I decided I finally needed to make concrete plans see at least part of the Upper Peninsula. 

Fortunately, Jennifer, a friend who lives in the Lower Peninsula, had also not visited the UP and was keen on joining me. We spent some time in February mapping out our trip for five days around Memorial Day weekend -- we would leave Grand Rapids on Friday morning, spend two nights in Munising with the goals of visiting Tahquamenon Falls State Park and Pictured Rocks National Seashore, then spend another two nights in the town of St. Ignace with the goal of spending a day on Mackinac Island (which we had both visited before: she about 20 years ago, and I at age three - not surprising I don't remember that!), and drive back to Grand Rapids on Tuesday. Word to the wise: if planning a trip to these areas, advanced planning is certainly recommended, as we were able to reserve hotel rooms are quite reasonable rates, while anyone trying to do so closer to a trip around a long weekend would have found sold-out hotels and much higher prices for lodging.

After much anticipation our trip finally arrived, and we steered northward. Soon we were surrounded by forests or occasionally fields, both of which we would appreciate throughout our trip, particularly given that it was late spring and the many different shades of green were breathtaking. Our last stop in the Lower Peninsula was a roadside rest area, which also featured a scenic overlook -- we had lucked out with wonderful driving weather.

We crossed the famous Mackinac Bridge. Otherwise known as the Mighty Mac, it is the fifth longest suspension bridge in the world. The toll was a mere $4, and a number of minutes later we were - at long last - on the Upper Peninsula.

Our first stop involved lunch at a fish market and restaurant recommended by a friend -- what a perfect way to kick off the trip! King's has two locations; we stopped at the store in Moran, where we enjoyed what would be the first of many whitefish meals. Jennifer loved her whitefish basket, which contained three relatively large pieces of very lightly breaded whitefish, a generous mound of french fries, and a cup of zesty coleslaw -- which she declared to be some of the best she's ever had. I constructed my own basket with the same fries and coleslaw, as well as whitefish dip, which I scooped up with the lentil crackers purchased back on the Lower Peninsula. A word of caution to anyone who must adhere to (or attempts to) any special diet such as gluten-free, dairy-free, or - god forbid! - vegetarian or vegan: you will have a difficult time dining in restaurants on the U.P. This is the land of fish, meat, and potatoes. I ate more french fries in four days than I had in the previous four months! Vegetables and fruit were few and far between on any restaurant menus.

Our next destination was the famous Tahquamenon Falls, which is well known for its color and the size of the Upper Falls. Due to it being in a state park, visitor fees are assessed -- we paid $9 for the day due to having out-of-state license plates on our rental car. We first visited the Upper Falls, which are truly impressive given the size -- one of the largest waterfalls east of the Mississippi. The walk to the viewing area is quite short, though the descending to the viewing platform does require about 90 steps, but this platform allows for some fantastic close-up views of the falls (lower photo). However, lovely views can be had even from a couple of areas off the walkway, which doesn't require any stair climbing. The falls' brown color is visible even from far away, and is due to tannins.

The weather had turned overcast and gray, and toward the end of our Upper Falls visit it began raining, so we hurried back to the car to drive over to the Lower Falls, which consist of several much smaller falls and rapids. The Lower Falls are less impressive, but the area is beautiful and well worth a visit, particularly given the boardwalk which takes you through the woods, and which during our visit was surrounded by lush green colors and several different wildflowers. The park encompasses 46,000 acres, has numerous camp sites, hiking trails, etc, but our trip needed to continue, so we hit the road just as the rain began falling more heavily.

Crystal Bridges, Part II

This post continue my lengthy and drawn-out story-telling and many photos about a summer Arkansas adventure, which was first introduced in this post, and further explained in this post.

While neither L nor I knew what to expect from Crystal Bridges, it's safe to say that we were both pleasantly surprised. The museum was well worth the trip, and kept pleasing us at every turn -- even the salted caramel iced latte that I ordered from its coffee bar was a winner. (Seriously, can anyone tell me where I could find such a drink in the DC area?)

There was so much wonderful art to be seen, and I took about a trillion photos, more of which I share with you here. Paintings in particular are difficult to photograph, so these are not truly accurate representations of the colors and textures we saw.

"Hall of the Mountain King" (Marsden Hartley, ca. 1908-1909)

"It's Very Queer, Isn't It?" (James Henry Beard, 1885)

"Interior/Before The Picture" (William Rimmer, 1872)

As a complement to the colors of the fabrics in the above painting, I present for your viewing enjoyment two snapshots of Gabriel Dawe's work "Plexus No. 27." I was excited to spot this piece, as I had loved his gorgeous "Plexus A1 " at the Renwick Gallery late last year (about which I wrote in this post). Now I can confidently say that Dawe is my favorite living artist -- these works are just amazing.

To get very "meta" about all of this art, I will throw in a photo of another work on display at Crystal Bridges -- a work whose colors and linear shapes echos those in Dawe's piece.

"Innate Thought" (Julian Stanczak, 1965)

Two of my favorite pieces in the entire collection were both very bright and colorful.

"Au Cafe (Synchromy)" (Stanton MacDonald-Wright, 1918)

Detail of "Red Flower" (Joseph Stella, 1929)

The building itself was worth photographing!

More to follow! It may be 2017 by the time I wrap up telling you about this trip, but better late than never, right?

Crystal Bridges

To continue my travelogue about friend L's and my trip to Arkansas (which began in this post)...

Given the short duration of our trip, we had a great deal we wanted to pack into a couple of days. The next morning the museum (aka Crystral Bridges Museum of American Art) opened at 10am, and we arrived at 10.15am.

At least one friend had jokingly asked me whether the museum would have greeters as Walmart stores do, and - unsurprisingly - it sure did. The greeter directed us to the admission desk (although there is no admission fee), where we were provided with one brochure that covers the indoor collection, and one that covers the outdoor trails and collection. We asked to make a reservation to visit the Frank Lloyd Wright house, and the earliest time we were offered was 3.15pm -- we looked at one another, shrugged -- yes, after all we traveled hundreds of miles, and then were all set.

Before setting off on our explorations of the collection, we made our way to the basement to use the ladies' room. A space outside the restrooms contained a couch -- and an art film, which we watched, then returned upstairs begin our independent tours. 

Film: "Rainbow Narcosis" (Jonathan Monaghan, 2012)

Walking and each looking at our own pace, we spent a good two hours exploring the permanent collection, which was impressive in its breadth and diversity. In this post and the next, I have included many photos of works which I liked or was somehow touched by or interested in.

"The Ramsay-Polk Family, Maryland" (James Peale Sr., ca. 1793)

The animal on the table is a flying squirrel!

Part of series "Gems of Brazil" by Martin Johnson Heade

"Landscape" (Robert Seldon Duncanson, 1865)

The painting above was very pretty, but did not photograph well, yet I am including it here due to the interesting life story of its artist. As explained by the informative sign next to the work in the museum, "born to Scottish-Canadian father and African-American mother Duncanson established his career in Cincinnati, but left for Canada during the Civil War, searching for a place where racism would not affect his profession as a painter. When Duncanson arrived in Montreal, he was warmly received, and he exhibited his works there to great acclaim." What a shame that talented people are driven from their homelands due to society's narrow mindedness.

"World's Columbian Exposition" (Theodore Robinson, 1864)

One of my favorites! "Under the Willows" (John Singer Sargent, 1887)

"School Rules" (William Holbrook Beard, 1887)

"The Lantern Bearers" (Maxfield Parrish, 1908)

"Raspberries in a Wooded Landscape" (William Mason Brown, ca. 1865-1875)

More to follow!

Find Your Park!

To celebrate its 100th anniversary this year, the National Park Service launched a new advertising and marketing campaign called "Find Your Park" last year. Although it has only been in the last several years that I have begun to fully appreciate the NPS and its diversity, I now count myself as a huge fan. Just check out this video, and tell me this isn't an impressive park system?

Over time I have been fortunate to visit quite a few parks across the country: from Alcatraz Island in California to Sleeping Bear Dunes in Michigan, from Craters of the Moon in Idaho to Boston National Historic Park in Massachusetts. A few visits I've blogged about include: Shenandoah National Park in Virginia,Yellowstone which I visited a few years ago, Cape Hatteras National Seashore which I saw and loved in 2014, Antietam National Battlefield in Maryland on a hot summer's day, Harper's Ferry National Historical Park in nearby West Virginia, plus recalling an earlier visit to Sleeping Bear Dunes. Naturally, given that the National Mall & Memorial Parks in Washington is also a national park, that's another spot about which I have blogged.

A park that I visited on the same trip as Yellowstone was neighboring Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. Although I was there for only part of a day, it was a beautiful and memorable visit, as the place is stunning!

Doing some hiking for the best views!

There are many more I would love to visit some day, including Acadia in Maine, Yosemite in California, Glacier in Montana, Arches in Utah, and - well, the list goes on!

However, if you asked me to name "my" park, I would quickly answer: the C&O National Historical Park. While spots like the Grand Canyon (which I've had the fortune of visiting twice!) are far more impressive, the beauty of the C&O is that it's close enough for me to visit frequently. Also, the impressive 180+ mile length, which stretches from the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington through all the way to Cumberland in western Maryland, means that there is lots to explore! I have hiked only about 25 miles of that. I have written about several (but certainly not all!) of my visits over the last several years, both in areas that are close to Washington, such as the ever-popular Great Falls overlook, and areas further away, such as the Monocacy Aqueduct and the town of Williamsport.

It's no surprise that my first outing to a national park this year was to the C&O. I took a five year old friend for a walk in the Great Falls area. The weather had been quite variable that day, and as we drove to the park, a quick downpour almost changed our plans. However, perhaps sensing our dire need to experiences the great outdoors, the rain stopped. After parking the car, we began walking, and I noticed other hikers looking above us, so we turned around to spot a lovely rainbow. I did not have a camera along; this photo was snapped with my very old cell phone. I'm hoping for many more visits to national parks this year (as well as better quality photos)!

Happy 100th birthday, National Park Service!!!

Book Recommendation: "White Field, Black Sheep"

Being Latvian is a funny thing sometimes. Earlier this month I was reading a book titled "Bad Feminist: Essays" by Roxane Gay, who spent time on the faculty of Eastern Illinois University. In one essay she mentions her colleague and friend Daiva. Naturally, I know Daiva to be a Lithuanian name, so I immediately wonder who this person could be and search for "Daiva Eastern Illinois University" online. Quickly discovering that the woman's last name is Markelis and that she is also on faculty at the college, I also find out that she is the author of a memoir called "White Field, Black Sheep: A Lithuanian-American Life." The title seems vaguely familiar - maybe I'd heard of it somewhere previously. Regardless, I add it to my "must read" list. While looking for books to take on a trip, I remembered this one, and bought it for my e-reader. From the moment I began reading it, the memoir resonated with me and my experiences of growing up in the Latvian-American community.

(Source: Amazon.com)

Markelis' parents fled Lithuania at the end of World War II, spent time in Displaced Persons camps in Germany, and eventually ended up in Chicago, a city with the largest number of Lithuanians outside of Lithuania. Her parents spoke only Lithuanian to Daiva and her younger sister Rita, and tried to instill in them pride in their heritage. She grew up in a Lithuanian neighborhood, was friends with many other Lithuanian-American children, attended a Lithuanian Saturday school, and so on.

This memoir of growing up in the Chicago Lithuanian community is a must-read for any Baltic American! However, the book is also a worthwhile choice for anyone who grew up in the U.S. in the 60s and 70s or in the Chicago area, or who has experienced misunderstanding their parents' actions and motivations, as well as readers interested in immigrant experiences in the U.S. 

Being the child of Latvian immigrants who also arrived after WWII, I was familiar with many of the themes the author addressed and explored including: a patriotic upbringing, pride in one's language/culture/history, the vast yet often silent disappointment and frustration of dreams and futures deferred or stolen, longing for home and familiarity, a deep love of all things cultural, the misunderstandings and confusion brought on by a new culture and country, the ubiquity of alcohol as a social lubricant and drowner of sorrows, lack of understanding about mental health, and the fear of disappointing one's family. 

The 1960s and 70s were a vibrant period in the Baltic American communities, and we can be grateful that at least one person has crafted a well-written memoir which does an excellent job of describing that period.

Life in these United States: Reality (aka Health Insurance Issues)

Recently I was complaining to a friend that being an adult can be a drag sometimes. Those times include: when you realize your car might need several hundred $ worth of work, which means finding time to take the car into the repair shop, hoping they don't rip you off, and then dealing with the bill, or when a doctor's office tries to charge you for something your insurance company should be covering, and you spend far too much time on the phone clarifying the situation so that you are not stuck with having to pay more than than necessary. This second point got me thinking about the U.S. health care system, and how it differs from those in most other countries. Because quite a few of my readers live in countries other than the U.S. (and some of you might be considering a move to the U.S. at some point), I thought it might be interesting to delve into some of the realities of life here because - as opposed to what American movies and TV shows might seem to imply - it is not necessarily the land of milk and honey! (N.B. - This is all based on my personal experience and knowledge, so - as the saying goes - your mileage may vary, or your experience might be different.)

Top 5 things to keep in mind about health insurance in the U.S.

1. It's expensive.
2. It is complicated.
3. Just when you think it cannot be more expensive, it gets even more expensive.
4. It is illogical.
5. Making full use of it, and ensuring you are not being charged erroneously is time consuming.

Health insurance in the U.S. is employer-based, which means if you are unemployed, you might have it rough. Another caveat is that often one has to be a full-time employee (working forty or more hours a week) to qualify for certain benefits, such as health insurance or vacation time. Of course, the recently implemented Affordable Care Act (aka "Obamacare") changed health insurance availability to some degree. Additionally, for quite a few years now, anyone poor enough can qualify for Medicaid, while most people over the age of 65 qualify for Medicare. These are, essentially, health insurance programs run by the federal government.

How's your blood pressure? (Source: CDC)

However, for the vast majority of us, health insurance is provided by our employer, whether that be a business, non-profit organization, or local/state/federal government agency. By "provided," I don't mean that your employer gives you a little insurance I.D. card, and says - go use, have fun, you won't have to pay a single dollar. Ha, far from it!

Very few companies fully pay their employers insurance premiums, which means that an employee has a certain amount deducted from each paycheck to help pay for their insurance. This number and percentage can vary wildly. My company, for example, for many years paid 50%, while the employee paid the other half; a couple of years ago the company (thankfully!) increased its percentage 60% and I pay the remaining 40%. The monetary amounts I'm talking about are not inconsequential. (More on that in a bit.)

Depending on the size of the company and what it has decided to offer, an employee's options vary. Sometimes there are only two health insurance options - with differing prices and coverage - while other times there might be several. You can typically make your choice only when you begin working at the company, or during an "open enrollment period," or during a short time frame in the late fall when you are presented with the new prices and updated options. It can be difficult to make a decision, as one never knows what the future holds (one friend recently decided to switch to an option for which premiums cost less per month , but charges more for out-of-pocket expenses for surgeries and the like, and several months later needed surgery, negating any savings on the premiums), and also because deciphering anything health insurance-related in this country requires a great deal of patience and more than a little bit of smarts.

To lay out some specifics, I receive a weekly paycheck, and $74.04 of each and every paycheck goes toward my health insurance premium. How much I earn is irrelevant - I would be paying that much if I were making $30,000 or $150,000 annually. My company offers five or six different health insurance options, and this is one of the more expensive in terms of weekly cost to me, yet it covers more than some of the cheaper options. When you do the math, it means that I am spending $3,850.08 annually just for my health insurance premiums! Additionally, if my company is covering 60% of the cost of this insurance, it means that the yearly sum which is paid for my health insurance totals about $9,600! Additionally, this does not include vision insurance (because why in the world would anyone need to see?!), nor does it include dental insurance (because who the heck needs teeth?!). I pay extra for both of those.

If this meant that I could waltz into any doctor's office and have all sorts of tests done, etc, that would be great, but that is not how the system functions. First, I have to make sure the doctor is "in network," meaning that this specific doctor works with my insurance company. Going "out of network" can have expensive consequences. Second, the insurance company has a complex chart that lays out what they cover, what they don't, what I will have to pay, and what I might need to pay. For example, to go see a doctor costs me $15 up front at the doctor's office. (Some insurance companies structure it so that seeing a generalist, such as a pediatrician, internist or ob-gyn, costs a smaller amount, say $20, while seeing a specialist such as an orthopedic surgeon or neurologist costs a larger sum, such as $40.) However, if the doctor says - you need to have that x-rayed, you need blood work, etc., that's where it can get tricky and expensive. Again, I typically need to find out whether that will be "in network," then I hold my breath and hope it doesn't get too expensive.

Time for a flu shot! Luckily, the place I work provides them.

Each year I have to satisfy a "deductible." This is a sum that I need to cover for anything beyond a simple doctor's visit. Let's say I see a doctor at the beginning of the year. That will cost me $15, and will not count toward my deductible. However, during the appointment the doctor is concerned enough that she wishes for me to have Tests A, B and C. After these test have been performed and the claims processed by the insurance company, I receive an "explanation of benefits" from my insurance company. This document explains the following:

• The "cost" of Test A is $200, but the rate negotiated between the doctor and insurance company is $70, so that is the amount I will have to pay.
• Test B "costs" $130, the negotiated rate is $65.
• Test C "costs" $94, the negotiated rate is $12.

Adding up the 70 + 65 + 12 = $147, and that amount has gone towards "satisfying my deductible." In other words, I have not yet reached my deductible. However, if I then sprain my ankle, and get it x-rayed and the amount I have to pay for the x-ray is $110, then (by adding the $110 to $147 for a total of $257), I have reached my deductible. Then, for the rest of the year any test will cost me 20% of the negotiated rate. Let's say, a test "costs" $400, the negotiated rate is $139, so the amount I owe is $27.80 (i.e. 20% of the $139).

Confused yet?!? Yes, pity the person who has many health problems, or who is in a serious accident, or has suffers from anything serious such as cancer. I have seen massive piles or files of papers - explanation of benefits, bills, reminders, etc - on the desks and kitchen tables of such people.

As you can see, health insurance and health care are quite confusing in the U.S., and it can be argued that it rates rather high as a stressor for quite a few people. As a matter of fact, a disturbingly high percentage (around 20% from what I've read) of personal bankruptcies in this country are caused by medical bills. While the United States is wonderful in regards to many factors, the cost and complexity of health care is not one of those.

Birthday Cake / Why Do Americans Work So Much? / Latvian Bobsled

To help celebrate my birthday, I invited over a few close friends for coffee and cake. Ordering a cake is a bit of a production because I avoid gluten. The entire DMV really only has one gluten-free bakery, The Happy Tart, which is located in Alexandria, VA - a good 45 minute drive for me. However, the drive is worth it, as their items are all amazing. Last year I had purchased a triple chocolate mousse cake, which contained three layers of different mousse flavors: white, milk, and dark chocolate. This year I choose the marjolaine, described on their website as: "Almond meringue layered with chocolate ganache, hazelnut cream, and vanilla cream." It is a long, skinny cake, and when I got home, I realized that it didn't fit on a single platter in the apartment! I resorted to placing the cake on a cookie sheet. While not the world's prettiest cake (or simplest to cut!), this dessert was incredibly rich and decadent...so much that I was the only person to finish an entire piece. Naturally, the nicest part of the afternoon was to spend time with friends.

We discussed all manners of things, including the Olympics, travel, babies, books, Oscar nominated movies, and so on. Earlier in the day I had read a wonderful article in the Washington Post about Americans' obsession with work, so I shared that with everyone. Because I don't have a working TV at home, I had not seen the commercial the writer references, so I had to look that up. Link to the video inside another article is here. Anyone who knows me would attest to the fact that I would much rather have more time off (and spend my funds on travel) than more toys (as can be witnessed just by glancing at my *very* old car). I am definitely interested in hearing your opinions on this commercial (particularly if you live in Europe), and the article. Comment away!

As for the lovely Latvian team bobsleds I mentioned in yesterday's post, it turns out that a young Latvian-Canadian woman who now lives in Latvia, Julija Gifford, was responsible. Please do check out her post on the design process. Kudos to Julija for a beautiful job!

This photos does not adequately show the Latvian ornaments - check out Julija's blog for better pics! (Source: Yahoo Sports)

Post nr. 1 / The Beginning!

Given the fact that I have little chance to do any type of writing nowadays, I decided that trying a little blogging might be a good outlet. I will probably write about a variety of things, although might mostly focus on issues that affect Latvian-Americans and Latvians outside the United States, as I certainly spend enough time in the Latvian-American community and do give these issues much thought.

I will start off with an anecdote provided by a Latvian-American child. It illustrated quite well how very confusing the concept of identity is for many of us!

In working with Latvian-American children in various settings, I have always found it interesting to discuss identity with them -- no matter what their age. I was teaching a group of second graders (seven year olds), and decided to ask them whether they were Latvian or American or both. These children came from a variety of backgrounds - several had two parents who are Latvian-American (i.e. born in the U.S. to Latvian parents), one had a mother from Latvia and a father who is American, yet another was the son of Latvian diplomats temporarily posted in the United States. They all unequivocally told me that they are American -- yes, even the child who only has a Latvian passport. I decided to quiz one boy whose family I know quite well. I said, "Your grandmother is Latvian, your grandfather is Latvian, is your father Latvian?" There was a puzzled look and silence, then, "No, he's a lawyer!"