Spectral Images of Spring

Augusta, Georgia

Opening the front door can be a really pleasant experience. Today I opened up about 6:45 AM and found a sapphire blue heaven lacerated with amazing streaks of crimson, pink, and red, punctuated by rays of bright orange ascending from the horizon as the solar event horizon raced across the sky. These images are always the better when seen on travel days. I wasn’t hopping on planes today but was anticipating about four hours of enjoyable country driving at the peak of spring color here in the south.

So it was that I picked up a friend to drive to Augusta for her annual visit to the Medical College of Georgia. The morning drive through rolling South Carolina farmland in late March is beautiful. Dogwood trees in full bloom accent the banks of lavender, purple, red, and white azaleas. Several species of late blooming daffodils provide their yellow punctuation on emerald sweeps of fresh lawns. Many fence rows are illuminated by Yoshino cherry trees and the nearly ubiquitous Bradford pear trees are just finishing their blooming cycles and putting on canopies of newly emergent green.

Perhaps one of the most visual of all sporting events is the Master’s golf tournament in Augusta. I am willing to bet a lot of people vie for tickets to the Masters just for an opportunity to wander around in one of the most perfectly manicured landscapes in the world for four days as much as they do to watch people launch little white balls into the cerulean skies of Augusta. Today everyone in Augusta is preparing the town for its mass influx of Truflite pilgrims in a couple of weeks.

68 degrees at the end of March with a china blue sky and everything in full bloom certainly does give a colorful reminder of how grand life really can be even if it includes visits to the neurosciences center of a university medical campus. Every day that one is above ground and able to smell the flowers is a good one. In all things, give thanks, especially for springtime in the South.

Oriental Inspirations in a French Style

Atlanta, Georgia

On a brilliant Saturday morning under a cerulean sky streaked with crimson contrails and accented by a platinum crescent moon, I loaded up fifteen of my friends into a couple of vans here in Anderson for a two-hour journey to Atlanta to visit the Terra Cotta Warriors exhibit at the High Museum of Art. The morning was given to viewing these amazing archeological treasures from a far western Chinese province. In the afternoon we had opportunity to view the Third Year of the special Louvre Exhibition from Paris.

Our two vans arrived in Atlanta exactly on time, with no missed turns, malfunctions or other challenges. Our special exhibition tickets were at the will-call window as they were supposed to be and parking proved convenient. My other driver, John, helped me provide door to door service for our guests. We joined the others for a journey back in time some 23 centuries to 221 BC in China during which The First Emperor spent several decades building a 23.5 square mile burial complex. Part of this complex was 8,000 terra cotta soldiers who were supposed to keep him alive in the afterlife. We still don’t know if this happened or not but he did leave a lot of grand pottery for the archeologists to find in 1974. We were able to enjoy a really well curated show of carefully restored ancient artwork of the highest order.

Our luncheon was served in a French fashion at Table 1280 on the museum campus. Attentive service and linen added a fine touch of class. The group dispersed after a leisurely lunch to enjoy the Louvre exhibition or the permanent collections containing a nice representation of Dutch and French masters. I never tire of Renoir or Monet or masterpieces carved in travertine marble.

French Influence – Chateau Elan

After viewing priceless French art all afternoon it seemed appropriate to have a splendid dinner in a grand context. We headed for Chateau Elan, an oasis of European sensibility located in rural Georgia. Chateau Elan includes a 5-star European hotel, a winery, seven restaurants, golf courses, a race track, and a motor car factory. Inside one of the winery’s fine restaurants we enjoyed a grand feast at a table set like one might find prepared for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. After two hours of fine dining, we returned to our reality, arriving back in Anderson about 10 PM all safe and sound. All were in church Sunday save one, and she had a good excuse.