Visit Baltimore Museum of Art's New American Wing

Photo from BmoreArt

I am ashamed to say that I have never visited the Baltimore Museum of Art. Reading about it for this blog makes me even more ashamed. It has:

• 700 works by Henri Matisse
• free admission
• paintings by Pablo Picasso, Paul Cézanne, and Vincent van Gogh

But with the new opening of the American Wing after a two-year facelift, and the re-opening of the original entrance to this beautiful Classical Revival building (the entrance was closed in 1982 because it was not handicap accessible), I now have lots of motivation to visit. According to their website "state-of-the-art lighting, new herringbone wood floors, and a new palette of colors for the walls and ceilings," have enhanced the American Wing. A display I'm excited to see:

"...[A] stunning, light-infused gallery featuring outstanding examples of Louis Comfort Tiffany's decorative works and those of his colleagues and competitors. See vibrant stained-glass windows, towering columns adorned with mosaics, an elaborate mantelpiece, and stunning, silver objects."

Oooooh. Can't wait.

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Baltimore Museum of Art

10 Art Museum Drive, Baltimore, MD 

Hours: Wednesday–Friday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Saturday–Sunday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.
Monday–Tuesday, Closed

Admission: Free

For more info: http://www.artbma.org/

Hands in the Air at Merriweather Post Pavilion

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I thought my blog about my visit to the Merriweather Post Pavilion was going to be about spots to eat, drink and grab some shade at the outdoor music venue north of the Beltway in Columbia, Md.

But as I stood in the dark of the crowded amphitheater last night, the light-show spectacle of the band Queens of the Stone Age exploding in front of my eyes, their bass drum thumping against my chest and making me sway and shimmy and shuffle my feet in the 1-by-1 foot space in front my seat, I realized that this blog needed to more than a "tips" article. It needed to be a call to action. This visceral jolt of an eye-dazzling light show, music beating against your body, the summer heat against your skin, and the undeniable urge to dance in public is something we as middle-aged, responsible parents and partners don’t experience very often anymore.

So do this. This summer. Claim your 1-by-1 foot of space and dance.

“We’re here to drink, dance, party and have a good time,” Queens lead singer and guitarist Josh Homme told the crowd. “There ain’t no time for anything else.”

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Josh Homme, Queens of the Stone Age

Homme is a big, broad-shouldered red-head who swivels his hips like Elvis and smokes while he plays guitar. He’s the hottest Agent Brody ever. If there is any man to inspire a crowd to embrace a good time and the inherent sensuality of a concert on a summer night, it is this man. I saw grown men air-guitaring along with him. A middle-aged woman waved her hands like an orchestra director while he sat at a piano and sang about vampires.

But say intense, alt-metal isn’t your thing. Every flavor of band -- from Beck to Phish to Huey Lewis and the News -- is playing at area outdoor venues this summer. Columbia, Md., feels too far to drive? You’ve got Wolftrap just outside the Beltway in Vienna, Va., and Jiffy Lube Live in the far-out Northern Virginia 'burb of Bristow, Va.

So go. Dance. Move. Clap along. Air drum along with the drummer (the Queens drummer was hottie and Baltimore native Jon Theodore). But claim that space and enjoy it.

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Merriweather Post Pavilion

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A full bar with shade and fans inside Merriweather

This outdoor music venue set among 40 acres of trees in Columbia, Md., has a quirky, natural charm with lots of tongue-in-cheek statues, barns used as restrooms and food shacks, and a small deck at the top of the sloping lawn selling $5 beers. It also has incredible acoustics, famed architect Frank Gehry as its designer and a stage that saw Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and the Grateful Dead on its boards. For eats, head to the Jerry's Crisp and Toasty Grilled Cheese stand in the northwest corner for a cheddar, applewood bacon and tomato sandwich on honey wheat. For drinks, go to the 9:32 Club on the west side, a mini-9:30 Club with a full bar, table and stools, fans, and TVs streaming the show. You may never leave.

Click to see Merriweather Post Pavilion's summer schedule.

Terror-Filled Fun in the Trees at Adventure Park

The Adventure Park at Sandy Spring

I was about 20-feet high in the trees at The Adventure Park at Sandy Spring, barely balancing on a wood board shivering beneath my feet, when I remembered, “Oh yeah, I’m terrified of heights.”

This was my family’s fifth or sixth trip to the tree-climbing and zip-lining adventure land in Montgomery County, and we’d ended every trip covered in sweat, showing off some impressive scrapes and bruises, and seriously psyched about our ability to look a leaf-strewn death in the face. Visiting The Adventure Park at Sandy Spring is like being in labor – the end result is so cool you forget about the screaming and crying that preceded it.

The Adventure Park is an elaborate, up-in-the-trees obstacle course. You choose one of the 13 courses (the level of difficulty is marked like ski runs from purple to double-black diamond), and then you work your way along the course by teetering from tree to tree across different challenges or “elements.”

A view of the "elements" at The Adventure Park

Sometimes you’re walking across sturdy boards with a tight, steady rope you can grip for balance. Sometimes you’re on logs swinging beneath you while the grip line sticks out at an awkward angle. Sometimes you zip line across. Sometimes you rope swing across. Sometimes you climb down an endless rope ladder that has you swearing, when you’ve kissed the platform at the bottom, that you will never again skip the arms when you’re at the gym.

None of these elements, the young and impossibly cute staff assures you, will result in your leaf-strewn death. Cinching you into your harness, walking you through a detailed training, and being readily available for the cries of “Staff help!” are all ways this young and impossibly cute (as well as friendly, patient and competent) staff insure your safety.

A staff member demonstrates safety equipment

They also help you believe in the “tweezle.” The safety of this park is dependant on the two locking carabiners on your harness, a “life line” that runs through every course, and the tweezle. The tweezle is a locking mechanism – you lock one of your carabineers onto a course’s life line at the beginning, and you are unable to unlock until the end. This way, should you slip off the insane tightrope that you’re supposed to be walking across, your harness will catch on the life line. Boosting yourself back onto the element is easier with the adrenaline-surge of your heart pounding.

If I can do it, you can do it

So why am I recommending this place so obviously meant for the young and fearless to In-Betweeners? Because, at our age, it’s easy to get too damn comfortable. I’m not presented with many risks anymore. And with two kids and a husband, I’m not interested in truly looking death in the face – ie. skydiving, mountain climbing, jogging. Staring at my feet (never the ground!) at Adventure Park, realizing that I’m actually balancing myself on that tightrope, and conquering an element that I was sure would defeat me leave me feeling exhilarated, powerful and capable.

And the view is fricking gorgeous.

Beginning

You must climb up to this platform to begin every course.

Course difficulty

Adventure Park has a course for all ages and fear levels

Course markings

All courses are clearly marked.

Starting out

What, me worry?

Platforms

Platforms between each element give you a place to have a nice, peaceful heart attack.

Ladders suck

In the trees

Locking

How you use the tweezle to lock your carabiner onto the life line.

Some of the elements...

...A sliding board

...Logs

...A Net

Over and under

Zipline

Most off the courses end with a zip line.

End of the line

Adventure Park staff suggests you run to get a good landing at the end of a zip line.

Beautiful views

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The Adventure Park at Sandy Spring Friends School

 

Cost: $49 for ages 12+

Twilight tickets: $29, Mon-Thurs.; $39, Fri-Sun. (Available 3 hours before closing.)

In Between Tip: The park -- strewn with twinkling white Christmas lights -- is open for night climbing until 8 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays and until 10 p.m. Friday and Saturdays. I imagine it would be really fun with a group of adult friends. I can feel another blog coming on...