Places to go before I die...

Sounds morbid...huh?  Not really.  I was thinking of the book A Thousand Places To See Before You Die.  I've never read the book, but that's OK.  I already know where I want to go.  I've got only two places on my list.  There's no Paris and no Hawaii.  Here's my list.

The first place I want to visit is The Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA.  I have always loved Norman Rockwell's work since I was a child.  My Dad used to ride the train home from work and he would pick up the Saturday Evening Post to read on the train.  I remember picking up the magazine and studying the latest Rockwell painting on the cover.  I was fascinated by the story the painting would tell and all the wonderful detail Rockwell would include.

Years ago the Boy Scouts displayed some of the Rockwell pieces they own at the Museum of Natural Science in Houston.  I saw a small article in the paper and went down one morning.  Much to my surprise, I was the only person there.  It was just the security guard and me for a while and I had all the time in the world to walk around and study the paintings.  I told the guard the story about the Saturday Evening Post and how I had always loved Rockwell.  I was having a little trouble seeing the paintings.  I was too far away to use my reading glasses and too close to see clearly without them.  There was one of those velvet ropes keeping people from getting too close.  The guard saw I was having trouble and let me go under the rope and right up to the paintings!  He said, "I know I probably shouldn't be doing this, but there's no one else so go ahead."  I could have touched them, but of course I knew better.  It was a thrill of a lifetime for me.  I would sure love to see more of his work up close and personal.

I even have the Village of Stockbridge in my home with a tiny Normal Rockwell.  That's him crossing the street with the newspaper under his arm.

I picture myself crossing this street someday.


The second place I want to visit probably isn't on your list.  For the last fifteen years or so I have wanted to visit the Machias Blueberry Festival in Machias, ME.  The festival is held in August each year.  I love blueberries and getting out of hot and humid Texas and visiting cool (hopefully) Maine is very appealing to me.

I discovered the festival by accident.  Around fifteen years ago I was sitting in a movie theater in Houston watching the previews when a promo for the Machias Blueberry Festival popped up on the screen.  It didn't even say where Machias was located, but I knew it couldn't be in Texas because our blueberry season is over in June when it becomes way too hot for blueberries to grow.

The promo intrigued me.  It looked like so much fun, so when I got home I googled Machias Blueberry Festival and learned it was in Maine.  Since the promo never even mentioned the state of Maine I'm assuming it was meant to be distributed there only and was accidentally sent to our theater in Houston.

Every August I look at the website and dream of being there someday.  The town of Machias sounds like a place I'd enjoy visiting.  It's small...only a little over 2,500 people in the 2000 census and surrounded by early American history.

That's my list.  What's on your list?