Hi friends
As I mentioned, to Joe Tomlinson in my July 8th post, Margaret and I will be visiting the USA later this year. This will be the first time either of us has been in the States. We will arrive in NYC on 29th September and stay until the 2nd October. We then fly to Wisconsin to spend a week with John Stremikis and his wife Karen. Some of you already know of John but for those who don’t, John contributes to Skineart by answering comments and offering invaluable advise to those of us who require guidance on things from art to computing. John and his son Kris visited us, here in Scotland, in January a visit we greatly enjoyed. We have been corresponding with emails and Skype for a couple of years now as I outlined in the “Communication” thread in the forum.
http://www.skineart.com/forums/topic.php?id=98
The New York visit is very short and is really just a taster to see a place we have only dreamt of. Kris stays in NYC and has offered to organise some events/places to see etc. John and Karen will also join us for this leg of our trip. We have asked Kris to make his “bucket list” of activities very flexible so that we might get the chance to meet some of you, if anyone is interested. Activities are not set in stone but one idea might be to meet for some sort of activity such as a gallery visit or sketch crawl, followed by a bite to eat somewhere. Nikira and Leo have already been in contact and have graciously offered assistance if required. If anyone is interested in learning to speak with a Scottish accent it would be great to hear from you.
This is an update on the previous post in this thread.
Our small party has arrived at an agreement regarding things to do in New York City and the main dates are confirmed at Friday 30th September & Saturday 1st October. Times are yet to be confirmed mainly to accommodate anyone else who wants to join in. Margaret and I will invade US airspace on the 29th and leave early on October 2nd so these days are tight for things to do and visit. If anyone wants more information about this soiree please get in touch with me at
bobmcdowall@hotmail.com
We hope to see as many folks as possible during our short stay and if anyone wants to suggest alternative places to visit we are all open to change. You all have around 11 days to flee the country.
OMG! I have a huge problem, Bob.
No problem, honestly! Got your email and just replied. Take care
Safe travels my friend, if only I could make to any location near you. I would love to learn the Scottish accent! Looking forward to seeing your art from the US!
Thank you, Joe, for these kind comments. One day I’ll have the chance to bamboozle you with incomprehensible words from the old country
Just about ready. Bags packed and weighed, cat captured, fridge emptied and milk cancelled.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRTHdC7k4uY&feature=related
You have been warned. Now where did I put Margaret?
Good luck and safe travels, Uncle Bob! I hope you and Margaret have a great adventure!
Thanks Stephanie. Will let everyone know how things went. You will be extremely bored in the coming months he he 
Wish you safe travel and wonderful experience. So wanted to meet you. 
As you all have figured out Margaret and I are back in Scotland so everyone, elsewhere – and especially in America, can now relax. We had a fantastic time but its just too early to draw our experiences together for this forum. We will write to all who we met with our thanks. This includes Leo, from this website, who is a great guy; our only regret is time was all too short to annoy him. When we recover – yes “jet lag” seems to really exist, I’ll send a photo link, via this forum, for anyone who is interested in seeing someone else’s perspective on NYC and other parts of The USA. Safe to say, in the meantime, that America is not all its made out to be. Its BETTER!
First set “New York Scenes” can be laughed at by following this link:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28475994@N00/sets/72157627744555769/
Now, why in the world would an engineer take so many photos of bridges????? Hahahahah-just kidding! Your photos are great with a “feel” for much of the city, I think, although how anyone can survive in such a beehive is beyond me. But it looks like you will have some good material for future paintings. I especially liked the photos of Margaret and the Lady Liberty close-up.
Now I’m looking forward to joining you in Wisconsin. Sure hope you had some autumn color there as Wisconsin is GORGEOUS in autumn.
Thanks Rose. More photos tomorrow or as soon as I can organise them
As promised, more photos. These are from the second leg of our trip which was based near Madison, Wisconsin and around parts of that wonderful state. There are also a few from O’Hare Chicago – a huge place which we managed to navigate without too much trouble. The photos, in both links, only show a small proportion of the 1000 shots Margaret and I took, some are of a personal nature, but we will be sending some of these to others, on Skineart, by more conventional methods. That’s or first USA trip over. So sad but there is always another opportunity. Thanks John, Karen and family and Leo.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28475994@N00/sets/72157627765948045/
Took a look at your Wisconsin photos. More great sketching references, especially those incredible RED maple trees, and surprisingly, I loved the photos of O’Hare (I think that’s what it was anyhow) of those structural arches. Have been there but don’t recall them as my flight into O’Hare was hair-raising during a terrible thunderstorm, the worst in some 20 years it was said, with the field pretty well flooded. I was just happy to have my two feet on the ground again and that my children and I were safe, so whatever arches were there I missed them. Hahahahahah!
I’m sorry Rose. I have just seen this. I have sent you a link to yet more photos which are of a more personal nature ie – me with my kilt on (I know how much you like men in kilts he he). Please let me know if you cannot access these as I realise you have internet problems.
I would like to say how much Margaret and I enjoyed our first trip to the United States of America. Everything, and everyone, we met were wonderful. It has taken me a good two weeks to write to all we met to offer thanks. What great hospitality and wonderful scenery which was very much appreciated by the pair of us. We are now busy saving hard for the next trip.
I’ll try to do some justice, in future paintings and drawings on Skineart which will help me cement some wonderful memories as well as telling you all how I feel about this great country.
