The Perfect Sun Hat for Summer

Wanderboomer gals need the perfect hat for summer getaways, don’t we? You know the kind I’m talking about. One that looks fabulous no matter how many times we scrunch it up in our carry-on bags. One that shades our fair complexions on sunny days spent cruising or at the beach. One that doesn’t fly off in a sudden gust of wind.

Good news, ladies: I’ve found it! My top pick for the perfect summer sun hat was waiting for me at Chapel Hats, a boutique on Kalakaua Avenue in Waikiki Beach. Not heading to Hawaii any time soon? No problem. Chapel Hats can be found in several locations: Edmonton and Calgary, Alberta, Roseville and Santa Clara, California,  Las Vegas, and the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota.

Still not in your neighborhood? Of course, there’s always the on-line option, though you owe it to yourself to visit one of the site locations if you can. What a fun shop when you’re looking for just the right hat for a special need or event. After all, can we Wanderboomer gals ever have too many hats?

Three features of this black-striped de Lux hat make it a stand-out: first, the wide-brim provides plenty of protection for hair and face, a definite plus; second, the brim is supported with a wire insert that keeps the hat from flopping or drooping and makes it easy to re-shape after having it crushed in your carry-on bag; third, pulling down the inside band over your head prevents it from blowing off when the wind picks up, a benefit that I failed to notice the first two days I wore the hat. Who knew?

Chapel Hats Kalakaua
2356 Kalakaua Ave
Honolulu, Hawaii
96815
808-931-4984

Have you found your perfect summer hat, Wanderboomers? Tell us where you found it.

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In honor and celebration of fellow Wanderblogger, Beth (Pampers and Pakhlava), and her family’s over-the-moon adoption journey to bring home their Armenian-born daughter, I decided to make a favorite family recipe for dinner last night. The recipe was passed on to me more than 25 years ago. While I’m unsure of its origins, I do know it’s a popular dish on several recipe websites.

For Beth, Big Papa and Baby Bird, here’s the recipe:

Armenian Vegetable Casserole (Tourlu)

• 1 small (about 1 lb.) unpeeled eggplant


• 2 large onions


• 3 medium-sized carrots


• 2 large stalks celery


• 1 large red or green bell pepper


• 1 or 2 large potatoes


• 1/2 pound fresh green beans


• 1 can (1 lb.) pear-shaped tomatoes


• 1/2 cup each olive oil and catsup


• about 2 teaspoons salt


• 1-1/2 teaspoons each sugar and dry basil


• 1/4 teaspoon pepper


• 3 or 4 small zucchini (Add the last 20 – 30 minutes)


• chopped parsley for garnish

Combine ingredients, cover dish and bake in a 350 degree oven for 1 – 1/2 to 2 hours until vegetables are tender. Baste vegetables with juices every 30 minutes.

Makes 12 – 15 servings. Mmm . . .

Do you have a favorite recipe from your travels, Wanderboomers? Share it with us here.

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Woman with a Mango, Paul Gauguin, 1892

Lucky Seattle to have scored the current featured exhibit at The Seattle Art Museum (SAM), Gauguin and Polynesia: An Elusive Paradise. What a lovely way for visitors to wile away a cloudy afternoon (as suggested in my last post). I came away feeling so enriched by the dazzling colors of Gauguin’s paintings, so appreciative of the opportunity to learn more about his life and peripatetic lifestyle.

From the program notes and audio guide to the exhibit, we learn that Gauguin’s wanderings began early when as a toddler he set sail for Peru with his family to live with relatives for four years. As a young merchant marine, his travels took him to Brazil, India, the Arctic Circle and the United Kingdom. His settling down period came with his return to Paris when he married a Danish woman and began a career as a stockbroker while painting on the side.

But Gauguin’s domestic bliss and banking success were interrupted by the stock market crash after which he developed a lifelong obsession with art. Gauguin moved his family to Copenhagen and returned to Brittany, before continuing on to Martinique to paint.  He returned to France and later spent time with Van Gogh in Arles.

Still restless, Gauguin traversed the globe in search of a place of unspoiled beauty, an idyllic landscape far away from France and impressionism where he could paint in earnest.

The exhibit follows Gauguin’s trail to Tahiti and his adaptation of Polynesian sources in his artwork, from carvings to sculptures to paintings. Ultimately, Gauguin’s quest for a simpler time away from French colonial influences led him to an even more remote location, the Marquesas Islands, where he died and was buried in 1903.

After wallowing in the sunny yellows and brilliant blues of Gauguin’s paintings, you’ll (almost) forget about those gray Seattle skies, dreaming instead of  an unforgettable South Sea island paradise.

Seattle Art Museum Downtown
1300 First Avenue
Seattle, WA 98101-2003
206.654.3100

Hours

Tuesday–Sunday: 10 am–5 pm
Thursday & Friday: 10 am–9 pm
Monday: closed (except for Members Mondays)
Extended hours Monday, April 23 (yes, Monday!) to Sunday, April 29 from 10 am to 9 pm.

• $23 adults


• $20 Senior (62+), Military (with ID)


• $18 (students with ID) and youth (13–17)


• FREE for children 12 and under


• FREE for SAM members


• $3 off Thursday and Friday 5–9 pm

Includes access to the SAM collections and installations and a free audio guide.

Do you have a favorite Gauguin painting, Wanderboomers? Share with us here.

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