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I thought about my ancestors while sketching the Ellis Island main building. It was here that my Dutch paternal grandfather Cornelius Nieuwenhuize became Casey Newhouse, soon after the turn of the 20th century.

The partially sunken dredge is a Keweenaw landmark. Jill and I really enjoyed kayaking around it and right into it, through a huge hole in the side at the water line. Once inside it is very disorienting, as the large rectangular space is angled about 30 degrees.

Ithaca, NY has many beautiful gorges to explore. Lucifer Falls Gorge is my favorite. The skill of the landscape architects and masons who created the all stone walkways and bridges, integrated sensitively into the rock formations, is very impressive.

Koln Cathedral is an enormous, amazing edifice. I sketched this one point perspective directly centered on the apse. The view is a dramatic radiating forest of spires, flying buttresses and gargoyles.

This simple wooden church, in a woods at the end of the Bootjack Peninsula of the Keweenaw, is very handsome and serene.

The massive and imposing Castello Sforzesco was built in the 15th century, and later was one of the largest military citadels in Europe. Leonardo da Vinci frescoed many of its rooms. I sketched it on a beautiful April day.

The stabilized WW2 ruin of the Kaiser Wilhelm Gedachtniskirche in Berlin stands in stark contrast to the modern buildings surrounding it. It is a powerful reminder of the horrors of WW2.

The historic Reichstag in Berlin was completely re-furbished to be the capitol building of the newly united East Germany and West Germany. Architect Sir Norman Foster designed a huge contemporary glass dome for the building, symbolizing the re-unification.

The Rijksmuseum is one of my favorite art museums in the world. It is full of Rembrandt’s paintings and many other Dutch Masters’ works. I just about froze finishing the sketch on a very chilly, windy February day. Just across the park is the Van Gogh Museum, another of my favorites.

Jill and I greatly enjoyed our visit to Isle Royale in Lake Superior. We kayaked and hiked for a couple of days. I sketched the historic Rock Harbor lodge from a rock outcropping overhanging the harbor shore, just steps from our room.