hmm...time warp...where to begin??
We are home in Athens, Georgia. It is hot and humid. We had an awesome thunderstorm last night, so are not directly suffering from the drought right now. Most of the garden is pretty bad off. Deer got in and ate the beans and other things. The tomatoes, cucumbers, squash are pretty much done, due to heat and drought mainly, although we harvested some earlier in the year. It is consistently over 90 and stuff just doesn't do well. Sweet potatoes are growing just fine. We have a couple pretty sunflowers, as well as marigolds and zinnias, and lots of peppers. We should have some eggplants in a few weeks--they look good. And we ate some melons that were good.
I am trying to adjust to being alone here again. It is very quiet and nice in some ways--I can mostly find what I want and don't worry about anyone else. We have recorded the Olympics and watch at our own pace, zipping through ads and some of the "background" stuff. Except that there is too much and I fall asleep after a while.
We had a pleasant potluck supper at UUFA last night, saying hello to five of our friends there. I made a pasta bean salad, using some of the many peppers we have. There's enough left for tonight's KR potluck as well. We ran some errands during the day, meeting the cleaning ladies at my Dad's apartment and going to the bank and the grocery stores. Ray spent some time at his office.
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| the Mayflower II |
Cameron seems happy to see us and we let him in to the cool house often, whenever I am downstairs to make sure he doesn't decide to climb on the couch. The chickens are out of their coop now, pretty much for the full day, the first time in a while. They seem unhappy and I haven't had any eggs from them yet. I have noticed before they seem to blame us for heat or cold or rain.
The day Molli and Adrian left Boston for the Cape, we met them in Plymouth and visited Plimouth Plantation, a recreation of where the Pilgrims landed and set up housekeeping. We thought it would be a fun and educational experience for Adrian. I remembered it fondly from the last time we went. Unfortunately, it was a little hot (no AC of course). The re-enactors there are amazing, with accents and authentic costumes...
I had lab work done yesterday morning and I am afraid of the results. I have gained back weight whie I was traveling and not able to eat as well as at home. We shall see.
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| Deb and Molli |
The day we flew home was a little more stressful than most of our travels have been. We took the M60 bus from Upper Manhattan, near Columbia, to LaGuardia. We have done this before and generally enjoy it. But it happened that it took over an hour this time. It is really hard to watch the minutes go by and know you are going to be late and can't do a thing about it. We actually got to the airport about 45 minutes before our flight. We came in on the wrong level and had to hurry to check in. The kiosk would not let me check my bag, even though I had prepaid it. A helpful person got us to the head of the line and eventually they overrode it and sent our bag through, but they warned that it might not make it. After that, it wasn't too bad. We got to the gate in time to board easily, but no sitting around waiting. The whole flight I was wondering if the suitcase would make it. Landing, getting to the baggage claim, and there it was. Next challenge--could we make the 4:15 shuttle? A call to Groome reserved us two seats, although it was very full. I sat next to a young man from Estonia, who had just arrived in this country for this first time, to become a student-athlete at UGA. His sport? Decathlon! Very interesting. His English is better than many Americans'. I gave him my contact info and said I would love to drive him around and have him to dinner, etc. But I may or may not hear from him. He doesn't have a local phone yet or email address... His name is Michael Uibo, in case he becomes world famous.
My Dad had left the red car for us, so we just got in it and drove home. OK, the house was pretty messy. I had to keep reminding myself that we would not have wanted to leave it empty for a whole month and this was a small price to pay. The man sits on the couch and eats and drinks on the coffee table and never The day before we took the Megabus from Hyannis to New York City. This
is amazing--just get on the bus in Hyannis and off in lower Manhattan--I
think it was $39. However, it was not as nice as our Megabus in Athens.
It was not a double-decker and the internet didn't work. My thoughts
about playing cards or doing something on my computer did not hold up.
It didn't matter much, though, as Ray, Molli and Adrian slept most of
the time. I read and was about ready to drift off by the time we arrived
in NY. We had chosen our hotel partly bcause it was only a few blocks
from the bus stop. However, it stopped five blocks away. I guess they
are still working out the stops. Our driver insisted he was supposed to
be there (11th avenue), while the coordinator said no, this is where you
are supposed to pick up, but the dropoff is at 7th avenue. Looking at
our pile of luggage, he allowed us to get back on the bus, carrying it
all on with us, and he drove us to the original stop. I don't know about
the other riders. Maybe they didn't mind. Now I hear that a Megabus
recently caught fire on its way to Charlotte. Maybe I will be less
excited about taking it...wipes it off! We slept well and appreciated our own bed and everything else.
(para. missing here) We walked (thank goodness for rolling luggage) to our hotel. It's great to be the grande dame (or the old lady). Everyone else carries the heavy stuff and I just tag along with my purse. We had reserved several rooms and finally cancelled all of them except the Gershwin. It is a self-proclaimed "funky" or artistic place. But finding a Manhattan hotel that sleeps 4 comfortably at a good price is a challenge. This was $250 a night, about $50 more than the cheapest we found, but the location and the Frommers recommendation clinched it. A tiny elevator and we reached our room at the end of the sixth floor. We left everything there and went around the corner to eat. Really good food, but noisy and crowded, at the Cafe 28.We had to take turns going in the one bathroom before starting on a walk. No particular destination, just enjoying being in the city. We walked south to Madison Park and remembered the last time we were there with Amelia in the rain. We admired the buildings, the Flatiron and the clock tower, and kept walking down to Greenwich Street and back up, making a big loop. We considered taking the train or bus back, but nothing was very direct, so we just plugged along, stopping for sustenance at Crumbs (cupcakes and chai). We had a late and wonderful dinner at Marseille--I'm a sucker for French. It reminded us a good bit of Bistro Niko. The chilled corn soup was awesome. I thought the desserts were not as wonderful as the rest, which was fine. I was very moderate, having some authentic bouillabaisse and a few tastes of other dishes. Pinot Grigio, bread and butter--it was all good. and I love this level of service. many different waitstaff kept our glasses filled and got our food there hot. Lots of people watching (or clothes watching).
The next morning I got up hours before anyone else, took my iPad down to the coffee shop (birches) and ordered some tea and a bagel. Oh yes, I am a New Yorker now. Watching the other people. work already going on out on the street. Eventually, we all got showered and dressed, packed our things and left the Gershwin. We took the subway up to Amelia's old stomping grounds near Columbia, that being one of the law schools Molli would like to attend. We had breakfast at Nussbaum and Wu, where we had eaten eight (?) years ago, when Amelia was a student at Barnard, and Molli and Gerald were high school seniors. The food is very good. Every place like this, the menu is extensive and it takes me a while to study it all. I love having so many choices. I had a spinach and mushroom omelet, having already had my bagel. Then we ordered a few things to take with us, sandwiches for the flight (cheaper and better than anything at the airport--and a good thing, too, since as it turned out, we didn't have time to buy anything). Roast beef and turkey with Russian dressing...Then we had to say good bye to Molli and Adrian for now, and board our bus.
We had picked them up in Boston Saturday morning early, leaving our cousins in St. Johnsbury after an early breakfast. Molli's travel luck held and they arrived about 15 minutes early. We got there just as they picked up their suitcases from the baggage claim. We drove to Point Judith, Rhode Island, where they needed to get the ferry for Block Island to attend Christine and Ian's wedding.
hmm...time warp...where to begin??
We are home in Athens, Georgia. It is hot and humid. We had an awesome thunderstorm last night, so are not directly suffering from the drought right now. Most of the garden is pretty bad off. Deer got in and ate the beans and other things. The tomatoes, cucumbers, squash are pretty much done, due to heat and drought mainly, although we harvested some earlier in the year. It is consistently over 90 and stuff just doesn't do well. Sweet potatoes are growing just fine. We have a couple pretty sunflowers, as well as marigolds and zinnias, and lots of peppers. We should have some eggplants in a few weeks--they look good. And we ate some melons that were good. 
We had a pleasant potluck supper at UUFA last night, saying hello to five of our friends there. I made a pasta bean salad, using some of the many peppers we have. There's enough left for tonight's KR potluck as well. We ran some errands during the day, meeting the cleaning ladies at my Dad's apartment and going to the bank and the grocery stores. Ray spent some time at his office.
The day Molli and Adrian left Boston for the Cape, we met them in Plymouth and visited Plimouth Plantation, a recreation of where the Pilgrims landed and set up housekeeping. We thought it would be a fun and educational experience for Adrian. I remembered it fondly from the last time we went. Unfortunately, it was a little hot (no AC of course). The re-enactors there are amazing, with accents and authentic costumes... 
My Dad had left the red car for us, so we just got in it and drove home. OK, the house was pretty messy. I had to keep reminding myself that we would not have wanted to leave it empty for a whole month and this was a small price to pay. The man sits on the couch and eats and drinks on the coffee table and never The day before we took the Megabus from Hyannis to New York City. This
is amazing--just get on the bus in Hyannis and off in lower Manhattan--I
think it was $39. However, it was not as nice as our Megabus in Athens.
It was not a double-decker and the internet didn't work. My thoughts
about playing cards or doing something on my computer did not hold up.
It didn't matter much, though, as Ray, Molli and Adrian slept most of
the time. I read and was about ready to drift off by the time we arrived
in NY. We had chosen our hotel partly bcause it was only a few blocks
from the bus stop. However, it stopped five blocks away. I guess they
are still working out the stops. Our driver insisted he was supposed to
be there (11th avenue), while the coordinator said no, this is where you
are supposed to pick up, but the dropoff is at 7th avenue. Looking at
our pile of luggage, he allowed us to get back on the bus, carrying it
all on with us, and he drove us to the original stop. I don't know about
the other riders. Maybe they didn't mind. Now I hear that a Megabus
recently caught fire on its way to Charlotte. Maybe I will be less
excited about taking it...wipes it off! We slept well and appreciated our own bed and everything else.
(para. missing here) We walked (thank goodness for rolling luggage) to our hotel. It's great to be the grande dame (or the old lady). Everyone else carries the heavy stuff and I just tag along with my purse. We had reserved several rooms and finally cancelled all of them except the Gershwin. It is a self-proclaimed "funky" or artistic place. But finding a Manhattan hotel that sleeps 4 comfortably at a good price is a challenge. This was $250 a night, about $50 more than the cheapest we found, but the location and the Frommers recommendation clinched it. A tiny elevator and we reached our room at the end of the sixth floor. We left everything there and went around the corner to eat. Really good food, but noisy and crowded, at the Cafe 28.We had to take turns going in the one bathroom before starting on a walk. No particular destination, just enjoying being in the city. We walked south to Madison Park and remembered the last time we were there with Amelia in the rain. We admired the buildings, the Flatiron and the clock tower, and kept walking down to Greenwich Street and back up, making a big loop. We considered taking the train or bus back, but nothing was very direct, so we just plugged along, stopping for sustenance at Crumbs (cupcakes and chai). We had a late and wonderful dinner at Marseille--I'm a sucker for French. It reminded us a good bit of Bistro Niko. The chilled corn soup was awesome. I thought the desserts were not as wonderful as the rest, which was fine. I was very moderate, having some authentic bouillabaisse and a few tastes of other dishes. Pinot Grigio, bread and butter--it was all good. and I love this level of service. many different waitstaff kept our glasses filled and got our food there hot. Lots of people watching (or clothes watching).
The next morning I got up hours before anyone else, took my iPad down to the coffee shop (birches) and ordered some tea and a bagel. Oh yes, I am a New Yorker now. Watching the other people. work already going on out on the street. Eventually, we all got showered and dressed, packed our things and left the Gershwin. We took the subway up to Amelia's old stomping grounds near Columbia, that being one of the law schools Molli would like to attend. We had breakfast at Nussbaum and Wu, where we had eaten eight (?) years ago, when Amelia was a student at Barnard, and Molli and Gerald were high school seniors. The food is very good. Every place like this, the menu is extensive and it takes me a while to study it all. I love having so many choices. I had a spinach and mushroom omelet, having already had my bagel. Then we ordered a few things to take with us, sandwiches for the flight (cheaper and better than anything at the airport--and a good thing, too, since as it turned out, we didn't have time to buy anything). Roast beef and turkey with Russian dressing...Then we had to say good bye to Molli and Adrian for now, and board our bus.
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