dahlias, glads, blueberries

We got up at 5:30 AM on Thursday (6/19) and were on the road just after 6.  Pittsburgh was WONDERFUL (even though the Pirates lost to the Cinncinati Reds 11 - 4 L), but I was so ready to get home.  All in all, we put about 1750 miles on the car with this trip.  We stopped at a Denny’s for breakfast after several hours of driving, and other than switching off drivers/buying gas, we didn’t make any other stops.  We missed the Charlotte rush hour traffic mostly (YAY!) and were home just after 4 PM.  We got all of the suitcases unpacked, and many things put away before picking up Cookie at 6 PM.  We ordered dinner from Red Bowl…unfortunately they totally screwed up Michael’s order.  Instead of shrimp with pea pods, baby corn, carrots and mushrooms, he got shrimp LOADED with peppers and onions L.  He picked out the shrimp and ate that…I tried to eat a bunch of the peppers with my chicken, but there were TONS.  We called and they said he could stop up to get the ‘right’ entrée…so we will try that Friday night.  Otherwise….we both collapsed on the couch and did nothing more than watch TV until bedtime.

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We both felt like we had been hit by a Mack Truck when we got up on Friday (6/21), but we had a lovely breakfast on the deck, watching our butterflies (courtesy of the botanical gardens...sorry, don't have a picture yet) and getting caught up with the paper.  Michael took the dog for a walk, then picked a bunch of flowers                      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and blueberries,

 

and we both tried to get through most of our emails/etc before napping in the afternoon.  Barry stopped by to attach the rear handles to my long arm, and to fix the encoders….now I just have to get something new loaded up to try it out.  I hope to stop over Nancy H’s on Saturday to pick up some batting to get me going.  Jan and I took a quick trip to the library to return and pick up more books, and after a dinner of Chinese leftovers, we binge watched the last 2 episodes of FARGO….WHAT a series….it was great!

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Michael left before 8 AM for golfing at SCCL on Saturday (6/21).  I spent TWO HOURS watching long arm videos on YOUTUBE ….WOW…I really appreciate all of those people who take the time to film what they are doing and give you tips….but at 9 AM I decided I had to get moving!  I worked on putting stuff away around the house, but at 11 finally decided that I was having an allergy attack, or was getting a bug….so I took a nap….a L-O-N-G nap, until Michael got home around 2:30.  Nancy called and I ran up to her house to pick up 3 yards of inexpensive batting for my next practice on the long arm, then came home and set my hair (for the wedding we were going to at 6).  Long story short, when it was time to leave I had entered the have-a-temperature/feel-like-throwing-up-phase and decided it wasn’t allergies but a bug.  I insisted that Michael go to the wedding with Gale and Phil, while I stayed home and mostly slept.  He was home around 10 and brought me a piece of cake…I got up and ate the cake and headed straight back to bed.

vacation, Tuesday, June 17th & Wednesday, June 18th

So….many of you know that Michael planned this entire vacation and that one of the locations was kept a secret from me.  He told me that we would go to Washington, DC, then Ithaca to visit the kids, then Niagara Falls, then some secret place.  Some of you thought he was taking me to Keepsake Quilting (even I rejected that J), some thought he was bringing me to Connecticut to see my friends (I didn’t think so….), some wanted to know the secret….and apparently Michael told all of his golfing buddies among others here at SCCL where we were going, but they were ALL very circumspect.  Anyway, at dinner on Monday night, our last night in Canada, he began to give me hints about where we were going.  I had NO idea….the hints finally became SO blatant, that I figured out he was taking me to my childhood home….where I haven’t been in FORTY years!!!  I immediately started crying and cried on and off for the whole day Tuesday, June 17^th.  What an emotional experience.  We got up on Tuesday morning in Canada….keyed 17 Adrian Avenue in Pittsburgh into the GPS, and were on our way.  AS we got closer and closer, I started to remember some things, and began to drive all around..this is the house I lived in from Zero to 5 years old:

see that jut out to the right?  It was just a big, long room.  I still remember
that's where we kept the piano

It’s on a very busy street, and my mom said that the 3^rd time she found me in the middle of the street (when my sisters were supposed to be watching out for me….hmmm…sisters not caring a thing about me seems to be a recurring theme in my life), she told my dad we had to move.  Here’s where we moved to (on a dead end street), and I lived there until I was 22:

 We knocked on the door, and MIchael talked the man who answered (I was crying too hard).  I didn't want to see the inside, but did want to tour our wonderful back yard.....probably to no one's surprise, it seemed smaller than I remembered.  I got to see where my mom's garden was, and realized that one of the big trees in the back yard had died.  We talked to the guy who lived there and he asked who had finished off the attic.  I still remember working on that with my dad.  The guy was VERY complementary about what a good job my dad had done.

I lived in that house until I moved to West Virginia (for just 3 months), and afterward to Connecticut, just after I graduated college.  Many people have asked me why I didn’t stay in Pittsburgh, or haven’t been back to visit…well, the year I graduated college, my parents retired to Florida….so I was ‘on my own’ anyway.  Plus, my job was ultimately in Connecticut, so that’s where I moved.  In retrospect, I’m glad my parents weren’t geographically close, since I learned very quickly that it was ‘sink or swim’ on my own…and that I had to figure out how to fix my own problems, whatever they were.  I’m sure I made more mistakes than I might have…but ultimately I have to say that I truly have a wonderful life and I know they would be thrilled for me.

I can't believe ARNOLD's was still there...it's the little grocery store
where I used to buy my 'Suzie Q's' on the way home from school!

We drove by my grade school (which is now apartments), and the high school.  I definitely wanted to take Micahel to my high school….it has a long, double “S” curve driveway up to the high school, and our driving teacher used to make us BACK DOWN that driveway for practice!!!  I took Michael 1/2 way around horseshoe bend, then peeled off for Laurel Gardens to drive by Aunt Eve & Uncle Cal’s house.  I drove by where Uncle Rose & Aunt Pete’s house was (yes…that’s always how they referred to themselves…with the backwards pronouns), but there were a LOT more houses than I remembered, and I couldn’t identify exactly which one was theirs.  I did a lot of driving on the back roads and finally... treacherously…. with a wrong turn or two, we got to our hotel, which was right on the Monongahela River!!! We relaxed for a bit, took a walk to dinner, then it was collapsing back at the room.

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When we got up on Wednesday (6/18), Michael said he hadn’t planned anything for the daytime and I knew exactly where I wanted to go.  When I was growing up, my mom worked at ‘Sears’ on the north side.  By the time I got to junior high, I was allowed to take the bus into Pittsburgh on Saturdays…first I’d go to Buhl Planetarium (they had lots of free exhibits), then I’d wander over to Carnegie Library and take out a bunch of books…then I’d walk to Sears and come home with my mom when she got off work at 5 PM.  Buhl Planetarium has since closed…but they built a huge, new Carnegie Science Center, so that’s where we spent the day.  I’d love to show you pictures…but again, my photo program is acting up…and I figure you’d like to get-on-with-my-life (I know I would), so, you’ll just have to imagine all of the things we saw.  I do need to mention one thing in detail.  Every Christmas, my parents would take us to Buhl Planetarium for the train display.  They had a HUGE room set up with many, many trains, going in and out of the country side.  There were tons of buildings and people set up, many of them moving!  There was a circus with swings, and a crack-the-whip ride, and tea cups spinning…it was magical.  This has been re-created (only it is now 2/3 BIGGER!!!) and is on permanent display at the science center.  Everything in the display is based on buildings in western Pennsylvania.  It was just as magical as I remembered.  We were there all day and were totally exhausted when we got back to the room….so it was quick nap time, then we jumped up and took a water taxi to the new stadium

(Three Rivers Stadium was built….and torn down in my lifetime) for a Pirates game!!!!   My honey and I had foot long hot dogs, lemon ice and popcorn for dinner, while proceeding to watch the Pirates get creamed by the Cincinnati Reds 11 – 4…..it didn’t matter…it was a magical evening and a beautiful, romantic and moving end to a wonderful vacation.
  

vacation, Monday June 16th

Monday morning (6/16) we were up early for our buffet breakfast (the food was incredible, PLUS we had a beautiful view of the falls from the 33^rd floor dining room!!)

we can also see both falls from our room!

 

and then headed out to our adventures…it was a VERY full day.  First was our 'maid of the mist' type boat ride to the falls.....WOW - it was wet and wild and we got soaked

American Falls....smaller falls to right are called the Bridal falls

in addition to getting soaked, the wind generated by the falls
was TREMENDOUS!!!

Canadian 'horseshoe' falls

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...then we went under and behind the falls...and finally we saw a surround sound movie about the history of the falls....it is amazing how much the land under the falls has receded in the last 200 years.....USA and Canada finally decided to put some conservation efforts into effect, so instead of receding 3 feet each year, they now recede 1 foot in 10 years.  We walked all along the Niagara River, stopping at various points to take in the falls, then it was back to the room for a much needed nap (lots of walking in the hot sun just makes you tired) and our FABULOUS dinner atop the revolving restaurant with a view of the falls.

Yep, the restaurant is at the very
tippy-top!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Canadian falls are definitely prettier than the American Falls, the American Falls have a bunch of rocks at the bottom, so you don't get the dramatic drop as you do with the Canadian Falls....on the other hand...there is always LOTS of mist at the bottom of the Canadian Falls which tends to block the view.  Michael got prime rib for dinner and I got chicken cordon blue....our dinners were great, and we got to see both falls twice as we were revolving around eating! We got back to the room just after 9 and were beat. We got hooked on a movie on TV (THE NORMAL HEART) about the beginning of the AIDS crisis in the 80's...it just broke your heart...and we didn't turn out the light until after 11.  It’s kind of funny (actually it’s a totally weird coincidence)….last year there was a movie biography of Liberace with Michael Douglas playing Liberace.  It was on HBO, so we didn’t’ get to see it at home….but managed to catch it while in Vegas on vacation.  So, this year…THE NORMAL HEART comes out on HBO, and again we didn’t see it (in case you haven’t figured it out…we don’t have HBO at home)….but we saw it on vacation in Canada….weird!

vacation Friday through Sunday, June 13-14-15

Friday morning (6/13) we were up at 7 AM & on the road by 8...getting out of Washington was a bit of stressful driving, but we finally made it without any mishaps.  We stopped at 10 for breakfast, and after surviving some torrential downpours, arrived at Marc and Kate’s by 4 PM.  As Marc was tying his shoes to help us unload the car, one of their cats decided to show us his athletic prowess:

 

 

Their apartment is huge and after unloading the car and getting the tour, we took off for dinner. Kate got gumbo and Marc got a burger...Michael and I split a large spinach salad and an order of fish and chips.  We walked a bit after dinner and the kids took us to Ithaca falls...OMword...they have had a lot of rain lately and the falls were incredible...I could have stood and stared at that for quite a bit. 

look at my hair!  you can see how
much wind was being generated by
the falls

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After that it was a trip to Cornell to see the campus...Marc works there....or at least he works FOR Cornell at an office a small ways off of the main campus... we got home and played several rounds of CATCHPHRASE (really fun game…Marc gives SUPERIOR clues which enabled us to win all 3 games against Michael and Kate J).

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Saturday (6/14) Michael and Marc were up at 5:30 and left before seven for golfing. I read my book for a bit until Kate got up and made us a wonderful spicy sausage and cheese omelet and toast for breakfast.  We sat outside and talked and knit for a bit and by then Michael and Marc were home from golf...a record pace!  Kate & Marc made a quick trip to pick up their food share from a local farm and then we took off for lunch and a band gig that Marc was playing at a local fair.  The first wonderful surprise was kettle corn:

 

 

 Michael bought 2 bags and we left one (half eaten!) with the kids and took the other on the rest of our vacation…heavenly!  Then it was time for Marc’s band to play their set.  Marc is a FABULOUS musician...it seems like he can play any instrument AND sing as well.

We headed home after the fair to a wonderful dinner of burgers and dogs on the grill and corn on the cob...EXCELLENT!

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FATHER's DAY!! (6/15) - we went out to breakfast and then got a tour of the house that Marc and Kate have put a bid on. The house was built in the 1800's, and was certainly not my cup of tea, but the kids seemed to love it...AND the yard was huge....one of the things they are definitely looking for as they are BOTH big time gardeners and would like to grow as much of the food they eat as possible.  Finally, just after NOON we said good-bye

 

and headed to Canada....unfortunately Sheila (our GPS guide) just had a big WHITE space where Canada was supposed to exist....I imagined the writing in the white saying 'there be dragons here....' we finally made it to the hotel (after 1/2 an hour wait at the end of the bridge for customs)...and I spent a LOVELY 1-1/2 hours relaxing....reading my book...having a drink...and looking out the window at the falls (there's supposed to be a picture of the falls here....but it is June 25th and I have already spent 2-1/2 hours getting this post done.  My photo program keeps locking up, which then requires me to shut down my computer, wait a bit, then boot it back up....I've done that 5 times already and I have to get at least SOME other stuff done today....so no falls pics today.  Here's hoping tomorrow will go a bit faster!!!)  We went out for a light dinner after 7 and after Michael spent a bit of time in the whirlpool tub, we relaxed in front of our window and watched a delightful fireworks display.

vacation Thursday, June 12th

Thursday (6/12) we left our hotel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

to find breakfast, then got back on the trolley

 

heading to the Smithsonian museums... but first we got a tour of embassy row... there were 170 embassies and I swear our trolley guide mentioned and pointed out every single one!!  We hit the air and space museum, where Michael and I rode a simulator

 

to launch the international space station.  All I have to say about that is….astronauts must have balls of steel…and I mean it.  Sitting in that cockpit…just waiting for untold amounts of thrust to launch you into space…I would definitely have a heart attack!  It was bad enough in the simulator!!!  They had lots stuff from the space program along with exhibits:

 

We walked through a sculpture garden on the way to the American history museum, and Michael immediately recognized this:

 

He said “this HAS to be a Calder piece…it looks very similar to the stegosaurus in Hartford!   Once we got to the next musem, we saw lots of the inaugural gowns (sorry, guess it's the glass that made so many of them blurry),

this was Michelle Obama's from second inaugural

this was Nancy Reagan's; she was the size of a pencil!

 

how we listen to our 'tunes' through the years:

 

Dorothy's ruby slippers (on the yellow brick road of course J):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AND JULIA CHILD’s KITCHEN!!! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, I remember watching her when she first started out on TV…I loved everything she did and I’m sure she contributed to my love of collecting recipes!!  We also saw the flag that flew over Fort McHenry, which inspired Francis Scot Key to write the Star Spangled Banner…the flag was HUGE!  The flag has fifteen horizontal red and white stripes, as well as fifteen white stars in the blue field. The two additional stars and stripes, approved by the United States Congress's Flag Act of 1794, represent Vermont and Kentucky's entrance into the Union.  At the time, the practice of adding stripes (in addition to stars) with the induction of a new state had not yet been discontinued.  The flag measured 30 feet by 42 feet!!!

Back at our hotel (exhausted again…must be all of that walking all day!),  we got cleaned up and took a walk for pizza for dinner.  We were watching TV in the evening and saw HOLLYWOOD GAME NIGHT…which was a cute and fun show…we’ll definitely tape it when we get home.