That’s the modern day island. It has an amazing history with the “disappearing Colony”. They have some fun with that bit of history at Fort Raleigh that is all about the Real First European Colony here on Roanoke Island. It wasn’t able to quite catch hold so it left the honors to Jamestown.
Lynn stayed with the rig while I traveled to WV and the wedding of my uncle Bill to Emma Jane, a classmate from high school. It was great to share their joy with other family and friends both at the ceremony and dinner afterwards. It was a chance to catch up with family and friends. Even squeezed in a short stop to visit a few members of the other side of the family while in the area. It was a good trip with safe and timely travel. With a good weather and roads, the 850 miles were accomplished in one day. Average for the trip 67 mph.
We spent a few weeks in Pa at Mom’s house. It was a great chance to just hang out and catch up with everyone there. We had our family Christmas there too when Brian and Robin and Mike and Tracy joined us. It can get sort of hectic and Mom’s little apartment was really full a couple nights and we filled the dining room table to overflowing a time or two at Bob and LouAnn’s. Santa was good to us all. There was lots of good food. The very best was everyone together….it sounds so trite I know…but it’s oh, so true.
We headed into the city on Amtrak. It is much more relaxing than attempting to drive there! The trip started out great but hit a bit of a bump when the train lost power…bummers. We actually ended up transferring to another (full) train and got to stand the last 45 minutes into town. Fortunately that was the only mass transportation hiccup for the weekend.
Once we made it to Penn Station, we spent some time doing the regular Christmassy tourist stuff. We checked out the store windows along Fifth Avenue, took a look at holiday decorated St Pats Cathedral, peeked in the windows at FAO Swartz, and watched the horse drawn carriages in Central Park. It was a fun afternoon. Then we braved the subway on our own (after double checking the route with Mike) and safely, uneventfully make it out to their place in Queens. It is a cool, diverse neighborhood with lots of interesting restaurants. We checked out a few of them over the next couple days. First; tonight, some great homemade soup and fresh baked bread.
Next AM, buckwheat pancakes a la Mike. Delicious.
Then we got to share the experience of buying a Christmas tree in the city. There are actually quite a few tree lots scattered around town filled with wonderful smelling fresh trees. Cool! We got to help decorate the tree and had some hot cider. That raised the holiday spirits a couple notches.
Our day was rounded out with a view of the sunset on the City Skyline from Queens and an enjoyable dinner at a local restaurant, Comfort food.
Some more good eats at Sunday brunch with the jazz of Dandy Wellington at the Astoria Room. I could so that every week. We returned to Manhattan to visit The Cathedral of St. John the Devine. It is an amazing bit of architecture that has been a work in progress since 1892 and looks more like the churches of Europe than those we typically see here. It even has tapestries. The sun shone brightly through the stained glass and scattered bits of light across the columns and walls. Beautiful. We checked out Riverside Park. It was a cool day to stroll but a great way to get a feel for another great green area in the city. After dark we joined the crowd to view the classic Rockefeller Center tree and decorations.
We wrapped up another fun day with dinner of new wave sort of cuisine with a Turkish flair. Another good choice. Great dinner great company.
Heading back to PA, but first, a taste of NYC at a quintessential delicatessen, Katz’s Deli. We didn’t sit at the table where Harry met Sally but it was a fun experience and a great pastrami sandwich. We made our way back to the Amtrak station. This subway thing is getting a little easier with every visit.
Kent took a few days to visit family in WV since we are nearby (only 300 miles away). It was great to spend some time with family that we have been missing during our year+ out west. Tammy was able to make it to WV that same weekend so it was a bonus to spend some time with her as well. Family is pretty scattered…we need to work on catching up with folks more often.
We had a wonderful dinner. The turkey came out great and all the sides were just like I expected/hoped. Yummy. It was a fun day with Mom in the kitchen too. I have so very much to be Thankful for.