One more celebration.  Thanks a million for family that lets us crash with them.  All the kids and Willa at Carol’s and Kent and I with Bob and Lou Ann.  We eat well as always.  Food ranges from vegan enchiladas and mushroom polenta to chili and traditional pork and kraut.  Molly hosts as we try a Yankee Swap for the gift exchange this year.  We have several interpretations of how it is exactly supposed to work; but, in the end it is fun for all.  There is a surprise announcement, the family will be one larger next year.  I leave that for the Mom-to-be to reveal to the public.  The whole family is together at Bob and Lou Ann’s to toast in the New Year.  That is my very favorite kind of New Years party!      

A bit more City history.  We join a Shop Life tour at the Tenement Museum.  It is an engaging way to learn about the lives of early immigrants and the communities that formed, morphed and reformed through the years.  We start in a German Saloon; how the business was run, what life was like for the owners, and the role this saloon played in the community.  Other businesses include a kosher butcher shop, a lingerie shop and a wholesale business.  We spend 1 ½ hours but could have spent a lot more time there.  The only disappointment, we found out after we got there that they would not allow Willa into the museum.  There is no real reason but they would not budge so she and Tracy had to cool their heels (at BIVE a Vegan ice cream parlor) the whole time.  

Of course, we couldn’t leave BIVE without trying something.  The flavors have odd names (it is the Lower east Side) but the dark chocolate peppermint one Kent and I share (Digestion) is creamy and delicious.  I could have done without the chia seeds though.  A berry version (Antioxidant) gets raves as well.   Tracy tried a couple others while she waited but the rest of us passed on Calm, Recovery, Energy Boost, and Immune Booster.  Next, Thai for supper.  We are all very happy with our choices.  The kids head out for a Manhattan nightcap while Nana, Grandpa, and Willa call it a night.  It is an uneventful subway ride home where we hang out ‘til her folks get home.  It was a perfect ending to the day for us.   

As part of our Holiday Celebration the whole clan went to the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular in Radio City Music Hall.  Everyone enjoyed the show, for me the most precious part was watching Willa (nearly7 months old) enjoy the show.  With good planning by Mom and Dad, she was able to view the entire show with wonder and amazement.  She sat in Nana’s lap and watched and danced and swung her arms to the beat of the music.  She was particularly engaged with the overhead light displays.  Possibly “overstimulated” she was attentive to the whole production and grinning ear to ear throughout.  And as always is the case, she made fans of the surrounding adults with her winning smile.

            Afterward the evening continued as we braved the crowds and took in the iconic NYC attractions; the Rockefeller Tree, ice rink, and decorated storefronts.  Willa joined in for the tree viewing then retreated with Mom and Dad for a much needed nap.  We caught up with them at the restaurant, Hurley’s, and enjoyed a delicious dinner and great company. 

We start the day with a waffle breakfast then circle around to open stocking gifts.  Baby’s first Christmas, Willa enjoys the wrapping paper and packaging about as much as gifts.  Fun stuff appears for all.  Most precious?  Some gawdy purple socks, but what’s that on them? 

It is Willa’s face on those socks!  Wonderful.  Thank you, Mike and Tracy.  The ornaments I made for the kids, including Willa’s first one, came out cute.                     

We close out Christmas day with Willa’s Pop-pop and Grandmama.  Baby’s first Christmas, what’s not to love.  q

Mike and Tracy are graciously hosting the Sayre family Christmas in NYC this year.  Brian and Johnna finish up school then head our way just in time to get in on some cookie decorating and join in celebrating Kent’s birthday.  We all got to enjoy fantastic company and the delicious food that filled the day.  Homemade cinnamon buns for breakfast and vegan lasagna for dinner.  Birthday “cake” was key lime pie.  We find time for the final tree decorating touch.  Willa (with a little help) adds the star on top. 

We have three great-nephews ages 3-5 on the Sayre side. Our evening visit was filled with lots of laughter, a sprinkling of hollering, and flashes of memory back to the days when our boys were that age. What fun! Oh, Willa, time flies and it won’t be long until you are this age.

It is feeling like winter here, 20s at night. It is time to head south but it is worth a few days in the cold to catch up with everyone. Tammy joins us for breakfast at Bob Evans (plus some wonderful Jeffs Bakery apple fritters). We catch a pizza dinner with Peg and Tom and Becky and Mark. It has been a great stop.

A basset hound flashed across two lanes of 70mph traffic just in front of us. Short little legs are a blur as he turns up a gravel lane heading for home, we presume. A huge skunk flops limply out of both sides of his mouth. I’m sure he’s thinking “look what I found!”.

It is Interstate all the way ‘til we settle into camp at Deam Lake SRA just north of Louisville. It is a nice quiet space convenient to family.

Driving east to west in middle West Virginia is a bit of a challenge. Kent says it is much improved from his younger days but we still encounter quite the roller coaster of 10+% grades up and down. He is pretty busy driving but I can enjoy the view. The rugged rocky spine of Seneca Rocks stands in stark contrast to the surrounding timber covered mountains. We pass by the little restaurant where we watched climbers and shared lunch with Mike and Tracy back in 2015. An overcast sky seems to bring out subtle autumn colors on the mountainsides filling the day with perfect fall views. We see a most impressive flight of a turkey; he spreads those huge wings and dives off the ridge to our left, glides across all four lanes of our highway plus a two lane beside us and manages to land in a tree on the far side. I wonder what made him take that risky trip?
A few miles of curly two lane along the Kanawha River bring us to our home for a week or so as we catch up with friends and family in Kent’s home stomping grounds, Mason County WV.