We drove in a little rain and now it seems to have settled in around us here at Brazos Bend State Park. This is a fun park for hiking and bird watching so I hope it clears up soon. We already changed our plans to indoor activities with Brian and Robin since we can’t be sure when it will clear up. A bit of a bummer but it will still be fun to spend a little time with them.
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.
We have parked the rig for the balance of the year near Phoenix AZ. No problems but, it seemed like a good opportunity to visit with family for the holidays. After the New Year we will resume our travels.
I feel blessed, young, healthy, happy, and a little guilty. I know that a lot of people are having a hard time right now with the crummy economy so it feels pretty decadent to be just tooling around looking for fun things to do…or happily doing nothing. Miss spending time with the kids and family and friends; else, wouldn’t change a thing. We will work on that in 2012.
Kent got me a glider ride for my birthday. I plan to take it next week when we are in the Phoenix area. More on that to come.
Today we encountered some actually wild, wild burros. They were wary of us but also very curious. They kept their distance but watched us closely until we moved out of sight around the corner. We teased them a little (bad, I know) They even moved to be able to see us when we hid behind trees.
The bobcat: we got a nice long look at a bobcat down by the river. He just cruised by, not at all bothered by our presence.
We closed on the house in Elkhart today. Hooray! There is a little nostalgic sense of loss but the overwhelming feeling is FINALLY! It is nice not to have to worry about it any longer and to not have the frustrations of dealing with realtors and what not from a distance.
The kids headed back to the city today. It was a lot of fun sharing the sounds and sights of our vagabond lifestyle.