Unstuck! Washington DC to Nellysford, VA, January 25

   Today dawned sunny and cold and beautiful. The street did not get plowed. The good news: we did not get plowed in. The bad news: the street was not plowed! We took a good look at the intersections we would have to go through and decided to pack the car and chance that we would make it. There was a lot of drama in the streets with cars being stuck. A big truck got stuck in the intersection we needed to go through. He stayed there expecting others to back up and people got stubborn. At one point, from three roads, there were 5 cars all having a kind of stand-off. But, eventually, reason prevailed and some backed up and the truck was able to move. That took over half an hour.
   Mark was able to turn the Prius around in the space we had cleared. We got in the car and we took off down over 2 blocks of totally unplowed streets. (But, cars had been through and had made tracks.) We were lucky that we did not have to stop at the intersections and we just kept going. We were afraid we'd get stuck at a stop light getting onto Virginia Avenue, but...we didn't. Whew.

The Washington Monument

The Jefferson Memorial

The Icy Potomac

Once we got there, it was clear sailing and beautiful with few cars on the roads.
    We did get in a half hour traffic jam on 95 S because of big trucks removing snow from the lanes.
We then went off 95, via Virginia State Route 3 and 29. We passed by Charlottesville and took secondary roads to Nellysford, Virginia. A small village.
     We are at the Mark Addy Inn and we are the ONLY guests. There is no central heating, but various stoves going around the big, rather ramshackle, but charming house. We have a heater in our room. The views of the mountains are gorgeous. We drove into Nellysford (about a mile and a half) and ate a late lunch at the Wild Wolf Brewery and Restaurant which is a "farm to fork" restaurant. Everything was from a 30 mile radius - organic meats, homemade everything. Mark had a fabulous Reuben sandwich and I had fish tacos. We bought some beer to give as presents. 
    We are now back at the Inn reading and emailing. (No tv except in the parlor)

View from the Mark Addy Inn, Nellysford, Virginia

Barbara in front of the Mark Addy taking Mark's photo

Mark in front of the Mark Addy Inn

Close up of Mark at the Inn

    

Still snowbound, January 24

   Today dawned sunny and cold with a full moon in the sky at dawn.
   We went out around noon, up 25th St to the Trader Joe's which was amazingly open. We bought a few things like eggs and milk so that we can have dinner at our hotel tonight. There were lots of people walking about and the main roads are plowed, but none of the secondary roads in this neighborhood have been touched yet.

The Trader Joe's sign in the snow, but the main entrance was open.

   Then, we went to the Taste of India just off Pennsylvania Avenue for a delicious lunch. I had saag (spinach) which was nice and spicy and Mark had butter chicken. We were the only patrons.
    Then, we went "home" and we tackled the shoveling of the car. It was pretty laborious, but it we were nice and warm and there were lots of people out walking by and chatting. The hotel loaned us two shovels. We did a pretty good job and Mark was able to move it back and forth. Now our fingers are crossed that we don't get plowed in tonight.
    We watched the Patriots play Denver in the AFC championship which was in Denver and the Patriots lost. We also watched some of the Australian Open.

What our street looked like!

  

The Prius not long after Mark started shoveling.

When we were about half way.

When we were almost done.

Snowbound, January 23

  Power stayed on and we spent the day mostly in the hotel. We did venture out for a short stroll, but only a few sidewalks were shoveled so we did not make it far. We did go to our car and retrieve a few things including my knitting - such a good snowbound thing to do. We ate food that we bought - mostly fruit and toast and ate lunch at Dish, the restaurant here. It was pretty good.
   All these shots were taken early in the day, so half way through the storm. More photos tomorrow!
 

Traffic banned in Washington D.C.

Mark by our hotel, but this is not our car which is in the street.

    Overall, we were grateful to have the day to do nothing. The street in front of us is not plowed and no one is going anywhere. There are a lot of nurses staying here from the nearby George Washington University Hospital.
    Nantucket was slammed by snow and gale winds. We heard from Nick and Liz early in the day, but not later, so we assume that they lost power. It is ironic that last year when we were traveling, the same thing happened to the island while we were traveling southward.

Our house from the cottage, taken by Liz

  

Jonas - Snowmageddon - arrival in Washington, D.C. January 22

  Today we got up early and had a wonderful breakfast at the Staybridge Inn. Mark went and got the car and I got the luggage ready. We were on the road by 7:15 because we needed to beat Storm Jonas which is expected to deal a blow to the eastern seaboard.  Luckily, we use Waze for navigation because the Lincoln Tunnel had an oil spill accident and it routed us nicely to the Holland Tunnel. We drove easily down Manhattan and into New Jersey. It was an easy trip which we split in driving and stopped at a supermarket in New Jersey to get some supplies in case we are stranded in a hotel without power for a few days.

Leaving NYC, the World Trade Center in the early morning light.

Not many cars as we traverse down Manhattan

    And, beat the storm we did. We arrived at the River Inn by around noon. And, what a surprise the Inn is. It is on a lovely residential street in the Foggy Bottom area. Our room is large with a full kitchen, large bathroom and sitting area. We had no idea. We have parked on the street to save ourselves the $40 per night fee in the covered parking. This may turn out to be a mistake, but we will see.
   We texted our friend Anne Maton when we arrived as we were supposed to meet her and her significant other, Damon, for dinner. We knew that was off as the city closed the roads to all traffic after 3 p.m. (And the Metro is closed for Saturday and  Sunday already.) So, we drove out immediately to meet them at their apartment on Wisconsin Ave near the National Cathedral. Damon made hearty chili, a perfect selection for a snow storm. We had never met Damon and chatted as long as we dared as the snow started to fall.

So nice to have chili with Anne and Damon

Anne, Mark and Barbara, friends from teaching in Cairo

     Afterwards Mark and I walked across their road to the Acme Supermarket and found...lots of empty shelves. No eggs. We got some salad fixings, oil, vinegar, some bread, butter, jam. With what we bought earlier, we should be fine.
    Our hotel is only 3 1/2 miles from Anne's. Mark drove home in the increasing snow. There were few cars on the road. Now, we hunker down.

Reunion with an old friend, NYC, January 21

  Today was another chilly day, but sunny. The East Coast is battening down for a HUGE snow storm which will affect the entire coast and put Washington D.C., our next destination, in the bull's eye. Hence, we will leave here tomorrow as early as possible and hope to get there hours before it hits and shuts the city down.
   Today we had a very good breakfast at our hotel on 40th Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues, the Staybridge Suites. Then, we went to the nearby subway station and were definitely obvious at the "out of towners" as we tried to get Metro tickets. The machine was a cash only, but...would only give $9 in change. We had to get $10 tickets and had a $20 bill, so no go. So, we got out of line to search for smaller bills because there were people behind us. Eventually we conquered the machine and got our tickets. And then, Mark struggled with putting the ticket in the turnstile. Oh dear....out-of-towners written all over us.
   Anyhow, we took the C train to 86th street and walked across Central Park which was beautiful, although cold. (31 degrees with a breeze, I'd say)

A chilly walk through Central Park

Barbara in Central Park

Mark in Central Park

We went to the apartment of an old and dear friend who we had not seen since 1984. It was wonderful. We met his two daughters which was a treat. The three of us had planned to visit the Museum of Modern Art, but we had 31 years to catch up on, so....between the three of us, we managed to tell story after story and did not get to the Museum. We had a lunch at a local diner, Three Brothers and then went back to his apartment to talk some more. We are so happy to have reconnected.

The View from Weldon's apartment

So nice to meet up with Weldon after 31 years!!!!!

   Then, we took the bus down Fifth Avenue and walked back to our hotel and went to their happy hour which featured tacos so...that was dinner. We met a nice family visiting from Texas and had a nice chat with them, especially the 20-year-old son.
    What a nice day.

New York City! ...And, a visit with Alex! January 20

  Another cold, crisp day today and a nice driving day. We left Ted and Bev's and drove to New York City. We let "Waze" guide us and we came in along the Hudson River and under the George Washington Bridge.

View of the George Washington Bridge

We sailed in and only exited just before our hotel which is on East 40th Street. We are at the Staybridge and like it a lot. We have a little kitchen and it is a great location. The only downside is that the parking is a few blocks away, so we off loaded and then parked and walked.
  We found a nice little sushi restaurant, Aya, close to the hotel. Then, we got a few snacks on 9th Avenue (apples...). We met Alex Kopko for dinner at an Irish pub on 39th Street - Tir Na Nog. We had a nice private table so we could have a proper chat. It was great to see her and hear all about the process of getting auditions etc in the world of acting. She had a ticket to see Avenue Q. We walked her a few blocks on her way there.

Alex, Mark and Barbara at Tir Na Nog Irish Pub, NYC

  

Movie: Sisters and a bit of shopping, January 19

   Today was very cold and windy....brrrr! Winter has hit and a bit storm is predicted for the weekend which we are keeping an eye on.
   Bev, Mark, Annah and I went to Vanity Fair and did a bit of shopping. I got jeans and some more long underwear because it is bloody cold. Beverly got some Patriots gear.

   In the afternoon we spent a lovely afternoon laughing hard at Tina Fey and Amy Poehler in Sisters. Then, off to Not Your Average Joe's for dinner.

Lovely Day to Leave the Island, January 18, 2016

  Today we left the island on the noon boat. The Prius is loaded to "the gillens". We had a nice morning with Nick and Liz before heading for the boat and Mark had his last physical therapy on his knee. The water and sky were very blue, a little bit rocky. Of course, we threw our pennies overboard as we rounded Brant Point.

  We drove to Westport, Massachusetts to visit Ted and Bev where we had a wonderful chili dinner with their friend, Annah.

   A good start to our holiday.

On the Road Again with the Whites, 2016, traveling in the U.S.A.

July 18 - Ottawa back to NH - stopped at the border

  After our last breakfast at the B & B, we said goodbye to the proprietors. I hope that we return here.
  We made good time driving, stopping for gas and a quick bite at a Tim Horton's.
   Before leaving Canada, we stopped again at the patisserie and got 4 croissants and a baguette. We got two of the croissants and the baguette for Jane and Norman.
   We decided to go through the small crossing at the Derby Line and.....it never fails, we did not make it through the U.S. border without being stopped. (This is due to Mark having lost his passport when we lived in England over 20 years ago.) But, it was not a long stop this time.
     We drove over to Norman's and dropped off the pastries and then drove home to N.H.
     A really, really good trip.

July 17 - Gatineau Park, Wakefield, Art Museum

 Another hearty breakfast to start our day. We chatted with the owners of the B & B, including Marina, John's wife who gave me some good ideas about communicating with grandchildren. John also talked art - they have collected beautiful art in the B & B. At the dinner this morning was a retired pro baseball player and we got his signature for Hank. He pitched for the Milwaukee Braves in the 1959 and 1960 seasons. It was hard to read his name, so....not sure yet. Anyhow, he was charming and spends half his year at a home in Miami.
   After breakfast we drove over to the massive Gatineau Park across the Ottawa River. We walked down to Pink Lake, a lake that does not circulate oxygen like normal lakes. It is supposedly more green colored in the summer than normal lakes, but it was rather overcast today, so it just looked like a lake to us and certainly not pink as it can evidently look at some times during the year. After driving around, we drove along the river to the little artsy-crafty village of Wakefield, a place recommended to us by Cassi. We couldn't find a place to eat that appealed to us, so we drove back into Ottawa and went to the National Gallery of Art.
   The National Gallery is beautiful. The building was built since we lived there, so it was all new to us. We first saw an amazing 100 foot long, double-sided installation. It represented five decades of history and consisted of 16,000 photos cut out from Life Magazine. Each photo was mounted on a separate bamboo-like stick. The sticks were anything from an inch to several feet tall. It was mesmerizing and staggering to think of the work that went into it. We wandered in the impressionist area as we love the Impressionists. After that, we went down a level and took in the Group of Seven, Canadian artists painting in the 1920s and 30s. We really enjoyed this and contemplated buying a print, but talked ourselves out of it as we prefer to buy originals and try to buy from people we actually know.
    By then, we were way past lunch time and hungry. We tried to eat at an Ethiopian restaurant in "our" neighbohood, but it was closed. We ended up at Shwarma Palace where we had - shwarma. I had chicken shwarma and Mark had beef. We also had salad and hummus. It took us back to our time in Egypt. And, it was Eid, so also fitting. (The end of Ramadan.)
    We went back to our wonderful B & B and read the rest of the day away. By this point, it was also raining. I took a wonderful soak in the jazuzzi gazing up at the rain falling on the skylight above me.
   Another wonderful day in Ottawa and we have really relaxed here and totally gotten away.

July 16 - Dinner with friend we met in Costa Rica

 We started with another hearty breakfast; today everyone at the table was a teacher or former teacher. A couple from Montreal taught French and science; a couple from N.Carolina taught English and math. Good conversation, needless to say.

 We did more reminiscing today - drove to a dam where the Rideau River flows into the Ottawa River where there is a globe that we used to visit with David when he was little. We drove along the Ottawa River in the big park there up as far as the Air Museum and by Rideau Hall.
   For lunch, we again relied on Mark's research and ended up at  Hatha Rothi, a Sri Lankan restaurant. Just a hole in the wall with only 2 tables. Again, we almost walked out when we saw that it was just a fast food restaurant, but again, we trusted our instincts and had a fabulous, fabulous lunch. We were the only ones there and the owner/chef chatted with us and gave us free papadoms along with our meal. Mark had melt-in-your-mouth Butter Chicken. I had three different vegetables in different curries - all delicious - green beans, sweet potatoes and....?(forgot). Mark had freshly made Naan bread. It was all fabulous and...incredibly cheap.
   We read the afternoon away.

    Then, we went out to meet a friend we made in Costa Rica. Christine is a marine biologist who works for the government of Canada. She is also an avid birdwatcher and plans to retire in Costa Rica. We met her in Atenas, our first stop in Costa Rica.  We met at Union Restaurant known for its Southern food. We all ordered the same food - fried chicken and cole slaw. We had such great conversation. Christine takes annual trips, for example, to Newfoundland where she gets data on killer whales. She goes for almost 3 weeks by helicopter to Sable Island where she monitors grey seals - thousands and thousands of them. She is smart, funny and gutsy and quite fearless - a camper and kayaker who does not let having to go places alone stop her at all. Another lovely evening in Ottawa!
  

July 15 - We fight City Hall, bike and see old friends

 A perfect day! We had so much fun from start to finish.
 The day started with a lovely breakfast at the B &B. (eggs Benedict).  The two other couples were very nice; one of them, from the Netherlands were here to see their two sons play field hockey for the Brazilian national team at the PanAmerican Games in Toronto. (She was Brazilian.) We also got to know John, the older owner of the B &B, as well as his son, Kevin and Kevin's wife, Cassi. Kevin and Cassi are in the process of buying Kevin's parents out of the B & B. Kevin is a computer coder and Cassi is a therapeutic yoga therapist who works with brain damaged accident victims.
  Afterwards, we parked at the Byward Market and walked to City Hall to appeal our parking ticket. It was amazingly easy. We were third in line and got right in. After we told our story, an agreeable young man erased it all. We expected maybe a reduction in the fine, but were pleasantly surprised to have it totally expunged. Yay! "We fought the law and...we won!"

    Then, we rented bikes underneath the bridge by Parliament and we rode the Rideau Canal as far as the first lock and then around Dows Lake and back the other side. It was probably about 10 miles. The weather was perfect for biking - sunny, but cool breezes. It was so reminiscent of our summer in Ottawa as we biked everywhere, but especially along the canal and to Dows Lake. Fun!
    Afterwards, we went to Atari, another restaurant Mark found on Yelp and near to Byward Market. We had another delicious meal. We wanted something light as we were not particularly hungry after our huge breakfast. We both had tuna tartare with Asian dressing. It was amazing.

   Then, we walked the market and got some flowers to take to Michelle and Jason.
    For dinner we drove to Orleans where Jason and Michelle live. We knew them when we all taught together in Cairo. Jason and Michelle were right out of college and part of the group we hung out with.  They now have children in middle school! (Sean is just starting middle school and Tiaran is already there.) Jason is the head of the music department at a performing arts school in Ottawa and Michelle teaches at the middle and high school in their neighborhood which their children attend. We had a lovely reunion; they made a terrific surf and turf meal of salmon and pork with grilled veggies etc. We so enjoyed seeing them again.

Ottawa - July 14 - Parking ticket day!

 We drove across the border at the small crossing at Derby Line and made a bee line for Les Vrais Richesses, a patisserie where we each had a croissant. (Jane and Norman recommended it.)

Then, we drove to Ottawa. Our Garmin did not work, however, as I erroneously just assumed that Canada would be included. Luckily, we saw a Tourist Information Center on the highway and stopped in and got directions to our B&B on Besserer Street as well as a good map.
  Mark got to Benner's B&B very easily. Our first impression was that it was a bit further away from where we thought it would be, but we quickly changed our minds. Our room was one of the three that is rented and is the only one with a little balcony on the street. Our bathroom is down the hall, but exclusively ours. The tub is very sunken and also a Jacuzzi. Everything - very clean.
    We were between lunch and dinner and really hungry, so Mark checked on Yelp for good, inexpensive food. We ended up at The Manx, a pub on Elgin Street. We almost walked out as it is subterranean and dark and only a few people were there. But, we trusted our research and were very glad we did. The food was creative and excellent. Mark had chicken salad and I had crab cakes. Both very good.
    But when we got out, we found, to our dismay, that we had a $100 parking ticket! We had read the meter carefully which indicated that parking was free after 3:30. But, what we didn't see in our haste to park and to eat, was a sign that said there was NO parking from 3:30 - 5:30 because of rush hour traffic. (It was 3:40) As it happens, a meter maid came by and saw us staring at the ticket and the meter in puzzlement. She was not the one who gave us the ticket and, when we explained it all, she recommended we go to City Hall the next day and fight it. We were skeptical, partly because it seemed it would take a big chunk of our day.

    We then drove around reacquainting ourselves with our old haunts from when we lived in Ottawa in the Glebe in 1986. We found the street (Fairbairn) where we had lived, but were a little sketchy on picking out the exact house. We also drove around our own neighborhood, found the Byward Market (open air market) and parked the car in the space the B & B has at a nearby apartment building.
     We got some fruit etc from a market and went back to the B &B, ate and read.

July 13, 2015- off to see Norman and Jane in Newport, Vt.

  We had Otis and Hank for the weekend as Jecca and Willy had a wedding in Lenox, Massachusetts. It is always fun to have them.

 
  But, on July 13, we traveled to Vermont to visit with Norman and Jane. We all went to Seymour Lake, about half an hour away, to visit the camp that Jane rented for two weeks. Her family has rented on Seymour Lake for over 18 years. It is the largest lake entirely within Vermont's border. The camp is a modest cabin - pump the water, which is no potable. It is nice to see that these old camps still exist and that not everyone has to modernize and upscale. We had a nice lunch there and then floated around the lake on inner tubes and, when a storm threatened, we sat on the screened porch and watched the rain and chatted, chatted, chatted. Afterwards, we went back to their house where we had a lovely pork tenderloin dinner and watched the U.S. Women's Soccer Team on a tape of their win in the World Cup over Japan, a match we had not seen. It was a lovely, lovely day.

Reflections on our trip to Costa Rica

This was a very different trip to us as we generally visit museums, castles, historic sights, sit in cafes..... We usually visit several countries and cities. This trip was nature, nature and more nature. A month in one country. Many people go to Costa Rica to do zip lines, white water rafting and other adventures. Neither of us likes to sit at the beach either. We knew that we weren't going to do those things. Frankly, I worried that we might be bored or that I would be freaked out by the creepy-crawly things.

But, it was a wonderful vacation, exceeding our expectations. For one, we were in four, quite different climate environments which made it interesting. The central valley was spring-like, the cloud forest was cold and remote, the northern Pacific coast was hot and dry and rather 'touristy' and the southern Pacific coast was hot and wet.

This was probably one of the most relaxing vacations we have ever had, but we were NOT bored. The birds were interesting every single day of the trip and we frequently consulted the bird books we brought with us. (Thanks to Willy) We hiked, but never too strenuously. (With the exception of Santa Elena, I guess) We ate well. We did a lot of reading. (The Age of Acquiescence and Richard Ford's Bascombe Trilogy) We met incredible people, some of whom, I think will be friends forever. We hope so. The Costa Ricans were unfailingly friendly. When we first arrived, it felt incredibly foreign, but, by the time we left, it felt familiar. The roads were a challenge, but Mark rose to it. I was a coward and "let" him drive the entire trip. I guess it would be more accurate to say that he let me be a passenger!

There were some creepy-crawlies, but they were not an issue. Mark said that I stepped over a tarantula, but I never saw it. We did not see any snakes, nor did we look for them! We saw one dead scorpion. We heard and saw monkeys, but they kept their distance. My fears were completely unfounded, although Mark did kill some pretty good-sized spiders at the house in Monteverde.

We were cut off from the internet a lot which was both good and bad. We were frustrated not to be able to do the blog daily or keep up with the news, but it was also nice to be unattached. We did not miss television at all.

Both of us were very relaxed by the end of the holiday and both of us wanted to stay a little longer, a very good sign.

We are both open to a return visit, although there are SO many wonderful places in the world to see that I don't know whether we will. Life is short. But, getting to Costa Rica is not a long trip, especially from Florida, so maybe we will. We do want to see some of the friends we made again, that's for sure.

If we go again, we might consider using more taxis and maybe even going without renting our own vehicle.

We were very pleased that we chose to stay in a lot of bed and breakfasts because you meet people at them especially if you stay for a number of days. People do not mingle nearly as much at big hotels and resorts, nor do you meet as many people if you rent an apartment. We will definitely continue to stay at bed and breakfasts.

I was worried about the food a little bit because I don't really eat rice and beans, although Mark loves them and did eat quite a few of those dishes. But, it was not a problem for me as there was almost always good fish and fresh vegetables and fruit. Neither of us put on weight which was also a nice surprise.

Taking up birding made the trip have more dimensions to it than it would have had otherwise. Hiring guides was wise as they spotted things we never would have seen and also identified them. If we had gone to Costa Rica before taking up birding, it would have still been a good vacation, but birding has opened up a new world to us. Birding people are almost unfailingly nice to know, so birding has also meant meeting a lot of great people.

Home, April 6, 2015 - Right into Town Meeting!

We got home on the 2:45 boat after doing some typical shopping along the way. The car was filled "to the gillens" as Jecca used to say when she was little.

We arrived home to a wonderful new bathroom upstairs! We are thrilled; it doesn't feel like it's our house. After being agog at the bathroom, we hauled our weary bodies to Town Meeting where there was a vote to see if funding for a new school could be on the ballot. Surprisingly, it passed without even a discussion! But, it was a very personal and intense town meeting with a lot of zoning articles that mean a lot to the people in the various neighborhoods. Most discussed was the proposal to develop the land known as Glowacki's Pit. It failed. The result will probably be more development which is too complicated to explain in our travel blog. The town also voted to put a new firehouse on the ballot. We went for all three nights of Town Meeting, quite grueling. The second night was important because it had to do with the town tampering with the pensions of town employees. Town employees were out in force and the article was defeated. Another emotional discussion concerned the banning of lighter-than-air balloons which threaten sealife and the beaches. It was very personal because it is the livelihood of Tammy Bunting King, a former student, who has delivered balloons since she was a teen. The article, however, passed. And, the other very personal issue concerned a nonprofit funeral home, proposed by Catherine Flanagan Stover. She proposed it be built next to Newtown Cemetery on land that the Cemetery Commission wanted for new burial sites, which made it a complicated vote for me as a Cemetery Commissioner. At any rate, it passed.
    The next week the town voted to override proposition 2 1/2 so that a new school and firehouse can be built.

At any rate, it is good to be home, although we are both COLD!

Friends and Family, Easter Weekend, April 3-5

  We had an uneventful, but long drive, from Washington, D.C. to Westport, Massachusetts where we stayed with good friends, Ted and Bev for a night.
   We left Washington before 6 a.m. as we did not want to hit traffic around NYC, especially as it was Good Friday. We made amazing time. Thanks to the directions of the Garmin, we avoided two traffic jams, one just before crossing the George Washington Bridge and one shortly thereafter. We pulled off the highway to get gas and, by sheer good luck, wandered into Branford, Connecticut (Exit 54) where we found an excellent delicatessen, Shoreline Deli, which we intend to remember for future trips. (Hence, writing it down in our blog!) They had a great salad bar and sandwiches made to order, too.
    We had a nice late afternoon with Ted and Bev who are recovering from having to put their beloved Scottie dog, Molly, to sleep. We went to the Bayside for dinner, a tradition with us and had yummy fish dishes.
    The next day, we drove to Concord to be with Jecca, Willy, Otis and Henry for Easter. We were amazed to see how frozen the ponds still are and the heaps of dirty snow that are still very evident. Jecca and Willy went out to dinner with a friend, so we got to hang out and make dinner with the boys, which is always a treat. The next day, Easter, we all went into Cambridge to go through Harvard's Museum of Natural History which has the amazing glass flowers collection. Afterwords, we walked to a vegetarian restaurant in Cambridge. Then, we split up. Jec and family went to a nice playground the kids had memories of and Mark and I got lost going to Newton in hopes of finding the museum where I gave a talk in January and where I left some copies of my Cyrus Peirce book which need to be picked up. After wandering lost, we did eventually find it, but it was closed, no surprise it being Easter.
    Later we had a great Easter dinner made by Jecca. Steak on the grill and ratatouille made with a lot of the vegetables they are getting through their CSA. Then, after dinner, Willy treated us to a slide show of his amazing trip to Peru. Wow. His shots of birds were amazing and his tales of the adventure were entertaining. Macchu Pichu looked very impressive. His journey was way too rugged for us, that's for sure. Long, long hikes in high altitude, roads closed due to landslides, boating down a tributary of the Amazon, fairly primitive lodging.....fascinating. A trip of a lifetime, really.
   Then, we had a real treat. We went with Willy and Otis to watch the woodcocks doing their quirky courting displays. We went to a field at dusk. Luckily, Willy has sharp eyes and picked out the woodcocks and was able to shine his flashlight so we could see them. They also make interesting little hiccups during their process. It was very special as Mark and I have never seen them do the display.
 

Back to the U.S.A., March 25, 2015

  We had breakfast at our hotel, the Hampton Inn. We felt like we were already back home as the hotel is just so American. We got the shuttle to the airport which was a short ride. Our flight was slightly delayed, but it was no problem. Once again, we were happy to have paid a little extra for roomier seats, plus it meant that we boarded early, also nice.
   The flight was smooth and we got great views as we flew over Cuba which looked very green with barrier islands. I hope that we get to visit and to go birding there some day.
    The airport scene in Fort Lauderdale was TERRIBLE. We waited in useless line after line and the staff seemed as confused as the passengers were. The first long line was passport control. As usual, we were questioned longer than most people because Mark lost his passport back in the 90s when it flew away when we were in Exmouth, England. The next snafu was getting our luggage. There was confusion which carousel it was on because another plane landed at the same time. We actually went back and forth between two carousels as the airport personnel also had no idea which one our flight was using. It took well over half an hour to get our luggage. It turned out that the bags from our plane were sitting in the middle of the floor. We gathered that and waiting in an even longer line to go through customs. All of this took longer than the entire almost-three hour flight!
  Finally, we were outside. I called the hotel (Cambria Suites) where we left our car. They said it wouldn't be long. Well, it was about an hour before we got our car and headed toward Lake Worth to stay with Michael and Nancy. Our plane landed around 4 and we got to their house after 9. Not impressive.
  But, it was nice to be at Michael and Nancy's and it was great to have them both feeling much better health-wise than when we last saw them.

The Trip Home, March 30 - April 3

  We had a good trip home, although the weather got colder and colder!
   Our first stop was in Savannah where we stayed at a mid-town hotel. We got in early enough to enjoy the city. We tried to contact Nicci Aguiar who is a junior at SCAD, but we didn't give her enough advance notice. (We didn't know how long it would take us to get there). Mark checked out Trip Advisor and we went to Sweet Spice, a little Jamaican restaurant to eat as it had such a high rating. It was a little hole in the wall with just a few tables. But, wow, was it delicious. We both had jerk chicken with a bunch of sides. (I had plantains, having gotten very fond of them in Costa Rica.) And, they had a delicious lemonade with ginger. We had time to then stroll the waterfront which was a lot of fun. We bought the grandchildren in Concord some chocolates from the candy store there. We really enjoyed our visit to Savannah, brief as it was.
   Our next stop was Emporia, Virginia - just a stopover. But we had a very delicious late lunch in downtown Emporia at "The Bank" restaurant, converted from an old time bank. As we were between meals, we were the only customers. The food was fantastic. I had a seared ahi tuna salad which was as good as we had in Costa Rica. It had a cucumber sauce made with a touch of wasabi. Mark had .....
It is a good idea to go into the towns off the major highways and not just eat at the standard Denny's or Cracker Barrels.
    Next up - two days in Washington, D.C. We stayed in Alexandria at a dreadful Days Inn. All that can be said for the tired, dingy place was that it has a good location. We had to stop in Washington because the digital copy of the Cyrus Peirce petitions that we got at the National Archives on our way to Florida got destroyed. Mark left the flash drive in a pocket and I washed it. But, going back to Washington is never a hardship for us as we love the city. The cherry blossoms were in bud, but only a few were blooming.
   The first night we met Meaghan Lynch, a former student and now an employee of the Defense Intelligence Agency. It was a very special evening. We went to Willow Restaurant in Alexandria where Meaghan has worked since her undergraduate days at Georgetown. Meaghan picked us up at the hotel and also insisted on picking up the tab. Dinner was excellent. I had ahi tuna again - I sense a pattern here and a lingering vacation feeling from Costa Rica. Great conversation and just an overall wonderful time. It was just so nice to see such an accomplished and wonderful young woman.
   The next day we got up early and went to the Archives. Mark parked right across from the Natural Science Museum in the smallest possible parking space. He had onlookers, it was so amazing. We easily copied the petitions and then we wandered for a while in the Art Museum. Then we drove to G Street where we at at Absolute Thai for lunch, the same place we ate on our last trip as it was so delicious.
   Then, we tried a new museum to us - the National Building Museum. The building is amazing. It was built in the 1880s to house the records of the Civil War Veterans. It has a huge middle area with four stories of balconies and has been used for many inaugural balls. The stairs were made very wide and short to make it easier for all the disabled veterans. (The money ran out before they could add elevators, although the shafts were put in.) As everything was paper records, they had ingenious ways of moving paper in baskets along wires and dumbwaiters. The exhibitions were interesting, too. We saw prints by architects of the Art Deco age which envisioned buildings in cities. They were full of social commentary about the rise of cities, railroads.... Very striking. We also went through an interesting exhibit about buildings being able to surviving disasters such as floods, storms, earthquakes, fires. And, we saw models of fanciful buildings, some built, some not, from around the world, many from Copenhagen, interestingly.
   That evening we picked up another former student, Lizzy Skokan. She is doing an internship with Senator Jeanne Shaheen of N.H. and really enjoying it. We went to a restaurant in her part of the city, called Dumku, a Scandinavian restaurant, although the food seemed more Hungarian to us. It was another very good meal and another delightful evening with a competent, intelligent young woman. Her descriptions of what she has learned and who she has met were wonderful. She said that a lot of familiar politicians are so much shorter than they look on television.
   The next day, we drove back to New England, having had another nice trip home, one with good driving weather, although it was a bummer to abandon our shorts and sandals and have to dig out long pants, jackets and gloves.

Florida - Cal's 91st birthday

  We spent two nights at Michael and Nancy's in Lake Worth. We had a lovely time, including a nice bike ride at Okaheeli Park.
   Then, we spent three nights in Vero Beach with Mark's parents, Cal and Alice. We had a nice birthday party for Cal. Mark made a heap of sea scallops, roasted vegetables and Cal's favorite mashed potatoes. Nancy made a delicious cake. We also invited Terry Wells, Cal's apprentice in clock making, a very nice guy from Canada who keeps a close eye on Cal and Alice and runs errands for them when necessary. And, Mark's cousin, Noreen came up with Michael and Nancy to help celebrate, so it was a nice gathering.