We are heading to CA to visit Baby Darwin (and his parents, too, I guess). I see our visit going something like this:
Sounds like a pretty good vacation!
I had all these noble plans for day-by-day entries for my visit to the King-Bradley household in Belfast, but, as you may have heard, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. I came back to work to find, of all things, a load of work waiting for me and haven't had a moment to blog. Therefore, I bring you the quick recap.
Arrive Belfast. See house. Ooh/aah at improvements. (Actually, I should not gloss over this--the house is lovely. Healy has done a beautiful job. The moldings are gorgeous.) Go to restaurant called Sopranos (called so because the owners like the HBO show...not joking.) Got spectacularly drunk. Went back to Healy/Coll's where Healy and I proceeded to ooh/ahh over said moldings and discuss bookshelves. Passed out.
Woke up noonish. Went on bus tour of Belfast (yes, Belfast has tourism) All, including Coll, were impressed by tour guide. Went back to Healy/Coll's and watched TV. Sleep.
Woke up noonish. Went to see ring and henge (no Stonehenge, but enjoyable nonetheless). Went to Tesco. Was admonished for acting like a three-year old. Went back to Healy/Coll's and prepare to par-tay by testing Margarita recipes and applying makeup. Par-tayed with Healy/Colleen/Catherine McCann/Michelle Quinn/various other characters including one angry young man who wanted me to apologize for all of America, which I would not since he could not even understand the simple concept of federalism/DC has no vote. Shared bed with Michelle Quinn and her fantastic party dress.
Woke up before noonish but spent day on couch watching Buffy marathon. Rallied to hit bars around 10:00 (where much fun was had). Refused to go home but was made to by mean Healy who turned out to be right in the end since we had to get up at the crack of dawn (11:00 AM) to go to Derry for Sunday dinner.
Arrived Derry (after lovely nap in car). Was fed lamb and chicken and roasted potatoes and mashed potatoes and carrots and parsnips and gravy. Then was fed butterscotch pudding and toffee cheesecake and Swiss roll and Vienna roll and whipped cream and apple crumble. Took Coll's nephews to park. Waited for Coll's dad to fix her car (which only unlocked at the trunk and had a very complicated system of which doors open from the inside or out). Returned to Belfast. Sleep.
Woke up noonish (what is wrong with me??). Met Coll for lunch. Shopped. Waited in bar for Coll. Went back to Healy/Coll's. Ordered Domino's (American rules the seas). Contemplated ordering more pizza. Watch much crap British/Irish TV. Went to sleep early with best of intentions but was woken up by many baby-related text messages (11:00 PM--pictures of friend's small child; 2:00 AM announcement of friend's pregnancy).
Woke up 7ish (late for when I needed to leave). Went to airport. Began incredibly long journey home (all flights delayed; got home midnight EST).
THE END!
Last week, BI'75 and I visited the Kennedy’s compound on Martha’s Vineyard. After arriving by private jet, we were each shown to our private suite. Our second evening, we were the guests of honor at a fabulous soiree at the club. The rest of our days were spent sunning ourselves on our private beach and shopping to our hearts’ content. Naturally, we partook in the de rigeur croquet games and clam bakes. All in all it was a lovely week, and we can’t wait for our next trip.
Glossary of Terms
As predicted, much of our trip to Vermont was dedicated to cemeteries and artists' facilities. On Saturday, we drove to Barre, VT, home of the Rock of Ages quarry (they have enough granite to quarry for another 4,500 years!). Because of all that granite, many Italian and Scottish stone carvers emigrated to Barre in the 19th century to practice their artistry on grave markers. It has become a tradition in Barre for stone carvers to make their own grave markers, resulting in some pretty funky stones. You can check out the ones I didn't photograph because I was smoking at Kelly's friend Joe's Flickr page. Don't miss the pix of Kelly and Joe bowling on the outdoor granite bowling alley at Rock of Ages. There is also a pretty spectacular photo of the quarry itself. Every time I think, hear, say or write quarry, I think of Fred Flintstone.
The second day, we drove to Salem, NY (near Bennington, VT) to visit BI'75's friend Anthony Cafritz's new venture, Salem Art Works. Located on a 174-acre (former) dairy farm, Salem Art Works is "an independent artists' community where experienced artists and newcomers alike can work, exhibit, nurture new ideas, and learn from each other." We went off-roading to the top of this hill, and, later, Anthony said "BI'75, grab your beer. I'm going to teach you to drive stick," and BI'75 drove his manual Chevy pickup. It was all very exciting.
The food we ate is another entry. Mmmmm...organic Vermont.
Tomorrow afternoon, Born in 1975 and I head up the Eastern Seaboard (and a little inland) to Burlington, VT. The temperatures will be frigid, which is especially of concern to me as I don't seem to own any socks. I've been instructed to bring a fleece with me; I believe that this garment is the traditional native costume of Vermont. Our itinerary includes, but is not limited to:
Jeezum Crow! This trip appears to be heavy on quaint cafes, dead people and art and light on drinking beer. We'll just have to see what we can do about that.
Why is it that, every time I walk into a hotel room in New York City, I want to kill myself? Even Hyatts and Hiltons look like they have hourly rates so you can imagine the the Penn Station Howard Johnson's was a little...dumpy. The elevator was 3 x 3 with a push door and the halls were barely wider than my suitcase. My room was roasting and I wanted to open the window but there was no screen and I was afraid a rat or pigeon would come in so I could only open it a crack. I managed to get some sleep but couldn't shake the feeling that SUV was down the hall investigating a hooker's murder.
This is just an entry to get my feet wet after being so derelict in my duties to my five faithful readers. After a week of vacation, I came back to a steaming pile of work which has taken up far too much of my time.
While we were in CA, we drove north to Paso Robles where we rented a limo and drove around (ahem, were driven...by a driver who was missing 1/2 of his right pointer finger!) to a bunch of wineries and got quite silly. After we had bought about 5 cases of wine, we had the limo drop us at a restaurant in town where we had a great meal. When we ordered dessert, we asked the hostess to call us a cab. After a few minutes, she came to our table and told us that taxis in Paso Robles don't run after 7:00 PM. And it was 8:15. And we had sent Fingerless Rick away. And there are no sidewalks in CA.
Chris called the Hampton Inn to inquire as to if they had a service for stranded guests. They thought it would be best to transfer him to the local police who, you will be surprised to hear, were not interested in giving us a lift. Chris reminded the local constabulary that we were in this pickle because we were obeying the laws regarding driving under the influence but they still declined to take us back to our hotel. After confirming that the police would not arrest us for walking on the freeway or hitchhiking if it came to that, Chris redialed the Hampton Inn and asked for the manager. He was placed on hold a few times (apparently, no one has ever dared to ask for the manager; she is sort of like the Wizard of Oz) and then finally transferred with Night Manager. Night Manager seemed unconcerned at our situation but after Chris explained it to her four more times, she offered to come get us at the end of her shift in 45 minutes. At the same time, the waitress was telling me that the hostess could drive us back to our hotel right then.
So we had the 16 year old hostess driveus back to our hotel and gave her $20.00 for her troubles and then we spent the rest of the night shouting “I can’t BELIEVE it!” and “You can get a taxi in freakin’ Johnson, Vermont!” and “Who doesn’t have taxis after 7:00!?”
My mom's sister moved to LA in 70's. I have definitely been there 5 times (two bat mitvahs, one bar mitvah and two weddings) and probably another 3-5 times that I can't think of. I've been to Disney Land and the Getty and Malibu and Beverly Hills. I was in an live audience taping of an
episode of "The Facts of Life". I have seen the Chinese theatre and the stars on the sidewalk. So what should I do for a week there without any family obligations?
