Leg Six - Florida

Now I know what to do when you discover - just as you are getting ready to deplane - that you  left your phone in the lunch bag you threw out early in the flight.

1. You panic
2. Then you tell the people lining up in the aisle, ready to deplane, what happened. They pass the word up to the attendants standing by the exits.
3. You also tell the attendants that you will go through the garbage; they don't have to.
4. They tell you to go to the back of the plane as quickly as possible before the garbage is unloaded.
5. You wait impatiently while everyone who is deplaning passes your seat.
6. You then move to the back of the huge plane, don the white gloves they give you, while they dial your phone - and hear no ring tone (it's in airplane mode, of course).
7. You start going through the bags and, voila, at the bottom of bag #1 (out of at least 10) - is a bag with your phone in it!
8. Tell the attendants helping you that you love them.
9. Run off the plane while they yell back, "Glad you found it!"

Phew!  I would have been in trouble without that phone!

That happened this afternoon on the first leg of my trip out of Florida - so let's go back a bit.

My friend Andrea met my late morning plane in Orlando. I know Andrea through my work at MSQLP in Monterey - she was our social worker while I was a volunteer Executive Director. We had much fun working together. Soon after I moved into my retirement community in the Portland area Andrea moved across the country to a huge retirement community about an hour outside of Orlando. She lives at The Villages, the largest retirement community in the US. Get ready - it has 100,000 55-and-older folks living there.

The Villages covers many square miles with numerous neighborhoods, pools, golf courses, and themed squares with shops and entertainment venues. You need a bank? Grocery store? Gas station? Restaurants? Theaters? It's waiting for you at The Villages. The daily newspaper lists all the activities available each day. It's overwhelming how many choices you have.

I thoroughly enjoyed our drives among various neighborhoods, especially in her golf cart (much fun!). I sat in on her book club meeting - what interesting women. I liked them all. We listened to a great band, had lunch overlooking one of lakes and, as always on this trip, we talked and talked.

We even attended a polo match of visiting professional teams.  It was an easy sport to follow and oh the horses were beautiful. I most enjoyed their long gallops down the field, watching the players wield those polo mallets (is that the right word?)

I had a wonderful time and look forward to a return visit. This one wasn't long enough and there is so much of Florida to see. And then it was time to leave for Alabama - and the adventure of my lost telephone. Thank goodness it all worked out!

Leg Five - The Carolinas

Charleston is breathtaking! I am staying in the bright pink 160 year old Palmer Home B&B in the historic section of Charleston, right on the Battery, at the tip of the peninsula where the Cooper and Ashley Rivers meet. Not in one of the grand bedrooms in the main house, mind you, but in what I call the "Lean-To-Attached-To-The-Original-Carriage-House" in back. It is charming with a (wasted on me) golf theme.

No, my room was NOT in the gorgeous main house (well, it was a bit shabby to be truthful but
 I cannot imagine how you keep up a 160-year old home).

And not the carriage house which was all one "room" in the back.

Look to the far left - the lean-to part. THAT was my room!

But, arriving in the dark from the train station, the light left on for me was such a welcoming sight.

Imagine sitting on either the second or third floor piazza (pronounced" pee-ah-za", not the Italian "pee-at-za"), with coffee cup or glass of wine (morning or late afternoon) in hand, gazing across the water at the island that houses Fort Sumter (where the first shots of the Civil War or War of Northern Aggression or, my favorite, "That Recent Unpleasantness" were fired.). The weather is perfect - 75-80 degrees, blue skies, no humidity. Everything sparkles.

Such a lovely place to eat a delicious southern breakfast, sip a glass of wine in the afternoon or just gaze away.
One set of tourists called out to me, "You have a lovely home!" I thought about it just a bit then waved
 and said, "Thanks!"  A bit of pretend is such fun.

You stepped into this room from the piazza.

Then add an historic town center filled with beautifully restored homes. They are gorgeous, some more than 300 years old. Gracious, charming, picturesque; block after block after block. I enjoyed meandering. I believe that Charleston has been my final exam of walking ability. I navigated cobblestones, uneven brick walkways and cracked slate sidewalks - all without problems.  The challenge was keeping one eye on the uneven walkways while, at the same time, gawking at the beautiful homes.

Many of the streets are so narrow I could not get good photos. This is just one tiny
house tucked between other large houses.

DiAn joined me on Thursday (she worked with my husband at Connecticut Audubon Society). There is no better guide than someone who has lived in Charleston for 10 years. She drove me in and out of narrow lanes, shared favorite homes, restaurants and bakeries and got me beyond the area I had walked. It was marvelous.

All too soon it was time to leave for Charlotte, North Carolina where DiAn now lives with her husband, Joseph. The drive was fascinating. We had lunch at a gorgeous South Carolina beach, toured a plantation outside of Charleston, and drove through miles of farmlands and pine forests. Charlotte is the modern South, banking headquarters, a rapidly growing city. They live in Chantilly, a current "in" neighborhood of Charlotte whose small downtown is filled with pubs and interesting shops. I liked Charlotte - their challenge is managing its rapid growth. They drove me around the city and small neighboring towns. Truly lovely.

I am utterly charmed by my first real visit to the South (I can't count my many landings at the Atlanta and Dallas airports or 5 days spent at Disneyworld in Florida).

And southern food? Yum.

In my 7 days in the Carolinas I have eaten:
Several bowls of she-crab soup
Grits and shrimp
Corn fritters
Hush puppies
Mud bugs
Raw oysters
Fried shrimp
Hoppin' John
Fried Pickle - does that count as a vegetable?

She-Crab soup!

I can't believe I didn't eat any barbecue (Jeff Wright, I hear you gnashing your teeth!) - just no time.

And I finally saw a Piggly Wiggly - mentioned in so many Southern stories.

Tomorrow, onwards to Florida.

Leg Four - Washington D.C.

Don't you just love Washington D.C.?  It is one of my favorite cities on planet earth - and so much is free! God bless our tax dollars at work. It feels great to swing open the doors of a Smithsonian museum (in this case, American History) and enter MY museum, an American who has paid her taxes to help this institution flourish.

I love the sense of expectation in the air. It's like the energy I feel when walking in New York City. You just KNOW important things are happening here. My friends Barb and Jim (Gary taught with Barb in a high school in Connecticut) actually live in a suburb of Maryland, a 25-minute subway ride from Union Station where I arrived on Friday, but we have spent most of our time in D.C.

I love driving through the city - oh look, there is the Lincoln Memorial (my children remember how, on our trip in 1987, I missed the entrance to the Memorial and ended up crossing the bridge to Virginia - again and again and again), there is the White House and so on. Everywhere you look is something remarkable, somewhere significant, some reminder of recent or past history.  I truly love this place.

I unintentionally happened to be here on one of the two days a year that the White House gardens are open to the public. The weather was gorgeous as I strolled by the Rose Garden, Jackie's Garden and the newest addition - the vegetable garden that Michelle and school children planted. Their tomatoes look quite good for so late in the season.

The veggies are looking good!

We toured the South garden (the part that abuts the huge elipse out back, not the grounds in front of the White House) so had perfect views of the Washington Monument as well. I am glad that, whichever president is in power, he has such beautiful and surprisingly serene spaces at hand for possible relaxation. I mean anyone who has the power to set off a nuclear weapon should have the possibility of bits of serenity.

I am somewhat embarrassed that I have never visited Washinton's monument in all of my trips to DC so made up for this on this visit. My you get great views from way up there. We also visited the statue of Einstein that stands outside the American Academy of Science. Great sculpture - he looks so old and rumpled and approachable that you want to sit down and chat. Many people climb in his lap for a photo op and it is considered good luck to rub his nose.

Check out the nose!  I couldn't quite reach it myself so the cane came in quite handy.

One incident of my visit stands out. Each month local members of their church (meaning those who live closest to them) gather for a shared dinner and this month it was at Barb and Jim's house. Over dinner discussions I learned that one of the members who works for the Department of Agriculture has figured out a way to turn the trillions of chicken feathers from Maryland's chicken industry into biodegradable flower pots. The Econ teacher in me was delighted. A local resource, repurposed, providing jobs and it's biodegradable. Win, win, win. Who ever knew? I won't look at flower pots the same way.

And of course Barb and Jim and I talked, talked, talked as we caught up over long leisurely meals and glasses of wine.  It was indeed wonderful.

Next on to Chaleston via Amtrak.  I am finally entering states new to me.  I have never been in either of the Carolinas and I will be spending several days in each. Yippee!

Leg Three - Connecticut!

Oh Connecticut was wonderful. This time I stayed with Joan and David in their charming home in Middlebury. Joan met Gary when she volunteered at Fairfield's Connecticut Audubon Society. Our two sons, Lee and Jon, soon became best friends. Over the years we shared many cups of tea while watching our children play.

As always, the ten years since my last visit seemed to melt away as we talked and talked and talked. Our first outing was to the small cottage/cabin they inherited. I had heard about it over the years and was delighted to finally visit.

Actually, I was enchanted. It is small - one long room contains the kitchen and living room. A few steps up is a room with 2 single and 2 double beds plus a bathroom. Not big but every square inch was full of cabin charm. Wood walls, mismatched chairs tucked into corners, shelves filled to capacity with old books, and a bright red wood stove in the middle. I wanted the know the story behind each photo and painting, each dish and lamp - my eyes kept spying something else I wanted to discuss. Nothing was brand new, everything had a purpose and outdoor things were carefully stored away in nooks and crannies awaiting the warm days of next summer. I smiled when I saw the sails from a small boat hanging from the ceiling of the bedroom. Joan promised me I can spend a night during my next visit (assuming it is in warm weather). We dragged chairs out to the dock where we ate BLTs from a local store. Heavenly.

But what came next was astounding - a visit with her daughter and her triplets! Oh what a marvel - and how I honor Joan's daughter, Jackie. Do you know how hard it is to keep track of three 2-year olds? One would be on one swing, another on the other when the third decided to walk right in front of the swings. You find yourself grabbing the third while trying to stop the swings - and I only had two hands. At other times they went in three different directions. How does Jackie do it? And she looks and acts so calm. 

I, of course, could not get enough of them and their older brother, Finn.

Another day we made a trip to Hyde Park. After devouring the recent PBS series about the Roosevelts I was thrilled to get to spend almost 2 hours touring Val Kill where Eleanor lived in the later years of her life. The National Park Service ranger/guide said they were unprepared for the onslaught of visitors since the program aired. The place was hopping.

This is desert at that other CIA (Culinary Institute of America). To differentiate from
that other one, their logo is a whisk!

We had lunch at the Culinary Institute of America (yum!) and dinner at her son Jon's  (and wife Angie and 3 children) house. I loved seeing this boy who played at my house when he was young as husband and father. His children are at the tumbling age - tumbling over each other, the dog, the furniture and us. It was such fun.  

Other lovely drives through the spectacular autum leaves filled the rest of our time together. It appears that I nailed it - I was there for the height of the fall season. Magnificent trees of orange, red and yellow everywhere I looked.

Then, all too soon, it was time for my first Amtrak ride (of 6 I will be taking) out of New Haven. I must admit the quick glimpses of Yale that I spied on our way to the station made my heart clutch a bit remembering my husband's time there. On the train I sat among a group of orthodontic staff workers on their way to a conference. I stared out the train window, one ear listening to their chatter, while I watched towns that I used to know go by. My how Bridgeport, Norwalk (where I taught for 16 years) and Stamford (where Gary taught) have grown and changed. And then, before I knew it, I was at Union Station ready for my next adventure in Washington D.C. 

Leg Two - The Berkshires

It is hard to describe fall in New England without gushing. The leaves are indeed spectacular and I seem to have picked the best week to revel in their color.

My week in the Berkshires was magnificent - both visually and in time spent catching up with the lives of Stu and Jayne. Stu went to Yale with Gary and they were among the first friends I made when we moved to Connecticut after our marriage. The years fell away as we enjoyed the week in their cabin in Beckett, Massachusetts.

Ten years ago, on my last trip to New England, Jayne and I, with compass, map and can of red spray paint in hand, walked the 33 acres they had just purchased. Our goal was to tag trees along their borders. I called us either Hansel and Gretel or Lewis and Clark (Jayne and I remember differently) as we worked our way through the forested land.  When we came to the remains of a meandering stone wall we knew we were indeed along one of their boundaries. It is now forested but once must have marked the edge of a farmer's field. All those stones came from clearing the land.

Today we know that, although we were successful in marking some of the trees, we  mismarked many others. Oh well - the red paint is already wearing away so time will erase our mistakes.

It was great fun to be on the land again but now with a long driveway and cabin in its midst.  I was able to walk to the creek (these wonderful hosts had two walking sticks I could use when walking over uneven ground, around roots and over rocks). I didn't make it to the swampy area but have clear memories of the mud oozing over and into my boots as we marked the trees ten years ago.

And so the week passed in long conversations around the table, walks in the woods, wonderful meals and drives through the countryside. I loved the pumpkins and scarecrows, stone walls and the two-lane country roads. History smacks you in the face in New England. So many small villages from its colonial past. And have you ever had an apple cider doughnut?  I never had - delicious.

I laughed - getting ready for Halloween!

In one small town we came to the church that Arlo Guthrie bought and turned into a community support agency. It was closed but, luckily, a man happened to open the door and invited us in after we kind of begged. They were having a big fund raiser that evening and Arlo would perform - drat he wasn't there practicing - but we enjoyed chatting with folks who were getting the place ready.
All too soon it was time to go. I hated leaving Stu and Jayne, the cabin, the forest and that
meandering stone wall - it is now visible from their front porch - but the next leg of the trip awaits. Onward to Connecticut with all the memories associated with the first 16 years of my marriage.

Cape Cod: First leg of the Celebrate-The-End-Of-The-Year-Of-The-Knee Tour!

The last time I was at Cape Cod the children were in 2nd and 6th grade. It was May of 1987 and we spent a long glorious weekend at a rented home right on the beach at Brewster. Stephanie and Lee couldn't get enough of the water outside the back door and the candy shop a short bike ride away. Such wonderful memories.

Now, 27 years later, I am back but this time so much wiser. The cottage I stayed in belongs to great friends, Tom and Lynne, and is in the woods in Welfleet, a bit north of Brewster. This trip I luxuriated in the views of the woods, the ponds, the Bay and ocean, and the utter charm of the small towns of Cape Cod. No wonder artists flock here. I love all the cottages - especially the wee ones right along the beaches.

But I get ahead of myself. I arrived in Boston Thursday evening. Friday morning I went with Lynne to the writing class she teaches at Wellesley. Ah the young women were thoughtful as they discussed Supreme Court cases associated with their writing topics. They were cases I had lived through  - interesting to hear them discussed by people to whom they were history.

Wellesley was the first East coast school I had ever seen while on a trip when I was 16 and it is every bit as beautiful as I remember. While Lynne met with students after class I strolled around campus (and I am walking well these days - with my cane at my PT's insistence. It gets me lots of open doors so I appreciate it). Then off to visit the new Westwood Library that Tom, as head of the whole system, supervised - and it surpassed my expectations. Lovely, useful design. So airy. Makes one want to settle down in a corner with a good book.

Then off to the Cape for a long weekend. The cottage is gorgeous (imagine a gem with a beautiful   kitchen, open living area, 2 bedrooms, an over-the-top bathroom and a deck overlooking the woods behind the house). All with a seaside fragrance. My favorite spot was the entry. There is something about a red table that calls me.

Three days later, days filled with wonderful meals (oh the clam chowder! And the oysters! And lots of wine!), beautiful drives around the Cape, reading on the couch and deck and in my comfortable bed, and talks, talks, talks. We had lots to catch up on - and so we did.  I loved every minute.

Lynne dropped me off at the MTA ("oh he never returned, no, he never returned . . . ").  I took the train (my first of many on this trip) an hour east to Worcester (or Wis-tah by the natives) for the next  leg - a cabin in the Berkshires with Stu and Jayne.