Canandaigua: Springtime Christmas

AprYule

April 16-17, 2016

          It’s been something of a family tradition to have belated Christmas celebrations in response to bad weather or family schedules that prevent getting everyone together in late December. This year will be particularly late for various reasons, but mid-April seems a quite agreeable time to have a family gathering. We’ve selected Canandaigua as a central meeting site: Marjorie & I coming from Albany, my brother Doug & sister-in-law Ann coming the farthest from Midland MI, stepsister Mar from Fort Erie Ontario, cousins Marcia & Bob from closer-by Ithaca & Geneva. Since we were away in Vietnam in March, we left it to Doug to pick a place to rendezvous. He seemed a bit apologetic about his choice of the Miami Motel: less expensive but maybe a bit too kitschy w/ pink flamingos and other such adornments. But it was well-reviewed in TripAdvisor. And the combo of Christmas in April (christened “AprYule” by Mar) in the Finger Lakes with a Floridian ambience seems appropriately quirky . . . and, as noted below, his choice will get thumbs-up from the whole gang! 

Vietnam

Visiting Vietnam

March 2016

Vietnam? Really? That’s a common response to our trip. What led us to travel to Vietnam? The Socialist Republic of Vietnam has a complicated history for Americans, considering the war and anti-war protests during our own youth. During my 1^st year of graduate school at Wisconsin, in the midst of anti-war protests (I remember the National Guard marching down Johnson St. in Madison lobbing tear gas!), I was fortunate to get a high “score” on the draft lottery. So I didn’t personally face the difficult decisions and experiences of many of my peers. Many years later, images of Vietnam are much different.  And it offers a beautiful & exotic opportunity to visit a very different culture. We’ve been to Asia geographically, 2 trips to Turkey crossed the Bosporus into “Asia Minor,” but that didn’t seem a truly Asian experience. Travel to China raises concerns both political and environmental. So we were attracted by a “12 Day Classic Vietnam” tour offered by Gate1, a company with which we’ve had excellent travel experiences both independent & escorted (5 previous Gate1 for me, 4 for Marjorie). The itinerary looked excellent, though some of the history noted above was reflected in a cautionary note that some might be uncomfortable doing an optional tour thru a tunnel network built by the Viet Cong; we skipped it. Vietnam seems a popular and welcoming destination: friends Don & Lyla recently returned w/ some tips on sights, shopping, and restaurants; my student I-Hsin has also traveled in the area; and we’ve heard good things from others. Son Matt gave us Traveler & Fodor’s books for help w/ planning.

Saratoga & Glens Falls with Grandsons

Presidents’ Week with the Boys

February 2016

          We thought school vacation during Presidents’ Week would be a good time to have grandsons William & Miles up for a visit. Matt & Anthea agreed, given their complicated schedules. Sat. 2/15 we rendezvous with Matt & the boys at our favorite half-way New Paltz diner for dinner. The fun starts that evening with a rousing UNO game, made more so when UNO hustler William keeps trying to insert his “school rules” (he plays regularly at the after-school program  ̶  hope he’s not gambling his lunch money). We ruled them out of order, but promised to use them later in their stay when we all know what they are. His variations do prove to spice things up a bit and move the game along faster. We also manage to work in an Aggravation game during their visit. 

          A “polar vortex” comes thru during the night, and we awake Sunday to -13°F, wind chill of  -30°! NYC Central Park is below 0 for the 1^st time since 1994, so this is surely the coldest the boys have experienced. But such weather is not unfamiliar to those of us who’ve lived in Wisconsin, and we’re undaunted for our busy Valentine’s Day. Grandma has put goodies on the kitchen table for the boys (Grandpa included). While I’m singing with the choir William & Miles make colorful Valentine posters that are sent via phone to Mom & Dad in Queens. I return and we all head up the Northway about 30 miles to Saratoga.  

Saratoga Mid-Winter Interlude

Saratoga Interlude

Winter 2016

           For Christmas I gave Marjorie a LivingSocial voucher as a “Post-Holidays Decompression Kit”: overnight at the Gideon Putnam Hotel in Saratoga Spa State Park plus discount for the Roosevelt Baths & Spa and tickets to either the Automobile Museum or National Museum of Dance (we decide to save the latter for grandson Miles, the dancer in the family). M supplemented this with vouchers for wine-tasting & dinner. Since we don’t get going until the end of January, it seems we should call it a “Mid-Winter Interlude.”

Holidays

Holidays

          This sampling of photos from selected holidays, like my previous “Seasons” post, departs from the explicit travel focus of most of my posts on this blog. But as with “Seasons,” many of the photos here entailed some travel. And besides, it’s my blog so I guess I can do what I want! I’ll focus primarily on Halloween & Christmas, the most colorful & decorated holidays.

Halloween

          I began the “Seasons” post with fall, so it seems appropriate to begin here with Halloween. Halloween can be spooky. 

 

But mostly it just seems fun. 

Christmastime and OtherSites Along the Hudson

Christmastime Along the Hudson

December 2015

          It began with Marjorie’s viewing of PBS show “Craft in America” that highlighted Christmas decorations at the Vanderbilt Biltmore estate outside Asheville NC. The largest privately-owned house in the US: 252 rooms, Christmas decorating includes dozens of trees, more than 1000 poinsettias, miles of garlands & lights. “We should go there some time!,” M exclaims. Russ thinks we have plenty of mansions closer by, googles places in the Hudson River Valley south of us. And so our Christmas outings came to be. It’s been hard to get fully into the Christmas spirit  ̶  no snow yet, temps in the 50s  ̶  so maybe this will perk us up.

          Sunday, 12/13, begins with Marjorie as lector at 8am Mass, Russ later sings w/ the choir at 10, all wearing some pink for Gaudete Sunday. Fr. Walsh called beforehand to ask R to take photos for the church bulletin & website: it’s also Bambinelli Sunday, so children bring figures of Baby Jesus to the altar at the end of Mass to be blessed, 

and the hospitality gathering in the parish hall includes caroling & a birthday cake (along w/ the usual donuts, cookies, etc.). Russ is always happy to oblige photographically, and takes some other photos around the church. Back home for a quick change, then off at noon for the 1½-hour drive to Rhinebeck, an area we’d enjoyed during the fall colors.

Seasons

Seasons

          Some of my previous posts have stretched a bit the travel focus of this blog. I’ll do the same here with selected seasonal photos. But these have themselves often involved travel, so their inclusion should not count against my thematic efforts. My selections here include fall, spring, and winter. Somehow summer doesn’t seem as distinctive, and interested visitors to my blog can find lots of summer photos throughout other posts.

Fall 

           I’ll start with fall, whose colors and lighting seem to offer special photo ops. This can be seen close to home, with some berries and other views in our yard