Midland MI

 

Midland

October 2022

            Haven’t seen Russ’ brother Doug & sister-in-law Ann in, well, way too long. Thought to drive with some other visits along the way, but too daunting. And we have lots of United miles accumulated during the pandemic. Reasonable connections, so flying won out.

 Tuesday, October 4: “Club Hopping”

            Our usual very early start, to Albany International Airport (sounds impressive!) at 4:30am for our 6:15 flight. Easy check-in and thru security, 1^st time with our TSA “Known Traveler Numbers.” Pretty sunrise at takeoff, early to O’Hare. 

Layover of 6+ hours! We have Lounge Passes thru our United credit cards to ease the stay. To the nearest Club, sign says “Not Accepting One-Time Passes.” Oh no! But Marjorie charms our way in. It is quite crowded, but clears out pretty quickly. We find comfortable chairs and partake of the breakfast buffet. A gate listed for our next flight looks to be a long walk to a different concourse (C to F) in a different terminal. We’re told there’s another Club Lounge near the F gate (nicer than this one, the agent says) and that it’s OK to “hop” to another. A 15-minute walk takes us underground (pretty lights) to F concourse, where it’s now time for the lunch buffet and watching planes take off.

Maine 2022

 

Quintessential Maine

August 2022

             We’re in need of some R&R, Marjorie especially has been overloaded dealing with “home improvement projects”: new water heater, porch & deck remodeling, painting garage walls and adding an epoxy floor, fencing in the back yard, dehumidifier issues. We’ve connected recently with friends Robert & Kim when they pass thru to & from Eastman School of Music, where their son Alex is studying. They invited us to visit them in Maine. Had a wonderful visit in 2011, We’re delighted to accept the offer to return.

Portugal River Cruise + Spain

 

Portugal’s River of Gold

Spring 2022

      

           

Viking River Cruises are a favorite travel option: Marjorie & I have cruised together 5 times, plus another for each of us with a sibling. Susan, M’s cousin Jim’s wife, called with an itch to do Viking’s “Portugal’s River of Gold.” We enjoyed traveling with Susan & Jim in Andalucia Spain (2015), so our interest was piqued. Been to Lisbon and nearby areas (2005), but other parts of this trip looked plenty interesting.  Everything set for early August 2020 until the COVID-19 pandemic. We already had a tour cancelled in May; ironically, highlighted by the Oberammergau, Germany, Passion Play begun some 400 years ago as a promise to God if the village was spared from the plague. We rescheduled for July 2021, but COVID causes another cancelation. Both times Viking gives a voucher for re-booking worth 125% of what we’d paid, a nice bucket of cash to pay for some extras. Another rebooking for April 2022. The pandemic ebbs & flows, but protocols put in place by Viking lend some confidence: required vaccination documented by Verifly Vaccine Certification phone app, predeparture health survey, negative COVID test within 72 hours of 1^st flight, frequent on-ship testing. In addition Portugal requires a Passenger Locator Card before arrival. International travel is so complicated now! But by now Viking has done over 2 million tests for over 100,000 guests & crew; they conclude: “We believe there are few places one can go that are as safe as a Viking ship, where every person is fully vaccinated and is tested up to daily.” So it looks like this is actually going to happen!

Snowbirding in Florida 2022

 

Snowbirding in Florida

February 2022

             The COVID-19 pandemic has created uncertainty, disarray, even chaos in travel plans the last 2 years. We’ve managed an occasional trip, but mostly stayed pretty local within NY & New England. The end of 2021 many flights had to be cancelled due to COVID-related staff shortages. But a chance to spend some winter time with Marjorie’s cousin Jim & wife Susan in their Naples FL condo, and to be joined by Marjorie’s sister Mary & hubbie Jeff, is too enticing. And then another invite to visit friends Deb (one of Marjorie’s fellow artists) & hubbie Chris in Palmetto, north of Sarasota, sweetens the pot. The latest COVID surge from variant Omicron appears to be waning, opening things up more. Though I know a number of golfers down

there, this will not be a golfing trip, just time to relax after a long 2 years of life in a pandemic. But there are risks: Reports a week before we leave of iguanas climbing trees in a cold snap, becoming dormant, then falling to the ground (“reptile dysfunction” says a radio DJ); so watch out for falling iguanas! And a “deep freeze” threatens the orange crop, a reminder of “polar vortexes” we encountered in a 2014 Florida trip. But a Facebook post by Florida friend Rob augers for warmer temps on the way.

We’ve been to Florida a number of times, including the aforementioned Golf Coast from Sarasota to Fort Myers. Matt, Anthea, and grandsons William & Miles stayed in Jim & Susan’s condo after Christmas, managing to get there despite 1000s of flight cancellations worldwide due to COVID-related staffing shortages. Jim & Susan were sorry not to be there, but Anthea nonetheless exclaimed “I think I’m in heaven!” We’ll take that as a favorable review. Matt passes along some suggestions, including good spots to stop along the Tamaimi Trail (which runs from Tampa to Miami) thru the Everglades.

Vermont Inn 2021

 

Vermont Inn

December 2021

           The plan was to have an early celebration of our 50^th anniversary at a Vermont B&B. We’ve enjoyed several such outings, and Fall would be a lovely time. A search in booking.com finds Marble Mansion Inn in Fair Haven VT, looks like a lovely and interesting place. I book for October; a month early anniversary-wise but it seems a good bet we’ll last that long. However, life intrudes in the form of back surgery scheduled a few days later. Given the ongoing COVID pandemic we’re discouraged from traveling to Vermont, which is having a spike in cases. Moving forward in time, rehab from the surgery goes well. Matt et al. are headed south  shortly after Christmas to stay at Marjorie’s cousin Jim & wife Susan’s condo in Naples FL (we’re looking at doing the same in February). Why should they have all the fun? How about rebooking for some holiday decompression in VT between Christmas & New Year’s. We’re not out of the woods on COVID. Thanksgiving brought news of a new “Omicron” variant that is more contagious, combining with the earlier Delta variant to create a surge of cases & hospitalizations. But no restrictions on interstate travel have been instituted, and cases seem mild if vaccinated & boostered as we are. So we’re good to go after a quiet Christmas, just the 2 of us.

Fall Outings 2021

 

Fall Outings

2021

           We do enjoy Fall color outings. But 2 complications this year. After receding in late Spring the COVID pandemic ramps up again in Summer. And my spinal stenosis goes past “pain management” to “shit for back” (as judged from my MRI) and needs surgery. The 2 combine to lead to canceling an early anniversary jaunt to a VT inn ˗ too close to my surgery, too many COVID cases in VT. Undaunted (mostly) we work in some other enjoyable Fall excursions.

          1^st venture in early October: “Hollowed Harvest” at Altamont Fairgrounds on the outskirts of Albany, enticed by promises of 7,000 jack-o’-lanterns creating “stunning landscapes and larger-than-life displays as tall as 3 stories and more than 60’ long.”  Well, no, this proves quite exaggerated and we’re not that impressed, tho the logo is quire striking and it’s a nice evening stroll past displays organized around Halloween themes: Wizard of Oz, dinosaurs, flowers, spiders, gravestones, and more. Some little kids ahead of us seem to be having a good time, maybe we should have brought one with us.

         

Though not an “outing” in the same sense, Colonie Senior Service Centers’ Croquet Tournament is becoming something of a Fall tradition. Cindy Pettit & I agree to team up in hopes of repeating our previous victory. Cindy brings friends Mary Ellen & Erin, and our court is completed by another young couple. Marjorie joins in to help serving beverages. We play at The Crossings, beautiful flower beds plus a large grassy area to set up wickets & all. Rain before and during lunch stops in time for the competition. I start way behind after an opponent “sends” me, but I repay him later and Cindy and I finish well ahead of the other 2somes to win our court.

          Next outing in mid-October: Chesterwood in Stockbridge MA,  former summer home & studio of sculptor and landscape designer Daniel Chester French (1850–1931). Fr. Walsh blesses my back after 8am Sunday Mass. A Fall chill in the air ˗ mid-70s yesterday to 50ish today˗ as we give our new Honda HR-V its 1^st drive of any length. Marjorie makes good: syncing her phone, figuring out how to preset radio stations. Past a clever display of skeletons climbing a building in West Stockbridge.

French, a leading figure in the American Renaissance movement of the late 19^th & early 20^th C. is perhaps best known for Minute Man at Old North Bridge in Concord MA and Abraham Lincoln for the Lincoln Memorial. We go for an exhibit of large outdoor sculptures around the beautiful grounds & garden: Tipping the Balance: Contemporary Sculpture by John Van Alstine. His abstract sculptures of steel and stone are “a complex synergy between natural forces and man-made materials.” We start with a small exhibit at the visitor center, then to a nearby gallery where we especially like textile birds by Charles Schweiger.

10 or so large outdoor sculptures spread around the buildings, alongside woodland trails, and by the gardens. The grounds & garden themselves are beautiful, including rows of hydrangea and some bright white flowers. A tiny fountain operates inside French’s whimsical “one square yard of water.” A mostly cloudy AM, but some breaks of sun to brighten the Fall colors. [We learn from another visitor that VT colors are done, all the leaves gone, so we don’t feel so bad about canceling the VT inn.] All in all a lovely stop, it sure beats Hollowed Harvest.

A good lunch at Michael’s in pretty Stockbridge, where we’ve eaten before a bit off busy Main St. and most of the crowds.  Beforehand the pretty houses, shops, and Halloween decorations give me some photo ops. After overhearing a nearby table discussing how many marriages don’t last, we mention our 50 years (well, in another month) as we leave.

Then it’s north, thru some spells of heavy rain and at one point past a noisy flag-waving band of anti-vaxxers, to the Laffer Gallery in Schuylerville. We’d missed the opening reception last night, heavy rain & high winds, but wanted to see the new “Upstate Invitational” exhibit of beautiful and quite unusual works. Intriguing piece “Play with me,” constructed of many moving parts, can be had for only $10,000. Gallery owner Erik encourages Marjorie to enter the next show. Pretty shops & windows along Broadway offer more photo ops.

     

            Later that week to aptly named “The Incredible Naumkeag Pumpkin Show,” also outside Stockbridge. Still having 70s temps, Fall colors subdued. Naumkeag is a Gilded Age “cottage” (48 acres, 44 rooms) designed in 1884 as a summer retreat for Joseph Choate, prominent NY attorney and Ambassador to Great Britain, and wife Caroline. Daughter Mabel inherited it and worked with a landscape architect to create the gardens for which Naumkeag is known, including the world-famous Blue Steps. She bequeathed the property, including all household furnishings and fine art, to The Trustees of Reservations. Wow! This really is an incredible Halloween treat! Some 1500 pumpkins (plus gourds, mums, etc.), both real & artificial but all hand-carved with faces, monsters, dinos, etc. 

We walk below the appropriately Gothic house by craggy trees with clusters of beautiful pumpkins & flowers, along woodland trails with colored lights (purple, green, orange) around trees, thru gardens, up hills. Even a bubbling cauldron. Our timing proves perfect: lowering sun bright on the pumpkins, beautiful sunset as we head to the house, darkening at the end so we can enjoy the lighting. The tour includes part of the house’s 1^st floor with a “Haunted Mansion” vibe: floating candles a la Harry Potter (for which Marjorie gets a bit of a “backstage” tour), skeletons lounging in one room, spooky fireplace & windows with thunder outside. The greenhouse has a “thrill ride”: encircled by a rotating cylinder, you think you are rotating! To complete the day, a beautiful moonrise as we get home.

As Halloween approaches, a Facebook post shares some COVID Halloween decorations: headstones with epitaphs like “I DID MY OWN RESEARCH,” “MY Body MY Choice MY Coffin,” “Not smarter than SCIENCE.” And another creepy thing: a huge tour bus parks overnight on the road along the side of our yard. No idea who the “Mystery Bus” belongs to (neighbors across the street are away), a police car swings by but nothing comes of it. In the AM it swings around to park across from our driveway.

I’ll include some things that are maybe too local to qualify as “outings” but add to our Fall enjoyment. I enjoy beautiful Fall decorations at Trader Joe’s and bright mums in a neighbor’s yard. 

Next day a subgroup of Mendelssohn Club brothers sing for the Upper Madison Street Fair; a beautiful day, lots of people including tables full of chess players, and it’s good to be singing! 

Other photo ops in Washington Park, known especially for its Spring Tulip Festival but Fall plantings are also impressive. More music: a lovely jazz concert at the Pruyn House, with its own beautiful gardens.  

Fall scenery enhances golf courses, including Schenectady Muni, one of the prettiest local courses, and later of Lake George from Top of the World Golf Course. 

After a foggy frosty AM, I have my “coming out” 10 days after back surgery to a reception for Marjorie and other “Extraordinary” women (aka “Pillars of Strength”) profiled in CSSC’s “Conversations” series. Certainly an impressive group of women, from fields including art, politics, journalism, medicine, even construction! And we’re both pleased to be recognized by some residents in the audience for our “reassurance” phone calls early in the pandemic.

My 2^nd post-surgery outing includes a visit to the new Clifton Park Trader Joe’s; seems well-stocked and colorful as always, Marjorie finds an “Advent Calendar for Dogs” we’re sure Arlo will appreciate. Then lunch at Snyder’s. Next outing: a stroll along the Mohawk River on a beautiful Fall afternoon. Seems an appropriate conclusion to this journal.