Miles' Birthday Trip - Part TWO, NYC

In all my travels to New York City, I have never once gone to a museum.  I always wanted to go to but there was always so much else to do AND being from the DC area, I'm so used to free museums that it has taken me awhile to warm up to the idea of having to pay for the privilege.  This was the trip I was determined to change this trend, and we chose the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  By the time we got ourselves up and moving and fed and into Manhattan it was already noon so we only had 90 minutes as we were meeting Katy at the St. James theatre at 1:30pm.  We were very specific in our desire to see the Picasso exhibit though, so 90 minutes was just enough time.  Needless to say there are rooms and rooms of other stuff there that we would both like to see, but at least we've made a start on NY museums.  The Picasso exhibit was lovely.  He had a huge body of work and worked for many many years, so there was a very broad variety of works to see.  I have to say that I liked his ink portraits of his "bar buddies" that he did when he was 18 better than any of his later works.  They were very detailed and small, about the size of a coaster, which means they would probably fit in my budget better as well.

After Picasso we found our way back to the front of the museum and hailed a taxi to take us to the St. James to meet Katy.  We were about to see Miles and Joseph's first ever Broadway Play!  We chose American Idiot which is based on the Greenday album of the same name.  It was a hard charging show that never slowed down.  We all really enjoyed it and we bought the soundtrack on our way out the door.  It starred John Gallagher Jr. who also starred in Spring Awakening, my all time favorite Broadway show.

It was about 3:45pm at this point and by now our donuts from the morning had worn off and we were all starving.  We had dinner plans for later but decided to grab a snack at Dallas BBQ.  My friend Nicole met us there and we had some yummy vittals.  Miles ordered the hot wings and we were all surprised when full wings came out, not just wing pieces.  It was a huge platter of food, but being a growing teenager he hoovered right through them and is still talking about how good they were.  We all enjoyed our food and catching up with Nicole and Katy.  Nicole had even brought Katy a floaty pen which is Katy's favorite thing!

Our next adventure was unexpected and delightful!  My dad's first cousin Carolyn moved from Miami to NYC many years ago and for the most part we had lost touch with her.  Recently she found me on Facebook and contacted me asking if I was interested in family tree information that she had collected over the years.  Of course I was interested!  I know lots about my mother's family, but very little about my father's so this was very welcome news.  I had met Carolyn at least one other time in my life, when I was five years old she was visiting my grandparents and she taught me to tie my shoes.  I thought she was SO cool.  I let Carolyn know that we were coming to New York and she asked if we would be interested in touring her husband Mitch's music studio.  Mitch is a music producer.  Of course we said YES!  So after our snack we called Carolyn and headed to the studio on 9th Avenue.  Mitch and Carolyn were absolutely adorable and we loved spending time with them.  They greeted us at the elevator outside the studio and welcomed us with open arms.  The walls of the studio were covered with photographs of the celebrities who had recorded there.  His studio has been there for many years.  The building is an Art Deco building from the '20's and the windows even open, which is so unusual in offices these days.  We sat in Mitch's office and enjoyed a view of the Hudson River.

Mitch and Carolyn had made reservations for all of us at their favorite restaurant just up the street, Ralph's.  We still had Nicole with us and though she attempted to back out as she felt it was a family thing, we convinced her to stay with us.  We had a lovely dinner at Ralph's, Joseph declared the fetticine alfredo as the best he'd ever had.  We shared a bottle of wine with our meal and then we all ordered desserts which got shared around the table.  Mitch snuck back to the bar and paid the check when we weren't paying attention, which was super sweet of him.  You would never have guessed that we had all just met, it really felt like we had known each other for years, we really were family.  When we finished eating we decided to walk a little and burn off some of those calories.  Carolyn told us that there was a free concert up the street at Lincoln Center so we headed up there.  Sure enough there was Caribbean music echoing from the buildings and a folks of every age dancing in the aisles!  We even saw a guy who was a dead ringer for Albert Einstein kicking up his heels!  I think the name of the band was Mazza Pucci, but don't hold me to that.

After the concert we asked Mitch and Carolyn if we could see their Manhattan apartment as I had always wanted to see one.  They have such a reputation for being shoe boxes and I wanted to see if the rumors were true.  I have to say that although their apartment was small, it was delightful.  I really loved it, it was plenty of room for two people and the location couldn't be beat!  We can't wait to hang out with Mitch and Carolyn again, we had such a good time!

We left the apartment and walked Katy back to her train and then Nicole and the rest of us walked over to the PATH station to head back to Jersey City.  As usual it was well after midnight before we got back to the rig.  Exhausted we fell into bed and didn't stir until 11am.  We called Nicole as she was interested in seeing this RV park in her town that she had never heard of before.  She walked down to where we were and hung out with us for a while.  She even drove the rig from our parking space to the dump station!  Then she directed us to a local diner that she had recently discovered and I had what may have been the best grilled ham and cheese ever!  We walked down to the waterfront to walk off our breakfast and then we said goodbye to Nicole and set off on the next part of our journey!

Miles' Birthday Trip - Part ONE, NJ

School is finally done for the semester and it is almost Miles' birthday so we gassed up the Rallye Girl and headed out of town again.  We had been planning on this trip ever since we bought the rig, as I had asked Miles first thing where he'd like to go for his birthday.  He chose Boston.  I can honestly say I was surprised by the answer although I shouldn't have been.  To be more specific he wanted to go to a clothing store in Boston.  The name of the store is Johnny Cupcakes and the reason this shouldn't have surprised me is because years ago when I took him to NYC for his first visit he wanted to visit a clothing store there as well (Bape).  My child is a clothes horse, what can I say?

By the time we got out of Strasburg it was almost time for Joseph's online class so we got off 66 at Front Royal and parked at the Cracker Barrel.  CB is one of those places that welcomes RV's and you can actually park there overnight if you like.  We were just there for dinner and class though, no overnights yet.  Miles and I amused ourselves on our computers while Joseph took his class.  We had the generator running and the AC on so we were quite comfortable.  

Now you may be wondering how we were all three online at the same time in a parking lot.  Well I am very happy to announce that we are the proud owners of our own little MiFi hotspot!!!  We had gotten so frustrated with searching for free WiFi and with trying to connect at campgrounds that advertised free Wifi but then had such a weak signal that we couldn't even check our email.  We are very pleased with our purchase and so far it is working like a charm!  

When class and dinner were done we hit the road again.  I assured Joseph that he didn't have to drive through the night.  We were headed to Asbury Park, NJ first, but we didn't have a reservation at a campground that night so there was no rush or exact destination.  Once we got north of Baltimore he started showing fatigue and was ready to find a place to plug in for the night.  

Now another aside about our other favorite gadget on the rig.  Our GPS.  We originally bought a GPS on our trip to Myrtle Beach before we even bought the rig, because we had gotten lost on that trip and didn't want to repeat our mistake.  We called that first unit Jill because that was the name of the voice we chose.  Although the unit was supposed to have all sorts of cool features, like traffic notices and exit ramp notifications we never really saw those features work.  I thought I just hadn't found the right commands and didn't really worry about it much.  Several times we would change roads without Jill's permission and she would do everything in her power to MAKE us go back and do what she said, but for the most part we were satisfied with her work.  One day though she simply stopped working altogether.  When we tried to turn her on she just blinked at us.  We weren't sure what was wrong, but the next time we went by a Best Buy we stopped in to see what could be done and the girl immediately took it back and gave us a new one.  Needless to say we were thrilled, it was less than 2 months old and I now know that it never worked correctly because as soon as we plugged the new unit in things were MUCH better.  We changed the accent on our new unit to Australian female, her name is Karen and we like her much better.  She doesn't seem as bitchy when we ignore her instructions for one thing.  ;)  For another thing, she tells us our exit before we get there.  I tell you all this in order to tell you that one of our favorite features of the GPS is the ability to find us a campground.  If you'll recall, on the way home from SML she found us the Shenandoah Valley KOA near Staunton, which was a fabulous place!  This time we weren't so lucky, but it wasn't Karen's fault.  She found us what looked to be a lovely campground near Elkton, MD but when we got there (after midnight) it was dark and locked and there was a gate with a code lock, so we couldn't even find a spot on our own and pay in the morning.  Luckily we had passed a Walmart so we back tracked a few miles and hunkered in there for the night.

In the morning we breakfasted at Waffle House and then headed on to our first destination of this trip, Asbury Park, NJ.  I had just seen a friend on Facebook mention the Silverball Pinball Museum and Arcade and knew immediately that I wanted to find it.  Of course Asbury Park was familiar to me as it is to any Bruce Springsteen fan and as it turns out the Stone Pony is diagonally across the street from the Silverball.  The deal at the Silverball is that it is a museum AND an arcade.  They have rows and rows of old pinball machines and arcade games, including skeeball in working order.  You pay $10 to get in and you can play all the games for free for an hour (you can also pay $15 for the whole day and go in and out all day long, but since we weren't staying we didn't need that option).  We plunked down our $30 for the three of us and got our armbands and headed inside.  I have never been good at pinball and today was no different, I suck at it.  

However, they also had Galaga which was my FAVORITE arcade game back in the day!  I rock Galaga, I even beat Joseph's high score, although I came nowhere close to the high score for the machine which they post on a little placard on every machine there!  When our hour was done (which felt like three minutes later) we went out onto the boardwalk and were planning to walk down to the water's edge and get our feet wet, but the "beach cops" had different plans for us.  Turns out that you have to pay to walk out on the beach there!  I didn't need wet toes that badly, so we turned around and headed to the rig, for some reason though the cops gave us the stinkeye until we were out of siight.  I'm not sure why they were so anxious about our presense, maybe they thought we were gonna turn around and bum rush our way onto the sand?

Our next destination was Hillside, NJ.  In order to tell you why I would be headed to Hillside, I have an embarrassing confession to make.   My guilty pleasure in life is the Real Housewives franchise on Bravo TV.  I have never watched the Atlanta version and I have yet to see the DC version but I love, love, love the OC, NY and NJ versions.  One of the Real Housewives of NJ, Teresa, just opened a pizzarria with her husband Joe.  On her blog one day (yes, I read the blogs too) she mentioned the address of the pizza place and said "If you are ever in the area stop by, Joe will probably be there and I might be there."  Well seeing as Hillside is very close to Jersey City where we were staying, how could I resist.  We found the restaurant with no trouble whatsoever, and even found a nice parking spot for the rig, not too far down the street.  When we entered we were greeted by a sweet man who was very enthusiastic about his menu and making sure we enjoyed whatever we ordered.  We could see Teresa's husband Joe sitting a table talking to some people, so he really does run his business in person.  We placed our order and sat down to wait.  The restaurant was beautifully decorated and a poster of Teresa and a copy of her book were prominently displayed.  When our food came they were HUGE helpings and totally delish!  Joseph got a steak and cheese wrap, Miles got paninini and I got veal parmesan.  The sauce on mine was amazing.  When we were done the cashier asked if we had come because of the tv show and we told him yes and described our rig parked down the street.  He asked if we had seen Joe which of course we had.  He asked if I wanted to meet Joe, which I did also, but I didn't want to bust in on his conversation, he was actually on the phone at this moment, so I really didn't want to disturb him, but the employee assured me that it was fine and called Joe over.  Joe was very sweet asked us questions about our rig and such.

If you’re in Hillside, New Jersey, stop by Giuseppe’s Homestyle Pizzeria at 1576 Maple Avenue!

NYC by RV

When we finally got home from our Lake trip we unpacked and got our laundry started. We were still pouting because we didn't want the adventures to stop. We drove up to Winchester in our car which felt very weird after being in the rig for a week. We went to the Camping World store there though, so we were still traveling in our souls! After shopping we stopped for lunch and while we were eating my sister called. My sister lives in Brooklyn and was feeling lonely because her roommate was out of town. She didn't have to ask us twice to come visit! We could hardly get home fast enough to pack up and take off for New York City.

Now, I know you are wondering where on Earth we thought we were gonna CAMP in New York City. Well for once Dear Reader, I am one step ahead of you. It so happens that years ago when I was married we travelled to NYC on a regular basis, but we couldn't afford to stay in the expensive hotels in the area. We usually stayed with friends, but I researched camping options (we were tent campers) so that if our friends' couches and floors were unavailable, we'd still be able to go visit the big apple. While Joseph was throwing our snacks and computers and clean laundry into baskets to carry out to the rig I looked up the Liberty Harbor Campground which I had found way back in the day. It still existed, but by the time I called it was after 5pm so I got a voicemail when I tried to make a reservation.

Liberty Harbor is in Jersey City where two friends of mine live or have lived. It has been my gateway to Manhattan for years. So directions were not an issue, from the time we left the house until we got off the turnpike I knew exactly where we were, and finding the campground turned out to be a snap. We pulled into the gatehouse and although we didn't have a reservation the night guard assured us there was room and took our information. We drove through the gate and were simply amazed at what we found. It was nothing more than an asphalt parking lot with 50 or more motor homes, fifth wheels and travel trailers. They were all parked close together just like a regular parking lot, but down the center lines of the rows were electric and water hookups. I think it is a truly amazing and beautiful idea. Whoever owns that parking lot is making themselves a mint. It was a random weeknight and the place was packed. It turned out that the campground was actually completely booked, even though we had found an empty space, and in the morning they informed us that although we couldn't have a regular space with hookups, we could still stay in lot, off to the side and pay for the privilege. We were happy to pay for a safe parking space though, we have a terrific generator for power and they had a nice bathhouse . They are located only 6 blocks from the PATH train and they have a view of the Manhattan skyline and the Statue of Liberty.

So here we are in NYC, we headed over to Manhattan around noon and our first priority was some good new york pizza! We got off the PATH train at the WTC and started walking north. Within a couple of blocks we found our heart's desire and had a slice. We texted Katy and let her know we were headed in her direction and got subway instructions. Now, as many times as I have been in NYC, I have never taken the subway unless I was with a local. It just seemed entirely to confusing and I really didn't want to be lost underground. Katy has been living there for a while now and was confident of her subway directions, so we trusted her and headed underground. We found her work with no trouble at all. She works for an adorable portrait studio on the upper west side, Portrait Bug, you can even see her pretty face on their website! She introduced us to her co-workers and showed us some portraits she had shot that morning and then just before her quitting time, her boss came in and we got to meet her and her husband as well. After we left, we made our way to several landmarks that I have always wanted to see including the flagship Tiffany's store, Trump Tower and St. Patrick's Cathedral. We also found a Tad's Steakhouse which is one of my favorite places to eat in NY. It is just a hole-in-the-wall chain, but the food is always good and the prices are great, especially for Manhattan.

The next day we left the rig earlier and made our way all the way over to Katy's apartment in Brooklyn. Katy needed food and had other errands to run, so we ran around Brooklyn with her including a trip to Costco. Katy didn't have a Costco card but I do so she was able to stock up on a ton of frozen foods that were reasonably priced. Her local grocery stores don't have the variety of frozen choices that she is used to and she hates buying fresh food and then having it go bad before she has time to eat it. She was a very happy girl, and I was actually able to add her to my account while we were there, so she can go back. After all our errand running we met up with my friend Nicole for dinner at the Cowgirl Hall of Fame restaurant at 519 Hudson and 10th Street. This restaurant had been on my list of places to try for quite awhile. I actually first saw it on Sex and the City. The food was really good and we were glad to have searched it out. It was really good to see Nicole and have her finally meet Katy. On our way out we walked through a movie or television taping. Not sure what show it was but they were filming street scenes outside another restaurant as well as filming a scene inside a restaurant, so we just moseyed our way right on down the street.

We headed back to Katy's house in Brooklyn because our brother (CAB) was on his way up from Florida and Joseph and I wanted to surprise him. He had no idea that we were already up there and I had been very quiet about it on facebook all week to keep him in the dark. We went to all this trouble because CAB loves to surprise people in this way, and it was nice to be able to do it to him for once. Once CAB arrived and was suitably surprised we played a trivia game which is pretty much a mandatory activity when a group of us in are in the same room. By the time we left it was close to midnight and by the time we got back to the Rallye Girl it was after 2am and we were EXHAUSTED.

CAB wanted to see our rig and Katy had to work the next morning so he left Brooklyn with her and came to find us in Jersey City. We hung out for a while and then we drove him back to the PATH station and we headed home. We love NY and were thrilled at how well the Liberty Harbor Marina RV Park served our needs. We know we will be back there soon!

Library Girl

In all my excitement about owning an RV and traveling all around the country with My Marine, I only had one big concern. Books! It sounds crazy, I know! The problem is that I have always been a library girl. I got my first library card from the Handley Library in Winchester when I was five years old. My parents took my brother and me to the library every 3 weeks like clockwork, we all got a large pile of books and plowed through them with glee. As a result of this early training in frugality, I very rarely buy books. There are three reasons for this, one of the reasons is that once I have read a book I'm done, I'm not the type to read and reread the same book over and over again. There are way to many books in the world for me to limit myself to stories I already know. Secondly is the expense, why would I pay for a book when the local library will let me borrow it for free?? I feel so lucky to live in a country that is blanketed with free libraries! Thirdly is the clutter. While I love books and love perusing shelves of books, I really don't want to have a houseful of them. I have always preferred small houses and right now I'm sharing living quarters with Mama and My Marine so we have enough furniture and "stuff"; that it is a blessing that I haven't bought every book I ever loved and toted them around with me.

But how can I be a library girl when I will have no fixed address and won't be in the same place for very long? This was a real concern for me and I brought it up to Joseph and everyone else that I discussed our travel plans with. Finally I asked my dad about it. He and his wife have owned a motorhome for several years now and he is also a reader and a library user, so I knew he'd have already faced the same issue. He had an immediate answer. Yard sales! Well of course! Used books. Once I started thinking about it, I realized that yard sales would be just one option, most libraries have used book shelves where they sell off duplicate copies of books, and there were also thrift stores, not to mention actual used book stores.

Since this revelation I have bought books at the Waynesboro Library, the Smith Mountain Lake Library and the Goodwill Store in Bedford. I have also been given piles of books by my dad and my friend Gramarg. I now have a lovely shelf full of books in Rallye Girl, at least 30 books and I have invested less than $20! The best part is that when I am done with them, I can trade them out for others or leave them in campgrounds or coffee shops for others to enjoy. This makes me supremely happy!

Smith Mountain Lake or RV trip #1

Our first real trip in the RV was set to start Sunday June 20th at Smith Mountain Lake, which is one of my favorite places on Earth. My grandparents had a house there when I was a child and I spent every summer there from the age of five until I was 13 or so. I booked a campsite at the state park there the minute we found our rig. Since we didn't want a repeat of our adventures in Linden, Joseph (aka My Marine) spent several days out at his dad's going over the engine with a fine toothed comb and replacing whatever needed it. He also learned the ins and outs of the generator so that we would have electricity when needed. The generator turned out to not have any problems at all, it just hadn't been run much by the previous owner and the battery was dead. I think his dad was impressed with our purchase but he would never admit it as it is a Ford and he is a Chevy man.

By this point we had named our rig Rallye Girl and gotten our title and tags and such. She is a 1986 Fleetwood Jamboree Rallye. She is 28 feet long and can conceivably sleep 6 and seat 7. As far as we can tell from her paperwork she was originally purchased here in Virginia and we are the 4th owners. We know that she has been as far west as Colorado as there was work done on her out there back in the '90's. She is in excellent condition considering the other rigs we looked at and the price couldn't be beat.

Sunday morning we packed our clothes and our computers and lots of snacks and drinks and cleaning supplies and anything else we could think of that we might need. We set out late in the morning with first goal being a stop at my dad's house. We were only 10 miles down the interstate when problems began. First she started running hot and before we could even get to the next exit which was less than a mile away she overheated. We pulled over and Joseph got out and lifted the hood. Evidently the cap hadn't been tightened enough on the radiator when it had been checked last, and it had come off allowing all the fluids to boil off. We let things cool down a little and then we we nursed her to the exit, riding about 5 miles an hour for about 50 yards at a time on the shoulder until we got there. Four gallons of antifreeze and we were back in business. We decided to take route 11 instead of 81 so that we wouldn't have to travel as fast and so that if the rig overheated again we could stop more easily. We made it to Dad's and then on to the lake with no further issues.

We didn't end up arriving at the lake until around 9:30pm. It was dark and quiet, but the office for the campground was still open and we got our map and site assignment and set off into the woods. Joseph parked and hopped out to set up the exterior systems while I rearranged the interior from "travel" mode to "home" mode. By the time he was finished so was I. This has now become a routine for us and we both finish our duties in under five minutes and are ready to relax. We did indeed relax. It felt so good to finally be "away" in our rig. We slept late, lazed around the campsite and took our good old sweet time on any errand or project. This was our first chance to really relax together and although we had plenty to do, we didn't really have deadlines...well, except for one, but more on that later.

We spent our time on Monday and Tuesday solving rig issues, fitting her out with new rugs and dishes and things to make her homey. By Tuesday afternoon we were desperate for internet, not only because we missed being online but because Joseph had a paper due that needed to be written and uploaded. We had yet to see any signs or advertising for free wifi. One of the lucky things was that I had spent enough time at the lake that I knew my way around the local towns, so we had been shopping at Walmart and Kroger and Autozone, we had eaten at several restaurants and we had passed tons of other restaurants and businesses, but not one mentioned free wifi. One of the lovely new buildings that we had passed every day was a library. Now I am a library girl anyway so I was curious to see this new library, but I was also pretty sure that they would have wifi. We pulled the rig into the parking lot around 4pm and we weren't sure if the library would be open past 5pm. As it turned out the library was open til 8pm and we had signal out in the parking lot, so Joseph wrote his paper and I played online to my little heart's content.

After he uploaded his paper we had accomplished all of the "work" that we needed to accomplish and we could finally play! We had been at the lake for 3 days and had yet to see the water except when crossing the Hales Ford Bridge, which we had done several times a day. I know, sad right? Staying at the lake but never enjoying the water! Wednesday was the day to change this. We rented a pontoon boat from Parrot Cove, which is my favorite marina, and I took Joseph to see the dam and my grandparents former property and just to enjoy the water, the boats and the houses. We had our cooler full of drinks and snacks and they even let us take Seamus on the boat which was a pleasant surprise. We were out on the water for 4-5 hours and although I spent almost all that time under the roof of the boat, I ended up with a TERRIBLE sunburn that turned into sun poison and still bothers me weeks later!

Thursday morning we had to contemplate moving on. We had to leave the campground for good by 2pm. We really didn't want to go, we wanted to spend more time on the water, we wanted to spend more time in the rig. We simply didn't want the trip to end. We moved very slowly that morning packing things up and putting the rig back into "travel" mode. We were very happy with our new little home though. We put her through her paces and she came through with flying colors.

Happy Girl

Folks, I am such a happy girl these days I can hardly stand myself. I know that society doesn't much like it when someone actually admits to being happy, people don't like it when you have something they don't, but I can't help it, I am happy. I have been in a relationship with Joseph aka My Marine for a little over 2 months now and I am extremely happy and content.

Although I had been told by previous dates and boyfriends that I was looking for something or someone that didn't exist, I found it! Joseph is affectionate and sweet, and caring and nurturing every single day. He tells me I am beautiful, he tells me he is proud of me and probably most important of all he shares my dreams.

We both have a dream of finishing our college degrees. He is working on his online at Kaplan University and I am on year 27 of my degree at George Mason University. A few months ago when I was registering for the fall semester I discovered that there were only 3 classes being offered that I needed and they were all being taught during the day. This meant that I would miss another semester because I was working during the day. This caused much angst and soul searching on my part, should I give up on school (again) or should I quit my job and concentrate on school til I finished. Considering I only need 8 more classes to graduate, that seemed like an excellent option, but how would I support myself while I did that? I don't have any debt, I live with Mama so I'm not paying rent, but I do buy the groceries and have a cell phone bill and need gas and insurance for my car. When I talked this over with Joseph his response was immediate. He told me to quit my job and he would help me with my living expenses while I finished my degree. He is already set to graduate next May and if I can get all the classes I need, I could do the same! I gave notice at work the very next day.

Dream number two that we shared was to own and RV and travel across the country. In order to pay my tuition I had already planned to cash in some investments that I had, so I went ahead and cashed in twice as much, half for tuition and half for an RV. We commenced our search for a decent motor home that we could afford, that had a good engine, that didn't smell, that was a nice size. It took a couple of months of diligently reading the Craigslist postings from all over the state, and checking out the ones that seemed to fit our criteria on paper. We saw some real duds, rattle traps, engines that wouldn't start etc., but last week we found our girl! She is a 1986 Fleetwood, Jamboree Rallye and we have dubbed her Rallye Girl.

So yes, I'm a happy girl. Three of my lifelong dreams are being realized with the help of this wonderful man, I am in a fabulous partnership with a wonderful man who speaks my love language, I am finishing my education (finally) and I will be hitting the road to see this great nation in person.

Pacific Northwest Vacation: Day SEVEN

Yes, it is almost over, I know you are as happy as I was. Day seven I was bored. I was done with trees and mountains and my butt was sore after hours and hours of riding in the car. The heatwave, heatwave (jazz hands) had really and truly arrived and the temps were in the triple digits! We were headed back to Seattle to catch our red eye flight back to the east coast. We were stuck in traffic. The funniest part about this is that the night before when I was dropping off to sleep I was thinking how happy I was travelling with my sweetheart and how I never wanted to go home. I guess it was the traffic that made me cranky.

We had a yummy lunch at a quaint little diner in Raymond, WA where I had the yummiest french dip I have ever tasted. Plus my favorite part was that they offered cottage cheese as a side dish. Nice alternative to french fries!!

As we were sitting in a back up on the freeway Sheldon's phone rang. It was a former co-worker of his that he had tried to contact when we landed in Seattle. Somehow Dan had missed the message until Wednesday morning but he was glad to hear from Sheldon and they chatted for at least 30 minutes. When he realized how close we were to his house (about 20 miles) and how long we had before our flight (8 hours) he invited us over. As we pulled up in front of his house our car themometer read 110 degrees. Sheldon looked at me and said "I hope they have AC." They didn't. Dan was melting. He gave us a tour of his lovely home and then we left to hit a local watering hole that we hoped would be cooler. Um, no. It was hot there as well, but we got a booth in front of an open window and now and then we got a nice breeze.

About a half hour after we sat down Dan's lovely wife Michele showed up from work and the real fun began. She and I bonded instantly and had a blast getting to know each other. We hung out until it was time to head for the airport and then HOME!

100 for the 100th

It is my understanding that it is tradition to write 100 things about yourself for your 100th post. I am proud to say that I have reached this milestone and I have written the 100 things. I started working on this a couple of weeks ago because I knew it would take me a little while. Let the weirdness begin.

1. I could eat cereal for breakfast, lunch and dinner in the same day, and I have.
2. I have always wanted to ride in a hot air balloon.
3. My favorite ice cream these days is Baskin Robbins World Class Chocolate.
4. I have wanted to travel to Iceland for many, many years and swim in the Blue Lagoon.
5. My absolute favorite guilty pleasure is watching the Real Housewives of New York.
6. I grew up in a small farming town in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia but I am a city girl at heart.
7. My favorite trees are Redbuds. Love the flowers, love the leaves.
8. I love to read and do so whenever I have a spare five minutes. My Grandma Urath taught me to carry a book everywhere I go and I am so glad she did.
9. I am the oldest of 3 children, we have the same parents but we were born in 3 different decades.
10. I am part of a Mazda family, I am driving my third Mazda, my sister drives a Mazda and Sheldon owns two Mazdas.
11. My first car was a baby blue '69 VW Beetle that had been bought new by my aunt and uncle when I was 3 years old. I paid my Granddaddy Palmer $250 for it in 1983 and traded it in for $250 on my first Mazda in 1988. They had kept all the gas and maintenance records for its entire life. Sadly, I didn't bother continuing the tradition.
12. I work on the 11th floor of a building that is only four blocks from the White House in Washington, DC. No buildings in DC are over 12 stories tall, so I get plenty of sunshine.
13. I haven't had caffeine since my teens. I can't tolerate it at all. I can only have chocolate during the day or I won't sleep.
14. I worked in a movie theatre in my small town when I was 16. I got to see all the movies for free as often as I wanted and I even got to sit in the balcony which was off limits to the general public.
15. I once worked in a bakery.
16. I was a pharmacy technician for a year after high school and toyed with the idea of going to pharmacy school.
17. I once kissed James Taylor's cousin. His name was Bill Taylor and he was a comedian/actor. We were 18. I didn't believe he was related to James Taylor until a couple of years later when I saw a picture of James and realized that Bill looked exactly like him.
18. I took part in an outdoor production of Val Balfour's Oberammergau Passion Play every Summer from age 13 to 17. Usually I was just an extra, but one Summer I was the Sound Technician. (My daddy will be so proud that I spelled that right without having to look it up!)
19. My first date was on my 16th birthday with a boy from out of town named David Braunshweig. It was very romantic, right down to kisses on a bearskin rug in front of a roaring fire. I wonder whatever happened to him...
20. I read The Stand, in three days, at age 15 while I was home from school sick with the flu. Not a good book to read when you are sick, I was scared of tunnels for YEARS!
21. I didn't go to prom. In fact I only went to one high school dance and that was because I was on the planning committee. I went with a gay guy who didn't want his parents to know yet. My parents on the other hand, did know.
22. I didn't have a boyfriend until the second half of my senior year of high school and he was from another town. His name was Chip Anderson. I wonder whatever happened to him...
23. I am the oldest grandchild by five years on both sides of my family.
24. My paternal grandparents, Flossie and Palmer, had a house on Smith Mountain Lake when I was a child and I spent all my Summers there from age 5 to 12. It is still one of my very favorite places on Earth.
25. I cannot wink my left eye.
26. I am right-handed but I iron with my left hand because Mama is left-handed and always had the ironing board set up that way.
27. Periwinkle is my favorite color.
28. I had my son when I was 29. He wore me out. I can't imagine how the women who have babies in their 40's or (shudder) 50's do it!
29. If money was no object and I could have one full-time employee, I would choose chauffeur hands down!
30. My ex brother-in-law who never liked me, said I made the best lasagna in the tri-state area.
31. I never learned to cook until after I left home.
32. I love deviled eggs. I put spinach and bacon in mine!
33. I met Sheldon on Match.com. I knew he was special as soon as I read his profile, I paid to join just so I could write to him.
34. I want to be cremated and then buried in Jerome, VA with generations of my family. I want the song "Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone" played at the funeral.
35. I grew up with cats but now I'm allergic.
36. I flew a helicopter for my 40th birthday. It was a beginner lesson and it was fabulous!
37. I never had a Caesar salad until after I turned 40 and now that is my absolute favorite. The best chicken Caesar salad in the land is made at the Lafayette Deli in Chantilly, VA.
38. My favorite painting is Flaming June by Frederic Lord Leighton. She lives in a museum in Puerto Rico. I saw her when she visited the National Gallery of Art here in DC. I want to visit her someday.
39. I graduated from high school in 1983 and then went to Lord Fairfax Community College for one year, George Mason University for three years, Towson State University for one year, back to George Mason, then Northern Virginia Community College for ASL. I'm planning on tackling my last nine classes starting this Summer. My Grandma Urath graduated when she was 78 so I'm still ahead of her record. Miles says he won't GO to college until I graduate, so I only have three more years!
40. It is tradition in my family to have four names. I had to get married to get my fourth name. My sister likes to remind me that when she marries she'll have five names. I'm not playing that game though. Once was enough for me.
41. Stephen King is my favorite author, although I love his wife Tabitha King as well.
42. I have been known to crochet at stop lights. I made 23 baby afghans in nine months, two years ago while commuting, for a church festival.
43. I love to cross stitch.
44. I drove a NASCAR race car on my 43rd birthday. I was scared out of my wits and never even managed to break 100 mph. I want to do it again.
45. I wear Chanel Chance perfume.
46. I don't handle stress well.
47. I am alergic to the whitening ingredient in toothpaste. Makes it very tricky to find toothpaste these days as almost all them have whitening in them.
48. Yellow roses are my favorite.
49. I love M&M's, Reece Cups and Mounds Bars but can't stand Milky Way.
50. I have been to England, France, Switzerland, Germany and Mexico in that order.
51. I have lived in Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia in that order.
52. I have visited 25 states and can't wait to see the other 25.
53. Other than dogs and cats I'm not a fan of critters. I'm always afraid of getting bitten or stepped on or peed on. I'd rather watch them on tv than see them, or smell them, in person.
54. Something in the Way She Moves by James Taylor is my all time favorite song.
55. I am deathly afraid of snakes.
56. I almost never use strange bathrooms. If I come to your house, chances are that I will not use your facilities the first five or ten times I visit. Weird, huh?
57. I have a thing for tall guys with deep voices.
58. I drink lots and lots of water every day and I have for many years.
59. I had a huge crush on Tom Selleck in the Magnum PI days, but I really wanted to be TC and fly the helicopter while fighting crime.
60. I am the adult child of an alcoholic.
61. I have a VERY strong sense of smell and can smell a cigar 10 cars away in traffic. I cannot even walk past Stone Cold Creamery in the mall because the smell makes me nauseous. Strong smells give me a migraine.
62. I love to play board games and card games. I don't care if I win or lose, I just like spending time with my people.
63. My Grandma Flossie made the best fried okra ever.
64. I love to cook. Especially in my new kitchen. With Sheldon. And my Stand Mixer.
65. I never tan, just freckle. I used to burn but in my 40's I seem to have outgrown it.
66. I have green eyes with golden centers, although for some reason Sheldon is convinced that they are blue.
67. I am very chatty if I know you, but I hate meeting new people.
68. I bought my first home computer in 1990 and had email and internet before anyone else I knew. Remember Tandy and Prodigy? I'm so glad that the rest of you caught up to me!
69. I am completely addicted to Packrat on Facebook and have been for almost a year now.
70. I got a unicycle for my 42nd birthday, but I haven't learned how to ride it yet.
71. I would love to own an RV and travel all over the US. Sheldon and Miles think this is the worst idea they ever heard.
72. I was never claustrophobic until I got pregnant at age 29, now it gets worse as I get older.
73. I never had motion sickness until the last year or so. I hate it!
74. I love "quest" games, Packrat, Post Hunt, Letterboxing...
75. I voted for Obama and still get goosebumps when I hear them say President Obama on the news. It makes me a little giddy that Hillary is the Secretary of State as well.
76. I would love to own my own tour bus/travel company. I would take busloads of people to all my favorite places. It would be so much fun. Sheldon also hates this idea.
77. Any medicine that is supposed to help you sleep just keeps me up all night. This didn't used to be true. I loved Nyquil back in the day. Sigh. I miss Nyquil.
78. I have never been drunk in my life. Ever. I don't drink very often at all and then usually only one. That first one always tastes so good, but I have found that the second is never as tasty and I've never had a third. I am a cheap date. This makes Sheldon very happy.
79. I like almost all types of music but not really a fan of opera, jazz or punk.
80. When I was a kid I really did walk 2 miles to school, uphill, both ways!!!
81. I am a list maker...I can't do anything without a list. I love crossing things off with highlighter when I am done.
82. Growing up I had one Nanny and three Grandmas, two Papas and two Grandaddys. They are all gone now, but I like to imagine them watching over me. I hope I make them proud.
83. I love bacon.
84. April and August are my favorite months of the year. I was born in April and Miles and Sheldon were born in August.
85. My drink of choice is Makers Mark Bourbon straight up, I sip it very slowly.
86. In the past 14 years I have collected over 57,000 aluminum cans for my local fire department. They use the money they raise to send burned children to camp.
87. I hate to scrub bathrooms.
88. I love to do the dishes, something about playing in the warm water and making things clean. Funny how that doesn't apply to bathrooms...
89. I also love laundry, the sorting, the folding, the putting it all away when it is done.
90. I get up at 4:25am in order to commute to the big city.
91. I go to bed at 9:30pm because I need plenty of sleep to function.
92. I much prefer Pringles and Munchos to regular potato chips.
93. I prefer the softness of flannel sheets all year round.
94. I like sleeping in a cold bedroom with lots of warm covers.
95. I used to sing in a praise band at my church.
96. I won the Miss Poppy contest put on by the American Legion in my hometown when I was 16 because my dad and his friends stuffed the ballot boxes all over town.
97. I am a Yankees fan and I now live with a Red Sox fan. This might be war.
98. My theory on having an only child is that if you do it right the first time there is no need to repeat yourself.
99. I ran my own direct sales business for 3 years and loved every minute of it.
100. I believe that Sheldon's cherry brownies are the secret to world peace, but I might be wrong, it could be the glazen raisen pretzels from Auntie Anne's.
     

I wanna go to Madrid too!!!

If you don't already enjoy the lovely and funny Crazy Aunt Purl you should hop right on over there. I wanna be her when I grow up!! I wanna be smart enough with my money that I can hop on over to Madrid for a long weekend!


http://www.crazyauntpurl.com/archives/2009/02/the_email_machi.php

Travel

I love to travel.  I can't afford to at the moment, but I want to go to Europe before Miles is grown and gone.  The following is a list of the countries I'd like to visit, in order of importance and why.

1. Iceland - cause I've wanted to go there since my Aunt and Uncle sent me a postcard of their trip to the Blue Lagoon when I was a teenager.
2. Italy - because every book or article I have ever read gushes about the light and the food and those are two things you just have to experience for yourself.
3. England - because I am an Anglophile from way back.  Dickens, Shakespeare, Chaucer, Rowling, McCartney-Lennon et. al.  Not to mention the hundreds of movies about King Arthur and other royalty and all those palaces!  Plus when I went there as a teenager I was only there for 24 hours and that is not NEAR enough time to explore a city block, much less an entire country!
4. Ireland - the green and the accent, need I say more?
5. Portugal - because it looks so beautiful and unique on Amazing Race
6. The Netherlands - tulips, windmills, fascinating.

Where would YOU like to go?  Comment with your list...I'd love to know!