Week Two: October 10 - 16, 2011

Monday, the 10th:  So, here we are at the start of another week.  It's a holiday and we could have stayed in Seekonk with The Little People, but I promised Vicki a day [ish] in her yard to help get it all ready for winter.  We got up early on Monday and spent some time in the back and side yards.  She stayed longer than I as she's younger ;0).  In any event, we/she got a lot accomplished before the City Truck came by to pick up the 7 very large bags of refuse.

Tuesday, the 11th:  Lorraine's birthday is in September and the last few years, we take her to lunch and a movie for a belated birthday celebration.  This year was no different.  We saw 50/50 which was very good, and yes, a few tissues were needed.  Afterward, we ate lunch at The Shannon Rose Irish Pub which is at Clifton Commons where the movie theatre is.  Nice lunch.

Wednesday and Thursday, the 12th and 13th:  Vicki worked both days and I did some laundry and other chores around the house.  The weather, while cooler than the first few days, was gloomy and drizzly so I didn't do any walking around the neighborhood.

Friday, the 14th:  Rain!  We had a few stops to make on the way to Ridgewood for Vicki's haircut appointment.  There's a Whole Foods across the street from her salon so before her appointment, we picked up a few things there - almond flour and coconut flour [for cheesecakes].  Then it was to Garden State Plaza for shopping, lunch and a movie,  This time it was A Dolphin's Tale and it was very good.  Then it was homeward bound to get ready for our trip.

Saturday, the 15th:  We were out of the house before 8 o'clock and after a quick stop for gasoline, off we went.  Our reservation for the ferry was for 1:00 p.m. and we could have made the 11:00 a.m., but wanted to swing through Wildwood before heading to Cape May.  We spent some time in school there and when I was about 4, my grandparents moved to North Wildwood before it became popular.  Quite a change!  I'd been back a time or two since moving away in my late teens, but one time was in a hurricane about 8 or 10 years ago.  These are two shots of Wildwood Crest.

Now it's time to head over to Cape May to catch to ferry to Lewes, Delaware.  We drove around Cape May Point and Town Bank and Lower Township.  Let me tell you this was one windy day.  You can tell from these photos how rough and choppy the water was.

 Time to get over to the ferry station!  We were a tad hungry so grabbed a quick burger [no bun for me] at the station and was it ever a dreary burger.  But here comes our ferry so we ran back to our car to begin the boarding process.

 Here Vicki pretends she's going to loll about in the sun but be mindful, we're about to head out to open water which were very choppy and the wind, my friends, was fierce.

 This photo is as we leave the ferry harbor and you can see how the American flag is blowing.  Just look at the photos of the surf!  Then imagine me walking around the deck of the ferry.  At one point, I truly felt my feet were going to be blown out from under me.

 The trip takes about an hour and twenty-five minutes and since we didn't want to be in the stampede to the car, we went to the car level early.  Vicki rested in the car and I foolishly started walking around, trying to take photos of our entry to Lewes.  I was on the car deck, mind you, where few people mill about.  I walked to the front and was trying to take some photos when all of a sudden I noticed that my left tata was chillier than my right.  Yep, my shirt blew up baring all - well some, but definitely more than I wanted.  I saw two men several yards away and didn't think they saw, but then I looked up and had forgotten about the passenger deck above.  I swiftly moved away and back into the car ;0(   Oh, well, I don't know them and who cares anyway?!?!

We drove into Dewey Beach which is just south of Rehoboth Beach, and checked into the Worst Western, I mean Best Western.  After unloading our things in our room which seemed fairly nice and Vicki noticed no bath towels.  We informed the front desk and they placed them in our room while we were in Rehoboth Beach.

The event that was going on this weekend was a Jazz Festival so music poured out of many, many places.  A very hustling and bustling seaside town.  Now, when I was growing up in Wildwood, one of my very most favorite things was Kohr Bros. Frozen Custard and Steve and Vicki said they were in RB, so I had to break my sugar fast and have some.

 The problem was, for me at least, they only had vanilla, chocolate and orange or any combination thereof. Nope, I wanted my youthful memories of peach, banana or strawberry.  They did have another store closer to the boardwalk, but they just had cinnamon, pumpkin and peanut butter added to the first store's menu.  So, I took a pass.

We walked the boardwalk for a while, smelling the aromas of pizza, caramel popcorn and other boardwalk fare.  Then, Vicki wanted to show me the Boardwalk Plaza where she'd had dinner and wanted to stay but their website showed no availability.  [P.S.: we're not going to believe websites and will CALL in the future as they DID have rooms available.]  Anyway, it was a lovely hotel and we made reservations to have dinner there on Sunday evening.

Continuing on our walk on the boardwalk, we came upon a beach wedding that was about to take place so, of course, we stopped to watch.  It was large for beach weddings and formal except the bridesmaids had on flip-flops - couldn't see the bride's feet, but let's assume she did as well.  We waited around and watched for a while and chatted with other "wedding crashers" before going back the other way.  By the way, the groom was escorted down the "aisle" by both his parents [he looked to be 12] and so was the bride.  It was a sweet little encounter for us.

 Here's a little photo of Vicki in Penny Lane, an alley between two streets with lots of cute little shops.

 We headed back to Dewey Beach where the Worst Western was.  The Desk recommended The Port for dinner so we drove by - no one was there and it looked less than attractive.  We drove up and down Route One and then, after a very long wait at a local place, decided on The Rusty Rudder.  It was in Dewey Beach and right across the street from our SLUM, but we tried it anyway. They had a beach volleyball court outside with a family playing on it just as the sun was going down.

But we at there anyway and the food was merely medocker, as an old acquaintance use to say.

Back to the Worst Western where we had NO PHONE in the room and we had no INTERNET!!!  We called the desk from our cell phones a few times and they just didn't seem to care.  So I called the Boardwalk Plaza and wonder of wonders, they had a room [SUITE] available for us for Sunday night.  Regular rate was $598 but since we're "off season" it's $139!!!  Bookem Dano!

We dug into our beds [which were comfy] and got up early on Sunday morning.   Walking the beach for a couple of hours before checking out of the Worst Western and into the Boardwalk Plaza.

We ventured out onto the boardwalk for a few hours before dinner.

We had dinner at The Victoria Room at the hotel and it was very, very good.  I had braised short ribs and Vicki had a seafood pasta dish.  Our waiter, John, was very professional and very friendly.  You don't find waiters like him very often.  After dinner, we walked through the lobby and visited with one of the birds who's allowed out of his cage in the evenings.  Then, it was back to our room.  We've got a reservation for the ferry back to Cape May at 9:15 a.m. and need to be there half an hour early.  And we want to enjoy the lovely breakfast at the hotel so we're turning in early.

Here we go again

We got up early on Sunday morning and headed for the beach for a nice walk and to collect shells for Vicki.  These are some photos of seagulls, sandpipers and homes we ran across on our walk.

After our dismal experience at the Worst Western, we headed to Rehoboth Beach to check into the Boardwalk Plaza.  We had a SUITE and a balcony with two chairs.  Here are some photos from the balcony.

October 10 - 16, 2011 - Two

So if you really want to hear about our trip, you're going to have to call because this blogging is going to CRAPOLA.  But know that we're in Rehoboth Beach, DE; we had a horrible time at the Worst Western in Dewey Beach; are now VERY happy at the Boardwalk Plaza - and there will be more photos.

Wickford Then Home October 9, 2011

We taught The Little People a song this weekend and I tried to insert it in this blog, but it just wouldn't cooperate, so I'll put it on Facebook for those of you with access.  It's cute.  We're going to have to teach them The Teddy Bears' Picnic for Vermont.  They were learning it with us before they got ready for church.  After they left, so did we.  However, we stopped in Wickford, RI for some Down Time.  Wickford is a quaint New England fishing village so I had to snap a few photos.  I wanted to get some of the homes, which are from the 1700s and 1800s, but I don't feel comfortable taking such photos without the permission of the owners.  In any case, I snapped these on our little walk to the harbor.

I spotted a conch shell and wanted to get it.  Vicki found other interesting shells, so we found a way down to the water and started collecting shells.  One problem:  we didn't have a container for them.  So we made a pile and decided to return with the car later.  When we did - about 2 hours later - the conch was gone but Vicki retrieved the remaining shells.

We stopped in a few shops and in an attempt to help the economy, made a few purchases.  In one shop, we met another pair of sisters.  Barbara, from Laguna, CA, was visiting her sister, Linda, who lives in Wickford.  They were absolutely delightful and assisted me in making a purchase.  So that confirms it: Sisters are THE BEST.

We stopped for a bite to eat in The Wickford Diner.  After we ate, we knew why there were so few people there.  Vicki's burger was not very good at all.  I had steak and eggs which was a disappointing OK.  The "potatoes" were not good, which was ok as I try to avoid them most of the time.

After a stop at The Inside Scoop, we headed back home.  Since those two Little People wiped out these Old Gals, we just crashed and were in bed before 10.  Monday will be yard work and laundry.  We're planning our trip to Rehoboth, DE for the weekend so must prepare for that.

Ciao for now.

October 5 - 8, 2011

I left Dallas on Wednesday morning, the 5th, arriving at Newark Liberty at 2 pm.  Vicki was there in a minute to pick me up, and we headed to Hackensack to unload luggage.  After doing so, we stopped to get a box of candy for our host and hostess, Lorraine and Rocky, in Wood-Ridge.  When we moved there in 1959, they were our neighbors and Vicki and I used to babysit for their boys [I only sat for the two older boys but Vicki sat for all three].

Rocky grilled salmon and Lorraine set her table as she always does.  Great food and SO many laughs.  They've been married 60 years or more and are still so in love with each other.  They truly are like family to us.

On Thursday, the 6th, Vicki worked at her part-time job at Lakeshore Learning Store while I got settled in. After dinner, we started getting ready for the weekend in Seekonk, Mass.  We got up pretty early on Friday, the 7th, and after a few errands around town, headed northeast.  Vicki made really good time and we got there before Carol left to pick up The Little People at The Teddy Bear School.  Laura will be 6 at the end of February and is in kindergarten in the mornings and then goes to The Teddy Bear School where Josh [who will be 4 in April] goes all day.  Of course, The Little People were VERY excited to see Grandma as she's THE BEST GRANDMA IN THE WORLD.  Laura was happy to see me as well and after a few minutes Josh thought I was okay, too.

Carol and Matt had a lovely dinner planned but Carol and Josh had some Hammock Time as soon as we got back to their house.

There's no doubt in my mind Josh will be voted Class Clown!  He's such a GOOF! We were sitting on the patio and he smushed his face into the glass door just to get a laugh.

Along with the earmuffs, he also has on gloves which were totally unnecessary this weekend as the weather was very warm.  We sat on the patio until it was time for dinner.

Then, it was TO THE SHOWERS and getting ready for bed.  Josh continued his horseplay.

In my totally unbiased opinion, Laura is going to be voted Most Beautiful, Smartest and Most Talented.

So, after showers and a story by Grandma Vicki, The Little People were tucked into bed.

And  since Vicki and I were tuckered out, we weren't far behind.

On Saturday, the 8th, Carol took us to a Primitive Shop and then to a little farm near their home.  There were animals and hayrides [too hot to think of a hayride] and cider [too hot].  Josh decided to feed Dusty the Donkey . . .

and Laura decided to feed a goat which had escaped his pen.  Actually, Laura got a little frightened when the goat was trotting over to her, so she threw the cone of food right at him.  He was pleased and Laura was glad he stopped to eat the food so she could be safe.

After the farm, we stopped at Titi Maria's home so Laura and Josh could play with Mikey and so that we could see the house after all the work Mike [Carol's brother] did.  It's absolutely beautiful!  We hung out on the patio for a while and then stopped for a quick bite to eat before heading home.

Vicki made sausage and peppers and I can testify that it was wonderful.  Everyone put their sausages on Italian bread but I'm adhering to my Paleo/Primal Lifestyle and just had the sausage and veggies.  Then it was back out to the patio so marshmallows could be toasted over the fire pit, and Josh tries to learn how to wink!

Here's my wonderful nephew Chef Matt and the female apple of his eye . . .

 and of course, with his Silly Son.

 And here's Carol with Laura.

And Grandma Vicki with her very most favorite granddaughter!

After baths and a story - this time read by Sash - Josh and Laura went to bed.

Carol showed us their wedding video again [which we love seeing] and a video of Laura during her first 18 months or so of life.  More tomorrow when the children can join in.

I think I'll be turning in soon . . . I'm worn out by these two.