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East Coast Summer Trip

July - September 2018
I’m recapturing summer with a 6-week+ trip east to see old friends and family. From Ithaca to Swan Lake to New York City to Margate NJ to Bryn Mawr to DC to Boston and finally Cape Cod. Read more
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  • TravelerEast Coast Summer Trip

    Getting Ready

    July 20, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Packing for a six-week trip is an exercise in restraint. One rolling carry-on and tote bag is my limit. Music downloaded, check. Tickets, gift cards, and museum list, check.

    I have two more big things to do before heading out - try out a kayak to purchase and do the Green Loop Sunday Parkways! Two pre-trip joy rides.Read more

  • TravelerEast Coast Summer Trip
    Day 1

    Feet on the carpet

    July 23, 2018 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

    Nothing wonderful about waking up at 3:50am for a 6am flight, but here I am, at 5am waiting for my trip to begin.

    While staying with my friend Stephen Howard in Vancouver (BC - not the “Couve”) I said, “Having fun is a lot of work. You have to have a real commitment to joy.”

    Since retiring about three months ago, I’ve been hard at work playing, traveling and taking care of projects around the house. I’m super excited to embark on this next journey. Thanks for coming with me.    Read more

  • TravelerEast Coast Summer Trip
    Day 1

    Well, How's About Seattle?

    July 23, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    I seem to be having bad plane karma in retirement. Flight from Seattle to Philadelphia (to connect to Ithaca) was cancelled. After the able assistance from my resident travel agent, you know who you are, she found a flight that gets me to Ithaca tomorrow at noonish. Hoorah!

    So, Seattle! They have a train! into town for a mere $6 round trip. Who knew? Did the obligatory walk through Pike Place Market and went to the art museum. They have the amazing and controversial Edward Curtis photography exhibit depicting the “disappearing” aboriginal people in North America in the early 20th century. It is coupled with 3 contemporary indigenous artists in both response to and their own impressions, experiences and expressions. Beautiful and moving.

    Found a mishmash of architecture and a hidden public park replete with its own waterfall. Now back at the airport. Nice day.    Read more

  • TravelerEast Coast Summer Trip
    1
    Day 2

    Finally Made it to Ithaca

    July 24, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    I’m here in Ithaca staying with my dear cousin Leon and his beautiful wife Renate and their daughter Sylvie. Leon and I grew up together in the Bronx and spent glorious summers in Swan Lake. He still looks at me funny sometimes - now that I’m all growed up.

    We went over to Cornell to take in some of the spectacular gardens. Lee is quite the plant maven, especially roses and bonsai. I’m spending a few days so I’ll get some nice shots of their 3-acre property later. Today was catching up, telling stories, looking at photos as well as popping into town for a drizzly stroll.

    Renate cooked up a famous Cornell marinaded chicken with their first basil pesto of the season for dinner. Delish.

    Looking forward to my first good night’s sleep in two days. Sleeping on a red-eye and on the floor at the Detroit airport for my layover just didn’t quite do it.    Read more

  • TravelerEast Coast Summer Trip
    Day 3

    Der Rosenmeister Estate

    July 25, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Ollie, Lee and Renate’s grandson, spent the day with us. What a cutie pie. We took a short hike up to Taughannock Falls Park. Gorgeous gorges. (Sorry, I had to do it.) The visible geology shows the layers of inland sea sediment from thousands of years carved out by water and ice. The falls were muddy brown from all the rain. It has been beautiful, but I wouldn’t be unhappy to see some sunshine.

    After lunch, I asked Leon to take me on a tour of the property. One of the design elements central throughout the gardens incorporates the Fibonacci spiral echoed in the architecture, rocks and planting beds and also in the selection of trees, shrubs and flowers. Impossible to capture in my photos, the Fibonacci spiral of huge boulders and plants begins with a small Norway Spruce Acrocona at the center and whirls outwards for about 40 feet. At the stones’ end, the pattern continues around the property to a second row of trees, flowers and sitting areas. (A drone camera would work well here.) Each seating area is carefully placed to give the viewer a vantage point to discover the beautiful, whimsical and lush garden features plus a hint of what is only partially visible from that spot beckoning you to visit another part of the garden. It is really quite magical. And who can resist a flock of pink flamingos?

    Renate has a big food garden with garlic, basil, rhubarb, beans, tomatoes, and a pile of other edibles. They also have blueberries, blackberries, elderberries, strawberries and a few I don’t remember. So much good food. The roses are not at their best at this point in the season, but none, and I mean none, have black spots. He really has found all the right roses to plant in the right locations. Jealous.

    They have a meandering creek on the edge of the property where Lee has hand-built a couple of bridges and seating areas. Each of the structures’ ironwork, wood, stone, and tile throughout the property have been collected over the years - one from the New York Worlds Fair - and make up a rich portfolio of stories to go along with their thoughtful composition. All of this was built and dreamed up by Leon out of 3 acres of hay fields. They started with a blank slate.

    Tomorrow I believe we might have some sun for a change.    Read more

  • TravelerEast Coast Summer Trip
    Day 4

    Road Trip!

    July 26, 2018 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 22 °C

    Mr Sunny was out today! We decided to see some of the surrounding sights. First stop was the Women’s Rights National Historic Park in Seneca Falls where the 1848 Women’s Rights Convention was held. I have to say that I was underwhelmed. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it was not well done - sadly. Quotes were mismatched with with historical photos of other women. The nearly life-sized sculptures of some convention attendees were places in the middle of the floor with no note about who was whom and even why the statues were there. Disappointing. I got a copy of the Women’s Declaration of Sentiments modeled after the Declaration of Independence to read. I’m still glad I went as I have thought about going for a long time.

    We stopped for lunch at this amazing old-fashioned diner called Connie’s Diner. Very kitschy. Most of the clientele fit right in. They had photos of famous people and old movie and tv posters. The food was pretty good and very inexpensive. Good times.

    After lunch we drove up to Chimney Bluffs State Park on Lake Ontario. This strange landscape of skyscraper-tall mounds of clay embedded with smooth river rocks are slowly eroding leaving jagged spires and pointed towers. It was beautiful and puzzling looking. Glaciers dumped a pile of this debris, and water has carved out these sculptures in the sky. I was a bit torn whether to look down at the stones or up at the formations. It was fun to walk along the lake’s edge with Renate, Leon and Sylvie.

    It was getting hot so we drove back to the house with a quick stop at Harriet Tubman’s house. It seems that there are very many famous people from this area. I loved driving through the little towns and villages with the east coast architecture and gardens. My hosts are a font of knowledge about the history and who’s who around here.

    We took a quick break at the house before heading back out to visit with Lee and Renate’s son, Jules and his wife Jean, and Ollie at their house. Jules and I have been connected for a little while on Facebook but have actually never met. He is into bicycling, makes beer, and loves the forest. It was a treat to finally meet and chat. Jean is the City Forester for Ithaca. They are a lovely couple. They will be joining that gang at the end of my east coast trip on the Cape.    Read more

  • TravelerEast Coast Summer Trip
    Day 5

    Family, Art, Good Food, and Fun

    July 27, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Leon is the keeper of the family lore. He spent his youth visiting with our older relatives learning their histories and stories. We spent the morning flipping through his papers and photos. When and why they came to the US, what political and union work they were involved in, and some of their great arts and artist’s circles they ran in. Fascinating stuff.

    I also got to see some family photos I had never seen before - some of me.

    After lunch, we visited an arts fair - I took no photos - but thoroughly enjoyed the art and watching both Lee and Renate run into a dozen people they know. They are well regarded in this town.

    Leon repotted a bonsai apple tree from a tall pot to a new shallower one. It’s not about trimming the roots; it is all about pruning. While learning the bonsai process, I got a better shot of the spiral from the side porch. Looks pretty cool.

    We went to dinner and a play, Pride and Prejudice. It was funny with lots of kooky slapstick humor. Very entertaining.

    A nice, relaxing day.    Read more

  • TravelerEast Coast Summer Trip
    Day 7

    Family Gathering at Swan Lake

    July 29, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Leaving Ithaca was made much easier because it was a see-you-later goodbye instead of a goodbye goodbye. I will see the whole bunch - Leon, Renate, Sylvie, Jules, Jean, and Ollie - later in August at Cape Cod.

    Drove to Swan Lake with the music I bought from the Vancouver Folk Fest a couple weekends ago blasting in the car. Most of my six siblings were there with their respective spouses. Only Ron and Jeremy were missing. We laughed, sang goofy songs my dad wrote when we were kids, ate delicious grilled food, and connected across the miles and years.

    Today I finally got in an east coast lake to swim. It was delightful. The sun was warm as was the water.

    Robin and I stayed at an AirBnb on the site of the old Swan Lake Hotel. My dad and Leon worked many summers at the hotel pool. We found the only remaining remnants of the pool - the high diving platform metal frame. The rest is overgrown.

    Part of the land was turned into an animal farm where families can pet and interact with cows, horses, chickens, pigs and more. Most of the families that come to the area to visit during the summer have little to no contact with farm animals. They are also mostly Hasidic Jews. Farmer Paul squirts the kids faces with the milk from the cow’s teat as part of their tour. Since they can see where the milk comes from (the actual cow’s udder), the milk is considered kosher. They also pet the pigs which is a very big deal for Jewish children. Such a wonderful experience for the kids and their families.    Read more

  • TravelerEast Coast Summer Trip
    Day 9

    Another Lake Day and Carefree Acres

    July 31, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    Everyone went home yesterday, so it’s just me and my dad and his wife, Chris. After a quiet morning, I took a walk up to Carefree Acres, a bungalow colony where I spent summer days swimming, playing games, finding first boyfriends and girlfriends the way that kids do.

    It was mostly deserted with only Pearl and Stanley, now in their eighties holding down the fort. Ivy, their daughter and her husband Jason were there too. Nice to visit with folks who knew me when.

    Ivy reminded me of trips she would lead with all the kids down to the waterfall about a quarter mile away to climb around. We were wild. No adults around. Ivy was about 12 and was the oldest. Different times.

    I stopped in on the kosher bakery. Take a look at their black and white cookie. Also on the way back I noticed the wetlands behind my grandparents’ house in town (now an apartment building). Lots of bird life and flowers.

    After lunch I gathered my dad and Chris to get to Kauneonga Lake with a nice, easy walk in to the water. Dad did a little swimming. Oddly, they wanted to sit at the back of the parking lot about 100 feet from the water. Ok.

    It was nice to have a relaxing day.    Read more

  • TravelerEast Coast Summer Trip
    Day 11

    Arrived in the Big Apple

    August 2, 2018 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 24 °C

    It rained my last day in Swan Lake so I got a chance to nap, read and do laundry - getting ready for my New York adventure.

    I met up with Arif Khan, an old friend and bike advocate. He and his lovely wife Sabeen own the Hoot Owl restaurant in Pine Bush, NY not far from where Arif grew up. We had a delicious chicken curry lunch then broke into their new home (Arif forgot the key). Sabeen is an architect so has grand plans.

    The restaurant is doing well - partly because of the new Jehovah’s Witness facilities nearby. Thousands of “pioneers” come to Wallkill for training. Arif asks them lots of curious questions - which has endeared him to the resident JWs. My brother, Michael, had waxed eloquent about his training there. He is a full-time “pioneer” himself. I’ll have to tell him about the restaurant. It was fun swapping our stories and all the twists and turns. I left vowing to return to spend some more time with these wonderful people.

    The drive was ferociously wet. I took it slow, but it really was coming down. I was thankful for a good music system and Google directions. And I found parking right in front of the place I am staying! OMG! I couldn’t believe it. It got crazy humid and hot towards evening: I'm thankful for the air conditioner. I dropped the car off and headed out to take in the sights. I happened upon Rockefeller Center (pronounced it Rock-a-fella). I got myself a pretty darn good mojito and Ropa Vieja from a Cuban restaurant. Yum.

    Tomorrow I meet up with my friend Bob Dardano to continue rediscovering the east coast.    Read more

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