A weekend at Grandma's

Last weekend I was in western New York in a little town called Castile. This is where my mom's mom lives, and where my mom grew up. It had been quite some time since I'd been there, I think I was perhaps around 11 or perhaps 12 at the oldest. I am 24 now, but unsurprisingly not much had changed out in Castile (at least from what I can remember). It was about a 7 hour drive which started at my mother's house in Springfield, Vermont, which left my eyes tired from the road and my long legs longing to be stretched out. My girlfriend Aurina, and my nephew Connor rode along and Aurina was kind enough to read to us book one from Terry Goodkind's sword of truth series.

Auri and I have been watching the adapted-for-television version of the books called Legend of the Seeker. While I enjoy the show, after having Auri read to us Wizard's First Rule was far more engaging and intriguing. Her reading helped pass the time while we drove through the flatness that is known as the New York State Thruway.

I started recognizing the area by the rolling hills and farms with fields that stretch easily 20 times larger than any that I've seen in my home state of Vermont (but still nothing compared to the mid-western farms). Our windows were down now that we were off the highway and the smell of manure and silage wafted into our little Subaru. Connor winced in disgust, and I just laughed as I don't mind the smell so much anymore.

Seeing the big red barn, I knew we were there. My mom was right, it does seem a LOT bigger when you are a kid. I remembered it being much, much bigger. When we got out of the car we didn't even go inside because one of my mom's childhood friends was out walking and she waved and ran over to give him a hug. I only had vague memories of the people and the area, but I was eager to give my grandmother who I hadn't seen in years a hug. As I was thinking this my mother's friend made a comment "your mother is looking out the window at you" and I looked over and there she was. I could recognize her but time had changed her appearance from my previous memories. I remember her having dark reddish brown well kept hair, but it was replaced by short curly greyish-white hair.

Some people say that the sense of smell is tied strongly to memory, and that is absolutely true for me. When we opened the front door I remembered the smell first. Kindof like mothballs and old-fashioned aftershave. I don't know if it was just me who remembers that smell, but I could have been walked in there blindfolded and I could have told you where I was.

At first my grandmother thought that I was my older brother Jason, but my mom clarified that I was "little Danny". Not many people call me Danny anymore, pretty much just family. Its not that I am opposed to the name, it just seemed to fall out of fashion for me. It's Dan or Daniel now (and recently have been leaning towards a preference for Daniel). She had spaghetti and meatballs for us. This happens to be Connor's favorite meal, and is still one of my favorites. The problem is my new dietary decision I've made. I decided that I will do the best I can to try and only eat local, or humanely treated animals. I'd talk more about that now but that is another post. I just ate some pasta and sauce and had an egg-salad sandwich.

My grandmother is apparently a big baseball fan, but as she watched Aurina and myself sat up until about midnight chatting with my grandmother. It was a fun experience to be able to catch up a bit. Auri and I got to sleep in a king-sized bed, while everyone else was camping outside. For those of you who sleep with another person regularly, a king-sized bed is an amazing thing. You have so much room to stretch out, that it is hard to NOT get comfortable. Needless to slay we both slept much better than we had in a while.

The next morning we had breakfast and our agenda included Letchworth State Park and later that evening a visit to the Charcoal Corral. Letchworth State Park was a gorgeous place (if you've been there, you know that I am making a pun when I say gorgeous) that had massive cliffs, thundering waterfalls, and lots of wildlife. The only downside is that is was partnered with lots of development and paving. I always feel like state parks should be limited to little tollbooth like buildings, and perhaps the occasional restroom facility. Other than that though Letchworth was an enjoyable visit, and I took a lot of pictures with my old 35mm Minolta.

The Charcoal Corral is a family-oriented establishment that seemed to have gone through some changes since the last time I remember. The last time I went.....the Lion King had just come out. The only thing I didn't like was just how much food they moved in one day/night. These sorts of places are a lot of fun, but they don't seem like they could be sustainable. They had good wholesome fun though like mini-golf, hula-hoop competitions, and a ticket arcade where you can win glow-in-the-dark vampire teeth and army men with little plastic parachutes. Their dual drive-in theater had some upgrades! They had upgraded from the little speakers you put on the door to FM transmitters so you can just tune in and have the quality sound from your car speakers. We watched Toy Story 3 and Prince of Persia. TS3 was emotional, and PoP was a pretty good adaptation from the video games.

The next day we slept in (after being up so late watching the double feature). When we finally woke up we sat around and visited a bit. Auri and I played a game of scrabble with my grandmother (and I won!!!). We were set to go to the father's day page family reunion. It apparently happens every year! It was fun to meet a bunch of people that I am apparently related to. I had an interesting conversation about eating local with my dairy-farming relative named Corey. I can't remember how we're related but we had a great conversation about food!

After leaving the reunion, we went over to the home of one of my mom's childhood friends. Gail and her husband David are really down to earth, positive, and kind people. I really hope they come to visit us here in Vermont.

We went to the grocery store, and then home to grandma's to make sandwiches. That night we did some more chatting and anticipated our ride home in the morning. Auri and I were anxious to get back because Eli (Auri's brother) was going to be leaving on a flight early Tuesday morning. It was a long drive back, but Auri read to us again so it was bearable.

I just realized I forgot two very emotional and important events.....on the way to Grandmas....we stopped at my Great Aunt Betty's house. My Great Uncle Herb had died last September, and my Great Aunt wanted me to have his trumpet....this was very thoughtful....and pulled on my heartstrings. My Great Uncle was important to my musical development.

Also...When we left, my Grandmother gave me my grandfather's mandolin. I was glad to accept these musical instruments, and I will keep them well and in the family!

Really? It's been a year?

It's hard to believe that it's been a year since I last wrote in my blog...but it has! So much has happened since then...Here is the bulleted list of what I've done.

• Started a program working towards a second bachelors degree in Network Security through the University of Advancing Technology (Online).
• Worked at a cafe as a Barista for about a year
• Wrote a bunch of instrumentals for guitar
• Went to a few different birthday parties in which the people celebrating their birthdays turned 21 years of age.
• Got my purple belt in Kempo Jiujitsu Eskrima
• I didn't blog...
• I watched my girlfriend of 5 years graduate with her Master's in Education
• I played some shows...
• Recently I applied to teach English as a second language in Korea.
• My girlfriend and I moved to live with her parents....This...is challenging...(more on that later)
• I'm currently jobless, but work odd-jobs for people to pay the bills....

That is about it in a nutshell If I think of more I will update it. I am gonna go help out with some painting downstairs now. Hope all you readers are doing well. Hopefully I can get back into this...and maybe people will read!

Homeward!

So after having a short but sweet visit with Auri's cousin Jana in Philly we set off for home....or so we thought....little did we know that as soon as we left the state of Delaware and went into New Jersey that we would enter the twilight zone of the driving world. We got lost for about two hours there....
if you can notice by this picture....95 (on the left hand side) goes north and south...but then miraculously....if you are traveling north on 95 it turns into 295 south.....not good planning methinks....though we did have a fundamental flaw...we were relying on mapquest (don't get me wrong it works most of the time but not so well this time) and did not have a map of our own. After getting directions twice...we managed to get on track. We got to Auri's Parent's house at around 8-8:30pm.

Today we got back to school and made the trip full circle. Total milage: 4,861. We are getting settled back into the apartment (as we took it apart for painting) and just gonna try to take it easy for a couple days.

more later....

Onward and northward!

We left New Orleans and made our way to Lexington, South Carolina. My Aunt Lisa lives there and I had also never met her. She was very excited to see Auri and I after our 10 hour drive. We are getting to be pros at long distance now. We spent a lot of time talking and sharing stories. I won't go into the details of the stories on here but I assure you....some were juicy family stories. We often stayed up until 2-3 in the morning just chatting. Lisa brought us to get some authentic South Carolina BBQ. That means a mustard based sauce instead of tomato based. It was delicious: Ribs, pulled pork, chicken, beef, rice and hash with a side of fries, cole slaw and a huge glass of sweet tea. I also met my cousin Stephanie, but she was a bit absentee for my visit (she is young and was out having fun as she should). It was a lot of fun to get a little taste of SC fare. They also had a Krispy Creme Factory....that....was...amazing....fresh off of the line....is the best way to eat them....anyways

Our last night in SC we headed to Beaufort, SC where my cousin Alex lives (I had never met him in person) and works. He is a Navy Sailor who will be shipping out on the USS Nimitz (the aircraft carrier)soon. He's supposed to be on the boat for 7 months but it could be extended. We don't know exactly where he'll be stationed but we think it will probably be in the waters off of the middle east. He's working on taking the steps to become an officer I believe, and he's already recieved his masters degree through the Navy.

We left SC this morning at around 6 am and it took about 12 hours to get to Philly. Auri's cousin is living/studying here and we wanted to come visit before we make our way finally back home to Vermont. After unloading our things we went for a nice walk (after being in the car for a while) to get some Ethiopian food. You get a huge communal plate with this great tasting bread that is like a sourdough crepe. and you have piles of vegtables, beans, and meats all spiced wonderfully eaten with the fingers. No forks necessary. It was delicious.

We're planning our day here in Philly for tomorrow. We're hoping to hit up the Italian Market and get some authentic Philly Cheese Steaks. I am pumped....

(pictures coming soon I left the camera cable at Aunt Lisa's :( )

A few nights in the big easy

So New Orleans was an experience....
When we first got there we took showers (seems to be the arriving ritual) and wanted to head downtown to get some food. Since we didn't know our way around we called a cab. My uncle Randy had suggested we go to Central Grocery to get a Muffaletta Sandwich, so when the cab got their i'd figure they'd know where central grocery was..but unfortunately the cabby must have been new cause he barely spoke english and he had no idea where one of the most famous places in new orleans was. He had to ask another cabby on the street. It would have helped if we had known the address but either way...it was an adventure. We got there eventually, but to our disappointment we were way too late to get any food there and almost anywhere. It was pretty late (around 10pm) and apparently a lot of places close early and bars open. We eventually found a little place called "Oceanas" It was a great little place where we got Po-boys and a platter of oysters on the half-shell (which I love by the way).
After that we made our way around trying to find the venue "The Blue Nile" to go and see a Reggae Turntablist called DJ T-Roy. The Blue Nile was a bar that...has really no rules. The Reggae "Culture" was pretty alive there. I was there to watch, listen and review the music, but it was difficult with how much smoke was in the air. We stayed for a few tunes so I could see how "Legit" T-Roy was. He totally was, but it was hard to stay there. So after I was able to get enough material for me to write a review we left and headed back to the hotel we walked about a mile and a half first because we didn't have much cash and wanted to take a cab, but we were probably too far initially.
The next morning we were set up to do some volunteer work through a connection I got from my independent study supervisor. We got there at around 9am (got a little lost on the way) and we immediately went over to a mans house that we called "Rev" (because he was a reverand). We were going to help him tidy up some land that will be property for a future home. (here are some before and after pictures...if they aren't up yet I am uploading them). This was pretty hard work but for the most part rewarding. The reason I say for the most part was because we were doing some substantial landscaping that was difficult and tiring...as well as containing a few poisonous plants of sorts because for the first time in years I have a rash that was brought on from something...
We did a lot of work for him and we went back to the hotel to clean up and go see some Cajun/Zydeco music at the famous Mulates. There was some time to spend in the city before the show so we got to go to get a Muffaletta finally from Central Grocery. We split a bunch of appitizers including such cajun fare as: Sauteed Crab claws, Zydeco Gumbo, and shrimp Ramoulade. We also shared a Zydeco Tornado and a Plantation Tea (both louisiana cocktails). The band we saw was called La Touche. We attempted to get out on the dance floor and though we had some fun, we couldn't seem to get into sync for the 3 step cajun waltz.

After all this we went back to the Hotel again to take it easy and sleep relatively early because we were planning on heading to south carolina to visit my Aunt Lisa.

New Orleans was a great experience and i'd like to go back someday.

Nawlins

We're here!!! We are going to get some Muffaletta at Central Grocery and then we are going to see some reggae at the Blue Nile. More later!

Houston

The drive seemed as if it barely happened. Auri was surprised when we were already there. We got to Houston at around 10-10:30pm and went right to where my uncle Randy Manages a Little Caesars. We drove back to his Apartment where we just kinda took it easy and passed stories (I played some songs) back and forth and I let Randy know what had been happening with the family for the past umpteen years.


The following morning we were treated to a huge breakfast of eggs, French toast, home fries, biscuits, bacon, and a glass of Orange juice. It was marvelous. Our first stop for the day was Guitar Center….I can only describe it as a Texas-sized music store. I played acoustics first, then electric guitars, followed by playing some keyboard. I could probably spend hours in that place, though I know it wasn’t as exciting for Auri so I wrapped it up. After leaving guitar center we went to pick up Gloria and Sarah. Gloria is Randy’s new wife from Argentina and Sarah is her younger sister. Sarah doesn’t speak much English, Gloria speaks a little, Uncle randy speaks Spanish pretty well and Auri and I both understand Spanish pretty well (her much better than me). It is fun to be able to listen and understand because we don’t get much opportunity to practice up in Vermont. After we picked them up we headed off for the NASA space center. This…..was…..awesome…….not only is it NASA…the place where they like talk to spaceships and whatnot…but…they have themes for their exhibits/museums….this year’s theme……STAR WARS(and the other films of George Lucas….yeah..this made my day. The fact that they had many original props from the productions from Star wars including Luke Skywalker’s Light saber, they had Bail Organa’s entire speeder as well as the cockpit of General Grievous’ Ship. They had Indiana Jones’ Harley, a car from American graffiti, and the wand from Willow. Oh yeah…did I mention there were space ships? Like….real ones? Yeah….I <3 spaceships. Randy brought us to a little mexican place called "Mexico Deli" All portions were massive and delicious. We were all stuffed by the time we had to go and pick up Gloria and Sara(they were at rehearsal). On the way home uncle randy grabbed a bottle of Argentinian Melbec (a delicious slightly acidic red wine). We just sat around and shared pictures and talked for the rest of the evening.
This morning we woke up and I decided to try and fill in some of the gaps in my blog. A huge omelet interrupted my blogging briefly, but today we are planning on going for a bike ride to burn off some of the calories we’ve been taking in. Tonight there is a bossa nova show we’re going to that I can use for one of my reviews. Should be a good time.