What was I thinking?

I made a trip to Costco this morning to replenish my supplies, including ice cream.  They sell a wonderful organic brand, packed 2 half gallons to a box, and that's what I wanted.  When I got home I found I had bought two boxes, 4 half gallons of ice cream!  I can barely fit the ice cream plus other frozen items I bought into my freezer!

Then, I bought a bag of dried apricots.   Later at home when I was putting things away after nibbling on a few items, I found the bag of apricots had the tear strip pulled off.  I honestly don't remember doing it, and I'm nearly certain the checker and/or the clerk who stacked the items in my cart would have noticed the opened bag.   Do I eat the apricots or don't I?  I've already tasted 2 or 3 of them so I suppose I might as well conclude that I opened the bag at home.

One afternoon back in New York, the young woman who sometimes picks up the kids from school when Mike and Sandy both have to work late, brought them home and took us all to see the house she and her husband are building.  It's in the village of Wappinger's Falls, and after seeing her house she asked if I'd like to see the Falls.  I didn't even think about the fact that there were Falls in Wappinger's Falls, and we ended up driving to see them plus around the whole village.  Both Denise and her husband grew up here, both sets of parents live nearby in the same houses they always had, and I loved the older style buildings that are kept in such beautiful condition.

The Falls are mere trickles now compared to what it will be like in spring or after heavy rains/snows.

 
And looking down from the other side of the bridge:

The Falls should be much different next spring, and I will try to get pictures when I go back in June.

This is Denise on the bridge:

Some other photos taken around town and the river:

Click on photos to enlarge.

I am so tired I hardly know what I'm doing, but I haven't had jet lag for years either.  I'm trying to catch up on blog reading and am making a little headway.  

TV is so frustrating!  I came back to find my set isn't working properly - I finally can get tv programs on it but haven't been able to access my recorded programs.  It will take more brain power than I can spare for another day or two.

Back home

I was scheduled to fly out of NY yesterday but the fire in Chicago has had a huge affect on airport traffic there.   They didn't have a space for my flight from White Plains and delayed it for several hours, causing me to miss my connection.  I was finally re-booked out of LaGuardia today and flew through Houston.   Mike had dropped me off and went home as he had to pick up the kids after school, so he called Sandy's father and asked him to drive over and get me.  They live about 20 minutes from the airport, and I stayed at their house overnight.  This morning at about 3:45 am her dad drove me to LaGuardia and I was on my way after not very much sleep last night.  It will take me a few days to catch up.    Joe picked me up at the Sacramento airport so we got a chance to get up-to-date on what's been happening.

I hope the airport sends the missing luggage out soon - I packed my meds in that bag to avoid any hassle at the security gate.  I skated through security this morning just as when I left Sacramento.  The pre-screened option for seniors is a great perk!

I'll be back when I am awake and rested!

 

Roller Derby!

On Sunday I attended another birthday party for Justin, this one for his school friends.  We all met at a roller rink in Hyde Park, and the kids skated along with any adults who wanted to try it.  Adults could walk along with their kids who were a bit unsteady on the skates.  About midway through the party the rink served a lunch of pizza and lemonade, and Mike & Sandy provided a beautiful birthday cake.  Then it was back out on the floor for more skating. 

I gave it a lot of thought - mostly as to what could happen to me if I fell - but I really wanted to try it.  I believe I've only skated in a rink one other time in my life, and that was back when I was in high school.  I didn't really care for it, and ice skating was my thing.

I decided "what the hell, go for it!".  I was wobbly the first time around the rink and kept pretty much to the railing around the perimeter.  The second and third times I got a little better (although by no means ready to leave the safety of the nearby railing).  I think if I had skated a few more times I would have felt more natural at it, but I figured I should act my age and stop before I caused myself any damage.   I gave myself a mental "big girl pat"though!  (Click to enlarge photos)

Thanks to Sandy's Aunt Liz for holding my hand as I got started.  It was enough to carry me through to the stage where I felt I could do it myself.  The last picture is of Josh and Justin who were complete naturals at skating.

Today (Monday) Liz and I met a friend of hers in Newburgh and had a loooong lunch at a nice restaurant on the Hudson River.  It was so pleasant and the food was the best.  I even had New York Cheesecake for dessert!  Liz dropped me back here at Mike and Sandy's, and then drove to her home in New Rochelle.  

This has been a wonderful 3 weeks for me, with a lot of totally different things to do.  I had a wonderful visit in Northern Virginia, a great excursion to NYC and the Intrepid, and then a roller skating event - something I never thought I would do.  The best part was all the interaction and fun with family.

I will be traveling tomorrow, but I hope to be blogging more regularly after a few days of rest.

More of Intrepid

First I need to correct my post that wrongly identified a cruise missile as a Harrier jump jet.  I think they were in the same area and maybe even side by side, but that's no excuse!   Thanks to my brother, Bill, for letting me know.

Rather than try to identify anything else on the ship I will just post some photos.  

Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club

Mike's dad was a medic in Korea in the early 1960's, and this is a medical chopper from the Korean War era.

Please click on a photo to enlarge.  All comments welcome, and I would especially like to hear from those of you who are personally familiar with the ship or any of the planes, helicopters, etc.  

The guided tour was definitely worth the time and cost.  We had walked around most of the ship, but having a guide explain and tell stories about it was priceless.  We also saw a film about the history of the Intrepid, ending with personal accounts of those who fought, American and Japanese.    It was a powerful experience for me.

Although it rained all day and it was difficult to take pictures on the deck, it sure kept the crowds down, which made it easier to take our time exploring everything.

Intrepid!

Yesterday we all piled in the van and drove into New York City, to the pier where the aircraft carrier Intrepid is berthed.  Although traffic was definitely lighter than normal due to the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashana, there were still a lot of cars on the road and we drove in a light but steady rain.   Mike had reserved our tickets to tour the Intrepid plus the Growler submarine.

This is taken while driving along the Hudson:  (The best photo I took on the drive along the Hudson and which showed New Jersey in the background, will not load.  It's a shame because it is a great photo!)

We arrive at the pier but the Intrepid is too long to get in one photo:

On the Growler sub:

On the deck of the aircraft carrier is a Harrier jet:

And the Concorde:

 I can see already that I have too many photos to include in one post, so I will describe and show most of the pictures taken in and on the Intrepid tomorrow.  (Click on a picture to enlarge.)

More walking

I was back on the trail this morning and covered two more miles of the 13 total, although I actually walked 4 miles today.  The first thing I'm going to do when I get back to Sacramento is visit the shoestore for athletic footwear and buy myself a good pair of walking shoes.  I should never have thought I could buy inexpensive Fila's and walk very far in them.  I think I have blisters today.

There are a few trees that are beginning to turn red, but most are just waiting for a frost .  I also got a shot of the mile marker that I will begin with the next time I'm back on the trail - possibly next June.

I got all turned around leaving the parking area as I'm not familiar with the roads in this particular area.  I wrote the directions to the parking lot I wanted, but just indicated left and right turns.  I thought about drawing a map but didn't think I'd need it.  

While walking this morning I was passed by a man on a low slung 3-wheeler, and he was using his arms to turn the big front wheel.  He went by so fast that I didn't get a chance to see if he was an amputee or otherwise unable to use his legs.  He also passed me as I was walking back to where I started, which means he went a lot further than I did.  He probably didn't whine that his arms hurt and I feel bad that I'm whining about my feet and legs hurting.  (My legs don't hurt as much today, though, so I guess the trick will be to keep up the walking regimen.) 

It looks like rain is forecast for tomorrow and we may not be able to take our planned excursion.   Tomorrow is the Jewish feast of Rosh Hashana and the schools are closed, so Sandy and Mike both planned to take  off work.   Time will tell.  I think it is supposed to be raining in Sacramento as well, and I hope my roof repair holds up.

I'm trying to catch up on the blogs I read and am doing fairly well at it although I'm not always leaving comments.  Things will get back to normal when I'm home and rested up, and get used to the 3-hour time difference.

I believe a commenter asked me a while back what kind of camera I use.  It's a little Canon Powershot A-1400.  I can't say I'm crazy about it, but it's easy to carry around.  If I could find a place to buy film that I know is fresh I think I would go back to using my film cameras more often.  The only thing I like about digital is quick access to the photos.  I have never used the video or the delete photo options with this camera, yet they take up two spaces on the camera housing that  could either be used for something else or just left blank.  Does every bit of it have to be filled with some option?   And because most cameras don't come with an instruction booklet but rather you must access a 350+ page online booklet, I don't know what all the options are and probably won't ever find out.  Oh well, I know I'm greatly outnumbered where this issue is concerned.

I don't know whether to take a quick nap or find something else to do, but the nap sounds appealing!