October 2008 NYC and Cruise

I arrived at JFK on October 1 and took a shuttle to our hotel, which was the Club Quarters on 45th between 5th and 6th. It is in a renovated historical landmark and our room was cute, with an old fireplace, a tiny immaculate bath and twin beds for Margaret and myself. Mom's room was larger and had a minifridge and a queen bed and sitting area. This is truly a business person's hotel, with no bellmen, no concierge a miniscule lobby, and a breakfast room on the back of the first floor. We hefted our own luggage and called our own taxis. The price was right though, about $250 for New York, and the location was super. The first night we ate at the Mermaid something in the east village and then toured Megan's apartment which she shares with two other girls.

On Thursday we took a 3 hour walking tour of the Village and Soho, with tastings from about a dozen restaurants and descriptions of many more historic and interesting sites. We followed that by an early dinner at Tavern on the Green, and then walked to Lincoln Center for South Pacific. The production was stunning and the two stars couldn't have been better. If either of you has a chance to go see it, do.

Friday Megan met us at the hotel and we walked to Grand Central Station and explored the market then took the subway to Canal Street (a bust) and went back to Chelsea Market, in the old Nabisco plant. We experienced our first New York cabbie moment when several of them refused to take us back to midtown during rush hour, because they knew they would get stuck in traffic. That night we walked to Orso, Margaret's favorite restaurant on Restaurant Row with Joel and Megan, joined by Kathy Williamson and daughter Brooke, who is dating Casey long distance from Bismark. We had last seen Kathy in Sea Island, as she is a neighbor of Margarets (which is how Casey and Brooke met, at a 4th of July party at Margarets). So we had a lively table of 7 in the middle of the rather small restaurant. We saw the creator of SNL and Rosie O'Donnell. I wonder if Rosie wondered why we were laughing so much!

Saturday we took a top of the bus tour of Manhatten, booking it in Times Square. Lots of people watching and looking up at buildings. We left the tour in Central Park and went to a restaurant near Megans office at Random House for lunch, around 2 or 3 pm. We decided to walk back to the hotel down 5th avenue, stopping at the Plaza to gawk at the lobby, and on various corners to buy $5 "pashminas". When we got to Saks Margaret wanted to shop with Megan for shoes and Mom and I, knowing how long that could take, excused ourselves. We walked home down Diamond Row. Margaret and Megan shopped very productively, buying warm clothes. The car we had preordered through the desk arrived at 8:15 and was not the 5 person vehicle we had requested, which caused a small panic. Ultimately Megan and Joel took a separate taxi, which was probably better anyway, as the River Cafe is on a barge under the Brooklyn Bridge, in Brooklyn, much closer to them than to our hotel. The dinner was fabulous, the view even more so. Mom had a chocolate dessert in the shape of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Sunday we left for the ship around 11 and arrived in Brooklyn with our 6 pieces of luggage and 3 carryons, only to wait until 1 to board. Unknown to us the ship, the Caribbean Princess, had lost power approaching NYC and had to be towed to its berth. I am glad we didn't know it as we would have worried the whole week. And on a later cruise in October the whole ship came down with the Noro virus and extreme disinfection procedures had to be followed, and some shows were canceled. Fortunately we had no problems, and we also had good weather.

Mom and I had a veranda cabin next door to Margaret, who also had a veranda. The steward unlocked a door between the two verandas, so we walked back and forth between the cabins that way. We had a huge closet, a bath with tub, two tv's and a sitting area. Very nice.

We were in a group of 40 people from north Texas, some of whom Mom know and some she didn't. The group had an area of the dining room and ate at tables for 8, the first sitting, which turned out to be at 5:45, too early for us. But it did allow us to see a show, go to the piano bar, and then to the casino, all after dinner.We seldom got to bed before 1 am but it was all in the interest of fun. And I ordered room service coffee, juice, and rolls each morning and only made it to breakfast a couple of times.

The first day of the cruise was "at sea" and we did several things--I went to a lecture on the ship explosion of 1917 in Halifax, when a munitions ship blew up in the harbor, killing 6000 people. The second day we arrived in Halifax at 8 am and I had booked a private tour for 9 am to Peggy's Cove, a fishing village. Our driver, David Marriott, was a third generation Halifax native, and a nephew of a Titanic victim. He drove us in a large loop for over 4 hours, stopping in the fishing village, and taking us to the gravesite for the Titanic passengers. He was interesting and we saw far more than we would have in a bus. The fall color was spectacular.

The second day we arrived at St. John, Brunswick, Canada. This small town is chiefly famous for harboring Loyalists after the American Revolution, including Benedict Arnold. We took a horse drawn trolley tour with a local guide, and then visited the farmers/crafts market. It was a warm sunny day and we ate lobsters out on the waterfront.

Arriving in Bar Harbor to a foggy morning, we took ourselves to a local breakfast place and had blueberry pancakes. Afterwards we shopped until time for our catamaran tour of lighthouses and Acadia National Park. Mom decided the sea was too rough for her and went back to our ship, but Margaret and I enjoyed seeing lighthouses and lifesaving houses that we could not have seen any other way. Yes, the boat rocked, and the spray kept us all indoors except when the boat stopped for photos. Afterwards the fog had burned off, so we took a trolley trip to the top of Cadillac Mountain.

Boston was the largest city on our cruise, and gettng around in traffic on our bus tour was not easy. We caught glimpses of famous landmarks such as the Old North Church, but didn't stop except in Copley Square. A highlight was lunch with Ginny Hamilton at a restaurant adjacent to the Marriott Long Wharf and Quincy Market. I am so glad that we took a cab back to the ship, because others waited in line for an hour to catch the ship's bus. All in all I felt like we maxed out our time in Boston--as we pulled out promptly at 3:30 pm! Of course, catching the view on leaving port was interesting--I had no idea there were so many islands around Boston.

Our last stop was Newport. I had been there 40 years ago to the Newport Folk Festival to see Arlo Guthrie, the Everly Brothers, and Joan Baez. This was way different. We had signed up to see two of the Vanderbilt houses, the Breakers, and Marble House. Both were spectacular, and we were fortunate to get to both of them early in the day before the hordes of tourists. Of course our busload was a horde also. Afterwards we walked along the harbor to a wharf and ate a late lunch at The Black Pearl, outside in the sunshine.

We were not at all hungry when we returned to the ship, so we skipped the formal dinner in the dining room. We went up to the pool deck for really good pizza around 8 pm instead. That night we had to have our suitcases outside the door before bedtime. The next morning we entered New York and docked in Brooklyn as the sun was rising, a great trip and a good time.

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Hess Times 2008

Hess Times 2008
Yes, we did go to the White House. Not because of fame or fortune, but because of an accident of place-- where Joe went to high school. Our new President reminds us that the White House is the People’s House. It certainly was on March 29, 2008. Read on.
Mary, David and Drew: Mary was offered her dream job, working as a patent attorney in biotech for a San Diego branch of an intellectual property firm, BSKB, based in Washington D.C. She is one of four attorneys in the office, and loves the work. The partners mentor her and she is achieving a good work/life balance, with Dave’s support. Dave continues to work as an engineer for Kyocera, with a little golf on the side. She carried on the family tradition by serving as an organizer of the American Cancer Society’s first fundraising gala in San Diego. Virginia was present when Drew “graduated“from preschool. A bright and inquisitive 5 year old, he is thriving in a magnet kindergarten.
Jon, aka Jon Drew: Jon worked long hours for the senior downsizing firm, enjoying hearing life stories from the customers and helping them make decisions about their future . Friends lured him to work for a catering firm in Portland, OR, and time will tell whether this is a permanent move. This is a good time for Jon to explore different jobs and places, while continuing to write. He had some excellent adventures playing in charity golf tournaments, visiting his sister in San Diego, going to the Burning Man arts festival in the desert, and participating in a friend’s wedding in Salvador, Brazil.
Joe: Any year when Joe can ride his bike to work is a good one. He enjoyed spring training in Arizona and fall football at Stanford. He also played golf with Jon, Mary and Dave. He traveled to Bangalore and Dubai in February, but that was the extent of his international travel. In fact, he spent almost 40 days on personal travel, a near record. He had two reunions, the most spectacular of which was his Midland, Texas High School reunion at the White House. Laura Bush, a classmate, hosted the event. She invited everyone to tour the historic rooms of the White House on a Friday afternoon, followed by the President’s arrival on the East Lawn via helicopter. A formal dinner was held on Saturday.
Virginia: In May she finished a three year term on the board of Rice’s Alumni Association, but returned to campus for a big reunion in November. She conducted an online survey of the women in her class, on how well they combined family/relationships and careers. Results are still pending, but it can be said that a large majority were satisfied or very satisfied with how they managed both. She still enjoys her book group, plays bridge, and volunteers her time.
Virginia spent five months overseeing the remodeling of two bathrooms, an unexpectedly pleasant task. Look for more remodeling projects in 2009. She was very happy to have Joe in town during the project, and to be able to plan ahead a bit more than in recent years.
She was absolutely star struck by the White House—eating dinner in the Blue Room, seeing the presidential portraits, hearing the Marine Band—it was unbelievable. Afterwards she spent several days in Maryland with friends, going to the Cherry Blossom Festival. This year the beach experience was at her sister’s house in Sea Island, GA, although Thanksgiving on Shelter Island in San Diego Bay was lovely. In October she joined her mother and sister in New York City for a few days before the three of them embarked on a cruise to Halifax, Nova Scotia, with stops in Newport, Boston, Bar Harbor, and St. John, Brunswick. New York was fascinating, whether from the top of a double decker tour bus, on a culinary walking tour of Greenwich Village, or at Lincoln Center for “South Pacific”. Her niece Megan lives in NYC and was a great guide.
And what’s next? Christmas in Portland, Rice playing in a bowl game, enjoying our family and friends. Seeing the younger generation marry and have children and establish themselves. Planning a big trip to celebrate last year’s anniversary. Our beloved 13 year old “wheaten terrier” Homer has signed up for another year. Think he knows something? We welcome the changes that are promised for 2009, and have hopes of giving back to the community in ways that we haven’t envisioned since our 20’s. And as our holiday card shows, we hope to be able to maintain lifelong friendships no matter what experiences the years have brought—sharing them makes us all the richer, and certainly provides some tales to tell.