Date? with no kids?

Stan and I took some time during our recent road trip for an overnight date - 36 hours without any children! We toured Stan's old school, ate like college students and then glammed up for a night out. Here's a little photo tour of some of the highlights.

We headed for town after breakfast and went immediately to lunch. Cheese steaks at one of Stan's old haunts. Cheese steaks are not on the diet but they were immensely tasty and well worth the momentary guilt. The guilt was quickly drowned out by Stan anyway, as he told me stories of his college life.

Next on the list was an official college tour - the kind the admissions office puts together for perspective freshmen. I'm happy to report that I was NOT mistaken for a high schooler.

It was 100˚ that day and we walked 'round campus for 90 minutes that afternoon. We left puddles in our wake. We both enjoyed the time on campus but we were grateful to head off to the hotel and wash away the hobo looks we had acquired.

There are no pictures of us dressed up. I forgot to pack a purse to match and the camera didn't fit in Stan's pocket. Quite a shame, really, because we don't manage to look that nice very often. We ate at an unassuming little place called Terra Terrior, which I found from the most recent Wine Spectator Grand Award winners. The food was excellent - chipotle shrimp & grits, grilled halibut in shallot sauce, and a creamy, frothy, meringue-y key lime pie.

We headed back to the hotel and this ...

was the view out our room window. During the day the view showed the beautiful hotel gardens but there's still enough city gal left in me that this is the picture that felt luxurious.

The next morning we walked over to a nearby Corner Bakery and had scrumptious eggs, coffee and toast. I've been to a few shops from this chain and never considered it much to sing about but this one could be the poster-shop for the brand. The staff was wonderful, called us darlin' and the like - and we even got hugs to go with our breakfast. How often do you get hugs from the staff when you're out for breakfast? And how did this wonderful woman (who's name I didn't catch) manage to make it a blessing rather than creepy?

We spent the rest of the morning at the pool. I am happy when submerged in water.

From there we drove about town looking at all sorts of other locations that Stan had known in his college years. Since I didn't know him then it was fun to see something concrete to go with the stories, and to get a glimpse into that time in his life. By walking in Stan's footsteps I can somehow be a part of those years, even from a distance of many years. I'm looking forward to our next nostalgic road trip.

This is not my father's roadtrip

When I was young we often went on long road trips to visit family. We'd pile into the car at 4 a.m., eat a Hardee's breakfast somewhere down the road, try and find someplace serving lunch at 10 in the morning. Other than food, we only stopped for absolute potty emergencies. There were no electronics save the radio and tape player. We played oodles and oodles of car games. We'd drive late into the night and finally stop to find beds long after my brother and I had fallen asleep in the car. We'd be up and out at 4 the next morning and so it goes again. They were rough trips but I remember them as full of family fun.

Last week we went down South to pick up Monkey & Peanut. We traveled down, dropped off Puddin', went to the big city for a 36 hour date, back to the in-laws, and then packed up all the kids and headed off to camp. We had to get Monkey & Peanut to West Virginia at a certain time on Sunday afternoon so the best way to manage this was to stay overnight halfway through and then continue the next day. I told Stan my standard was no cockroaches. He found a lovely spot with rustic charm and a French-inspired bistro on the first floor. For breakfast I had a feta and carmelized onion souffle with fresh fruit and drinkable (tasty, even) coffee. Sitting outside, listening to the waterfall, drinking my coffee, I could barely hear the sounds of the bickering children. What a blissful and civilized way to start a day of traveling.

(For the record, the sippy cup was not mine.)

Happy Birthday Stan!

 

I made a cake today (from scratch, which is rare) and Puddin' asked "oh, why?" She's a unique toddler but we still can't escaped that question. I told her it was for her dad's birthday. "oh, why?" Today is his birthday. "oh, why?" Today is the day we celebrate that he was born. And from that point on, Puddin' and all her toys did everything as a celebration that Daddy was born. They ate (pretend) yogurt to celebrate that Daddy was born. They rolled on the floor to celebrate that Daddy was born. They served cookies to celebrate that Daddy was born. They climbed the stool to celebrate that her Daddy was born. The girl was beyond herself with glee that her Daddy was born. So am I.

[The picture is from a date we recently had down South, as part of the Great Roadtrip of '10.]

Being Maria

Here are 5 of the 6 grand kids on Stan's side of the family. [#6 was just out of the frame, with a plastic cake plate cover on his head.] In this picture, they are standing on the fireplace hearth, which acts as a stage more often than serving it's intended purpose

The biggest three were performing songs from The Sound of Music, which they had almost completely memorized over the course of 3 days. Kids 4 and 5 just wanted to be part of the action, but made welcome additions to the Von Trapp reenactment, even though they didn't know the songs.

Most of the adults [also numbering 6. We like to keep our teams even.] sat on the couch and half listened but for me, this was far too delightful to just watch. You see, as a child I too was obsessed with The Sound of Music. I loved watching the movie and singing the songs. I never had a gaggle of kids to reenact it with me, though. Right before my eyes my kids, along with niece and nephew, were living out a childhood fantasy.

I sang the words (quietly) from the back of the room and watch their motions with hushed pride. Monkey had been paying very careful attention to the moves and tried diligently to coach the others. The beautiful young voices - which are often strained into awful mimicry of pop artists - followed the lilting melodies perfectly, matching pitch and tone. Without even thinking, I took to singing the part of Maria. Occasionally, one of the kids looked at me and I gave the gentle nod of encouragement, just like Maria would have done.

Monkey beckoned me to the stage with her hands and it occurred to me - I'm Maria. I'm the step mom; I'm the one that helps them with their music lessons; I'm the one who sings and dances with them. It was a stunning moment, and for one brief instance I could imagine our brood dressed in folksy travel gear, climbing the mountainside, singing in perfect 5-part harmony.

I didn't end up going on stage with them. It was the kids' show and I didn't want to steal their glory. But I hope that we will have more opportunities soon to play and sing like that as a family.