Day 1216: Towhees

We tallied 84 miles in April and are certain of accumulating more miles in May.  We wanted to walk farther, but there was no time.  Today was full time backpacking and that will continue till 6:00 pm on Saturday.  Lots of personnel changes happened again today and I expect a few more tomorrow.

Four calls came in from parents.  The strangest was from the mom of a veteran and rookie.  She called to let me know that a student leader told the kids they could bring snacks as long as they put them in the cook bag to hang at night.  She knew that couldn't be right and of course, it's not.  The kids have been told that repeatedly and it's on their instrcution sheet.  Tomorrow, we'll have to collect any food and store it in the car.  It's so surprising to me.  You'd think that after 26 years, no new antics would happen, but they do.

A pair of towhees has been visiting our bird feeder.  It's a beautiful new bird for our life list.  

Day 1215: First mowing

An early morning call from a parent woke us.  She wanted to talk about fitting her daughter's sleeping bag into her backpack.  Certainly, a very important topic.  But at 8 am?  I know we're weird cause we stay up half the night and like to sleep till 8:30, but apparently in backpacking season, that's out of the question.

A boy called last night because he wants to skip class on Thursday and the hike on Friday for golf matches.  I gave him a couple options and he was supposed to call tonight to let us know his decision.  He didn't call.  We keep reminding the kids that going on Quest with their classmates is a once in a lifetime experience, but they are often conflicted.  I know he was under pressure from the coach and that's awfully hard to resist.  I wish coaches in general would recognize the importance of this activity.

Two weeks from today, we depart for our four day hike. Three weeks from today, it will all be over for another year.  And that's ok.

The front garden is all cleaned up and the grass mowed for the first time this season.

Day 1214: Birthday

How on earth did I get this old so fast?  66 years, 44 of them with Steve.  I don't feel that old, but it's a fact I can't deny or escape.  Nor do I wish to.  I'm grateful for my good health and vigor, for loving friends and family, for my beautiful home and yard.  And at the same time, I am greatly disturbed by the horrible injustices in  this country and elsewhere and by the terrible suffering of people around the world.  And so I am conflicted on my birthday, as I am on many days.

Our lives are incredibly privileged, safe, secure and comfortable.   We try so very hard to make our little corner of the world a better place, but it's simply not enough when so many others are oppressed, impoverished, unemployed, suffering and brutalized.  I know much of our good fortune is due to the accident of our birth here in this safe little town to parents of moderate means and strong work ethics.  Their weaknesses and failings taught me as much as their examples.  How very blessed I've been.

My day was lovely, filled with sweet conversations with my sons, sisters and dear friends.  Beautiful bouquets arrived midday from all three sons and calls followed soon after.  My dear friend Laraine came by at lunch with a bundle of gifts.  We walked 3.6 miles, I got to work in the garden for a while, and then we had ice cream with Amy and Mary.  We laughed and laughed for two hours.  You would have thought we were in a bar rather than an ice cream shop.

So, to all my readers, thank you for being part of my life.  Love to you all.

Birthday bouquet from Evan

Birthday bouquet from Colin and April

Birthday bouquet from Justin and Kaoru

Paddy checking out the flowers! 

Day 1213: All packed up

Eight kids showed up for the work party and did a terrific job packing up the gear and food for the two day hike.  Chattering excitedly, they tucked pots, banana chips, raisins and pliers into their cook bags.  One girl, who was bubbling over,  said she has never slept out in the woods before.  Her main experience was sleeping on a trampoline outside with four other girls.

We hit seventy five miles today after a short walk in the rain this afternoon.  Willow leaves, forsythia, greening grass, rosy spirea, fragrant wild onions everywhere, and mud.  Everywhere mud.  In fact, Paddy likes it so much, he spent the night sleeping under the shed in mud and tracked it inside, not only on his feet, but also on his belly.

Six pots of pansies

Lilies and lupine are up, but the azaleas are a mess.  The deer have eaten all blossoms on the top and winter damage has ruined the lowered branches. 

Day 1212: Recovery day

It's unusual for us to be asleep by 10:30, but yesterday was exhausting and exhilarating.  The first hike was darn near perfect.  Cool, but sunny, the day was crisp and clear.  There was very little drama, a bunch of manageable equipment issues, two absences, lots of laughter, no injuries, and many new friendships.

I was delighted to see our Silver Creek girls happily visiting with the rest of the hike group during lunch.  One of our boys suggested an "ice breaker."  "What's that?" another guy asked.  "Something to help us get to know each other."  Impressive.  The conversation started with favorite colors, then favorite candy and then worst school lunch.  One after the other, they shared a progression of gross stories and groans.  It didn't take long for them to become friends.

For some unknown reason, the boy from Brocton did not show up.  I haven't discovered why yet, but it was disappointing.  He had completed all the classes and acquired his gear.  I hope he's ok.  The Brocton girl seemed to do fine.  Two of the Brocton student leaders are in her group, but otherwise, she doesn't know anyone.  It's a difficult position to be in.

Equipment was the main problem.  Only twelve kids had all required items.  We had to provide substitute backpacks for several kids.  Fourteen  kids did not have their bleach bottles, four were missing rain gear.  Many were missing socks, mittens, hats, cups and one sorry soul forgot her whistle. She had to do ten push ups as a penalty.  Tents were another sad story.  One group had no poles, another had no stakes.  One boy brought a giant rainfly that didn't match the tent.

I called the mayor to let him know that the lavatories were not open as promised.  He was furious.  The public works manager deliberately defied him.  For me, the negative environmental consequences of having dozens of people peeing in the woods when perfectly good bathrooms are nearby was the worst part.  Mark said if an employee did that to him, he would fire him immediately.

It turns out that each leg of the trip is three miles.  Add on all the trips around the park and lunch site, and we tallied over seven miles.  Today, we walked another 4.5 so our grand total thus far this month is 73.4 miles.  Hooray!

A Penelope reunion.  

Day 1211: April 25 One day hike

Bright blue sky

Mark's group's pyramid

Quest crew 2015

Student leader pyramid

Day 1210: Four calls

This morning we made a bet.  How many calls from parents will we get?  Four, we predicted.  And four it was.  All legitimate and sensible questions and lovely, polite people.  So, we're grateful for that cause it's not always the case.

Tonight was Kyle's senior recital.  He chose to stay at Fredonia State and study percussion when he could have gone anywhere.  The first selection was Broken Branch Rag, an ensemble piece where Kyle played xylophone and two others played vibraphone and glockenspiel.  It was an interesting combination of instruments and they played them in unconventional ways.  At one point, a performer was using a violin bow to scrape the edge of a cymbal.

Then there were a couple snare drum numbers and two more on marimba.  He finished up with an unusual, but very traditional choice.  Moon River, his own arrangement, of course, but delightful.    The whole show was outstanding!

James is in charge of opening the parks, so Steve texted him about making sure the lavatories were open tomorrow.  After he went to check them out, he reported that the water is not turned on after all. So, the crew defied the mayor.  He asked them to turn on the water, they said ok, and then ignored him.  So that means tomorrow over a hundred people will be peeing in the park woods when perfectly good toilets sit unused nearby.  So harmful for the environment and so very inconsiderate to our backpackers, the neighbors and the entire community.

I understand the concern about consuming animal products, I really do.  But, why aren't we more concerned about eating sodium aluminum phosphate or mono calcium phosphate?  Anyway, we did find a brand of pancake mix without eggs and milk.  Finding products for the vegans has actually been less trouble than the gluten free diet.  

Tonight, to relax, we're watching The Best of Saturday Night Live.  I think my favorite male cast member is Will Ferrell.  My favorite female is harder to pin down...Maya Rudolph, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Molly Shannon.  Course, the early performers were great too.  The whole point is to keep our minds off tomorrow's hike.

We're over sixty miles for the month.  Winter coats, gloves and a scarf were necessary on our walk today because of the terrible cold and wind.    Please let us have warmth again!

Day 1209: Getting excited!

It was full time backpacking today.  Round up my clothing and gear, sort toiletries, pack, consult with the school nurse and assistant principal, replenish med kits, load supplies in the car, rent backpacks, advise student on ineligibility list to do his blue card, make copies, adjust hike groups for new absences, sort t-shirts into cook group units.

Class was all about instructions for Saturday.  Student leaders covered them first, then we hit the main points again.  Then half the kids left the sheet behind when they left.  We ran into a mom as we were leaving.  She was reading one of the extra sheets I left in the office.  Her son had told her he didn't need his pack or his tent on Saturday.  And, he didn't take the sheet.  It will be a very interesting shake down.

We're all getting excited to finally start hiking!  

We must face another day of miserable cold and snow and then it will warm a bit.

The forecast for Saturday is 50 and sunny.  Not too bad.  At least it will be dry and we shouldn't have to worry about hypothermia.

My favorite tidbit to share with the kids:

Backpacking is better when it's cold!  Then your pack is lighter cause you're wearing all your clothes instead of carrying them!

Day 1208: Snow, really?

Flakes flying, not settling here yet, but they did in the hills.   It's just plain depressing and explains why I spent an hour shopping for vacations in the Dominican Republic and Panama.  During our walk, we stopped at the firehall and visited with one of the firemen who just visited Panama.  It's high on our list because my great grandfather worked on the canal and we are fascinated by the both the engineering marvel and the region.

Each day there are more bugs to fix for Quest.  Today, we discovered that a boy has been attending classes even though he is on the ineligibility list and has not done his blue card.  Who knows what the principal will do.  Sometimes they let it slide and sometimes they enforce the rules stringently.  Each issue has a domino effect ... on his tent partner, cook and hike groups.  We also found out for certain that we've lost our DEC officer/naturalist for the year.  That's a huge loss, because Kevin has had a huge impact on many students, especially ones interested in making their careers in law enforcement and forestry.  I just always feel safer having him with us.

Green= adults, pink=student leaders, yellow=student groups, blue=hike group leaders, orange=tallies

Finally, all the groups have been constituted and I was able to clean up the dining room table in time to sort the t-shirts for Saturday.  

Day 1207: Quest 2015 Leader Meeting

We finished arranging the hike groups at noon and I typed them up.  At 2:00, Steve went up to school to make copies and I went to Brocton for class.  By 5:00, we already had four changes to the newly typed roster.  We try so hard to maintain continuity for the kids, but the coming and going of hikers is really disrupting the flow and integrity of the program.  The illusion of a wilderness experience has been further disrupted.

The leader's meeting is always fun because old friends are reunited for a new adventure.  It's so wonderful to see everyone.  Fortunately, there weren't many changes from previous years, but we have several new rookies who needed to be oriented to our procedures.  A couple student leaders came late and a few more were not present.  They have so many competing obligations.

I bought my first flat of flowers today: pansies, because I love their little faces and intense colors.   After the SNOW, maybe Sunday, I'll plant them in colorful pots for the front of the house.

Day 1206: All the Light We Cannot See

We've read many memorable books over the years, and All the Light We Cannot See, will stay with me for a long time.  Mary showed a short video of the author speaking about how he came up with characters and storylines.  First, he knew he wanted to write a story about the power of a voice coming across the airwaves. The invention of radios was a transformational moment in time.  It's something we take for granted now, but in the early twentieth century, it was a powerful instrument.

Werner and Jutta, the main characters, are enthralled by radios, and the messages, music and stories they hear.  Radio connects them to the wider world.    In an interesting connection, while in the army Colin was a radioman and so was Kate's husband, Billy.  Every one of us had a relative who served in WWII and was changed forever by their experiences.

Next, he created a character who was trapped, both literally and figuratively.  Werner.  A young orphaned German boy, gifted in electronics and mathematics, who seeks an escape from working in the mines.  Then, on a book tour, he happened to visit Saint Malo and learned that it was nearly destroyed by American bombing in late 1944.  He knew this would be the setting for his story.  I won't reveal any more, you'll want to discover the rest.

Quest supplies

We spent a few hours organizing food, medical supplies, maps, pots and pans for the hike on Saturday.  A cold front moved through late this afternoon and brought heavy rain, high wind and lightning.  Later this week, we may have snow!  For Saturday, the prediction is for 45 degrees and cloudy.  We'll be ok if it doesn't rain.  I always tell the kids, if you are wearing all your clothes, your pack will be lighter!

Ominous clouds over Walmart this afternoon.

Day 1205: Small Press Book Fair

We drove to Buffalo this morning so I could attend the Small Press Book Fair at the Karpeles Library.    After all, I'm on the hunt for a publisher.  One day very soon, a hundred backpackers will march triumphantly into Russell Joy Park and Quest will be over for another year.  Then,  I will return to work on my book....about Quest.  This little interlude of not writing has actually been productive because I've been brewing about the months of revisions and what still must be done.

There were just two publishers on hand that accepted non-fiction, but I picked up flyers, calling cards and contests for my poet friends in Penelope.  One publisher is the No-Frills company that my friend Debbie used last year for her novel.  The more promising option was Buffalo Heritage Press.  I spoke for a long time with the publisher.  She purchased the press eight years ago from Canisius College when they decided to close it down.  She publishes a wide variety of books that focus mostly on the Buffalo region or are written by Buffalo based authors.

At the beginning when I described the project, she said it sounded more like an article than a book.  Really? It's three hundred pages!  I decided to listen, learn and not be insulted.  By the end of our conversation, she said she would be interested in working with me.   There's so much to learn and consider that it's a bit frightening.

I spoke with a retired teacher who has published several books using Create Space which is a division of Amazon.  She had nothing but praise for their services and she had sold 1100 of her children's book already.  Plus, she was approached by a regular publisher about picking up her new non-fiction book.  That's something to think about too.

Afterward, we had lunch at our favorite, Sun Restaurant.  It was disappointing, though, cause the hostess sat us next to a huge family group and we couldn't hear each other.  The black rice mango rolls, however, made it all worthwhile.

Day 1204: Season's first sunburn

We took a 5.3 mile walk on a lovely afternoon full of sunshine, birdsong and budding trees. Down Chestnut St, around Ring Rd, through Fenton Hall for the lavatory,  along Forbes to Lambert where we met Shane.  We could talk with him forever.  He's so full of enthusiasm for life, adventures and learning.  I put him in our hike group so we can visit and laugh for all fifty miles.   Then we turned east on Newton, rounded over to Main St where motorcylists revved their engines and blasted country music in front of Heenan's.  I suspect they saw me put my hands over my ears, because the noise increased as the engines roared in unison.  Up West Hill, through Wheelock school and north on Chestnut to home.

I spent the afternoon hours alternating between raking and hauling tons of muddy leaves out the to compost pile and reading my book, All the Light We Cannot See.  I had to force myself to put the book down and pick up the rake.  The story is set during WWII in St. Malo.  The two main characters are a young blind French girl and an orphaned German boy who becomes a soldier.  Their stories so compelling!

Molly and Paddy sat by my feet while I read on the back deck.  Six hours outside yielded fried forearms and great contentment.

Day 1203: Greening

Yard work, a four mile walk, cleaning, laundry, shopping = tired! 

The willows in our woods

Happy daffy

Day 1202: Seventy degrees!

So, I have something new to add to the book!  Two vegans.  A mom called tonight and said that a month ago her daughter and a friend decided to become vegans.  Hadn't they told us already?  Of course not.  Neither child had the courtesy to mention it, even though we cooked meals and packed dried food all week.

I ran the cook class without Steve and did just fine.  I don't do things exactly as he does, but we get the job done.    The only flub was forgetting to actually strike the match.  We all had a good laugh!  Kathy helped out by teaching about stove fueling.  It was an opportunity for her to meet some of the kids ahead of the first hike next week.  My girls Clare and Haley were back again for their fourth day.  So grateful for their help and leadership.  Since the freshmen student leaders did not get the whole Quest experience last year, this class on cheesy potatoes was a good refresher.

Three more miles focusing on hills were added to the tally today, plus an hour of raking and hauling leaves and debris out of the back gardens.  Seventy degrees twice in a week brought out the daffodils and the lilac buds are ready to burst.  There won't be any leaf coverage for potty time during the one day hike, but we might have some for the two day.

Day 1201: Pineapple and lemonade

We added four more miles today, but no big hills.  I know when we hit the Seymour St. hill on May 1 we are going to be breathless and miserable.  Over the next two weeks, we have to build up our endurance.  If we were serious, we'd carry a pack, but that probably won't happen.

Packing drink mixes!

Packaging dried pineapple chunks

Packing pink lemonade

The kids were amazing today.  Cooperative, fun and efficient, I thoroughly enjoyed their company.  Several of the girls returned for another class cause they had so much fun yesterday.  I divided the items into nine stations and assigned people to each one.  That made everything go very smoothly and the kids broke out of their little cliques.

Tomorrow is my turn to do the stove operation lesson.  I've listened to Steve a million times and I've operated the stove for over twenty years.  Nevertheless, it makes me nervous cause so many things could go wrong and I could look like a dope.

Day 1200: M&Ms and raisins

Another great cook class full of laughter and team work!  

Here, several students pack up M&Ms for the two day hike.

We added four miles today so our April tally is 31.8 miles.

Spring signs are becoming more common.  Buds bulging, peepers peeping, daffodils smiling, birds flitting.  I'm longing for forsythia and tulips, tiny leaves bursting to turn the landscape green again. 

Day 1199: Cooking Mac and cheese

80 degrees! Wow! What a fabulous day!  Long walk, raking, trimming, cook class, Class of 67 dinner, thunderstorm.

Slicing cheese

Lighting the stove

Pumping the stove

Packing banana chips

Straining pasta

Not a single noodle was spilled, but one girl burned her finger on the hot water. 

Day 1198: Spring raking

The simple act of raking can bring such joy!  Sunshine, 65 degrees, a gentle breeze.  The backyard is a swamp, but the front was perfect for raking the detritus of winter.  I scooped armloads of dried leaves, nuts, twigs, and pine needles into the wheelbarrow and Steve donned his hip boots to deliver it to the compost pile in the woods.  I was just happy to enjoy this lovely spring day.

The day was perfect for a long walk through campus.  We thought we might see a few brave sun worshippers, but instead we spotted folks trying out their skateboards.  We'd only been back a few minutes when Steve was called out for the CAST team (Chautauqua Area Search Team).  Five fishermen were lost in the Ripley Gorge.  Unbelievably, they were lost in the same spot where the drill was this past September so the team was familiar with the terrain. Then, once they were recovered, two of the searchers became disoriented and got lost.  Finally, everyone returned to base, got checked out and dismissed.  It took over three hours, but it had a good outcome.  Fortunately, the men called for help while it was still light.

The computer data continues to download.  I was so excited to get going that I forgot completely about using the external hard drive and just jumped into downloading from the time capsule.  Evan warned me it could take forever to move all the photo files and he was right.  When it first started, the projection was for 758 hours!  It quickly dropped down to twelve and then ten and then jumped back to twenty-two.  Finally, it settled in at about ten.  There are five hours left now.  I just hope I didn't screw anything up.

Day 1197: Nothing is ever simple

Oh, it's easy to transfer data from the time capsule to a new computer.  Sure, it is.  I wanted so much to complete this task on my own, but no luck.  I went online and found that it's best to make a backup for the time capsule on an external hard drive and then download that to the new computer.  The drive  has stopped humming, so it's probably finished, but there's no way to know for sure.  Tomorrow, my tech specialist son will walk me through the rest.  AppleCare will be the next step.  Perhaps by tomorrow night, my fingers will be flying across the new keyboard.

We went to see the film McFarland at the Opera House and thoroughly enjoyed it.  It's the story of a cross country team that won the California state championship in their first season.  Made up of Mexican American boys who picked fruits and vegetables before and after school, they had incredible courage, stamina and fortitude.  The coach and his family were misfits initially, but grew to love the community.  Over fourteen years, their team won nine state championships.  The story started out a little slow, but with the addition of a comical chicken and inspirational performances, by the end, I was laughing and crying at the same time.

The lilies are popping!  

Day 1196: Wild wind

Just yesterday, Steve pumped water from the top of the pool for hours.   Then today, winds up to 50 mph whipped through the region and created havoc.  Lacking weight, the winter cover billowed and blew up like a mushroom.  The days have been so dreary and depressing.  I crave sunshine, warmth and hours of swimming in my pool.  With luck, we should be able to open it in about six weeks!  This summer, I am definitely going to hit 100 miles!  Last summer, my only intention was  to exceed the previous summer's tally of 63 miles.  It wasn't till I hit 50 miles on July 31, that it even seemed possible.  If I reach fifty miles by July 26, it should be possible.

All across the midsection of the country, violent tornadoes devastated communities, turning homes into piles of rubble.  Here, the winds took out a few traffic lights and power lines.  Minor damage compared to Illinois.

Tomorrow, I'm off to the Apple Store to buy a new laptop!  I'm excited about having a computer with greater capacity, memory, speed and features, but I'm afraid of the transition.  I've done it before and it's confusing and frustrating.

Day 1195: Peepers!

Peepers peeping! Spring is finally here!

It was so nice out (60 degrees and sprinkling) that we walked three miles through campus and checked out the progress of the Rockefeller Arts Center project.  Boy, you go away for a few weeks and what happens?  They installed the steel girders!  The addition is really taking shape.

Day 1194: Leave No Trace

The Silver Creek and Brocton gals enjoyed our potty stories.  We've tried to ease their fears about "going" outside with humorous anecdotes.  Steve talked about a couple experiences in Vietnam when he got caught with his pants down.  Once, when a helicopter was coming in to land, it turned to an angle so the wash would blow him over into the mud.  The door gunner laughed so hard he fell out of the copter.  Then another time, after a fire fight, the tracks took off and left him while he was going.  He ran after them, with his pants in one hand and his M16 in the other.

I shared stories of traveling across the Kyzyl Kum Desert in Uzbekistan.  There were no rest stops, so the bus simply pulled over to the side of the road.  The men went behind the dunes on the left side of the road and the women went to the right side.  Of course, it's very difficult to dig a hole in sand.

Our whole point, of course, is to reduce their anxiety and to emphasize the importance of following proper leave no trace principles to safeguard the environment.

It's been so grim and grey that I haven't taken any new photos.  A huge heat wave is hitting the south while violent storms stretch across the midsection of the country where the two fronts meet.  Violent storms are hitting the major cities where our family lives: Tulsa, Louisville and Columbus.  For us, thick fogs, heavy rain, chilling cold and grey clouds.

Buttermilk chicken burger with pineapple relish and carrot wasabi slaw at Bare Burger

Justin and Kaoru

Resting in Central Park on Easter Sunday

Day 1193: Chores

Visions of the jobs awaiting us haunted our restless sleep last night.   Household tasks and all the things that must be done for Quest hung over us.  My mind kept darting from cook groups, to my book, classes, equipment, arrangements.  Fortunately, a day full of chores have put most of those pesky thoughts to rest.  I did nine loads of laundry, vacuumed and washed the floors, cleaned out the fridge, did grocery shopping, restocked, paid bills, prepped for and taught class in Brocton. Tonight, we sleep!

By the time we arrived home, my head was spinning from the car's hum and motion.  We agreed that we will not be driving across the country in the fall.  We just don't enjoy the long car trips.  It's too dangerous and too time consuming.   Instead, we'll fly to Denver, explore Colorado and Utah National Parks, drive to Salt Lake City and fly home.  We'll visit two states instead of five, but do it thoroughly and leisurely, not just drive by and wave.

It's still gray and dismal outside, but a few bursts of color are appearing amid dusky leaves and pools of meltwater.

Day 1192: Home again!

1874 miles.  53 miles per gallon.  Four canisters of cat fur vacuumed in the first 30 minutes after our arrival home.  62 degrees when we left NYC,  72 degrees somewhere in central PA (the highest temp of the entire trip) and 43 degrees at home.  One pizza with pepperoni, onions, and peppers.  Two happy kitties and two exhausted, but happy travelers.

Day 1191: Exploring Central Park

Over the last twenty years, we've explored much of Central Park.  Today, we walked from west to east at the very northern end from 96th to 110th St.  The park was full of families of a wide variety of ethnic and religious groups.  It was fascinating to hear all the different languages as they passed us.  Many were out strolling in their Sunday best, and I especially enjoyed seeing the little girls in colorful, frilly dresses.  Small children carried Easter baskets overflowing with candy and toys.  Overstuffed bunnies spilled out of strollers.  Stretched out on blankets, families sat visiting and snacking while children chased each other.  Even the little dogs were dressed up in sweaters.

We encountered a wedding party in gorgeous red and salmon gowns with exquisite golden headdresses.  The bride wore an elegant white gown with an elaborate headdress draped in beads and pearls.  The men were all in black tuxedos.  We couldn't identify the ethnic background, perhaps somewhere in East Africa, but they were breathtaking.

In many ways it was a typical Sunday in NYC, but since it was Easter, we spied Easter bonnets, suits, polished shoes, and babies in ruffled dresses.

The bus shook, shifted, jerked and swayed all the way down town to dinner and made Evan car sick.  Fortunately, he recovered to enjoy our last meal together till Thanksgiving.  Kaoru suggested a spot they all love called Bare Burger.  It offers a variety of meats for burgers with original toppings.   Three chose elk!  Three more had chicken and Steve had brisket.  All delicious.  To top it off, Steve and Evan split a hot honey milkshake for dessert.  The honey is seasoned with cayenne pepper and drizzled in the bottom of the glass then topped by the milkshake.  When you scoop a spoonful and mix both tougher, it's an explosion of flavors in your mouth.

The important thing was to spend a few more hours together before we all return to our routines.

On left: April, Justin and Kaoru

On right: Colin, Steve, me and Evan

Day 1190: Chuko

What a joy to spend quality time with our family.  Time together is so precious and with each passing year, it's becoming less frequent.  So, when we are together, we talk, eat, drink, explore, hike and laugh a lot.  Today, we did brunch with Evan and had french toast with mimosas.  Then, we visited the Brooklyn Museum to tour the Egyptian displays.  Next, it was on to Chuko, a Japanese restaurant for vegetable appetizers and ramen.  To us, ramen means adding boiling water to a package of noodles.  This shop, however, has elevated it to an art form.

Boozeberry

Menu from Chuko

Veggie miso with greens, sweet potatoes and scallion

Waiting for the bus in Brooklyn

Day 1189: Marathon travel

Fredonia to Waynesboro to Nags Head to Cape Hatteras to Nags Head to Chincoteague to Lewes to Cape May to Atlantic City to New Brunswick to NYC!  Busy week!

We tackled the mysteries of another parking garage, this time in New Brunswick.  Hope the car is there when we return.  It seems we most often arrive in Penn Station at the beginning of a holiday weekend when millions of people are on the move.  Crushing crowds inside the station and out, the intense noise and smells of the city immediately hit me.  On top of the miserable cold I caught from Steve, the excessive sensory stimulation brought on a fierce headache.

April and Justin met us and took us to lunch then April took us on a tour of her new office right across the street from Penn Station.  Wow!  Impressive headquarters, the design modeled after Google.  Modern industrial style with white, glass and accents of lime green.  Lots of recreation space, nap rooms, a huge fully stocked kitchen, a few glass offices for phone conferences, heavy security protections.  They employ the open cubby plan of organization.  Very few walls exist and lots of collaboration goes on.  If only as much was invested in creating a productive, nurturing environment for teachers.

Later in the afternoon, we toured Colin's firm's new studio.  The top floor of an eight story building, it's been fully renovated.  Lots of natural light and ventilation, lockers for each employee, open storage for lighting fixture components, a large packing area next to the freight elevator and then work stations where artisans build the light fixtures.  The crew was gathering at the end of the day for cocktails.  A dozen sat on benches around a huge square table while others lingered long after their work day had concluded.  They were sipping a new frozen cocktail of lemon and basil,  the result of their weekly cocktail contest.  Except for one, they are all in their twenties and thirties.  Just like in April's office.  Again, it is a nurturing, creative environment that encourages teamwork, collaboration and cooperation.

What a contrast to to NY schools, where the state government imposes stifling restrictions, mandates, humiliating evaluations and promotes competition among colleagues.

After dinner at a nearby pub called Phebes, we moved uptown to the venue for an improv show featuring Colin's team and two others.  We have been so eager to see him perform and he was the best!  He was able to move the interactions in unexpected and comical directions.  The prompt from the crowd was "gumbo".  Colin started off as an old granny stirring a pot of gumbo and they took off from there.   It was imaginative and fluid.  The other teams relied too much on potty humor and cliche.

It's a quiet Saturday morning in Evan's apartment.  The trash trucks have concluded their pick ups, the residents have settled down.  Upstairs, someone is playing music with a pounding beat.  This is the last time we'll be staying here because he is moving to a new place in May.   The rent on this one is going up $450 per month.  If he has to pay more, he might as well get a place with a few amenities like closets and a bathroom wider than three feet.  This is a great neighborhood.  Right across the street is the campus for CCNY, a few doors away is a Catholic church, and an elementary school is just two blocks away.  It's been mostly safe for him, except for getting mugged  in broad daylight last summer.

I have no pictures from their workplaces, just a nice shot from lunch on 32nd Street.

Justin and April

Korea town at midnight after the show.  In the distance is the Empire State building lit up with Easter colors that are muted by fog.