We're Off

Greetings:

Mile 0

The Element is packed almost to the ceiling with our sets of golf clubs and Chris’ bicycle. We set off for Dad’s in Franklin to leave him some cash and to say goodbye. He is upstairs in the dining room at Golden Crest and is glad to see us. Hopefully we will all survive without seeing each other for over two months.

Gini was presented with a ‘truffle snake’ in her Christmas stocking. It has since been put back into its original 2 lb Harry and David Dark Chocolate tub and given preferred seating in the front seat. As we left Franklin, NH we felt like our trip had begun and Gini was definitely on vacation. The Patriots game on the radio was to serve as our entertainment as we made our way to Middletown, NY to visit with brother Bob. He lives in the family house now so he could save on rent and was awaiting us for dinner at Nina’s.

As we started listening to the game we made a pact. For every touchdown that the Patriots scored we would eat a dark chocolate truffle. This became life threatening as Brady passed for four touchdowns and Morris ran in another. We decided that maybe every other touchdown would be cause for embracing Harry and David.

Mile 300

It was good to see Bob at the old homestead. From 1957 to 1968 it was Chris’ home. Gini first paid a visit in 1972 and Mom liked her. Gini, at the time, marveled, as did many others, at the back yard. For Dad, after coming from Ireland and then the Bronx, this was his first house and could not cope with the condition of the yard. So he had it blacktopped. Odd as it was, it was a mini school yard the whole time Chris lived there. Bob and he played hours and hours of home run derby, whiffle ball and managed to hit whiffle golf balls in a competitive fashion over the years.

Now Middletown did not seem charming with all the crowded ‘garden apartments’ squeezed into lots meant for single family homes across the street. Street noise and activity was 24/7. Nina’s, however, was a different story. Somehow this restaurant, which could have easily competed with anything in Manhattan, had nestled onto Main Street in Middletown. Dinner was most enjoyable.

The basement at the house was filled with many of Mom’s ‘backups’. Literally one could furnish three or four kitchens with the accumulated treasures of over fifty years of marriage. Well, maybe in the spring we could deal with this … but now? Not so much.

Morning brought sunny but windy weather. Now begins the iPhone versus AARP/MapQuest death match. Google was not helping, there was an hour’s difference in travel time with their version. We decided to head for Delaware and make for Cape Charles and the Chesepeake Bay Bridge. Anyone who has driven this must be amazed at how this bridge dips, not once but twice, under Chesapeake Bay and then leaps to the surface once more. The sun is blinding as we head west late in the afternoon. The wind is howling and one might think we are in a Hitchcock movie as seagull after seagull lies lifeless on the side of the road.

Mile 770

We did successfully arrive in Norfolk thanks to the iPhone. The reason we were there was because of Gini’s family. Uncle Buzz had taken an apartment to be near his son Mike (Gini’s cousin), his wife Mary and their daughter Amy, her husband and the latest star, three year old Crysta.

Buzz lives in a wonderful senior apartment complex called the Talbot on the grounds of a major hospital in downtown Norfolk. He is a former Navy jet pilot who was glad to see Gini:






He is 88 and pretty fit. He has a second bedroom at his place so we were quickly shown to our suite.














Dinners that night and the next were filled with seafood from Chesapeake bay. Oysters William and crab crakes were big hits. We also learned of the area’s icon the mermaid. She is displayed in various ways throughout the region:















The first night culminated in a drive through the visual wonders of the local botanical gardens. The trees are lit up with Christmas themes:



















The next day we immersed ourselves in the rich history of the area. This is Yorktown, Hampton Roads; Newport News; Gosport and Portsmouth shipbuilding; the Monitor and the Virginia dueling to a draw. Mike had hoped that we could see the story of the Monitor at a Newport News’ Mariners Museum but it was closed that day. We then opted for Norfolk’s Naval Museum guarded by the USS Wisconsin:



Not only was it fascinating because of the area’s rich historical pedigree but Buzz was in his milieu. He had made over 500 landings on aircraft carriers for three decades. First hand info is always sweet.

The Beaulieu clan then hosted us at Olive Garden for a family dinner that had four generations present:


We still have a soft spot for good family/friends:



And the joy of a grandmother and her grandchild:



The next morning Mike and Mary took us to IHOP and we were off to find Myrtle Beach and Rick and Hanna.